Breaking Point (Tavian's Backstory)

"Kill all who escape, save the rest for me." He said. Raven kicked down the door and I ran to him through the chaos, grabbing onto his shoulder.

"Let me take care of this house. I'll handle it." I demanded from him. I took the charge because if I was right, this house belonged to the girl playing with her white-haired friend.

"Sure thing! If this is the house with the white-haired bitch, save her for me, got it?" He told me. Raven winked and threw his hand into my chest before hopping down the staircase leading to the house. Noboki followed close behind me, and I entered the house as politely and quietly as possible.

"You're not my mom… Hey, Mister, do you want to play dress-up with Lily and me? We were going to play with Mom but she went outside for something." The girl asked me. I tightly closed my fist, sucking in all my anger. These children didn't deserve this, are you kidding me?!

"I'd love to… but can we play hide and seek first?" I asked them. I just want them free... out of this house... maybe to Ellie...

"Lily and…" "Lia!" I figured out their names, with Lia telling me hers last. The girl chipped in, revealing her own name to me.

"Alright Lily and Lia, Ms. Noboki and Mr. Tavian are going to count to thirty, you have to go hide in the forest. If we can't find you in fifteen minutes, you guys win!" I playfully told them. Lily's white hair waved back and forth before she agreed, while Lia didn't move, only staring at the door.

"Come on Lia! Let's go hide!" Lily, in her oblivious, cheerful attitude, ran out of the back door. Lia soon followed behind with a similar smile on her face.

"This is what kind of man Orion is…? I'm not doing this!" Noboki said with tears in her eyes. She went to turn for the door, but I stopped her.

"Just give it another second… we need Raven to have left the area," I told her. She seemed to understand and nodded. So, we both waited.

"Tavian! Come out here!" I heard him call out, which would've been less frightening if it hadn't been by the back door.

"I found two trying to escape, and guess who they are?!" Raven asked me. I immediately burst through the door and saw Lily held by the hair, while Lia was being dragged on her feet with blood trickling down her forehead.

"They must've been hiding from you in that house… say, they're young and they look capable, let's take them in! Orion will be pleased with this haul." Raven told me. He swung Lia around like she was some sort of object, and that's when things began to change in my head.

I constantly asked myself what I was doing working with Orion, but I answered it every time. The answer, which Noboki also shared with me, was nobody was strong enough to fight back.

Lily slashed up at Raven's eyes with her nails and tried to run, but Raven threw his sword at her knee, forcing her to fall to the ground. She cried out for help, holding her knee and all the blood pouring onto the floor while crying in such a high pitch that it could've broken glass.

"You little bitch! How would you like it if I did that to you?!" Raven asked her.

Raven unsheathed his knife right as Lia woke up and yet again, the fear of losing my own life overcame me. Lia tilted her head up and watched Raven dig a crevasse into Lily's face with his knife, pulling it down past her eye. She screamed while holding her face, or tried to, but Raven continuously redirected her hands away from it to watch the blood spurt out onto her perfect, undamaged skin.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Lia's thundering voice bellowed through the village as she jumped onto Raven's back and bit into his ear, ripping and tearing the flesh off. June, one of the best defensive soldiers in Orion's leagues, went to jump into action, but Raven told her to hold off.

"Hold your horses, metal girl, I'll handle it," Raven told her. Lily curled into a ball, holding her face, but the blood kept seeping out.

I felt like such an undignified coward, but I still couldn't move my body after cursing my brain for freezing me in place. Raven picked up Lia by her hair and held her upwards, staring at her with a sadistic look in his eyes.

To my surprise, blood spurted from Lia's mouth in copious amounts, even stunning Raven.

"What the hell did you do? Did you bite your tongue?" Raven asked Lia.

Lia grabbed ahold of Raven's wrist and spit out a bloodied razor, along with more blood than had originally spurted out of her mouth, and sliced his face right by his forehead, almost into his eye.

"How the- HOW DARE YOU!" Raven threw Lia to the floor and kicked her in the chest, causing her to cough up more blood onto the side of her hair with no red dye.

"I'll let Orion decide what to do with you… Tavian, carry that white-haired asshole back, I'll drag this one. Everybody else… burn this damn place to the ground."

I picked Lily up with gentle hands and moved her up to my shoulder. "It hurts… it hurts Mr. Tavian… make it stop." She lightly said into my ear.

…

As if a switch finally flipped in my head, I knew this was it. It was time… I was far from wrong when I said nobody is strong enough to stand against Orion and whatever the hell he has going on in these villages, but that doesn't mean I can't be the first.

"Noboki… I'm leaving as soon as I can. I'm packing my things and leaving; you're welcome to join if you wish." I walked forward, holding Lily even tighter than before.

"I'll get her cleaned up for you, Raven," I explained to him. At this point, Lily heard what I said to Noboki, so she knew I was lying. I was impressed a girl like her was able to understand, but glad, nonetheless.

"Fine by me, those little bitches had me scratched up really good too… but I'll be taking Lia, I owe her some payback." Raven clarified. June, who took hold of Lia, nodded. There was no getting past her, but I should be able to get Noboki onto my side.

We walked for more and more time as the villagers were moaning and crying on the carts that their homes and loved ones were just mercilessly murdered in front of them. We finally got to the glacier and June threw Lia down on the floor.

"I don't want to carry it anymore, somebody else handle this," June said while walking away. To my surprise, Raven picked her up.

"I will," Raven said. With the razorblade he picked up off the floor that damaged him, he used it to dig into her chest. I covered Lily's mouth to keep her from screaming, but the wrathful look in her eyes didn't stop there.