First Kill

—Eleven years prior in duskwood—

On a cool summer evening, Cyrus was busy unwrapping the gift his parents had bought him, excitement clouding his green eyes when he tore the lovely wraps to bring out the new water gun machine that was launched a week ago.

They just returned from his graduation party at STEM middle school, and he was in awe when his parents told him they had other surprises that awaited him, due to his excellent result.

"You got me the gun!" He exclaimed joyfully, glancing at his beautiful parents. "Oh cool! I can't wait to show this to my friends, they are going to be sooo jealous I got the first one!" he chuckled harmlessly as he studied the design, ignoring his parent's disapproving countenance.

"Now that isn't the reason why we bought you the toy gun, to be more precise." Fernando Blackwell moved his hand away from his wife's slender waist, tucking them in his pocket. "This gun shares the same mechanism as an actual gun, except it only bolts water. You're going to use them to train until you come of age to learn to use a real gun. When that time comes, it will be easier for you to process the gun's gear without any troubles."

"I know I know, it's a Blackwell thing." He shrugged at his father's speech, still heavily psyched over his new gift.

"Don't go around making people jealous with that thing, or I'll have no choice but to return it." Fernando admonished his stubborn son before glancing around the living room, and he finally caught sight of his small dark-haired princess watching them from a corner in the dining table, her big round crimson-red eyes gazing at them like strangers who abducted her from her mother's crib.

"My little princess, what are you doing over there? Come." He called softly, beckoning his anxiety-stricken daughter in his direction.

Renee slowly got down from the chair she sat on, her bare feets touching the cold floor, and she politely approached the man who was supposedly her father. Her mother crouched down to her level, handing her a small wrapped-up box with a pretty red bow at the top, but she refused to take it.

"My sweet child." Her mother, Avyanna Blackwell, raised her hand to pat her head affectionately, to ease both their hearts, but her hand stopped mid-way when her daughter suddenly shrunk back in fear, eyes tightly sealed shut.

Even at her daughter's reaction, she still ran her fingers affectionately into her hair, making her flinch at the touch, and it was not in any way hostile, to Renee's biggest surprise. Her father joined her mother, crouching beside her and holding both her hands.

"Is there something you wish to say to us?" He asked in a harmless whisper, "you don't have to be afraid of your mother and I, we are your parents, okay?" His deep comforting voice somehow got to Renee, and he could feel her shoulder's relax after assuring her that they meant no harm to her.

They have been repeatedly doing so since the day she was born.

"Your brother just graduated from middle school, he picked out your gift." Fernando handed her the gift, and Renee's awestruck eyes darted Cyrus's way, and she met her brother watching her with a sweet smile on his lips, his eyes telling her to open the gift so she could see what he picked out specially for her.

Renee quietly accepted the gift and unwrapped it, and to her biggest surprise, it was the same water gun that was given to Cyrus, but the smaller version of it, a size more portable for her to hold. This was going to be the first time she received gifts from someone, she's never had anyone give her gifts before, but her new family were doing so without asking for anything in return.

Renee instinctively looked up when her mother palmed both her cheeks gently with an amused look on her face. Even as a child, she knew her mother was exceptionally beautiful, and she happened to have been blessed with her mother's features– ruby-red eyes, obsidian-black hair, she was like a carbon-copy, but more baby-ish in contrast to her mother's matured beauty.

"When you're done getting homeschooled, we'll host a grand celebration for you, make it more ecstatic than your brother's. You would like that a lot, won't you?"

"Of course she will," Fernando Blackwell answered for his precious daughter, smiling proudly, "we'll invite everyone, she's already doing so well in her academics, and what more can I probably ask for, except to say that I'm lucky to have a wife who has blessed me with a home and such amazing children. My Mi Alma."

And he dropped a tender kiss on his wife's forehead, making her blush against her will.

"What do I do with this? Renee blinked innocently, taking the gun from the box, and she gasped when Cyrus threw an arm around her shoulder.

"you wanna know? I could teach you! Since we're the only ones blessed to test-run the company's new water gun advancement, wanna be my gaming partner?" He suggested, "I'm going to be staying at home for a long time, I'll need the company, so are you in?"

"You wanna play with me?"

"You need my IQ better than I do."

"I…Q? What's that?"

"See?"

"Cyrus, stop teasing your sister." Avyanna took her son away, leaving Renee with just her father, and he held out his hand for her to take. Renee accepted it, and her eyes grew wider when he pulled her in for a fatherly hug, her crimson orbs glistening with tears from that simple, yet meaningful move.

"I don't know what it is you're so afraid of, but I want you to know that you have your family here to protect and take care of you." He assured her, "I'll do my best to be a good father too, and I'll watch you grow into the strong woman I believe you are, no Blackwell family has ever been known to give up, and it won't start with my princess either."

"Will you… sell me off if I misbehave?" she asked, and despite being confused by that absurd question, he shook his head genuinely, knowing such a thing wouldn't happen.

"No, not in a million years."

"What type of gift is this?"

"It's called a water gun, need me to help you get started? It's completely harmless, so don't worry."

"Dad, no, I said I'll do it!" Cyrus came running to hug his little sister, and he declared, "as her brother, it's my duty as a Blackwell to teach and protect, and be by her side. I'll teach her what she needs to know."

Renee was looking up at Cyrus now, and he was smiling brightly at her. Their father had risen to his full height, chuckling heartedly at his son's confidence, and his wife happily joined him.

So this is what being part of a family feels like?

_______

[System Alert]

[Monster detected: Warning! Hostile entity detected. Monster presence imminent]

Renee felt her heart quicken with fear and anticipation, her gaze lingering briefly on the warning sign on her system before dismissing it.

Hands on her gun, she glanced at Cyrus who stood at the passage exit, hands on a lever that was attached to the wall.

"Ready?"

He waited for her signal, and when Renee nodded her head once, he pulled down the lever. The iron door made a metallic creaking sound as it split open, revealing her parent's disorganized room – it wasn't like this when they ran in here.

With the plasma gun raised, Renee aimed it at the head of the creature that instantly came before her line of sight. When it turned its head 180 degrees to look at her with those lifeless white eyeballs, Renee instinctively pulled on the trigger.

The creature dropped dead on the floor.

[Monster defeated, exp points gained: +5]

"God, why do they reek so badly?" Cyrus covered his nose as he entered, circling the monster who now lay dead. He glanced at his sister who lowered the gun, and he smiled impressively at her aim.

"I guess I taught you better than I expected, but come on, let's head to my room next."

Getting a grip on herself, Renee nodded and cautiously entered her parents room, following her brother out. What's the use of trembling if it won't clarify her safety?

Right now, it was every man for himself….err… that came out wrong, she meant every woman for herself.

She wasn't going to give up yet, not while she's still alive and breathing.