( tw : mentions of physical / emotional abuse from a parent in the 4th and 5th paragraphs – feel free to skip those paragraphs if you need to, they won't take away from understanding the thread! )

Cipher.

It was hardly a family name to be proud of, unless you saw committing atrocities as a point of pride. That was something that Lumia had become aware of rather quickly, despite her relatively short life so far. It was hard not to realize that fact, considering half the time when she introduced herself to others, she was usually greeted with a grimace. It wasn't great for a young feline's self esteem, not that it was really the fault of the strangers, either. After all, there was plenty of reason to not be thrilled about having a Cipher around, even if not all of them were bad. Or, well... so Lumia hoped, anyways.

However, it wasn't as if one could just choose their family. Lumia in particular hadn't had much of a choice, considering her mother had dumped her off onto Caesar at the first opportunity. It might've stung a bit more, if she had been a bit older and realized fully just how little her mother really cared. Either way, she had ended up traveling with her father, which... wasn't great, to say the least.

At first, things had seemed fine. Lumia had been eager, and young, and ready for adventure. And what better way to find adventure than wandering the neutral grounds with your emotionally distant dad? As it turned out, though, Caesar was more than just emotionally distant. That alone was easy enough to see from the claw marks along one of Lumia's sides, scraping over her shoulder and her flank. Still, she had tried her best to hold out. Caesar was her father, after all, he couldn't be as bad as all the stories said. Because, if he was really as bad as everyone seemed to think... what did that mean for her? After all, she had his genes.

She had tried to avoid thinking about all of it too hard for as long as she could, but... there was a breaking point. So many days of silence, or abuse, or glares leveled in her direction. It was all too much, so eventually she had made a decision – she was going to run. It wasn't even that hard to do, considering how little Caesar actually cared about her. She was essentially just a stowaway on his path through life, and not one that he was even particularly fond of. So eventually, she had done it. She had waited for night to fall, and then she had turned tail and slipped off into the trees, letting the shadows hide her. She wasn't too worried about being followed, and yet, she had still moved quickly. It felt as if she was doing something wrong, and that was enough for her to know to bolt. She had already seen enough of what happened when she did something wrong.

The next few days after that had been... mostly wandering, to be honest. Lumia hadn't exactly had much of a plan before she had bolted, so she just headed through the neutral grounds, searching for some kind of home for herself. Eventually, she had decided to head back towards some of the smaller loner groups her father and herself had visited before. She was a bit nervous about going somewhere her father knew about, but it wasn't as if she had much choice. Even if she knew how to hunt and feed herself, Lu still wasn't a particularly large feline. It would've been easy for some forest beast to snatch her up and eat her, and that was enough to terrify her into wanting companionship. There was safety in numbers, after all.

The loner groups she had visited were not exactly happy to see her, considering most of them thought she was either still with Caesar, or somehow brainwashed by him. It took a while for her to convince them she wasn't trying to trick them, but eventually she managed to do so. Reluctantly, the loners told her about one place that would probably the most safe for her – The Typhoon. Apparently the group had not only exiled and banned Caesar from ever returning, but they had banned Aphra as well. Lumia had never personally met her older sister, but she had certainly heard the horror stories. The thought of not having to deal with that or her father was certainly tempting, and so she had immediately asked for directions. The thought of having to travel so far – out to an archipelago – was certainly daunting, but Mia was willing to take on the challenge. She wanted a new sense of freedom. A new sense of adventure, without the pain.

Even with directions, it was a while before Lumia found her way to The Typhoon's border, the salty scent of the sea hanging heavy on the air. The railroad gate towered above her in the distance, and the water licked lightly at her white and wheat colored paws. After taking a deep breath inwards to psyche herself up, the young feline headed along the tracks, her tail flicking behind her. The smooth metal was a comfort against the pads of her paws, green gaze focused intently on the structures in the distance. Slowly, the scent of The Typhoon became stronger and stronger, and Lulu found herself more tense than ever. Even though the seafaring group had been advertised as a paradise, what if the loners had been lying to her? What if the Typhoon members pre-judged her because of her name, and turned her away? What if she had to go back to Caesar? Just the thought of her father made her ears flatten against her skull, and her steps quickened even more.

Eventually... she made it. The bell hung directly in front of her, and she found that her stomach was twisted up in anxious knots. Standing up on her back paws, Lumia shoved her entire body against it, watching as it rang out loudly over the territory. Turning towards the paths leading to her from within the actual territory, the Cipher hesitated momentarily before she called out, "Hello...? This place... this place is The Typhoon, right? I got told this was a good place to stay..." The sound of footsteps soon reached her ears, approaching quickly. She stood her ground, her claws digging lightly into the sandy earth as she waited to see who would greet her.

— Reggan

[div style="max-width: 360px; font-family: palatino; color: #2a4971; text-align: left; padding-top: 8px; padding-left: 10px; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px;"]Idir brí is idir muir, Tá mé i dtiúin

Her tiny paws moved over the familiar path with ease.  Her ears having perked up at the sharp ringing of the bell.  Steadily growing used to the bell being rung with vigor these days.  The young and uncertain voice causing her to pause a few steps away.  No intentions to frighten.

"Aloha," she offered softly.  Curious, her head fell slightly to one side.  Nodding her affirmation of the girl's words.  "This is the Typhoon.  'm Keona, a Dealer here."

"If you want a place to stay, then I would say this is a good place," she agreed, sightless hues blinking in thought.  "Do you have a name?"  Idly her tail twitched.  A polite smile resting on her maw.

© MADI

TRIGGER WARNING: mention and description of emotional/mental abuse in the second paragraph, brief mention of physical abuse.

Although Vayne was blissfully unaware of any other Ciphers other than her littermates and her mother, and her father, she should have assumed that she had other family members out there, even if Aphra didn't talk about them. It was only natural, was it not? Everyone seemed to have a family of sorts, even extended family. Ironically though, despite not knowing Lumia personally or knowing what she has been through, Vayne could relate to it.

Having Aphra as a mother meant that Vayne often went through a lot of emotional and mental abuse. Aphra often spoke harshly to her children and degraded them if they did anything wrong. The succubus wasn't physically abusive most of the time (though that didn't mean it didn't happen) but she certainly engrained it in Vayne's mind that everyone in The Typhoon hated her. That they were all out to get her and her littermates and were only faking their niceness and loyalties to them. Aphra was uptight, often demanding that Vayne act a certain way; she couldn't cry, she had to always keep her head held high, and to ignore what others said to her, and she hadn't been allowed to make any attachments to anyone.

Fortunately though, Vayne was learning that Aphra was incorrect and that everyone truly did enjoy her company. Hell, Roxanne and Diya adopted her. Would they really do that if they didn't love or care for her?

"I love it here!" Vayne declared as she came to stand next to Keona, giving Lumia a large smile to try and seem less intimating. It was pretty obvious that Lumia was nervous and Vayne didn't want to make her feel worse. "You're welcome to stay if you want. My name's Vayne Cipher-Vantas!"[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

The first to approach was Keona, and the dealer's presence was honestly a godsend. The fact that the other was so much smaller than her provided a sort of comfort to Lumia, since she didn't feel as though she was about to be attacked. Plus, Keo's calm tone of voice put her at ease, her light gold fur settling as she grew more comfortable. Mia was quick to nod when she was asked about her name, answering as her tuft of a tail flicked behind her, "My name...? My name is Lumia Cipher. You can feel free to call me Lulu or Mia though, if you want. Thank you for the warm welcome, Keona." She wasn't quite sure what a "dealer" was at this point, but it sounded like it was important. Mentally, she made a note of that, figuring that she could seek out Keona in the future if she had some type of issue.

Just as Lumia was about to ask where she could stay, another cat approached, with some rather unique markings. Unbeknownst to Lulu, the other was related to her – her niece, in fact. When Vayne smiled broadly at her, she provided a slightly smaller smile in return, opening her mouth to re-introduce herself. Unfortunately, the words died in her throat when the kit spoke up, and Mia heard her name. Cipher-Vantas.

She couldn't help the way her heart leaped into her throat at the sound of it, her ears briefly pressing back. She forced herself to calm down, however. After all, she had been told that Caesar and Aphra were banned, and Vayne didn't seem like she was a threat... she wasn't like Caesar. Lu was safe. After a moment of psyching herself up, Lumia was finally able to respond, "It's nice to meet you too, Vayne... could I ask who you're related to? I know that's kind of a weird question, but... it seems like we share a last name." She had to wonder – had Vayne had a good life? Were her parents better to her than Lumia's father was to her? She felt a mixture of worry and envy in her chest, although she tried not to let either show.

— Reggan

Quite honestly, Vayne's own heart seemed to skip a beat when Lumia replied with her name, though of course it was due to the mention of her surname. Cipher. They... They shared the same surname. At first, Vayne was silent and appeared to be processing the news, before she mentally shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. "M-my mom is Aphra." She replied in a quiet voice. Like Lumia, Vayne was running the same questions in her head: what was her life like? Was she treated any differently than Vayne was? Did her mother try to kidnap her? What about manipulation, did her mother manipulate her too? If anything, Vayne felt sorry that Lumia had to go through the same things she did, assuming that Lumia experienced the same life.[glow=COLOR,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]