03-06-2021, 09:24 PM
( 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.
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.
WATER POURING DOWN FROM THE CEILING
— Reggan
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LUMIA CIPHER
[glow=#000,2,300]MIA — FEMALE — DOMESTIC FELINE — THE TYPHOON — [glow=#000,2,300]TAGS[/glow]
![[Image: lZWb1ER.png]](https://i.imgur.com/lZWb1ER.png)
