The Styx

Hi.. My name is Nyx Theodore Hawthorne, after Asra and Daniel Hawthorne of the Hawthorne Orphanage For Gifted Children - whatever that means.

As of November 27th, 20XX, I am 13 years old and.. uhm.. well this is the time of year where the orphans who haven't found homes have to leave the orphanage.. something about "not enough space." *shrugs* Oh well. It can't be that hard.. right?

2 years later

On a moonlit summer night, little Nyx is resting peacefully in a willow tree, when suddenly she is awoken by a strange pain. "Ow!" She yelped. "What the hell was that?" She proceeds to look herself over and notices a small rash developing on her arm. "What the hell?!" She ponders furiously as she then sits her arm under the moonlight to get a better look. "Huh?" The rash begins to fade and the pain subsides. "Wh-what the hell is this?" She says trembling slightly. Climbing down from the tree, little Nyx proceeds to sit in the field beneath what she calls home. *she groans* "Ugh.. I feel odd" She looks up at the moon and the feeling begins to grow stronger, yet the queasiness subsides. "Hm.." she ponders. "What on earth could be happening to her?" She wonders.

After awhile the feeling completely dissipates and Nyx is left feeling.. powerful. "Huh." She says as she stands up, looking herself over. "I wonder what this is." She questions. Suddenly a branch breaks behind her.

*she shrieks and rattles the nearby trees* "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Shhh! It's okay, I'm a friend" says the anonymous voice.

Nyx growls and stands her ground "Announce yourself! This is my territory and you're trespassing!" She says angrily.

"My name is Russell.. Russell Allen Hawthorne.." he says skittishly.

*she lowers guard* "You're a Hawthorne too..?" She says surprised. "Y-yeah.." he says twiddling his fingers. "I uhm.. followed you here.. I think you're my sister.." She steps back in confusion. "I don't have any siblings last I checked." *he steps towards her* "Please, you have to believe me" he says pleading.

*she growls deeply* "Stay back! Prove to me that you're my brother!" She hisses.

"Fine.." he says moving his hair out of his face. *she gasps and pauses for a moment* "Y-your eyes.." she whispers. *he chuckles* "Yeah, they're cyan." He says. "Mine is too!" She says stumbling backwards onto her bum out of shock. "B-but how..?" She asks. *he shrugs* "Not sure, but I do know only twins have this kind of feature" *he walks over and offers her his hand* "Yeah.." she says as she takes it and stands up. "Thank you.." she says looking up at him. "Sure thing." He says, smiling at her. *she yawns* "Tired?" He asks. "Yeah, something woke me up." She says rubbing her eyes. "Well let's go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning. Okay?" *he smiles brightly* "Okie" she says as she climbs back into her spot in the willow tree. "Whoa I was never much of a tree climber, but if it works, go for it." He says mockingly. *she rolls her eyes*

"C'mon ya big baby. I'm tired." She says. "Alright alright." *he climbs up the tree and takes the spot across from her* "Ooo, cozy. I can see why you sleep here." He says while curling up. "Mhm." She says absentmindedly and passes out, snoring softly. *he chuckles* "Goodnight little sis.." he says before passing out.

The next morning, Russell awoke before Nyx to go grab breakfast for them and decided to leave her a note that read, "Hey little sis, I just went to go hunt down some breakfast, I'll be back within the hour. Love, Russi"

"How sweet. Ugh." She groaned. She then gets up and proceeds to climb down from her comfy treetop. Upon reaching the ground she catches a whiff of something.. sweet. "Hm." She ponders. Before setting off in the direction of the smell, she notices tiny drops of blood leading down the path to her right. "Odd. Maybe an animal is injured?" She wonders. Oddly enough the sweet scent is coming from the trail with blood down it. She decides to follow it deeper into the woods.

Little Nyx had been walking for about 5 minutes when the trail began to dissipate and became harder to find so she decided to follow her nose. "What could possibly happen?" She thought. And so Little Nyx decides to follow her nose and to her surprise she lands upon an injured rabbit, still clinging to life. "Hm. No use in wasting it." She says. She decides to put it out of its misery and take it home for lunch.

Upon reaching her favorite Willow she spots Russell making a fire off to the side.

"Hey Russ." *she smiles* "Hey, uhm..? I didn't catch your name." He says with shame. "I never threw it. Call me Theo." She says smugly. "Oof. Not a morning bird, are ya?" *he chuckles* "I just don't trust you, yet." *she shows him the rabbit* "I got lunch." She says. "Oh! That's great Theo!" *he cheers* "Meh." *she shrugs* "It was going to die anyways. I just helped it along." She says calmly. "Oh.. I see. Well then, shall I clean it for you?" He asks. *she shakes her head* "No thanks. I do it my way." She says assertively. "Okay, noted." He says.

*she proceeds to clean the rabbit and disembowel it, then places it on a stick above the fire and slowly turns it*

"Huh. I never thought you knew how to cook.." he says. *she raises her brow* "What's that supposed to mean?!" She protests.

"N-nothing!" He says skittishly. "I.. it's because of your age.. You're so young." He says to try and diffuse the situation. *she rolls her eyes* "I'm 15. I left the orphanage 2 years ago. I had to learn somehow." *she turns away* "Oh.. I see." He says. "I'm sorry to hear that. *he places his hand on her shoulder gently* "I could help teach you a few things.. and we can learn together." *he smiles* "Yeah I don't know about that. I just met you yesterday." She says. "Oh okay.." *he says taking his hand off her shoulder* "Well if you need anything I'm here." He says. *she nods and continues cooking* "Almost done." She says. "Awesome sauce. Can't wait to taste your cooking." He says smiling. *she pulls the rabbit off the fire and hands it to Russell* "Hold this." *she says as she walks back to the Willow and grabs a few things from the hole under the tree* "Okay?" *he says holding the stick* Little Nyx returns holding what appears to be spices and leaf plates.

She then hands a plate to Russell and takes the rabbit from him. "Sit." She says. *he sits down on a stump near the fire* "Where did you find spices?" He questions. *she hands him a plate and proceeds to season the rabbit as she usually would* "Stole them." She says nonchalantly. "Oh? From where?" He asks. "An abandoned village to the south." She answers. "Hm. Didn't think there was anything out here." He replies. "There isn't. Just the one village and no one has lived there since I've lived here." She says. "Oh okay. Is there anything useful in the village?" He asks. "No. I looted what I could. There are scavengers that live there." She replies. "Scavengers? Like what?" He asks. "Bandits and wolves." She says. "Oh wow. I thought you said it was abandoned?" He questions. "Well I never said it was completely abandoned." She says. "True." He responds. "Anyways, here." *she splits the rabbit in half and puts one half on Russell's plate* "Enjoy." She says taking a bite out of it. "Thank you Theo." He says. *she nods and proceeds to eat* He looks it over and smells it deeply before taking a bite. *he groans* "Mmm.. this is delicious, Theo!" He cheers. "Thank you." She says with her mouth full.

They continue to eat and once finished, both are bored and full. "So Russell, tell me about yourself." "Well..."

"Well... I'm 19 years old, I'm 6'0", my eyes change color depending on my mood. I enjoy sports, protecting my family, I love apples, maple trees and tennis balls. I consider myself to be goofy, overprotective, smart, kind, strong, hard headed, strong-willed, clumsy, honest, and outgoing. I hate heights, being alone, spiders, and celery." he says blushing slightly. "How about you Theo?" He asks.

*she sighs* "I'm 15 and 5'1", I love the dark and the moon, I love to climb trees and walk through foggy woods. My favorite animal is a snake. I love to steal and i enjoy being alone. Willow trees are my favorite tree and I love to play with rope. I hate being wet, spiders, skunks, people, large crowds, and the daytime. I consider myself to be shy, quiet, mysterious, edgy, dark, well balanced, deadly, nice when I have to be, calm, and serious." She says as she sits down under the willow tree. "Interesting." He says. *she nods* " We have some similarities." She says. "That we do." He agrees.

*she yawns* "Nap time." She says. Little Nyx then climbs up to her favorite spot in the willow tree and curls up for a nap. Meanwhile, Russell sits below the tree processing the day they've had so far. "She seems fun." He thinks to himself. "I wonder how she's made it this far." He wonders. "Oh well." He says to no one in particular. He then proceeds to wander the fields surrounding the willow. After about 15 minutes of wandering around, Russell stumbles upon someone.. or something lying in the distance. "Hello?" He calls out. "Are you okay?" He asks. The figure doesn't respond and instead just lays there. Russell approaches the figure cautiously and observes it closely. Upon close inspection the figure turns out to be a young man. He appears to be about Russell's age and looks badly injured. "Hey.. You okay dude?" *he reaches out towards the figure and gently taps him on the shoulder* The boy jumps up and backs away quickly. "Where am I?! Who are you and what are you doing?!" He says frantically. "Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. My name is Russell. I'm here to help you, not hurt you." He says calmly.

"And how do I know you aren't the one who put me here?" He asks. "I came from the willow tree back to the East. I stay there with my sister." He says pointing to the willow tree in the East.

"Hm." he says, then stands up and brushes himself off.

"Take me there." he demands. "Whoa I'm not taking you anywhere until I know your name." he says standing his ground. "Asriel." he says rudely. "Okay, nice to meet you Asriel." he says reaching out his hand. *Asriel shakes his hand and then steps back* "Now can you take me back to your home?" he asks. "Fine, but don't cause us any issues or you'll regret it." he says threateningly. "Noted." he responds.

They proceed to head back towards the willow where Nyx is waiting for them. "Where have you been? and who's that?" She asks looking at the stranger. "This is Asriel. I found him unconscious over there." *He says pointing to the south-west* "Hm. Hello Asriel, I'm Theo." she says politely. "Nice to meet you Theo." says Asriel. Russell then proceeds to fill her in on his walk and how he discovered Asriel. "So you don't know remember ending up over there?" She asks. "Nope. I have no recollection of anything other than when I left my house." He says. "Interesting." She ponders. "Could I trouble you for some food? I don't remember the last time i ate." He asks humbly. "I'd have to go hunting." *She says grabbing her sword from the hole in the tree* Asriel's eyes widen. "Since when did you get a sword?" Asks Russell. "I've always had this. Just never brought it out around you until now. I need this stranger to know I don't tolerate liars or thieves. You have been warned, Asriel." she says coldly. *He gulps and nods quickly* "Good." *She says before heading out*

While little Nyx is out hunting, Russell and Asriel are having a chat about their lives before the orphanage. See Russell came from the Theo Orphanage and Asriel came from the Barkley Orphanage, yet both ended up having to leave at an early age due to full capacity. Both boys were chatting up a storm and seemed to be getting along well. That is until Nyx returns with dinner. She's covered in blood and out of breath. *She throws the deer at their feet* "Clean it yourselves. I'm going to go clean up." She says before heading off to the river in the north. "Well isn't she a treat?" *Asriel chuckles* "She's fierce, I'll give her that." Says Russell. "Oh, she's something, alright." "Oi! Don't talk about my sister that way!" *He growls* "Jeezus dude, okay." Says Asriel, backing away.

Little Nyx returns from her bath and joins the boys beneath the willow tree. "Hey." She says. "Hi." Said Russell. "Did you enjoy your bath?" He asks. *She nods* "I did, indeed." She says smiling. "That's good." He says. "Hm, now that you both are here. I have something to say. Come, sit with me." Says Asriel as he sits down on a tree stump by the fire. *She tilts her head* "Okay?" she says joining him. Russell joins soon after and everything is silent for a moment. "I just wanted to say... Welcome, to The Styx." *He smirks and everything goes dark* Nothing to be heard, no one to be seen. Just an empty void surrounds little Nyx and her brother is nowhere to be found. "Where is this?" She wonders. "Will, I ever see Russell again...?"