Normyn
Legacy Name: Normyn

***

She'd been born one of a litter of four. There was her kiss-up daddy's-favorite brother Borealis; daddy's princess, the vapid Celeste; Nova, the know-it-all bookworm. And then there was her. Normyn. The odd one out. The runt, the last-born, the only one who felt more drawn to their eccentric mother Aurora than their so-called-hero father Star.

She hated every last one of them.

Well, her mother she rather liked. Her mother was the one who was always there to give her encouragement while her father was out doing his City Guard job, and her siblings all tussled about with each other and ignored her. They were ingrates, living such petty lives. Even as a kitten she could see it. She lost faith in her mother when she saw that Aurora doted on the others as much as on little Normyn, gave them just as much encouragement. Encouragement for what? She, Normyn, was the one with all the potential. Hadn't her mother herself said so?

Normyn always knew she was destined for greatness. Her siblings were all too stupid or self-involved to believe. Sometimes her father would give her a condescending "you can be anything you want to be," but it always sounded so trite coming from him.

Not like from her mother. "My Normyn is clever and focused and strong!" Aurora would tell her. "She's got a powerful mind. Like a hammer. And if you find all the nails, and you put 'em in the right places, you can use that hammer to build anything, my girl!" And she'd grinned and ruffled her hair.

Yes. Dearest mother was right. Normyn could build anything. She could have anything she wanted. She would have anything she wanted, and she deserved it. And no one, not a soul, not even her useless siblings and her selfish father would stand in her way.

In the end, she wouldn't even let her beloved mother stand in the way. She supposed it was her only regret.

*

She came upon Red one evening walking home with a dopey Kumos at her side. Juggling bags of wares for restocking, she was clearly new here, and clearly lost.

Normyn went running up to her, crying, gasping. "Miss!" she cried. "Miss, you have to help me!"

Red dropped all her purchases when she turned to find the source of the shouting. "What? What?" Looking down, she finally spied Normyn, her dark orange fur all matted, with patches of blood. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Someone," Normyn choked out, and did her best not to swat at the Kumos who now took it upon herself to clean Normyn off a little bit. "Someone... killed my family. All of them. All of them. I... I'm all alone. Got nowhere to go. They might be after me." She leapt forward, placing her paws on Red's knees. "Please, hide me!"

Clearly shaken, Red nodded. "Okay, of course." She opened up the door and Normyn bolted in as fast as she could.

A Montre waiting inside fell back against the wall, startled. "Goodness! What on Earth?"

"A Feli, Fare!" cried the Kumos, staggering in after. "Someone killed her family. Red's letting her stay."

Ferrian turned his head mournfully to the Feli huddled in the corner. "Poor thing. Well... for what it's worth, welcome to our home."

With her face cloaked in the shadows, Normyn smirked.

*

"My... my Normyn, what have you done?" Aurora had whispered that night. She stumbled into the kitchen and had slipped and nearly fallen on the blood. And oh, there was so much blood.

"Do you remember what you said, mother?" Normyn nimbly climbed over the pile of bodies and strode up to her mother, nice and slow, tail swinging and never breaking eye contact. "You said that I had a powerful mind. You said I could make anything I wanted." She rolled her shoulders back, and she smiled. "I wanted to have a home just with you, away from these fools. So I made that happen."

Shaking her head, Aurora took one step back from her daughter. "You're a monster."

Normyn halted mid-stride, and her smile faltered, if only for a second. "Monster?" she said. "How could you say that, mother. I am everything you wanted me to be. I am clever, I am focused, and I am strong. And I am making my own world. It is what you yourself wanted from me. And you... you call me a monster." She drew a cleaver from the kitchen counter. Blood dripped from it's edge, and it's shadow fell over Aurora.

"And mother, you also told me that monsters aren't real."

*

"I can smell it on you," Ferrian said to her the next day, when Red and Winkii were gone to fetch Crowleigh. "And I don't buy it."

Normyn roused herself from looking sullen, draped over the arm of the sofa. "What?"

"You know what I mean," he said. She could see there was a slight glow in his red eyes. "You stink of evil."

"I know nothing of the sort," said Normyn, and stuck her nose up in the air. "How could you say such a thing about me? After everything I've--"

But Ferrian grabbed her by the scruff on her chest and pulled her forward to meet his face. "I don't know what you're planning," he said through his teeth, his breath strangely hot. "But if you put a single scratch on one member of my family, I swear I will drag you down to Hell where you belong."

Normyn allowed herself a little grin, then. "You talk big, Fairy," she said. "Don't worry, I won't touch your precious family--they're small fry. I'm after bigger things."

Ferrian glowered at her, but relinquished her just the same and stepped back. "I'm watching you, cat," he said.

"And if you get in my way," said Normyn, watching those gleaming eyes, "we'll see just what Hell has to say about you being here."

That self-righteous glare melted off of Ferrian's face. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Normyn said with a smirk.

But Ferrian wouldn't say a word to acknowledge it. He stooped down low and backed out of the room, eying her all the way.

And once he was gone, Normyn settled down on the sofa with a contented sigh. She could rest for now. But there was oh so much work to be done.

***

Update: Seems her fur's grown darker... and those blasted blood stains will never go away. Ha ha, "Out, out damned spot!" No, she doesn't mind the blood. It adds to the pity party when everyone thinks she's so sick she's always bleeding. It's probably from spending so much time with demons and the cursed, she figures. In any case, she's finding she rather likes her new colors. They're so... her.

***

I am Rasputin
let me draw you in
Take this evil grin
and love me for my sins