Tobias had yet to bond with his item when he was told he was going to live with a new family. A very nice family that lived in Belrad and had for many, many generations. Tobias did not particularly care about that, since he was still so little, but he was excited to have a family of his own.
The car that pulled up to the Academy gates was one that indicated extreme wealth - though that too was lost on Tobias. The human man who stepped out was tall, easily six feet, and was dressed in a tailored black suit. His serious expression matched the way he carried himself - he seemed intimidating without even trying. The man walked to the back of the car, then opened the door. Out stepped a middle-aged human woman, she wore her blond hair up in a bun, and was dressed in a sleek and expensive dress and heels.
She took a moment to look around the Academy grounds, pulling her dark sunglasses down a little for better examination. From her expression, she likely thought the place was subpar. This, too, was lost on Tobias. He was still focused on the fact that today, he would be going home to live with a family of his own. The Academy worker accompanying him urged him forward as she greeted the woman. Mrs. Imbrie, Tobias realized. Did that mean he was an Imbrie now too?
The woman, Marjorie, immediately lit up with a dazzling smile as she stepped forward to greet the both of them. The two adults spoke for a few moments before Marjorie finally addressed Tobias directly. She leaned over, all smiles and warmth, and held out a white-gloved hand for him to take. "Hello Tobias, I'm Marjorie, but you can call me Mum now. Are you excited to come home?" She spoke with her own excitement - and Tobias could not help but smile back as he placed his small hand into hers.
"Yes...!" He said - out loud.
Like most unbonded Meta children, Tobias bore no outward indicators as to what species he was, and in fact lacked quite a bit of pigmentation in general. What Marjorie saw was a small, eerily pale child, but she had been prepared for that. She lead him back to the car, and helped him inside. There was a prepared booster seat for him already in place, which she helped get him situated with. Once they were both ready, the driver started the car and then began the trip back to the house.
"I'm sure you're going to love it, Tobias. Our home has such a wonderful view of the city." Marjorie said as she began to look through her purse for something. Tobias didn't really care what his home looked like, or what kind of view it had - he just wanted a family of his own to love and be loved by.
Something fell out of the purse as Marjorie continued talking - Tobias wasn't really listening, the item that had fallen had captured his attention. It was a simple little thing - a talisman on a silver necklace. An eye outlined in red with a shocking blue pupil. It called to him - like no other item had before. He picked it up, and the world flashed with bright light momentarily. He heard Marjorie let out a little yelp, and felt the car jerk slightly, but the driver managed to maintain control.
When Tobias could see again, Marjorie was staring at him with wide eyes. "Tobias, honey, what did you touch?!" She asked, her friendly voice now had a somewhat panicked undertone to it. Tobias did not understand why, though.
"Don't know, was pretty..." He thought, though.. it felt like he was pushing them outward -- Marjorie gasped.
"Is that-- was that you?" She pressed a hand to her head, worry now turning to alarm and confusion.
"Think so..." Tobias replied - yes... that was him. It was so much easier to communicate this way - no need to talk. He'd never really liked talking anyway.
"I... I haven't even given you your item..." Marjorie's eyes drifted down to her purse where she was holding a little enamel pin in the shape of an angel's wings - the feathers looked almost opalescent.
"Got it just now? An eye... on a chain..." He shook his head- then froze as some of his hair crossed his vision. Bright red, just like the outline of the eye had been. He looked at his hands -- still deathly pale.
"The Mind's Eye Talisman..." Marjorie said to herself. "Tobias you weren't supposed to take that as your item..." She sighed - clearly annoyed now that she knew what was going on. Tobias simply shrugged - it was what called to him. Everyone knew that was how items worked.
---
The drive was not that long, for which Tobias was thankful for. He didn't really like the booster seat he was in - it was uncomfortable. Once the car was parked, the driver came to open the door again. Marjorie helped him out of his seat, and then out of the car. Tobias took a moment to gawk at the house - could it even really be called a house? It looked bigger than the main building at the Academy! The huge mansion that the Imbrie's called their home sprawled many, many acres, and boasted a large farm, a small church, and a massive garden park. Marjorie patted his head with her hand, then began to lead him inside.
"Your father is still in a meeting right now but you'll get to meet him at dinner. Let's take a look at your new room!" She said as she headed inside with him. The driver had gone ahead to open the door for them. Tobias nodded along, still overwhelmed by the sheer size and wealth of this new place he was to cal home.
The inside decor was largely sparse, though it spoke of immense wealth. All over the house, angel wing motifs decorated the architecture and decorations. Tobias began to wonder about that -- why so many angel wings...?
The room that Marjorie took him to was large and decorated in pastel blue and white. Tobias looked it over in wonder - there were so many toys to play with in here, he wondered if he'd even get through them all? Marjorie showed him where his clothes were, and where the nearest bathroom was. By the time they were done with a tour of the rest of the house, it was time for dinner.
The family ate in the main dining room - another large room with a large table with enough chairs to seat nearly 20 people, though the family really only consisted of Tobias himself, Marjorie, and his new father Edgar. His father was a serious looking man, also middle-aged, and largely seemed distracted when they were introduced. As Tobias ate his dinner, his parents were whispering to one another. He couldn't quite understand what they were saying, but every so often they would glance his way.
---
Despite the mishap with the wrong item, Tobias was accepted into the family seamlessly. And he was happy, too. Aside from the driver, Christopher, they also had a nanny named Myrtle that would take care of him when his parents were busy, and several maids... though Tobias' favorite was Katheryne. She would tell him all sorts of stories when she had time.
Every Saturday, the family would go down to the small church on the property, along with a handful of other families. Marjorie said they were all friends of theirs, and that Tobias was to be polite and get along with any children they might also bring to church with them. Tobias did not really understand most of what was talked about in the church... but over time, he did notice that there seemed to be a large emphasis on angels in his new family's life. This puzzled him immensely.
The one thing that his family did nitpick at him about was his habit of communicating solely through telepathy. Both Marjorie and Edgar told him to use his voice when speaking, so he did when talking to them or to the servants... except for Katheryne. She didn't mind his preferred method of communication, and wouldn't tattle on him either.
---
It took about a year for Tobias to grow to the next stage in a Meta's life - the Child stage. He woke one morning to the sensation of too-tight clothing, and something moving in the bed with him. He sat up, realizing that his head also felt a little heavy. He brought his hands up, feeling around until his fingers touched horns. Positioned atop his head and curved forward, almost ram-like in shape. As for the thing moving in the bed... he'd sprouted a tail. Whiter in color than his own skin, and there was a marking positioned on the spade-end that looked like an eye. It was around then that he noticed his vision had changed slightly, but he couldn't quite figure out how or why...
There was a knock at the door - Myrtle always came to wake him - and then the door opened. "Time to rise and shi- AH!!" Myrtle began to speak, only to cut herself off with a scream of terror upon laying her eyes on Tobias. He winced, immediately covering his ears with his hands. His senses felt sharper now, at least sharper than they had before, and the scream was so painful he thought his head might split in two.
"Stop screaming!" He projected the thought with enough force to stun Myrtle for a few seconds...
Which let Tobias hear the sound of footsteps running toward the room. Soon enough, Christopher came into the room - initially to check on Myrtle, though she could only mumble incoherently and point at Tobias. The tall man turned to stare. He remained more composed than Myrtle, but the fear was still evident on his face. For whatever reason, they were frightened of him.
---
It was a few hours before anyone came to actually speak to him. Shortly after Christopher had regained his composure, he'd pulled Myrtle out of the room and then shut the door behind them. It was then that Tobias learned that the door locked from the outside, and he had no way to get out. All of his attempts to communicate with anyone outside were ignored, until finally he accepted that no one was going to respond.
But it was still confusing, though. Why such violent reactions to his changes..? Surely they knew he would change, right?
His room had a mirror - the change in his vision was attributed to a new eye at the center of his forehead. Overall, he thought he looked nice? His horns and tail matched in color.
When the door did finally open, it was both parents that came into the room. Marjorie gasped in shock upon spotting him - Edgar looked simply furious.
"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded.
Tobias did not understand. "I-- what do you mean...?" He asked, forcing himself to use his voice, since they preferred it that way. Edgar sneered and looked to Marjorie.
"You told me there was a mistake with the item, not the entire damn child." He snapped. Marjorie wilted under his anger.
"There wasn't...!" She replied, "let-- let me call the Academy." She began to pull her phone out of her pocket.
"I'm not a mistake..." Tobias said slowly - had he heard him correctly..? Why were they reacting this way?
"We signed papers to adopt an Angelic child, not some Demonic filth." Edgar snapped back.
Tobias's world shifted violently - the signs had all been there, hadn't they? He hadn't seen them.
---
Tobias was ousted from the nice room in the mansion, and out into a guest house in the rear yard. He was forbidden from exiting it, not that he really could - the doors there also locked from the outside. Myrtle would come to deliver him food three times a day, often cold. At first, Tobias tried to plead with her - he could still be what they wanted, couldn't he? He'd always been good - always listened and did as he was told... but she never replied.
Eventually she would bring "gifts" with her. Books, some games, some movies to watch. All of them had one thing in common - that demons were inherently evil and had to be destroyed.
He gave up on pleading, falling into a deep depression and self-loathing. He'd always known what he was - what he would be - and thought they had known too. He wished with his entire being that he could change - that one day he'd wake up and have a pair of feathered wings, no horns, and no tail. They'd love him again if he did, surely.
Weeks turned into months, turned into years - Tobias remained alone, with only the small interactions with Myrtle giving him food to satiate any need for socialization. He wasn't even able to connect to the internet in the guest house.
Solitude was fine at first. He couldn't bear anyone seeing him so profoundly depressed anyway. But then depression turned to anger... and anger to resentment. It wasn't his fault. They had made the mistake. They had adopted him, and so it was their responsibility to take care of him, wasn't it? Wasn't it a parent's duty to love and care for their children, no matter what?
---
It was the third year in the guest house when he finally broke out of it. Along with better telepathy and more sensitive senses, his ability to move things with his mind had grown. It was a simple matter to force the lock open. Stepping outside, his senses were immediately assaulted by an array of stimuli. Sunlight, wind, the sounds of animals nearby going about their day - the smell of food cooking in the house across the yard. His head spun as he tried to adjust...
But before he could, a shrill voice sounded from the back door of the main house. "YOU GET BACK IN THERE!!!" Myrtle shrieked. The sound of her voice felt like nails being driven into his skull -- he wanted her to stop.
"Shut up, Myrtle!" He practically screamed in his own mind - projecting it onto her. She faltered in place, dazed by the sudden intrusion and the volume at which it was projected.
She was joined seconds later by Christopher, but he was carrying a weapon. A gun? Tobias could barely make it out - the sunlight was so, so bright. He raised it, took aim, and then fired. The gunshot boomed through the yard, and Tobias felt as if his head really might split open from the sound. He didn't even register the bullet until it dug into his right shoulder.
The pain that erupted seconds later ripped a shriek from his throat with such force it felt as if it might tear, too. A burst of psychic energy erupted from him - flattening everything in it's path.. including the guest house. He was bleeding now, but he couldn't spare a thought to attend to it - everything hurt so much and the screaming wouldn't stop --
Christopher was preparing to shoot again.
On instinct, Tobias reached outward though they were still several feet apart... his mind made the connection anyway - and ripped the gun right out of the human's hands. He threw it as hard as he could with his mind - it sailed out of sight, and hopefully out of mind. Myrtle turned to run back inside, Christopher was stunned in place for only a few seconds before he began to charge toward Tobias.
He'd only wanted to come outside - to be in the grass, to walk in the garden maybe - but they hadn't given him a chance to explain. They'd just... attacked him.
And he intended to defend himself.
Christopher wound a fist back, intending to hit him directly -- Tobias latched onto his legs with his mind and twisted.
The sickening crack that came next made him shudder-- but the scream that came from Christopher only heightened the overload he was already feeling. The man crumpled to the ground, legs twisted uselessly under him. He wouldn't stop screaming! Tobias needed him to stop screaming. He focused his mental energy on Christopher's neck, intending to cut off the sound-- he crushed the man's windpipe instead.
Now all he could do was make raspy whimpers as he suffocated on the grass- all the while staring at Tobias with such pure hatred and fear in his eyes. Tobias couldn't pull his gaze away -- not until movement in the corner of his vision caught his attention.
Edgar was coming toward him now, his own gun drawn. He fired -- Tobias was prepared this time, he covered his ears with his hands despite the protest in his shoulder. The bullet was snagged in the mental energy around him - rendering it useless. Edgar stared, dumbfounded.
"I only wanted to be outside!" Tobias pushed the thought out with such force that Edgar swayed in place, then fell down to one knee, hands gripping his head. Blood began to ooze from his nose. "I hate you! You were supposed to love me and you rejected me instead!" Tobias continued - more blood oozed from Edgar's nose... then his ears and mouth. Tobias couldn't stop himself - the rage he'd been feeling was simply too much to bear anymore.
He took a few steps closer to his 'father', who stared up at him in fear and revulsion... "You.. are unlovable- unworthy of it even-" Edgar rasped, spitting blood with each word.
They didn't love him. They wouldn't love him. They couldn't love him.
Tobias snapped his neck before the man could continue. His vision blurred as tears flooded his eyes -- it hurt, it hurt so much - everything hurt.
---
His memory blanks after that - from news reports, everyone in the house was found in various degrees of dismemberment. The culprit was never found. No mention of Tobias even came up - it seemed that no one knew he existed at all, save for the people who lived there... and the friends that had attended the church.
When his memory does pick up again, he's older, and standing outside the abandoned Academy grounds. Sometime during the time he was locked away inside the guest house, it had been attacked by an angry mob of humans.
"They are all evil..." was the first thought that came to mind.
