several ads for various products flash on the screen of a high-tech TV, before an important broadcast interrupts the viewing. "BREAKING NEWS, warning some of you may find the following footage disturbing, we've received recent footage of the United Space Nations greatest battalion taking control of a rebel village. Here you can see our fearless Commander Galvion taking the village by storm. And after showing them our Military prowess, the second in command, Commander Teresa shows those that gave up their hopeless fight, our compassion. She can be seen here carrying one of the children they forced to sacrifice themselves for their cause, onto one of our transport ships. More recent reports say she's even adopted him into their family! The U.S.N truly has-" The screen whirs down as it loses power.

  Galvion's reflection appears on the glass of the unpowered TV. white and grey fur covers his body, the missing tip of his ear tells the story of a past altercation and several scars show his skin through the fur. his dark blue eyes lock onto the movement in the reflection coming from the kitchen. The smell of frying eggs and meat waft through the house as Teresa labors around the kitchen. "Why did you take in that welp? You know the public will be expecting much of him?" Galvion's deep voice announces his arrival as Teresa barely takes notice, and continues to dart around the kitchen. she takes the time to reply over her shoulder amongst the frantic cooking. "And he is perfectly capable of meeting those standards. I have faith in him."

  Galvion chest puffs up with a scoff as his eyes roll from one side to the other. "I have faith in OUR son. To think you actually adopted him… what made you do it? You have seen through countless battles. Killed many of his kind, so why now? Why him?" Teresa stands still for the first time that morning, almost quivering for a moment as she recalls her memory. "His eyes. When i looked into his eyes it was like looking at our boy. I couldn't bear to think what I'd done. That id robbed him of his mother, father, probably his whole family. Men who would gladly give their lives just at the prospect of hope, however little, that's who we fought before. Soldiers. Not families. Not women and children. I couldn't think what our boy would do without me."

  Galvion's eyebrow raises at the answer, as if instinctively. "So, it was a motherly instinct then? I see… soon then, when you're out of this phase, I'll send him to the orphanage as planned." she turns, her lava colored hair flowing in the same direction and resting around her shoulders. her black and brown fur stands on edge, as if to directly challenge Galvion's presence. "He is my boy now. You will do no such thing."

  His eyes narrow at her aggressive display. his broad shoulders lean in, collapsing on her stature. "If that thing disrupts YOUR ability to follow my orders on the field. I WILL have him removed." The weight of his voice drums at her very heart as she shudders to think of the consequences. Galvion struts toward his study, throwing open the doors as his rhythmic steps reduce into silence. Slowly, Teresa lowers her guard once more. her eyes meet the floor and her brow furrows. her stance lowers, but before she collapses, the sound of two young voices pick her up. the laughing and talking of youth catches her attention and she gazes outside at her two young boys. Two cubs are skipping and laughing in the yard, one resembles his father, sporting his snow-white fur. The other, a coat as black as the night. They haven't taken notice of anything other than each other.

  "Come on Valion! Keep up ahaha" The white fur commands attention, as the young cub prances around the large backyard. "Stop Osiris! You run too fast!" The other cub's black fur glides across the glade, almost invisible in the dawning sun. Their young years seem to pass as quickly as they were. Into their Teen years, Osiris's stature and silhouette has grown to closely resemble his father's yet its tempered by her mothers gentle facial features. Valion, however, seems to have a more slim and sleek build, but it acts as a deceptive veil, hiding his toned body.

  Valion strides down the street toward his familiar suburb, books in hand and schoolbag slung over one shoulder. The silence he's used to around him is replaced with the murmuring of a group of other classmates ahead. He recognizes the scales on one of the group, the feathers of another and fur of the last. Finally they all turns toward him and snicker over their shoulders. "here comes the reject!" His classmates hurl insults as he tries to pass by. "not even his OWN family was good enough, now we gotta deal with the runt?" Vallion winces, as if their words cut him directly. They slowly circle him, like a hungry pack of wild animals. Vallion gets pushed back to the center by a large lizard type classmate. "where ya going? just cos you live in the big house don't mean you're one of them!" Vallion tried to ignore them, staring into the asphalt.

  SMACK, thud.

  His dizzying vision slowly comes into focus. a clenched fist rests at the side of his classmate. 'Huh. i guess he punched me.' Valions thoughts try to catch up with the moment as the searing pain on the side of his head confirms his assessment. a cold stream drips down his head as he slumps up to his knees. The scarlet pool on the road catches his eyes, as he slowly drags his hands across his head. Valion peers at his hand, covered in blood before balling it into a fist. He barely has time to recognize who he throws his punch at, but the sudden force of impact tells him he hit whoever it was. The reptile stumbles backward before taking an involuntary seat on the road and crying out in pain. "AAAAGHHH, WHAT THE?!" He rubs his chin before realizing his own cold blood covered his palm.

  The reptile narrows his eyes, and wipes the welled up tears from his eyes. Sniffle "right, this time, you're really gonna get it." The pack starts to close in on Valion, as he braces himself to run at the first chance. A flutter of feathers covers his vision, and his arms become restricted as the avian grabs him from behind. Valion tries to shake him off, but the sudden impact to his stomach quickly takes over his thoughts. one after another, a hail of punches bruise his face and body. After what seemed like hours, Valion hears a voice in his ringing ears. SQUAK "Guys! he's coming! come on, we gotta go!" Valion sinks to the floor as his blurry vision tries to make out the silhouette of his possible savior, or worse, his next assailant. His mind races, as he tries to find his own two feet and run, but his dizzy vision causes him to collapse once more.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Through the ringing, he hears a familiar voice. "not again... VALION, IM COMING!" his eyes, barely agape, starts to recognize some features of the face staring at him. "O-...Osiris?" His voice is raspy from the exertion. "I've got you, come on!" A strong arm scoops his own, and Valion finds his own weight being lifted. slowly, they start pacing towards their large home. "was it the bullies again?" Osiris shoots the question between labored strides. "nope, my best mates!" Valion retorts, as he looks out the corner of his eye, expecting a reaction from his brother, who simply smirks before wiping it away with a statement.

  "mum's not going to like this you know? She hates those bullies."

  "She doesn't like me fighting back either, but what else can i do?" Valion pauses as his eyes narrow. "Dad doesn't care about me, but if he did, he'd be happy i fought back."

  Osiris's head turns to his brother, a shocked look plastered on his face. "oooooohhhh trying to impress father now, are we? and here i thought you didn't give a damn what he thought about you."

  Valion chuckles at his jest. He almost forgets about his injuries, before the pain reminds him again. "oof... hahaha, I DON'T! I'm just saying... you know? stating the facts?"

  Osiris helps him up the steps in front of their home as he responds. "alright hush! we just got to get to the first aid kit! If we're lucky, mum isn't even home"

  Osiris reaches for the door handle before it twists, almost on its own. the door slowly swings open to reveal their mother with crossed arms and an irritated look on her face. she clicks her tongue at them before addressing them. "It seems you are both VERY unlucky!" both of their ears fold backwards as they slink into their house. An hour passes of lectures given in a one way conversation between mother and sons before her tone finally switches from aggressive to concerned. "And look at the state of you? I'm just worried that you'll fall in with the wrong kind of people..." Valion, avoiding his mothers gaze, retorts under his breath. "you mean like MY kind?" Teresa's ear twitches as she lowers her voice. "that's not what i meant, and you know that." she embraces Valion, his blood staining her shoulder. "you belong with us, and i want you to be the best of us. forget what anyone else says, just keep looking forward, and never forget who you want to be!" her words of encouragement invigorate her sons, and their ears flip back up again. "now! lets have a look at the nasty little scuff you got!" The three spend the rest of the night bonding around an open first aid kit until dusk envelopes the house.

  Valion and Osiris spend their education together, growing as brothers, and as young adults. The days of lectures and assignments blend together, as they gain a better understanding of the world around them. "-And now, we've come to the subject of our unity of planets!" an enthusiastic voice fills the auditorium as Vallion and Osiris take notes amongst their senior classmates. "Commander Galvion personally unified these planets from the control of their barbaric predecessors, and under a single government we are all ruled under the body known as the United Space Nations! or U.S.N for short!" The professor pauses but the room is filled with the scratching of pens and typing on holograms. "All planets are under the U.S.N's control, including their wealth, food, water, and various other resources! of course, each planet will get their share after its harvested and redistributed, but for those that live at the heart of the U.S.N on its capital planet, Planet Vehyma we benefit and collect the most of these resources! now turn to page 247 of your textbooks for the chapter on liberation!"

  Vallion reaches into his bag and pulls out a glass tablet that glistens as its placed on the tabletop. the screen whirs to life as it displays a hologram of the text book that automatically spreads open to the desired page. The textbook displays pictures of various planets in complete destruction, as native homes are replaced with manufactured buildings. lifeless bodies of soldiers are displayed under the sub section of each planet in the textbooks chapter. Valions breathing becomes rapid, his heartbeat starts to thump as if it were jumping out his chest, his eyes dart across the words and pictures of each planet before recognizing a familiar planet name. 'Planet Rusa' after examining the clay buildings, his whole body freezes as if reliving memories long since past. the sounds around him are drowned out with the voice of his mother, so loud that he feels as if its crushing his skull that just repeats 'I'm sorry'. His hands press to the side of his head and cover his long ears, but the voices keep growing louder as he grits his fangs. As he is about to be overwhelmed, a hand grasps his shoulder and out of instinct, Valion throws his own arm to thrash it out of the way.

  "Woah! Valion?! what's happening to you?" Slowly he realizes he's starting at Osiris clutching his forearm, questioning his response. he tries to stammer out an apology. "i... shit, I'm sorry... i really... just need some air" Valion hastily packs his things as he practically runs out of the room and into the open courtyard. the warm sun hitting his face helps to ground him to reality, as he sorts out his own jumbled thoughts like a puzzle. Osiris rushes into the courtyard to catch up to Valion, but always seems one step behind, struggling to keep up with his pace. "you want to tell me what happened back there? you looked like your whole world was crumbling in front of your eyes!" Valion stops abruptly as Osiris slams against his pack with an uncomfortable thud. Valion slowly turns to face him, their eyes lock into each other. "Osiris. He did it to my planet. Dad. he... 'liberated' my planet. I was never sure until today, but I'm so stupid for not seeing it sooner. looking at those images, it was him. he destroyed it. everything. my culture. my... parents." Osiris can only stare in response. no words he tries to put together seem like the right ones. He simply approaches him closer, and embraces him, whispering into his ear. "im... so sorry." Valion's stare slowly lowers as he closes his eyes and brings his brother embrace in closer. The two of them engulfed in emotions continue the moment, their arms tight around each other, as a tear rolls down their faces.