azazel kinthaert [d5] [fin]

You are the exact opposite of your half-brother. That's all that needs to be said about you, except you have no idea you have an indirect sibling. If there was an actual biography of you, and that one sentence was the only thing written on the thick parchment, you'd believe there was a mix-up. You'd let the hard cover of the book smack against the linoleum and back away. In that massive brain of yours, that sentence would be a lie.

But that's not the lie.

Your life is.

Your half-brother, Sephtis Raziel, is linked to you by a reoccurring absent father. Sephtis is older than you by a little under a year, which shows how fast your father moved. Your father was first in love with Sephtis's mother, or at least he was as close to being in love as he could be. Your father was a sick man with a poisoned soul and wanted nothing but to reek havoc on the people he encountered. Sephtis was a child conceived out of happiness, even with such a dark force in the house. He had stayed by her side through the labor, but shortly after he realized he was too young to be a father; he had his whole life ahead of him. He was frightened, and so he fled.

Your mother was quite young when your father unleashed his cupidity onto her. She was new to drinking at bars and allowed your father to get her completely wasted. They had a one night stand and never encountered each other again. Your mother was harrowed when she discovered that you were growing steadily inside of her, but she was determined to keep you, to raise you, because failure was not an option for her.

The main reason you never knew, and probably will never know, of your relation to Sephtis was your differing last names. His mother believed that she would one day marry the deadbeat who blessed her with a child, so she permitted Raziel to be scribbled on the birth certificate. Your mother, on the other hand, never even learned the man's first name. If you one day found out about the Raziel's, you'd consider yourself lucky for not being cursed with the last name. Not only does it bring squalid qualities, but your full name would have far too many z's in it for anyone's liking.

For five years, you and your mother lived in a tiny home, struggling to make ends meet. During these years, you came to love your babysitter more than your mother. Now, of course, you realize that she had to be absent. She juggled three jobs while trying to single-handedly raise a young boy. Your mother was good to you, though. She spoiled you when she could and always made lavish occasions out of your birthday. At night she would weave a thin gossamer sheet between reality and fantasy with her bedtime stories.

Halfway through your fifth year on earth, your mother married a friend of many years, a man who earned a myriad of wealth from a rig he discovered. The marriage was one bursting in love and happiness, so you could do nothing but approve of the man you could now call your father, though you preferred to call him by his first name, Jay. Almost immediately after the wedding, your mother's womb was filled again. Excluding the elusive Sephtis, you were given four half-siblings.

The eldest was Urial, a quick boy with much to say. Following was Enoch, a boy filled with humor and intelligence. The only girl of the set was Deity, a girl filled with love and happiness to spread to the world. Finally, the youngest Kinthaert was Cassius, a sickly boy born prematurely.

Your mother thought it best to give you Jay's last name while Urial was sprouting inside of her. Your mother thought that she could fabricate a story about Jay being her original lover and that they had wanted to wait a few years before marriage. Considering the lack of popularity she held and how close and active he had been in her life, the facade was declared true, and she could finally place her dishonorable past behind her.

The fiction she told not only her parents, but you as well, would be the next big lie written into your life. Much like you encountering Sephtis will never be, your mother will most likely never tell you of your real relation to Jay's four children. Your mother has always wanted you to be happy, and she believed having a unified family was what would make everyone happy. And for twelve years, it did.

Three months prior to what would be the 67th reaping, Jay's rig had almost run dry, much like the money he spoiled you and your siblings with. He had to ditch the project to be a factory worker at a nearby refinery. You were the first to notice, for you were the one who took the bills to the mailbox. When you asked him why he waited longer to send out the bills, he simply told you not to worry.

Two months prior to what would be the 67th reaping, major cutbacks had to be made. Urial, Enoch, and Cassius were no longer allowed new clothing. They were to wear hand-me-downs from you or any brother older than them. Nice beds were traded out for garage sale bunk beds. The electricity had to be turned off a few days each month. Baths could be taken three times a week, and usually the water had to be shared. Breakfast was usually nonexistent and dinner was as scarce as it could be.

One month prior to what would be the 67th reaping, your mother told you she had to leave your father. "It's too stressful, dear. We're deep in debt. Even if I was employeed, my income combined with Jay's would not be enough to support the five of you, not even in the cheapest house in the district. I'll take you and Cassius and Deity and we can go move in with your grandparents. Jay will take Urial and Enoch and move into a more affordable house near his work. I love your father (she always seemed to stumble across that two word phrase), Azazel, but our love isn't what it used to be. I know that this will be hard on all of you, but it would be even harder to keep living this way. You're all underfed and infected with diseases because of the poor conditions we put you in. I will always love you, dear, and so will your father." She had to excuse herself after the last sentence.


You were the only child to be told about the upcoming winnowing for the time being. "With the reaping so soon, we don't want to place an even bigger burden on your siblings," Jay had grunted a few days after. Your mother made you promise to keep it to yourself, and you reluctantly agreed, although you had a parley raging in your head. You always have been obedient, but you are an open book. You are as transparent as the ocean water siding up District 4 when it comes to secrets. You promised despite the conflict, for you both knew that she could easily guilt you into a promise. You are an easily persuaded person, as well as someone who likes to keep his family happy.

With Urial being twelve this year, you've done anything your mother or Jay has asked of you anyways. You cut your dark, shaggy hair into a clean and professional look. You watched your neighbors' children to help afford for the wires framing your dark brown eyes. You stopped spending time with your friends to help cook meals and wash clothes in the evening. You became indecisive when it came to making a choice; you had been whipped into choosing what was better for your family than for yourself.

Your parents had ripped your spine out of your back and tucked it neatly under a carpet. You had lost your stance in that house; all your courage was gone. In that house, they had turned a sweet lover into a week fool.