Self-Control (Beastars LouisxOc)

N&N ~16

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Nurture over Nature

A funny phrase is it not?

Nurture... over Nature...

Or is it...

Nature over Nurture

You see... Nurture over Nature implies that... no matter what family you are born into... no matter the blood and genes running through your veins... that your mannerisms or personality will be defined by how you are raised. Nurture over Nature means that even if you are born from evil... if you are raised good, raised to care and cherish all... that that is how you are going to see and treat the world. You will see all life as something worth protecting, worth preserving... The sun will always be shining, 'You reap what you sew' kinda logic, 'All good things come to those who wait' morals... 'Good will prosper' bullshit...

BUT...
Nature over Nurture...

That implies the opposite... It means blood... and genes... and instincts... always win. Nature over Nurture means that no matter how good... or how evil you try to be, that you will forever give in to the code embedded in your soul. The loved will be good... the broken will be bad... There is no way around it... no way past it... no way to change it... You're a devil raised as an Angel? Your horns will shatter that halo you parade around... An angel trying to run with the Devils? Your innocence and righteous morals will shine through that carefully created facade... You can't hide your true colors forever... not when they scream inside you to be set free... You're doing nothing but lying to yourself to think you could ever be anything other than what you are...

Preditor... and Prey...

"Ivory...?"

"..."

"Ivory!"

"Hm~ yes?"

"Pay attention will you kid..." Gouhin scolds his patient.

"Uh-haaaaaaa, ok geez I get the gist of it, 'Try something funny and your head gets blown off...' it's not rocket science..." The young female hybrid sighed dramatically before adding the sarcastic comment.

"One of your parol officers will be with you at all times and will be equipped with a strong sedative should you~"

"Lose control?" Ivory raised an eyebrow, finishing her doc's sentence.

"Make a break..."

"God I've been doing this for a year and a half already you know..." The young carnivore chirped.

"To take part in this event you have to agree and comply with these terms... are you going to do so?" Gouhin remained calm.

It pissed Ivory off that she could never get under the panda's skin... He was always so calm and collected... And nothing she said irritated him. Sure he'd raise his voice a few times and tell her off but that was the extent of it.

"Hey... do you think there should be a law preventing~ this?" Ivory leaned back on the chair, looking up at the ceiling with her hands folded in her lap.

"Preventing what?" Gouhin questioned.

"Inter-species breeding..." Ivory explained.

"..." The room fell silent.

"I think there should be..." Ivory turned her head to look out the window.

"And why is that?" Gouhin asked interested.

This is the first time Ivory had brought up something like this. Something that actually would be discussed during one of Gouhin's rehabilitation sessions.

"Do you think I would have turned out differently if I was born just gazelle or just leopard?" The young hybrid shifted her gaze around the room, not focusing on anything in particular.

"Probably..." The panda shrugged.

"I mean your childhood was not a common one,"

"Yeah no, 'cause is totally common for parents to threaten to eat their children," Ivory huffed.

"..." Gouhin stared at his patient.

Ivory was mentally challenging to deal with for most people at the best of times... her quick tongue and witty comments made her hard to argue with and win against. Her personality was also way more dominant than most female carnivores which made other animals weary around her. That... and she was never one to open up... when Melon and Ivory first met Gouhin, Ivory did nothing without the blessing of her brother, as far as Gouhin could tell he was and is the only animal she trusts completely, the only one she'd talk about her feelings and fears with.

"Do you think your experiences made you who you are, or you are who you are just because of who you were born and the circumstances you went through?" (I know that makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE but read it slowly and see if you can sort of understand,)

"Of course my circumstances made me who I am, I wouldn't be a social outcast if I wasn't a freak of nature! I wouldn't need a second name just because my first one was given as a means to justify the end of my life! I would have had a normal school life and not have been locked up in a fucking penitentiary for half of it! I would be normal!!" Ivory ranted, breathing harshly at the end.

"I can't act like a normal herbivore... there is no possible way no matter how hard I try... and the only way I know to feel like a normal carnivore is to kill... to embrace the demon known as instincts," The young carnivore gritted her teeth glaring at the ground, her sharp claws digging into her palms.

"You're angry... That's ok," Gouhin folded his arms and nodded.

'She's finally opening up... I wonder what has happened to make her change her view on these sessions...' Gouhin thought to himself.

"I think those people who preach that Nurture over Nature shit are morons..." Ivory curled her tail around her leg, her ears lowering with her eyebrows angeld down.

"You don't share their beliefs... that's fine~" Gouhin spoke.

"It's more than that..." Ivory lifted her sunset colored eyes to stare into Gouhin's pitch-black ones.

"Nurture over Nature literally translates to 'Ignore what's inside and be like the people around you...' How is that ok?" Ivory questioned.

'Well shit... talk about a grade A question.' Gouhin cleared his throat.

"Society has these twisted ideas of what everyone should be, how they should look, how they should act and it goes against everything our DNA stands for..." A low growl vibrated in the back of Ivory's throat.

"..." Gouhin said nothing, the panda just stood there and listened to his patient.

"But Nature over Nurture..." Ivory chuckled, the short bursts slowly turning into full out fits of laughter.

"That is the true way to live... the only true way to survive in our world..." The female carnivore smirked.

'And down the drain goes all hope I had for her..." Gouhin internally sighed.

For a second... a deranged, hopeful second... Gouhin thought that Ivory might actually change for the better... But oh was he wrong... there was no saving someone so damaged, and Ivory knew this, so she pretended to 'care' and 'connect emotionally' for kicks and giggles... It was an old trick, one she had pulled countless times... but somewhere, deepdown Gouhin believed she was crying for help, wanting to change for the better.