Februwhump 2024 - Sonic the Hedgehog AU

Day 24: 'I'm Doing This Because I Care About You' - Regan and Kai - AU1

(BACK WITH THE OC ANGST MFSSSSS /affectionate
Warning, this will very much lean into something more heavy so
TW: Cult themes, blood, mutilation, child abuse (psycological and phyical, manipulation, and deaths (including a child death))

The day was sunn, as it was always meant to be, and the flowers bloomed gracefully at their feet.

Ivella.

Butterflies and bees danced happily on the blades of grass.

Ivella!

The clouds swelled, making the Sun's glow come down in a rain-like way on his face, and-

REGAN.

She snapped her head up in attention, looking at the man in front of her. Her hand was frozen, hovering over the drawing she was working on. The wax she was using for a crayon melted and squished in her hand.

Kai did not look happy.

Regan's eyes darted to the floor, trying to escape the ice-cold glare Kai was giving her. She quickly let go of the wax and tried grabbing the drawing. Kai beat her to it, snatching it off the floor and inspecting it. His lip curled into a sneer as he gazed over the sketch of her brother. Kai looked back to the eleven-year-old with a mixture of angry disgust and condescending pity.

"Regan," his soft voice did not at all match the ghastly Hare's face. "What is this?" He said it in a way a concerned parent would confront their child about a weapon or drugs.

"Is this what I've taught you too create?" He continued. Regan shook her head, feeling shame crawl its was around her stomach. Kai tsked at the pitiful girl. "It's wrong, Ivella. It celebrates neither Gaea nor myself. Practically sacreligious, dear."

"I'm sorry..." Regan whispered.

Kai glanced at the drawing again. "You are a child of skill, but I fear you're usong it in such a meaningless way." Regan's fingers tightened around her jeans.

Anything to do with her brother was not meaningless.

"And it seems- with the... glorifying was you depict... him, that you doubt me- their sacrifice to you."

"No!" Regan cries out, her voice louder and more desperate than she intended.

He stopped, staring down at her. "You're daring to raise your voice? At me?"

The Goat struggled to choke down the lump in her throat. She opened her mouth to respond, though realized it would be impossible to say anything without bursting into tears.

She looked at the man she once regarded as a leader- a god. Perhaps even a father. Now, she couldn't look at those pale, dead eyes without remembering what he'd done. The way he smiled kindly at her as she screamed until her voice was gone.

He watched as the ten-year-old stumbled on her father's blood.

As her dying mother wraped her shivering hand around her ankle.

As he killed her four-year-old brother before her eyes.

As her admiring fear and awe of him turned into a boiling fire of hate and rage that would surely kill her if she didn't satisfy it.

That was all a year ago. Her bitter loathing against him hadn't shifted an inch. But her heart still had plenty of room for terror whenever he was around.

She recalled the way he scooped her sobbing form into his arms as he patted her back. He didn't turn her away. She could still see her brother's corpse.

"It's all over, my dear. We can go home now. It's all for the best."

All for the best. The murderer called them sacrifies. Sacrifices! For her! She didn't want sacrifices, she wanted her family!

She had wailed as much to him as he dragged her to him home and calmly locked her in her new bedroom. Regan clawed and slammed her body against the door all night.

The only sleep she got was when she fainted at the realization that the Margo family's blood had soaked her clothes.

Since then, Kai had clothed and fed her- combed her curly blonde hair and complimented her fighting. Her killing.

She hated killing as much as she'd hate to be killed.

"Are you even listening, Ivella?" Ivella wasn't her name. It was an irritating nickname that Kai insisted on using since she was six. But her name was Regan.

Still, she nodded her head painfully, responding to that wretched pet name.

Kai grabbed her arm. Her body fought to recoil against him, but a sickening feeling of loneliness kep her from fighting the only person who dared to show her a hint of affection. It was sick and twisted, yet her body refused to fight back.

Stinging pain suddenly consumed her arm. Kai stared almost contently at the blood leaking from Regan's arm. He shifted the blade in his hand and continued to trace it along her forearm.

Regan couldn't help but let a small cry of pain escape her throat, as much as she tried stifling it. Kai held her arm tighter, drawing her to him. "I know, I know..." He cooed carefully. "I hate to do this, I really do. Please just remembering that this is your own doing."

My how it amazed her- the way his voice shifted from bitter and cold, to soft and sympathetic in just a moment.

It was that shift - that shift to the sweet and caring version Kai put on - which caused Regan to melt sadly into his embrace.

"There, I know... I know..." He sighed, allowing her to rest her head on his chest. "Don't cry." He chided. "You can't cry when it's your fault."

Still, Regan felt her bod shiver and flinch with each sob and cry of pain. WIth a huff that emulated irritation, Kai continued to cautiously crave the blade into Regan's arm. She could have sworn he was tracing patterns into her skin.

Eventually, he stopped and pushed Regan away, making the girl dazily sit up and face him. "Look." He ordered, ponting to her arm. Her eyes hesitantly gazed at her arm, seeing the mess of blood, cuts, and scars it had become.

Amont the cuts, Kai had carved a delicate heart on the back of her wrist.

"Do you know why I call you Ivella?" He asked. Regan knew the reason, but it was better to shake her head and listen to his ramblings. Better than getting intensely quizzed on everything about the reason.

Kai smiled, his pale lips stretching across is quartz skin. "Ivella means love. I call you that because it's a perfect reminder to the reason I do all of this to you." He pointed to the hear. "And that will be a beautiful reminder for you, Ivella."

He grabbed her shoulder, suddenly pulling ehr closer. "I'm doing this because I care about you."

He let go and patted her head, smiling as he didn, and stood. He didn't notice the rust-red patch he left on her blonde hair. "We'll wrap those up tomorrow. They aren't that deep, so you'll be fine." And with that, he left- locking the door behind him as he did each night.

Regan held her shaking arm, glancing at her bed. It felt too far, so she just crumpled in on herself and wept.