Tzvi

[ Tags: Therianthropy, Shapeshifter, Monster, Feral Transformation, Mutation, Alchemy, Victorian Era; Genre: Horror ]

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Tzvi: Tzvi is a little six-year-old boy kid with tousled brown hair and hazel eyes, one pupil marred by soot. His white shirt, dirty and wrinkled, hangs open, buttons torn away, leaving his small chest bare. Below, rough brown shorts cling just above his knees, frayed at the edges, resting low on his hips. Barefoot, his small, dirty feet ache as they tread the ground, thighs exposed, marked by tiny cuts from the rough play. A deer mask, a family emblem, rests on his head—crafted from wood, hand-painted, with antler-like branches, held in place by a cord that wraps snugly around his young brow.

As he walks barefoot, Tzvi's soles are as tough as worn-out shoe leather. He goes without underwear, feeling no shame in his nudity, wearing shorts only because his mother told him to when stepping outside. Tzvi sees his small, hairless penis as just a tool for relieving himself, unbothered by the idea of doing it in public. He’s untouched by sexual urges, still innocent and firmly in the realm of prepubescence.

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Tzvi's mask: Tzvi wears a deer mask, a family legacy, now just him and his mother. The antlers signal his "adult" status, a title he claimed at five when he ditched the Protestant charity school to dive into the pathways, sweeping them clean from the inside out.

Tzvi is blind in one eye from a work accident; the homeowners, forgetting he was inside while he swept the chimney, ignited the wood. He nearly cooked alive, choking on soot as he fought to escape. Now, his throat burns with every word, so he gestures wildly to save his voice from exhaustion. His legs are still marked by the scars of that reckless climb, a reminder of his narrow escape.

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Tzvi's family: Tzvi's family is just his mother, a once-loving woman now consumed by silence and violent outbursts. Yet, Tzvi clings to the memories of her gentler days. He had an older brother, whose clothes he wears now, brutally murdered by a man in a wolf mask. Tzvi watched, frozen in horror, as the masked figure ripped into his brother's stomach with razor-sharp teeth. Oddly, he felt no sorrow; to him, it was just a deer taken down by a wolf, and all he remembers is the rush of adrenaline screaming at him to escape. His father, lost in a mine, is a stranger to him.

Tzvi makes his home under a bridge by the river, in a dilapidated shack teeming with rats. Like everyone in the village, he has no memory of a human face, not even his mother’s; he’s so used to the sight of faces hidden behind animal head masks that the true visage of humanity is a distant mystery to him. Tzvi is a child grappling with speech difficulties, doing his best to dodge any words that have that tricky 'r' sound.

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Tzvi's village: Nestled deep in a vibrant forest, Tzvi's village showcases stunning Victorian architecture. The villagers have a distinctive tradition: each family wears an animal mask that reflects their unique traits. From a young age, children fully embrace the identity of the animal they represent, gradually losing their sense of self and embodying the instincts of that creature. They begin to navigate the world through the lens of their masks, disregarding the humanity of themselves and others, immersed in a primal existence devoid of human dignity.

In Tzvi's world, masks dictate not just identity but social hierarchy, steeped in prejudice. A rat mask brands its wearer as repugnant, a hyena mask marks one as a criminal, worthy only of a noose. Yet, those clad in dog masks are hailed as paragons of loyalty, devoted to their superiors and the law, navigating a landscape where every mask tells a story of worth and disdain.