Toxapex

Toxapex was born with a strange mutation: the venom glands of a snake, which he could use to coat almost any object with a deadly poison. This ability made him more difficult than most hatchlings to raise, as he did not fully understand its danger. Fortunately, his parents managed to keep him out of trouble before he was old enough to fully control himself.

Even at a young age, Toxapex was fiercely protective of his younger brother, Tempest. The two were almost inseparable, and though they often fought as most siblings did, they always had each other's backs.

Things began to change shortly after Toxapex matured, however. His mutation made him a promising candidate for a warrior, and nearly everyone around him, his parents included, encouraged him to join.
Eager to contribute to his clan, Toxapex gladly accepted the chance to become a warrior, and was appointed the student of Drizzle. The spiral soon found he had a natural talent for combat, delivering flurries of claw strikes almost effortlessly and sidestepping his opponent's strikes with ease.

All of this personal success came at the cost of his relationship with Tempest, however. His training was long and often intense, and Toxapex often had little time for his brother afterwards. Eventually, he stopped making time for Tempest altogether, canceling plans with him - sometimes at the last minute - in order to hone a new battle technique. As a result, the two spirals grew more and more distant from each other. When the time came for Tempest to strike out on his own as a world traveler, he didn't even bother to say goodbye to his brother - instead leaving a note behind detailing his first destination, the Shifting Expanse, before gathering his things and flying off, with only the gentle glow of the lava pools illuminating the dark early morning.

When Toxapex discovered what his brother had done, he was crushed. He blamed himself for Tempest's decision to leave, believing he could have avoided this if he had just been a better sibling. Not knowing what else to do, he threw himself into his training even more, attempting to process his guilt and frustration using the one thing he felt was left to him. His parents attempted to slow him down out of concern, but he refused to listen. Toxapex's life became little else but sleeping, eating, and training, while those around him could only stand and watch.

With time, Toxapex began to mellow out again, as thoughts of his brother began to fade. Though he continued to train intensely, he gradually regained the life he'd once had outside of training. His efforts to improve in combat soon paid off, and he became one of the Ashfall Wastes's most skilled warriors. Despite everything, life had become...okay.

At least, until what remained of his brother silently flew into camp one day, observing his former clanmates with those cold, unnatural eyes.

Toxapex instantly recognized Tempest, despite how different he'd become, and those old regrets and grief welled up in him once more. The older spiral rushed out to meet him, throwing his arms around him and apologizing profusely. Yet Tempest - no, he was Hive now - seemed to only faintly remember him, and after an uncomfortable pause, detached himself from Toxapex in a stiff, almost clinical way, then moved past him to observe the rest of camp. Toxapex felt his vision began to blur. Remorse turned to anger as a single question burned in his mind.

Who did this to you?

Shortly after Hive returned to the March, Toxapex dropped out of the clan's battle ranks. Driven by revenge and guilt over his role in his brother's state, he became obsessed with finding out who had made Tempest into something so..alien, and ensuring that whoever the culprit was received every ounce of the agony they deserved. He took up a job as a hired assassin, becoming infamous for taking out marks with daggers coated in his own venom, and used the work as a way to gather information.

Most importantly, he's made an attempt to rekindle his sibling bond with Hive, despite the other's lack of interest. Toxapex refuses leave his brother behind again, believing who he used to be is still in him somewhere.

He has to be.

---