Chapter Text
Nathaniel Wesninski was accustomed to pain, both physical and emotional.
Sometimes the wounds that were inflicted upon him left scars - meandering, silvery things that served as a reminder to Nathaniel that his actions had consequences (these lessons were ones that were not easily forgotten). Sometimes they left him with nightmares which he would wake up from, desperate and despairing (and although Nathaniel always woke up, the nightmare didn't end when he opened his eyes - that he decided, was the worst part).
From a young age he had been exposed to violence in a variety of different forms, sometimes it manifested in the shape of his father's blade digging into his jugular, serving as a warning that Nathaniel should not test his patience again. Later on it presented itself through the brutal torture that Riko Moriyama inflicted upon his body. Although the weapon of choice changed according to who was dishing out the punishment, one thing remained the same - Nathaniel Wesninski held a lower position than that of those around him and he was therefore unable to stop them.
He dreamt of it though. When night time came he dreamed of blood and anguish, knives and fists (if his father knew he would probably be proud). Sleepless nights spent in his childhood bedroom transformed into sessions spent plotting the downfall of his father. He imagined gripping one of his sharpest blades so tightly that he could almost feel the handle biting into the toughened skin of his palm. He ached to map out the weaknesses of the human body on his father in all the places that he had taught him when he had just been a boy. Nathaniel remembers his younger self well, perpetually bony and barely adolescent he had hardly cried during his father's first lesson, that was until he got into bed later that night and the blood had sept past his bandages into his sheets.
Similarly, restless nights in the Nest turned into long hours spent imagining his hands around Riko's throat, lips pale as he begged to be released, eyes desperate as he realised that Nathaniel would do no such thing. Revenge and the possibility of it meant that the youngest Wesninski's numbered days had not been for nothing.
Nathan had crafted his son into something cruel and unforgiving. Riko had built upon his work, ensuring that those who dared to get too close to Nathaniel would cut themselves on his sharp edges and spiteful tongue. They'd made him into a monster.
Damaged and considered to be an unpredictable investment, Nathaniel was still better suited to be a Raven than his captain was. Riko inflicted pain but Nathaniel understood it, he knew how to utilise the art of manipulation and exerted the authority that he had earned. Nathaniel was able to get people to do things without the threat of a knife or a raised fist. Riko wanted to be worshipped but the only way he knew how to achieve that was through the promise of pain and punishment. The same Ravens who admired Nathaniel, despised their King. Riko did not like to be challenged and he detested competition, especially in the form of a good for nothing, worthless criminal (his words, not Nathaniel's).
That's why it was a surprise when Kevin was the first to go.
Kevin, who was always stubborn even in the face of adversity, was far from willing but in the end it was hardly his choice. When it came to Riko, no decision was ever your own.