Post by Alessio Cassano on Jan 27, 2014 23:35:38 GMT -6
FC: Natsuhiko Azuma from Norn9
ALESSIO RANIERO CASSANO
(Note the name is in full Italian and is pronounced as such. Alessio is pronounced ah-LES-see-oh. Raniero is pronounced Ra-NYE-roh. Cassano is pronounced Cass-ahn-oh.
He has refuted most if not all nicknames put on him except for Alex being his name is a derivate of that- and even then he still seems to detest it.
Call him Ales/Alice and he’ll punch your lights out.)
(Note the name is in full Italian and is pronounced as such. Alessio is pronounced ah-LES-see-oh. Raniero is pronounced Ra-NYE-roh. Cassano is pronounced Cass-ahn-oh.
He has refuted most if not all nicknames put on him except for Alex being his name is a derivate of that- and even then he still seems to detest it.
Call him Ales/Alice and he’ll punch your lights out.)
Age: 24, birthday April 1st
Gender: Male, associates Male/Masculine
Orientation: Pansexual, rather unromantic
Profession: Mercenary
Occupation: Rare Pokemon/ Rare Item Hunter (Eventually)
Appearance:
Standing five foot eleven inches, Alessio is just an inch below the standard six foot that males often ascribe to- much to his disdain, in fact (and he has a habit of arguing he’s six foot just for argument’s sake). Despite this, he is a surprisingly muscular individual, his frame leaning towards stockiness with how broad his shoulders are and how firm and defined his muscles are especially in his biceps. While far from the biggest around, his muscles are well toned and can be seen rippling just under his pale side of healthy skin. He can and does tan going into a rather deep hue, in fact, but considering how much it contrasts with his hair and eyes and how much he hates this contrast, Alessio tries to stay out of direct sunlight more often than not.
If he were to shed his clothes- which he doesn’t really like doing considering he gets cold easily among other things- one would find he has a vast number of minor and major scars lining his body some of the worst being on his left side and across his back. A rather prominent Lichtenberg figure scar travels up his left wrist and to that back shoulder as well, and the hair there no longer grows at all. Alessio is not so much ashamed of these scars as he is self-conscious of people staring at them. He’s seen how people cringe at the sheer numbers across his body and it brings about a range of emotions including a strange defiant anger.
On finer features, one generally notices Alessio’s dusty emerald green eyes. They are his most catching feature and dominant trait at a glance. Hidden often behind hair, his thin eyebrows accent these eyes surprisingly well. His cheekbones are of normal height, and his jawline presents itself as soft and a bit rounder than some thus being less noticeable overall. His nose is a tad long but thin coming to a soft bulb rather than a point. Often hidden behind grey-green hair, his ears are rounded out easily enough. They are pierced several times over, and sometimes one will find anything from simple studs to dangling earrings in them depending on the day.
Alessio’s hair is a bit of a conundrum for those who try and decide on its coloration. While some say it’s completely grey, others will notice the subtle green tint and high lights that allow it to look somewhere between grey and a dulled fern green. Alessio says it’s grey and generally doesn’t care whatever else people say on the matter. The locks upon his head are surprisingly thin feeling almost silky to the touch – if he let anyone touch it, anyways. However, he cuts it short never letting it grow past the back of his neck at any given moment. He does allow his bangs to grow out a bit longer than some would like, but he also allows for a subtle part in his hair that way generally keeping said hair directly out of his eyes. The locks themselves are rather straight though if he were to grow them out longer, they would hold a subtle curl.
His hands are coarse; his fingers are surprisingly long coming to soft tips. Considering his nails break easily, he sometimes applies a light coating of clear nail polish when he happens to have it in his possession to keep them from snapping so easily but will sometimes go without. His feet are rather large allowing him to grip the ground and run rather well without shoes- though more often than not one will find such shoes on his feet.
Everyday Clothes:
Considering he came through the portal with only a few sets of nice clothes, Alessio tends to wear mixtures of what clothes he has. Generally this consists of a white undershirt, a black and blue vest, and black or blue slacks. He has, ironically, gained a bit of weight since having come through and found ample food wherein there once was only scarcity, and thus these clothes are a bit tighter on him than they once were- that and he's grown about half a foot since coming through and his pants tend to be notably short in response. He has a larger trench-coat like jacket he will sometimes wear, though if and when he does, it’s often buttoned all the way to the top. Among accessories, he often wears black gloves.
Formal Garbs:
Alessio has a simple black suit with a pinstripe green shirt as his choice undershirt. He has a few ties that he goes through, some dressier than others. He also has a simple but nice pair of black boots.
Pack:
A tattered and worn backpack that has been with him since he left PokeEarth. It's black and has many pockets.
Personality:
What lies under the appearance of a calm, quite, aloof individual that people normally see of Alessio Cassano is a far cry from appearances. While most who don't know him well- even what people he worked with don't truly- will say that he seems decent enough if a bit quiet, under the cooler passive tendencies is a vicious fire ready to tear at anything it can get a hold of. He is a coarse young man, having dealt with many things in his life that he would rather others not know about, and in order to deal with the society that he has integrated with, rather than address the issues and scars left from a hard life, Alessio has locked them away. That isn't to say that they don't influence him or bleed out into his personality anyways, and as it is, his anger is probably the worst of it having the biggest impact overall and feeding other problems. However, he is also terribly afraid to admit he has any type of issues, not wanting to reveal what past he has dealt with for many reasons the only truly good reason being that he has a right to some form of privacy.
To deal with the hate that has been the open furnace of his anger, rather than douse it with water and fix what's broken, Alessio has hidden it in the basement of his heart hoping no one will notice that he's slowly burning the house down as coals jump from the flames. Despite "hiding" it, Alessio can't help it leaking out. When one starts to be around him more, s/he will notice it takes effort for Alessio to not react to every single situation. The smallest twitch of his hand, eyebrow, or the shift of his jaw as he sinks his teeth into the membranes of his inner mouth all tip off the fact that self-control is not something that comes easily to Alessio. Indeed he has only started to truly grasp it in roughly the last few years, and even then he still slips up. His irritation buttons are vast going from the smallest misplaced word on someone else's part to a threat to him or his sister in any form or fashion, and a part of him has learned it is irrational to be so angry, yet since his father's death, he has no longer had the object with which all of his hate and frustration has focused on. He can't blame a single man for all his misery and continued hardship years later- which it is still hard even with food being plentiful. Thus he tends to feel the need to explode on every little thing. Of course he can't do that. Carmen would be displeased, and Alessio wouldn't like that in himself. Instead, he tries desperately to lock his hate away and ignore it- even if it's akin to ignoring nails on a chalk board sometimes.
Alessio is a physical individual and has been for years. What started as a simple base need for survival has evolved into a physical necessity as he sees it. He can't go a day without lifting, running, jumping, climbing- doing something that tests and pushes his endurance in one form or another without feeling the day has gone to waste. Working out tempers his mood, makes him less fidgety and readily violent, and just generally makes him feel good overall. For this reason, he makes it a habit to push himself, to really work is body to exhaustion whether it be in a physical fight or simply carrying a number of heavy things up a flight of stairs numerous times. He enjoys construction, in a way though prefers to fix things and make them 'new again' rather than build things - though he can build things rather well and has a general knowledge of physical things acquired over the years if not the best or most logical. Truthfully this would probably be where he made the most friends- if he didn't have such terrible intimacy issues that will be discussed later, considering it is one of his biggest interests all things considered.
While one reading this by now has probably assessed "a violent physical-work-a-holic with anger issues", that is not all Alessio is and barely scratches the surface of his personality. He is a surprisingly witty individual delving into hard truths and cold facts rather than the comfort of lies. While he can and does lie when it suits him- feeling very little towards using words to wrap a situation around his fingers and yank as hard as he possibly can, he doesn't like deceiving himself in a situation - or being deceived by anyone else, for that matter. He comes down surprisingly hard on others that lie to him in a critical situation but is more than willing to be a hypocrite if it fits his needs. It is a tactic of survival, as he sees it, and the strong: physically, mentally, and socially, live. As a child who has never known right from wrong Alessio associates what is "good" is what is good for him at the moment and what is "bad" is bad for him and him only. That does not mean he is not blind to the ideals of justice. He has been around people long enough now to have some sense of what their ideals are. However, he finds them.....well...blind and stupid to a certain degree. No situation is the same, and no amount of "justice" would save sheep from being torn into by the wolf. He's so coldly skeptical of man's aberrant desire for altruism and enlightened ideals that sometimes if someone gets on the subject of it, one will find Alessio is far from as calmly kind as he can appear to be.
Progression is a part of Alessio. He does not like to stand still physically or mentally- or even existentially. He does not want to be held up, held back, or locked away from his highest potential thinking very little of dropping something if it is in his best interest in order to pursue his goals. However, this desire towards strength comes at the price of those around him. Alessio would readily cut ties with anyone that held him back or even rubbed him the wrong way in certain situations. He does not enjoy the "bondage" of friendship nor does he care to indulge in a lover. Despite this- he doesn't readily like feeling alone either, and in fact that terrifies him more than anything. The thought of losing Carmen is one of the few things Alessio has openly admitted to fearing as it is she is the person he sees as absolutely and unquestioningly perfect having dragged his wretched self out of the darkness.
...And yes he does think of himself as wretched when Alessio is honest with himself. There is such ominous amount of self-loathing locked even farther down in his heart that it infests his entire personality- often drving his anger, and other issues. He hates his birth, his parents, his suffering and past. He hates who he was and who he is at this moment. What he sees when he looks in the minor is nothing more than a maggot fighting to survive because deep down he knows he's too scared to just die. The thought of whatever god judging him gives him chills and makes him nauseous at the same time. He'd more readily rip out his own throat than come face to face with some deity meant to judge what kind of life he has lived, but that would be counter productive considering being alive right now pushed judgement day away. Deep down these feelings vent in the form of his dreams, often causing him to wake up shaking if not screaming. He hates it to say the least- but then again it's hard to fix when it's part of himself.
Likes:
Dislikes:
Backstory:
As resources shriveled in the last major century of PokeEarth, once docile people began to fight to survive— and then you had the Cassano famiglia that had always fought to survive and were *cough* well known for it in their home area if not in the good way. To be blunt, they were an old mafia family- as far as age goes for mafia families who could easily be obliterated in one generation’s time- known to the police in their area as “untouchables” due to their capacity to evade the law at every single turn. Afterkilling defeating his siblings and his father for the title of don, Nevio Cassano went on to become the most vicious leader to date pushing the family business even higher than it had ever been before in the way of high stakes crimes and violence. As people were growing desperate for resources, Nevio used this to his advantage and provided through thievery- which in itself came a heavy price tag, of course. When the Legend Portal opened, rather than head through, Nevio would sit on what money and resources he acquired as a perpetual king- a king of all together very little, mind you, but he had never known a world of plenty to begin with.
Nevio would never marry but had a number of lovers and eventually many children. One of these lovers was Vitalia Belmonte, and around the time the Legend Portal opened, she would find herself pregnant with a child who would go on to be named Alessio Cassano. Alessio was supposedly born first of Nevio’s children- though what happened to four of the pregnant women that were supposed to bear children before Alessio came was left to public speculation after they all “disappeared” one night. Though many glanced in Vitalia’s direction, she never admitted a thing and would always smile sweetly enough— and it was left like that. Truthfully, Vitalia had never wanted children but what she did want was the money and power that came with being Nevio’s number one lover and the bearer of his first child- a legitimate heir to the Cassano money and power as she saw it. However, possibly in fear that some retribution would come of “dealing” with the other women, she hovered constantly over Alessio when he was finally born, very rarely leaving him with another. She trusted no one, and that was the way it had to be.
The young Alessio would grow up with a relatively seclude childhood. Outside of his mother, he rarely met other human contact- mostly in the form of his father or older and well trusted mafia members. His world consisted of a bedroom with a high window that if he was crafty enough, he could climb on top of a number of things to see out. Outside of that, his toys, stuffed animals, and the occasional imaginary friend, he was relatively alone. When she was sure he was able to fend for himself more readily- after the milestones of walking and some more regular talking had come about, his mother spent her time away from him- simply locking the door to his room to “keep him safe”. When he was four, loneliness would overtake him, and he ended up pleading with her to go outside- see the world that he could only see through high windows. After some thought, she instead gave him her Glameow to play with as a substitute. The pokemon wasn’t the most interesting but did act as some form of socialization to the child. As he got older, a Skitty would be added to his friends – a gift from one of the elder mafia members who found it a tad funny the boy seemed to like cat pokemon- and sometimes mimicked their behaviors when it came to climbing atop things. They would be his only true friends for a while.
When he was five years old, this would change. His father demanded Vitalia stop ‘hiding’ the boy and had him dragged out and introduced to the entire domain with which Nevio reigned over. To Alessio, at the time, they all looked sick, tired, and afraid. Their somber faces would burn into his dreams, some into his nightmares, and as he stood there shaking in front of the group, he’d be laughed at a little- something he would come to hate in time. Despite being Nevio’s oldest child, Alessio was not the favorite. In fact, Nevio seemed to take almost no interests in any of his children outside of sometimes using them as the subject of conversation when someone else brought it up. Alessio, however, found himself scrounging for his father’s attention. It came almost instinctual to desire it, but his efforts were often brushed off or thwarted by his father or others. At the end of his rope, he took to breaking things his father particularly liked to earn the man's frustration if he couldn't earn his adoration.
That would change the day the ‘child fights’ started. Possibly encouraged by her mother, one of his half-sisters came up one day and punched Alessio across the face. Startled, he yelled back at her- and everyone around him seemed to encourage his fighting. Alessio would slip up and let his anger rule him- never knowing that it would be the subject of his future. All of his frustrations at being ignored, all the encouragement form the adults around him- even his own mother who had said something along the lines of “show her whose boss!”, seemed to fester a violence in Alessio that he released in that moment pummeling his half-sister only to find himself tackled by his half-brother who came bounding into the situations. Shortly after that, it was a child brawl and no one stopped it- not even Nevio who instead took great humor in it. Alessio would walk awy the victor but it came with the price of being leered at by the children and the adult 'losers' in turn. He had no pride in what he had done, but Alessio leered back daring them to threaten him. They backed down for now.
The weeks thereafter would be brutal as Alessio found himself fighting others at every turn. It was often a show to the mafia veterans who were trying to ignore their problems by watching children suffer. Soon it became a matter of, if he didn’t beat down one sibling or another, food was withheld from him. Alessio wouldn’t stand for that, he couldn’t stand for that. There already wasn’t enough food to eat, and he found himself constantly hungry to the point he’d once half-heartedly considered eating his mother’s Glameow one particular night – in joking, of course not. Having what little food he could get kept away from him practically made him feral. He took to stealing shortly thereafter- not just when food was withheld either, and though he was caught many times and yelled at and beat many times for such treachery when there was so little to go around, it didn’t stop him as time went on. He wanted to eat; he wanted to live. It was as if wherein formal education had stopped, instinct had kicked in. He got surprisingly good at lying rather quickly, found himself cheating others where he could, and stealing more than just food- petty things that he liked, for instance.
It was all right there, and what was worse was no one would correct him. Sure they’d scream at him and beat him if he was caught with something big, but if he could get away with it, then it was all fine. It was never what was “right” and what was “wrong”. It was just Alessio doing what he wanted, and to his childish mind, that was perfectly alright. It was during his thieving that he would acquire a particular set of earrings that- rather than lock up in his room, he decided to flaunt. Going so far as to pierce his own ears despite the pain, Alessio set about putting the studs in and wearing them proudly the next day. He got tackled and punched, of course, but to Alessio, it was worth it, and the brawl that transpired thereafter was worth it.
As he grew, the fights grew with him and became more and more brutal. Alessio found it harder and harder to stop his onslaught once it had begun, and it was only later that he'd equivocate it with the battle rage some of the adults talked of. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he was even himself anymore- only really coming to full sentience again after the brawl of the day was finished. He cried often, though in the privacy of his own room wherein there wasn't anyone to laugh at him. He wasn't even sure what he was crying for since he continued even after he'd learned to take a beating and hold it in. His body didn't hurt, his mind did. One day, when he was sobbing particularly hard, Alessio would find a pair of arms around him. He reacted violently, startled and afraid of what was happening, and it was only after the fact that he realized he'd struck one of his half-sisters, a quieter one than the others, one he'd seen before but only when she wasn't hiding. Rather than strike him back, she apologized for having startled him which confused Alessio to say the least. He ended up yelling at her in some sort of defense mechanism, reducing her to tears in the process. However, even then she didn't hit him, didn't yell and scream and scratch at him. He didn't understand how she could exist truthfully, but somehow she did.
Her name was Carmen Cassano. While he was ten years old, she was eight. He didn't take much note of her before due to her passive hiding ways, yet he knew not how after the fact. She was... remarkably kind, and even with her own mother griping at her to be more vicious, she was as passive as they came. She legitimately tried to help her half-siblings, and even when they retaliated, she never fought back, always smiling and apologizing. It seemed that she had spent a lot of time working herself up to actually approach Alessio himself, but even as he struck her and had retaliated, had made her cry, she apparently didn't hate him when he asked if she did. It confused Alessio and often contorted his mind one way and then the other. He couldn't understand how she could simply choose not to fight when all the world was screaming to do so, why she was kind when this world was so cruel. She never gave him a direct answer why but one time when he pushed her consistently enough, she simply replied with 'because we are family' and left it at that. Alessio was left stunned.
Family, they were all family, a famiglia in their native tongue. It was this strange realization that would slowly tame the once feral boy. He started to try to exert control of himself, fighting the natural fighting impulses that screamed that if he did not fight, he would die. The fights still transpired, but rather than kick his opponents when they were down, he began to force himself to stop the moment they could no longer get up... and from there... he'd extend a hand and help them up. At first it confused some of the more vicious adults. What the hell was he doing stopping and helping an opponent up? However, it was surprisingly Nevio Cassano who would recognize what his son was doing- if only in the way of forging alliances. The man certainly thought it was interesting, but he'd rather not have a pack of ankle biters getting some big idea. He was in charge and no one else!
During one particular instance when Alessio was but eleven years old, his father walked up and handed him a gun as he stood there panting from exhaustion after having knocked down one of his stronger half-siblings finally and was about to go over and help his brother up. The man held the gun forwards and told him to shoot. There was but one round, and Alessio had to make it count, or so Nevio said. If he shot the boy before him, killed him, then Alessio would have proved himself to be worthy of being called first born- eventual inheritor of the 'empire'. The boy took the gun and held it between his shaking hands for a few moments before eyeing his fallen half-sibling He glanced up at the man before him again, the one he’d come to hate in years’ time, and in a split second decision, he raised the gun and shot the bullet straight through Nevio Cassano. The startled screams of ‘boss’ that would ring in his ears thereafter were the only things Alessio would hear before he collapsed on the ground.
Whether he’d fainted from shock at himself or from a blow by one of the adults, Alessio’d never know. What would happen thereafter, however, was Alessio waking up in his room. His door was locked, and his pokemon were gone. Thus he spent his time curled up on his small bed staring at the door and waiting for whatever end came to him. He was sure he was a dead man- dead boy for having shot not only his father but Nevio Cassano, the boss, the king, of the world Alessio knew. Despite being utterly terrified, a strange satisfaction hit Alessio- as if robbing the man of life was the last nail in the coffin of things he’d taken. Oddly to his disturbed mind, it was great. He’d done it! He’d beat that man! The one he looked up to, feared, forcibly respected, was probably dead by his hand! Then… why did his stomach hurt? Why did his head hurt? Why did his ears not stop ringing? He felt nauseous and couldn't understand why.
Alessio would sleep again before someone finally came for him. The sound of the door opening would startle him awake from his dreary half-sleep, and he was sure he was a dead man. It didn’t happen though. Apparently though he’d been shot, Nevio Cassano was very much alive- and…weirdly pleased? Apparently his son’s actions, the look of determination that had flashed through Alessio’s eyes was interesting to Nevio, and haphazardly the boy had been named true heir more formally thereafter- despite having disobeyed the order. Apparently the Cassano family would need a future hellion as vicious as that Houndour he’d seen before him, and Nevio would be the man to train him into a Houndoom. He didn't mind being shot, it was but a flesh wound that he would hopefully in later years show off and preen in old age that it was this most vicious bastard before him that had done it. He'd make one of himself.
What Nevio wouldn't realize was that though Alessio seemed to not resist this shove in a stronger direction as he forced him to fight adults and sometimes even pokemon including a Raichu that gave him a rather nasty electrical scar on his arm, Alessio held no hate towards those he fought, felt nothing towards being beaten down- no rage, no anger, just persistence. Carmen had managed to help him realize the one person he hated, and Alessio buried that deep in his heart. Someday, he would turn a gun on that man again and not hesitate to aim for a death shot. Years would pass, and Alessio would be put through more hell than ever. Sometimes he would not even make it back to his room before his body collapsed from strain and exhaustion- and hunger as it seemed food was diminishing even more. Even when he chose to steal, even when he took what he wanted, there was becoming less and less. It sometimes physically ached him.
What was worse was that as time went on, illness had begun to spread rapidly through the major branch of the group and out into its veins. Some called it the Red Death for as quickly and viciously as it spread and annihilated them, but none could be sure what it was considering the last doctor had been shot more recently for “treachery” to the Cassano family- whoops. Not even the pokemon were spared from the disease, falling limp and dying along with their masters. At some point, Alessio too fell ill and found himself lying on a death bed or so he thought. There wasn't even enough food to keep him satisfied there as hunger pains mixed with illness. However, somehow his body managed to survive. Wherein countless adults, his mother included, and numbers of the younger children died, Alessio had made it past the sickness a few weeks later. It seemed his body wasn't done just yet. It wanted to trek forwards.
Dragging his barely recovering body up, Alessio resolved he had to take Carmen and whoever else was left alive and get out of there. They had to leave, find somewhere else. They didn't know where to go but couldn't stay there and just die when the food finally did run out. However, it seemed even with death and starvation around him, Nevio refused to give up what he had- and forcibly beat anyone who tried to leave. Alessio, at fifteen, had had enough and finally did what he assured himself he should have done from the very beginning. He pulled up a gun with a single bullet in it, and sent it cascading into Nevio's head- not without recourse, however. In one last vicious moment, Nevio shot Alessio in the shoulder, and right then and there Alessio was sure he was going to die. Disease hadn't killed him; no other obstacle had, but that man had done it, damn it. Alessio refused this as it came to mind, forced himself up and managed to get all the way through the main manor to find Carmen. She practically screeched upon seeing what had happened to him and hearing what he had done, and she sobbed pitifully as he ordered her to get a knife and cut the bullet out- or he was going to rip it out with his bare hands. She did what he asked, abet shakily and cutting into him more than necessary- yet the bullet came out finally, and Alessio wrapped his shoulder as best he could and ignored the pain.
It was decided without words that it was time to go. Taking what would be most useful- and their sick but not dead yet half brother Danilo, they left what adult remained. It would only be sometime later that Alessio would fully realize that they'd abandoned a good number of the Cassano family, taking the last of the food and leaving them to die. However, he refused to care therein- even when Carmen broke down later sobbing about it. As they found themselves free of the manor, they traveled almost aimlessly- not knowing of the Legend Portal at all- before coming upon the thing that would be their vary salvation. Haphazardly on their last leg of strength, Danilo died shortly before they reached the portal, yet Alessio ended up dragging his body the last leg of the way anyways. Upon entering Mi-aro with the clothes on their backs and what they could shove in the packs they had carried, the two made it to the world of pure and untamed wonder. Alessio would only note later that it was his sixteenth birthday, ironically enough. What a birthday present.
Danilo was buried and a small funeral held in the coming days. Alessio didn't shed one tear as Carmen stood there with her quiet sniffling and generally emotion filled words, yet he didn't get off scott free from the emotion running off his sister. He ended up promising that somehow he would ensure they'd survive, that in this new place, this phantasmal place that had so much more life than death, he would ensure they lived in prosperity somehow. They settled into Port City, Alessio finding work in more physical labor than anything. Years of fighting had made him physically strong, and it was one thing he was good at that didn't involve outright robbing people- which Carmen gnawed at him about considering they were all trying to survive there. Despite himself, Alessio sometimes found the five finger discount too much for him- only to get smacked upside the head and told to return the "lost" item. He did so usually without complaint simply because it was Carmen who seemed to be trying to work them both into decent people.
During some of his free time, Alessio began to go to the "trainer school" that was held at the lab. There, he would learn more about pokemon and culture than he ever had before. He honestly felt stupid and inadequate when in correspondence to others who had been born there and knew much of the information- which just pissed him off sometimes and caused him to bash a wall or two- in which case he often sighed and ended up repairing the wall himself after. As time went on, he did learn quite a bit- up to par with other students- only through a rather deranged amount of studying on his own time- which often caused him to seem absentminded at work which only annoyed other people-..and when they brought it up, it just pissed him off and he'd punch another hole in the wall- derp.
Pokemon was not the only trade of sorts Alessio picked up on. As time went on, he went from simply being a heavy lifter to someone relatively good at fixing and building - possibly because he tended to break things when angry, but hush. He tinkered a little here and there and even got an old fashioned clock to work when it was just going to be scrapped for parts. There were a few who encouraged these mechanical interests, one of them being Carmen, obviously, but Alessio preferred to fix rather than make things.
As time moved forwards and the pokemon trainer project had begun again with the lab handing out many pokemon, Alessio hesitated only briefly before making it known to Carmen he was changing trades. There had to be something more out there that he was missing- and being outdoors and away from people would cool his temper- or so he told her anyways. She supported his decision at the very least, and thereafter he started off towards the lab.
Appearance:
Standing five foot eleven inches, Alessio is just an inch below the standard six foot that males often ascribe to- much to his disdain, in fact (and he has a habit of arguing he’s six foot just for argument’s sake). Despite this, he is a surprisingly muscular individual, his frame leaning towards stockiness with how broad his shoulders are and how firm and defined his muscles are especially in his biceps. While far from the biggest around, his muscles are well toned and can be seen rippling just under his pale side of healthy skin. He can and does tan going into a rather deep hue, in fact, but considering how much it contrasts with his hair and eyes and how much he hates this contrast, Alessio tries to stay out of direct sunlight more often than not.
If he were to shed his clothes- which he doesn’t really like doing considering he gets cold easily among other things- one would find he has a vast number of minor and major scars lining his body some of the worst being on his left side and across his back. A rather prominent Lichtenberg figure scar travels up his left wrist and to that back shoulder as well, and the hair there no longer grows at all. Alessio is not so much ashamed of these scars as he is self-conscious of people staring at them. He’s seen how people cringe at the sheer numbers across his body and it brings about a range of emotions including a strange defiant anger.
On finer features, one generally notices Alessio’s dusty emerald green eyes. They are his most catching feature and dominant trait at a glance. Hidden often behind hair, his thin eyebrows accent these eyes surprisingly well. His cheekbones are of normal height, and his jawline presents itself as soft and a bit rounder than some thus being less noticeable overall. His nose is a tad long but thin coming to a soft bulb rather than a point. Often hidden behind grey-green hair, his ears are rounded out easily enough. They are pierced several times over, and sometimes one will find anything from simple studs to dangling earrings in them depending on the day.
Alessio’s hair is a bit of a conundrum for those who try and decide on its coloration. While some say it’s completely grey, others will notice the subtle green tint and high lights that allow it to look somewhere between grey and a dulled fern green. Alessio says it’s grey and generally doesn’t care whatever else people say on the matter. The locks upon his head are surprisingly thin feeling almost silky to the touch – if he let anyone touch it, anyways. However, he cuts it short never letting it grow past the back of his neck at any given moment. He does allow his bangs to grow out a bit longer than some would like, but he also allows for a subtle part in his hair that way generally keeping said hair directly out of his eyes. The locks themselves are rather straight though if he were to grow them out longer, they would hold a subtle curl.
His hands are coarse; his fingers are surprisingly long coming to soft tips. Considering his nails break easily, he sometimes applies a light coating of clear nail polish when he happens to have it in his possession to keep them from snapping so easily but will sometimes go without. His feet are rather large allowing him to grip the ground and run rather well without shoes- though more often than not one will find such shoes on his feet.
Everyday Clothes:
Considering he came through the portal with only a few sets of nice clothes, Alessio tends to wear mixtures of what clothes he has. Generally this consists of a white undershirt, a black and blue vest, and black or blue slacks. He has, ironically, gained a bit of weight since having come through and found ample food wherein there once was only scarcity, and thus these clothes are a bit tighter on him than they once were- that and he's grown about half a foot since coming through and his pants tend to be notably short in response. He has a larger trench-coat like jacket he will sometimes wear, though if and when he does, it’s often buttoned all the way to the top. Among accessories, he often wears black gloves.
Formal Garbs:
Alessio has a simple black suit with a pinstripe green shirt as his choice undershirt. He has a few ties that he goes through, some dressier than others. He also has a simple but nice pair of black boots.
Pack:
A tattered and worn backpack that has been with him since he left PokeEarth. It's black and has many pockets.
Personality:
What lies under the appearance of a calm, quite, aloof individual that people normally see of Alessio Cassano is a far cry from appearances. While most who don't know him well- even what people he worked with don't truly- will say that he seems decent enough if a bit quiet, under the cooler passive tendencies is a vicious fire ready to tear at anything it can get a hold of. He is a coarse young man, having dealt with many things in his life that he would rather others not know about, and in order to deal with the society that he has integrated with, rather than address the issues and scars left from a hard life, Alessio has locked them away. That isn't to say that they don't influence him or bleed out into his personality anyways, and as it is, his anger is probably the worst of it having the biggest impact overall and feeding other problems. However, he is also terribly afraid to admit he has any type of issues, not wanting to reveal what past he has dealt with for many reasons the only truly good reason being that he has a right to some form of privacy.
To deal with the hate that has been the open furnace of his anger, rather than douse it with water and fix what's broken, Alessio has hidden it in the basement of his heart hoping no one will notice that he's slowly burning the house down as coals jump from the flames. Despite "hiding" it, Alessio can't help it leaking out. When one starts to be around him more, s/he will notice it takes effort for Alessio to not react to every single situation. The smallest twitch of his hand, eyebrow, or the shift of his jaw as he sinks his teeth into the membranes of his inner mouth all tip off the fact that self-control is not something that comes easily to Alessio. Indeed he has only started to truly grasp it in roughly the last few years, and even then he still slips up. His irritation buttons are vast going from the smallest misplaced word on someone else's part to a threat to him or his sister in any form or fashion, and a part of him has learned it is irrational to be so angry, yet since his father's death, he has no longer had the object with which all of his hate and frustration has focused on. He can't blame a single man for all his misery and continued hardship years later- which it is still hard even with food being plentiful. Thus he tends to feel the need to explode on every little thing. Of course he can't do that. Carmen would be displeased, and Alessio wouldn't like that in himself. Instead, he tries desperately to lock his hate away and ignore it- even if it's akin to ignoring nails on a chalk board sometimes.
Alessio is a physical individual and has been for years. What started as a simple base need for survival has evolved into a physical necessity as he sees it. He can't go a day without lifting, running, jumping, climbing- doing something that tests and pushes his endurance in one form or another without feeling the day has gone to waste. Working out tempers his mood, makes him less fidgety and readily violent, and just generally makes him feel good overall. For this reason, he makes it a habit to push himself, to really work is body to exhaustion whether it be in a physical fight or simply carrying a number of heavy things up a flight of stairs numerous times. He enjoys construction, in a way though prefers to fix things and make them 'new again' rather than build things - though he can build things rather well and has a general knowledge of physical things acquired over the years if not the best or most logical. Truthfully this would probably be where he made the most friends- if he didn't have such terrible intimacy issues that will be discussed later, considering it is one of his biggest interests all things considered.
While one reading this by now has probably assessed "a violent physical-work-a-holic with anger issues", that is not all Alessio is and barely scratches the surface of his personality. He is a surprisingly witty individual delving into hard truths and cold facts rather than the comfort of lies. While he can and does lie when it suits him- feeling very little towards using words to wrap a situation around his fingers and yank as hard as he possibly can, he doesn't like deceiving himself in a situation - or being deceived by anyone else, for that matter. He comes down surprisingly hard on others that lie to him in a critical situation but is more than willing to be a hypocrite if it fits his needs. It is a tactic of survival, as he sees it, and the strong: physically, mentally, and socially, live. As a child who has never known right from wrong Alessio associates what is "good" is what is good for him at the moment and what is "bad" is bad for him and him only. That does not mean he is not blind to the ideals of justice. He has been around people long enough now to have some sense of what their ideals are. However, he finds them.....well...blind and stupid to a certain degree. No situation is the same, and no amount of "justice" would save sheep from being torn into by the wolf. He's so coldly skeptical of man's aberrant desire for altruism and enlightened ideals that sometimes if someone gets on the subject of it, one will find Alessio is far from as calmly kind as he can appear to be.
Progression is a part of Alessio. He does not like to stand still physically or mentally- or even existentially. He does not want to be held up, held back, or locked away from his highest potential thinking very little of dropping something if it is in his best interest in order to pursue his goals. However, this desire towards strength comes at the price of those around him. Alessio would readily cut ties with anyone that held him back or even rubbed him the wrong way in certain situations. He does not enjoy the "bondage" of friendship nor does he care to indulge in a lover. Despite this- he doesn't readily like feeling alone either, and in fact that terrifies him more than anything. The thought of losing Carmen is one of the few things Alessio has openly admitted to fearing as it is she is the person he sees as absolutely and unquestioningly perfect having dragged his wretched self out of the darkness.
...And yes he does think of himself as wretched when Alessio is honest with himself. There is such ominous amount of self-loathing locked even farther down in his heart that it infests his entire personality- often drving his anger, and other issues. He hates his birth, his parents, his suffering and past. He hates who he was and who he is at this moment. What he sees when he looks in the minor is nothing more than a maggot fighting to survive because deep down he knows he's too scared to just die. The thought of whatever god judging him gives him chills and makes him nauseous at the same time. He'd more readily rip out his own throat than come face to face with some deity meant to judge what kind of life he has lived, but that would be counter productive considering being alive right now pushed judgement day away. Deep down these feelings vent in the form of his dreams, often causing him to wake up shaking if not screaming. He hates it to say the least- but then again it's hard to fix when it's part of himself.
Likes:
- The Smell of Tea- Whether it be green, black, or white tea, the smell of warm tea has come to be a comfort to Alessio over the years. Having a surprisingly well adapted nose, Alessio can detect the subtle smells of different aromas but finds warm tea smell the most comforting of them all.
- Scarce Things- Alessio likes things that are rare- even if they happen to be rare because no one wants them or likes them and thus there is no demand for them. In Mi-aro he has had to temper his thieving tendencies way down considering at one time the five finger discount got him whatever he wanted including rarer things that he liked.
- Food- This may be odd to say (or may make sense if you've already read his history), but Alessio loves food, all types, and all kinds, and can't get enough on any day of the week. he has a habit of gorging himself- which probably isn't a good thing but considering he works most if not alll of it off in heavy work, he doesn't gain that much weight from his eating habits.
- Stargazing- Only since coming to Mi-aro has Alessio gained an appreciation of the starry heavens above. Somewhere out there is the home world he once knew, and he sometimes has a habit of just staring and thinking about this for hours on end.
- Nature- Considering he had so little of it in his life before, Alessio has grown an adoration of the nature of Mi-aro. There is always so much to see and watch, and he doubts he'll ever get tired of it- ever.
- Catty Things- His earliest memories of pokemon were cat-pokemon, and over the years, Alessio has grown to like cats- a lot.
- Raindrops on Roses- and whiskers on kittens, and the Sound of Music when Alessio heard it for the first time. It just resonates with him well.
- Physical Activity- Running? Check. Climbing? Check. Hurdling and poll vaulting? Why not? Any form of physical activity where he can use up all of his energy and feel utterly exhausted thereafter tends to bring a smirk to Alessio's features. He relishes physical activity and would never shy away from even things that could earn pain.
- Dressing Nicely- Alessio came from a world of nice clothes and had grown accustomed to them back home. For this reason, he enjoys dressing nicely even to this day.
- Italian- While growing up, Alessio was exposed to the Italian dialect predominately used in what was once Venice, his 'home' language, as well as English, and probably because his mother spoke the prior more than the latter, he grew to like Italian more. He has a surprisingly subtle northern Italian accent when speaking English mostly due to learning both languages at once and due to being corrected more over the years he has been in Mi-aro. He tends to think and dream more in Italian, though for simplicity's sake, I'll probably end up writing his thoughts in English regardless.
Dislikes:
- Guns- Despite knowing how to shoot well and knowing the mechanics behind guns, Alessio hates them. They make him feel more than uncomfortable just being in his presence, and when asked to hold and shoot one, he'd readily refuse. Guns not only have the instantaneous capacity to kill but also have been the subject of his past which he detests as well.
- Loud Noises- Though he tries not to be jumpy, loud noises still manage to send Alessio through the roof, and thus he hates them.
- Violence- Ironically, Alessio dislikes violence. While he does see it as a part of every day living- surviving being the product of constant violence and struggle, he doesn't like doing it. He has a deep self-loathing when it comes to his inability to react to certain situations without violence, among other things.
- Questions About Himself- His past, his future, his present, Alessio just doesn't like to talk about anything even closely pertaining to himself. He would honestly be perfectly content to listen to another person ramble on about their life rather than say anything about his- and surprisingly he is an active listener, often asking questions and interacting almost normally in such situations.
- Tight Spaces- Constriction and confinement have been the subject of much of Alessio's life, and since having experienced true freedom since coming through the portal, Alessio has come to realize just how much it truly bothers him as well. Tight spaces make him queasy and locked doors make him panicky.
- Being Stared At- Alessio does not like direct eye contact nor does he like being stared at for any reason. It makes him readily uncomfortable and more pat to lie for some reason.
- Hot Weather- He would much rather prefer cold weather considering one can put on more clothes than one can take off.
- Eggs- They just have this God awful taste that Alessio just doesn't like.
- Most Dreams- Alessio has never known a completely peaceful night. Nightmares rack him endlessly, and most of his dreams end with him waking up either startled into violence or sobbing. While he doesn't mind trying to sleep, considering his body needs it to stay healthy, Alessio hates most all of his dreams.
- Pitch Blackness- More than anything, what could crawl out of the complete darkness and kill him, but yeah.
Backstory:
As resources shriveled in the last major century of PokeEarth, once docile people began to fight to survive— and then you had the Cassano famiglia that had always fought to survive and were *cough* well known for it in their home area if not in the good way. To be blunt, they were an old mafia family- as far as age goes for mafia families who could easily be obliterated in one generation’s time- known to the police in their area as “untouchables” due to their capacity to evade the law at every single turn. After
Nevio would never marry but had a number of lovers and eventually many children. One of these lovers was Vitalia Belmonte, and around the time the Legend Portal opened, she would find herself pregnant with a child who would go on to be named Alessio Cassano. Alessio was supposedly born first of Nevio’s children- though what happened to four of the pregnant women that were supposed to bear children before Alessio came was left to public speculation after they all “disappeared” one night. Though many glanced in Vitalia’s direction, she never admitted a thing and would always smile sweetly enough— and it was left like that. Truthfully, Vitalia had never wanted children but what she did want was the money and power that came with being Nevio’s number one lover and the bearer of his first child- a legitimate heir to the Cassano money and power as she saw it. However, possibly in fear that some retribution would come of “dealing” with the other women, she hovered constantly over Alessio when he was finally born, very rarely leaving him with another. She trusted no one, and that was the way it had to be.
The young Alessio would grow up with a relatively seclude childhood. Outside of his mother, he rarely met other human contact- mostly in the form of his father or older and well trusted mafia members. His world consisted of a bedroom with a high window that if he was crafty enough, he could climb on top of a number of things to see out. Outside of that, his toys, stuffed animals, and the occasional imaginary friend, he was relatively alone. When she was sure he was able to fend for himself more readily- after the milestones of walking and some more regular talking had come about, his mother spent her time away from him- simply locking the door to his room to “keep him safe”. When he was four, loneliness would overtake him, and he ended up pleading with her to go outside- see the world that he could only see through high windows. After some thought, she instead gave him her Glameow to play with as a substitute. The pokemon wasn’t the most interesting but did act as some form of socialization to the child. As he got older, a Skitty would be added to his friends – a gift from one of the elder mafia members who found it a tad funny the boy seemed to like cat pokemon- and sometimes mimicked their behaviors when it came to climbing atop things. They would be his only true friends for a while.
When he was five years old, this would change. His father demanded Vitalia stop ‘hiding’ the boy and had him dragged out and introduced to the entire domain with which Nevio reigned over. To Alessio, at the time, they all looked sick, tired, and afraid. Their somber faces would burn into his dreams, some into his nightmares, and as he stood there shaking in front of the group, he’d be laughed at a little- something he would come to hate in time. Despite being Nevio’s oldest child, Alessio was not the favorite. In fact, Nevio seemed to take almost no interests in any of his children outside of sometimes using them as the subject of conversation when someone else brought it up. Alessio, however, found himself scrounging for his father’s attention. It came almost instinctual to desire it, but his efforts were often brushed off or thwarted by his father or others. At the end of his rope, he took to breaking things his father particularly liked to earn the man's frustration if he couldn't earn his adoration.
That would change the day the ‘child fights’ started. Possibly encouraged by her mother, one of his half-sisters came up one day and punched Alessio across the face. Startled, he yelled back at her- and everyone around him seemed to encourage his fighting. Alessio would slip up and let his anger rule him- never knowing that it would be the subject of his future. All of his frustrations at being ignored, all the encouragement form the adults around him- even his own mother who had said something along the lines of “show her whose boss!”, seemed to fester a violence in Alessio that he released in that moment pummeling his half-sister only to find himself tackled by his half-brother who came bounding into the situations. Shortly after that, it was a child brawl and no one stopped it- not even Nevio who instead took great humor in it. Alessio would walk awy the victor but it came with the price of being leered at by the children and the adult 'losers' in turn. He had no pride in what he had done, but Alessio leered back daring them to threaten him. They backed down for now.
The weeks thereafter would be brutal as Alessio found himself fighting others at every turn. It was often a show to the mafia veterans who were trying to ignore their problems by watching children suffer. Soon it became a matter of, if he didn’t beat down one sibling or another, food was withheld from him. Alessio wouldn’t stand for that, he couldn’t stand for that. There already wasn’t enough food to eat, and he found himself constantly hungry to the point he’d once half-heartedly considered eating his mother’s Glameow one particular night – in joking, of course not. Having what little food he could get kept away from him practically made him feral. He took to stealing shortly thereafter- not just when food was withheld either, and though he was caught many times and yelled at and beat many times for such treachery when there was so little to go around, it didn’t stop him as time went on. He wanted to eat; he wanted to live. It was as if wherein formal education had stopped, instinct had kicked in. He got surprisingly good at lying rather quickly, found himself cheating others where he could, and stealing more than just food- petty things that he liked, for instance.
It was all right there, and what was worse was no one would correct him. Sure they’d scream at him and beat him if he was caught with something big, but if he could get away with it, then it was all fine. It was never what was “right” and what was “wrong”. It was just Alessio doing what he wanted, and to his childish mind, that was perfectly alright. It was during his thieving that he would acquire a particular set of earrings that- rather than lock up in his room, he decided to flaunt. Going so far as to pierce his own ears despite the pain, Alessio set about putting the studs in and wearing them proudly the next day. He got tackled and punched, of course, but to Alessio, it was worth it, and the brawl that transpired thereafter was worth it.
As he grew, the fights grew with him and became more and more brutal. Alessio found it harder and harder to stop his onslaught once it had begun, and it was only later that he'd equivocate it with the battle rage some of the adults talked of. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he was even himself anymore- only really coming to full sentience again after the brawl of the day was finished. He cried often, though in the privacy of his own room wherein there wasn't anyone to laugh at him. He wasn't even sure what he was crying for since he continued even after he'd learned to take a beating and hold it in. His body didn't hurt, his mind did. One day, when he was sobbing particularly hard, Alessio would find a pair of arms around him. He reacted violently, startled and afraid of what was happening, and it was only after the fact that he realized he'd struck one of his half-sisters, a quieter one than the others, one he'd seen before but only when she wasn't hiding. Rather than strike him back, she apologized for having startled him which confused Alessio to say the least. He ended up yelling at her in some sort of defense mechanism, reducing her to tears in the process. However, even then she didn't hit him, didn't yell and scream and scratch at him. He didn't understand how she could exist truthfully, but somehow she did.
Her name was Carmen Cassano. While he was ten years old, she was eight. He didn't take much note of her before due to her passive hiding ways, yet he knew not how after the fact. She was... remarkably kind, and even with her own mother griping at her to be more vicious, she was as passive as they came. She legitimately tried to help her half-siblings, and even when they retaliated, she never fought back, always smiling and apologizing. It seemed that she had spent a lot of time working herself up to actually approach Alessio himself, but even as he struck her and had retaliated, had made her cry, she apparently didn't hate him when he asked if she did. It confused Alessio and often contorted his mind one way and then the other. He couldn't understand how she could simply choose not to fight when all the world was screaming to do so, why she was kind when this world was so cruel. She never gave him a direct answer why but one time when he pushed her consistently enough, she simply replied with 'because we are family' and left it at that. Alessio was left stunned.
Family, they were all family, a famiglia in their native tongue. It was this strange realization that would slowly tame the once feral boy. He started to try to exert control of himself, fighting the natural fighting impulses that screamed that if he did not fight, he would die. The fights still transpired, but rather than kick his opponents when they were down, he began to force himself to stop the moment they could no longer get up... and from there... he'd extend a hand and help them up. At first it confused some of the more vicious adults. What the hell was he doing stopping and helping an opponent up? However, it was surprisingly Nevio Cassano who would recognize what his son was doing- if only in the way of forging alliances. The man certainly thought it was interesting, but he'd rather not have a pack of ankle biters getting some big idea. He was in charge and no one else!
During one particular instance when Alessio was but eleven years old, his father walked up and handed him a gun as he stood there panting from exhaustion after having knocked down one of his stronger half-siblings finally and was about to go over and help his brother up. The man held the gun forwards and told him to shoot. There was but one round, and Alessio had to make it count, or so Nevio said. If he shot the boy before him, killed him, then Alessio would have proved himself to be worthy of being called first born- eventual inheritor of the 'empire'. The boy took the gun and held it between his shaking hands for a few moments before eyeing his fallen half-sibling He glanced up at the man before him again, the one he’d come to hate in years’ time, and in a split second decision, he raised the gun and shot the bullet straight through Nevio Cassano. The startled screams of ‘boss’ that would ring in his ears thereafter were the only things Alessio would hear before he collapsed on the ground.
Whether he’d fainted from shock at himself or from a blow by one of the adults, Alessio’d never know. What would happen thereafter, however, was Alessio waking up in his room. His door was locked, and his pokemon were gone. Thus he spent his time curled up on his small bed staring at the door and waiting for whatever end came to him. He was sure he was a dead man- dead boy for having shot not only his father but Nevio Cassano, the boss, the king, of the world Alessio knew. Despite being utterly terrified, a strange satisfaction hit Alessio- as if robbing the man of life was the last nail in the coffin of things he’d taken. Oddly to his disturbed mind, it was great. He’d done it! He’d beat that man! The one he looked up to, feared, forcibly respected, was probably dead by his hand! Then… why did his stomach hurt? Why did his head hurt? Why did his ears not stop ringing? He felt nauseous and couldn't understand why.
Alessio would sleep again before someone finally came for him. The sound of the door opening would startle him awake from his dreary half-sleep, and he was sure he was a dead man. It didn’t happen though. Apparently though he’d been shot, Nevio Cassano was very much alive- and…weirdly pleased? Apparently his son’s actions, the look of determination that had flashed through Alessio’s eyes was interesting to Nevio, and haphazardly the boy had been named true heir more formally thereafter- despite having disobeyed the order. Apparently the Cassano family would need a future hellion as vicious as that Houndour he’d seen before him, and Nevio would be the man to train him into a Houndoom. He didn't mind being shot, it was but a flesh wound that he would hopefully in later years show off and preen in old age that it was this most vicious bastard before him that had done it. He'd make one of himself.
What Nevio wouldn't realize was that though Alessio seemed to not resist this shove in a stronger direction as he forced him to fight adults and sometimes even pokemon including a Raichu that gave him a rather nasty electrical scar on his arm, Alessio held no hate towards those he fought, felt nothing towards being beaten down- no rage, no anger, just persistence. Carmen had managed to help him realize the one person he hated, and Alessio buried that deep in his heart. Someday, he would turn a gun on that man again and not hesitate to aim for a death shot. Years would pass, and Alessio would be put through more hell than ever. Sometimes he would not even make it back to his room before his body collapsed from strain and exhaustion- and hunger as it seemed food was diminishing even more. Even when he chose to steal, even when he took what he wanted, there was becoming less and less. It sometimes physically ached him.
What was worse was that as time went on, illness had begun to spread rapidly through the major branch of the group and out into its veins. Some called it the Red Death for as quickly and viciously as it spread and annihilated them, but none could be sure what it was considering the last doctor had been shot more recently for “treachery” to the Cassano family- whoops. Not even the pokemon were spared from the disease, falling limp and dying along with their masters. At some point, Alessio too fell ill and found himself lying on a death bed or so he thought. There wasn't even enough food to keep him satisfied there as hunger pains mixed with illness. However, somehow his body managed to survive. Wherein countless adults, his mother included, and numbers of the younger children died, Alessio had made it past the sickness a few weeks later. It seemed his body wasn't done just yet. It wanted to trek forwards.
Dragging his barely recovering body up, Alessio resolved he had to take Carmen and whoever else was left alive and get out of there. They had to leave, find somewhere else. They didn't know where to go but couldn't stay there and just die when the food finally did run out. However, it seemed even with death and starvation around him, Nevio refused to give up what he had- and forcibly beat anyone who tried to leave. Alessio, at fifteen, had had enough and finally did what he assured himself he should have done from the very beginning. He pulled up a gun with a single bullet in it, and sent it cascading into Nevio's head- not without recourse, however. In one last vicious moment, Nevio shot Alessio in the shoulder, and right then and there Alessio was sure he was going to die. Disease hadn't killed him; no other obstacle had, but that man had done it, damn it. Alessio refused this as it came to mind, forced himself up and managed to get all the way through the main manor to find Carmen. She practically screeched upon seeing what had happened to him and hearing what he had done, and she sobbed pitifully as he ordered her to get a knife and cut the bullet out- or he was going to rip it out with his bare hands. She did what he asked, abet shakily and cutting into him more than necessary- yet the bullet came out finally, and Alessio wrapped his shoulder as best he could and ignored the pain.
It was decided without words that it was time to go. Taking what would be most useful- and their sick but not dead yet half brother Danilo, they left what adult remained. It would only be sometime later that Alessio would fully realize that they'd abandoned a good number of the Cassano family, taking the last of the food and leaving them to die. However, he refused to care therein- even when Carmen broke down later sobbing about it. As they found themselves free of the manor, they traveled almost aimlessly- not knowing of the Legend Portal at all- before coming upon the thing that would be their vary salvation. Haphazardly on their last leg of strength, Danilo died shortly before they reached the portal, yet Alessio ended up dragging his body the last leg of the way anyways. Upon entering Mi-aro with the clothes on their backs and what they could shove in the packs they had carried, the two made it to the world of pure and untamed wonder. Alessio would only note later that it was his sixteenth birthday, ironically enough. What a birthday present.
Danilo was buried and a small funeral held in the coming days. Alessio didn't shed one tear as Carmen stood there with her quiet sniffling and generally emotion filled words, yet he didn't get off scott free from the emotion running off his sister. He ended up promising that somehow he would ensure they'd survive, that in this new place, this phantasmal place that had so much more life than death, he would ensure they lived in prosperity somehow. They settled into Port City, Alessio finding work in more physical labor than anything. Years of fighting had made him physically strong, and it was one thing he was good at that didn't involve outright robbing people- which Carmen gnawed at him about considering they were all trying to survive there. Despite himself, Alessio sometimes found the five finger discount too much for him- only to get smacked upside the head and told to return the "lost" item. He did so usually without complaint simply because it was Carmen who seemed to be trying to work them both into decent people.
During some of his free time, Alessio began to go to the "trainer school" that was held at the lab. There, he would learn more about pokemon and culture than he ever had before. He honestly felt stupid and inadequate when in correspondence to others who had been born there and knew much of the information- which just pissed him off sometimes and caused him to bash a wall or two- in which case he often sighed and ended up repairing the wall himself after. As time went on, he did learn quite a bit- up to par with other students- only through a rather deranged amount of studying on his own time- which often caused him to seem absentminded at work which only annoyed other people-..and when they brought it up, it just pissed him off and he'd punch another hole in the wall- derp.
Pokemon was not the only trade of sorts Alessio picked up on. As time went on, he went from simply being a heavy lifter to someone relatively good at fixing and building - possibly because he tended to break things when angry, but hush. He tinkered a little here and there and even got an old fashioned clock to work when it was just going to be scrapped for parts. There were a few who encouraged these mechanical interests, one of them being Carmen, obviously, but Alessio preferred to fix rather than make things.
As time moved forwards and the pokemon trainer project had begun again with the lab handing out many pokemon, Alessio hesitated only briefly before making it known to Carmen he was changing trades. There had to be something more out there that he was missing- and being outdoors and away from people would cool his temper- or so he told her anyways. She supported his decision at the very least, and thereafter he started off towards the lab.
