Maxie is the only son of the rich and powerful Augustine family, but were you to ask him or his parents, neither would claim it to be true. He does not see himself as an Augustine, and his parents do not see him as their son.
Born on November 8th in the city of Direhill, Maxie was originally given a more feminine name. His parents, Dove and Gabriel, were the proprietors of a wildly successful alcohol business, making and selling a liquor similar to whiskey. In their success, they found an immense amount of wealth, although both had come from already wealthy families. As a young child, Maxie was his parents’ pride and joy. They poured everything they could into getting him a “proper” education, mainly through private tutors. Both wanted him to grow up to hold a position of power, or marry someone powerful.
As he grew, he began to pocket things; small trinkets, items that he figured nobody would miss. Frequently, he would point a finger at his fellow rich kids, though his parents began to catch on to their son’s thievery after a short while. Their attempts to get him to stop more or less pissed him off, which caused him to continue stealing, which began a sort of cycle. Along with this, he began to “act out,” finding the lifestyle his parents were raising him in to be stifling. At 12 years old, the Augustines sent Maxie off to boarding school in the south of Dulavia. The school was called St. Darian’s Academy for Girls. Maxie only attended for 3 ½ years. He never kept any friends he made, being seen as a “tomboy” and a “troublemaker.” It was during this time that he realized he wasn't a girl, and that he didn't have to live like that. He attempted to come out, but it didn't go well. For his mother, this was a breaking point in their relationship. Dove became furious with her son, and while Gabriel wasn’t as aggrivated as his wife, he never stopped her. It was clear to Maxie: You are either our daughter, or you are not part of this family.
When he was 15, over his winter break from school, a large sum of his family’s wealth disappeared—950,002 gold, to be specific. Within the family, the blame fell on Maxie. Those close to the family had their doubts that it was him, but Dove had had enough of her child. Equally, Maxie had had enough of his family, and ran away in the dead of night. He spent the next 3 years going from city to city, living through stealing. Whenever wanted posters started to pop up en masse, he would move onto the next city or town. It was during this time that he, in technical/game mechanic terms, began to really develop his Rouge skills. It was also during this time that he began to present himself as he was—a boy. He started to garner attention from the more underground parts of Dulavia, and he became something of a notable figure, though he wasn’t too notable. Not yet. That wouldn’t be until one day, at his lodging at the time, he found an invitation and a pink rose.
It wasn't me! Mother, Father, you have to believe me!
Maxie had been invited to join a notorious thieves’ guild called The Garden. The Garden was run at the time by an elusive man known only as Fleur-de-Lis. Once meant to be a safe place for those who had to steal, by the time Maxie joined, it had become a hub of organized crime. Those who were (and are) part of The Garden are not called by their actual names, but rather given the name of a flower. Various members of The Garden wanted Maxie in their ranks, as they believed his skill would be valuable to their activities. He willingly went to The Garden’s hideout, which happened to be in the same city as his old school. He was brought before Fleur-De-Lis, and was struck by his power and beauty.
To be accepted into The Garden, prospective members must prove themselves via a task given by the current leader. This task is usually a high stakes theft/heist, wherein the inductee may end up arrested or killed. Maxie’s task was to steal jewelry from a member of the local government, which he accomplished without so much as a scratch on himself or the jewels! Upon his return to the hideout, Maxie was given the name “Dahlia.” Thanks to his first theft, as well as continued successes on heists he was assigned, Dahlia quickly rose through the ranks of The Garden; partially because thievery came naturally to him, partially because he wanted Fleur-De-Lis’ attention. Before he got his attention, though, he gained the respect of his fellow members. This caused Dahlia to grow overconfident and cocky. Eventually, after roughly a year and a half of membership, Fleur-De-Lis approached Dahlia and asked him to be his right hand man. Dahlia practically tripped over himself to accept.
Shortly after becoming his right hand man, Dahlia caught romantic feelings for Fleur-De-Lis, and tried to squash them. Fleur-De-Lis was his boss! Being part of The Garden had saved him from a destitute life—if he were to confess, he feared he would be right back where he was at 15. …Unfortunately for him, he was easy to read. That, and Fleur-De-Lis had excellent intuition. He quickly figured out how his subordinate felt, and instead of approaching him about it, or doing nothing at all, he decided to use it to his advantage. Fleur-De-Lis would give him special treatment for everything he did, and gradually revealed information about his personal life, luring Dahlia into a false sense of reciprocity. Dahlia was wrapped around his finger, essentially putty in his hands. From ages 19-28, Dahlia did everything Fleur-De-Lis asked of him, and then some. He tried often to learn Fleur-De-Lis’ real name, to the point where he let him call him by his in private. At the time, he was going by his full name, Maximillian. Fleur-De-Lis would call him ‘Millian sometimes.Over the nearly ten years Dahlia spent in The Garden, Fleur-De-Lis became increasingly bothered by his presence. Dahlia didn’t pick up on this until later, and currently has no clue why.
The beginning of the end came when Dahlia was tasked by Fleur-De-Lis to complete yet another heist, but under the strangest conditions—he would be accompanying him, and no one else. This was cause for raised eyebrows, but Dahlia was more thrilled than suspicious. He resolved that on the night of the heist he would finally confess his feelings. Their objective was to steal from yet another local government official. The actual theft went off without a hitch, with Dahlia being amazed by Fleur-De-Lis’ skill. Once they left, things began to take a turn for the worse. On the roof of a building not too far from their mark, Dahlia prepared himself for his confession, but Fleur-De-Lis surprised him with a confession of his own—his name. Laertes. One thing or another led to Dahlia turning his back to Laertes, perhaps to steel himself before he spoke. Laertes got close…and cold metal pressed against his throat. In a split-second move, Dahlia ducked out of the way as Laertes held a knife to him, leaving a long, jagged wound across his left cheek. Falling to the ground, Dahlia was confused, panicked. Laertes threw what could only be called a hissy fit, and revealed that he never truly cared for him, and that he knew everything all along. Dahlia was a fool for trusting a thief.
Furious, betrayed, Dahlia managed to get up, and ran away with what they had stolen that night. Laertes gave chase, desperate to kill him. Over rooftops they went, until Dahlia tripped on the edge of a building, careening to the ground. Laertes watched from the roof, and dropped a rose down below. The last thing Dahlia heard him say was “Good riddance.” But, he survived. He was quickly found by city guards who had been sent after the thieves, and taken into custody.
I'd do anything you asked! I'm at your beck and call, Fluer-de-Lis.
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Sed vel ligula et ante ultricies egestas. Donec pulvinar augue id arcu condimentum, eu commodo arcu facilisis. Duis cursus tincidunt velit sit amet egestas. Aliquam placerat, sapien vel consectetur tristique, libero nibh sagittis justo, eu convallis nibh metus nec est. Proin sit amet neque sapien. Integer non congue enim. Cras luctus fringilla mauris fringilla aliquam. Curabitur a mi vulputate, viverra felis eu, vehicula libero. Ut in tincidunt orci. Duis quis mi tempus, interdum nulla nec, fringilla nibh. Mauris rhoncus in eros id hendrerit. Ut auctor justo vel ex molestie rutrum. Donec sit amet auctor mauris, ut fermentum dui. Phasellus id tristique urna. Donec in vulputate lacus, ut imperdiet est.
I was part of a...thieves' guild. The Garden. They called me Dahlia.
Sed vel ligula et ante ultricies egestas. Donec pulvinar augue id arcu condimentum, eu commodo arcu facilisis. Duis cursus tincidunt velit sit amet egestas. Aliquam placerat, sapien vel consectetur tristique, libero nibh sagittis justo, eu convallis nibh metus nec est. Proin sit amet neque sapien. Integer non congue enim. Cras luctus fringilla mauris fringilla aliquam. Curabitur a mi vulputate, viverra felis eu, vehicula libero. Ut in tincidunt orci. Duis quis mi tempus, interdum nulla nec, fringilla nibh. Mauris rhoncus in eros id hendrerit. Ut auctor justo vel ex molestie rutrum. Donec sit amet auctor mauris, ut fermentum dui. Phasellus id tristique urna. Donec in vulputate lacus, ut imperdiet est.
Aenean accumsan sollicitudin mattis. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Cras semper lorem sed imperdiet semper. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Mauris vestibulum, risus quis laoreet egestas, sem quam pulvinar risus, in cursus diam mauris non diam. Suspendisse ut fringilla dui, in elementum dolor. Integer lacus orci, porta euismod risus eget, mollis laoreet nunc. Suspendisse sed diam sit amet sem ullamcorper tincidunt. Curabitur arcu nunc, posuere ac ultrices quis, tincidunt in sapien. Phasellus euismod quis nunc id tempor. Aenean interdum nunc in pharetra iaculis. Vivamus pretium ligula vitae risus rhoncus, sit amet ullamcorper lectus finibus.
Ut tincidunt commodo nunc, eu vehicula odio scelerisque id. Quisque quis quam id erat consequat aliquet. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Aenean ut efficitur nibh, in scelerisque odio. Nunc vel diam non velit euismod volutpat. Integer luctus metus at lectus eleifend viverra. Ut vel elementum lorem. Vestibulum vitae ex quis mi consectetur fringilla.
A traitor? He betrayed me!
Sed vel ligula et ante ultricies egestas. Donec pulvinar augue id arcu condimentum, eu commodo arcu facilisis. Duis cursus tincidunt velit sit amet egestas. Aliquam placerat, sapien vel consectetur tristique, libero nibh sagittis justo, eu convallis nibh metus nec est. Proin sit amet neque sapien. Integer non congue enim. Cras luctus fringilla mauris fringilla aliquam. Curabitur a mi vulputate, viverra felis eu, vehicula libero. Ut in tincidunt orci. Duis quis mi tempus, interdum nulla nec, fringilla nibh. Mauris rhoncus in eros id hendrerit. Ut auctor justo vel ex molestie rutrum. Donec sit amet auctor mauris, ut fermentum dui. Phasellus id tristique urna. Donec in vulputate lacus, ut imperdiet est.
Aenean accumsan sollicitudin mattis. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Cras semper lorem sed imperdiet semper. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Mauris vestibulum, risus quis laoreet egestas, sem quam pulvinar risus, in cursus diam mauris non diam. Suspendisse ut fringilla dui, in elementum dolor. Integer lacus orci, porta euismod risus eget, mollis laoreet nunc. Suspendisse sed diam sit amet sem ullamcorper tincidunt. Curabitur arcu nunc, posuere ac ultrices quis, tincidunt in sapien. Phasellus euismod quis nunc id tempor. Aenean interdum nunc in pharetra iaculis. Vivamus pretium ligula vitae risus rhoncus, sit amet ullamcorper lectus finibus.
Ut tincidunt commodo nunc, eu vehicula odio scelerisque id. Quisque quis quam id erat consequat aliquet. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Aenean ut efficitur nibh, in scelerisque odio. Nunc vel diam non velit euismod volutpat. Integer luctus metus at lectus eleifend viverra. Ut vel elementum lorem. Vestibulum vitae ex quis mi consectetur fringilla.
...You motherfucker.
Sed vel ligula et ante ultricies egestas. Donec pulvinar augue id arcu condimentum, eu commodo arcu facilisis. Duis cursus tincidunt velit sit amet egestas. Aliquam placerat, sapien vel consectetur tristique, libero nibh sagittis justo, eu convallis nibh metus nec est. Proin sit amet neque sapien. Integer non congue enim. Cras luctus fringilla mauris fringilla aliquam. Curabitur a mi vulputate, viverra felis eu, vehicula libero. Ut in tincidunt orci. Duis quis mi tempus, interdum nulla nec, fringilla nibh. Mauris rhoncus in eros id hendrerit. Ut auctor justo vel ex molestie rutrum. Donec sit amet auctor mauris, ut fermentum dui. Phasellus id tristique urna. Donec in vulputate lacus, ut imperdiet est.
Aenean accumsan sollicitudin mattis. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Cras semper lorem sed imperdiet semper. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Mauris vestibulum, risus quis laoreet egestas, sem quam pulvinar risus, in cursus diam mauris non diam. Suspendisse ut fringilla dui, in elementum dolor. Integer lacus orci, porta euismod risus eget, mollis laoreet nunc. Suspendisse sed diam sit amet sem ullamcorper tincidunt. Curabitur arcu nunc, posuere ac ultrices quis, tincidunt in sapien. Phasellus euismod quis nunc id tempor. Aenean interdum nunc in pharetra iaculis. Vivamus pretium ligula vitae risus rhoncus, sit amet ullamcorper lectus finibus.
Ut tincidunt commodo nunc, eu vehicula odio scelerisque id. Quisque quis quam id erat consequat aliquet. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Aenean ut efficitur nibh, in scelerisque odio. Nunc vel diam non velit euismod volutpat. Integer luctus metus at lectus eleifend viverra. Ut vel elementum lorem. Vestibulum vitae ex quis mi consectetur fringilla.
duis porta eros et velit blandit dapibus.
