Early Life
From the time Opal was able to toddle around, her father has taken her hunting with him. He's taught her to respect life and not fear death, to appreciate the cycle of all living things. Revere it, he says, and the miracle of growth that sprouts from each corpse. His wisdom is always followed by old Celtic tales, sometimes about the plethora of fae and other times a retelling of their mythology. Sometimes, after they'd eaten their fill and were relaxing in their sleeping bags next to the campfire, they would write their own creation myths together. Oslo would tease and Opal would laugh, and it was not until exhaustion shut their eyes that they would sleep.
Some of Opal's favorite memories of her father involve their days-long camping trips. They nurtured her adoration of nature, and her subsequent love of animals became second nature. On occasion, back when Opal was still a child, Onyx would join them and the camping grounds would be full of excited chatter. It was during one of their family trips that Opal saw her first owl in person. She'd been frightened of its bright, reflective eyes, and the way its head had swiveled around to watch her as she walked by. It wasn't until she watched it hunt for prey that she understood that it was like her. She wrote poetry by the light of the fire about the symbolism of it and her family, and from then on it was her favorite critter.
There were times when it was just Opal and her mother, their shared love of fashion seeing them attending fashion runways and shows. It was Onyx who taught Opal how to sew. They spent countless hours together in trial and error, Onyx sketching out designs and patterns that Opal learned to emulate. Together, they created everything that caught their eyes — from high fashion to Victorian gowns. For Opal's first school dance, Onyx unleashed her creative spirit to manifest a gorgeous dress that only lasted a night after a bully dumped his punch down the back of her dress. Opal clocked him in the face, and it was Onyx who backed her up, threatening to sue the school if they punished Opal for defending herself.
For as long as Opal can remember, there's been a garden in her backyard. When she was young, it'd been small and easily maintained. She'd enjoyed picking the few cucumbers and peppers that'd grown there. She'd kneeled in the dirt, her hands dug into it up to her wrists as she lovingly learned how to tuck a bulb into the Earth. By the time she was a teenager, it was far larger, impeccably tended to her by Onyx and Oslo until they divorced. Weeds had grown and festered then, and it almost felt like this project of love reflected the state of their family. After her father's death, Opal took to tending the garden again, albeit by herself. She worked the weeds and their roots from the soil on days when she couldn't be bothered to do her schoolwork. She tries to rebuild the garden back to its previous splendor, but it's too large to keep up by herself.
Current Day
When Opal was fourteen, Onyx began to take issue with the way their daughter was being raised. She didn't appreciate always being made to be the antagonist or fixing messes Oslo was incapable of addressing in his attempt to stay a favored friend instead of a parent. This led to their divorce, and Opal's dawning horror at the isolation she found herself living in at her mother's hands. With Onyx always working, she was often left alone for days at a time, given only a prepaid debit card to manage expenses.
After reporting her neglect to her father, Oslo took it upon himself to "kidnap" his own daughter for her betterment. He'd attempted to report the abuse to Child Services, but due to Onyx's power, influence, and money, nothing came of it. After confirmation that Opal wanted a different life, Oslo rolled out of the driveway with everything they could pack in three suitcases and a duffle bag. They were just crossing the state line when a drunk driver plowed into Oslo's side of the car, narrowly sparing Opal the same fate.
Oslo died in Opal's arms, whispering promises of a life that could never be fulfilled. Even in death, he coddled her, ultimately leaving her partially in denial and unprepared to face reality. Opal was returned to Onyx, who promptly sent her daughter to a therapist, with whom she refused to play nice. Initially, Onyx forcibly brought Opal to each session, but when she simply sat there silently and refused to speak, her mother gave up and stopped forcing her to attend. It came as no surprise later that Opal began to act out, changing her aesthetic to something decidedly more goth while also getting in trouble with authority figures at school.
Onyx picked up the phone the first few times the school called, but as they kept calling, she eventually sent them to voicemail instead. Now, Opal sees her mother for a handful of hours a week. Onyx insists that it's for Opal's own good, that her clinginess and dependence on others was going to hamper her later in life, as she knew the game was coming. Without context, Opal is unaware of her mother's reasons and frankly thinks there's no reason to justify neglect.
