CONTENT WARNING: Abuse, drug use & abuse

Zeph was born from standard "white trailer trash" - both his mother and father were drug users who only fought with each other unless they were stoned out of their minds. Their drug use became heavier after he was born, both getting hooked on meth along with constant drinking, and verbally abusing him and each other. Although child protective services were called a handful of times, nothing ultimately came of it, and Zeph assumed this was simply normal family lifestyle. He never invited friends over, and because of his sweet demeanor, many of his peers were unaware of his awful home life. 

As he got older Zeph's father became more physically abusive to him and his mother. It was his normal to hear the two screaming at each other when he'd come home from school; most days he would stay in a little hideaway he'd found and made for himself, where he kept his own spare cash and some nonperishable food and a sleeping bag. On the occasion he had to go in his trailer home, he'd try to be as sneaky as possible so as not to alert his parents and have their anger directed on him. This of course did not always work, and when he received bruises and wounds from the fights he would cover them up and not discuss it with friends. It carried over into high school, where he met his now best friends Rocket and Jared, but they too didn't know just how bad it was for him at the time. Jared was the one to break the ice, feeling a sort of kinship with Zeph who was isolated and alone, a feeling the dragon had known all too well in the past. And while abrasive and defensive at first, Zeph quickly opened up, and the three became close quite quickly. He still didn't tell them what his home life was like until Rocket sensed his anger and fear, catching a glimpse of proof at the abuse at home, and immediately offered to give him a home to stay in instead. This is where Zeph spent most of his high school life, Rocket's family adopting him in as if it were completely natural. It was at 16 he'd gotten a job and saved up the money to get a guitar. The instrument was his pride and joy and after another physical fight with his father that left the acoustic guitar scarred in the end, he left it at the Aldario household for safekeeping.

Senior year he dated a girl he'd been crushing on for over a year, and he was happy for a few months. Unfortunately the facade was short lived; he ignored all of the ways she hurt him typically, but she finally admitted that the only reason she agreed to date him was to get closer to Jared. Consumed with rage and sadness, their breakup was bitter and Zeph spiraled worse into depression. He'd been smoking weed since middle school, and picked up alcohol at 15, but among many other stresses this was his breaking point. He isolated himself further from his friends and drowned himself in drugs and alcohol.

Depending on the setting he may be better or still stuck in said rut, but he usually is still an addict of alcohol and uses heroin from time to time. He knows deep down that he desperately needs help, but he's also afraid to seek it out.

[AU]

• Backstory:

Abilities/Powers:

• n/a

Skills:

• He can make those cute little foam kitties and tons of designs for lattes with ease
• Proficient with his bo-staff. Being lightweight makes him extremely agile and swift, and since he has no strength to speak of this is his main means of attacking