Things didn't used to be this way.

"Alder and Dash were always the nicest boys…."

453,697 years alive. 453,697 years of wasted time; of dreadful experience and sorrow. 453,697 years of Kibosh…time was so ruthless.

Life was now a broken mirror through their eyes; images distorted by perceptions, reflecting misplaced happiness through darkened cracks. So many fragments reflecting their environment, yet showing nothing more. Time served as the hammer to smash that mirror, and Kibosh was responsible for delivering that wrongful blow; hence the creation of so many years of ill luck under his stern gaze.

No…things were different once. They remembered the beautiful blue sky, but barely. There was a time when flowers used to smell lovely, kissed by those pretty little insects with the triangle shaped wings. The water used to be a crystal blue; no monsters lurking beneath to their memory. The sun used to be brighter too, blessing all who dance under it in marvelous golden rays. Such beauty was a dreamland now that the humans took advantage of. All the natural pretty things were put to shame in this dreary world.

Things have changed; Alder and Dash had been born in a different era, under different parents with different views. They remembered laughing so freely and laughing and playing, the wind kissing their cheeks through the lush green fields that was their playpen. 453,697 years ago friendliness was not something to be feared or hate; it was simply who you are. If only their clouded minds could recall all of those happy times now.

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Their mother was a dreamer. Fair lavender skin and eyes as green as every blade of grass beneath her tentacles. Head always in the clouds, smiling an everlasting sweet smile. Her disposition earned her the title "Little Lavie" around the ancient Dicephalus swampland as she was considered to be the most precious thing amidst the retched marsh; the one soft flower amidst a sea of weeds.

Their father was an inventor. Tools in hand, dirt on his face, he was a man bound to the experimentations of a modernizing world. He wasn't seen much around the swamps, preferring to work in the Busy North of the Underworld; he preferred the large, noisome city life over one in the country where traditions lasted as long as the vine crusted stone structures built by ancient ancestors. When he came to the swamp periodically, the only reason was to see his beautiful Naveen, the Little Lavie of the marsh; the nomadic moon always returned to the natural sun.

One day he returned to find her waiting at the small hill overlooking the Northern sea, just as she always did. There was a strangely blissful smile on her lips this time; he was curious to find the reason of that knowing glint in her eyes. She laughed and ran a finger through his messy orange locks, expecting to hear them crackle and snap like the roaring flames. A gentle hush met his ears, before she placed his hands on her belly; it was the beginning of a new story, even though it would be a broken one.

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Dicephalai don't mate for life, purely for the reason that their species was and still is considered to be very rare in the monster world; to be united forever meant that others of their kin might not have a chance to successfully breed and put an increase to their low numbers; mating season comes every couple thousand years, the eggs take up to two years to develop and young require about 100 years to raise before they even reach mid childhood; no time should be wasted.

The Dicephalus comes in two breeds: The Bluntsnout and the Flathead. One of each kin is always connected to the same body as Bluntsnouts can't breed with other Bluntsnouts and Flatheads with Flatheads; a genetic mutation that can never be changed. All chicks are born as twins, but all adult twins don't breed together: during the mating season, the Dicephalus undergoes a jaw dropping transformation: they split apart to mate with the intentions of creating new gene pools, and will stay apart until the chicks reach the 100 year mark.

It just so happened that Naveen was a Flathead and her lover Murdok was a Bluntsnout. For two years they watched over their egg dutifully, taking turns incubating it penguin style or hunting for sustenance. Such a duration may seem long for any other monster species, but when you are deeply in love, time is no longer an obstacle to worry about. It served as a harbinger to the heaven's, however; just like in the human world, the stars were marked with horoscopes; every sign assigned to every chick born under it's gaze. Two years of watching the stars slowly drifted by, dismissing every other constellation that their children will be guided under, until the ill-fated Miser constellation beamed brightly in the night sky on the night of the birth of Naveen and Murdok's children.

"The stars are set; their path is going to be a long and misshapen one," The Elder Byron said to them, his ancient clouded eyes squinting hard at the constellation shaped like two feuding dragons, "Greed and pride will plague their minds; it is wise to raise your offspring with much patience and forgiveness, unless you want the stubborn minds of the dragons to turn on you." His gaze slowly shifted to the rustling of the egg, turning to look at the fear in the eyes of the parents. "Do not fear; never let them see it nor bitterness towards their fate; be strong, and the Gods will reward you all well."

The first chapter was about to be written, as the shell cracked open and the bright beam of a glowing purple heart shone through the still-intact birth sack that encased the hatchlings. Naveen and Murdok looked at one another, each exchanging deep exhales before breathing in deep to part their ribcage and flash their own different hued organs at the young. The egg broke a bit more before the sack finally split apart; The first head to make a squeak was the Bluntsnout, followed by his twin brother. It would be a very beautiful sound for most parents to hear, yet this song held the tune of heartbreakingly sad notes to Naveen and Murdok.

"They're beautiful."

Naveen showed her first smile, holding her precious boys close to their chest, listening to their tiny squeaks and running her fingers through the slimy fuzz of bright orange hair of her first son.

Murdok's orange eyes lit up with wild sparks as he grinned; the fears seemed to slip away now that the product of two years of work was here.

"Yeah, they are handsome little devils, aren't they?"

"They're not devils," his darling replied, looking at them; she was waiting for them to open their eyes. "What shall we name them?"

There was no answer; it was something they had overlooked in their anticipation. He waited for her to say something before giving any input.

Naveen looked at him hopefully. "How about….Percy and…Ramzy!"

Murdok snorted, his nose wrinkling at the names; the last thing he needed was two hoidy-toity little gentlemen complaining about every little speck of dirt and grime in his workshop. The naming process lasted for several more minutes, and he was starting to detect the type of names that his sweetheart liked. Every single one of him he shook his head at.

"They need manly names! Or something that won't get their asses kicked for dressing in a sailor suit and reciting proverbs. Names that aren't malarky, hogwash, balderdash!"

Naveen ceased her argument when hearing the last word in his argument; one could see the gears turning in her head. Murdok blinked, not quite catching on to her knowing grin.

The babies dozed peacefully, unaware of the titles they were about to be given for their ill-fated journey.

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Hey guys; just thought I'd patch some things up to avoid confusion:

Little Lavie: Short for "Little Lavender" due to Naveen's skin tone and gentle nature.

Dicephalus: The breed name for Alder and Dash's species. In the real world a Dicephalus is two heads sharing one body, so it exists!

Byron: The only Dicephalus that, well, doesn't have a twin he shares a body with! I plan to explain that in my next story, so sorry!

Bluntsnout: Dash's type of Dicephalus.

Flathead: Alder's type. Hope I don't need to explain these two, lol.

I really hope you guys will like this story. I appreciate reviews! (No flames though; trolls suck.)