A/N: Hello! Thank you so much for choosing to read my story. Here are a few things to take into consideration before reading.

This is an AU. I am not considering this to be a head-canon tie-in.

The most recent Marvel film released at the time of this story's creation is Spiderman: Far From Home. Any events that take place after the film do not occur in this universe.

This story is filed under "Avengers" because I have a sequel, and then two other Avengers fics planned that correspond with this story.

"The Snap" WILL fit in to this story! I have an explanation ready, just bear with!

"Earthrylite" is pronounced "Eth-rill-light" and "Dhaivhlia" is pronounced "Daha-lee-ea". It's meant to be a name configured from the made-up language once used in the setting of this fic. Apologies for any crazy spellings, I'm simply trying to create a culture for my fic.

PLEASE leave a review! I love to hear what other people think!

Thanks for reading, and on with the show! -HarrietSilverwynd

Origin

The wind was cruel that evening. A wicked, icy breeze that swept through every silent street and illuminated alley. The faint trickle of light could be seen dancing in and out of windows and the sound of laughter echoed throughout the otherwise silent night.

A mother and her children, one boy and one girl, slipped quietly out of the dimly lit doorway of a restaurant. The young girl, no older than four, skipped merrily ahead whilst her brother, tall and with seven years of age on to him, slunk between the shadows, cautious of who might spot their departure. The young girl paused at a trellis of flowers decorating the otherwise barren alleyway and looked at her mother with hopeful eyes. Her brother swiftly approached her and moved her hands away from the blooms.

"No, Dhaivhlia," he said, steering her away from the trellis. "We mustn't. Not in public."

The little girl looked up at him with confusion. "Why? We can make the whole wall pretty, and then everyone who lives here will be happy, because there will be pretty colours!"

"No," said her brother again, gently, "Come on. Grandfather and Xeroux are waiting with the car. We must get going." The two children turned away from the wall.

"Wait, Silvio."

Their mother's calm voice echoed down the silent alleyway. Both children spun on their heels, Silvio a little more reluctantly. He looked at his mother with wonder. They couldn't. It was too risky. That was what he had always been told. It was the first lesson his Grandfather had ever taught him- an Earthrylite must never reveal themselves to the public eye.

Silvio pulled a puzzled expression. Whatever could his mother want, to remain in this dingy alleyway any longer? He, personally, did not understand why they couldn't have celebrated Dhaivhlia's birthday back at home with safe, high walls and guards at every corner. His sister's favourite restaurant was certainly not his dream destination. His eyes caught on to the slight movement of possible civilians outside the alley. His mind quickly filled with rage. He recalled what his Grandfather had told him about humans- humans would try to hurt and destroy them. He must try to destroy them first. He turned back to his mother, who had carried Dhaivhlia back to the blossoming trellis, her little arms reaching out with excitement. He quickly ran over to them, only to be caught by his mother's firm arms.

"Are you going to help us?" Odette said, smiling down at her son. He gazed up at her with a mix of worry and excitement on his face. "Do not worry. It is perfectly safe- no one will see us here."

Dhaivhlia smiled up at her brother. "Please? I can't do it yet!"

Silvio relented as he took the end of one of the dangling vines off the bottom of the trellis into his hand. His mother did the same whilst little Dhaivhlia watched in awe. Odette turned her head to look at him.

"Ready?"

He nodded; all worry that he had had now replaced with excitement. He watched as the vine in his mother's soft white hand suddenly grew, new buds forming and blossoming before his very eyes. He tilted his head upwards as the vine expanded, weaving its way between cracked bricks and rusted signs. Dhaivhlia gave a small clap of awed approval. This was the best birthday gift she had received that day- the chance to make other people feel safe and happy, as safe and happy as her mother made her. Odette turned to her son.

"Now you. Make them glow, like you did with the flowers at home."

Silvio took a deep breath and concentrated all his thoughts to glowing flowers. He felt the energy rush to his palms and be absorbed by the vine's tendrils. Their heads turned to the blossoms as they softly began to glow. Silvio himself glowed with pride as he heard his sister's soft clapping in his ears. He was lost in the awe of the moment, slowly breathing in the beauty. It took him and his mother only a little over a moment to realise that the faint applause had come to a sudden halt.

Both spun around quickly to face several men surrounding them. One had a hand over Dhaivhlia's mouth, the other restraining her from running away. Odette's expression quickly switched from one of concern to one of anger. She let out a small hiss.

"Let my daughter go."

Silvio cowered behind his mother. He wasn't sure what he ought to do. Should he try to rescue his sister? Or should he remain by his mother's side, ready to fight? He looked towards the circle of men that opposed them. They were surprisingly young; mid-twenties to early-thirties, but he knew they meant them harm. It was the way of humans; his Grandfather had explained to him. The jealousy they have for the abilities of creatures akin to them forms a sharp hatred that they release in manners of destruction and aggression. It was the reason of how the Wars came to be. It was why they went into hiding on this greatly secluded island- and now they had been found.

The men advanced towards them. Dhaivhlia struggled in grasp of the man handling her, tears streaming down her cheeks. The biggest of their group spat purposefully towards Odette.

"You're a bunch of those native freaks, huh? Those war-bringers."

Odette curled her mouth into a sneer.

"Perhaps."

The man gave a harsh laugh.

"Of course, you are. We saw your unnatural meddling with the blossoms. And here I was thinking we exterminated all you native demons ages ago."

"Clearly you were mistaken," Odette replied, the slightest tremor of fear detectable in her seemingly calm voice. She leaned towards her son and whispered in his ear. "Run. Run, Silvio. Get to the car, get your Grandfather, get Xeroux and stay there."

She cleared her throat. "I will deal with these men myself."

The men watched as the vines that were once above them were now creeping across the ground and wrapping themselves around their ankles. Their cries of pain and surprise were accompanied by the raging screams of Odette, hands moving at a great speed as she desperately tried to contain them all. Silvio took this moment of distraction to bolt in the direction of the awaiting car.

Dhaivhlia cried out in fear as the men struck against her mother, using brute force to fight the oncoming vines. Odette looked at her daughter in panic before manipulating a vine to wind itself around the throat of the man who stood near her and hoist him up in the air, choking him. Dhaivhlia looked around in bewildered, terrified confusion. Who was good? Who was bad? The men were bad- they tried to hurt them. But here her mother was, choking and throwing the same men into the ground. Dhaivhlia pressed herself further into a dark corner of the alley. She felt the ground around her rumble as great stone spikes shot from below the paving, encaging them in a prison of rubble, her mother standing in the middle.

She watched as her mother fought off each man one by one, trapping them in tight twists of ugly stone triangles or watching their faces turn blue as tight vines wound their way around their throats. Only Dhaivhlia, in her sweet innocence noticed the fear hiding in the young men's eyes. The very same terror that had currently overtaken her. Odette was so focused on the circle of attackers around her that she failed to notice the one man perched on the edge. Dhaivhlia spotted a gleam of silver among the man's black attire. She opened her mouth to yell at her mother in an attempt to warn her of the peril about to come, but her cries were lost to the steady rumble of the misshapen stone boulders protruding in and out of the ground around her. Odette never saw the man approach. She was in the midst of strangling one of his fellow accomplices when the searing pain from behind took her by surprise. As swiftly as they had appeared, the great stone spikes and seemingly endless ropes of vine quickly disappeared.

The man found his way on top of Odette, holding her body down whilst he stabbed her again and again. The other man struggling to breathe next to them, having been freed from the vines circling his throat when he was only inches from death. Odette's arms flailed as she desperately tried to push the man off of her, but it was all to no avail. She gave her terrified daughter one last, loving look before the knife was brough down deep into her heart. The man let out a breath.

"There," he whispered to his accomplice, "The demon is dead."

He turned to the corner where Dhaivhlia was cowering and narrowed his eyes.

"Now for the leftovers."

He let out a shaky breath before advancing towards Dhaivhlia, away from her mother's poor, lifeless, bleeding body. Dhaivhlia did nothing; she just sank to the floor slowly and let the tears run down her face. The sudden patter of frantic footsteps and angry cries behind the men made them turn swiftly on their tails and scurry away in the opposite direction, leaving Dhaivhlia crying on the ground.

Silvio mad a beeline for his mother's lifeless body. This was his fault. He hadn't got help soon enough. He turned and wept into his Grandfather's shoulder as he sank down beside him. His Grandfather gently tilted his daughter's head towards him, and kissed her tenderly on the forehead.

"This is why we must hide," he whispered. "This is why we must isolate." His whispers rose to an angry shout. "This is what the humans will do!"

Silvio turned away from his mother to the corner of the alley in which his sister had hid. She was now howling in Xeroux's arms, her tears staining his black suit. He said nothing, but he carried her all the way back to the car whilst she cried all down his back. The humans had done this to such a sweet, innocent little girl. He knew it wasn't his place to speak out- he was just a butler after all- but he raised his eyes to meet her Grandfather's. They shared the same look of pain, of rage, of sorrow, before he handed her over to him so that he could drive them all home safely. Dhaivhlia dreamed that night of pitch-black alleyways and blood-drenched blossoms. No matter how much she tossed and turned, she could never expel the nightmares from her mind.

Every time she awoke screaming, Xeroux was always waiting outside her door. He would lull her back to sleep. He would let her cry on his shoulder. He would do whatever her Grandfather ordered him to do. A mother's lifeless, bleeding body, he thought, was something her little daughter ought never to see.

But alas, the world is never a kind place to live. The scent of war was fresh again in the atmosphere and the years to come would only solidify its possibility.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I do hope you enjoyed it This is only an origin, a little bit of backstory for Dhaivhlia. The rest of the story will be present-day.

I hope you like the world I have created for you.

-HarrietSilverwynd