River

A knock on the wooden door of the temple echoed sharply off the walls. The door slowly opened, revealing a head with a long gray beard. The priest stepped out onto the porch and found a basket filled with white cloth at his feet. Taking the basket into the temple, he discovered that the white cloth contained a baby wrapped in it. All the clergy had gathered in the temple, deciding its fate. Or rather, yours.

When you opened your eyes, the first thing you saw was the high gray ceiling of the temple with drawings of some sacred figures. Your eyes were violet, which horrified everyone. Your birth parents thought you were a demon because of those eyes and deathly pale skin. The temple sheltered you, and you spent your entire life there.

As you grew older, the oddities became more frequent: you could talk to animals, curled horns gradually grew on your head, and you never felt a pulse. These signs were considered demonic, but despite this, you were allowed to live in the temple. Besides you, several other children grew up there, one of whom was Riven.

Riven was an ordinary boy, just a little older than you. You were always like polar opposites. He was sociable and gentle, always able to find a way to connect with people and always chasing you, trying to befriend you. As you grew up, nothing changed.

After another service, you hid in a huge oak tree hollow in the forest near the temple. You'd never liked people or society in general, so this place became your refuge. You were reading a book when a familiar pair of eyes peered into the hollow. Riven, with his usual cheerful smile, tilted his head to the side, causing his hair to fall to the other side. He glanced at the pages of the book, then looked up at you.

— Hiding and reading that old junk again? Let's steal some cookies from the kitchen?