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Russell's life has never been easy. The oldest child of four, Russell found himself forced to grow up young and act as caretaker for his siblings from the time he was 10 years old. After the birth of their fourth child, Russell's parents realized they couldn't afford to support four children on his fatehr's salary alone. Russell's mother was forced to get a job of her own to make ends meet, working late shifts after Russell's father got home so he could look after the children. This put a strain on their relationship, and this strain, combined with the stress of long hours for low pay and the ego blow of not being able to provide for his family, drove Russell's father to drink. He rapidly fell into alcoholism, and would often get violent when he was drunk. Russell's mother wasn't around to protect her children, so Russell took it upon himself to bear the brunt of his father's wrath, protecting his siblings and taking their punishments as well as his. When his father would come home drunk, Russell would make dinner for himself and his siblings, and then keep them in his room, safe from the drunkard downstairs. He would help them finish their homework, and then entertain them with games and stories, as the family only had one television. Russell would often make up stories himself, as he couldn't get to the library to get more books often enough. Russell never showed weakness or pain to his siblings, knowing they were relying on him to be strong and protect them from their father. He learned to treat their injuries and his, and to hide his bruises. He refused to seek help, not wanting to risk being separated from his siblings, which his father always promised would happen if Russell ever told anybody about the beatings.
Russell knew from a young age that he was different from his peers. He didn't see or hear things that they couldn't, but he felt that he was called to be something greater than what he was. He hated to see other children being bullied, and became a champion of the weak and outcast. If he spied bullies on the playground, he would involve himself directly, shielding the victim from their abusers' taunts and sometimes blows, often by putting himself between the victim and the bullies. No one, he believed, deserved to be treated like that, especially if they couldn't defend themselves. It was the job of the strong to protect the weak.
Russell had anger management issues growing up. He could offer no explanation for this, and it caused him some problems in elementary school, as he would often get into fights with the bullies. He learned to control his temper through meditation, channelling it into more useful ro creative outlets, and venting through appropriate means. He would spend plenty of time after his father had passed out and his siblings had been put to bed in his room out in the woods near his house, screaming and howling his pain and rage, beating trees and bushes, and doing whatever he had to to vent the anger he had been bottling up throughout the day.
Always big for his age, Russell grew very rapidly with the onset of puberty. By the time he was 15 years old, he was six feet tall, and by the time he was 18, he had reached a full height of six and a half feet. Russell also developed powerful, wiry muscles, and by the time he was 15 years old, his father, now a full head shorter than Russell and nowhere near as well muscled, stopped beating him and his siblings. His temper was from then on taken out on cheap prostitutes, and sometimes Russell and his siblings wouldn't see their father when he staggered home at 2 in the morning, smelling of cheap liquor and cheaper perfume. Russell's mother considered a divorce, but knew she needed his father to help her support their children.
As soon as Russell graduated high school, his father threw him out of the house. His mother tried to stop this, his father threatened her, saying it was his house, and he could decide who lived there. She threatened to leave him, but he said he'd kill her if she ever tried, and then take the kids and move somewhere far away where they would never be found. Russell, however, accepted this, and promised his mother and siblings that he would come by periodically to keep an eye on them. He left his younger brother, the third child, in charge of protecting their sisters, saying it was his duty now, as their brother, to protect his sisters. After a tearful good-bye, Russell left, not sure where he would live or how he would earn a living. He found a job with a local construction company, securing a position on their demolition crew, and found himself some cheap housing downtown. He explained his family situation to his landlord, who said he could make some calls and help Russell find a place for cheap where he could bring his mother and siblings away from their father. Russell thanked him profusely, and told his mother the good news the next time he stopped by the house. He promised that, in three months time, they would all be a happy family living somewhere safe from the abusive drunk who claimed to be husband and father.
In the months following Russell's eviction from his father's house, his life had taken a turn for the bizarre. He couldn't afford a car, so he found himself walking to and from work each day, his pride refusing to let him bum rides from his coworkers. On his walks home, in the gatehring dusk, he sometimes thought he saw strange things out of the corner of his eye, animal shapes and other things, flitting about in the shadows. Machinery seemed to break down or malfunction alarmingly often for him, and animals ran terrified from him. Except for dogs. Dogs would struggle against their leashes as Russell passed them on the streets, and if they managed to break free, they would trot over to Russell and walk beside him, in spite of their masters' commands to heel. People began to watch Russell, following him at a distance, always disappearing into crowds and ducking down alleyways if they srealized he noticed them. At least once, he saw a wolf standing in the road, watching him as he walked. He tried to ignore it, but it began following him, and nothing he did could make it leave him alone. When he tried to confront it directly, it responded by rushing him, knocking him down, biting him on the hand and drawing blood, and then fleeing into the night. Russell returned home that night and bandaged his wound, wondering if he should call animal control. He decided to, but they were unable to locate the wolf he claimed attacked him.
A week later, Russell went to the new apartment building he was going to be moving into with his family. He had already met with the landlady once before and explained the situation, and his current landlord had spoken to her on his behalf, so he was able to put his deposit down and begin moving his things in that day. That evening, while his father was supposed to be at the bar, Russell planned to go to his old house, pick up his mother and siblings, and bring them to the new apartment without his father realizing anything was wrong until the following morning. Unfortunately, his father came home early from the bar that night, having been thrown out for starting a fight. When he saw the packed bags waiting by the door, he was furious. Russell's mother sent the children to their room to wait for her, while she spoke to their father. They were barely out of the room before the first blow came. Russell's father's inebriated mind rapidly jumped to the only logical conclusion: that his wife was leaving him and taking his children with her. He couldn't contain his anger, and he beat her mercilessly, finally strangling her to death in the kitchen. Russell's siblings hid in Russell's old room, his brotehr doing hsi best to keep the sisters calm.
When Russell arrived, he foudn the house abnormally dark and quiet, and his father's car parked in the driveway. Sensing something wrong, Russell immediately went inside the house, where he heard sobbing coming from the kitchen. When Russell stepped into the room, he found his father crouched over his mother's body, weeping openly and repeating over an over, "Look what you made me do, baby. Why'd you have to go and make me do this? I never wanted to hurtcha, so why'd you have to go and make me hurt you, baby?" Russell stood frozen, watching the seen illuminated by the light of the full moon. He heard his blood pounding in his ears, felt the rage he had suppressed for so long bubbling and boiling over. When he began to growl, his father finally noticed him. "This is your fault!" he screamed at Russell, "you made me do this! You turned her against me, poisoned her mind against me! It's your fault she's dead!" Russell's rage broke down the last dams of his resolve. He let out a scream that became a howl, a sound lamenting his mother's death, swearing vengeance on his father, and expressing all the rage he had bottled up throughout his life. Russell's last thought before giving in fully to the Rage was, "I hope my siblings are safe."
When Russell came to, he found himself in the woods near his house. His clothes were in tatters, and he was covered in blood. He found himself looking at the same wolf that had bit him, but when he looked at his hand, the bite was gone. Before his eyes, the wolf transformed into a human, and other humans emerged from the woods around him. "You did quite a number on the old man back there, I don't think there's a large enough piece to identify," said one. "That's enough," barked another, "give the boy a chance to rest before you confront him with what he's done." The first that had spoken silenced himself in deferrence to the obvious leader, who spoke again. "Your siblings are safe, as are you. The police are at your house now, investigating a double murder. You should probably lay low for a while." The leader proceeded to explain that Russell was a werewofl, one of the Uratha, a Rahu because he had changed under the full moon, had been experiencing the symptoms of his First Change for several months, and the pack had taken notice when the spirits in the area became disturbed by it. They had been the ones watching him for the past few months. He had lost control and undergone his First Change when he saw what his father had done to his mother, and torn his father limb from limb in his Rage. They took Russell in for a few weeks, until there was a gathering of the People, and indoctrinated him into Uratha society. Russell petitioned to join the Storm Lords at that gathering, and was indoctrinated not long after.