Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

On December 25, 2000, Boris Downing was born in St. Elmer's hospital at 8:56 AM, but he was not born alone. Along with him came his two sisters Molly and Leah Downing. Triplets.
The three baby otters were born into an already wealthy family; Boris' great-great-grandfather had invented and patented a way for smaller animals to drive regular cars.
The egregiously named Daddy Long Legs was a long gadget that smaller mammals set up on the floor of middle-sized cars, essentially raising the pedals so that they could reach. It brought the entire Downing family heavy wealth, never experiencing financial hardship from that point.
Thus, he had Downing Manor erected. A large, 8,540 square foot art piece that was imposing to anyone driving by. Ten bedrooms, a whopping fourteen bathrooms, a beautiful and well-kept courtyard, and a grandiose kitchen with marble counters were just the beginning. A vast dining room with three chandeliers, a theater room, a game room, a basement, and multiple washrooms still wasn't everything. The hallways seemed to go on forever, there was a conservatory, a ballroom, and any other amount of decadent animal luxuries that made other wealthy animals jealous.
Growing up in a place such as this certainly affected how Boris viewed the rest of the world, not to mention that his family's class far exceeded that of anyone else he knew or met. And that was just the thing. He practically never met anyone or left. He had everything he needed in Downing Manor. The staff all did their job, and he was kind to them as a kid, thinking they were part of the family just like anyone else.
Boris, Leah, and Molly were all normal rich babies. They got every toy they wanted to shut them up, they fought like normal siblings, and they explored the mansion to no end. They were all well behaved, too. It was only after they began growing up that things changed.
After being homeschooled by a private teacher until the end of 8th grade, the class of three siblings was ready to go onto high school. Some infidelity and marriage problems later, their mother ran off with Mr. Anderson, while their father decided to fire the handsome male teacher, an otter just like them, and let them go to a school of their choosing.
Each of the siblings was enrolled in private lessons and homeschooled. They were all forced to learn the piano in the sprawling ballroom with its light brown wooden floor and the large, fancy rug covering most of the space. They would take their lessons, one by one, thirty minutes at a time. Once one of them was finished, that animal would observe until all three animals were done.
Molly was average. She found it to be a fun hobby but never picked it up in her free time. Leah was horrendous and would often cry during the lessons, adding minutes to almost every other session. She was the kind of animal to groan every time she hit a wrong note. Boris, however, found true talent in tickling the ivories. So gifted was he that his instructor insisted he showed off his abilities in a solo recital for other neighboring families. Boris loved the attention at the time.
From then on, he began listening to classical music. The instructor, whom he remembered was named Dr. Fisk, had gifted him a record by his favorite composer at the end of a recital. Often, the male otter would go down to the ballroom and pull up the comfiest chair, sinking into it and letting the soothing melodies lull him to sleep. Those were the days.
Boris wasn't only gifted in the art of musicianship, either. After watching a few videos about famous painters, the otter realized that it was something he was interested in himself. He practiced with drawing first, which he got good at before he moved on to real painting. Watercolor, acrylic, oil; he tried it all.
After Mr. Anderson was fired and Dr. Fisk decided to pursue other callings, Boris began researching a high school. He found a perfect Fine Arts Academy that wasn't too far from his home. It was a public school. Once Leah and Molly had come to their father with the same school in mind, it was decided all three siblings would attend together, being driven in a fancy car there every morning, causing all the other kids to stare.
As Boris grew older, he grew more cynical of the world around him. He began pulling away from his fellow students, preferring to be a part of the background and ignoring every question from poor kids about his rich family. Leah and Molly somehow faded into the crowd, and it was a wonder how these children with wealthy families weren't the most popular in the school. That was fine with Boris.
Then came Water on Fire to change all of that.
Because the school was a Fine Arts Academy, they were okay with letting students put up posters for their groups and outside activities (as long as they followed the guidelines and weren't inappropriate or hurtful). One of these posters happened to be for a band called Water on Fire, and while the graphic design was shoddy at best, something about it called to Boris, and he felt like it could make him happy. Heaven knows he wasn't at the time.
Not because he wasn't a straight-A student or didn't enjoy the classes. It was because he simply wasn't and didn't understand why. What was he missing? Why couldn't he be like other kids?
The next thing he knew, he was sitting across from two animals at a small fold-out table in a carpeted basement; a hyena named Nicholas Flynn and a German shepherd named Tyler Finlay. Boris wasted no time with his introduction and played a complicated piece he had been practicing lately.
From the start, it was evident that Nick and Tyler were casual music listeners, being more than impressed with what was a poor performance on Boris' end. Nonetheless, he got the spot in the band, and rehearsals began.
On the first day of practice, he met the other two band members, Nora the spotted deer, and Page, the white and black bunny. They were an off bunch of outsiders, clearly, and were not compatible initially, constantly bickering over this or that.
Slowly, Boris observed the changes and improvements that began showing in the band. Nick, with his ineffable leadership and elegant songwriting, and intense passion, Tyler with his ability to finally focus and not constantly make jokes, Nora with her confidence in the group, and Page with her ability to play more complicated drum rhythms. Everyone was improving.
Everyone except him. He was still as stuck up as ever, bossing the bandmates around and giving snide remarks every chance he got. Frequently, he was the cause of their problems, which he always felt wrong about afterward.
A record release later, the band began to gain some followers, and everyone was excited for the small win and stream of gigs they were now getting. Boris decided he would work on becoming better for his friends and began hanging out with them more and thinking before he spoke.
Not but a year after, Water on Fire's killer sophomore album, Monster, was released to critical and audience acclaim. The band was finally getting the recognition they deserved!
As they toured the record, Boris realized his place, becoming happier surrounded by the familiar people and the crowded stadiums watching him perform on piano, while continuing to paint as a hobby on the side.
Everything was good and this continued even after the tour. Until that fateful night in January 2021, just a few days after his birthday. Boris had been practicing the piano for a song Nick had recently written. Becoming thirsty, he called one of the mansion's staff members to bring him water and, knowing they'd pulled a joke like that before (Boris wasn't so strict with the attendants); he didn't believe it when no one showed up. After a while of waiting, he got up to get the drink, spotting himself in a reflection and dropping the glass right then and there, the contact with the tile floor causing it to explode into pieces. Instead of the well-dressed otter he was accustomed to, there was a bloody figure, wearing a black tee-shirt and looking right into his eyes.
That night, Boris discovered his name was Absalom and that this creature had taken hold of his body. However, Absalom couldn't control his body despite possessing him. And so his task was set, kill twenty walking mammals or worse things would happen. What those things were, he didn't want to find out. He was too much of a coward.
The otter was very freaked out, immediately trying to contact someone but finding that he couldn't communicate no matter what he tried. The demon could manipulate mortal technology at will. Attempting the personal approach, he went to Nick's house physically, desperate to gain any kind of help.
Somehow, he was able to show Nick his unchanging reflection, and the hyena let him stay over that night. From then on, they became closer, hanging out, getting to know each other, and becoming good friends.
There was talk of putting the band on hold between them, but Boris insisted on keeping it going for the others and as some sort of distraction. Nick reluctantly agreed.
Boris's first kill was a school bully named Travis (A bully whom he rarely dealt with), finally glimpsing the true power of Absalom within. The entity convinced Boris that the animal deserved to die for everything he had done to the otter and others in their past. Boris followed Travis into the bathroom nervously and realized that his reflection was trying to hand him a weapon. Discovering he could take it from the dimension beyond the mirror, Boris used it to slay the coyote right then and there. The party was thrown into chaos when a partygoer discovered Travis, and when the police showed up, they found no body or blood.
After that, Boris committed a few more murders, and, each time, the bodies and evidence went missing. It was despicable.
Finally, that fateful concert where he killed Astrid. Boris had gotten into an argument with her over something stupid backstage. Absalom began convincing him that he should kill her right then and there, but the otter fought back with all the willpower he had. It ended up being a losing battle, as before he knew it, he was staring into his band manager's cold dead eyes.
And Nick was there. He had seen it all. Then someone else screamed bloody murder, which was true.
Everyone started running around, the audience waiting outside scattering like roaches when the light turned on. They were all in a panic. Boris, himself, had begun running around as well, knowing he needed to escape due to the sheer amount of animals who knew about the crime. He caught up with a panicking Tyler and knocked him out, somehow finding the strength to drag the German shepherd to his car. He was very thankful that the band members had come separately that day.
Now, he was on the run from something called the Mortal Guard, an organization Absalom told him about that would be hell-bent on capturing him for his paranormal crime.
Life could change in a single horrible moment.