Kree's Family, Loretober Day Seven!

Kree was born in a clutch of three and was the last one to escape his egg due to developing smaller than his siblings. Alongside him was a sister, the first to hatch, and a brother. His brother was a bit of a bully to Kree, mocking his size and such throughout childhood, but his elder sister was nicer, at least...a little nicer. All of them were fiercely competitive over everything and had very cut throat mealtimes, but their loyalty to each other ran deep. Even as children, they would all be willing to head straight into peril in order to save their clutch mate.

Kree's mother initially ignored him a bit, feeding him but not granting him the affection (however small) she gave to his siblings. The mortality rate of harpy runts is quite high due to the dangers of the southern forest, so sometimes mothers detach emotionally from these children in order for their eventual death to not sting as much. However, once Kree proved that he wasn't going to die anytime soon, she began having high expectations for him, pushing Kree to accomplish difficult tasks like hunting and racing more often than his other siblings. She did this in hopes he'd become stronger despite being a runt and, although it was far from affectionate, it was her way to show she cared for her son. From a young age Kree was taught that he needed to work harder than others to be successful and that giving up was unacceptable.

Kree's father was a much more loving, gentle presence. He taught Kree everything he knew in a meticulously patient way, and under his tutelage, Kree learned how to build a proper nest, weave baskets, and how to "find" human trinkets without getting caught. Although most harpies only keep an odd human trinket or two that were clearly left behind or lost by their owners, Kree's father went out of his way to find and gift fine jewelry and silver to his beloved mate, who wore the gifts religiously. The most affection Kree ever saw in his mother's eyes towards him was when he gifted her the first necklace he ever found on his own. This is why Kree became quite the collector of shiny things and mainly utilizes gift giving when wooing someone.

Just before Kree and his clutch mates reached adulthood, an unnaturally rampant forest fire had torn through their area of the woods late in the night while he and his siblings were sleeping. His parents didn't make it, his father refusing to leave their new clutch of eggs and his mother searing her flesh to get inside the burning nest he was in. She screamed at Kree and his siblings to get to safety and they hesitantly obeyed, but the air was boiling and it was getting difficult to breathe. Kree was able to get out, but in all the confusion he had been separated from his siblings and wasn't able to find them after the fire died down.

After this, Kree was on his own. He of course had friends he relied on and partners he shared fever with, but, even when he fell in love, he never felt like he had found true family again. At least, not until Clara.