Don't Stand So Close To Me [DEMIN, PRIVATE]

[demin]

Matias followed the fox-girl through the winding hallways, becoming more and more confused with each turn as he tried to memorize the layout of underground network in case he needed to escape, however doomed to fail this endeavor might have been. He immediately stopped when Arria began to speak. Before he knew it, two creatures emerged from the shadows, who gave the young lycan no time for any reaction on his part. The first sucker punch to the jaw was enough to send Matias into the dark embrace of unconsciousness, blissfully unaware of the continued beating his already weak body would take.

Hours later

When at last consciousness returned to beaten and bloodied Matias, he had no recollection of how he got to be… wherever he was. Horrible odors of feces, urine, and decay assaulted his nose, and everywhere around him he could hear barks, whines, and other noises which he could not quite describe. It all made the fur on his neck stand. Wait… fur? He brought a large, padded and clawed hand-paw to his face, feeling his muzzle filled with deadly fangs. When had he transformed? He couldn’t remember willing the change, and still couldn’t remember how he got to be wherever he was. Now, though, he noticed that something was constricting around his torso and waist. The same hand-paw reached for his chest, feeling the torn fabric of the shirt he wore in his human guise, assuming the constriction about his waist must be the black jeans he usually donned. Matias ripped the remains of his clothing away from his body, glad to be rid of what were very confining garments in this form.

Heavy lidded eyes struggled to open, only to be greeted by the sight of… nothing. The room was far too dark to be able to see in, even for one of his kind. The myriad of barks, whines, and indiscernible noises died down for a few moments, and in that time the confused lycan could hear only his own labored breathing.

No, that wasn’t all. Matias listened a little more carefully, and from what had to be the far side of the room, he could hear something else: The slow, deep breathe of a slumbering creature. He had no idea what it could be. Whatever it was, it was much larger than the now near-skin-and-bones werewolf Matias had become over the past few weeks. This reminder of his physical condition lead to a dull, painful throb in his ankle where the infected wound still resided, the bandages that had been covering it also torn from his transformation. He wanted to try to examine the wound, but the lack of light in the room made that a futile effort, and the beast slumbering in the room with him convinced him moving, and therefore drawing attention, would be a bad idea.

[Kiroro {D.evil's A.dvocate}]

Arria sat in her make-shift 'office', elbows on the desk and face pressed into her palms. It had been several hours since she'd thrown Matias in his cell, but exactly how much time had passed was a mystery to her. She was much too busy reeling from everything that had happened today... or was it yesterday? They didn't allow clocks inside the Underground. Apparently they had been known to drive people crazy, just sitting... watching the hours pass.... staring at much of the same every day... concrete, on steel, on more concrete...

The vulpine shook her head, dismissing the fruitless, insanity-inducing thoughts from her mind. Now was not the time to focus on herself. She had laid the foundation for her plans, but as difficult and nerve-wracking as it was to get the lycan inside her world, the hardest part was yet to come. The next step wasn't really something you could plan for. She needed his trust, or else everything was doomed to failure. But how to go about it?

A memory of their meeting popped into her head, he had mentioned something about a fox.... leading him around before? By that chain?

"Damn...."

He was already conditioned to hate her, that much she was fairly sure of. Not that it was unusual, but it definitely made her job more difficult.

She stood, hands still planted on the desk to support her as she leaned, staring at all of the papers on her desk. There were files stacked on one side, missions she had been assigned, charts and records of current prisoners, and personal notes she had made about all kinds of things. She allowed her vision to blur and refocus for no good reason. When clarity returned, Matias's file stared back at her menacingly. She skimmed over it, duly noting that he would be less than happy about his cell mate.

"But I'm sure he's got more pressing matters to be upset about..."

She sighed, standing completely upright. He probably needed tending to.

She exited her office, locking it behind her and then twisted the knob just to be sure. Her destination wasn't far, but she never left the door open; it was much too risky. Arria began down the hallway at a leisurely pace, trying to extend the time she was allowed to enjoy peace and quiet before entering one of the holding-hallways, thus waking all of it's occupants. Not to mention the very angry wolf she'd have to deal with.

Once she reached the nearest utility closet, she un-clipped her keys from her belt once again, unlocking it. She stepped inside, examining it's contents. It was well stocked with necessities, although most were for members, not prisoners. For the second time, her thoughts warned her that she should not be seen showing a prisoner any favoritism, but quickly decided that this was a special circumstance. After all, he was sickly. He'd be of no use if he were to die. She quietly gathered items as she thought, justifying her actions over and over again.

Within ten minutes, she had collected all the items she desired to give him and had even made a stop in the mess hall to retrieve some food. She braced herself as she unlocked the door to her assigned wing of prisoners. She opened the door, and immediately all kinds of noises erupted within. She reached over, switched on the light, and placed the things she'd been carrying on the floor, ensuring that the other prisoners could not reach them. Then she turned, and unlocked another door directly to her left. This was another closet, but this one was used for behavior modification tools. She retrieved a long, metal pole that looked similar to a golf club. She carefully locked it back, and then began her rounds.

"Shut. The. Hell. UP!" she screamed, enunciating each word with more hatefulness than the last, swinging the pole against the reinforced metal bars to the first cell. The beast inside quieted to a whimper, curling up in a corner.

For a brief moment, Arria felt her heart clench in sorrow, but she had to continue. Thanks to her established dominance within this compound, it only took once more swing at a cell, and one swing-and-connect at a lycan that was beating against the poles of his cell before the rest of them fell silent.

"That's much better. she purred, tucking the pole behind her, through her belt.

She retrieved the items and began to walk down the hallway, her eyes locked on the far wall. About half-way to Matias's cell, she stopped dead in her path. That putrid stench filled the hallway from that point, making her gag. She turned her head into her arm, trying to get a whiff of something, anything, that wasn't as horrible. She glanced into the surrounding cells, noticing that the inmates were mostly curled in their respective corners, paws over their noses, looking at her with pleading eyes. She rolled hers respectively, unsure of what to do. There were already whispers that her wing was the easiest to live in. Compared to the way her associates ran their wings, hers could be considered a vacation. There was nothing more she could do to be lenient, lest the rumors travel to her superiors. She shuddered at the thought, and continued walking.

Arria reached his cell, and crouched down. Even with the lights on, it was still kind of dim, but she doubted he would have trouble recognizing her. She glanced from Matias to his cellmate, whom she called Leonidas, and back to Mat. She wasn't sure if Mat has noticed the way his room mate was chained to the wall, allowing him to only roam half of the cell, but decided not to address why unless asked directly.

Carefully, she slid the tray of food under the cell bars. It had a large slice of raw meat, mashed potatoes, and a small loaf of bread about the size of her hand on it, as well as a large bottle of water. She then sat on her bottom, out of reach of him or anyone else with deadly intent, and stared at him.

"I've brought you some food. You are instructed to eat it. If you refuse... because you are so malnourished, we will sedate you, chain you up, and force nutrients into your body by a method that my superior shall choose. It's painful no matter what, so I suggest you eat this instead."

She motioned the her left, where a rolled up mat, a blanket, and a pillow were.

"If you eat all of it, I will give you these."

Her stare was firm, but behind her fiery, mandarin eyes something deeper loomed.

[demin]

His ears pricked up at the sound of a door farther down the hall opened and slammed shut, quickly followed by dim lights on the ceiling switching on. It may not have been enough for a human to see, but to a werewolf it was enough. The chorus of barks, growls and howls erupted again, only to be silenced by a feminine voice shouting them down, followed by a few sharp raps of something against metal. The sharp noise hurt his ears, and they went flat against his head. The werewolf didn't move but listened intently as the footsteps grew closer and closer to his cell. Amid the rancid odors of feces and urine, another scent was barely detected. It smelled familiar somehow, and with a start he remembered: the fox. A low growl emanated from deep in his throat as it all came flooding back to him. It was her who put him in this hole.

A feminine form obstructed what little light made it through into his cell, casting a shadow across his form. He raised his head to look at her, golden eyes full of nothing but hate as he bared his fangs and let another low growl emanate from his throat. She spoke, and his hackles rose in response, his growls becoming louder and dripping with sinister intent. A scarlet glow began to circle around his pupils, consuming his eyes' usual golden color.

'She trapped us, pup! Flay open her chest, rip out her heart and feast!'

The voice echoed in his head, screamed at him until he was deaf to everything else. His body, coiled like a spring, pushed off the ground with his hind legs as hard as he could, sending him flying through the air toward the cell door. The steel bars stopped him, but they didn't stop the ferocity with which he tried to reach the fox to end her life. His arms flew from inside the cell as he tried to grab for the woman, his deadly claws whistling through the air as he viciously swiped at the empty space right in front of her face, barking and snarling a challenge the whole time. The voice in his head screamed for blood, and he would try as hard as he could to shed it.

[Kiroro {D.evil's A.dvocate}]

Arria resisted the urge to flinch as Matias flung himself at the door, nothing separating them but the metal poles that constructed it. Her eyes narrowed and her bangs floated, being pushed about by the force of the wind trailing behind his furious clawing. Behind the frenzied swiping of his paws, she was able to see the bright ring of scarlet. Her mouth pressed into a firm line. His eyes were golden, she was sure of it. She had noticed a slight ring before, but it was minute compared to the amount of iris it was possessing now.

"What..."

She looked closer at the crimson ravaging his eyes, and the more she looked, the more she felt unsettled. This was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Sure, she was used to newcomers howling, barking, attacking, and sometimes even lunging at her through the bars just like Mat. But something told her that this was different. It's normal for prisoners to be angry and want to strike out after they had been locked up... at first. Yet, the wolf in front of her seemed driven by something other than just anger... driven by madness, perhaps?

"I have to say, you're the most interesting thing I've brought in here." her voice remained calm despite her instincts screaming at her to run for her life.

"And I've seen some very odd things."

She reached behind her back and retrieved the metal rod she had been using to quiet the prisoners earlier and slid it under the bars, pulling his tray back before he stepped all over it.

"It's just like a man to put perfectly good morsels to waste. Be it their bodies or their dinner."

She smirked at him for a moment, retrieving the meat from his plate. She held it up, just out of his reach, and dangled it in front of him.

"You know damn well that beef tastes better than fox. Why the hell would you want to eat me?" This time she spoke with more authority, staring the angry thing right in it's awful, crimson, hateful eyes. She pulled back her arm, then flung the hunk of meat right at his head. Whether it would go in his mouth or merely hit him on the head was unclear; he was thrashing about violently. But if it bounced off with enough force, it would be lost to Leonidas, who has been awakened by Matias's crazed squalls.

She tutted, shaking her head back and forth.

"You've done it now. He's awake. If you want to remain in one piece, I'd move a little closer to your side of the room."

[demin]

Every word the fox said to him went unheeded as he continued to lash out blindly from within the cell, growling and barking his hatred. He was so caught up in his rage he did not notice the fox's arm pull back and suddenly spring forward a she threw what could have been his meal. It hit the werewolf square in the jaw and fell to the filthy cell floor. The impact didn't even register and he continued his random slashing of arms and gnashing of teeth, but the leviathan he shared his cell with did take notice.

The barking echoed throughout the cell and had woken the beast from its slumber. It raised its head and sniffed at the air, recognizing the familiar scent of the female who routinely walked down the hall with the strange metal stick she used to silence the others. There was one scent, though, he didn't recognize at all. It made the creature wrinkle its nose in disgust, a deep growl bubbling up from his throat as he rose to all fours and advanced on the unfamiliar scent.

Matias continued undeterred in his attempt to rip and tear the fox asunder, when suddenly he found himself flying through the air, a pained yelp escaping his muzzle, until he hit the other side of the cell with a crack, falling to the floor after hitting the solid concrete wall. For a moment the entire world was black. When his vision returned, eyes now completely devoid of the crimson that formerly consumed them, he looked around the cell in a panic. The sight of a massive creature greeted him, barking and roaring at him as it strained against the chain which bound him to the opposite side of the cell. The thing, whatever it was, was fur-less and its flesh pale and pocked with large, festering wounds that seemed like they had been there for a long, long time. If it had eyes, Matias was glad he couldn't see them. A metal mask covered the top part of its face, seeming to be more a part of it than merely on it, as if it had been crudely grafted onto him. The creature lashed out at him in much the same way Matias had been at the fox, its muscles working furiously beneath its scabbed flesh.

It was then a sensation like fire blazed across his thigh. He looked down and saw the familiar crimson of blood oozing from four deep gashes in his leg: The wound the creature had caused when it so casually tossed him aside. Matias turned his eyes to the fox, full of fear and pleading for help, a pathetic whine escaping his muzzle, though he expected nothing from her.

[Kiroro {D.evil's A.dvocate}]

The fox watched at the steak hit him, then slide to the floor. She was almost tempted to roll her eyes, but was instead distracted by how awfully.... feral... the wolf in front of her had become. There was certainly something going on here that she didn't completely understand, but before she could finish that train of though, Leonidas had finally been awakened and was warning the wolf to quiet down.

When his growl went unheeded, he stood. If any of her prisoners were awake, they were certainly cowering right about now. Leonidas was the most fearsome thing in her wing, and quite possibly the strongest, scariest creature in the entire compound. Arria narrowed her eyes at Matias, waiting to see what interaction might develop between the two.

One solid swipe, and Matias was sent flying across the cell and into the concrete wall. A sickening crack reverberated off the walls, filling the hall with its painful ring. The beast that struck him, however, paid no mind and continued his attempted assault, ignoring the fact that his perceived prey was lying motionless on the floor.

Arria stood, brandishing her metal pole. As she pressed a hidden safety button on the bottom, the fox was ever thankful that she'd been intelligent enough to confine this monster to half of the cell so she wouldn't have to step inside. Once the button was pressed, a sharp object flipped into view. It was long and sharp, like a knife but thinner. Below this, encased in glass and then surrounded by metal, was a serum she used to subdue unruly prisoners. It was a hidden weapon all in itself, the serum unable to be seen through the protective metal casing.

She stepped forward and reached through the metal poles, stabbing Leon in the arm. He continued to focus all of his attention on Matias though, hardly noticing that he had even been stabbed. His mad raving continued for a few seconds more, until his efforts grew considerably weaker until he collapsed haphazardly on the floor, a mound of fur, flesh, muscle, and wounds.

Withdrawing her weapon from the cell, she secured it in her belt once again. Looking at Matias, she could see the fear in his eyes and the smell of blood hit her nose. She wrinkled it as she stared at him, the pungent smell of his making her stomach churn. His whine mixed with those pained, lost eyes were enough for her. Without a word, she turned and walked away.

A few minutes later...

After raiding the closet next to the entrance and finding nothing sufficient enough to treat the wolf's wounds, she returned to the front of his cell. In one hand, she held a pair of metal cuffs, and slung over her shoulder was a pair of leg braces with a solid, black, metal ball attached to them by chain. She wanted to help him, but she'd be damned before he escaped now. Arria was much too curious, and much too desperate to lose track of him now.

"I'm going to enter the cage now. If you attack me, I have no problem beating you senseless. Or, killing you, if I really must."

She took her keys and unlocked the cell door, and in a flash of movement had shut it, locked it, and now stood inside the cell facing Matias. His room mate lay on the floor, still snoozing from the drugs. Glancing back at Matias, she spoke once more,

"Allow me to fasten these to you for safety reasons, and I will take you to the infirmary. We have to get that wound checked out, and I don't have the proper supplies here."

Hopefully, Matias would consent. She pushed any fears she might have to the back of her mind and crouched next to him, noting that his eyes had returned from crimson to gold. She reached out her hand and held it in front of his face, fingers mere inches from brushing his forehead.

[demin]

The thing was still reaching for him and all Matias did was stare wide-eyed, huddled against the cell wall as if he were trying to phase through it. But the barks and roars began to grow weaker, strained, causing the werewolf to again look toward the fox girl. She brandished the metal pole, though now a gleaming needle stuck from the tip. He looked back to the thrashing creature and saw a red pinprick of blood against the pale flesh of his arm, and it dawned on Matias as the creature fell to the floor unconscious. When he looked back to the cell door the fox was gone and he was left alone with the sleeping behemoth.

He sat immobile, barely risking to breath lest the thing wake up again and resume its assault. The gashes on his thigh began to throb, each pulse wracking his leg with a dull ache, but he dared not move to nurse the wounds with that beast still so near. After what seemed like forever the fox girl returned, shackles in hand, and spoke a warning. The werewolf wouldn't attack her, now being in his right mind. He would do anything to get away from his hellish cellmate. He slowly unfurled his body after she had finished speaking, staying on all fours while golden eyes stayed glued to the girl as she unlocked the cell and walked in. She extended her hand toward him and let it hover, waiting for his permission. He gave it gladly, inching forward until her hand lay atop his furred head.

[Kiroro {D.evil's A.dvocate}]

Arria squeezed out a small, barely-there smile as the wolf pressed his head into her palm, nodded a subtle 'thank you' and began to cuff the wolf, working quickly for his benefit. As she shackled him, she spoke softly,

"I don't know what you are, and I don't know what has gotten a hold of you."

She paused for a brief moment, attempting to articulate her thoughts as best she could.

"But I do know that it's not something I've ever seen before." she tightened the last cuff in place, confirmed by the loud clicks.

"Let's get you taken care of. We can talk later."

Arria turned, but ensured that her back was not completely to Matias. Better safe than sorry, she always said. The door was swung wide open, and she stepped outside. If he didn't try anything crazy, Mat would be allowed to roam without a leash. She hated the fact that her superiors enforced a leash-rule. Shackles and chains were bad enough, but being led around like a common mutt? She grit her teeth at the thought.

"Stay beside me, and pick a pace that's comfortable. That leg doesn't look like it's easy to walk on." She tilted her head to the side, examining it from where she stood. "Wait, one more thing."

She took out a knife stashed in her boot and opened it, expertly severing a piece of her shirt. The fact that is was torn meant nothing to her, clothing can always be replaced. She stooped down once again and carefully secured it around the four gashes oozing blood down his leg.

"That should work until we get to the infirmary."

She stood and began down the hallway, mindful of his presence next to her. She kept her pace at a leisurely stride, ensuring that she wasn't making him walk too fast for comfort.

Once they were outside the hall, and the door securely locked (of course), she began to lead him straight to the medical wing. No twists and turns to keep him unaware like last time, but she wasn't sure if he'd even noticed since everything looked the same. With each corner turned, the fox braced herself for being reprimanded for walking a prisoner without a leash, but the compound was eerily empty for the time being. Her heart sank a little deeper than it had already, when she locked Matias up. Living here was taxing on one's sanity, and she was free to roam as long as her responsibilities were taken care of. Her spirits sank even lower again as the thought of being confined to a cell crept its way into her conscience.

By the time Arria had mulled this over, they had reached their destination. She opened the door and stepped inside, holding it open for the injured wolf.

"I'm going to remove the cuffs once we're inside, and I need to to change back to your human form. Skin is a lot easier to work with than fur."

She half-heartedly tried to smile at her equally half-hearted joke. Yet she knew that, at this point, she seemed more like a lost pup than Matias did.

[demin]

He remained still while he was shackled for the second time in his life, again by a fox, and flinched every time one of the cold metal circlets clasped around his wrists and ankles and clicked shut. The werewolf followed her outside the cell, still on all fours, his steps small and quick because of the chains binding him. It was an odd sight: a werewolf that normally towered over all following a woman much smaller than him as if he were a pet. He didn't like the idea, but right now he would do anything to get out of the cell away from that monster.

The order to wait came, and he saw the knife flash in her hand. He eyed it warily and took one step back hesitantly. The girl didn't mean this as a threat or attack, though, and instead cut her shirt, wrapping the cut cloth about his leg. The sudden pressure on the wounds sent a stinging pain through his leg, but he remained silent. On they walked. Matias remained close to the girl as they went through the compound. The place was near empty. Odd.

They finally reached a door and the girl spoke again as she held it open for him. He gave a simple grunt to acknowledge her and padded in, returning to his hind legs and willing the change back to his human guise.

[Kiroro {D.evil's A.dvocate}]

Once he was inside the room, Arria secured the door and turned to give him privacy as he changed. Across the room stood another closet, which she hastily retreated to. When she returned, her eyes fleeted about the room, anywhere but the naked man before her. She held out a pair of boxers for him to put on until she got his leg fixed up.

'Once you're done, hop up on this table.'

She patted her hand where she wanted him to sit, and then strode past to gather supplies.

'You don't talk much, do you?'

Clinking noises could be heard as she opened drawers, cabinets, and packages.

'I know you hate me.'

She paused for a moment, and the room grew quiet.

'But things aren't what they seem.'

She turned around to face him for a moment, realizing that her back had been exposed the entire time. Whether she was simply putting faith in him, or she was just too tired to think clearly, the fox girl did not know.

She stared into his golden eyes as a mixture of sympathy, pain, and regret overwhelmed her.

'Look at him. He's nearly emaciated, he's already torn up, and there's something inside of him that consumes him with a lust for blood. What the hell were you thinking?'

At this point, exasperation wasn't a strong enough word to properly portray her feelings. Maybe this was all for naught. Maybe she should have just fled instead of hunting him down.

'In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure what to do with you.'

[demin]

He leaned against the table, unsure of what to do with himself. Being stuck in this skin made him feel so... vulnerable, even more so now, being imprisoned in such a strange place. He could be anywhere now, could have been out for hours and transported to a place far away from Thor, far away from his mate, wherever she was. He was broken from his contemplation by the fox girl handing him a pair of boxers which he promptly threw over his shoulder, not replying to anything she bothered to say. The daggers he stared at her made his hate and disbelief obvious.

"Just tell me where my mate is, fix my leg, and let me turn. I'm not interested in much else of what you have to say, fox."

[Kiroro {D.evil's A.dvocate}]

The fiery temper of the fox-girl flared immediately, but words did not escape her mouth. She merely turned back around and began to arrange medical instruments on a stainless-steel tray. Her fingers shook with anger. It had been so long since she had turned or fought to quell her instincts, which she could not do within the confines of this concrete fortress. Yet she strained to contain her frustration and prevent an outburst. The thought of him becoming a killer monstrosity while she stood unprepared in this soft, weak form did not sit well.

Yet she knew she could not avoid angering him, so she stalled.

"If you behave and allow me to fix you up without incident, I will tell you where she is once we return to your cell."

Carrying the tray back to where he was perched, she took a deep breath to steady herself. Stitching him up with shaky hands would be cruel, despite the fact that she was beyond annoyed with him by this point. She resisted a smirk at the thought of a few extra pokes here and there.

Sitting on a stool, she lowered the portable table next to her, bring the tray down to easy access.

"I assume you refuse clothing just to be difficult then."

She began to clean his wounds with alcohol.

"Hmph. Wolves."

She placed the bloody wipe and q-tip back on the tray and picked up a needle, beginning to thread it.

"I'm going to pick out debris first, but I'm preparing this now while my hands aren't tired. As you've noticed, no one's cleaned the cells in quite a while, and of course your buddy isn't exactly in the prime of his health either."

[demin]

That quelled his attitude. If it meant any information on Selia, he'd keep himself in check. Perhaps he could also get moved to a new cell with a less murderous occupant. He merely shrugged as she asked about his refusal of clothing.

"Just gonna turn after. No point," he said simply, his body tensing as he felt the sting of the alcohol on his wounds. He again fell silent though and allowed the fox to patch him up without further interruptions.

[Kiroro {D.evil's A.dvocate}]

Tweezers began to poke and prod his cuts, one by one, digging out any dirt, rock, nail-clipping, and other foreign bodies. She doused him with alcohol one more time, then began to sow up the wounds.

The room was eerily quiet as she worked. Casual observers would probably feel as though the air was tense and awkward, but in reality the dynamic was merely that she was focused on the task at hand, and the wolf before her simply couldn't care less about what was going on at the moment.

Within a few short minutes, she was finished.

"It's a special kind of thread that I used to stitch you. As you change, it will stretch and conform to your size. But don't pick at it, it can still be undone by carelessness. And until we get the cells clean, you risk infection. You don't want to lose a leg."

Arria smirked, sarcasm evident.

"Come on, let's get these cuffs back on you and head back."

Back in the hallway...

"Alright, I've moved this jackass to that cell," motioning from a cell in the far corner to Mat's old one, "So now we don't have to risk you being mauled again.... for the time being." she added, kind of a subtle warning not to misbehave. She opened his new cell door, and waved him inside.

"It was the cleanest, and it's only you in here. Lucky for you, Haru likes his surroundings near-immaculate. Now get inside."

Arria un-cuffed him, and shut the door.

"Now, change one more time and I'll tell you what I can."

She didn't want him in his most wild form when she had to reveal what she knew.

[demin]

Without a word, Matias pushed off from the medical bed and willed the change. The familiar feeling of fur sprouting from his skin and bones shifting and melding took him, the only pleasure he still had in this place. Though he once again towered over the fox girl, he held his hands out to be cuffed for the third time. By a fox. Again he flinched as he heard the shackles lock felt the cold bonds close around his wrists and ankles. Returning to all fours, he followed close Arria back to the cells, sticking close as a lost pup would.

He was relieved to see that they didn't go as far down the hall of cells before they stopped. That meant he wouldn't have to endure the attacks from that creature. The cell door opened and he padded in, flinching when the cell door slammed shut, but he breathed a sigh of relief when the shackles finally came off. He paced around the room, eyes looking up at the fox girl the entire time, anxious for whatever it was she knew about Selia. But then she asked him to change again, and he huffed in annoyance, but complied.

"Just tell me already."