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whumping-valentine · 2 months

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🦌 Fawn and Hunter - Part 5 🦌

"Cabin Colds"

Content: Sick Whumpee, Carewhumper

1100 Words

Hey it's part five! Who likes sick whumpees and caretaking whumpers? 👀

This part is short and simple, but it was a way for me to vent when I was sick last week, lol. The parts will get longer and more complex as we go though, so you can look forward to that!

I really wanna try and get this little story done, because afterwards I'm gonna be posting my story on Valentine, which I'm itching to share with you all. God, I can't wait for y'all to meet Valentine and Vittoria, man. It's gonna be great. But anyways, I hope you like this tiny little slice of sick whump!

Fawn barely slept a wink that night, how could they? Tied up and in pain isn't exactly the utmost form of comfort.

Ironically enough, it was warmer down in the basement. Though that's probably due to the numerous broken windows around the cabin, closed off with nothing more than wooden planks and tattered blankets. And last night they just added another one to the list.

That's how Fawn would sleep for the next week. Their days consisted of the same old things, being taunted, condescended, sometimes slapped and pulled by the hair. Being treated as some pretty pet, or lowly companion. Eating nothing besides venison. It was all starting to take its toll on the poor thing.

As the days continued to tick by Fawn slowly came to the realization that they were going to be here for quite a while... unfortunately. They didn't want to completely give up hope just yet, but Hunter was quite experienced with this sort of thing, so it was apparent.

One night, Fawn fell asleep with a sore throat, and woke up completely sick. It was freezing, but they also felt hot, all at once. Their head was pounding, their nose was running, and every muscle in their body was aching. It was pure, absolute misery, and worst of all they weren’t sure how Hunter was going to react to it. Whether or not they were going to be comforting or neglectful, Fawn liked neither option.

Though they’ll accept any help by this point, they couldn’t just lay here, they simply couldn’t. They tried to call out to their captor, though their sore throat didn’t allow it. All they could do was cough, and a short while later, it was enough to catch their attention. All it took was one look at the poor thing for Hunter to tell they were sick. They crossed their arms and leaned their shoulder against the door frame.

“Feelin’ bad, baby?”

Fawn coughed, “Yes.”

The sound of their voice made Hunter widen their eyes in surprise, “Oh, wow, you really are, poor thing." They said, still talking down to them, "Need some help?”

Fawn would normally bicker and bite, but in this instance said, “Please.”

Hunter didn’t waste a second going to untie them. Rope marks stained their wrists and ankles, which were growing more frail as the days ticked by as Fawn slowly lost weight and strength.

Hunter picked them up bridal style, and carried them down to the basement, into a new room that was previously kept behind a locked door. A secret, cozy place that was actually rather nice, and well kept. They laid Fawn down on a couch, lit a fireplace, then covered them up with a thick quilted blanket. They left for a few minutes and returned with a cold washcloth, which they placed on their feverish forehead.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“No.”

“Wanna rest?”

“Yes.”

Hunter gently lifted their head, sat down, and placed it on their lap. They ran slow fingers through their hair. They chuckled, “What, too sick to yell at me for this, are you?”

Fawn simply peeked their eyes open, glared at them, and closed them again.

“I see, I see. You can yell at me when you’re better.” They said, placing a hand on their head as they dragged their fingers through their now coarse hair. Fawn hated it, hated that their captor of all people was being so intimate and caring. They always hated it, but in this instance they were far too sickly to even think of biting back.

Their head was pounding, fever burning, body sweating. Their throat was sore, it was hard to breathe, and they found themself asking for a tissue every few minutes. Their body ached, they felt nauseous, their stomach was upset, and every muscle in their body hurt. Their skin was sensitive to the touch, and they were tired as all hell but couldn’t find it in them to fall asleep.

They weren’t sure what exactly they had, but it was probably the sickest they had ever felt in their entire life. Really, they probably had more than one thing. Being held out in an old, dirty cabin with deer carcasses all over the place is a pretty good guarantee that you’re going to catch something. Hunter was surely used to the conditions, but Fawn clearly was not.

Eventually Fawn managed to drift off to sleep without even realizing. When they awoke again they were still there, head in Hunter’s lap. Hunter looked down at their sleepy eyes, and took the washcloth off their head to check their temperature with the back of their hand. They asked, “You feelin’ any better?”

Fawn’s only response was a meek, hoarse, “Thirsty.”

Hunter got up, gently laying them back down as they went to fetch a canteen of water. When they returned, they helped Fawn sit up as they held the canteen to their lips as they gulped down the whole thing at once. It felt difficult, uncomfortable, and painful to swallow due to their sore, swollen throat, but they persisted despite it.

“Want me to grab you something to eat, too?” Hunter asked. Fawn thought for a moment, and slightly nodded.

Hunter left to the kitchen once again, and ravaged through the old, dusty cupboards for something to feed them that wasn’t meat. They grabbed an old soup can, checked the date, and to their surprise it was still good. They rinsed a dusty bowl and poured the soup into it. They warmed it up over the stove, and retreated back down to the basement.

"I thought you'd like something other than venison." Hunter said, sitting back down with Fawn, "How does vegetable soup sound?"

Fawn could practically cry tears of joy. “great.”

Fawn's head laid on Hunter's shoulder, one of their arms around them as the other fed them soup like a child. Fawn was far too sick to get upset about it, accepting the gesture with gratitude. They closed their eyes as Hunter fed them spoonfuls.

The warm, crackling fire paired with their fever made them just about ready to fall asleep. They were so feverish and tired that they even found it comforting when Hunter gently rubbed their hand up and down their back. If they had any sense of clarity in their head, they’d find the gentle gestures and caretaking insulting.

Hunter finished feeding them the soup, placing the empty bowl on a nearby table. They looked down at the sickly thing in their arms, "Hm. I think it's time for bed, Fawn."

"Says who?" Fawn mumbled, the soreness present in their tone.

"Says me. You’re already falling asleep. And more sleep will do you good.”

“What do you care.”

“I care because I’d like to take care of my pet, that’s what.” They said, grabbing onto them as they both laid down. Fawn wanted so badly to fight against the gestures, but couldn't. They weren't sure if it was because of how ill they felt, or if it was because they actually liked it.

They hoped it wasn't the second one.

Hunter held Fawn to their chest, their arms wrapped around them, both curled up under the blanket.

Well, I suppose it's better than being tied to a bed. And, I guess there could always be worse creepy serial killers to be taken by...

Taglist: @parasitebunny

^^ If you want added, lmk!

#fawn and hunter #whump #whump blog #whump community #whumpblr #whump things #my writing #whump writing #sick whump #carewhumper

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quietly-by-myself · 11 months

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A Wicked Work of Art - Chapter 10

Masterlist

A little bit exposition-heavy. Sorry.

CW: medical whump, trans whumpee, test subject whumpee, experiment whumpee, fantasy racism, dehumanization, fantasy whump, doctor carewhumper, carewhumper, psych medication talk, institutionalized oppression, fantasy genocidal talk

===

Vasiliki entered the lab room with a light rap on the door. Akakios was already awake, staring wide-eyed at him from his place, restrained on the bed. Vasiliki didn’t really know what to say other than to roll a stool up and start the conversation the way he should have the first time.

“Akakios,” Vasiliki took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I took it too far with the way that I whipped you. Way too far. You didn’t deserve that.”

“I deserve whatever you think I do,” Akakios responded quickly, with no life in his voice.

There was the training that Constantine had given him. A hatred boiled in Vasiliki’s heart at the thought of what Akakios had been through to make him so compliant.

“No, Akakios, you do not deserve to be beaten. We’re trying to cure you of your magic. Beating you like I did isn’t treatment. It’s cruelty. I was cruel to you.”

Akakios froze. Vasiliki, then, suddenly realized that he hadn’t told Akakios much of anything, beyond that he was his owner now. He remembered how scared his first subject was, the first one that came from the Facility that was. He also remembered what had helped that first subject.

“I think it’ll be better for both of us if I lay everything down for you.” Vasiliki took a deep breath. “I want you to know first that you won’t be sold. When I’m done with my subjects, they’re sent to an institution where they live out their lives with their needs met.”

Something flashed in Akakios’ eyes as he strained to look at Vasiliki. Was that hope that Vasiliki had seen? “W-what?”

Vasiliki nodded. “The after effects of the experiments I run are highly monitored. See, Akakios, I’m working on a drug that cures the dark arts. Completely erases their magic.” Vasiliki paused. “Well, I guess it’s less of a drug and more of a series of treatments. A protocol if you will. The aim is to eradicate the dark arts without eradicating the mages of the dark arts. Naturally, though, it has a lot of ill effects on the host. Thus, there’s a lot of monitoring.”

Akakios was quiet, motionless, hardly even breathing for several moments. “What about Asimi?”

“Asimi?”

“The devil. The one who possessed me.”

The amount of care in Akakios’ voice when he spoke of the devil caught Vasiliki off guard. He’d heard of mages of the dark arts coming to care for the devils that lived inside of them. However, most, he’d learned, were infested with the creatures and needed them exorcized for true freedom.

In any case, no devil was capable of anything other than manipulating their hosts. Any care that their hosts felt was pure manipulation - fake love.

“You’ll be freed from their grasp soon. That’s the first step in all of this. It won’t be easy though. Asimi is a silver devil, aren’t they?”

Akakios nodded.

“That means that their possession is very strong, but I’m sure you knew that.”

Again, Akakios nodded.

“I won’t kill you in the process. I promise you that. If ever it looks like ridding you of their possession might threaten your life, we’ll change gears. It might be a matter of giving you holy water treatments to contain them. We’ll see. I’m experienced in ridding mages of devils’ possession.”

Tears formed in Akakios’ eyes. It caught Vasiliki a little off guard.

So, his subject did have some sort of feeling for the devil that possessed him. That always made it more complicated to successfully exorcise one. Feelings made the two souls more intertwined. More difficult to separate.

“You’ll be okay, Akakios. Asimi will be difficult to get rid of, but it’ll be better for you to have them gone.”

Akakios nodded, but Vasiliki could tell that it was just to make him happy. Akakios turned his head away to stare at the opposite wall.

Maybe Vasiliki had overwhelmed him. It was a terrifying prospect, he presumed. But, after six months, he would get to rest for the rest of whatever remained of his life after being experimented on. It was a kinder fate than most mages of the dark arts had. Even if the facilities his old subjects were sent to weren’t always kind places, it was better than being sold to a private holder.

Well, that was if he planned on sending Akakios to one of those facilities. Of course, he was still intent on buying Akakios after his grant was up. However, he didn’t think that it would help Akakios, who hadn’t even been away from Constantine for a month, to hear that he would be bought.

“I want to help you, Akakios. I want to help all mages of the dark arts. That’s why I’m doing this. Your sacrifice will not go unrewarded. Six months, then you’re free to rest for the rest of your days without interference. Without Constantine near you. That’s the best I can offer you.”

Anyway, he wasn’t sure if he’d be allowed to buy Akakios in the first place. The Facility might mandate that he be sent away somewhere to be monitored. After all, depending on how successful his newest subject was as an experiment, Akakios might need long-term monitoring to see if the new treatment protocol could be widely applied.

Vasiliki couldn’t see Akakios’ face, but he could hear his subject’s crying. His subject was severely depressed. It would take a week to three weeks for the lithium to do anything, if it was going to do anything. The sertraline - even more.

Even then…

His subject was enduring lasting trauma every day. Only so much could be done about that. He could give his subject medication. He could sedate his subject. However, forcing anything on him would only make things worse.

For the first time, Vasiliki seriously considered what he was doing. How would he react to being kept as a captive, tortured by someone in the name of tempering violence and training for services, only to be taken to a lab and used for experimentation?

It was nothing short of cruelty.

That was the reality of Vasiliki’s work, wasn’t it? It was cruel, even if he tried to be humane.

The thought was a hard pill to swallow, one that Vasiliki couldn’t deal with while dealing with another - his subject, who was crying.

“Akakios, I’m going to give you a task. I’m not going to start the experiments for at least a week, so I want to give you something to do.”

That got Akakios’ attention. He looked at Vasiliki, his eyes red and puffy and his nose running.

“Think of three things I can do for you to make you more comfortable. Clothes, rules, favorite meals - things like that. There are no wrong answers. Okay? I will try my best to do those three things for you, no matter what they are.”

Akakios’ face rippled with shock. His tears stopped for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Vasiliki responded without a moment’s hesitation. “If you want anything changed about this room, too, I’ll do my best. I try to make it homely for all my subjects, whatever that might look like.”

Akakios nodded, hesitant. The look on his face told Vasiliki that his subject didn’t believe him.

That was something that would come with time and with trust. Trust would be difficult to earn back because he’d already lost it with Akakios. Time, well, it was constant and he couldn’t turn back time like some mages of the light arts.

Even then, he needed to learn from his mistakes and not just be able to turn back time to avoid them.

“Akakios, I’m going to go get you food. We’ll rearrange you after I’m back.”

Akakios nodded, then turned his head again as Vasiliki went for the door.

===

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @whumpsday, @pigeonwhumps, @oddsconvert, @pumpkin-spice-whump, @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @writereleaserepeat, @just-a-silly-little-whumper, @sparrowsage, @inscrutable-shadow, @whumplr-reader, @whumpycries, @demondamage, @whumpshaped

#medical whump #trans whumpee #test subject whumpee #experiment whumpee #fantasy racism #dehumanization #fantasy whump #doctor carewhumper #carewhumper #psych medication talk #institutionalized oppression #fantasy genocidal talk #whump #whump writing #whumpblr #whump fic #whump community #a wicked work of art

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not-a-space-alien · 2 years

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Savage Sunset Chapter 14S

In this chapter: Valen finally gets to EAT

Story masterpost

Complementary chapter

Content/Content warnings for this chapter: Aftermath of torture, starvation, heavy emotional distress. This chapter could probably also be considered "carewhumping," although I think everyone's actions are completely reasonable.

Valen’s boots clattered on the kitchen floor as Lex helped him step up and back into the kitchen. Ari shut and locked the back door, then walked over to the kitchen window to shut the curtains as the sky started to streak pink with the sunrise.

"Okay," said Ari, giving a tentative thumbs up. "We're good? We're cool?"

Lex returned her thumbs up. Valen let out a choked sob, but also gave a thumbs-up, the weakest and least convincing thumbs up in history.

"It's all right," said Lex. "Things are going to get better for you now. We're going to help you. Things are only going to get better. Ari.”

She took Valen’s wrist and drew him forward. “Let me introduce you to Valen. He was here in human territory because…he was gathering…mushrooms?” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye for any sign that her statement was incorrect. When he gave none, she continued, “That he was using to try and make artificial blood.”

“Mushrooms are more closely related to animals than to plants,” Valen mumbled, eyes glued to the floor.

“Ah, right…” said Ari. She rubbed the back of her head. “Well, I…Well, if that’s true… I mean…I’m glad you weren’t here for anything nefarious.” Lex could tell Ari still did not quite believe it, but she could see what obvious in front of her: This creature was a person, not a monster, despite the blood painting him and the fangs, who just wanted to be safe, and who was capable of carrying out a conversation if treated fairly. Ari was protective, but she was also clearly thinking that she didn’t want to hurt this poor guy any further, and they might be able to work it out safely.

And when they’d set up Lex and Valen in the backyard, the message from Ari had been clear: I trust your judgment. If you say he’s fine, I’ll believe he’s fine.

Lex could see Ari struggling to think up what to say now that they’d actually reached that point, though. Lex herself was struggling to contain a slew of curious questions for her strange new friend, wanting to hear everything about who he was and how he’d gotten to this point, but there would be time for that later.

“I-I’m sorry I locked you in a cage,” Valen blurted out.

“Hgn?” Ari gave him a befuddled look. Lex knew what she was thinking: I would have done the same thing. That was completely reasonable. “I mean…” said Ari, averting her eyes. “That was just kind of fair play. Y’know.” She cleared her throat. “Well, I–Given what all happened, I would say…”

Just apologize, Ari, Lex thought, bemused. It won’t kill you. You’re still plenty macho.

“Well, listen, dude, I… Sorry about…all that.” She looked ashamed. “I owe you one, so–so if there’s anything you need, you just let me know.”

Lex took a moment to look Valen up and down and take stock of what they actually had in their kitchen.

Okay, they had a vampire. A person. Who wanted to be a good person, and who hadn’t committed any crimes. Except for biting them, which Lex thought wasn’t really his fault. It was their fault. Okay. So this was sort of their responsibility. He was starved and weakened, very very scared, in clothes that were several sizes too big for his skeletal frame, beat to shit and back with open wounds all over his body, very tired by the look of it, and covered in dried, tacky blood, down his chin and up to his sunken cheekbones, down his front, half of it months old and rotting. One of his eyes was a charred, shriveled lump nestled among a burn across his face, he had cuts all up and down his limbs, burns in the shape of the muzzle, burns on his wrists, and probably plenty of broken bones they couldn’t see.

What would be the best thing to do?

“Let’s get you taken care of. What would you like to do first?” said Lex. Being in the enclosed space with him again drove home how bad he truly smelled, so a bath would probably be a good first step, then they could clean his wounds. “We can get you cleaned up–”

“F-feed,” he said instantly. “Pl-please allow me to feed. I’m so–so, I’m so hungry, please.” He shrank back instantly after the outburst, as if afraid of being reprimanded.

Oh, of course. Lex should have guessed that’d be what he wanted first. Luckily, when they’d been at the hospital, they’d convinced the hospital staff to let them have some donated blood from their stock, which they’d stowed in the fridge. All they’d needed to do was prove they were vampire hunters, and make up some excuse about how they were trying to set up a trap for a vampire and needed bait, and they’d been given as much as they wanted.

“Eager, huh,” said Ari, turning back to the fridge. She emerged with one of the bags of blood. “Well, it’s your lucky day, because…hello?”

Valen was frozen, knees quaking, as though he were deathly afraid asking had been a mistake, eyes glazed over.

“Hello?” said Ari, waving her hand in his face. “Earth to Dracula.”

His eyes snapped to her hand, then fell onto the blood.

“Like I was trying to say,” said Ari with a grin. “Today’s your lucky day, my man, cuz it turns out if you’re at a hospital to get stitches, all you need to do is flirt with the nurse a little bit, and tell her you’re vampire hunters, and fudge the explanation for what you’re going to use it for a little bit, and they’ll just give you some blood.”

“G-give it to me!” Valen snapped with uncharacteristic savageness, mouth screwing into a snarl. He immediately drew back, hand over his mouth, fearful expression returning.

“Hold on a second,” said Ari, drawing it back, and again Lex and Ari were in perfect synch with their thoughts.

Lex put a hand to his back. “Didn’t you throw up…before?” She’d been phasing in and out of consciousness, but she remembered a few things, which she’d recalled to Ari: he’d thrown up, and he’d gotten off a phone call to someone. They'd have to ask about that second part later.

“So how much of this do you think your stomach can handle?” said Ari. “Decide beforehand, so you don’t get carried away.”

“For a human who was breaking a fast, we would probably give them crackers or something,” said Lex. “Something light, so they don’t get sick. You know?”

“Do you want just a little bit, and we can wait a bit to give you more?” said Ari. “Or, maybe, I don’t know, we can thin it out with water or something?”

He looked like they’d just asked him to do quadratic equations in his head. His face was frozen in indecision, then: “If…if you dilute it with water…M-maybe half of that would be a good start. Thank you.”

Ari smiled. “There we go. Let’s give it a try.”

She turned and put the bag on the sink. Lex fetched her a drinking glass, then came back over to help Valen stand.

Ari lowered the bag into the sink to contain any spills, then cut it open with a pair of scissors.

The second the bag was open, something slammed into both of them from behind, claws and teeth thrashing violently, growling ripping through the air.

“Shit!” said Ari, regaining her balance. “Fuck!”

“Stop!” said Lex. “Valen, stop!”

His face twisted in anger, then dissolved into horror. Ari swept his leg and jammed him into an arm bar against the counter.

“Easy, easy!”

“Woah, woah–”

“Stop, stop–”

“I’ve got him.”

“We’ve got you.”

“I’m sorry!” he sobbed instantly. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I–I didn’t mean to–I didn’t mean to!”

He shifted under Ari’s weight, and Ari grabbed a handful of hair, pressing him down into the counter. He writhed, eyes locked on the blood now splashed in the sink, but Ari pulled him back.

“Please,” he wept. “Please just let me lick the sink, I’ll do anything, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please–please have mercy, please just let me–”

“Easy,” said Ari’s voice, and the legs behind him pressed into him even further, stifling his squirming. “Easy. Take it easy. Breathe. Sit still.”

It was the smell, they could both tell. The smell was making it impossible for him to control himself. He was that desperately hungry. Especially with him pinned to the counter right next to the sink. They needed to do something to bring him back down, so they could talk again. They wanted to feed him, but it was dangerous for all of them if he couldn’t control himself.

“Lex, turn the water on.” If the lingering blood was gone, maybe he could think more clearly.

“No,” Valen cried. “Please, please, please just let me–”

Lex started to get concerned at his desperation. Was he going to use persuasion again? He must know that wouldn't end well, right? The sun was up. He couldn't pull a repeat of what he'd done earlier. Please just trust us.

Lex turned on the faucet, rinsing the bag and sending the remaining blood down the drain. He tried to chase it, prompting Ari to pin his remaining wrist to the counter.

“This isn’t going to work if you can’t control yourself,” said Ari. “We’re trusting you to behave in a civilized way.”

“I’m sorry,” Valen said pathetically. “I–I–I–I didn’t mean to, I-I-I couldn’t control myself.”

“All right. Just stay still. Lex, are you hurt?”

“No, are you?”

“No.”

Lex let out a shaky breath, then rubbed his back soothingly. “It’s okay. See? You didn’t hurt us. We’re okay. You’re okay.”

“I’m–I’m–I’m sorry.”

Lex felt her heart breaking again. He clearly wanted so badly to behave himself, but his eyes were wide with such desperate hunger. “It’s all right. Don’t worry. We’re going to help you.”

Lex took stock again, with fresh eyes, of what they had in their kitchen. A person. A vampire. A desperate, starving, dangerous wounded animal. Of their own creation. Who would hurt them despite his own best intentions. They had to pull him back up out of the deep pit he’d been thrown into. They had to grab his hand and haul him back up out of the muck, they had to put on gloves and armor to stop the panicked kicking and screaming and clawing as they did so, because he was starved and half-feral and had no way to help himself besides lashing out at things he thought would hurt him. He could do nothing but lunge desperately, and he had no reason to believe anything would get better unless he was the one who made it happen.

They had to help him, and they had to take precautions to make sure all three of them stayed alive while that happened. He needed to be restrained, even if he didn’t want it, if he couldn’t stop himself from lunging.

“We’re going to help you,” said Ari. “But we’re going to do it in a way that doesn’t put me and Lex at risk. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand, I understand, sir–m-ma’am.”

Ah, there it was, the dreaded sir-ma’am that Ari was subjected to so often. She smiled wryly, then leaned over. “Because Lex lost a lot of blood, and if she loses more, or reopens her stitches, you could hurt her really badly.”

“I–I know, I’m sorry, I d-didn’t mean to–”

“We know you’re hungry,” said Lex, “and we know you’re scared, and in pain, and we know people do things they wouldn’t otherwise do when they’re scared and in pain and hungry.”

Valen sobbed.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that you can hurt us even if you don’t mean to,” said Ari. “This might have been too big of a leap. We’ll do baby steps.”

“Th-thank you,” said Valen, body wracked with tremors. “Thank you, ma’am, thank you.”

“Lex, go get the muzzle.”

“No!” Valen cried, and Lex had to fight to keep herself together at his expression, his squirming. “Please, please, no! Please don’t put the muzzle back on! Please, please, I’ll do anything, anything, I’m begging you–”

“Relax,” said Ari. “Hey, relax. We’re not going to use the bit. You’ll still be able to talk. It’ll just be a barrier between you and lunging at us again. We know you didn’t do it on purpose, but we still need to prevent it from happening again.”

“But, Ari,” said Lex, dismayed, “the muzzle we have burns him.”

“Go get some duct tape too.”

Good old Ari. She always knew what to do right away. Lex pattered into the closet, rummaging through it to find the duct tape. She heard Ari and Valen talking softly to each other, his voice trembling and desperate, hers firm.

Lex put the duct tape and muzzle on the counter. “Go get the chain from outside, too," said Ari.

Lex nodded. She went out the back door, pulling the stake up from the yard and retrieving the chain.

She came back into the kitchen and started wrapping duct tape around the part of the chain that would be closest to him, then took the muzzle and curled tape over all the parts that would be touching his skin.

“All right,” said Ari. “Try not to panic. You’re okay. You’re safe.”

Valen was rigid, sobbing hopelessly. It’s okay, it’s okay for real this time. It’s just temporary. It’s just temporary, sweetheart. It’s not like before.

Ari's hands eased up, returning him to a standing position. “There we go,” she cooed. “Nice and easy, now. Turn around, please.”

He did so, slowly. “All right,” said Lex. “You’re okay.”

“I’m going to attach the chain to this hook,” said Ari, gently running her finger along the metal collar still attached to his neck. “We’re not going to bind your hands. We’re just going to make it harder to bite and lunge, so you can stop yourself before you hurt us. Your hands will be free, and you’ll still be able to talk. Then you’ll get to eat.”

Shit, they didn’t have the key for the padlock on the metal collar around his neck. And they couldn’t ask Nick for it…Maybe they could figure out some way to get it off later. But for now…maybe they’d need to use it.

“Please,” said Valen tearfully. “I–I–I–” He choked, breaking off.

“Do you think you can handle that?” said Ari. “It’s just as long as you can’t keep yourself from lunging when you smell it. Okay? We’re leaving your hands free, we’re trusting you to work with us here. We know you want to feed without hurting us. Think you can handle that?”

“If you can’t, it’s OK to say so,” said Lex. “We’ll think of something else.”

“I can handle it,” he said. “I can–I can handle it, thank you, thank you for trusting me. I won’t bite you, I won’t use persuasion.” His chest hitched. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Lex put her hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for trusting us.”

She’d been half-afraid he wouldn’t have, that he would just use persuasion again as soon as he could, even after the conversation in the backyard. He didn’t have many options with it being daytime outside, not able to make another getaway like before, but he could have certainly tried. She squeezed his shoulder. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for letting us help you.

He flinched as Ari clipped a carabiner onto the ring on the collar. Lex handed her the silver chain. “Just stay still,” said Ari as she clipped the carabiner through the chain. “There we go. Good boy.”

He flushed with humiliation. Maybe Lex should ask Ari to stop doing that.

“Okay, let’s go into the living room,” said Ari.

Lex helped him walk as Ari led him out. They had him kneel in front of the radiator, where Ari connected the chain to the radiator with the combination lock from earlier. “There,” said Ari. “Does that feel okay?”

“Y-yes,” said Valen, curling up on the floor. “Th-thank you.” He could at any time unclip the carabiner and free himself, of course. That was the point. They had trust, now, maybe just a little. This was a tool to help all of them get him fed without anyone getting hurt, and he knew it.

“Okay,” said Lex, putting a few more loops of tape onto the parts of the muzzle that would touch his skin. “Are you ready for this, now?”

“Y-yes…No! Yes. Yes, I’m ready.”

“O-okay,” said Lex. “I’m going to put it on now.” If you’re actually ready…

Lex made sure all the parts that would inhibit his ability to speak had been removed, then approached, prompting Valen’s trembling to start up again. She gently slipped it on, then came behind him to do up the buckle.

He freaked out, pawing the muzzle off like a dog, sobbing and throwing it to the ground. He immediately wrung his hand and started apologizing. “I–I’m sorry, I tried not to–it was–it was a reflex–I’m sorry.”

“Okay, that’s okay,” said Lex. She gave him a reassuring touch and reached down to pick it back up. “Here, why don’t you take it, and put it on when you’re ready.”

He eyed the proffered device warily.

“You don’t have to put it on until you’re ready,” said Ari. “But we’re not going to feed you until you have it on. Okay?”

“O-okay,” said Valen. He took the device from her, and she stepped back. They both just watched him, giving him time.

He stared at the inside of the muzzle, clearly trying to control his breathing. He lifted it to his face with trembling hands, holding it there, fumbling with the belt with uncoordinated hands. “Can you–can you please–help me–”

Lex came over before he even finished asking, securing the buckle. “There, is that okay–”

“Let me–” Valen said, panic rising again. “Let me–j-j-j-just take it off again.”

Lex backed away. Valen struggled to undo the buckle, then eventually got it to snap off. The muzzle fell into his lap.

“All good?” said Ari, with a thumbs-up.

“Y-yes,” said Valen. “J-just let me…Just let me put it on and take it off a few times.”

He did so, getting gradually better at doing and undoing the buckle. Take your time, sweetheart. We’ll go when you’re ready. When you really believe the muzzle will come off when you want it to.

“O-okay,” he said, doing it up for the last time, and folding his hands in his lap. “I think I’m ready now. I think I’m ready. P-please.”

“All right,” said Ari. “You stay here. Me and Lex will bring it to you. Stay there, just like that. If you take the chain off, our priority goes from feeding you to restraining you. Got it?”

“Yes,” said Valen. “Thank you. Thank you.”

Lex and Ari went back into the kitchen, watching him out of the corner of their eyes. Ari took another bag of blood out of the fridge and repeated what she’d done before, setting it in the sink and cutting it open with scissors.

Just the same as before, there was an instantaneous response, him slamming to the full length of the chain, hissing and spitting, eyes dull with base animal intelligence, strangling himself to try and reach them. Maybe it was just their imagination, but it looked like his fangs had gotten longer, and his fingers sharper as he raked the floor.

“J-Jesus,” whispered Ari. She poured blood into a drinking glass, then ran some water into it, swirling it to mix.

She stuck a straw into the glass, then turned to assess Valen. He panted, still kneeling on the floor, his cheeks flushed, but he looked a little embarrassed, which meant he had the presence of mind to be embarrassed.

“All right,” she said, bringing it in. “Good job, you’re doing good. Back up a little bit.”

He shuffled backwards. Ari set the glass down on the floor next to his claw marks, within his reach, and then backed up. “All right. Go ahead. All yours. Drink it slowly, so you don’t get sick.”

Valen crawled forward, extending his hand to take the glass. His unsteady hand knocked it over instead, spilling the blood all over the wood floor. His face fell, looking like he was discovering new hopes he didn’t even know could be taken away. “I-I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Lex.

“We still have the other h–No.” This last part came as Valen knelt and tried to lick the blood off the floor, pressing the mesh muzzle into it. After a second, he wet his hands with the diluted liquid and tried to push it through into his mouth. “No, no, don’t do that.”

“Please–” said Valen as Ari came over and gently took the chain, hauling him back, sliding him across the wooden floor. “Please–just let me–”

“You don’t have to eat off the floor,” said Lex. “We'll get you a new glass.”

“Don’t lick the floor,” said Ari. “We don’t do that here. We’re all people. We all get treated like people. People don’t make other people eat off the floor.”

Part of Lex wanted to let him do it, he seemed to want it so badly. But she knew Ari was right. He’d already been humiliated enough as it was. He didn’t need to eat blood off the floor, through a muzzle, on top of all that.

Lex got some towels to wipe the spill up. No use making him look at it if they weren’t going to let him at it. Ari went back to the kitchen and ran more water, making another glass.

They’d try as many times as it took to get food into him. It was what he needed, and deserved, and it fell to them to make sure he got it. Lex’s soft-hearted compassion, and Ari’s sense of duty and responsibility both made them arrive at that answer independently.

Ari came back over, and both of them knelt in front of him. “Come here, big guy,” said Ari.

He tentatively crawled over, staying at arm’s reach, not further.

“Give me your hands,” said Ari.

He extended them out. Ari took one and used it to pull him closer, his thighs sliding across the wooden floor. Then, she put the glass in his hand, using both of hers to fix both of his onto the glass.

“You got it?”

“Y-yes,” he said. “B-but I’m not sure if I have the–hand strength to lift it to my mouth.”

Ari smiled gently. “That’s what the straw is for.”

Valen lowered his head, and Lex poked the straw the muzzle so he could start sucking the blood up.

The blood moved up the straw and into his mouth, and he shuddered. Tears welled in his eyes, and he let out small, overwhelmed sounds.

“There we go,” said Ari, as he continued to obediently sip. She removed one hand and stroked his hair. “Good boy.”

He shuddered and flushed.

“I’m not sure if he likes it when you do that,” said Lex.

Valen flushed even more deeply, averting his eyes.

“See, he’s embarrassed,” said Lex.

Ari huffed a laugh. “Lex, that’s exactly what you look like when I play with your hair and call you a good girl.”

It was Lex’s turn to blush. Oh god, really? Leave it to Ari to embarrass her in front of a vampire.

But he didn’t seem to care much. His eyes slid closed, enjoying the feeling of feeding straight from gentle hands touching him.

***

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#hurt/comfort #angst #vampires #whump #vampire whumpee #whumpblr #my writing

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