Torment

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Date: Winter 268 Ac
Location: An underground fighting pit, in the slums of the City of Kus'Qari
  Trigger Warning: Child Abuse/Child Slavery  

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"Caleon?" Melwyn asked. "Are you awake?"   Leaning against the cement wall separating their cages, Caleon opened his tired eyes. He leaned towards his left, to a small hole in the wall. It was the only link the boys had to each other.   "Yeah" Caleon said from the other side. "I can't sleep" Soft scraping noises and a metallic thump could be heard as Melwyn crawled closer to the wall and leaned against it, near the hole.   "Are you ok?" Caleon asked through the opening. He could hear the young wolfkin sniffles from the other side.   "No. i-... i just needed someone to talk to" Melwyn said after a moment. "He... he put it on again"   "The collar?" Caleon asked.   "Yeah" Melwyn said, his voice breaking as he struggled not to cry.   "It hurts-ick... so much" He said between soft hiccups. Caleon's own eyes began to well up as he heard his friend suffer behind him.   "I'm sorry" Was all that Caleon managed to say.   "I tried taking it off earlier" Melwyn explained, his hands still tugging on the cold metal around his neck. "But it was hurting too much, so i gave up"   "I-I cut my hand on the metal, and... it's not healing." Melwyn said, a noticeable sense of dred in his voice. "Is t-that normal?"   "It is. Don't worry" Caleon said, trying to reassure his friend. "It will heal when he takes it off later. You should try to sleep until then"   "I tried" Melwyn said with a broken voice. "But my head feels like its going to burst..."   "I'm sorry"   "And my body hurts. Every time i move around... or just breathe"   "I'm sorry"   "Stop saying that" Melwyn said, frustration palpable in his voice.   "What? Why?" Caleon said, surprised by Melwyn's reaction.   "Because its not your fault" Melwyn said, raising his voice. "He's the one that put that fucking collar on me, so don't apologize for him"   "I can still feel sorry for you, Mel" Caleon said in a sympathetic voice. He waited for Melwyn's response as the later was busy catching his breathe and recovering from his outburst.   "That's useless..." He finally said between two breathes, and Caleon couldn't help but feel hurt, even if he knew and understood what Melwyn meant. Both young man stayed quiet for a long while, the silence broken only by the occasional pained groan and sniffles from Melwyn.   "I want to leave, Caleon" He finally whispered. "I want to get out"   "I know, friend. Me too" Caleon's eyes began to tear up as he could hear Melwyn start to cry softly on the other side of the wall, and then fully broke down in tears.   "Take my hand" Caleon said, and when Melwyn opened his eyes, he saw that Caleon had passed his hand through the hole. He didn't hesitate to take it.   "I'm here, Mel. I'm here for you" Melwyn smiled through the tears as he squeezed Caleon's hand as hard as he could, grateful for Caleon's presence.   "Thank you" Melwyn said, and suddenly, his headache didn't feel as bad as a moment ago.