what if yellow became human when he was dragged from arthur. what if the separation was imperfect, and rather than being attached to a new host, he was given a new and terrible form all for himself. it isn't the right one. it's a weak, scared, fragile thing with gold hair and bronze skin and the most beautiful features of a statue, but it's all so wrong
where are his wings? his horns? his mask and crown? where are his tendrils, why are they toes? where have his feathers gone, why are they thin peachfuzz? his talons are reduced to flat thin nails and he feels so small compared to what he was meant to be. arthur's mistreatment reflects in a malnourished body, the ribs are visible, and he's terrified, he's so terrified
but larson is there, and after that initial shock of how it went - it wasn't supposed to be like this - he's exactly what yellow needed. he's gentle, he's careful in escorting him to a bed, he offers ladles of water and wine and covers him softly in sacred oils, he brushes his fluffy hair through and holds carefully to avoid pulling, he provides him with clothing. the finest of ritual silks, draped gently over him and pinned with golden chains around his body, accentuating his divine form rather than concealing it, dripping in shimmering and soft fabric that feels so nice to brush across his skin
there is no leaving the manor. he doesn't know where he'd find warmer clothes, and to wander in these would spell certain death by hypothermia. it's a natural cage, the frigid rain, sleet, and snow. he can't escape, but why would he want to? he would starve even if he could make it out there, and even if he found the tavern, what danger would he be in there? after all, so strikingly beautiful and so desperate, wouldn't they drug his drink?
it's all the more reason to stay there with larson, to be safe and worshipped, offered fresh fruit and roast meat, wine brought to his bedside (perhaps with a bit of laudanum in it, but of couese its different if larson slips him something), to just be a god within these walls
it's so much easier to give up, and give in, isn't it?