Content: Creepy Whumper, Whumper with Powers, Mention of pills
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"Lucky, lucky, lucky..."
The words echoed in their head, the last words he remembered hearing from Sebastian before he passed out in the backseat of some car. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and groaning. His head was throbbing but he felt...warm? Comfortable, even. He looked around to his surprise to find he had been laid in bed, a nice, cushy bed. Probably more comfortable than anything he had at home, it would be so little effort to just fall back asleep...no. No he needed to stay awake, needed to be aware of his surroundings.
He wasn't sure if he was expecting a dungeon, a prison cell or some sort of bunker, but definitely not this. The room was nicely decorated, dark red walls and furniture placed about with a dark oak finish. It almost reminded of him of a chocolate bar, dark chocolate with raspberry filling...no. Now was not the time to get distracted. Most importantly, he saw a door. A door that sat slightly ajar, just enough for light to spill in from the hallway. A way out?
Whumpee threw off the covers on his bed, prepared to get up and take off only to notice a metal cuff locked firmly around his ankle. He groaned, following the chain with his eyes to the foot of the bed. He tugged at it experimentally, but it was no use. Not like it mattered, there was no way getting out of here would be that easy. He looked to his side, hoping for a key or a tool, anything only to find something unexpected by his bedside. Sitting on the nightstand, a vase with a bouquet of red and white roses, a little stuffed pig, a small opaque bottle with a white cap, and a little card with the word Lucky written in neat cursive on the front.
"Lucky, huh?" Whumpee mumbled to themself, reaching over and opening the card. The handwriting on the inside was just as neat as the outside, he would've thought it was typed had it not been for the fanciful calligraphy used to sign the end.
"Dear Lucky, I hope you enjoy the accommodations you've been provided. If you're reading this, you've woken and I can imagine you're quite confused. A few things to note: the small, rotund fellow on the nightstand is all yours. You may find it comforting to hold him at night, he's quite delightful. Another recommendation for your nighttime activities, lies in that bottle. I strongly recommend taking one of those pills each night before you go to sleep. When you run out, they will be refilled. Upon your waking, I will be notified and I will come to see you at my earliest convenience and clear up many questions that you may have.
See you soon! - Sebastian"
"What a load of shit..." Lucky mumbled, tossing the card off to the side. As it fluttered to the ground, he caught a glance of movement out of the corner of his eye, just outside the door. Was he being watched?
"Hey! Hey asshole, get back here!!" Lucky called out. In a fit of passion, he tried to run towards the door only to fall flat on his face. He felt his ankle twist at an uncomfortable ankle, wrenching a cry from his lips.
"Well if I had known you liked the floor more than the bed, I'd have gotten you a futon or something." That same voice from before, from last night at the theater, came from the other side of the door, now pushing his way in with a playful grin.
Lucky rolled their body, trying to catch a glimpse of their captor but only succeeded in agitating their ankle further. "Fuck! Fuck...and fuck you too, actually." He grumbled.
"No need to be so hostile. Here, let me help." Sebastian rolled his eyes, strolling over and pulling Lucky back onto the bed, ignoring their flailing arms and attempts to fight them back. "You've barely just got here and you've already hurt yourself, not a great start."
"I don't need your help." Lucky shifted as far away from them as he could, but found he couldn't move very far as the man had now taken a seat on the edge of the bed. "What I need, is for you to let me go from wherever the hell we are. Now."
"Actually, you're going to be relying on me for a lot of things. So if you would just be quiet for a second and let me explain-"
"I'm not going to be relying on you for shit!" Lucky interrupted. "I want my phone back, I want to be driven back to the theater, and I want-mmf?!?"
Sebastian lashed out, covering his mouth with a gloved hand and smacking his head hard back against the headrest. "I said, be quiet. If you can't figure it out on your own, then I guess I'll help you."
Lucky struggled under their grip, trying to pull their grasp away, but it was no use. He felt something slither between his lips amidst his struggle and, to his surprise, Sebastian suddenly let go.
"You fucking freak, what's wrong with you??" Lucky yelled.
Or rather, that's what he would've yelled.
He found his tongue stilled in his mouth, despite his efforts to speak. Hell, his mouth wouldn't even open. What the hell did he do? Lucky glared, with as much anger as he could muster, but Sebastian only smiled.
"That is much, much better." Sebastian hummed, "Gives us a moment to chat properly now, hm? There's a lot to discuss."
Content: Creepy whumper, non-con drugging, needles, implied death
FF Masterpost
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Warm bodies pressed against each other, the lights flashing, music booming, and the drinks flowing free, whumpee wouldn't want to be anywhere else usually. This place was heaven.
But this pounding headache was making it feel more like hell.
They hadn't even had so much as a sip or anything this evening, but the world was spinning around them like they were wasted. They pushed their way through the crowd, and out the nearest exit as soon as they could until they collapsed against a brick wall. Everything was so right till it had gone so wrong, what was happening? Their heartbeat was quickening, the throbbing in their head only seemed to get worse and a high-pitched ringing in their ears brought them to their knees.
"Hey, are you okay? You don't look too good, and this isn't the safest place for a rest..."
"Huh?" Whumpee looked up, but even as their vision blurred, they could just hardly make out someone dressed in a paramedic gear. Oh, were they talking to them?
"I-I think I need help, please..." Whumpee whimpered. "My friend's, inside dr-drinking..."
"Don't worry, I'll send someone in to let them know what's going on and they'll be out here with you in a second. But you need help now, I've got stuff right here to help. Who knows, it could be a medical emergency, maybe a bad dizzy spell... "
Whumpee hugged the brick wall, unable to think straight. They nodded gently, trying to prevent any further damage. "Whatever's going on, please make it stop so I can just like, go home..."
"No problem." The stranger gave a smile, but even through whumpee's blurred vision, they could tell something was slightly off. They reached into their bulky medical bag, and pulled out three vials of clearish-colored-liquid. "We're going to play a little game."
"Huh?" Whumpee shifted, sitting with their back against the wall to stay upright. They were feeling feverish and sweaty, but feelings of confusion were winning out more than anything. "No, no no games. Just give me what I need so I can leave..."
"I'm afraid that would ruin the point of the game." The stranger shook their head. "So listen closely, because you're only going to get instructions once. At some point this evening, you've been administered a lethal drug. It doesn't take very long to kill, and judging by your current condition, you don't have much longer left."
"What? What's- I, I don't..." Whumpee tried to crawl off to the side, but even the smallest movements made their head spin like crazy again. The stranger squatted down beside them, casually shifting them back into a sitting position.
"But, one of these vials," They continued, "has an antidote that will save your life. A bit of a rare commodity, and it's the only thing that will save your life in time. As far as the other vials go, one is rubbing alcohol, and the other is just plain old water. It's your choice, choose any one of these. If you choose right congrats, you win!"
"You're a damn liar..." Whumpee mumbled quietly. They would've yelled for help, but there was no one around. Even the small sentences they could get out only caused more pain, they were alone here with this madman.
"Even if I am, is that a chance you're willing to take?" That stupid smile suddenly seemed much more genuine as it delighted in the misery of the other. "I'm just as happy to sit here and watch you die."
Whumpee started to shake, they could feel themselves growing weaker. It'd been a rough week, all they wanted was one night out dancing with their friends to unwind. Why did things have to end up like this? They couldn't die, not like this.
"Why...why are you doing this to me?" Whumpee cried. "Who are you? I don't understand!"
"Time's running out, dear." The stranger tapped their foot on the ground casually.
"Fuck you...fuck! Fine, I choose..." Whumpee looked over the vials. Only one of them would save their life, but they all looked exactly the same in the moonlit alleyway. They reached out, pointing to the one closest to them. "That one."
"Are you sure about that?"
Whumpee felt their face growing wet, though they couldn't tell if it was with tears or sweat at this juncture. "Fuck you, just give it here..."
"No worries, I'll administer it for you." The stranger rummaged around in his bag for just a moment before pulling a syringe with a long needle.
Whumpee's face paled, and for the first time, they knew their rapid shaking had nothing to do with whatever drug was in their system. "G-get that away from me..."
"What's the matter? Scared of a little needle?" The stranger chuckled as they sucked the liquid out of the vial with the device. "You should see the way your pupils dilated, the fear on you right now...you're a work of art. Let's find out if you live through this, hm?"
"No, no please don't, stop I'll do anything..." Whumpee pressed as far against the wall as they could as the needle approached, but there was nowhere they could run as the needle poked against the vulnerable skin of their neck, teasing at the surface.
"You said you'll do anything...does that include dying?" The stranger was close now, far too close. Whumpee hated how the warmth from their body reminded of them of the closeness back indoors, where they were supposed to be. Not here, wasting away in an alley on death's door. They squeezed their eyes tight, their breathing shallow.
"I d-don't want to die. Not like this..."
The stranger smiled. "Well, you've got a one-in-three chance of living. Let's see if luck is on your side tonight."
Whumpee winced as the needle slowly pierced their skin. It didn't matter what was in that vial, it could've been ice water and it still would've burned like hell. There was nothing else, no pain, no headaches, just the horrible, intrusive metal inside of them.
Sebastian watched with fascination as the stranger in front of them froze up, no doubt they'd be going into shock soon if they'd made the wrong choice. After making sure the liquid was injected completely, he disposed the needle beside the body. There was probably plenty of needles in that alley anyways, he imagined. He dipped back into his back and pulled out his fountain pen. It seemed as though whumpee was already losing consciousness which would make drawing the symbol much much easier this time. Maybe on the neck this time, right on top of the injection site? He brushed their hair back from their face, feeling the cold of death slowly wash over them.
"Don't worry dear, your pain is not for nothing. You've made a beautiful monument here tonight, whether you live, or die."
Content: Creepy Whumper, Supernatural Abilities, Religious Themes
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He felt a wave of panic wash over him. He couldn't talk. He couldn't talk. It was like his own body was rebelling against his will, refusing to obey.
"It's just for a little while...if you decide to cooperate, that is. We'll get to that in a bit." That smile, genuine but lacking any warmth or sympathy never left Sebastian's face. "Allow me to explain what your role is here."
"You see Lucky, my passion lies in fear. It's not that complicated on a base level, you know?" Sebastian reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small, black notebook. "Everybody is afraid of something, every single person. Call it the common thread, the great uniter, call it whatever you want, but it's damn fascinating. And...beautiful."
Lucky rolled his eyes and folded his arms.
"I know it sounds silly, but it's true. And during your stay here, you'll realize it too! You'll see how much power fear can hold, and what it can do to you, can do for you." Sebastian gave a lighthearted laugh. "Look what it did for me! Just look, it just takes small sacrifices..." He sat the book to the side, directly in Lucky's lap, and took a hold of the black gloves covering his hand, gently sliding one off. And Lucky...was not quite sure what he was looking at.
The tips of his fingers were shriveled, black as though they'd been charred on purpose. The veins on his hand were dark and inflamed, striking angry lines visible through near translucent skin. Long cuts ran down the palms, though the oddities stopped around his wrists that remained untouched. Lucky choked back a bit of bile. That was...Not natural.
"About two years ago, I had a dream. A nightmare really, a horrible, horrible nightmare." Sebastian recalled, "And the best nightmare I ever had. What I saw was Fear incarnate, a power that could only be held by some sort of god, I truly believe. And I heard it speak, and you'd think it'd break your mind, right? Insanity..." The words were spoken with some tone of twisted reverence.
"But it was in that dream, and in that moment that I realized that you could survive even the darkest fathoms of fear, and that if you could, you'd be nearly unstoppable. I was strong, I survived. And when I woke up, I had been blessed with three things." Sebastian grabbed the book once more.
"This notebook, this hand...and these incredible powers."
He held up his hand with a flourish and something began to arise from his palms. It looked like what Lucky could only describe as black smoke but somehow, living? He felt a chill run down his spine, this wasn't just an ordinary weirdo.
"I believe I was given these abilities to offer others the same chance to harness depths of despair I witnessed." He nonchalantly slid the glove back onto his fingers, you'd never know there was anything different under there. "I make temporary living monuments out of their fear, my own form of worship, and hope they experience the same revelations as me! But most of the time..." he trailed off, rapping his knuckles on the book. "Well, let's not worry about that right now. I've been rambling long enough, I promise this isn't like some sort of villain monologue. I'm sure you're wondering what you're going to be doing here, yes?"
Even if he could've replied, Lucky found his words fizzled out in his head. He initially thought that this man was a few bricks short of a stack, but he couldn't deny what he saw. It wasn't smoke and mirrors, no this was real. Which meant whatever this was, it meant he was possibly in real danger.
"Of course, I'm not going to tell you everything, a little mystery feeds the fear, doesn't it?" Sebastian chuckled, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and standing. He stretched his back, eliciting several, loud popping sounds. "But you're going to help me on my mission. I'm in desperate need of an assistant, someone who can keep up with me. I tried to find a willing volunteer, but wouldn't you know, it was surprisingly difficult. Plus, your unease at the situation is good for my work, great atmosphere. I didn't pick you out beforehand, it was mostly random, it's just your luck that you get to be on this side of something so revolutionary. But! I know what you're thinking, why would you agree to something like this? But before you refuse, I'd like to introduce to you the alternative." Not waiting for any sort of recognition or reply, Sebastian jammed two gloved fingers in his mouth and let out a loud, three-note whistle.
Lucky didn't know why he'd assumed they were alone in this place, but to his surprise, three sharply dressed people entered the room behind Sebastian and stood at attention in a perfect line. Each one of them wore a different mask, hiding their features. Even eyes, mouths, any features that should've been visible, were shrouded in darkness. Just their presence was enough to change the vibe of the room, a brutal cold seemed to settle in his bones. He tried to shrink further against the backboard but found he was back as far as he could go. His fists were balled up tight enough to turn his knuckles white, gripping the sheets. What was this feeling all of a sudden? It was overwhelming.
"This is Anem, Osco, and Lye. I like nicknames, if you couldn't tell." Sebastian winked. The three figures gave a courteous bow in unison, completely silent.
"They work for me, keeping things in order around the house, and a few other additional needs. And I've been able to give them power too, those masks that they're wearing have helped them manage it...believe me when I say, you don't want to remove them. They look quite nice this way, don't you agree?"
"I-I uh..." Lucky stammered. He didn't even have time process the fact that he was speaking again, this deep-set wrongness was suffocating the atmosphere. He couldn't understand how Sebastian just sat there with that stupid, self-righteous smile plastered on his face.
"What I'm saying is, if you want to keep your autonomy, in all senses of the word..." Sebastian leaned forward on the bed, nowhere for Lucky to move lest they fall off the edge, "You'll do what I say. You will do everything I say. Or, you can end up like my lovely friends here. Do I make myself clear?"
Lucky shivered, looking between the man in front of him, and the three "people" behind him. He had to get out of this place, but he couldn't do that if he was dead, or worse.
"I understand.." He murmured
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I understand! I'll do what you say, just please, please don't hurt me. Please."
Sebastian chuckled. "I can't make any promises, but that's what I like to hear. We'll start tomorrow. For today, you can get some rest. I look forward to working with you, you'll see the value in this partnership soon, I believe."
He stood up straight, smoothing out his vest and heading out the room, followed by the three, wordless figures.
The minute the door shut behind them, Lucky shuffled back under the covers and brought them down over his head. He hadn't even noticed how much he was shaking, why was he shaking? Why was he so afraid? He brushed away the tears rapidly springing to his eyes. He could get out of this place, he just needed to wait for the opportunity.
Content: Broken bones, Fire, A bit of Gore, Pleading
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Lucky yawned, shifting on his side in bed. He didn't even remember falling asleep after his encounter with his captor, but it must've been one of the most comfortable rests he's ever had. It even smelled like breakfast would be ready soon, maybe bacon...no, toast?
"Mmm...toast.." He felt his stomach rumble and gurgle loudly, he hadn't eaten in quite a while. Even the promise of a small meal made his mouth water. Even if it did smell a bit burnt. Actually, a lot burned.
"Mm...toast?"
Lucky rubbed open their eyes, shielding them quickly against the bright morning light. No, no that wasn't morning light. They should've known better.
Their sleepy expression quickly morphed into one of horror as their eyes snapped open.
The curtains near the window were fully engulfed in flames, flames that were now dangerously friendly with the ceiling and the carpeted floor.
"Oh no no no no...." Lucky wheezed, coughing from the smoke inhalation. A fire. Out of all things, it had to be a freak fire, out of nowhere.
"Help!! Somebody come quick! Somebody-" His cries for help were interrupted by the smoke invading his lungs, Why was the room filling with smoke so fast? He could hardly talk like this, he needed oxygen badly.
His horror grew as the carpet caught fire, the flames spreading like with a slow crawl over the surface. He had to get out of there, he had to get out now. Lucky tossed off his sheets, throwing them to the ground below. His leg had still been shackled in the cuff attached to the foot of the bed...but no one was coming for help. The flames were rapidly spreading across the ceiling now, most furniture in the room was fully ablaze and Lucky was acutely aware of his position of danger. The heat coming off the incessant blaze, the taunting dangerous flames licking at his sides, it all seemed to escalate so fast.
"Fuck, fuck! Fuck! Fuck me, fuck, please! Somebody help, please!" Lucky screamed as loud as he could, he didn't know when tears had started flowing but he was freely sobbing at this juncture. As the flames started crawling up the sides of the bed, he couldn't stop himself from pulling at his restrained leg, hard. Pulling and pulling with all of his strength, like it was all he could do. The metal from the shackle started to burn his ankle, he could swear the skin was already blistering. Why wasn't it budging? The flowers on the nightstand had withered away to nothing, the stuffed pig didn't stand a chance as it burst into flames beside them.
The anger, the panic, the fear all welled up in him and before he knew it, he was smashing at his own limb in anger till he heard a sickening crack at the ankle. Lucky let out a pathetic whimper. It hurt, it hurt so bad, but that didn't stop him from trying to pull it out of the shackle.
"Please...please, come on please...." Lucky whimpered, the shackle just wouldn't seem to move down past his heel. But it seemed as though his efforts were too little, too late. He could see it, feel it all around him. The taunting flames licking at his back and face, the suffocating smoke and heat were overwhelming. The consuming fire wasted no time forcing him into a state of helplessness.
Nowhere was safe anymore, not even his former haven in the center of the bed as the flames closed in all around him. All the oxygen was sucked from his lungs, the greedy fire stealing it all for themselves. He could feel his eyes melting out of their sockets, his blistering skin starting to char and peel, the pain, god, the pain. He'd read at some point that the pain would only last a few seconds, that all of the nerves would be burned quickly, so why did this hell seem to last an eternity? His blood seemed to boil, his brain felt like it was turning to mush in his head. The roar of the flames were drowned out by his own agonized screams in the end.
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Lucky shot up in bed, clutching his chest and panting. His eyes darted around the room, it was dark, the middle of the night. There was no fire.
There was no fire.
He couldn't stop his heavy breathing, everything still felt so hot. He flung off his sheets, prepared to see the mangled mess he'd made his leg. But to his surprise, It was pristine. No, it was even better than pristine.
It was free.
No shackles to be seen, just the vague red mark of where it had been before. When had it been taken off? He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rested his hands on his knees. He'd never had a dream like that before, nothing nearly that intense. Nothing that felt so real. But now...
Lucky looked to the door, still ajar ever so slightly.
Content: Electric whump, Restraints, Head Trauma, Training, Creepy whumper
Masterpost
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"You're really starting to live up to your nickname, you know? You could've broken something wandering around in the dark like that."
Mmm..? Lucky's eyes fluttered open, though as the world spun around him, he quickly squeezed them shut again and winced. He really had to stop waking up like this.
"Stop shifting around, it looks like you rattled your head quite a bit on the fall down the steps over there. You're lucky I had someone looking after you last night, otherwise....well, no matter. Best not to agitate it further."
Lucky recognized the voice instantly, his thoughts confirmed as he slowly attempted to peel his eyes open again. Those gloved hands were busy at work, fiddling with something just out of sight. He tried to shield his eyes from the bright light above him but found he could hardly move his hands at all. Cold metal held his wrists at his sides to the surface below him, attempts to move his legs yielded the same results. He felt cold air making his hair stand on end all over, the only item covering him being what felt like a pair of cheap briefs. As his head slowly cleared, he could remember wandering through the darkness before. He thought he'd gotten so close to making it outside, what happened?
"Fine, if you don't want to sit still, we'll do this the hard way. It looks like you want to do everything the hard way, Lucky." Sebastian turned to face them, arms crossed with some sort of remote in his hand. His wavy black hair had been drawn back into a neat ponytail. Instead of the well-dressed attire Lucky was used to seeing, he was wearing a yellow striped button-down and a pair of black suspenders with a grey apron and some slacks. Any friendliness from Sebastian's tone before had dripped away, replaced by a palpable irritability matched by the dark circles under his eyes. Lucky supposed he wasn't the only one not sleeping well that night.
"We don't have to do anything the hard way." Lucky mumbled, though even the acting of talking made his head hurt more. "You could just let me go ho-"
A sharp slap across his face knocked any further words out of his mouth, he hadn't seen it coming at all. His world started to spin again, causing him to screw his eyes shut once more.
"Since you don't seem to have much concern for your own safety, maybe I shouldn't bother with yours either then, hm? That's fine." Sebastian leaned against the table that Lucky was strapped down to, watching as he tried to regain his bearings. "I know you like to talk a lot, but right now is the time to listen and, so help me god, if you cut me off again I am going to make it so you can never speak again. No more warnings. Do I make myself crystal clear?"
"Yes, y-yes I understand..." Lucky stuttered out as his vision came back into focus. It'd felt easy to talk back before, but being restrained somewhere unfamiliar like this, suddenly he was realizing just how much power had been robbed from him.
"Good." The same, crooked smile from before seemed to return to Sebastian's face, but the hint of annoyance beneath it remained. "Now we have a couple of things to discuss, since we're both here. Number one, you didn't take the pills last night like I instructed you to. I told you before that for this to work, this needs to be a partnership, which means trust. As in, I need to trust you to do what I say." He stood up straight again, walking around behind him. Lucky tried to crane his neck to follow him but they were out of his line of sight completely now. How did they know he hadn't taken the pills? What exactly were they even supposed to do?
"I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt before, but since that's clearly not going to work, I think it'd be good if we laid some ground rules. We'll start off easy until you figure out how this works. Since you seem to be a slow learner and all, I've got a way to uh, let's say expedite the process."
Lucky did his best to sit still, but something felt wrong. Well, more wrong than things already were, which was already a pretty high bar.
"Rule number one...do not refer to me by name, ever. Simply refer to me as Sir. It's only appropriate, seeing as I'm your superior. If I ask you a simple question, the response, as appropriate, should be 'yes, sir' or 'no, sir." Do you think you could handle that?"
Lucky rolled their eyes, what a lunatic. He must've had his head firmly rammed up his own ass for a while now. "I could handle it, sure."
"You're stubborn, aren't you?" Sebastian tapped the side of his head in disappointment. "It was kind of funny at first, but it's getting old quick. Let's try that again..."
Lucky heard some sort of clicking in his ear, just behind him. "Hey, what are you-"
Any words he'd planned on speaking were ripped from his throat as a wave of electricity tore through his body. It felt like every nerve in his body was on fire, unrelenting in its assault and drawing every muscle tight like they'd pull themselves apart at any small amount of additional stress. His vision went white, he'd have screamed if his throat would only listen to him, but it seemed as if he'd lost any and all control. Just as suddenly as it started, it all stopped at once leaving him limp on the table. He panted, trembling while beads of sweat dripped down the side of his face. The shock of it all, no pun intended, had sucked on its own but the throbbing pain in his head intensified even worse than before. He groaned, unable to say much else as he felt a hand tussle his hair.
"It worked! It worked so well, that was fun." Sebastian laughed, clapping his hands together. "Do you know about the long-term effects of an untreated concussion? Dizziness, headaches, vision problems, memory loss, etcetera...all easily avoidable. That is, if you give your brain some time to rest and recover. If not though, you could be suffering the effects for the rest of your life, and that wouldn't be ideal would it?"
Lucky tried hard to listen, but his heart was beating loud in his ears as he tried to catch his breath. "N-no.."
"What was that? Did I hear you correctly?"
"No..no, sir.." Lucky's face flushed. He wished he could look off to the side, hide his face, do anything but every movement felt like his brain would come spilling out of his ears.
Sebastian couldn't help but smile. Finally, progress. "See? I knew you could do it, not so difficult. Maybe we don't have to do this the hard way, but that entirely depends upon you. Or me, if I get bored. Just a little more uncertainty to feed your fear which, if I'm correct, we're finally starting to foster!"
Lucky saw his head peek over him from behind, a few stray strands of hair dangling just over his face. Sebastian's bright green eyes seemed to have gained new life now as he smiled down at them.
"At any rate, hang in there. We've got some more rules to go over. try to keep up or what happens next may shock you."
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
"Alright, one last time. I know you can do it this time, really focus. What was rule number 5?"
"Mm....number five..." Lucky's head lolled to the side as he racked his head. "I think...I think it was dress to impress, no shabby appearances allowed in the house, Sir."
"Very good...and rule number two?"
"Don't wander the house at night, sir."
"And how about rule nine?"
"Number nine..." Lucky mumbled, he was so exhausted. "Number nine...don't..um..."
Sebastian's finger hovered over the dial in his hand, the movement alone was enough to jog his memory.
"Family!" Lucky stammered at the last moment "It's, I-I don't have any family outside of this house. Everyone here is my family, no one else, Sir."
Sebastian gave a satisfied smile. "It took you a little while, but look at you. Excellent progress in a relatively short amount of time. I was worried for a bit that I was going to have to find a new assistant, and then I'd have to go hunting again for someone with as much potential as you. You've saved me the extra effort, and for that, I thank you Lucky."
"Of course, Sir. My pleasure." Lucky shivered, he hated this. He hated what he'd been forced to learn, he hated knowing what he needed to do to survive. He hated how easy it was to just comply with the rules, and most of all he hated the fear that this man instilled in him. In any other circumstance, he could've had a fighting chance, but he was rendered helpless in the face of supernatural abilities.
"And that pretty fear keeps growing, and growing...yours smells like smoke. Very interesting.." Sebastian mumbled as he set the remote to the side. He pulled off his apron and hung it on a hook off to the side "At any rate, we've been at this for a while. I'll give you some time to reflect and rest that pretty little head of yours. I'll send someone down to take care of you in a little while, and if you behave, you may earn a little free time until I need you." Lucky felt their hand return to his hair, tussling the once neat strands that were now soaked in sweat. Sebastian gave him one last encouraging smile before heading upstairs and leaving him limp on the table.
Lucky didn't even know he'd been holding back tears, but as soon as Sebastian left, the downpour seemed never-ending. It seemed as though this was his life now.
