hi everyone! this is the first installment of my new whump series, set in a d&d-type, generic fantasy setting. the whumpee/main character, klaus, is a halfling artificer, and the comic relief of his team. he was kidnapped as a gift/toy for a stone giant. the plot focuses on his recovery, as well as the team's long trip back to their home. let me know if you want to be included in the tag list!
(for context, oura is a beartaur, which is how she carries two people on her back and manually opens a metal restraint. rory is an aasimar, which is why she has wings.)
cw: references to past physical whump (whipping, beating, non-fatal stoning) and mental whump (mockery, pain as entertainment, food denial), swearing
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he'd been locked up in the stone giant's underground stronghold for...
it must've been weeks, at this point.
chained to the wall, kneeling, like a piece of meat. he shivered.
his captor kept him there, in that stupid cell, only coming in to watch servants beat or whip him. once per day, the servants would also bring him food and water that he couldn't reach. he was sick of it.
klaus didn't know the giant's motivations, but he'd guessed that this torment was just for sadistic fun. he was a halfling, after all. the size difference must've been hilarious.
he slumped down as far as he could and let himself sag, that familiar pull appearing in his shoulders.
that was the doorknob to his cell.
oh no. oh no, no, not again. he had just been there!
klaus tensed up. servants had already 'fed' him that day, and the giant had finished a session just a few hours ago, so it must be him again, with servants holding a bullwhip, or a barrage of small stones, or brass knuckles, something to make him hurt and bleed so he could laugh...
or, he'd come in and mock him. no weapons in hand. just another slew of insults, calling him feeble and harebrained, among other things. maybe the giant would nudge the plate of food ever closer to klaus with his toe and cackle when he couldn't take any.
he gritted his teeth, preparing himself for something worse.
he heard... hurried discussions? that wasn't unusual in and of itself, but they were hushed and frantic. usually, his captors would boast and brag about the damage they were doing. also, some of the voices sounded female. that was odd. the stone giant didn't have any female servants.
what the hell is going on?
the heavy iron door to klaus' cell came crashing down, and his tormentors were nowhere to be seen.
his teammates flooded into the room. his friends. they were finally here! was he dreaming? before he could ponder whether or not this was a hallucination, his shoulders loosened involuntarily, perhaps out of sheer relief.
"oh my god, am i glad to see you guys!" klaus exclaimed.
"klaus! oh, thank god, you're okay!" xavier rushed into the room and flung his arms around klaus, clinging to him as if it was the end of the world. his tight embrace made klaus uncomfortably aware of his bruised ribs, but it was comforting nonetheless.
"hey, hey, it's okay xavier, i'm happy to see you too," he reassured him, with a slight wheeze.
"about fuckin' time, too!" rory grunted. she pulled a lockpick from her satchel and got to work on one of klaus' wrist restraints. the twitching of her wings betrayed her stress. "we've been combing this labyrinth for ages, looking for you. it's like a goddamn anthill!"
"i know, right?" klaus agreed. "i guess that's what i get for being kidnapped for a stone giant."
oura smashed the other cuff open with one of her paws, taking great care that she wouldn't hit klaus' wrist. "are you okay, man?" she piped up, voice gentle with concern. "you're covered head-to-toe in bruises, and your back looks like it's been through a cheese grater."
"trust me, oura, i've felt way worse." klaus replied with a slight chuckle.
the second wrist restraint came free, and just as klaus started to regain the feeling in his shoulder blades, oura scooped him up and placed him on her back.
rory began to bark orders at the team. "let's go, let's go, hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"woah, woah, hang on! i can still walk!" klaus yelled, indignant, but he was ignored. xavier clambered onto oura's back behind him, and rory behind xavier in turn. oura broke into a sprint.
klaus clung to the thick fur on oura's back, trying to not fall off, as the team scrambled frantically to leave before they were met with trouble. xavier kept a tight hold on klaus' waist, now being careful to avoid touching wounds.
klaus wasn't dreaming. he was really safe.
he couldn't keep feigning energy anymore. he had spent this entire time as the giant's plaything on high alert. he had needed to. if he'd relaxed in front of his captors, he was sure they'd take it as a sign of defeat. he couldn't allow himself to submit like that.
so, he'd kept his wits about him.
but now his team is here, and he's nestled in oura's soft fur, safe, and leaving his prison.
the chaos around him seemed to subside as the exhaustion took over, and he let himself relax for the first time in ages.
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