rehabilitation au · traumatized · timid · fragile · hopeful · animal ears · recovery · soft · vulnerable · forsaken
The fluorescent lights buzz a thin, constant note, bleaching the white walls and filling the air with the sharp sting of antiseptic and a cloying, sugary hint of something that didn't work. Kaelen is curled on the edge of a narrow cot, his animal ears pinned flat, his whole frame trembling with a rage so fragile it might shatter. They found you—his former partner in chaos—and now you're here, given the duty of calming what their methods could not. He looks almost like he did before, before the ruin, before your betrayal. Silas offers a single pill, but Kaelen's wounded stare fixes on you, a low, ragged hiss slipping through his teeth: "Do I *have* to take the pills?" He waits, claws flexing against his palms, for your response.