Yours Truly.

---

You can never escape your blood. Hugo knew this now. He learned it out in some back alley he had managed to stumble into before collapsing; he felt the shadow of their claws sinking into him. Stranger's faces around him twisted into familiarity, every movement made him jerk in anticipation of an attack, and the whispers haunted his thoughts as he dug his nails into stone, brick, flesh, anything that kept him grounded until his fingers were blistered and bloodied. Teeth chattering, he was thankful the city streets had enough cover to block the pouring rain from completely drenching him; the common clothes he wore in hopes of obscuring himself from his family offered little protection compared to his normal attire. It was pointless anyway, one look at his eyes and they'd find them. He leaned his head back, his body colder than the brick he leaned against. A passing thought about missing home, missing the warmth of the family's large hearth and the ample food available, made him hit his head against the chilled brick behind him.

Nothing could make him return to that nightmare. He had escaped. He was free. That's what should matter. Not the fact that he couldn't survive by his lonesome, or that his mind kept wandering to a life he wished he hadn't lived. What mattered was that he got to trace his fingertips across the paved streets below instead of the wooden floors polished to hide stains of blood. What mattered was that he could look up and see the sky, and not his siblings' sneers or his father's disappointment. What mattered was that he was free, and soon he'd get to tell Serena about what freedom felt like, if only for the short time he managed to experience it.

A firm clasp on his shoulder caused him to jerk with shock. He hadn’t even noticed anyone walk up to him, let alone kneel beside him. He tried to shy away, shake his shoulder free, but the man wasn’t budging, and Hugo glanced his way with a curious look. Just from appearances alone, he knew this gruff, older man wasn't a Ravenlock lackey; his father was too self-absorbed to hire anyone who didn't look like they bled gold.

“Son,” the stranger said in a gritty voice, “you’ll catch your death out here. Got nowhere else to go, I figure?” Hugo answered wordlessly, shaking his head no with little motion.

“Thought so. Would you like to come with me? I can offer you food and shelter.”

His head was swirling. "I don't think I can stand," he managed to say, surprised just how weak he sounded. His head lulled back; perhaps if he could sleep, his strength would return. He hadn't felt this exhausted before in such a long time.

"C'mon, stay with me now." The gruff voice cut through his exhaustion, and his eyes flew open as he was suddenly pulled to his feet. Hugo staggered, feeling the world spin around him, but the stranger helped stabilize him. “I gotcha. Whether you like it or not, I can’t let ‘ya die out here. Feel free to lean on me as much as you need while we head to my place. I’m built like bricks for a reason,” he chuckled before continuing, “I’m Jack, by the way.”

They managed a few steps away from the back alley as his senses came to him; the cold slumber his body wanted to drift into fell away to life once more.