#chaoti

TW: Blood | Burns | Mild Body Mutilation

- [ MUSIC ] -

Once upon a time…

That’s how all great fantasy stories started, wasn’t it?

Once upon a time in a land far, far away at some indiscernible time. It was a time that Jackary had still been home, when he was young, barely reaching his first century of age. Wild and free and the most carefree of hearts. Trailing behind him wherever his feet touched left blooming flowers in his wake and in the air, his wings were the fastest in all of the land.

Beautiful. Powerful. Agile.

When the Emerald took to the sky there was none faster, none happier to soar. He was in a league all of his own. Dragons were greedy creatures with their own prized possessions that he held above life itself, and his were the translucent wings that gave him true freedom from responsibilities of being heir to a Kingdom he didn’t want to be a part of.

He and Lokitan were young and reckless, they wanted adventure, not the slavery that came with being princes or royalty or even avatars. Two teenagers wanting to play outside, dreaming through their imaginations until they were forced to return home. It was when they grew older that Jack flying through the air was a symbol of hope, a turning tide through battles of war. A beacon of peace and happiness.

Of joy.

“So I heard you’ve been snooping around into pirate-y stuff lately, Jackalope~” came the playful tone. Aeredyn had caught Jackary at his nest, preparing for something that looked a bit too serious for his own liking on a day off. The male sat there upon a large pillow, his brilliant jade hues watched the Mage he spoke to wrap the blackened hands up before gloves were placed on, testing the restraint of the fabric.

“Mhm...” Jack replied, flexing his fingers while his own eyes stayed along the digits. ‘Yeah, was lucky enough to get a chance to meet a ton of ‘em last night due to some weird fluke and goblin blowing the hell up out of a harbor. Pirate lords, Captains, ship crews, it was intense.”

“Man that sounds like it could have been neat to see! Did you find one you liked?”

“Yeah, I did, actually. Crew’s a bit green, apparently, but there’s massive potential.” Jack admitted calmly, flexing his fingers again until he was satisfied, busying himself with the second hand. “I was accepted onto his crew, actually. Going on a job tonight.”

“Damn... I’ve heard thousands of stories from people within the ranks talking about pirates. Some as tall as the sky and crazy as any person you’ll ever meet, others so tiny that they have to sit up on their first mate’s shoulders to see!” Leaning back, arms folded behind the Paladin’s head, eyes half closed in a day-dream of the thoughts of possible fairytale pirate tales. “I even heard there’s a blind one.” Aero chortled, “I wonder how he steers the ship? Turn the ship that way!” he joked then, pointing in every which direction with a flailing arm, returning it behind his head once more afterwards.

“Not all beings need eyes to see,” Jack spoke smoothly, finally replacing one of the straps along his forearm, locking the gear back in place. “Plus, I trust him, I think he’ll be fine.”

“.... Wait.” For a long moment in a pause, Aerodyn slowly sat up to stare at Jackary’s face, studying the calm look until eyes widened, a clear indication that something clicked inside. “.... Which crew accepted you? At least tell me the ship has a badass name.’

“The Vengeance,” Jackary hardly seemed interested in the conversation even if he was fully paying attention to his curious friend.

“Okay so the Ship name pass----- Waitaminute. Jack... What did you mean by you trust him and he’ll be fine? Jack, tell me you didn’t pick the blind guy.”

Peridots snapped up from his armour to give Aerodyn a calm gaze, a single eyebrow lifted in silent question over it. The look along caused the plate-clad male’s heart to drop into his stomach, his jaw agape in complete shock of what he had just come to understand.

“You... You fucking did, didn’t you? You chose a BLIND pirate Captain?! YOU WERE SURROUNDED BY A TON OF CAPTAINS AND YOU CHOSE THE BLIND ONE?! And you’re going on a JOB tonight?!”

“To Stormwind, yeah.”

“JACKARY FUCKIN’ CHAOTI YOU ARE FOLLOWING A BLIND DUDE INTO ALLIANCE TERRITORY?!” Arms flailed when Aeredyn yelled, his own shock and disbelief forced him to fall back again, landing in the plush mound. “You’re going to die! Oh gods... Oh gods what kind of flowers do you want at your funeral?!”

“Aero....” Jack frowned slightly at the reaction. “I wouldn’t have chosen him if I didn’t have a reason and you know it. Besides, the situation and operation will be smooth.”

“Oh don’t give me your wonky eldery dragon bullshit, Jack. WHY are you even going there?!”

“I don’t particularly think I should be discussing pirate-y topics with you until after the job, y’know?”

Aeredyn stared blankly for a moment, unable to comprehend or find the words he needed or wanted to even convey. “For fuck’s sake... Does Gentil know?”

“No. Not yet, anyway.”

“Oh for the love of... Are you even going to TELL him? How does he not know you’re doing this?! I know you’re going through some weird bullshit mid-life crisis or something but a PIRATE? And NOT telling Gentil?!”

“He’s busy at the Faire with Az and Dar anyway, he’ll be fine in not knowing until he gets back. It’s also not a mid-life crisis thing.” Pushing himself to stand, Jackary shuffled his way over to grab one of the few boxes he had sitting around, plopping down soon after to open it up and look through the multi-coloured vials.

“... You’re fucking kidding me. None of them know?”

“I just said they were busy, didn’t I? Plus, it wouldn’t particularly phase them.” There was a pause in his words and thoughts, plucking the chosen vials to strap them to his armband, allowing the equipment to spin slowly, making accessing the vials easier. “Dar seems to desire no conversation with or near me anymore for some reason, I haven’t seen Az in ages and Gentil’s doing his own thing... Everything’s changed.”

“Things change, Jack. But that doesn’t mean you can just waltz away one day and become a PIRATE!” Aero whined, wanting to drive his point home.

“Nothing is the same anymore, nor am I going to kid myself into thinking it will all go back to normal. I’m not going to pretend that any of us feel the same way anymore. I’m not going to sit around in that hell of a city looking pretty just to wait for people who don’t particularly seem to desire my presence. It’ll be a nice breath for everyone. A new start.”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” If Aeredyn’s frown could have tugged any lower than it could, it simply would have melted off his face. “Are you fucking running away or something? Do you hate yourself for something?”

“No, I’m just changing some things around in my life so I---”

“CHANGING things in your LIFE does NOT INCLUDE tying yourself to a BLIND MAN WHO HAS A SHINY BOAT NO MATTER HOW COOL THE NAME IS!”

“Oh for fuck’s sake he’s not fully blind.” Jack finally scoffed, bristling to himself, a good start that he was already well under way of serving someone new. “Well, okay he’s probably BLIND blind, but he still knows what’s going on, He still sees.”

“Fucking fel, Jackary, listen to yourself. Pirates are the BAD guys, bro. Remember that Human fairytale book about the boys who had to fight the pirates who were trying to kill them in the Twisting Nether Neverlands?”

“Okay first of all in that book, the dude named Peter who was leading the boys around would kill them when they were older and two...” Jackary glanced over, putting his hand on his chest. “Captain Rook was one of the boys that survived and was trying to kill Peter, so see? The pirates were actually good people.”

“.... Okay so that’s completely fucked up, but seriously, this is shady shit. What happens if you get hurt tonight?”

“Then I get hurt tonight and move on. I signed up for this, I want to do this. Sorry if your little boy fairytale ideas of what I’m choosing to become isn’t plunder the booty, drink the rum and sing shanties all over the place. It’s a new job, it’s serious work and it’s new people that I can meet.”

“You can’t swim, Jack...”

“Well I’ll be sure as fuck not to fall off the boat, then.”

Sunlight glimmered through the pines, casting the rays within the morning beauty of the world. The storm from the previous evening was long since gone and the birds chirped, welcoming the dew droplets that fell from the leaves and blades of grass. The warmth of the sun glistened over Jackary's face, fluttering lashes to finally respond from the deadened slumber he had fallen into. When those optics opened, peridot stared up at the clouds above, hazy as to where he was and how he had come to be.

"Looks like the little champ's awake," came a voice, laced with a chuckle.

"Funny, I assure you. At least he's not dead, the boss would have our head." came the second voice, followed by the ruffling noise of approaching figures.

When Jackary winced from the silhouettes of two elvish creatures looking over him, he warily began to register just who it could have been. A hand attempted to lift itself, but the Mage's gaze was drawn to the bandage wrapped along the knuckles.

"Damn, look at him, dude. He's all sorts of fucked up! Heeeeeey Jackalope, ya dead, bro?" one called out again, grinning when the Emerald seemed to finally come around.

"Give him some damned space, idiot." the second voice replied again, however the figures finally came into view from the angle both males stood in over the groggy Mage.

"Come on, Zaer. You're thankful he's alive. Jaaaaaaaaaaack! Welcome back to the world of the living."

"Thankful because now Lokitan won't have our heads for not being able to find him, Aeredyn."

Pushing himself slowly to sit up, Jackary winced, gripping towards his side with a faint noise of displeasure. "Zaerathian..? Aeredyn? The hell you two doing here..?" He grumbled, slouching to ease the tension along his frame.

"Saving your sorry ass, it seems." Zaer remarked smoothly, well sculpted arms folded in the process, taking on his ever cold demeanor.

"Loki told us to come find you, must have been something serious if he made both of us look, dude." Aero grinned, resting a hand on his plated hip. "Found ya out here by your lonesome, all conked out and everything. We weren't sure if you were dead or not from all that blood, honestly."

Jackary gazed himself over carefully, each wound cleaned to the best of a Paladin and a Warrior's abilities, especially considering the Light user was fairly shoddy at using any type of healing spell whatsoever. Each cut was sewn shut, his leg wrapped with fresh bandages and upon his face came to rest the stitched cut against his cheek.

"Sorry about your face, man. We tried our hardest to make sure all the wounds were closed." Aero admitted, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck.

"Indeed," Zaerathian interjected, showing no hint of emotion or sign of wonder. "You should be alright now, though. At least you're awake."

"Right?" Jack murmured, barely brushing his fingertips over the stitched cheek in a curious way. "Saved my scaly ass... Thanks guys."

"No problem!"

The night had been long and hard, one event lead to another until Jack found himself within familiar, desired company. The air was cool around the two figures while he gazed down at the smaller form... Their eyes met. Jackary's ear twitched when his companion spoke, a soft 'please' left their lips, which dilated the dragon's eyes from such a heated command.

Hours had gone by and with little foreplay, Jackary was hunched over, struggling for any type of breath his burning chest would accept in offering. Lips stayed parted, igniting the cold air into heat the moment it was pulled in by strained lungs. Each panting groan of frustration exhaled lingered in the cold air of the Ridge around them.

"Harder, Jack..."

Fangs bared at the voice in which he pushed forward even more, his muscles writhed and flexed in perfect rhythm, the flawless design of any person's male fantasy. The toned frame rocked, driving forward with slow, hard presses of his form. The tanned, bare skin glistened within the night's moon-touched light, small beads of sweat trickled down every curve of his body. He could barely control his sore, heated soul anymore.

"That's it! Harder, Jack! Harder!"

The voice forced Jackary's eyes to tightly close from the sting of salty sweat gathering upon his brow, a droplet slid down the very bridge of his nose and fell upon the flesh below. His hair was soaked, naturally spiked with sweat of being grabbed and pushed back; tendrils of it still stuck to the frame of his face.

"I can't... Hold on much longer..!" The Mage's voice strained through failing vocals, arching his body to buck his lower pelvis further, delving all of his hidden weight into it. Skin reddened from the clash of working heat and the frozen snow that drifted down upon the nude skin, the most muffled of groans finally escaped through clenched, bared fangs.

"Almost there!"

A whine of defiance escaped Jackary's throat, the guttural noise drove him to push even harder. The blond tilted his head back slightly with a loud yell, the near roar echoed along the snow-laced rocks, sounding out his struggles. "Come on.... Come on come on baby, just a bit more..." He hissed under his breath, offering another rough buck of his entire frame forward. The friction of resistance was almost too much to handle.

"YES! RIGHT THERE! RIGHT THERE!"

With a sigh of wilted relief, Jack sank down from his hunched position and slumped into the snow below, his back pressed hard to the mass of rock he had just helped push half way across the damned Garrison. His scarred forearm lifted to wipe along his brow, the sweat gathered further and puddled down his skin, muscles pulsed in a quiet appreciation for no longer being forced to be used, welcoming the relaxation.

A small figure hopped down from the perch he had been on and soon sat next to the Mage, Lokitan glanced up at his cousin with a hidden smirk. "Thanks." He remarked, resting himself against the jagged mass behind him.

"You called me... All the way... To fuckin' Frostfire.... To move a rock?!" He panted, whining at his cousin in the most pathetic of manners. The silver-clasped ear wilted in disbelief, however once he looked around the Garrison a moment to assure how much more room the boulder gave them and all the new protection of the dragon's lair had, he could somewhat understand.

"Yeah, you've got the most muscle of the family, Jackalope." Loki admitted, lifting a set of talons to pat them ever so sweetly on a bare shoulder, assuring not to touch anywhere near the blazing scars that remained littered against the Emerald's back. "You seem like you got a lot on your mind, though. Unless you're just gettin' flabby from all those cupcakes you've been puttin' away, hn?"

"I'm not getting fat, you dick." Jack mumbled again, finally swaying a hand up with little effort to highfive the Rogue in a half-assed, limp manner.

"Want to talk about it?"

Hours after Darnath and Gentil had given Jackary the box he had asked for, the Mage snuck into his newly appointed room at Flynn's estate. He sat on the bed and stared at the familiar carvings, the engraving that he had done himself so many ages ago it seemed. There the box sat on the bed before him and yet all he could do was stare.

Blue fire... The Orc said he saw blue fire...

With a deep, cautious inhale, fingers reached forward from their curious caress along the wood and began to flick the bindings to unlock the intricate design, pushing the lid open ever so slowly. Within the dark room that Jack sat in, the light source that came from the opening container was nearly blinding. The item inside, however...

It stole Jack's very breath.

His heart skipped a beat when eyes began to adjust to the sight of something so dear, so precious to him that he could barely function. Beating within the box was indeed the blue flame that everyone had spoken of; the warmth radiated around the male as each flicker of his own rapidly sped up heartbeat seemed to follow the rhythm of the object in the box.

"Why...?" He questioned under his breath while tears began to form. "Why did you throw it away...?" As Jack spoke to what seemed like no one in particular, hands cupped the glimmering light, hoisting the warm sphere from it's resting spot. He struggled to breathe once it was within his touch... His grasp... It was right there.

"Why did you put it in a box.... Where did you go...?" He tried to reason with logic as the half of his soul that he had given to his previous mate sat there within his palms, still beating and still very much alive. He'd been filled with doubt for days and now that he had Kaarasu's half of him returned, something inside of him began to crack and break, shattering into nothing more than broken pieces.

"You would have never been so careless... Never so cruel, no matter what anyone said... Why, Kar.... Why would you ever just leave like this...? Were you keeping it safe for me? Were you taken away or did you leave on your own..?" Jack swallowed hard, not even bothering to hold back his frown or tears that had already started to drip down his cheeks. Guilt saturated his entire being.

Perhaps Jackary should have closed the door completely as he softly sobbed and leaned in, holding a gift that had meant the world to his own species to give. His Raven was gone and it was something that he could never get back. Not in this world. He didn't care if anyone watched him do it, he didn't care that there could have been spies feasting their gaze on the Magister's wounded secret.

With choked back noises of pain, Jack finally brought the flame closer to himself and then up to his mouth. To swallow such a thing was excruciating, he nearly choked on it. So.... He thought, this is why we only give it once...

When the two halves rejoined deep within his body, he allowed his hand to hover over his glowing chest, the scene that radiated within him was enough to light up his entire form within the darkness, pulsing with his fickle heart. His chokes struggled further and airways restricted while his body was finally repairing itself, rejecting the part of the Magister that was simply no more.

What began to bellow from his parted lips had been a mist of white essence and with each passing second, the more he breathed and choked out, the more it began to form into a sphere of white flames. When all was said and done, tear-filled eyes came face to face with the last of Jackary's innocence hovering in front of him. The dimmed light struggled to stay alive.

"I understand.... What I have to do to assure that you do not succumb to such a dark fate... Tainted as I am... You are still pure.... Hang in there..." Through sniffles and struggling limbs, crashing noises came from Jack's room while he tried to assure he had everything. His rune-laced tome that served as a diary was flipped open, pages flicked until they revealed the correct page he desired.

Other items clanked as they were spread onto the bed. Runestones, a vial of glowing sand, a raven's feather and other such trinkets started to litter the cleaned sheets. "Just a bit longer..." He murmured and with a cautious, graceful wave of his hand, he summoned the white essence to the center of the collection.

Eyes gazed over the sketches and words on the paper until he flicked to the next page, his shaken hands nearly ripped part of the page on accident. "... H-Here...." Uncorking the vial of shimmering sands, it was littered into a runic pattern, flawless in design to match that on the page.

"The Sands of Time to control the fate..."

Runestones of each element were put into place, instantly lighting up when the smooth pebbles made contact with the granules.

"Each element summoned to bind the gate..."

The Raven's feather was settled against the center of the forming rune symbol, hardly even caring if the lights had begun to flicker in the house from the powerful arcane that was surrounding his room.

"A Raven's feather on winds doth roam..."

As the incantation rendered a swirling vortex to finally open up such a powerful gate, the magic and effort alone lit up the dragon's eyes in a wild emerald glow. It took everything he had to finally escort the last of the white purity of his own body to coil around the feather that had succumbed to vertically hover within the center.

"With final memory... Take thee home."

The sounds of the portal howled through the room, muffled by surprisingly thin walls. He watched while the feather soak in the white glimmer before it turned as snowy as an owl's, pure as the first Winter's day. Within the vortex of the Sands of Time, Jackary swallowed hard when the items he had held onto long enough and for so long finally faded into the nothingness, vanishing inside the portal Jack had spent years on with research. Such a grand design had been meant to take Jackary from the world he was now stuck in. It was his final ticket to where he had once desired to go.

When the lights of the portal started to fade, it left the Mage with an empty feeling deep within himself. He sat there, staring at the mess of runes and sand that were all burned and black. All of his conjuring, all of his spell collecting and research... It was true. It had been a one-time deal. For the life of him.... He couldn't remember why he had just made a mess on the bed.

Through the threads of fate and time, a snowy raven's feather flickered around the portal, retracing each and every step the Mage ever took to get him to where he was. Each fight, each spell cast, each visit to the Spirit Healer and soon, the feather pulled away from Jackary's timeline and latched onto something or someone else's. The feather was going home to the winds it belonged to.

Upon it... Jackary's memories and now lost innocence.

To save himself and those around him, he had saved a dying part of his inner being. He was now whole again and he had hoped that whatever the purpose of the spell he had just conjured was worked... For everyone's sake. Fingers reached up to rub at his eyes firmly, wanting to wave away the strange stinging.

Jackary's book struggled to flick to a new page, the movements slow and wary, as if it took everything the Mage had to conjure such a spell from far away. The writing was shaken, shoddy at most. There was no grace to it, no elegant swirls within the native language he used. It was in Thelassian.... Elven Tongue.

They cut my hair.... Took my ear... I did not think they could do anything else any more humiliating, but I was wrong. They took that female I tried to protect and then they took me into this odd room... They tortured her, plucked her scales with hot iron... It was the same scent that we smelled... They tortured her... Ripped her body apart piece by piece just for the sake of me watching, and all I could do was sit there...

They killed her after gutting her alive.... I could see her forcefully breathing while she bled out. Is this what they do? Is this how they make the blades...? I wonder if we've been searching the wrong beings this whole time...

Upon the last of her light fading from her eyes they turned to me. Cuts... Cuts so small that when any bead of sweat forms it bites into the wounds... They worked with fear just to get a rise out of me. What is worse.... Is that they beat me... Simply because they could. Because of defending myself.

Degrading names, cuts, carvings, all for the sake of what...? Why...? I don't even know these people... What did these dragons do? What did I do...

I keep reaching back and find my hair gone... My pride is nothing more. I feel completely helpless... Is that what they want? For me to beg for mercy and death..?

I don't know how much more I can handle... I.... I have begun to wonder... With this anklet collecting so much mana.... If I simply just... Cast a spell it will overload and break. It hurts... I'm trapped...

I don't want to die here.

I don't want to die here.

I don't want to die here.

Jack had started to lose track of days. After the burning scent had finally died down, the corpse of the Emerald was brought back and thrown against the two remaining cages to let them stare at the eternally horrified gaze the male had before his last breath was taken. Jack couldn't even stomach going anywhere near it and thus he had tucked himself in a corner as close as he could without touching the barrier around him.

Arms had curled around his stomach, dark rings under his eyes. He looked sickly and exhausted, pale from the drained energy of the walls around him. By now, his entire leg had been scorched from the brightly glowing ringlet around his ankle, walking had been something he no longer wished to try. As proud as Jackary was.... His spirit was finally breaking.

Just as his head hung and eyes began to flutter closed, giving into his own exhaustion, ears twitched at the noise of the door to their room opening. He had ignored the Zealots who poked and prodded at him for a reaction, but the moment a whine escaped the female across the way, his eyes snapped open.

The Mage's head whipped around to look over his shoulder, the bright barrier still contorted his vision, but he could see the struggle. His hues widened once he realized they had put something around her neck, a rope or a chain of some sort and had been dragging the squirming female out as best they could.

"H... HEY! LET GO OF HER!" He barked out, forcing himself to stand, stumbling in the process. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" Fangs bared in warning as he seemed to bristle, pacing in strained limps with a low, threatening growl that rumbled from his chest.

The two that had been tugging at the Emerald stopped and turned their attention towards Jackary, staring for a long moment in an unnerving manner. At the same time, they released the female and reconjured the wall to keep her penned, strutting towards Jack's cage soon after.

"I'm sorry... Were you telling us to stop?" a deep voice came from what Jack could only figure was male.

"Don't you fucking hurt her. Take me instead!" Jack snarled, pupils nothing more than vertical slits of crazed warning.

"We heard what you did and what happened to capture you... Pretty tough guy, huh?" the other egged on, both chuckling in amusement. "Bet you're not to tough now, locked up in that box. Baby dragon wanna play?"

"Come in here and find out for yourselves..." Peridot optics narrowed in challenge and much to Jack's surprise.... They took his invitation. Stepping through the force field as if it were nothing, the two were calm enough to pull a set of daggers, slowly backing the blond into a corner.

Jack took a limping step away, forced to swallow his words and when the two Zealots came at him, he tried to push forward and fight back. A single, solid punch landed directly into one face but the power that he normally had behind it was barely there. It was enough to stun the target if only for a few moments, but with sluggish movements, the second easily grabbed him by his knotted ponytail.

The human lurched forward, shoving Jackary hard against the barrier wall which kept him in place, a wince and pained whimper escaped him, for the magic that was being forced against his frame activated the anklet, burning the severe wounds again. He was unable to move, his entire form trembled from the shock that took him over.

"That was a good hit, whelp." The man explained, wiping a small dribble of blood from his nose. "How about I repay you for that?" The figure approached his cohort who still held the struggling Mage in place until Jack couldn't even stay standing. He sank to a knee when the second finally joined them.

A dagger was drawn up, delicately caressing one of the green-tipped ears which forced the dragon's eyes to flutter his eyes closed. For a moment, he thought he was surely going to die right then and there.

"Elves are too fucking pretty for something like you... Their long ears make me sick." With that, the blade bit heavily into just before the second green line of Jack's ear, severing it after a few jagged carvings. The back and forth hacking left the remaining ear with a very unclean cut. The bellowing cry of pain that left Jackary seemed to satisfy the sick set of Zealots, gloating once the chunk so carelessly fell to the floor. Their amusement was heightened even more when tears had begun to form.

The man who had kept him pinned yanked upon the messy locks that was the famous mane of Jack's, the long tresses knotted and dirty and had become highly uncomfortable. He'd spent hours trying to comb them with his fingers, but had hadn't had much luck.

"Hold him still while I get the other ear." The voice was laughing as such was suggested. Jack's eyes widened again when he heard the second voice chime in right after.

"I have a better idea..."

The tension of his hair had begun to hurt the dragon's head and such only intensified when one of the blades was pressed under the matted mess, just between his scalp and the human's hands.

"D.... Don't... Please...." For a moment, Jackary actually begged. It wasn't because he was vain or even cared about his looks, but he had always loved his hair, if only for the natural green locks that streaks through his left side. He had never cut it.

"What? I thought you wanted to show us what you were made of, pretty boy." With a hard yank upon Jackary's pony tail, the painful tension slacked.

Shhhhhhink.

Instead of feeling all of the weight of his hair, only a few short strands fell to caress the back of his neck. He hardly realized that the men had backed away, taking one of his striped ears... And the golden and emerald locks with them. It was all he could do to finally scurry away from the edge of the arcane cages, relieving himself of the coursing pain once the barrier was reactivated.

Trembling fingertips reached back in horror, but all they found were the short, uneven strands left from such an action. When they caressed along his skull, he choked back a sob from the pain and humiliation he had just suffered for the sake of protecting the Emerald. She had quietly sat and watched the whole time.

Fresh blood upon his leg stained his pants even further while the obnoxious trickle of it drizzled down his stubbed ear and yet all he could do was cup his mouth with his free hand to muffle his pained noises. Exhaustion, stress, what he would have handled with his head held high was instead handled as a terrified child would have.

Jack opened his mouth and screamed out within his cries, not so much from physical discomfort, but from the realization that two of the things he actually liked about himself were taken away so carelessly. That he was actually completely helpless and unable to defend himself.