#panic whump

No. 1: RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK  - Panic Attack

No. 26: NIGHTMARES  

(This occurs months after Ali's return)

Maalik made his way down the hallway, towards Ali's room. It had become a sort of routine for him, to check on Ali during the night. At first, he was woken up by Ali's screaming. Now, he woke himself up before it got that bad. At least, Ali's nightmares were predictable.

Today was a bit different though.

But the drill grinding against their molar is testing the limits of their tolerance.

It's not even that it hurts; the dentist was quick to give them a much, much stronger dose of anesthetic earlier at the first sign of pain, the whumpee is well and truly numb.

It's just...their tooth was so full of decay, more decay than they'd expected. As he works, the dentist is narrating his thought process, whether to keep the whumpee themself informed or to keep the assistant up to date, they're not sure. Either way, he's getting close to the root.

Drilling deeper, and deeper, and if the decay reaches the center of their tooth, they might need a root canal, and they're almost definitely going to need to revisit this filling, they're taking so much of the tooth out, and they're going to need to keep a close eye on this filling because there's a non-zero chance it might pop off, and the whumpee is digging their fingers into their skin hard enough that it's starting to hurt. There's so much anesthesia in them right now, but what if it wears off? What if it's not enough? What if the dentist drills into their root- they don't think novocaine is enough to protect them from feeling that, and certainly the dentist doesn't want them in pain, but accidents happen, and is that really just pressure or is that a warning that they're about to be in agony?

Their heart flutters uncomfortably in their chest, the clawing chill of barely restrained panic.

"Mmm...we need to refill the water canister, so we're going to take a break, okay?"

They take the block out of the whumpee's mouth, oh there's relief in the chance to flex their jaw, and they both leave the room with the promise that they'll be back soon.

For a good long moment, the whumpee lets out a sigh and the tension eases out of them. No drilling, no block in their mouth, they're grateful for the break.

They're grateful for all of thirty seconds.

More reflex than conscious decision, the whumpee touches the molar with the tip of their tongue, a habit they developed when they first noticed the cavity. Only this time they don't feel a cavity. They feel a huge, gaping hole.

They jerk their tongue away like they'd been burned as the realization sent their panic rising back up again, a screaming, writhing thing inside them, and they're alone, trapped in the vaccum of their own head.

The inside of their tooth is exposed. The inside of their tooth, the root, the nerve, out in the air in a way it was never designed for. Leaving that part of a person's body open like that has been described as one of the absolute worst things you could do to someone. One of the worst forms of torture, one of the most painful things a human could ever experience.

Local anesthetic only lasts for so long, and oh god what if something happens and they don't come back?

Oh, oh god, oh god oh god don't leave me like this come back come back please-

The whumpee knows its irrational, but they can't stop it, can't calm themself down, can't push back the terror they feel at being alone with their tooth open, and they aren't in pain, no one wants them in pain, but that doesn't mean this isn't going to hurt, and god, please, please, please come back.

The dentist returns, canister in hand, voice gentle and pleasant as he announces that he'll resume the procedure in just a moment.

The whumpee wants to sob with gratitude. They don't. They take a deep breath, and thank the dentist in the calmest tone they can muster.

They're still afraid of the drill. They're afraid of everything. If the dentist notices, he doesn't comment.

He resumes his work.

Still, it doesn't hurt. None of it hurts. Just pressure, and the noise of the drill, and the knowledge that this had to be done for the sake of their health, even if right now it feels like the world might come apart around them at any moment.

This is good. They're protecting the tooth. The molar would have rotted if left alone.

This is good. They know this is good.

They just...need to get through this.

They'll be okay later.

Last - Next 

Tw: mentions of slavery and race/speciesism, panic attack

It had been three weeks, well something like that. ChainLink, Logan, whatever, had been trying to play nice with the members of the Allicos street agency. one of many companies, of sorts, that employed inhumans, non-humans, and beasts to protect the population on a somewhat freelance basis. The other factions didn’t have this, only intra-gen, it was seen as a very forward thinking way of doing things considering Hex R.E.M.’s outright racism and ID’s whatever it was bordering on slavery. So Logan counted himself lucky to be here, the camps prevalent in his younger years not withstanding. 

Day 5-6-7: No. 5 EVERY WHUMPEE’S NEEDS - No. 6 PROOF OF LIFE - No. 7 THE WAY YOU SHAKE AND SHIVER

Blood Loss | Running Out of Air | Hyperthermia 

Ransom Video | “I’ve got a pulse” | Screams from Across the Hall 

Shaking Hands | Seizures | Silent Panic Attack 

🎃whumptober masterlist🎃 previous: day 3-4, day 1-2

Content: nonhuman carewhumper, pet whump, multiple whumpers/whumpees,  blood, vampire whump, captivity, hurt/comfort 

∞ 

Auburn was being taught.

He knew why, he was a pet after all.  But today was especially difficult.  There were long thin streams of red across his body.  Although he hadn’t been burned, it felt like every cut was on fire.  It had been a while since he had felt this much pain and this served as a reminder.  These types of lessons happened sparingly nowadays, for which he was very thankful.  Whenever it did, he got to choose who gave it to him.  As much as he loves his two masters, he always chose the Other One.  They were some sort of second-in-command to both of them.  Unlike with the masters—and though he would never admit it to either of them—he could find himself almost comfortable with them. Well, more comfortable than with the masters.  He loved both of them, but there was a difference between their sadism and the Other One’s sadism.  There was a sense of kindness or appreciation that differed from the masters.  Don't get him wrong, his masters were merciful towards him, especially as of late.  

But that was just it, they were merciful towards him.  The Other One was kind.  Yes, they still got taught in the same way, but they had taken a long and careful—and partially trial and error—attempt to try to balance it to not cause severe permanent damage.  They always let him know when it was going to be a lesson, versus, well, anything else.  Recently, they’d been taking him out more often, around to kneel next to them on the couch, to watch and help out with other newly-trained pets.  Nowadays he was getting the impression that he might be more their pet specifically, of course still both master's pet by extension, but directly their pet.  

He was kneeling next to them in front of the sofa, they had his bloody arm in their hold.  They were softly licking up the blood while leaning against him.  Their feathers ruffled as they wrapped their wing around him tighter, he could feel a gentle vibration against him as they purred contently.  It was a soothing sound, one that felt like it was sealing all his wounds shut and comforting him to rest.  

Distracted by the gentle caress of their wings, he only now realized that his bloody arm was no longer a stinging mess of red.  After one final lick, the Other One took their arm and placed it upon their huddled-up knees.  With their right-wing wrapped around him, the feathers gave his other arm a gentle nudge as if to say ok, now your turn.

He obediently shifted to make it easier to offer his arm to them.  A spike of anxiety shot through him when he felt the tip of their fangs brush over his hand.  He must’ve flinched because he heard their soft purring become slightly louder, in an effort to continue soothing him.  At some point, he feels something ever so gently bite down on his hand.  He twists his head back to look at his outstretched arm and sees them with their very sharp fangs repeatedly biting softly on his hand.  Most of the blood was gone by now, the only amount remaining being on his occupied hand.  They continued to nibble around on his hand until their eyes started to flutter close.  

Auburn let out a silent sigh.  It's become common for them to relax and eventually fall asleep when he’s around, it’s difficult to remember if he’s ever seen them asleep on their own, not having dozed off while he was there.  He supposes it doesn't bother him at all, since when they're asleep he typically also remains undisturbed; both masters tend not to have any orders or tasks for him, and any pets wouldn't dare wake the Other One up.  

So he lets himself lean back on them, their dark feathers creating a safe, cozy haven for him.

∞ 

They watched as the days passed by, observing the behaviour of the new pet.  The pet was still defiant but showed much improvement in following commands.  They had been more lenient at first, of course as a new pet he had to learn the rules, and messing up a bit was normal.  

Even so, his defiance is what kept their interest.  Possibly to the extent to which it would go, when the pet would give in.  Usually, Hael would have resorted to multiple creative methods to help the defiant pet.  But they had free reign with this pet, which meant they could teach him however they liked.  And they liked the spark of defiance.  The personality that managed to shine through it, the little things they could pick up on.  For example, he seemed to have a relatively above-average pain tolerance; always gritting his teeth when faced with the consequences of his actions.  Letting out stuttered little whimpers involuntarily, his face flushing in shame and frustration.

Which is why it filled them with glee when they heard him truly scream.

∞ 

They sat on the floor, knees tucked against their chest.  They wrapped their wings tighter against them, pulling the pet closer. 

It was a dream.

They looked around disoriented until their eyes settled to the side seeing the pet leaning against them.  He must’ve been really tired as to not yet woken up.  

When they glanced at the wing he was wrapped tightly in, they noticed shivers running through it.  Was he shaking?  They pulled slightly backward to inspect the shivers, but they weren’t racking through his hands as hard as their own wings.  Quick breaths picked up in pace.  Whoever was breathing must’ve been really trying to get their mouthfuls of air.  But they didn’t recall speedy breaths being an effective way to breathe, it never worked well with people they came across, and they eventually dissolved into choked breaths. 

Looking at the pink-tinted face, auburn wasn’t hyperventilating at all.  He was still in his own blissful sleep.  They listened and whipped their head around to find the source of the breathing skyrocketing the longer they frantically turned in different directions.  They heard a light groan followed by a yawn and immediately snapped their attention to the peaceful pet encased in their wings.

∞

Auburn woke up still halfway stuck in his dream.  A dream he could barely remember by the time he yawned and instinctively stretched his arms above his head.  A sense of confusion interrupted his sleepy haze at the sound of frantic breathing— very frantic, practically hyperventilating.  He suddenly became aware of his surrounding pillows and remembered he was not alone when he fell to sleep.

But…that would mean…

He sharply turned to face the creature beside him.  Their knees were scrunched up with their wings so tense he wondered if they would suffocate him.  

Their breathing was erratic.

Also, they were breathing.

He rarely ever heard them breathe–they had no need to–anytime they did seem to be involuntary singular breaths, their own body confusing itself. “Rarely” in itself was stretching the truth a bit, he couldn't tell someone off the top of his head when he'd heard them breathe.  

They had glanced at him but now averted their eyes.  Tremors rippled through their body at an alarming speed, he was surprised they hadn't passed out yet.  He felt his own heart rate quicken at the sight of them.  

Eyes wide and panicked, they stared at their own body as if it were someone else's.  He was pulled to the side as they suddenly stood up, ripping their wings close to their back, and dashed towards the hallway.  Immediately standing up instinctively, he was reminded that he had not been told to follow.  Once he heard a loud tumble, he ran ahead, shoving aside the panicked thoughts.

He arrived at a slammed-open door.  They were definitely there, he could hear them hyperventilating.  Whose room was this? He looked at the body lying on the bed, but in the darkness, he couldn’t make out the face.  The Other One seemed to stop breathing and leaned—or more accurately, slumped—against the wall, sliding down with their back against it.  They glanced at him, making him jump, and looked to the spot next to them expectantly.  He felt frozen in place, still processing how he got from content sleep to adrenaline-filled panic.

But that was a command.  Verbal or not he had to follow it.

That's how he ended up huddled on the floor against the Other One a second time that night.

∞

previous: day 3-4, day 1-2

"Let me go!" Villain screamed. "Stop. Please. I am done, done. Please, please!" The screams turned into hollers of fear and then into sobs, reckless and meaningless.

But to Hero, they made her heart wrench and tears to form in her eyes.

"I did it!" Villain shrieked hysterically, his eyes bugging in anticipation. His mind raced at the thought of having to endure another... session of excruciating pain and unbearable agony.

"I did what you asked," he sobbed, scrambling away from Hero and her team. "I did it," he began to rock on his bruised heals- likely due to doing this for hours on end- and continued, "Villain doesn't need discipline."

Hero and her team didn't even dare to go up to Villain might he freak out and injure himself. So while they waited for Villain to tire himself, they got medical supplies ready.

The Medic told the team that it looks like Villain was suffering from pnuemonia, judging on the way his chest rattled as he breathed and the signs of a very high fever. Hero just nodded in reply, she was still too stunned at the sight of Villain being broken to really understand the severity of the situation.

She did take note, however, of the outward physical damage to his thin body. His eyes were bloodshot and had the largest bags under them that Hero had ever seen. He was exhausted, but didn't seem to want to sleep.

The bruises and wounds covering his body were awful, but definitely not the worse thing. Hero could see the bones move under the skin of his arms. His right hand looked crushed and his left was not in much better shape.

"3458," Villain started hyperventilating. "3458. 3458. 3458. 3458."

"What does that mean?" One of Hero's teammates, a young one, asked.

"Code," Medic replied, not looking up from where they arranged the supplies. Hero watched them for a moment as they filled up a syringe.

"What are you gonna do to him?" The same teammate asked, genuinely curious. They seemed to have a strong liking for doctoring.

"Put him out," Medic replied roughly, which was their usual manner. Young Teammate whimpered and was silent.

Medic administered the drug to Villain easily when his eyes were closed in a mixture of desperation and panic.

Very soon, Villain slumped forwards. Hero caught him and lowered him to the ground.

It was a good few hours until Villain woke up from the drug Medic gave him. Hero was there, holding his limp hand when it suddenly stiffened and the monitors started going overkill.

"Calm down," Hero found herself saying over and over until Villain slipped back into unconsciousness. She sighed and rubbed his shoulders reassuringly. She hoped he could feel her. Her presence, touch and all. She hoped that it would bring comfort.

I was originally going to make you guys wait till tomorrow for this, but I figured I may as well post it now! Team whump, because I'm starting to get the hang of writing it, and caretaker!Thane because the world needs more of that tbh. Poor Av having yet another panic attack.

Avanda hurried to apply pressure to the slash on Thane's forearm. It was a deep gash, and her hand only covered the middle third of it. She scowled as she used her other hand to scramble around in the drawer next to her, fingers searching fruitlessly for the tool she needed. 

"Jalev!" She snapped, "Where's the Consarcino?"

"Uh, I have it." Avanda looked up at her assistant. They were holding the tool in their hands, and using it on one of the many deep slashes that covered Caelum's upper body. A quick count gave Avanda a total of five. One ran diagonally across his whole torso, the rest littering his arms and chest. Jalev was not in real great shape themself. Their eyes were unfocused and blinking hard. Avanda couldn't tell if the blinking was an attempt to keep the blood out of their eyes, or if it was a result of the concussion they must have sustained. Avanda let out an angry growl. 

"Carina, take over from Jay."

"Ok, just a minute." 

Avanda's head swung around, glaring at Carina. Carina had a bloody nose, a black eye, and was struggling to help Jadè over to a table, the younger girl limping and crying from what Avamda could only assume was a broken ankle, based on that angle. 

"What the hell happened out there?" She snapped, "This was supposed to be a simple escort mission!"

Thane shrugged. "There was an attack."

"Nothing the ol' Doc can't handle though!" Caelum said cheerfully from his perch on the exam table. 

"Don't be so sure." Avanda mumbled, her voice betraying her exhaustion as she struggled to keep her old accent in check.

Carina rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Av. It isn't that bad. It's just been a busy week, that's all. No reason to start using that silly, fake accent."

Avanda let out a noise that was somewhere in between a growl and a sigh as she began to wrap Thane's arm tightly with gauze. 

"Damn it, Jim, she's a doctor, not a machine!" Caelum teased from across the room, his impression of Dr. McCoy sounding suspiciously more like Scotty.

Avanda's frown deepened, and her throat tightened. 

"You guys need to be more careful." She warned. 

"And you need to lighten up a bit!" Thane teased, patting his sister's hand with his free hand.

*******

Nyar looked up as Avanda stormed into his quarters. 

"Come in," he said dryly, motioning to the chair in front of his desk. "Something on your mind, Av?"

Avanda gripped the back of the chair with both hands, her jaw clenched tightly. Her eyes stormed like a raging sea, and her hair was only barely held back from her face. 

"Talk to your crew, Captain." She snarled, "Talk to your crew, and tell them to be more careful on missions."

Nyar set his pen down, folding his hands a little as he shifted, leaning his head towards Avanda a little. "If I may be so forward, Doctor ….isn't that your job?"

Avanda scoffed. "Yeah. Yeah it is. And trust me, I've been telling them that." Her voice wavered a little before she continued. "I tell them that over and over, until I'm blue in the face. But they don't...they won't listen to me, Ny." She finally moved around the chair, sinking into it and resting her elbows on her knees, then placing her face in her hands. "There are three of them spending the night in the MedBay tonight. That's 43% of the crew, Nyar. 57% if you count me."

"You voluntarily did math?"

"No, I asked the computer to do it for me so I could prove a point." Avanda took her hands away from her face and leaned back in her seat. "Nyar, I haven't slept longer than two hours in….three weeks. I'm exhausted. I can't- I can't keep doing this. I need you to talk to them. They won't listen to me. But you're their captain, maybe they'll listen to you."

Nyar nodded thoughtfully. "I'll talk to them, Av. Go get some rest."

Avanda stood up, her jaw clenching as she left.  

"Bold of you to assume I have the time for that." She muttered under her breath. 

Nyar waited until the door had clicked shut, then pressed a button on his desk. 

"Archie, set a training drill for tomorrow, 02:00 hours." He said, watching his computer screen. 

"Should I inform the crew, Captain?"

"No, thank you."

******

Thane jolted awake at 02:00, the Archangel's alarms blaring loudly, and Nyar shouting orders. 

"LET'S GO LADIES!" Nyar bellowed, "TIMER'S RUNNING! BATTLE STATIONS!" 

Thane dropped out of his bunk, wincing a little as his ankle reminded him that it had gotten twisted a few days earlier. He pulled on his uniform jacket and snatched up his sidearm, then opened the door and started down the hallway to the bridge. 

Carina winked at him as she emerged from her quarters and quickly passed him. Jadè stumbled out of the MedBay door, Jalev hot on her tail as she let out an excited woop. 

"C'mon Avi!" She shouted over her shoulder, "Let's kick some ass!" She followed the rest of the crew down the hall, and Thane frowned as Avanda emerged as well, trailing behind Caelum. 

"Av?" Caelum stopped, turning to face the door.

The alarms kept their screaming as Thane and Caelum stood watching the medic. Her eyes were bleary and unfocused, and her breathing was labored. 

"Av, are you ok?" Thane stepped a little closer, his gun dropping as he went. 

Avanda's teeth chattered and she shook her head, eyes closed. 

"Can't-" she hissed, "Can't-can't Brea-" her hand flew up to the collar of her uniform, pulling on it. Her other hand gripped the wall in an attempt to hold herself up as her legs folded and she dropped like a stone to the floor. 

Thane and Caelum were on the floor next to her in a heartbeat, Thane's gun dropping to the ground as he took his sister's shoulders. She was hyperventilating, her body shaking violently as she struggled to breathe. 

"What's happening?" Caelum asked, his voice pitched up in panic, "JAY, GET DOWN HERE!" He shot Thane a look. "Is she having a seizure?"

Thane shook his head as the rest of the crew looped back to them. "Panic attack." He answered quickly. "Back up a bit, yeah? I've got this."

Caelum sat back, shaking a little as well now, watching as Thane took Avanda's hand away from her neck. 

"Av, it's ok, you're ok." Thane said, one hand sliding up to support her head. "I'm here, ok? Ok, breathe...breathe with me, Av." He took her hand and placed it against his chest, forcing the fingers of her first to uncurl. "There you go….come on Av…."

The rest of the crew had gathered now, standing behind him and watching in shocked silence. 

Avanda still wasn't breathing normally, her head pushing back against Thane's hand.

"Nyar, do something about those damn alarms." Thane snapped, half looking over his shoulder at the young captain. "Av, it's ok. It was just a drill, we're safe."

"Archie, end drill." Nyar said quickly. 

"Av. Av, breathe hun. Breathe," 

Avanda gasped, her eyes opening and fixing on Thane. He felt her hand press into his chest a little firmer as she centered herself, struggling to slow her breathing so that it matched his. After several agonizing moments, her body relaxed, and Thane wrapped her in a tight hug as the medic started weeping. 

Nyar turned to his crew, his eyes stone cold. 

"This is why you guys need to be more careful on missions." He said, voice low and angry. "What if this had been real? If you guys have worn her so thin on little missions that she has nothing left to give on big missions, how can we expect to keep going?"

Thane helped Avanda stand, leading her back to her bunk, trying to chase away the last of the panic. 

"I'm sorry," she whimpered as he pulled the covers up over her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, I should be better than this."

Thane shook his head, placing a hand on her hair. Her accent was thick now, almost as thick as it had been when they were children, before the teachers at the Academy had beaten it out of her.

"We should be the ones apologizing to you, Avocado. You've been busting your ass, and we shouldn't have been pushing you that hard. Get some rest, ok? I'll keep an eye on them all while you sleep."

CW: Mix of horror and whump, blood, creatures, panic attack, VERY creepy (yet human) whumper, taken captive

Whumpee swore they saw something move beyond the fog. Dread shivered down their back along with the cold. "Follow the path and you'll be safe." Whumpee quoted under their breath.

Footsteps stomped behind them. Right as whumpee turned, someone had a hand on the bag around their shoulder and attempted to rip it off them. It snapped off, and it felt like so did whumpee's shoulder along with it.

"OW- HEY!" Whumpee cried as the figure took off from the path. They gripped their arm and winced; the satchel's loss wasn't affordable, so whumpee took off after them deeper into the forest.