#recapture

"What do I choose?" Whumper stepped closer and crouched down. "Something new and exciting?" They lifted Caretaker's chin, "Or something old and familiar?" Then patted Whumpee's head.

Caretaker struggled against the merciless ropes tying them down.

"Have something to say?" Whumper obliged and pulled out the gag from Caretaker's mouth.

After working their jaw, Caretaker snarled:

"Leave them alone!"

Whumper grinned.

"Bold words. Makes sense for someone who's never known real pain: no serious injuries, no chronic illnesses. Do you even know what it's like to have a broken bone?"

Caretaker continued to glare.

"Now Whumpee, that's a different story. They've been suffering since their days in a cradle. Everything I do to them is nothing more than a game, considering their freakish pain tolerance. So, I don't know, maybe sit this one out."

Whumper started moving their hand towards Whumpee and barely managed to snatch it back in time to avoid Caretaker’s bite.

"I said: Leave. Them. Alone."

"We never actually set the punishment for running away, now did we?" Whumper said, more to himself than to his captive audience as he paced about, circling the two tied up figures. "Disobedience, yes, talking back, sure, lying... obviously. But escaping..."

Whumpee and Caretaker glanced at each other in the dreadful silence that followed. Whumpee didn't dare break it; Caretaker couldn't, being both bound and gagged.

Then Whumper exhaled. "Well, that's on me, to be fair. I didn't think we'd need it. And yet..." he trailed off. He spread his arms wide, looked the kneeling Whumpee dead in the eyes, and his voice dipped to a growl that finally showed his displeasure over his casualness: "Here we are."

how does it happen?

are they dragged, kicking and screaming?

do they wake up back in that all-to-familiar room?

are they caught alone, and all of that sweet, sweet conditioning kicks right back in even though theyve tried soo hard to undo it?

do they sacrifice themselves to protect someone else from the same fate, more willing to suffer again then have someone else go through what they did?

how does whumpee react?

do their scars start to itch?

do they reopen that box of memories they've shoved to the back of their mind, desperately try to remember how to survive?

are they confident about being saved? or do they know that this time, whumper won't let them escape?

how quickly do they fall back into old patterns? do they even have the strength to fight back this time?

how does whumper react?

are they disappointed? angry? pleased?

do they make promises of better (or worse) treatment?

do they carve back open those old wounds, piece by piece? do they reminisce on all the good times?

They never stop whumpee. They always let them do whatever they've concocted up in their silly little head, and escape, either to catch them right at the exit with pitying eyes or recapture them from wherever they thought they were finally safe so easily that it chills whumpee to the bone.

The worst part for whumpee really is that they only find out after so many tries how whumper not only doesn't mind, but nearly encourages them to keep looking for ways out — more ways to get punished. They look forward to catching them over and over again. The last time they had dragged whumpee back to their cell they wore a big smile, and were giddy as they tied them down, singing, — "I can't wait to see what you come up with next."

“Hmm…they’ve been sloppy with you.”

“Yeah, because you were always so gentle,” Whumpee spits and tries to wrench away, and is immediately met with a blow to the face.

Not all, because whumpee is shaking. They’re still, oh so scared of whumper.

Whumper presses one hand down on Whumpee’s shoulder and with the other, grabs a handful of dark hair and twists their head up.

Bright, shining eyes.

Whumpee is laughing. In little, breathless gasps, they’re laughing too hard too speak.

Whumper is taken aback. They frown, and twist harder.

Whumpee’s laugh is cut off mid-breath.

“What’s so funny, whumpee?”

Whumpee gasps for air. With forced breathing and a horrible grin, they spit out. “Im not scared of you. What they— did to me— you’re nothing compared to them.”

whumper freezes and lowers their fist. caretaker moans painfully and curls more into themself. "whumpee-"

"shut up," whumper snarls before looking back at whumpee. "why should i?"

"Are you sure you're all right? Your heart rate's spiked."

"Y...yeah, I'm okay."

Caretaker thinks Whumpee hates them. Or worse, fears them. They get nervous when Caretaker's near, they squirm under their touch, they never make eye contact despite doing so perfectly fine with anyone else. Caretaker is very aware of the trauma Whumpee's been through, and they can't help but suffer the thought that they might see Whumper in them.

In actuality, they're impossibly head over heels for Caretaker. Their touch is so soft, their voice is so gracious, their laugh... it sets the heart monitor they're hooked up to into overdrive. It's especially cute when Whumpee realizes they've healed enough to fret over something so domestic. After all of the trauma and torture they endured on a regular basis, it can feel like a privilege for your greatest concern to be if your feelings for someone are reciprocated or not.

When Whumpee's recovery is far enough along, perhaps their usual excuse to see Caretaker every day doesn't work anymore. Caretaker thought Whumpee would never set foot in the infirmary again after being discharged, and yet here they stand, tripping over their words in an effort to explain why they had to come here for a paper cut.

~~~

Here's two ways you could take this!

Option 1: it gets better. Whumpee either gets over their feelings through the passage of time, or a friend of theirs comes to the rescue. Regardless of Caretaker's response, getting it out of your system can lift a tremendous emotional weight.

Option 2: it gets worse. Whumpee is recaptured, and at some point, Whumper finds out about Whumpee's feelings. Their next form of torment will be far worse than what ever came before.

"Do you hear that voice in the other room?" Whumper asks.

Whumpee strains to hear it. Then, a pained cry drains the blood from their face.