Minigiant whumper who loves to exert their superiority over whumpee. Overwhelming them simply by standing close to whumpee. Dragging them around with ease. But never actually hurting whumpee too much.
Whumpee never notices that whumper is holding back, a lot. If whumper actually used all their strength, they could snap whumpee's arms like twigs. Whumpee grows more defiant with time. "It's not like you'll actually hurt me."
Whumper's patience wears thin. In their mind, whumpee should have long realized that compliance was much easier than resistance, especially with how much bigger and stronger whumper was.
Whumpee pushes too far this time, spitting on whumper to get a reaction. Whumper finally snaps and lands a single unrestrained strike on whumpee's chest. Whumpee has the wind knocked out of them, coughing and struggling to recover.
Whumper is towering over a curled-up whumpee. "Will you behave now?!" Whumpee barely lets out a whimper, their lungs still struggling to find air. Whumper impatiently lifts whumpee up to their eye level. "I said, will you behave now." Whumpee still can't speak, but they nod their head with what little energy they can muster. Whumper smiles, they're finally getting somewhere.
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➤ CONTENT WARNINGS: captivity, head injury, emotional abuse
"How should I know?!" Briar shouted, his voice hoarse and dry, "How should I know what to do, I'm not Mudan!"
Late morning sun filtered in through the cracked window, warming the inside of the jar where Ariadne - too exhausted to continue crying - lay, dappled by the sunlight and sleeping fitfully.
Shimmering specs of dust floated through the air, into the light and out of it, fading, invisible, and settling in the darkness beneath one of the tables.
And there, in the dark, where the table's rickety legs met the scratched skirting board, hidden behind a gap in the peeling wallpaper, were Briar and Percy.
It was a makeshift tent at best, barely big enough to hide the two of them. They slept in shifts, always wary, always watching the door, listening for any sound of footsteps or foreboding humming.
Percy's eyes were swollen and red, and he clutched the dirty rag he used to dry them in trembling hands.
Behind him, focused and silent, Briar was cleaning Percy's healing head wound with the last of their water.
The silence between them pressed, suffocating; they were at the bottom of an ocean of grief, lost at sea with nothing left to guide them. Ariadne despised them. Mudan was…gone, or soon would be.
Percy sucked in a breath as Briar pressed just slightly too hard on his bruises. Tears welled in his eyes again, not for his own pain.
"Stop," Briar muttered, finishing his work.
"I kn - kn - know, I c - c - "
"Is crying going to help her? Or us? No." Briar snapped, causing Percy to flinch.
The stuttering, and Percy's failing vision, were even greater pressures on the already fraught situation.
"N - n - no…no." Percy agreed miserably, "But w - wh - what can we d - do?"
Briar bristled at the question, turning away towards the open room - the long stretch of wooden floorboards that led to the door. The door that he'd never been through, since being captured.
He'd only ever done what his brother told him to, what his parents told him to, what Ariadne had told him to…
"We have to get her out…" Briar said.
"Well y - y - y - " Percy sighed, "Y - yes. But how -"
"I don't know -"
"- Surely we c - c - can think of s - s -"
" - Like what? We don't have anything, we don't even have food or water, or -"
"M - maybe if we…if we try again to -"
"She's in there because of us, why would she -"
"- Well I don't kn - know but - if not, then w - what do w - w -w -"
"How should I know?!" Briar shouted, his voice hoarse and dry, "How should I know what to do, I'm not Mudan!"
Percy, with his mismatched pupils, sat in silent shock at the outburst. Then, tears welled in his eyes again.
Briar groaned and turned away, scratching a hand through his greasy hair.
He wasn't a born leader.
He wasn't his brother.
Everything had gone to shit!
If they had just listened to Ariadne in the first place -!
Somewhere across the great stretch of floor, the thump of footsteps vibrated.
Briar's posture shot straight up; shoulders tense, head raised.
The footsteps thumped just outside the door.
Not just one pair, but two.
Then, the echo of voices.
"- No, not that room, dear, that's my workroom now. I moved everything in here, kept it just like it was, only the bedding is freshly changed."
"Oh, sure. Thanks Dad."
Percy and Briar exchanged a brief glance.
The second voice…another person…a woman?
"Yes, yes, dear, of course."
The voices started to fade.
And in a split second, what felt like Briar's first real moment of spontaneity, he took off like a bolt across the floor.
"Br - Briar!" Percy hissed, but he was quickly left behind.
He was fast. He'd always been fast.
Passing through beams of warm sunlight, he chased the new voice.
"- the hell, Dad, you kept this old thing?"
"You used to love dolls!"
"When I was eight!"
"Oh come now, dear, don't you remember when we painted the roof yellow together? All those little outfits I got you…"
Briar pushed his body to move faster.
He tried not to pant too heavily, so he could hear every single word.
"Dad, I'm thirty!" The new voice groaned, followed by something heavy being set on the floor, "Can't you get rid of it? It gives me the creeps."
The door was growing, looming like the trunk of a tree above him.
More footsteps just outside it.
Briar reached his hands out, unable to slow down in time, and crashed into the bottom of the door.
Winded, and heaving for breath, he ignored the pain in his chest, the screaming ache in his legs - and instead dropped prone to the floor, so he could hear the voices more clearly from the gap under the door and watch their feet move around.
"Oh…alright. Well, if you're really sure. I'll sort it. For now, you can just put a sheet over it, pretend it doesn't exist."
"Don't do that, Dad."
"Never mind me! It doesn't matter what I want, does it?"
"For gods sake -"
"It's only my house you're staying in. Throw away whatever you want. Dinner is at eight."
The human's feet stomped away, old grey slippers with sloppy darning on one of the toes.
There was a brief quiet, then a long sigh.
The new voice's feet were smaller than the human's.
Slim, and wearing lilac colour socks.
They hesitated, then moved out of view into a different room.
A door closed quietly.
Briar let out the breath he'd been holding.
Now, he knew what to do.
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[General Tag List]: @acelightningwhumper @blood-and-regrets @chaotic-orphan
Lux woke up in a poor state. While their body had mostly recovered from the previous day, their mind felt dull. They tried to focus their ears to catch any sound of the witch, but they heard nothing. Carefully, they opened their eyes. They could barely make out the room from the darkness. It had to be the middle of the night. With their mind now mostly awake, they took some time to inspect their cage. So far, they hadn't really had the chance to do so. It appeared to be meant to hold a rodent or other small animal. Lux's eyes settled on the door. Whoever designed the cage, hadn't anticipated it might get used to hold a borrower. He quietly walked over to the door, and with a little fiddling, the mechanism gave way. Lux couldn't believe it was that easy. For how much effort she puts in her spells, that witch really should have gotten a better cage. Not that Lux minded of course. Now, he needed a completely new plan. Running clearly didn't work. Neither did trying to burn the cabin to the ground. Lux was doubtful they could even harm the witch, so killing her was off the table too. There had to be some way! Their eyes settled on a book laid out on Dawn's workbench. Maybe the one way out was through the same magics that cursed them to this life in the first place. There was no way that Lux could learn magic in just one night though. Maybe they didn't need to do so, as long as they made it back to the cage by the time Dawn was awake, she probably wouldn't notice.
---
The next day, Dawn got back in her rhythm. She had hoped the borrower would have a little more life in them, and it seemed like the sleep did help a lot. Dawn picked Lux out of their cage and immediately started their torment, letting her frustrations of the past few weeks sink into the tiny. Dawn was barely paying attention while she was crushing Lux in her hands. Only the occasional pop or crack bringing their mind back to what they were doing. This was nice. With Lux in one hand, she started making her breakfast with the other. It took a little longer this way, but it was a great stress relief. She sat down with her breakfast, tossing the tiny on the table in front of her. "Stay on the table." She was taking no chances. Not that it seemed Lux was in much of a mood to run away. As she was enjoying her breakfast, the borrower seemed to look at her with big, expectant eyes. "Tell me, what do you want?" "Just a little bit of breakfast, please." Dawn thought for a moment, before dropping a spoonfull on the table in front of Lux. More energy probably meant Lux would hold out a while longer.
---
For the next few days, this rhythm would continue. Lux would try their best to understand the witches spells at night, and endure her punishments as well as they could during the day. Staying somewhat obedient to her whims at least seemed to keep the worst punishments at bay. It almost turned into an act for Lux. If they reacted too little, the witch would turn up the heat for her next schemes. Figuratively or sometimes literally. Lux had grown to hate that burner. Every day she used it against them, was a night they could barely hold their mind together to learn more about how to stop this once and for all. Lux was getting closer to the answer, a nullification circle would cancel out all other nearby magic as long as it was undisturbed. From what he could gather, it seemed like once it was put in motion, it could actually grow stronger by absorbing nearby magic. Meaning all the spells cast on Lux, and any further ones the witch would try to cast against them, would instead further fuel the nullification. If they managed to cast it outside of the witches reach, it was sure to stick around for a long while. If she would ever even find it. It was a relatively simple spell, even for Lux. They got ready drawing the circle under the floorboards. Lux would cast it tonight, they didn't want a single more day under that witches torment.
---
As Dawn woke up, they felt tired. Tired in a way they hadn't in a long time. Had her youth spell faded? Normally she would only need to refresh it once every ten years. Maybe all the stress lately had been doing a number on her. She put the thought aside for now and got to making breakfast. Walking out of the bedroom, she felt a twinge of irritation. Lux had disappeared. She didn't feel too irritated though. Learning from their previous escape attempts, she had some glyphs prepared that would easily transport them back. No yelling or village rendezvous required. She took one of the sheets and activated the circle with a drop of water. The paper glowed for a moment and then fizzled out. Nothing? Had the spell been too weak? She tried again, with a drop of her blood this time. It gave the same result. Also, was her finger not healing? Her mind was trying to find any explanation for this. It seemed multiple of her spells had run out at the same time, and new magic also fizzled out before it could act. The only cause she could think of was a nullification rite. She hadn't cast one of those in decades. Dawn would have to read back on those, immediately. She got to her workbench, and noticed a her spellbook had been opened, she always closed her books when she was done. Had Lux been learning magic? But when? The book was indeed open on the page describing a nullification rite. That bastard had actually cast a spell? Dawn would have to find the circle immediately, not just if she wanted any chance to catch the bastard borrower, but also if she wanted to keep living as she had. Her magic had kept her alive for much longer than any human could normally live, and she didnt fancy finding out how long it would take for all that age to catch up with her.
---
Lux was sprinting. Once they had cast the spell they set off as quickly as their legs would allow them. For the next few days, they would run almost non-stop. Only taking breaks to drink water from nearby sources. Their legs were killing them, but it did not matter. They would have to move as far away from the witch as their body could carry them. Eventually, they made it to the shore of a lake. Against their better judgement, Lux started swimming towards an island in the centre. They had decided that would be their destination. Lux floated more than swam towards the island, the current helping them along the way. Lux washed ashore, and slowly got up from their aquatic endeavor. Taking in their new home. Even if it was only for a short while, this would be a great place to live. Lux still fully expected the witch to show up any day now. The thought didn't stop them from building up a nice settlement for themselves. As an extra precaution, Lux drew another nullification circle in the middle of the island. He wouldn't need any magic to survive out here. The island was a lot safer than the normal forests. Only bugs and birds seemed to make it out here.
---
It took Dawn almost 3 days to even find the nullification rite. The bastard had hidden it under the floorboards under her heaviest cabinet! With the spell cleared, she first got to work on regaining her youth. That magic did more than she had realized, and she would need all the energy she could get to build up all her other enchantments. After a couple of weeks, she could finally turn her attention to getting back the horrid creature called Lux. She took the last of her prepared glyph papers and activated it. The paper fizzled out and confirmed her fears, Lux had likely cast a nullification circle wherever they were now. At that thought, she deflated. There likely was no way magic would bring back her subject. Searching by hand would be impossible, too. With the amount of time that had passed, that thief could surely be anywhere. Dawn let out a cackling laugh. He had really done it. He had gotten away. The laugh morphed into a frustrated scream. Very well. That bastard had beaten her at her own game, and she could at least respect that.
---
It had been over a month on the island now, Lux started to accept that maybe, just maybe, he really had managed to get away. Slowly, he had gotten adjusted to his new reality. He still had some issues with fires, even though they were crucial for survival, Lux was sure they could never look at a fire the same way. Without any threats on the island, they had managed to build a nice abode that would keep them warm for the winter. More than ever before, Lux was thriving. They had all the food they could pick, a luxurious shelter and even some new friends. Some other borrowers had noticed Lux's activity on the island and made their way there as well. Lux felt at ease. This was probably the best a borrower's life could be. And after all that struggle they didn't feel bad at enjoying every second of it.
The end?
(Probably the end, unless I think of more misfortunes for our poor little Lux.)
Dawn woke up, still exhausted from the day before. Her mood improved somewhat when she walked into the kitchen and saw the miserable tiny. The fire was still going as strong as it had last night. Lux's screaming stopped at some point though, Dawn noted. Had they completely exhausted themselves? Good. An idea popped into her brain. Maybe if she kept Lux in this state, she wouldn't have to worry about them running off while she cast a new spell on them. "Enjoying the heat?" Dawn looked down on the motionless tiny. It didn't muster a response and simply sighed. At that, Dawn turned up the fire even more. Maybe her idea had some merit. The tiny thief seemed to register the extra heat, but had no energy to react to it. Dawn got to work, it was going to be a busy day. Most of the ingredients she would need to use had either been used up, or lost in that blasted fire. Luckily, all the raw materials could be found in her wonderful garden, she would just need to process them. The thought of getting to torture Lux even more fired her up in a way she hadn't been in well over a century. Within the hour, she had gathered all the raw materials she would require. Dawn took a lunch break while some of the materials were boiling. While eating, she gleefully watched Lux sink lower and lower into their cage. Then, Dawn got to work on preparing the circle. This time she would draw it in her garden. Digging a small hole in the center to hold Lux. She couldn't be too careful. When the circle was done she gathered the last of the required ingredients. Dawn made sure there was plenty of reagent, she wanted this spell to be as powerful as possible.
---
Lux was barely conscious, the heat had drained them of all their energy. Sleep wasn't an option either, the pain made sure of that. All they could do was watch as the witch was busy preparing whatever horrid plan she had in store for Lux next. The hours blended together as Lux's mind was slowly melting from the pain. They weren't sure how much time had passed when the witch finally walked in. She was wearing heavy gloves to handle the cage, and rushed them outside. Lux was unceremoniously dumped into a pit. Not that they could put up a resistance, they did enjoy the reprieve of the intense heat finally letting up. By the time they returned to their senses, they saw a familiar glow surround them. Had this been a magic circle all along?! Lux's mind panicked, but their body still was unresponsive. There was no chance to escape the spell. Maybe there was no escape from the witch, at all. At that thought, Lux finally collapsed from exhaustion.
---
Dawn watched as Lux collapsed to the ground. "Get back up!" She immediately yelled. The tiny snapped to attention. "Come over here." Dawn didn't hold back a chuckle as she watched the borrower struggle to get out of the hole. Even if they were ordered to do something, it didn't mean they were immediately able to do so. After a bit more struggling, they finally made their way to her. "Grovel." Dawn had something in mind she wanted to try for a while now. Lux obliged the command and was now groveling belower her. With a crushing motion, Dawn stomped down on the tiny borrower, pressing them into the soil below. It felt even more satisfying than Dawn had imagined. She really had been wrong before, why should she show such a thief any empathy? The alternative was so much nicer. Dawn pressed down again, another satisfying crunch. She looked down on Lux with disdain, such a pitiful creature.
---
At this point, Lux was barely registering all the abuse the witch was throwing at them. They simply had no more energy to care. As they laid there on the ground, they felt themselves dozing off immediately. "Get up." Lux's body jolted up at the command. Whatever, he thought. They didn't even bother opening their eyes. "Follow me." Lux's legs started moving on their own, taking them wherever the witch would be going. Their curiosity finally won from their despair, and they opened their eyes to see where the witch was taking them. Back into the cabin, it seemed. When Lux made it to where the witch wanted them to go, they felt their legs immediately give out. Lux fell face first into the floor. Maybe if they just stayed still, the witch would let them be. Of course, that was a pipedream, Lux knew that. Though, as that thought lingered in their head, he was wondering when the witch would continue her punishment. "Are you not even going to look at what I'm going to do to you?" That at least confirmed she was planning something. The witch was right though, Lux did not care to look at her any longer. The witch sighed at their lack of reaction. "Very well." Was that all she cared for? Lux's reactions? Before Lux could carry that thought any further they were scooped up and carried somewhere. When they were set down, they recognized where they were without opening their eyes. Back in the cage. At least it wasn't scorching hot this time, maybe this time they would be able to sleep. Before that thought had even finished in their mind, Lux had already fallen asleep.
---
This situation was, annoying. Dawn looked at the collapsed borrower. She wanted to get at least a month of fun out of them. But at this rate they wouldn't last a week. Perhaps she would need to choose her methods more carefully. The fire had beem helpful in keeping Lux still, but maybe it had worn them out too much. It felt almost pointless to try anything when Lux did not even respond in the slightest way. For now, she would let the thief rest, in the hope that it would be a more suitable toy in the morning. And if not, maybe it was finally time to break that invulnerability spell. Maybe it would care to respond then. For now, Dawn got to work restocking more of her lost supplies. Lux really proved more trouble than they were worth with that little fire stunt. Fortunately, her cabin was enchanted to regenerate too, so the previously burned down wall had been almost fully restored. Dawn got busy for the rest of the evening gathering and concentrating more of the lost ingredients. Darkness was now fully enveloping the cabin. She only realized when she wanted to get out to gather more herbs. Maybe it was time to head to bed as well.
As Lux woke up and opened their eyes, they jumped a little. They still had to get used to sleeping in a room as big as this one. When he gathered himself, he took a slow look at Dawn. She was still soundly asleep in the massive bed next to them. Lux was happy things had gone back to how they were. They felt a twinge in their mind at that thought. Must be some remants of that failed spell. He felt a little guilty thinking about that. Dawn had spent so many of her resources bringing them back to normal. Lux would have to thank her as best as they could. With that thought, Lux decided they would make a healthy breakfast for Dawn. They quietly made their way down from their bed and walked to the kitchen. Gathering things for a human-sized breakfast would be no easy task for Lux, but they were determined to get it done. First, they gathered some leafy greens from Dawn's garden, only the freshest would do. Then, they carried them up to the kitchen counter, were Lux got to cleaning and cutting the leaves. It took a lot longer than Lux would have liked, but it also seemed like Dawn wasn't awake yet. He still had time. The bowl of salad slowly filling up to what had to be a decent breakfast for Dawn. It would be rather simple, as Lux couldn't reach the higher shelves with some of the tastier ingredients. Nevertheless, they were happy with what they had achieved. Lux took another look towards the bedroom and was suprised to see Dawn was awake and also admiring their handywork.
---
Dawn couldn't believe their eyes as she watched Lux hard at work preparing her a salad. They hadn't noticed her yet and she tried to stay as quiet as possible to enjoy the show. The new spell was already exceeding her expectations. When Lux seemed done preparing the salad, they finally noticed her. At that, Dawn finally walked further into the kitchen. "I see you have prepared me a breakfast. Thank you." She took the bowl from the kitchen counter and started eating from it. While the salad was quite plain, she supposed it was limited by her locking away her spices and sauces to where Lux could not reach them. "You should have some salad as well for your trouble Lux." Dawn offered to pick them up and the borrower obliged. She set them down on the table and watched as Lux took some of the salad for themselves, taking bites out of a small section. A new sense of endearment took over Dawn as the relaxed borrower's behaviour had completely transformed. Dawn had decided that she would test out some of the limits of the new spell. She wouldn't try hurting Lux. The chance of breaking the charm would be far too high. Testing how far a charmed Lux would go to bend to her whims though, was one topic worth exploring. "Allright Lux, today I think we'll take it slow. I'm exhausted after all that spellcasting, and I wouldn't be suprised if you are as well after all that happened."
---
Lux looked up at Dawn, they agreed with the idea, as they were still exhausted from the last few days. However, something in the back of his mind was sending him warning signals. Lux waved the concerns away and followed Dawn as she made her way outside. By the time Lux made it outside, Dawn was already sat on her chair, gesturing Lux to come over. Again, that feeling came back. Was something wrong? Everything seemed normal, so Lux walked over. They watched as Dawn lowered her hand to pick them up. The gnawing in the back of their mind getting stronger as they watched the hand descend on them. Still, they did not resist as Dawn picked them up and set them on her lap. Lux took a moment to settle down, when Dawn's hands descended on them once more. Before Lux knew it, she was kneading and massaging them between her hands. Lux felt a little overwhelmed by the sensation and that voice in the back of their mind returned again. This time it was clearer than before, telling them to get out of Dawn's hands. But why would Lux? Sure, the massaging was a little overwhelming at first, but at this point Dawn had settled into a rhythm and it was honestly quite relaxing. As suddenly as Dawn had started though, she now also stopped the massaging. Lux watched as Dawn took out an apple and started peeling it with a knife. The shimmering of the blade made the voice jump all the way to the front of Lux's mind. RUN. Before Lux's mind could catch up, they were already falling down to the floor. As they hit the floor, the overwhelming urge got even stronger. Lux started sprinting in a straight line away from the chair.
---
Dawn watched as Lux made more and more distance from her. She hadn't quite expected that strong of a reaction from them. She put the knife and fruit away and started walking in the same direction. It only took her a few steps to catch up with the sprinting borrower. With a single swoop she snatched Lux up from the ground. Inspecting them closer, it was clear the spell had already been broken. Lux looked at her with the same terrified eyes they had before. Dawn needed to get a new spell going quick. As she hurried inside though, she felt a sharp pain in her hand. Lux bit her! Her hand instinctively letting go of the borrower. Dawn could only watch as Lux practically flew into a crevice in the wall. She couldn't quite believe how quickly this all had gone wrong. Furthermore, she wasn't sure how she would fix her current predicament. Lux was now no longer under her control and still practically invulnerable. Dawn was sure she couldn't try intimidation again as she did the first time. If she wanted Lux to stay within her grasp, she would have to find a new way to keep them in a circle. Dawn hurridly got to work on a new conjuring circle. Her first priority was just to make sure that Lux could not get away.
---
Lux's memories rushed back to them. They felt sick at the tone the witch had taken with them today. It would have to wait though, for the first time since Lux had the misfortune of meeting that witch, they had regained control of their own body. An oppertunity they couldn't squander. Lux quickly hatched a plan, both to get away from the witch, as well as to enact a bit of revenge for the hell she had put them through. He gathered some materials from his own supplies. Before long they had a fire going against the inner wall. Lux watched for a moment as the fire crept up the timber walls. Then, they fled using one of their exits leading outside. They ran to the forest clearing and watched from a distance. Even from their view, they could clearly see smoke emanating from the cabin. Lux felt a sense of relief watching the plumes. Maybe this really was all over. They watched for a little longer, when the plumes disappeared. Had the witch already managed to put the fire out? Lux decided they would need to start running, fast. Betting their luck on the nearby town. It wasn't the safest place, but Lux was sure it would be plenty in food and supplies.
---
Dawn was fuming. Not only had that little thief gotten away, it had set her cabin on fire! Fortunately, she could stop the blaze before it got too serious. Unfortunately, the fire did take more of her ingredient stockpile with it. This way, she couldn't even try to cast a conjuring spell. She was going to have to improvise. At best, she could construct a magical compass. She imbued it with a tiny drop of the borrowers blood Dawn had stored. With a few words spoken, the compass lit up briefly. Dawn could feel the imperfect magic as she cast it. She was going to be exhausted by the end of this day. Dawn would deal with that problem when it really mattered. She got up and started walking in the direction her compass was pointing. The needles direction seemed stable, had the bastard already walked that far? If she wasn't mistaken, the compass was pointing her towards the nearby village. Dawn groaned, this day was going to be even longer than she had already anticipated.
---
Lux couldn't believe their luck. They had made it all the way to the town, and even managed to get to a crevice under the local tavern. Normally, they would hate being near this many people. Humans are noisy and careless. Even if they don't intend it, they are dangerous. Now however, this would be to Lux's advantage. Even if the witch managed to track them down somehow, she would have to deal with a small army of drunk humans to get to them. While they hoped it wouldn't come to that, Lux knew better than to hope the witch would leave them alone. For now however, Lux could focus on the stores of bread and drink that filled the taverns basement. After all they had been through, Lux felt they deserved as much of the stores as they could carry. They happily chewed down on the fresh bread and enjoyed a sip of what humans called ale. He had never tried it before, but understood it was consumed in moments of celebration. It didn't take long for Lux to feel the other effects other borrowers had described. They felt their senses dull somewhat. Maybe it was a good idea to hide away for the night, just in case the witch did show up.
---
Dawn's frustration only seemed to rise. Not only had Lux made it to the village, her compass was pointing her straight at the local tavern. The last place she wanted to search. Despite her reservations, Dawn quickly had a plan in order. She walked into the tavern, directly to the barkeep. With a few well placed, enchanted words, she was allowed into the taverns storerooms. If there was any place that thief would hide its right there. As she waved the compass around, it clearly pointed to a hole between some barrels. Dawn immediately reached in, feeling around for that cursed borrower. Nothing. She couldn't feel the end of the hole though. At this point the fatigue from all the spellcasting was really catching up with her, but she would likely have to cast one more incantation to get that thief in her hands.
---
Lux couldn't believe their luck. Someone had stormed into the storeroom and almost grabbed them directly out of their hiding place. While they couldn't tell who it was with the poor lighting, Lux was sure it was the witch. He could really feel the effect that ale had on them now. His mind needing a moment to realize that they should probably start running. Before he could get up though, he found himself tethered to a glowing rope. The world around him got a lot brighter as he was thrusted out of his hiding space directly into the awaiting hand of the witch. "There you are. You should know by now that running is useless." Lux was almost crushed by the force of her hand. Their mind reeling at the overwhelming sensation enveloping their body. The witch was sure not to let go. Lux could only watch as they made their way out of the tavern. Then out of the town. The witch hadn't spoken a single word after Lux's capture, but the fact that her grip hadn't faltered told Lux all they needed to know. They were going to suffer. Lux watched as the all too familiar cabin got closer and closer. The witch stormed inside and threw Lux into a cage. As they regained their bearings, Lux watched the witch prepare a small fire. "So you like fire so much, huh? At least, you seemed to like it when you set fire to my cabin. Let's see how you like it when it affects you! " Lux had never seen Dawn this angry, this was bad. Dawn forcefully picked up the cage, and hung it above the fire. While the flames weren't close enough to immediately burn them, Lux could feel their metal cage heat up quickly. It wouldn't be long until that heat would be agonizing. The witch threw one last glance at them. "Oh and be a dear and scream nice and loud for me. I am going to bed, enjoy your fucking fire."
---
Dawn was exhausted. This day could barely have gone worse. As she crashed into bed, she felt some solace hearing that damn thief scream from the pain. Whatever goodwill it had built up before, was now gone. It was clear to Dawn that Lux was not to be trusted. She enjoyed listening to its screams for a little while longer, before dozing off into the night.
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With Lux tucked into her pocket, Dawn started making her way back down the mountains. If she made haste, she could make it back to her cabin by the end of the night. A small incantation helped her keep her stride across the rough terrain. All this spellcasting had been doing a number on her. She would have to be careful not to spoil what little trust she had built up with Lux. It was clear though, that it wouldn't be easy. She could feel the magic clouding her judgement already, and it would only get worse as the day progressed. Still, she trudged on. The hours quietly passed as the mountains turned to foothills and then turned to forest. During all that time Dawn hadn't heard a single noise coming from her pocket. Maybe it was for the better, as there would be no chance for the borrower to get onto her nerves. With the sun gone, Dawn had to draw onto more of her magic to light the way ahead. The forest around her becoming more familiar, despite the darkness. As she got close to her cabin, she got the sense that something was off. The warding spell on her door was still intact, but the perimeter spell had clearly gone off. Something had made its way into her home, and it was crafty enough to avoid her door. She quietly undid her warding spell, and opened her door as carefully as she could.
---
Lux had finally woken up from their slumber. Dawn was no longer walking, were they back at the cabin? He wasn't quite awake yet to pop his head out of the pocket to check. Dawn seemed to have gone very quiet, so Lux decided he wouldn't try to disturb her. A few more moments of silence passed. Dawn seemed, tense? Then, he heard a noise in the distance. It seemed Dawn heard it too, and sprung in action moving towards the source of the sound. His curiousity got the better of him, and he popped their head out of the pocket. Lux recognized the inside of the cabin, albeit from an angle he hadn't experienced before. And then they saw the sound of the noise. It couldn't be. Why did she come here? As Lux took in the sight better, they were sure of it. One of the borrowers that abandoned him was standing there, paralyzed by the sight of Dawn. "Maisy, why?" The words left Lux's lips before he had noticed it. In a single stride, Dawn closed the distance and grabbed for the girl. "Filthy thief!" Lux's mind was filled with so many questions he wanted to ask Maisy. Before he could ask any of them though, Dawn threw the borrower woman to the ground with enough force that Lux was sure it would break something. He couldn't see Dawn's face, but he was sure it was filled with the sick grin she had carried so many times before. "Please" he begged, "Spare her." Dawn seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Stay quiet." She responded. Lux's mouth followed the order. Now, he could only watch as the witch ground her boot into the poor Maisy. Despite her betrayal, Lux felt only pity for her as he watched her turn into a bloody smear on the floor of the witches cabin.
---
Dawn felt exhausted. She didn't want to deal with another thief, so she decided to get it over as quickly as possible. The death barely gave her any pleasure, too. All she could think of was going to bed. She popped Lux out of her pocket and onto the bed. As she got ready for the night, she noticed the tiny staring at her with an expression she couldn't read. Dawn decided it could wait until the morning, she wanted to go to sleep. She lied down and got comfortable for the night. "Why did you kill her but spare me?" Dawn could feel herself becoming irritated already. She opened her eyes to look at Lux. They were carrying that same expression as before. "Why didn't you kill me?!" Lux's face finally broke, tears welling down their face. Dawn pondered telling the truth. "Because, little one, there are fates that are much, much worse than death." Lux's expression filled with terror. "Now, go to sleep. I don't want to stay awake any longer myself."
---
"Wake up." Lux jolted awake from his unnatural sleep. Commanded sleep felt so different from normal sleep. He was rested, sure, but the lack of any dreams, nightmares or even passing thoughts assured them that there was a clear difference. Lux retraced the last memories before he was forced asleep. The witch hadn't been wrong. Since Lux was bound to her, he had wished for death many times. Maybe it was for the better that Maisy wasn't subjected to the same fate. Lux watched the witch put on a very different outfit than she had worn the past weeks. "Today, I will be resting." She eyed him for a reaction. "You, however, won't be." Lux had figured as much. "But we'll get to your chores later, first it's time for breakfast." Lux was carried into the kitchen. She seemed gentler than before. Lux made a mental note of that.
---
Dawn got to work on her favourite breakfast. Today she was going to treat herself. Before long, she had a tall stack of pancakes on her counter. Normally, she wouldn't make this many, but she had forgotten dinner, and she was hungry. She enjoyed the visual comparison as she put the stack of pancakes down onto the kitchen table. Lux was shorter than the stack by about one pancake. She watched him look up and down at the pile. It had to be an impressive sight for the little Lux. Dawn got to work on the first pancake, and even felt generous enough to cut off a piece for the hungry looking borrower. She watched as Lux consumed the piece with the enthusiasm of a hungry piranha. It appeared Dawn wasn't the only who was hungry. Once she was finished eating, she took a long look at the borrower on her table. While she had decided to take it easy on Lux today, that didn't mean he would get off scot-free. "Lux, I would appreciate it if you cleaned up the cabin today. Starting with the intruder."
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Lux could hardly believe the request. They would almost prefer it to be an order. The witch wanted him to clean up the remains of what used to be one of his friends. Lux resolved, maybe it being a request was better. This way they could at least give Maisy a proper burial. Lux looked back at the witch. "Miss, could you put me on the floor?" The witch looked down at him, and complied. Lux walked over to the remains. Maisy really never stood a chance. He shuddered at the cruelty, but got to work cleaning up the body nonetheless. At some point, the witch wandered off, it seemed she lost interest watching him suffer. After more work carrying all parts of his old friend outside, Lux held a small burial rite for the poor borrower. Maybe she had been the lucky one, he considered, at least her suffering ended. He pondered that thought for a little while longer. Lux noticed that the witch was nowhere around, and hadn't checked on them for a while now. Had the witch fully trusted them to go unsupervised? Lux's mind started racing, maybe this was the oppertunity they had been waiting for. But could he risk it? The witch had been more gentle with them than before. If she caught him trying to run away, she would probably find a new way to torture Lux that was worse than anything before. Lux decided, perhaps against better judgement, that he would have to try to escape anyway. The witch had already shown before that her nice periods could end out of nowhere, maybe that horrible punishment would happen regardless of if he tried, just because she was in a bad mood. Maybe, if he got far away from the witch, she could never order them around again. With that thought resonating positively in Lux's mind, he started walking. They had no goal in mind for now, they just needed to get as far away as possible.
---
Dawn had spent the most of the morning napping while overlooking part of her garden. She was more worn out from the trip than she had expected. With the sun now high enough to keep her awake, she decided to check on how Lux's cleaning was getting on. Dawn walked inside and checked the spot where she had stopped the little thief. While the thief itself had been removed, there was still a clear bloodstain on her floor that Lux would have to remove. "Lux, come here!" Dawn waited for a bit but got impatient. Dammit, Lux was small but even he would've gotten here by now, wherever he was. She decided to shout a little louder, "Lux, get your ass back to the cabin!" Now her patience was really wearing thin. Still, she expected them to appear any second now. When seconds turned to minutes, Dawn grew infuriated. Had the thief actually run off? Come to think of it, she hadn't actually ordered him to not wander off. Part of her had assumed they would just do as she wanted regardless. And well, that part seemed to be in the wrong. She would have to figure out a way to get the bastard back, and make him pay dearly for this little stunt. Luckily she had just the idea.
---
Lux couldn't believe how far they had already gotten. While the progress hadn't been without any scrapes, the regeneration spell had for the first time actually helped Lux. With this power they navigated the forest faster than they had ever done before. After about an hour of running, he decided he was far enough to at least take a break. Lux found a spot by the river where they could drink. The riverwater had never tasted this fresh before. Lux's mind felt like a feather, had the nightmare actually ended? He decided not to risk staying here too long. Lux wasn't sure how long they should keep running, but they would rather run too long than ever seeing that witches face again. Lux got up to continue their trip. As he looked around, he noticed that the forest around them had gone quiet. The wind had died down, and no bird made a sound. Then, a rapid gust flew over, followed by a booming voice. "LUX, WALK BACK." No, no no no no no. Lux couldn't believe it, he watched in horror as his legs obliged the command. All of it had been for nothing.
---
Dawn was back to her happy self. She was busy preparing another spell for Lux, so that she could cast it on them when they were back. And she was certain they would be back, the spell she used to project her voice was sure to be heard all the way up into the mountains. Wherever her little mouse had gone, it would hear the command and obey. With the spell prepared, and no Lux in sight yet, Dawn decided to sit back and relax once more. She shouldn't let Lux ruin her plans for the day too much, after all. She had almost dozed off when a sound in the distance caught her attention. It almost sounded like crying. Very tiny crying. As she looked in the direction of the sound, she spotted him. Lux. She could not hold back a grin at the thought of what she was going to do to him. She was actually planning on a much nicer version of what she had now prepared. If only he had behaved well. As she watched the tiny trudge closer and closer, she got a better look at them. He looked like he had been crying all the way back. "Aww, don't be sad. You're safe now." Dawn almost couldn't say the words with a straight face. "Now, little Lux, do you regret running off?" The tiny seemed to try their best to look away from Dawn. "Tell me." She ordered. "I didn't regret running off." Her command made the words sound forced, but she already knew they were true. Of course he wouldn't regret, the little thief. "Well that's too bad, you still have a debt to pay off. Luckily, I have just the thing to make sure you won't try running off again."
---
Lux was forcefully grabbed by the witch, it seemed she was intent on causing him as much pain as possible again. The witch brought them back to her spelltable, where she continued talking. "The control spell I placed on you is only a basic one, I was actually considering changing it out for a much nicer filtered version, until your little escapade." Lux felt his heart sink. The witch had actually considered going easier on him, and he threw that all away for a lousy escape attempt. "But, don't worry, I will still remove your current control spell." Lux wasn't eased by the witches promise. Whatever she had thought up surely was worse. "Now, step into the circle and stand still." Lux's body followed the order, though it felt like they were able to offer more resistance than usual. Still, all he could do was stand there and watch as the witch sealed their fate. Same as before, the witch planted a drop of her blood on the circle, and it had lit up. Lux felt no pain as the light went into them, they hardly felt like anything had changed at all. "Allright, now we just need to remove the control spell from before. Could you step into this other circle?" No command as before, weird. Still, Lux thought, he was more than happy to do so, anything to get rid of that spell. Dawn continued working on the second spell. When it was ready, she let another drop of her blood flow. This time, the light started from Lux, seemingly escaping from them. They shone brightly for a couple of seconds before returning to normal. "Now, we need to test the success of both spells. You will walk over there." Lux felt their body compelled as before, yet, it was much more subtle. As if it had been their own idea to walk there anyway. A smile started to form on the witches face again, what had she done? "Say, little Lux, how do you feel right now?" "I, I don't know? What have you done to me?" "Well dearie, I placed a much stronger control spell on you. This one twists your mind into believing that you want to do whatever I say. But you shouldn't remember any of that." Lux felt a sense of dread. He wasn't sure what had caused it, was it the witch? As far as Lux could tell she hadn't done anything.
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Dawn was suprised with how well the new spell had worked. While it would be more limited in some regards, this spell would make Lux a lot more dependable with work around the cabin. The main downside was that it couldn't override Lux's natural instincts as well as the other spell. Dawn would have to be careful not to harm Lux as she had done before, as it was sure to break the charm, and that wouldn't do. It was far too expensive to re-cast at such short notice. There were only a few more things she would have to do, to make sure Lux would remain as a useful aide for her. "Now Lux, pay close attention. You are my servant, and for the past few weeks you were under a spell that had gone wrong. All the things you experienced during that period were not real. You had already served me for several years before that, in exchange I give you safety, shelter and warm food. Your previous tribe betrayed you and left you to die." At least that last part was true, she thought. Maybe it would help the other thoughts settle as well. Dawn watched as Lux sat there for a while, it seemed like they were thinking. They suddenly appeared to come back to reality. "I'm sorry i caused all that mess, I hope it wasn't too much trouble to get me back to how I was." Dawn blinked slowly, taking some time to process the words. A smile returned to her face as the meaning sunk in. "It's no problem little Lux, you should probably rest up though. Lets get you to bed." With that, the borrower stared awaitingly at her to pick them up. Right, Dawn would have to get used to being nice to Lux. She carefully picked up the borrower and brought them to her bedroom. Dawn wasn't risking Lux sleeping in the same bed, that would surely break the spell. So, she got to work fashioning a new bed for Lux, with a pillow as the mattress and some spare fabric as a blanket. Once it was done, she set Lux down on the makeshift bed. The borrower immediately crawled under the fabric and closed their eyes. Dawn could feel herself care more and more for the small being. She supposed it was probably going to be the new normal. It would take some time to fully get used to that.
Lux did not sleep well, how could he? While he had originally collapsed under the stress, his nerves had now calmed to a maneagable amount. The pain had almost been a blessing, as he now laid awake, unable to think of anything but the sensation he had endured that day. Sleep seemed like an impossibility. It felt like nothing could calm him to the point that he would fall asleep. At that thought, however, an idea formed. Maybe, he, couldn't make himself fall asleep, but maybe, a command from a tired witch that just wanted to sleep herself could do the trick. He knew this was going to be risky, if she gave the wrong command, he might be worse off than he was now. But, in Lux's mind, it was worth the gamble. Perhaps for once the control spell could work in his advantage, even if that witch wouldn't intend for it. Lux stood up and sent himself full force into the side of the witch. Kicking and screaming in the hopes of getting a reaction. Lux quickly lost steam however, when Dawn seemed just as asleep as before. Deciding to give it their all, Lux walked over to the witches head, and yelled into her ear. At that, he finally got a reaction. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" They immediately felt regret as he feared he had pushed too far. "Its the middle of the night! Go to sleep!" Lux didn't get much time to ponder their success, their body almost immediately complying with the command, falling limply to the floor.
---
Dawn woke up in a poor mood. Whatever Lux had tried to pull last night, cost her precious hours of sleep. While she wasnt going to pull back on her mental promise to go easy on the tiny, this didn't mean actions like Lux's would go unpunished. "Lux. Wake up." The previously limp borrower responded and got up from the floor. "You are going to tell me what the hell you were thinking waking me up in the middle of the night!" Lux immediately teared up as they started talking. "I uh, couldn't sleep due to the uh, cutting? And I thought that maybe you, uh, would command me to sleep? If I woke you up that is." Dawn was equally impressed and annoyed, Lux was craftier than he led on, to her detriment this time. "I see, and tell me, did you think this would go unpunished?" Lux could no longer look at her face. "No ma'am, I had just hoped the punishment would be lighter than my thoughts during the last night." Had she done that much of a number on him? She would still have to punish them of course, but maybe he could make himself useful during it. "Very well. Do you see those wild grains growing there? I want you to gather enough of them to fill this pouch." At that, Lux got to the task. Dawn could take some more time to wake up while he was busy, she thought.
---
Lux could barely believe his ears. He was already preparing himself for another harsh punishment. However, the task he was assigned seemed like just that, a task, no more. Lux decided they would not question the mercy provided to him, and got to work gathering as much of the grain as he could carry. It didn't take him all too long to fill the pouch. He carried it back to where Dawn was sitting. "Have you already finished? Very well." She took the pouch from him and got to work grinding up the grains. Not much later she had a porridge going. Lux watched with great interest, his stomach growling at the sight of the tasty porridge. What Lux was missing was the growing smile on Dawn's face. Had he not been so transfixed on the food, he might have seen the next part coming. Dawn took the pot off of the fire, and poured its contents into a single bowl. Lux finally snapped out of their trance and looked at the witch, what was she getting at? "Of course, this is my breakfast. You will sit there, and watch me eat, and I don't want to hear any complaints." Of course she hadn't had a change of heart. Lux felt stupid. Why would he go back to trusting that witch so quickly?
---
Dawn ate up the sweet porridge with much glee. Her captive audience seemed to go hungrier with every bit she took. Of course, she knew she would have to feed Lux in the end. That didn't mean she could enjoy his hungry frustration for just a little bit. Lux would need to be at full strength later today. When she had her fill, she took the bowl and put it in front of a very hungry looking Lux. "Go ahead, you may eat." The tiny almost jumped into the bowl. With the porridge already cooled down, he didn't hesitate eating with his bare hands. Dawn couldn't hold back a chuckle as she watched Lux scarf up the remaining porridge. At that, the borrower immediately eyed her with suspicion. "You don't have to worry, I didn't do anything to the food." Lux continued eating at a slower pace, throwing Dawn more side glances every now and then. Perhaps she shouldn't be suprised after turning his life into a living hell.
---
Lux watched as Dawn started preparing for the rest of the trip. As easily as she had conjured it, the shelter disappeared into the ground. Despite the circumstances, Lux could feel a sense of awe for the magic the witch practiced. It seemed almost effortless from her part. A sense of unease crept onto Lux's back as the witch packed the last things into the bag. "Uhm, Miss. Would it be okay if I stayed outside of the bag for the rest of the trip?" He didn't feel particularly great about asking, but the thought of being jostled around in the bag on a full stomach did not seem great. The witch seemed to frown for a moment. Whatever her first thought was, Lux wasn't meant to hear it, as she held back the comment. "Give me a good reason, and I'll consider it." Was she being, reasonable? Lux scrambled to get his words in the right order. "Well uh, I had quite a lot of your tasty porridge. And I'm worried that I might not keep it all in me if I get shaken around in the bag." Lux hoped he had given a good enough reason. He watched anxiously as the witch seemed to consider the options. Without giving an answer, the witch picked them up. Before Lux could process what happened next, he found himself atop her shoulder. "You will hold on, and not make conversation." She said sternly. Lux was happy to comply. For the first time in their life, they could view the world as humans did. No words could do justice to the magnificent view now afforded to him.
---
As Dawn marched onwards with Lux on her shoulder, she couldn't help feel a sense of care she had not felt in a very, very long time. Was she growing attached to the borrower? Dawn felt unsure if it was a bad thing. She realised though, that it probably wouldn't be easy to gain Lux's trust. She had put the borrower through quite a lot in a very short time. Empathy wasn't Dawn's strong suit, so this really was an uphill battle. Maybe she could start with making conversation, that always seemed to help with the people from the village. "So, uh, Lux, have you spent much time outside, before you uh, settled into my cabin?" Dawn kept up pace but was quietly hoping for an answer. "Hello? Lux?" She felt a poke in her neck, and finally looked at the tiny. Lux was gesturing zipped lips at her. "Oh right, you can speak freely again." Dawn had almost forgotten her previous order. Maybe she would need to tone down that spell in general, if she wanted to build up trust with Lux. "Yes." A shry voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "I used to live in the forest around your cabin. Before I uh made the mistake of moving in." Was that a side effect of her telling them to speak freely? "I see, why did you move out of the forest?" Dawn heard a small sigh coming from her shoulder. "I used to live in a small group, together with other borrowers. We got most of our food from the forest, but would make some trips to the village for things we couldn't fashion ourselves. It had gone well for so many years, but something had changed. The townsfolk had grown more aware of our presence. One by one, my friends disappeared. Until one day there were only 4 of us. We knew we couldn't keep going like this, none of us dared to enter the village. When I woke up one morning, the other 3 were gone. They had apparently decided I was the weakest link, and left me to die. That's when I decided to move into your cabin. At first, it was just for the shelter, but as the first winter grew cold, I admit, I snuck out some of your supplies." Dawn felt a tear well up at the story. She hadn't guessed that a borrowers life could be so cutthroat, and here she was assuming the worst of a defenseless creature, and punishing it for the assumption.
---
Lux wasn't sure, but it seemed like the witch had gained a new sense of compassion towards them. After an hour or so of continuous chatting, there was a version of Dawn next to him he could not reconsile with the witches previous actions. While happy to keep a pleasant conversation going, Lux was mentally preparing for the witch he knew to return. He was told they were travelling to a cave deep in the mountains, and that he would be gathering a precious mineral he has used up. Now that the cave in question was getting quite near, he found himself worrying if the witches shift in mood would only be temporary. He could think of several punishments the witch could enact upon him there. Lux was set down on the floor of the cave entrance. All he could focus on was the witches face, trying to read any glimmer of sadism off of it. He seemingly found none. This only left Lux more confused. She looked down at him, only giving a weak smile. "I'll be honest, when I had planned the trip, I wanted to see how far down the cave I could kick you." Lux winced at the thought. "But, I have changed my mind. I want to give you a chance to prove yourself. The cave ahead of us used to be filled with galena. Most of it has long been excavated. Here is where you come in. There are a lot of sections of the cave where no person could fit, but you could easily reach." Lux was confused that she was telling them all this, and more so that he hadnt just been ordered to go dig some up. "I would appreciate it if you got some of the mineral for me, I know it is a large amount for you, but five kilograms should be enough." Lux barely could believe their ears. He wasn't ordered, he was asked, nicely even. It was obvious Dawn struggled with it herself, some of the words seemed extremely forced. "I'll do it." Lux answered before he could start doubting his decision. He figured if he refused, she would just force him anyway. This way he could at least control his own body as he did the task. Dawn pointed her light at one of the sections she had described, and Lux went into the cavity. Lux could easily make out the mineral among the rock surface. "How do I get it out?"
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Dawn hadn't properly thought of that, she assumed that Lux could just wedge the mineral out bit by bit, as she usually did herself. Improvising, she fashioned a small staff for Lux, with the correct reagents and her preparations, he might be able to cast a small destruction spell. When she was done, she handed the staff into the crevice. "Could you try to focus your mind on the center of the staff, and then shift your attention to the point where the mineral is." Dawn did her best not to phrase it as a command. A flash of light beamed into the rest of the cave. Had Lux succeeded? She didn't have to wait long for an answer, as the borrower appeared holding a stack of loose mineral. She took it from his hands and into a sturdy bag she had prepared. It would take some time to fill up, but she was happy to wait. The tiny was busily working away, carrying handful after handful out of the cave section. "The bag is almost full, one more handful should do the trick." As Lux walked out with the last couple of rocks, Dawn could tell he was exhausted by the activity. "You've done very well today. How about you ride in my chest pocket instead of on my shoulder? I doubt you have the energy to hold on right now."
---
Lux was hardly opposed to the proposition. He had overworked himself gathering the mineral and only noticed how much their body was shaking now that they were done. The mental wear of casting the spell was also apparent. Both Lux's body and mind were ready to give up for the day. Lux did not resist Dawn as she picked him up and placed them in her chest pocket. Perhaps Dawn had hoped he would be up for more conversation, as she had positioned him in such a way to easily talk to her. Lux was simply too tired, and slid down into the bottom of the pocket. Before he could gauge a reaction from Dawn above, he was already fast asleep.
Lux was yanked out of their sleep. Immediately finding themselves choking, dangling under Dawn's hand. He only heard a light chuckle from above. "I suppose I should untie you now." The witch put them down on the kitchen table and worked on undoing the band. As it finally came loose, Lux realized it probably got tightened more during the night. He could breathe a lot better all of the sudden. Another chuckle from the witch, it seemed it was her intention for the band to tighten during the night. She whipped around towards the kitchen counter. "You will stay there, while I prepare breakfast." Lux watched as she worked on preparing a porridge. Memories of the boiling hot stew flashing back into his mind. The witch turned back around with appropriately sized bowls. As she set them down, she took one look at him. "What, you don't think im making you eat with your hands again?" She had read them like a book. "Here, use this, eat as much as you want." The witch handed them a small spoon, probably the smallest one she owned, but still several sizes too big for him to use easily. Still, compared to the alternative, he could not complain.
---
Dawn had woken up in an unusually good mood. It probably was related to all the frustration she was able to release into her new toy. In that regard, she felt like she had to at least thank the tiny in some way. His debt hadn't been close to repaid, but that didn't mean she could not treat him nicely, at least for now. She looked at Lux, happily scarfing down the sweet porridge, only hesitating slightly when he noticed her looking at them. All things considered, the borrower seemed to hold up fairly well under her abuses. Perhaps, if they lasted long enough to repay their debt, she would consider binding them as a familiar. For now, however, she would think of a new way to torment her plaything. "The next few days, you are going to work to replace the most expensive ingredient you borrowed from me." The tiny cocked his head at her. Cute, Dawn thought. Was she gaining attachment to it? She had to be more careful. "Today, we are going to travel into the mountains." Dawn got busy packing enough supplies for the trip. She mainly needed food, and some basic ingredients to construct a shelter.
---
Were Lux's eyes playing tricks on them, or did Dawn just blush slightly? If so, he was already getting on her good side. The thought sparked some hope back into them. Maybe it was possible to get out of this. For now, he could only watch as Dawn was packing for the trip she had talked about. When she seemed finished, she took one look at him and stuffed him in the bag too. With that, the witch seemed satisfied and left her home. One last stop was made to perform some sort of spell on the house. Not that Lux could tell all that well from the bag mind you. The rest of the day was incredibly dull, the witch walked towards her destination with a supernatural stamina, probably another of her spells. Since the witch never took any breaks, Lux was left stuck in the bag, frankly enjoying the boredom of it all. After a while longer than Lux could bother to count, they finally came to a stop.
---
Dawn found a nice flat piece of ridgeline to end her day. As she put down her bag, the tiny passenger seemed all to eager to be let out. She opened the bag to set them free, but immediately followed it up with a command. "You can wander to stay out of my way, but you will not wander too far, understood?" The tiny nodded enthusiastically and scurried off into the brush. Dawn felt a regret at giving the borrower this freedom. Was she getting soft already? The rest of that trail of thoughts would have to wait. For now she had to focus on shelter, luckily she practiced a spell just for these trips. Drawing the circle in the ground, she heard the tiny scurry back into sight. They seemed to be looking intently at what she was doing. She didn't pay too much mind, and continued by adding the reagents in their respective spots. Lastly, a drop of sap to start the spell. The ground rose to form a shelter that could comfortably accomodate her. She even managed to refine her spell to the point that it would form a soft moss bed for her to sleep on. It wouldn't compare to her own bed, but it was a lot better than what her old summonings could muster.
---
Lux could hardly believe their eyes. From their point of view, a castle just rose from the ground as if it was nothing. He looked over at the witch who suddenly looked quite worn out. He almost jumped when her eyes locked with his. A frown forming on her face. "You, move my bag into the shelter." Lux's legs got back into their obedient rhythm, he had almost forgotten how that spell had felt. They struggled dragging the bag towards the entrance, it probably weighed four times what he did. When he finally got the bag inside, he felt amost proud that he managed to do so. Turning around, that pride was quickly shattered by a stern looking Dawn. "Pathetic." She hissed. The witch walked over to the tent, purposefully trampling Lux in the process.
---
Dawn felt exhausted, her spells seemed more powerful than before. While this meant she had more space in her shelter, it also meant the spell sapped her of more of her energy than she had intended. All she wanted now, was to have some dinner, and go to sleep for the night. And as for dinner, she had just the plan that could sate both her physical hunger and her hunger to watch the all too chipper thief suffer. It was time for another experiment. She took a knife and a pot from her travel pack. A grin formed on her face. A grin, the little Lux had obviously learned to recognize. As fear clearly filled their eyes. It seemed that they knew better than to try and run away. "Come here." She ordered, and the borrower complied. "Hold still." She picked up the unmoving borrower in one hand, and held her knife in the other. Holding both hands above the pot, she started slicing off pieces of the thief into the pot. With every cut, Lux seemed to sceam louder and louder. Dawn was enjoying each and every second of the sound. Every time she was finished with a cut, she waited for a couple seconds. Watching contently as the removed limb grew back. After 5 minutes of this, she had enough meat to make up a meal for her. And frankly, she had grown tired of the tinies screams. She tossed them aside and got to work on cooking the tiny pieces of meat. She was honestly excited to try it, she had no idea what borrowers tasted like. And if the taste was good, she would have found her new favourite way of ruining Lux's day. Dawn watched the tiny struggle on the ground while she prepared the meat. When it seemed done, she took the pot off of the fire. Dawn threw a glance at Lux, who finally seemed to have recovered from the harvesting. "Here, have some." Dawn enjoyed the look that developed on Lux's face, he seemed to be well aware of what it is that she just handed them. "What's the matter, not hungry?" The borrower aggresively nodded no, holding the piece of meat as far away from them as possible. "Now that's not a nice way to treat my cooking, I even made sure there was enough just for you. Now, eat, and keep it down." Dawn enjoyed the return of a familiar sound. Lux's tiny sobbing always cheered her up, watching them eat parts of their own flesh, cheered her up even more. She watched for a little longer, enjoying the scene she had created, before trying some of the meat for herself. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as she had hoped, it was dry and a little chewy. The flavour was not as bad, maybe she could try cooking it into a stew some other time. This would have to do for now.
---
Lux felt shattered, a part of him had built up a false belief that the witch would hold back her punishments more and more. They thought they were in better standing than before. Then why, why, why, would she do something like she did? Lux could feel his mind reeling at just the thought of that blade making contact with his skin again. The rest of their body wasn't in much better shape. Their stomach churning on the cursed cooking, nauseating Lux with every movement. Their arms and legs, while physically long recovered, were still sending phantom pain signals to Lux's brain. All this overwhelmed them to a degree they hadn't experienced before. The only thing Lux could do was lay there, looking into the sky. They weren't even able to hope for a better future. It was clear that only the sadistic witch would be able to decide that, and she had clearly decided Lux's future did not look bright. At that thought, his mind gave out for the night. Exhausted from the torment, Lux fell asleep against their will.
---
With her meal finished, Dawn got to cleaning up her cooking implements. She wanted to get to bed as quickly as possible. While her magic helped with keeping the trek going as long as it did, it still exhausted her mentally. Then, she noticed the tiny Lux collapsed on the floor. Knowing that she caused his condition brought a warmth to her she hadn't felt in a while. Though, she would have to be careful. Whether she liked to admit it or not, she had grown a little fond of Lux. While she could heal a broken body, there was no cure for a broken mind. Dawn felt conflicted, she still wanted the thief to pay for their crimes. Perhaps, she considered, they could also pay their due in a less violent manner. Or perhaps, she would break him in her magic fueled aggressions. She sighed at that thought, despite the circumstances, Lux was the best company she has had for well over a hundred years. She decided would try her best to hold in her anger. Dawn had cleared the last of the mess and got ready for bed. She decided she would grace Lux a little bit, and carried them inside the shelter, leaving them to sleep on their own padded corner. Dawn closed up the shelter for the night, she didn't have to worry about Lux scurrying off, as the construction was waterproof and only opened at her will. The exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she collapsed on the bed of moss.
