#so if anyone has any suggestions for hero monikers id be happy to hear them!

[pigeonwhumps]

🎃🍭for Rowan

Thanks for the ask! From this ask game (and Rowan's masterlist is here).

Since you haven't specified a whumper, I'm going to do this twice, with both adult and child Rowan. So the first half of this post contains a minor whumpee.

Child Rowan (shortly before they're rescued, at about aged 10/11)

CWs: minor whumpee, underfeeding

🎃 Do the Leaches ever do fun activities with you? When they do, do you have fun?

"Fun for me, or for them?" they ask quietly, before shaking their head. "I mean, I'm sure those parties are fun for Mr Leach and his friends, right?"

🍭 Do the Leaches feed you often?

Rowan cocks their head to one side thoughtfully. "Is once a day often?"

When Cian comes to visit that evening, Rowan relays the question, unsure. It's not like they have anything to compare it to, but maybe Cian can help.

"No, Row. You don't get fed often. Who's asking you these things anyway?" Rowan points to the wall the voice had come out of (accompanied by spooky music) and Cian scowls at it. "No. Your answer is no. Now go bother someone else so I can spend some time with my friend."

Adult Rowan (while being held captive by The Osprey, along with Cian)

CWs: lab whump, human experimentation, implied electric shocks, mentioned force-feeding, captivity, brief emeto mention

🎃 Does The Osprey ever do fun activities with you? When she does, do you have fun?

"This again," growls Cian. "Fuck off, won't you, we had enough of this as children. Especially Rowan."

Rowan puts a hand on his arm. "It's okay. I'll answer them. Maybe... maybe if I answer well enough the voice will go away for good this time. And I won't be punished."

The last sentence is very quiet, and they clear their throat as they look back towards the loudspeaker.

"We're being held in a lab, there's not much available to do. Besides. The Osprey's too busy being an 'upstanding pillar of the community' to spend time with us outside of her experiments."

"Thankfully," adds Cian.

Rowan nods. "But... um... Medic did bring us some magic colouring books. We can't use them much because we need the water to drink, but... it was still nice of her."

"If she gave us a proper one with crayons I could draw on you," muses Cian. "Make you nice and colourful."

"Yeah, but she wouldn't. It would be too messy." They finger their shock collar, then Cian's, and Cian gets the message, swallowing hard.

"Spoiling my fun," he murmurs.

"But," says Rowan, glancing up at the loudspeaker where the question came through, "that wasn't really The Osprey anyway, so I'm not sure it counts. And it wasn't exactly doing things with us either. So I guess your answer is no. Not unless you're counting the time with the birthday cake candle, which..."

They trail off, and Cian finishes, "I'm not sure anyone is counting that."

🍭 Does The Osprey feed you often?

"Not... not exactly. Apparently it's unhygienic to have open food in the lab, so we have these shake drink things. The Osprey said that the Hero League developed them for long-term missions, so I guess they're healthy. But we only get them once the experiments are finished for the day in case it messes up the results."

"Or I throw it up," cuts in Cian. Rowan nods.

"So we don't get fed often, exactly. Sometimes Cian doesn't eat at all in a day because he can't. Sometimes I can't either. But if either of us don't eat for too long they'll get the feeding tube out. That's... that's bad."

Beside them, Cian shudders.

"Have I answered your questions well enough this time? Will... will you leave us alone now?" Their voice cracks as they stare at the loudspeaker, and their last word is barely a whisper.

"Please?"