#where zander calls wren a son of a bitch-

[spookyboywhump]

I love my boys very much I love how good they are together I love how close they are. But sometimes. I think about them not having such a good time together.

[whumpsideblog]

Previous

 Taglist: @constellationwhump  Let me know if you’d like to be tagged!

 More Wren, and introducing two more important characters!

 ***

 “You son of a bitch!” Zander winced as he hit the floor, he knew he was going to be in for a rough night. “Do you know how much fucking money you cost me?!”

 “It wasn’t my fault!” He snapped as he struggled to get to his feet. He was knocked back down immediately when a fist slammed into his face, it didn’t help he was already weak from the fight before. He knew that it wasn’t his fault at all, the other fighter had clearly been given something before the fight. Cain didn’t seem to care though.

 “Don’t talk to me that way, mutt.” His handler snarled, intent on showing him no mercy whatsoever. He grabbed the chain clipped to his collar, dragging him along and nearly choking him when he didn’t follow quick enough. “This is the third match you lost, I’m not going to go easy on you anymore.”

 “Did you ever go easy on me?” He rolled his eyes, but he nearly fell over after a particularly harsh yank. He was dragged out the backdoor, he knew he was in for a long night as soon as Cain brought him out there. His handler lived on a good expanse of land, an expensive estate he’d inherited. Despite the size of the property, it was just one big prison to Zander. 

 “Bad dogs don’t get to sleep in the house, so you should get comfortable out here.” He said, dragging him further into the center of the yard tying the leash to a hook that had been driven into the ground. He could’ve easily pulled it out, or unclipped the leash, but he knew Cain would make his life hell, more so than it already was, if he did so. He grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head up and forcing him to look at him. “How about three nights, one for each match you lost, how does that sound?” When Zander just glared at him he yanked harder on his hair. “What do you say, mutt?” Zander looked him in the eye, speaking through gritted teeth.

 “That sounds perfect, sir.”

 ***

 Wren had been there roughly three days now. He hadn’t been let out of his cell once, actually none of them had been, except for one man who had been bought. The man fought and yelled and struggled, until one of the men working there stabbed a needle into his neck, he finally calmed down and allowed a leash to be clipped to his collar. Wren hoped that if he didn’t fight he wouldn’t be sedated like that. Aside from that, the cells were entered several times, people like the man who had led him in seemed to enjoy beating the more unruly of them. Frequently he heard that strangled scream from an electric shock, something he had yet to experience. 

 On the third day, some time after he’d been given his daily scraps of food, the main door opened again, that same man who had taken Wren to his cell entered, along with someone else. The second man was tall, and younger than the last “handler”. He was well dressed, his dark hair fixed neatly, and he looked unimpressed by the sight of this place, as if he’d been here countless times before. He heard some of the other people start yelling from their cells, calling out to this man apparently named Cain.

 He watched with interest as he was led down the walkway separating the two rows of cells. Cain was glancing at them but didn’t seem interested in any of the people, even the ones calling to him, some even asking him to take them. They started to pass by his cell, but Cain stopped, coming over to the bars.

 “What’s up with this one? He’s quiet.” He said, looking Wren over. “Small too… can’t be much for him, can it?”

 “Has price ever been a problem to you?” The other man asked.

 “It has since my other fucking dog got lazy. I figured I should pick a new one now in case he keeps this up.” Cain said bitterly. “Now what’s up with this one?” He stuck a hand through the bars, motioning for Wren to come closer, snapping when he hesitated. “Come here now.” He quickly did as he said, scrambling to get to his feet and stepping over.

 “He’s a bit weird, isn’t he?” The other man said. “Came in here a few days ago, wanted to sign up for it. He doesn’t look like most of our volunteer cases, he showed up in decent clothes, well kept. No signs of drug use or illness either.”

 “Weird…” When he was close enough Cain grabbed his chin, studying his face. “What’s his name?” He started to answer, but Cain snapped at him again. “I didn’t ask you. You’ll know when I want you to speak.”

 “Wren.” The other man answered. “He’s twenty years old, got brown hair under all that dye, seems to follow directions well. We only just got him so he hasn’t gotten any training yet.” 

 “That’s fine, I like to start from scratch anyway.” He finally released his chin.

 “You sure you want this one? He seems a little unfit for the job.” 

 “He’ll do fine. Get me a leash, I’ll take him now. Get the control for his collar too.” He said, and the man followed his orders. “Look at me, pup.” He said to Wren, who quickly turned his attention to him. “He says you follow directions good?” He asked, and Wren nodded quickly. “Answer me properly.”

 “Y-yes… yes sir.” He said, trying to keep his voice steady.

 “Good, if you can do that much you’ll be fine. You probably don’t understand how all this works if they only just got you, but you’ll have time to learn. You a fast learner?”

 “Yes sir.” He had his suspicions about everything that went on, but so did everyone else. There was a reason he had to experience it first hand. 

 “You seem to know your manners at least. If you behave this well all the time then we shouldn’t have any problems. I almost like you better than my mutt back home.” He laughed.

 “There’s another one…?” He asked hesitantly. He figured it was a good thing to see how others beside himself were treated, but it worried him nonetheless. 

 “If it weren’t for the fact that he hasn’t brought me the control yet, I’d shock you for speaking out of turn.” From the look on his face Wren knew he was dead serious.

 “I’m sorry sir.” He said quickly, hoping to make up for it, but Cain didn’t look impressed.

 “See, you’re doing it again. Shut your fucking mouth until I tell you otherwise.” He said, and Wren shut his mouth like he said. The other man finally came back with a leash, handing it to Cain before unlocking the door. He slid it open and Cain stepped up to him, clipping the leash to the collar. “Give me the control to his collar, now. We’re going to start early.” He ordered the other man, holding out his hand to him. 

 “Already? You ain’t even got him out of the building yet.” The man rose an eyebrow. “He seems like a good kid, what’d he do?”

 “I didn’t ask for your opinion, I asked for the control.” He snapped, his grip on the leash tightening. He snatched the small controller from the man, there were only two buttons on it. As his thumb hovered over one of the buttons Wren couldn’t stop the sudden burst of panic.

 “W-wait, please, I- I’m-!”

Without warning he pressed the top one, holding it down as a jolt of electricity surged through his body, cutting off his pleas. He shrieked, it was worse than he could’ve imagined, but he couldn’t move or fight it, frozen in absolute agony before he released the button, allowing him to fall to his knees.

 “Keep your mouth shut.” He said sternly. He tugged roughly on the leash, forcing Wren to follow as he was dragged back down the walkway, stumbling on unsteady legs. He was dragged back into that front office where they completed the “transaction”. That same woman from before got all the papers that Wren had handed over and all the documents he’d signed, presenting them to Cain.

 “Figures you’d take the cute one, huh Mr. Whitaker?” She sighed, looking at Wren as she spoke. “It’s a shame, thought no one would want him. I was gonna save up and keep him for myself.” 

 “Cute? I guess that’s one word for him.” Cain said as he handed over the money. Most transactions these days were digital but he figured it made sense that this deal would be made in cash. 

 “Well if you get bored of him let me know, I’ll gladly take him off your hands.” She laughed. Cain rolled his eyes, now that the purchase was complete he pulled Wren towards the door. “Thanks for doin’ business with us, as usual Mr. Whitaker.”

 “Always a pleasure. Of course, if he works out well then I won’t be back for a while.” He laughed softly. They finally exited the building into the cool evening air, Wren wincing as he stepped barefoot onto the gravel road. There was a black car waiting, someone waiting in the driver’s seat. Cain dragged him over, opening the back door and shoved him inside before getting in after him. 

 He started to ask where they were going, or what was going to happen to him, but Cain had pulled the remote from his pocket, a silent warning of what would happen if he spoke without permission.

 “I’ll start your training tomorrow, as long as you follow my directions then you’ll be fine. Don’t get any funny ideas though.” He waved the remote in his face. “I have all the power over you I need, understand?”

 “Yes sir…” He stared at his hands, almost too nervous to look at him directly. 

 He knew that he’d signed up for this, and he knew that it was for a good cause, but damn he was scared of what the future held for him.

[spookyboywhump]

what's the worst thing Zander has ever said to Wren?

I’ve been thinking of this one, I haven’t written either incident but it would either be when he calls him a son of a bitch, or during the Sleep Deprivation Incident where he,,, kind of insults the poor kid a lot

[spookyboywhump]

Someday I should finish that WIP I have where Zander calls Wren a son of a bitch

[spookyboywhump]

Daniel

I wanted to write some things about Zander before Wren came along, early on in his time with Cain, so here’s the very beginning. I plan to write several things like this but mostly not chronological, though this one and the next one planned are directly connected, and probably the only ones that will refer to him as Daniel still. 

TW for guns (well, one)

***

 “So uh, what made you want this one so bad sir?” A voice asked, and Daniel winced at the sound. Everything was too loud right now, the voices around him, the hum of fluorescent lights, the click of a lighter. He wished it would just stop for a moment.

 “With his father out of the picture, the poor boy would need somewhere to go. I thought I’d put him to some good use.” Footsteps approached him, Daniel groaned softly and squeezed his eyes shut behind the blindfold. He wished his head would stop pounding so he could think straight. 

 “Of course… er, what kind of use do you want him trained for, sir?” A different voice asked, this one more feminine. He tried to pull away when the footsteps stopped close to him, but a hand tangled in his hair and forced him to sit up, causing him to whimper behind the cloth shoved between his teeth. The blindfold was removed, he squinted as the bright lights overhead nearly blinded him. His vision wasn’t quite clear yet, he couldn’t make out the face of the man holding him. Now that he was sitting up on his own, the man released his hair, grabbing his chin instead. 

 “Just general use. He’s a pretty thing, but I don’t think Cain will want him for that.” The man said casually, turning his head side to side as he inspected his face. 

 “Yes sir.” She replied. “We’ll keep you updated on his progress, he should be ready within the next few months.”

 “The next week, actually.” He corrected. Daniel was finally able to get a good look at him as his eyes adjusted. He was vaguely familiar, he swore he’d seen his face before. He was a somewhat older man, dark haired with icy blue eyes, a cigarette in his mouth. Daniel decided he did not like the way he looked at him at all. 

 “I’m sorry, excuse me?” The man standing behind him asked. There was a woman next to him, she gave him a look when he spoke up.

 “The next week.” He repeated. “I want him ready in that time.” He let go of him finally, taking the cigarette from his mouth and exhaling smoke right into his face, almost sending him into a coughing fit. 

 “With all due respect sir, that’s impossible.” The woman said. “It will take at least a month to even break him, more than that to properly retrain him.” 

 “And I want it done within a week.” He said sternly, finally getting to his feet. “I’ll be back for him then, so you better get started.” He told them, walking past them to the open door. 

 “Yes sir.” She said, and the man echoed her, though he seemed less pleased about it. They waited till the door was shut and the man was long gone to speak up again though, talking as if Daniel wasn’t even there. 

 “Fucking son of a bitch… just because he orders it doesn’t mean we can make it happen!” The man said, clearly frustrated.

 “We’ll have to try.” The woman sighed, arms crossed over her chest. “We’ll start on him now and see how far we get within the week. Whitaker might have to take him as is though.”

 Whitaker, there was a name he knew. Of course he’d recognized the man’s face, well known businessman, probably the richest person in the city, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was one of the richest in the world. He didn’t know a whole lot about him, he knew his father hated him though, talked about how he was a “terrible fucking bastard”- and his father didn’t swear often. He wouldn’t go into detail, told him it was one of those “I’ll tell you when you’re older” kind of things, but Daniel didn’t really know how much older he’d have to be given he was already eighteen. He tried not to think too hard about his father right now, as terrified as he was, he didn’t want to cry in front of these strangers. 

 He was confused, and awfully anxious, and he wanted answers, but he only got more panicked when they finally turned their attention to him. The woman approached him, kneeling down in front of him and putting her hands on his face. 

 “I’m going to remove the gag. Can you promise you won’t start screaming at me?” She asked calmly. She seemed like she’d done this a thousand times before, the thought turned his stomach. He nodded quickly though, thankful for the tiniest bit of freedom. She reached behind his head, untying the cloth and pulling it from his mouth. Despite the gross, dry feeling in his mouth, he immediately started talking.

 “Where am I? And who are you? What- why am I here?!” He asked, trying his hardest to keep his voice steady. 

 “Calm down, pup.” She ordered, and though he hated what she called him he did shut his mouth. “You were a special request from Mr. Whitaker, we’re going to get you ready for him. If you can learn to behave, this training should go smoothly, understand?”

 “What… what do you mean by training? What am I being trained /for/?” He asked. He knew he needed to stay calm enough to get some answers, freaking out would get him nowhere. 

 “To be a good dog of course.” She said it as if it were obvious. “You’re a gift actually, for his son. We need to make sure you turn out perfect.” Each word just made him sicker, his heart hammering in his chest. None of this made sense, why him, what did she mean by “dog”? He wanted to keep shooting off questions but she didn’t seem interested in hearing it. “Sam, would you get the collar for me?” She asked, and the man did as she said, going to a table pushed up against the wall. He came back with an odd silver band, and he caught sight of two prongs on the inside of it. He handed it to the woman, but as soon as she got close Daniel pushed himself away from her. She looked almost disappointed at that. “Now hold still, there’s no use running.” She told him. 

 “I’m not wearing a fucking shock collar!” He yelled at her, eyes wide with fear. “I’m not a fucking animal!”

 “You are though. You’re nothing but a dog, a stupid little pup and we’re going to have you trained to be a good boy whether you like it or not.” She motioned to the man with one hand and he grabbed ahold of Daniel by the hair, holding him in place. The woman got close to him again, still on her knees though and he took this opportunity to defend himself. His wrists may have been bound but his ankles weren’t, and as soon as she was close enough he kicked hard, his foot hitting her square in the nose. 

 It felt like a small victory to him when she cried out, jumping to her feet before she could lose her balance. She held a hand over her nose at first, but when she pulled it away he saw she was bleeding profusely. He was satisfied until she recovered from the shock, her eyes narrowing. 

 “You shouldn’t have done that, kid.” The man sighed, his grip on him tightening. She seemed to disregard the bloody, possibly even broken nose, and stormed over to that table, snatching something up. She returned with a baton, the kind he’d seen police carry. He didn’t have a chance to brace himself before she cracked him across the face with it, he swore he blacked out for a moment as pain exploded in his jaw. 

 Now that he was thoroughly stunned she forced the silver band around his throat, locking it in place despite his struggles. He was finally released now that it was secured, Sam coming to stand by the woman while Daniel pushed himself farther back from them, his back hitting the wall. She seemed like she was struggling to control herself, looking at Daniel with a fury in her eyes that genuinely scared him. 

 “Give him five shocks while I go clean up, understand?” She ordered him, handing him a small remote before turning around to leave the room. His stomach dropped when she said it, his only experience with being “shocked” aside from static shocks was one of those joke pens his friend had zapped him with a few times. He had a feeling this would be so much worse though. 

 “I’m surprised she didn’t wanna watch.” Sam murmured, looking over the small remote even though it only had one button on it.

 “W-wait! Please, please don’t, I- I can’t-”

 “Too late. Shouldn’t have tried to fight back.” He shrugged. “Hopefully this will teach you a lesson.” With that he pressed the button, Daniel’s body seizing painfully as the electricity shot through him. His scream was almost strangled, he couldn’t even think through the pain. It ended just as quick as it started though, he slumped back against the wall and tried to catch his breath. “We’re not done yet.” The man reminded him.

 He screamed even louder on the second shock, and on the third his jaw locked shut, he involuntarily bit down on his tongue which only added to the agony. On the fourth he swore this would kill him, he was surprised to even make it to the fifth. Sam let the final one last a little bit longer, turning it off as the woman returned to the room. Daniel was choking back tears at this point, he refused to cry in front of them but his tongue was bleeding and his whole body ached from the shocks, not to mention the pain in his jaw. He didn’t see the point in all this, but he was also too afraid to keep asking questions. 

 She looked at him, taking in the sight of him almost cowering against the wall, blinking back tears as he watched them, and she grinned.

 “I suggest you get used to that collar you fucking mutt.”

 ***

 “My name is Daniel Alexander King… I’m eighteen years old… I am not a dog…” He murmured to himself, over and over again as he tried to stay sane.

 When he wasn’t being tortured in the training room, they left him alone in a pitch black cell. He hadn’t slept once since he’d woken up here, whatever they’d injected in him made sure of that. His eyes burned and his head hurt, even bound behind his back his hands were shaking. Sam and that woman- who he learned was named Andrea- had been trying to drill it into him that he didn’t have a name, that was up to his “owner” to decide, and he refused to give in to their brainwashing. He figured that talking to himself, and repeating phrases over and over again wasn’t exactly the most “sane” thing to do, but it made sure he didn’t forget who he was, and that was most important to him. 

 The worst part about being kept awake was that he wasn’t able to ever escape his own thoughts. He replayed the scene in his head over again whether he liked it or not, returning to his house late and finding his father, dead on the floor, he couldn’t get the sight out of his head, there had been so much blood. He couldn’t remember if he had fainted or if he’d been knocked out, all he knew was that he blacked out around then and woke up here, wherever here was. He knew there were others apparently, but he was getting “special treatment” since he’d been requested by Mr. Whitaker. Apparently he was paying good money for him and it made him miserable to even think about that, being sold like an object to somebody. 

 All of this seemed so unreal to him, days ago he was a perfectly normal person. He’d spent the whole day out with his group of friends, he had plans for the whole summer before him and his friends split off to different schools, he was supposed to move across the city to live with his mom, he was supposed to start school in the fall, he had been so excited to get into his top choice for college, and all of that was just gone. In a matter of hours it had been ripped from him for no reason and while he was scared, and anxious, and upset, he was more than anything incredibly fucking angry. 

 Maybe it was the stress and lack of sleep that was irritating him, making him angrier than he’d ever been in his life. He shouldn’t be here, he knew he shouldn’t, no one should, and the helplessness of the situation was just upsetting him more, to the point he could almost cry. At least, he could if he hadn’t already cried himself out completely in that dark cell, his sobs had bounced off the cement walls, the only sound to keep him company until he finally couldn’t cry anymore. 

 His eyes burned, and his head was pounding. He was exhausted, cold, hungry and scared, and he just needed to stay sane.

 “My name is Daniel Alexander King… I’m eighteen years old… I am not a fucking dog…”

 ***

 His week was up and he wasn’t quite sure what would happen now. Mr. Whitaker wanted him broken and trained to perfection, and while he was different now, he was probably even worse than the man would’ve wanted.

 A week of beatings, electrocutions, sleep deprivation and starvation had not made him obedient and docile. It had only made him angry. No matter what they told him, no matter what they tried to take from him, he resisted with everything he could. What did he have to lose? Mr. Whitaker wanted him specifically, they wouldn’t kill him and risk upsetting him, so he made it as difficult as possible to train him. He knew it would only hurt him more, but their frustration was just another small victory to him. 

 His week was up and he now sat on his knees, staring at the papers before him. His hands would only be freed if he agreed to sign them and “willingly” go with Mr. Whitaker. Apparently it was more of a formality thing, he felt like it would be used against him later though. They wanted it done before Mr. Whitaker arrived so they could quickly be rid of him but he had stubbornly refused, sitting there silently and staring at the floor. 

 Both of them seemed anxious, Andrea more frustrated than Sam though. She was pacing the room, occasionally looking to Daniel and asking if he was ready to give in. The answer was always no.

 “This wouldn’t be a fucking problem if he had given us more time!” Sam groaned, running a hand through his hair. “We told him it was impossible!”

 “I didn’t expect him to be this stubborn.” She sighed, once again speaking about Daniel as if he wasn’t even there. “The stubborn ones always get worse before they get better, and he’s stuck at his worst.”

 “Try explaining that to Whitaker, I don’t think he even cares about the risk.” Sam rolled his eyes. “It’s his damn fault we couldn’t get it done, I guess he’ll just have to take… that.” He motioned to Daniel who scowled at him. 

 The three of them were all startled by the knock on the door, Sam and Andrea sharing a look before it was opened, Mr. Whitaker entered the room. That fear was creeping up on Daniel again, something about this man made him terribly anxious, there was just something wrong with him, aside from everything going on here that is.

 “Well, is he ready?” He asked, looking between the two.

 “He’s… well…” Sam started, but Andrea interrupted.

 “We need more time sir, please. He’s nowhere near ready and he’s going through the more stubborn phase. He’s not going to sign those papers and he’s not going to go easily.” She explained. He expected some kind of anger judging by how they were acting, but Whitaker just sighed, approaching Daniel specifically now. 

 “Honestly, what did I even pay you two for…” he murmured, stopping in front of where Daniel sat. “You, mutt. You’re going to sign those papers, and then you’ll be leaving with me, understand?”

 “No I fucking won’t.” Despite his fear he kept his voice steady, looking him in the eye as he spoke. He saw a flash of something on the man’s face, amusement almost, and he reached to his hip.

 Daniel had never seen a real gun up close before, and now there was one pressed against his forehead. All at once that defiance disappeared, fear almost strong enough to stop his heart replacing it. His eyes went wide, he hadn’t considered the thought of Whitaker killing him. He had even less to lose than Daniel, if he killed him he could just find another victim, throw somebody else at his kid, Daniel was just unlucky in this situation. 

 “Let’s try this again.” He said, a sickening grin on his face. “You’re going to sign those papers and you’re going to leave with me, or else you’re going to end up just like your dear old dad. It’s your choice I suppose, but you better make up your mind fast.” 

 Daniel didn’t want to know what waited for him if he agreed to this, but he also really, really didn’t want to die. The thought scared him more than anything, and right now that was the only alternative. Right now, that is. If he agreed, he reasoned, not only would he be spared, but maybe he’d find a way out of all this. He’d find some way to escape, or call for help, just something other than death. It would be stupid to refuse at this point, he’d defied them all as long as he safely could and now he had to give in. 

 He told himself it was because it was the smart thing to do, because he would surely escape whatever hell was planned for him, this would not last forever. He told himself this and tried not to focus on the pressure against his forehead, meeting the man’s eyes as best he could.

 “Okay. I’ll sign.”

[spookyboywhump]

Previous Parts

Tag List:  @constellationwhump, @what-a-whumpy-world, @faewhump, @inky-whump, @slaintetowhump, @sodapigeon, @justwhumpitwhumpitgood, @insanitywishes Please let me know if I missed you or if you’d like to be added!

 Okay. This isn’t whump. Like, the tiniest bit emotional whump maybe but I’m not even tagging it as whump. It’s a discussion I’ve been dying to write though and things will pick back up in the next part which will also give a look at Wren’s side of things from the outside 

 ***

 Zander spent a lot of the time anxiously pacing back and forth in the small room. He was less worried about Cain’s threat and more worried about Wren, he didn’t like being separated from him, knowing something horrible was going to happen. Fuck, I guess I am getting protective of him, he thought, running a hand through his hair.

 Wren wasn’t the first replacement, but he was the first to get this far. Usually Cain lost his temper with them and either pawned them off to someone else, took them back to the pound, or in one unfortunate case killed them. Most of them didn’t make it to their first fight, and none of them made it to the first reward, Wren had come so far and he was doing so good that Zander couldn’t let him end up like the others, he behaved well enough that Cain wasn’t likely to throw him away, much less kill him, and that was all he needed, to keep one of them alive and relatively safe. 

 When the two finally got back all his attention was immediately on Wren, even ignoring Cain’s threats of an impending punishment, he must’ve been busy if he wasn’t willing to do it then and there. He didn’t care though, it wouldn’t be that bad, right now he was worried about Wren and that blank look in his dulled blue eyes. It was a familiar look, he saw it in other dogs all the time. He was starting to break. 

 “Are you alright? Where did he put it?” He asked, careful as he guided him to the bed and sat him down. He didn’t answer though, staring blankly ahead of him. He waved a hand in front of his eyes, hoping to get his attention. “Hey? Are you okay?”

 “I need to get out.” He murmured. At least he was still there enough to want his freedom, useless as it was.

 “I know, I know…” he sighed, sitting down beside him. 

 “I- no, you don’t understand, I need out.” He finally looked at him, eyes wide and panicked. He was honestly surprised this hadn’t come sooner. “I don’t- this wasn’t supposed to happen!” 

 “I know, Wren, just-“

 “My name isn’t Wren!” He cried, jumping to his feet. He had seen him upset before, but this was something else entirely, he was panicking, arms crossed over himself in a protective manner. “My name isn’t Wren, I shouldn’t have been here this long, I shouldn’t have been fucking branded!” His voice cracked, tears welling up in his eyes that he didn’t even bother to fight. Zander was right that he was breaking, but he didn’t think it was the way he expected.

 “Calm down…” he said gently, but Wren’s anxiety seemed to be rubbing off on him, he couldn’t help but be nervous too now. “What are you talking about- did Cain change your name too when he got you? Is that it, because I’ll call you whatever you’d like-“

 “No! No, It’s a lie, “Wren” is a made up identity so that I could sign up for this but it wasn’t supposed to go this far!” He saw he was digging his nails into his arms, Zander got up and gently grabbed his wrists, pulling his hands away, holding tighter when Wren tried to jerk away.

 “Calm down.” He said again, sternly this time, and Wren seemed to take it as an order, taking a deep, shuddering breath. “Now please, tell me what’s going on. I know being branded is rough but… you aren’t making any sense.” Despite what he said, he had a feeling this wasn’t entirely about the brand, but he didn’t know what else had set him off. 

 “I… My name is Elias Brax.” He said, blinking back tears. “I’m twenty three years old and I work for the Azure Investigation Agency. I’m supposed to be gathering information on all of this but… it’s going too far, and I need out…”

 Azure. Of course, he thought, of course it had to be that. There wasn’t a lot that could surprise Zander anymore but now he was the one giving the wide eyed look. He hadn’t thought about that agency in a long time, and he felt like a bad memory was replaying right before him, he knew exactly how it ended and he didn’t want anything near as bad as that for Wren. For a moment, he just stared at him, it was a lot to take in after all. This person wasn’t who he thought he was, this person worked for them, this person had been sent into a life threatening situation with no guarantee he’d return, and now he needed out, but there just wasn’t an out. 

 “You should have never let them make you do this.” He said, barely realizing he was gripping his wrists tighter. 

 “Huh…? No, they didn’t make me do anything, I- I volunteered…”

 “Why?!” He snapped. “What could possibly make you want to do this?!” 

 “Well- somebody had to…” He frowned.

 “No! If they wanted to do something they could’ve found a way without doing this, without forcing somebody to go through all of this!” He let go of him, going back to anxiously pacing the room like he had before Wren- or, Elias, came back. He wasn’t even sure what to call him anymore. “They shouldn’t have made you do this, even if you did volunteer, fuck, why would they choose you?!” He didn’t mean it to be as harsh as it was, but when he didn’t respond he felt he might’ve gone too far, forcing himself to stop his pacing and turn all his attention on him.

 Wren stood there with an awful look on his face, as if he were a kicked puppy, all the tension had left his body and he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt sleeve, pulling on it to hide the dark outlined edge of a brand, wincing as the fabric irritated the burn. If he didn’t feel guilty for snapping before he sure as hell did when he actually answered. 

 “Because nobody would miss me.” His voice cracked and he wouldn’t meet his eyes, staring at the floor. “They… they didn’t say it like that, but I know that’s what it is… no family, only friends are people I work with… if I don’t come back they won’t come looking for me, and they won’t have to cover anything up… they’ll know what happened…” There was something particularly heartbreaking hearing him openly say nobody would miss him. He had a feeling it wasn’t true, surely his friends would miss him, but it was clearly something that he believed, and Zander knew he needed to calm down and be a bit gentler with him.

 “Fuck, kid, I’m sorry…” He sighed heavily. He probably shouldn’t think of him as a kid anymore, a one year age gap wasn’t that much but he sure didn’t look twenty three. “Look, this, all of this, was a terrible idea. You can’t escape, trust me, I would know.”

 “I… might have a way, I just… need to be patient.” He sighed. “That’s what they told me, be patient, and when it got bad they’d help me, and then we could focus on everyone else, but it’s been bad and I don’t know how much worse it needs to get…” 

 “Oh I’m sure it has to get much worse, and it will, because you volunteered for a fucking suicide mission.” He told him. He didn’t mean to sound as bitter as he felt but he hated it, knowing another person working for them was condemned to a horrible fate, in Wren’s case it was a fate worse than death. He didn’t blame the victims, in a way he couldn’t even blame the people in charge, he knew perfectly well they didn’t force it, but he had spent a long time being angry at the people actually at fault and that anger seemed to seep into his opinions on everything else. 

 “This… this is personal to you, isn’t it?” Wren asked hesitantly. 

 “What gives you that fucking idea?” He snapped, but Wren just gave him a look. “Maybe it is, okay, the last person I knew to work for them got fucked over and I don’t want to watch it happen to somebody else.” 

 “What happened to the last person…?” He wished he had kept his mouth shut but Wren was watching him expectantly, and unless he wanted to lock himself in the bathroom there was no escaping the situation, not without further hurting his feelings anyway.

 “He… he got too invested in the father of a certain son of a bitch, stuck his nose where it didn’t belong.” He started after thinking his answer over. “Ended with a bullet in his head and his son getting bought and gifted to Cain fucking Whitaker.”

[spookyboywhump]

Daniel 2

Previous

(this is technically a whole side piece thing so idk if people want to be tagged in all the pre-Wren stuff)

 You ever just black out and go full feral writing something? Yeah here y’all go, a mess featuring Cain before he was a complete bastard man

***

Cain stared at the man with wide eyes, unsure of how to even react. His father was talking to him, he should be listening, but all his focus was on the man sitting on his knees in front of him, bound and gagged and blindfolded. He wasn’t sure he was even older than he was, it was hard to tell anything and he knew better than to ask his father while he was speaking. 

 “Are you listening?” The man snapped, and he finally focused on him again, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. 

 “Yes, father…” he said slowly, glancing between the two of them. His father had brought home countless dogs before, but this was the first time he’d handed him a leash and said it was his. He was used to them being around but they’d never been his problem, and he’d never wanted the responsibility of owning one, much less one he didn’t get to decide on. 

 “His training didn’t go as planned but I think it will be good for you to learn how to train your dog.”

 “Yes sir…” 

 “You need to be strict with him, Cain, especially since he was so difficult to train.”

 “Yes sir…”

 “Get used to him being around, he’s your responsibility now.” He said, and Cain numbly accepted the folder handed to him, containing the man’s papers. He looked down at him again, though he obediently sat on his knees he was tense, hands clenched into fists behind his back. He didn’t look like any of the dogs his father had bought before, he didn’t have that sense of resignation and defeat to him. This one would fight, and Cain didn’t even know what he was supposed to do with him. 

 He gave a hesitant tug on the leash, hoping the man would get to his feet. There was something about a person- a dog on all fours that made his skin crawl, he could never stand it. Instead, the man pulled back, resisting him.

 “You don’t have to be gentle, Cain. Honestly, you’ve seen how I handle my dogs, you should know this.” He snatched the leash back from him, yanking harshly on it so that the man nearly fell forward, before finally struggling to his feet. Fuck, he thought, he’s fucking taller than me. He took the leash back, taking a step away and pulling, the man realized he should follow him. 

 “I’m… going to take him then… um…” He wearily looked to his father who was watching him expectantly. “Thank you, for the gift, father.” He said, which seemed to satisfy him. 

 He led the man out of the room, still unsure of what to do with him. He felt like he should say something but he didn’t know what, his father rarely talked with his dogs, usually just commanding or chastising them. He brought him upstairs, going slow to make sure he wouldn’t trip, and back to his room, shutting the door behind them before looking to him. He wasn’t sure if this would work since his father said his training hadn’t gone right, but he tried anyway.

 “Sit.” He ordered. Much to his relief, he did so, even if it was reluctantly. “Okay… just, stay here, while I figure everything out.” He unclipped the leash from his collar, tossing it on to his desk along with the folder before getting his phone from his pocket, dialing his friend’s number. When she picked up he started rambling before she could say a word. 

 “Hey! Hi, fuck, um, my dad gave me a gift?”

 “What? That’s not like him.”

 “I know, I know, fuck, Vanessa, he gave me a fucking dog.”

 “Oooh! What are you going to do with it?”

 “That’s why I was calling you, I don’t know what to do with it.” He looked back to the man kneeling on his floor, almost subtly pulling against his restraints. “I never fucking wanted one of these, and he went and gave me a difficult one too. Could you just, get over here?” He asked.

 “Of course! I'd love to meet your new pup!” She giggled. “I’ll be there soon!” She promised. Once they hung up he went to his desk, pulling the chair away so he was closer to the man and sitting down. His dark hair was messy and he had a suspicion he hadn’t showered in a week. He thought about how his father usually bathed his dogs and felt sick, this was a grown man, he didn’t need Cain to bathe him. He was his dog though, so he figured he could decide how all that would work. It was odd to him, having complete control over something. 

 He reached over and snatched the folder off his desk, opening it up and looking it over. It didn’t give him a whole lot of information, but he at least had a better idea of who this person was. There was a photo of him in it, a school picture. He looked almost painfully normal, a big smile on his face, bright brown eyes full of life. He was kind of pretty, the kind of person that Cain would have to stop and stare at if he saw him on the street. Instead, he was in his home, on his knees, blindfolded and gagged. 

 “So, your name is Daniel…?” He asked, looking over the papers. Daniel Alexander King, he swore he remembered that last name from somewhere but it didn’t matter much. “Fuck, you’re eighteen?” He asked, and the man nodded. “Damn, he told me they won’t take anyone under twenty… you’re one unlucky son of a bitch huh?” He laughed, and the man made an irritated noise behind the gag. He didn’t need to keep him blindfolded and gagged, he could’ve removed them, but at the same time he almost liked the control, liked deciding whether another man could see or speak. His father would be proud.

 He looked over the rest of the information, he was born in December, he’d just graduated from one of the best high schools in the city, his father was dead and apparently his mother wasn’t important enough to list. He wasn’t a volunteer case, he was a “special request” and the details of his training didn’t look too promising. 

 “Dog Type: Basic*

 Simple commands: successful*

 Advanced commands: unsuccessful

 Name removal: unsuccessful

 Memory removal: unsuccessful”

 It looked like almost everything was either unsuccessful or listed as “N/A”. He was genuinely disgusted by some of the things they offered training for, but thankfully his father hadn’t gone for anything like that, gifting him an unruly dog rather than a sex slave. He looked to the extra notes section, curious as to what they had to say on this one.

 “*Client may want to consider guard dog training for SR-290

 *SR-290 responds best to commands when threatened with punishment. We recommend a strict owner

 Training for SR-290 was cut short, leaving him in a much more stubborn and difficult phase. He is defiant and occasionally resorts to violence when threatened. We recommend he be muzzled to begin with, one of our handlers suffered several bite wounds and a broken finger from his attacks. 

 SR-290 is still a work in progress, not recommended for an inexperienced owner. SR-290 should be returned for further training at his handler’s discretion.”

 “You really put up a fight, huh?” He murmured, flipping through the pages that detailed each day he was there. In only a week he’d broken someone’s nose, broken someone’s finger, bit and scratched and at one point hit a handler hard enough to knock them unconscious. It was honestly a little bit impressive, they recommended him as a guard dog but Cain didn’t need a guard dog, his father and his status was all the security he needed. If he was always this violent though, he’d need somewhere to get all that anger out. 

 It didn’t take long for Vanessa to get there, calling him again. It was some relief to know she was there, she usually knew what to do when he didn’t.

 “Hey, come let me in,” She said when he picked up. “I don’t wanna run into your dad, if he looks at me like that again I might fucking stab him.”

 “You’d be doing us all a favor.” He snickered, thankful the camera installed in his room would only pick up his half of the conversation. He told the boy to stay while he went and opened the front door for her. She seemed more excited about this dog than he was, practically bouncing on her heels.

 “So, where is he? What’s he like?” She asked, and he motioned for her to follow him, leading her upstairs.

 “Right now he’s… quiet. He’s not causing much problems but apparently he’s “difficult”. I don’t know, I don’t even know where to start with him.” He sighed, anxiously running a hand through his hair. He let her into his room, relieved to see he was still where he left him. He shut the door behind them, dropping down in his chair again while she knelt down in front of the boy. 

 “Fuck, how old is he?” She asked, gently taking his face in her hands, looking him over.

 “Eighteen. Younger than normal, right?”

 “Yeah…” She carefully pushed the blindfold up to get a look at his eyes, gasping and nearly startling Cain.

 “What?!”

 “He’s gorgeous!” She said, looking back at Cain while still holding his face. “Look at him! Get him a shower and let him get some rest and he’d just be so pretty!” She was probably right about that, now that he saw his eyes he could tell he probably hadn’t slept in some time, dark circles beneath his eyes. They weren’t bright and happy like in his picture, it was pretty clear that he was fucking pissed. “What’s his name?” She asked, looking back at the boy who had gone red in the face. 

 “Well… the papers my dad gave me said his name is Daniel, but I don’t know, he doesn’t really look like a Daniel does he?”

 “No, not really…” she let go of him, getting to her feet and grabbing the papers from his desk. “Maybe his middle name? Alexander is a nice name.”

 “But a little long for a dog, you know?”

 “Hm… then, what about Zander?” She suggested. He looked back at the man, who seemed frustrated while he watched them. 

 “What do you think, boy, Zander sound good?” He asked him, but all he got was muffled angry shouts. “Yeah, I think Zander fits him.” He laughed.

 “He really didn’t want to be trained, huh?” She said, looking over the notes left on him.

 “To be fair they only had him a week. I’m sure I can make some progress now that I have him. If I can’t then my dad definitely can.” He said, getting to his feet. He crouched down in front of the man, finally removing the gag.

 “I have a fucking name and I’m not letting you fucking change it!” He snapped immediately, startling both of them. 

 “Easy boy, calm down. It’s just a name.” Cain laughed, positioning his hands on his face as he looked him over. He ran one thumb over his lips, forcefully shoving it into his mouth to pry open his jaw, looking over his teeth that had apparently caused so much trouble to his trainers. This proved to be a mistake though as Zander but down, hard. “Fuck! This fucker bit me!” He cried as he finally wrenched his hand away from him, getting to his feet. 

 “Shouldn’t have put your fingers in my damn mouth then!” He snapped. He scowled, raising his hand as if to slap him but Vanessa quickly grabbed his wrist.

 “Cain, calm down!” She said. 

 “He fucking bit me!” 

 “Well you did put your fingers in his mouth. His papers even say he’s a biter, what the fuck did you think would happen?!” 

 “Fuck it, I’m taking him out of here. He doesn’t need to be here to figure out what to do with him.” He said, grabbing the leash and clipping it to his collar again, despite his attempts to get away. He yanked hard on the leash, dragging him out of the room. 

 “Let go of me!” He yelled, pulling against the leash. Cain just yanked harder though, following his father’s example. He wasn’t the most physically strong person but he’d have to give in sooner or later, or accept being dragged behind him.

 “Stop struggling and just come with me!” He snapped. “I’m not gonna fucking hurt you, just gonna put you away for a while!”

 “Not gonna hurt me?! You almost fucking slapped me!”

 “Because you fucking bit me you fucking animal!” 

 “You put your fingers in my fucking mouth of course I’m gonna bite you dumb ass!” He yelled. Cain growled and pulled harder, only getting him to move a few steps further. 

 “Would you shut the fuck up and just come on?!”

 “Cain!” The sudden shout from his father was enough to startle him, dropping the leash and whipping around the face him. His father was clearly irritated with him, enough to leave his office to deal with him, but he must’ve known Vanessa was there because he was also restraining himself, Cain was sure of it. “Are you already having this much trouble with your fucking dog?”

 “Stop calling me a dog!” Zander yelled at him, Cain almost winced. His father would kill him if he ever raised his voice like that. His father marched past him and Cain stood aside, watching him grab Zander by the hair. He’d probably feel bad for him if he hadn’t bitten him. 

 “Well,” his father looked at him, “What do you plan to do with him?” For a moment Cain just stared at him, he wasn’t used to his father letting him make any decisions. 

 “I just… I was just going to lock him up for now. Me and Vanessa are trying to figure out what to do with him, figured I’d lock him in his room…” His father yanked hard on Zander’s hair, dragging him downstairs to that room he’d kept all his dogs in. Cain knew he should’ve followed, but his father was pissed and with Zander locked into that room he wouldn’t have to worry about him. He decided to retreat back to Vanessa before his father got back, staying with her would be safest.

 This whole situation was almost too weird to him. The fact his father got him a gift was weird, the fact that the gift was another person was weird. The fact his father was giving him control of this “gift” was especially weird. He wasn’t sure how long this would last, how long the dog would even survive in this house. His father’s dogs usually only lasted a year or two, and with how stubborn Zander was he felt like it would be even less. However long he lasted though, he’d have to figure out something to do with him.

 He had the strong feeling that things would just continue to get weirder from here.

 ***

 “Let me out!” Daniel screamed, slamming his shoulder against the door again. He’d been banging on the door and yelling and screaming but no one was listening. Once he’d been thrown into the room the door was locked and he couldn’t hear a thing on the other side, he wasn’t sure anyone could even hear him in there. 

 Even if it was useless, he kept going for over an hour. He kicked at the door and banged his fists against it, he screamed until his throat was raw and his voice gave out, and finally, he collapsed against the door, pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face in his arms. He hated it but tears filled his eyes, he didn’t even bother trying to hold back. 

 All he wanted was to go home. The past week had been one unending nightmare, he just wanted to rest, to be safe again. As childish as it sounded, more than anything he wanted his mom, he didn’t know what they would tell her since he'd just suddenly disappeared. The thought of her believing he was missing or worse was heart wrenching, he wished he could just tell her he was okay. Was he okay? He wasn’t quite sure, but he was alive. As long as he was alive then he should be okay, as long as he was alive he could try to escape.

 All he needed was to stay alive. 

[spookyboywhump]

⛱🤬 for the ace icon and 🙄 SPECIFICALLY for Zander trying to explain some sort of internet thing to cain. like how to fullscreen a youtube video or something really basic

Alright so I can’t confirm I answered these the right way they turned into mini drabbles of their own

Wren:

⛱ Write your character describing one of their happiest memories.

“Hey- look at this!” Eli held up a canvas to Zander’s face, the taller man stepping back so he could see it better. It was an elaborate painting of a jellyfish, done mostly in pretty blues, purples and pinks. It was really well done, and Eli had a big grin on his face as he showed it off.

“Damn, did you do that? It’s really nice.” Zander said, looking impressed, while Eli was already walking off to find something to hang it on the wall with.

“Nope! Everett painted it for me when I was a kid.” He said, and Zander followed him into the kitchen as he searched through the drawers. “I love jellyfish, and when I was a little kid I would just, I was constantly shoving pictures from books and drawings I’d done in his face. He probably got sick of me after a while but he was nice about it. It was that summer after he first took me to the aquarium, he set up in the kitchen and he let me sit next to him the entire time he worked on it. I don’t think I ever sat still that long in my life but I was just fascinated by it.” He found a hook he could hang on the wall, going out to the living room to find a space for it. “Of course, we’re brothers, and we’re terrible, so even though the painting got finished, we were also fucking covered in paint by the end of it.”

“I’m sure your mom was thrilled about that.” He snickered, helping him adjust the canvas so it was straight.

“Yeah she was kind of pissed- it was a fight to get acrylic paint out of my hair- but, it was still nice, you know? We had to clean up the kitchen after that, a whole bottle of blue paint had ended up on the floor, but that wasn’t that bad either. I remember, he told me he’d teach me how to paint, he was really good at it, but we never got around to it.” He said. He often got instantly, extremely sad when he talked about the things he and his brother didn’t get to do, but for once he actually felt okay, more focused on the happy memory itself than his brother’s absence.

“I’m surprised you didn’t have it hanging up already, I figured that wasn’t really something you’d keep put up.” Zander said, looking over at Eli who still seemed quite happy just to have it on his wall now.

“We hung it above my bed when he first painted it, but we moved a year or so later, and we were staying with our mom’s boyfriend so it stayed packed up with our other stuff. I guess it just got kind of lost in between all the moves, but, I’m glad to have it again.” He said, a smile on his face.

🤬 Write your character describing the person they have the most negative relationship with. CW drinking, abusive and neglectful parents, parental death

“So- fucking listen to this,” Eli said, at the point in the night where he’s rambling. He’s on his fourth drink whereas Zander was only on his second, and likely his final so that he wouldn’t be too drunk to take care of Elias. A phone call had triggered the start of this ramble, one he didn’t answer but he made a big deal out of how annoying it was so Zander had to know who it was.

“You always have something great to say when you start with that.” He snickered, and Eli just waved his hands as he continued.

“Listen- so this fucker, this asshole still keeps calling me, I haven’t answered a call from him since like, maybe a couple of weeks before you and I met. Cain didn’t do shit for me but at least that was nine months I didn’t have to hear from him and I haven’t answered a single fucking call since getting home.” He said, pausing to take a drink from his bottle.

“Who is this again?” Zander asked him.

“My fucking dad.” He said it as though it were obvious. “This dude acts like he doesn’t know why I don’t talk to him- he does know by the way, even he isn’t that stupid. He helped me out after my mom died, and when I say he “helped”, I mean he just barely kept me fed and a roof over my head, you know, the bare minimum for his fucking kid. The whole time, every time he took me to get groceries or was nice enough to maybe take me to get dinner, he’d always tell me- he’d always tell me that I was costing him so much, that I was lucky he was going out of his way to do this for me- remember, this is my fucking dad.” He snaps.

“Fuck that guy-“ Zander started, but Eli quickly continued.

“FUCK that guy!” He said, louder than he intended to. “Fucking- dude, he fucking lost me. This guy had to watch me one time when I was too young to even remember him and he let me wander the fuck off, could’ve died, could’ve been kidnapped, Everett worried himself sick looking for me! How the fuck was a goddamn teenager more responsible than our fucking father?!” He finished off the bottle he had and set it aside before continuing. “My mom was a nightmare but this son of a bitch just didn’t give a shit, he never did. He acted like he worked miracles for me after mom died and now he only keeps calling me because he knows I have money.”

“He really thinks you’ll give him money?” Zander asked, and he groaned loudly.

“I mean- I did- I did at first, I thought I owed it to him! I was a stupid fucking kid, thought he might, you know, like me or some shit? That’s fucked up right, trying to buy my dad’s love?”

“That is fucked up.” He agreed with him, moving closer to Elias as though he were going to try and comfort him, but his phone went off again with the same number calling and without hesitation Eli picked it up and threw it across the room, hitting a shelf and knocking a few picture frames down when he did so. Zander froze, watching him to see what he’d do next, but he just slouched back in his seat, looking irritated.

“Fuck him. Shit like this is why my friends think he’s dead.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring bitterly across the room, his mood ruined completely just from two unanswered phone calls.

Zander:

🙄 Write your character explaining a topic to someone they’re frustrated with.

“Zander, how do you do this?”

“How do you do what?” He was on the floor while Cain was sprawled out on the couch, doing something on his laptop. He got on his knees to see what he was doing, some video pulled up on the screen.

“How do you- you know, make it big?” He asked, squinting as he looked at the screen. He’d been home all day so he was wearing his glasses, trying to adjust them to see better.

“You mean full screen it?”

“Yeah, how do you do it?”

“Just- just click that thing there.” He said, pointing it out, but Cain clicked the icon next to it, Zander rolling his eyes. “No, fucking- the other thing.” He said, trying to point to it but Cain batted his hand away.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Click that fucking square.” He told him, getting annoyed pretty quickly. He hadn’t felt this frustrated since he was one of twenty kids in a room, groaning and eye rolling as an elderly teacher tried and failed to full screen a video.

“I fucking hate this.” Cain muttered, still not getting it.

“Oh my god it’s not that fucking hard!” He snapped. “It’s a goddamn square, even your blind ass can see it!” He couldn’t take this much longer, snatching the computer from him and full screening it himself before handing him the laptop back. “Fucking there, don’t hurt yourself trying to figure it out next time I’m not around.” He said bitterly, Cain glaring at him for the attitude.