Trapped in the dark for years,
Not knowing what the day is,
Or the time,
Forgetting all the memories you once had,
Scary, isnt it?

But that was how life was for him.

He didn't know when it started but the only source of light he had were from his own body. He glowed dimly but just enough to light up the cavern he was trapped within for years. Decades maybe. He didn't know, he couldn't tell. He couldn't escape for chains held him down. He tried countless of time to break free either only to be captured again before he could escape or fail miserably. The people that he saw weren't people. To him, they were more monstrous than he was. He was frightened of them for they hurt him, forced him to stay and do their bidding. Why and how? He couldn't remember for it had been that long. He couldn't remember the feeling of sun upon his skin or water beneath his feet. He only knew of the cold darkness, sometimes the voice of the people but they were never comforting.

One day, he finally broke out.

~~~

Minhyun was well received by most people despite there being plenty who avoided him as well. He was unnatural, some would put it. Always with a gentle exterior and an envious carefree nature, most tend to find him either approachable or completely out of reach. But Minhyun was his own man so it didn't really matter to him what others thought of him.

It was getting late that day and Minhyun had just come down from the mountains. He was walking along the pathway as always when he noticed a shine to his right. Of course being a man filled with curiosity, he couldn't just leave it alone. He decided to stray from the path despite knowing how dangerous that was into the forest. His steps were careful as he approached the light that was slowly dimming. Once he reached the source of the light, it had completely dimmed out and left only that of a male figure on the ground, passed out. Confused, he approached the male carefully. The first thing he noticed was the stench of blood. He had a rather sensitive sense of smell so it was easy to sniff it out even though it had already dried up. He could see the wounds the other had around his wrists and ankles. They were rather deep and alarming. The male was also barely covered, only a rather tattered cloth draped around his body and prevented him from being fully . Minhyun didn't question that of course. He was more concerned about the wounds than that of a body. He checked the male's wrist for a pulse just to be sure he hadn't found a dead body. There was one but it was very very low and concerning. Minhyun couldn't leave the other out in the open like this so he did what he thought was best and brought the male home despite knowing the consequences fully well.

~~~

Pain.

Numb.

Anger.

He woke up with those emotions as he sat up, eyes glaring unintentionally since that was his default for years. Always on alert but what he saw shocked him. He wasn't in the middle of the forest where he had passed out. He wasn't back in the same cold dark that he had known for years. There he was, in some kind of place that absolutely left him baffled and confused. His body felt different too. He was no longer crouching and... He had actual fingers? His skin wasn't glowing anymore and where was his tail? His anger turned into confusion and he let out a gasp, making himself freeze up at the sound of his voice. What was that? He tried to make a noise again and it came out unfamiliar. What was going on?

A bang surprised him, making him jolt out from the comforts of the cloth on top of him. He jumped onto all fours and hissed as a male entered the room he was in. Room, that's right. This was called a room. He could roughly recall some things. The male appeared stunned for a moment before it was replaced with a smile. He backed away from the male to the corner of the... Bed. He was on a bed. It was soft. But he shot his glare back up at the male who approached him.

"Hello," the male spoke in a soothing tone but he wasn't about to fall for that. Humans were all the same. They were evil and he wasn't so stupid to trust one right away. The male appeared to be confused as he was growled at but didn't back away. "I'm Minhyun. I found you passed out in the forest. Your injuries were quite terrible so I brought you back to my home. You've been asleep for 3 days now."

Injuries? It was then he realised the pain was coming from his wrists and ankles that were frankly very different from what he was used to seeing. They were no longer... Fluffy or menacing. In fact, he looked... Exactly like the humans that he despised. Confusion took over him again as he stared at his hands as if that would make things go back to normal.

"Are you okay? You look really disoriented." The male took a step forward again and he snapped as though he had fangs, growling and hissing at the male who stopped momentarily. "Um... Okay. Let's just calm down."

Calm down? Calm? He had not known calm for years. He only knew isolation and desolation. Anger, frustration, sorrow. The male seemed to sense that he was being hostile and decided to take a few more steps behind.

"I'll leave you alone for a bit and bring you some food, okay? Please rest meanwhile."

Rest? For years he had been trapped. What else could he have done? He watched the male carefully take his leave from the room, shutting it once he was out. He still glared at the door as if daring the male to come back inside but he didn't, instead there were just noises that resounded behind the door. After a full 10 minutes had gone by of being on guard, he finally relaxed just a little to scan his surroundings. A room. A proper bed. A bed stand. A window. A window? He crawled over immediately, looking out. It wasn't dark. He blinked, feeling as though his eyes were lying to him despite how much he had actually been looking at the bright earlier. There was life outside. Grass. Bugs. Trees. A couple of things he didn't know the names to. Rocks. Noises that made his ears perk.

Life.

He reached out with his segmented limbs, touching the glass that separated him from the room and the outside. Was this real? Was he finally out? Free? He tried to push the glass but it didn't give way, instead he only felt a sharp pain in his wrist and that made him pull back. It hurt. The pain was suddenly settling back in again and he howled while collapsing back onto the ground. He knew it was a terrible idea to have forcefully pulled his arms and legs out but he didn't have a choice. He could have lost a limb or two but it was better than that cold darkness. He didn't ever want to go back. This place was warm and filled with life. He must have been making a lot of noise since the door creaked open, making his skin crawl and his mind on alert again as the same male, Minhyun poked his head in.

"Are you alright? I heard you cry," the male asked and instead of showing any weakness, he growled again and tried to force himself back to his feet and hands but failing as the pain made it feel like his limbs would fall off. Minhyun gasped softly and entered room, approaching him. That made him push himself back even if he had to use his elbows to do so. Elbows. It fascinated him how humans moved and how he was moving just like them but it also felt... Familiar. The male Minhyun stopped coming closer when he realised how he was moving further and further away until he was backed up to the corner of the room like a scared puppy. "You should get back in bed..."

He growled, baring his teeth to warn him not to come any closer. Minhyun sighed and squatted down instead to the same eye level as he was.

"Look... I'm not going to hurt you or harm you. If I was, I wouldn't have saved you," He said with the same gentle tone. "Trust me." Minhyun stretched a hand out and he let out a sharp hiss, further pushing himself back. Why wasn't this male backing off like the rest? They weren't usually this gentle either. It made him confused but still kept his guard up. Surely this male wanted something from him as well. "Seriously? Okay. Let's go about this differently."

He watched as Minhyun dug around his back pocket before fishing out something that seemed like... Dried fish? Something tingled in his mind but he couldn't seem to pull that memory out. He squinted at the brown thing in the other's hand. Was he baiting him?

"Food. I'm sure you're hungry. Take it."

Hungry? When was the last time he even felt hunger? He eyed the other warily and still refused to go any closer to take it despite the nagging feeling in his brain. What if taking it could help him remember more things? But he couldn't bring himself to approach the human male. Minhyun sighed again, looking defeated.

"Not even food? Okay. I'll leave it here. 10 seconds rule," Minhyun said and placed the dried fish down. He got up and stepped a few steps back to make a fairly wide distance between them. His eyes followed the male carefully, making sure he was out of range before slowly crawling across the floor to get to the fish. He lowered his head and sniffed it, feeling a weird sense of nostalgia tickling his spine. He lifted his hand and gave it a poke, watching the harmless thing just shift a bit. He picked it up, still a little unused to his new yet familiar limbs. He cupped it with both his hands, legs folded together as he glanced up at Minhyun who smiled. What was he supposed to do with this now? Eat it? He just sat there in confusion. "Go on. Eat it."

He refused and placed it on his lap instead, just staring at it. Minhyun sighed.

"Alright. Suit yourself. I'm almost done with lunch."

With that, he was left alone again.

~~~

What or who on earth did Minhyun pick up? He was just so confused and baffled by the way the male acted that he wasn't even sure if the other was aware of how serious his injuries were or if he even knew he was human. Minhyun had seen a lot of people before but never one so bizarre. The way he would growl and walk on all fours just made Minhyun almost believe that he had grew up with wolves or something. But there was also something so human about him that it was just hard to believe too. Minhyun scooped up a bowl of warm soup and placed it on a tray, heading back inside the room for the third time of the day now. The male was now back on bed, just laying down with the dried fish beside him. His eyes were closed and he was breathing lightly. Minhyun smiled a little, wondering if the other was resting but the moment he placed the tray of soup down, it made a slight clatter and his eyes shot open, immediately shocked to find Minhyun beside him and backing off against the wall again. He snatched up the dried fish and just glared at Minhyun although he wasn't growling or standing on all fours anymore. Minhyun blinked, still confused by the way the male was acting but he was determined to nurse the other back to full health since he looked pale as well.

"I made soup... I'm not sure if you will like it but I tried," Minhyun said, hoping he could get the other to ease up since he looked constantly tensed and angry. Minhyun wondered if people had hurt him which resulted him in acting this way. The male glanced at the soup and Minhyun took a step back again since that seemed to be the only way to get the other to move over. Once he was far enough, the male had slid closer to the bowl. Again nose approaching first. There was just something so beast like to Minhyun about the male yet the way he tenderly held the dried fish in his hand like it was the most precious thing in the world just made him so humanly soft. The male glanced at Minhyun who again put on an assuring smile. "Drink up. I made it for you."

The male let out a gruffly noise before he stuck his tongue out and gave it a . Minhyun was about to warn him that it was hot when the other hissed and backed away from the bowl again, letting out strained whimpers as he kept his tongue stuck out. It almost made Minhyun break into a laugh from the way he reacted but he didn't want to be rude so he hurriedly fetched a cup of water. Almost forgetting about how the other always backed away, Minhyun had stormed right up to him with the water in hand. The male shot a nervous glance at Minhyun who was suddenly just inches away from touching his skin. All the hair on his body stood up. The male froze up entirely and Minhyun gasped softly.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Personal space," was all he said as he backed away, placing the cup on the table and moving away again. "Well uh... Eat up. Just be careful. It's hot and I'll see you later? Also the front door is unlocked so... If you ever want to leave, you could. Although I would advise against it for now since you're hurt."