Talen immediately didn't like that Rune already knew his name. It made him wonder what else he knew about him, and what could be used against him. Talen continued to growl, staring steady at the Cruel before him. 

Rune's eyebrows twitched together. “Do you know why you're here?” he asked. Talen huffed through his nose and narrowed his eyes. Rune quirked a brow. “Do you?”

Talen still refused to answer. Instead, he dug his claws into the floor, scraping them against the wood. Rune's eyes narrowed in distaste, but to Talen's surprise, he didn't instantly dish out a punishment.

“Talen, I am not your enemy, I am merely your trainer. You don't need to be aggressive with me. Once we establish our boundaries, I promise I will not cross them,” Rune said. Talen's brows furrowed, slightly confused. What was this Cruel on about, boundaries?

Talen took a few more steps back. It didn't matter what this man called himself, he was here to hurt Talen, and that was all that mattered. He wouldn't fall for any tricks.

Rune searched Talen again, analyzing him. “Would you let me take those chains off?”

Talen didn’t believe him for a second. For all he knew, Rune would do something else with those chains, or he would force Talen into something far more unpleasant. He continued to glare in defiance at the Cruel.

Rune sighed when Talen still refused to speak. His dark gold eyes searched Talen's body for a moment, and Talen felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. 

Rune lunged. Talen yelped in shock as he was tackled to the floor and pinned down. He fought back immediately, struggling against the Cruel, but Talen could barely budge against the man. Rune ignored Talen's wildly kicking legs and sat on his back. Talen snarled and bit at the air, wild and enraged, and Rune placed a hand on Talen's head and pressed it to the floor.

Talen roared and thrashed, but Rune held fast. Talen expected him to start wailing down punches or to start ripping at his hair, but Rune went for the chains around Talen's arms. With stunning speed, Rune unwound them. The moment Talen's arms were freed, Rune released him and backed away.

Talen wasted no time in scrambling back up to his hands and feet. Panic still had hold of him, and he backed away until his rear hit a wall. Rune didn't move from his spot, though, merely staying crouched by the door. He watched Talen intently, but also patiently, and Talen had no idea what to make of that. The chain was pooled in a useless pile on the floor between them, out of reach of both of them.

Talen growled in warning, teeth bared, but he wondered if his threat was even necessary. He didn't understand this Cruel, why he was behaving this way and not like how every other Cruel would. It made Talen's heart pound with fear. Not only did this man behave differently, he was also stronger than anyone he had ever fought before. He thought it bizarre, because this man wasn't nearly as buff as them.

Rune assessed Talen with a calm and calculating gaze. He seemed unfazed by Talen's growling. After a long moment, Rune shifted to stand.

The movement caused Talen's panic to spike to new heights, and he bolted. He ran towards the first opening he could see, which happened to be a flight of stairs. He sailed up them and found himself in a hallway at the top. Still panicking, he chose a random direction and darted to the right. He flew down the hallway to another open doorway and dashed inside the room. He barely registered the sight of a bed before he scrambled forward and slid into the open space underneath. The bed was pushed into a corner, so Talen scooted back as far as he could go.

Talen's heart pounded in his ears, thumping wild and fast. He eyed the doorway, his entire body tense.

Talen had expected Rune to have stayed right on his heels; it had certainly felt like Rune was chasing him. But it was a good few seconds before Talen saw a pair of feet step into the doorway, and they weren't running after him. Talen hunched up even more, but the feet stayed put.

Eventually, after a long moment of tense waiting, Talen heard the Cruel sigh. Talen's brows furrowed. Why was he not coming after Talen, reaching under the bed to drag him out and teach him his place?

He wondered if maybe this Cruel just liked to play tricks. 

It wasn't long before the pair of feet disappeared back down the hall the way they'd come. Even though Talen could no longer see him, he didn't dare leave the safe confines of the space underneath the bed. He watched the doorway and stayed pressed to the cold wall.

Talen tried to listen for anything that would give away what the Cruel was doing, but Rune was especially quiet in his movement. After a good amount of time passed with no reappearance from the Cruel, Talen wondered if he had decided not to deal with him tonight. That was perfectly fine with him.

Talen settled down in his corner and waited. Some time passed, and Rune returned. Talen tensed up all over again when he saw the Cruel’s feet step silently into the doorway again. Rather than staying put, like last time, they continued walking towards him. Talen released a warning growl to stay away, pressing back against the wall. The feet continued forward, however, and Talen readied to attack, growing out his claws and sharpening his teeth.

The feet stopped a foot away from the bed, and then a hand came into view. Talen started forward, preparing to bite, but stopped short when he noticed what the hand was holding.

Rune set a plate down onto the floor and slid it forward under the bed. Then, the pair of feet walked back towards the doorway, turned, and stopped.

The scent of warm chicken wafted up Talen's nose. He stared at the plate, or more so, what was on the plate. There were little squares of meat dusted with black and brown dots, and steam billowed from them. Talen sniffed at the food, and his stomach grumbled to announce his hunger. Talen's mouth watered as he breathed in that wonderful scent; never had he smelled food so fresh and savory. He was so used to cold muck that the Cruel's dished out to the Brokens twice a day.

Talen groaned softly. He glanced at the feet standing in the doorway and back at the food. Even though he was starving, he couldn't help but be skeptical. Was it poisoned? Was it another ploy for trickery? Would Talen devour it, savor it, only to later get sick from it? Maybe this Cruel intended to kill him after all, like Nash had said.

Even despite his suspicion, Talen's stomach continued to grumble and cramp. He was so undeniably hungry. Talen wasn't sure how much time had passed since he last ate, but he knew it had been too long.

Fuck it, if it's poisoned, it's poisoned. If I die, I die.

Talen glanced warily at the pair of feet once more. They hadn't moved. Talen decided the coast was clear and pulled the plate closer to the corner he'd huddled himself in. 

Using his fingers, Talen shoved bits of chicken into his mouth. Flavor the likes of which he’d never tasted before erupted on his tongue. He almost made a delighted noise, but cut it off just before it could escape. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever eaten, and he eagerly shoved more and more into his mouth, barely stopping to chew through it all, too desperate to satisfy his hunger. 

The food was gone far too soon. Talen took the plate and licked at the remaining juices and seasoning. When that was all gone, Talen licked his fingers clean. He released a content hum and relaxed down onto his side, relishing in the feeling of a full belly. Now he only had to wait for the poison to take effect. 

With that in mind, Talen didn’t care as much about Rune’s feet moving again. He still growled at the Cruel’s movement, but there was little threat in it. If death was on the way, Talen didn’t care what this Cruel did to him anymore.

Talen watched as the feet went over to a second doorway and disappeared within the room. He returned a moment later and approached the bed again. Talen’s teeth bared on instinct, but all Rune did was set down a thick piece of cloth. Confusion quieted his growls and had him tilting his head to the side. He narrowed his eyes. 

What does he want me to do with this? 

If Talen was going to die soon from the supposed poison in his food, why was this Cruel presenting this cloth to him? Maybe it was intended to mock him. A way of saying, ‘here, make yourself comfortable while you choke on your own blood.’ Or something along those lines.

Talen snorted angrily and shoved the plate away from him. The force of his push sent the plate sliding across the floor to the other side of the room, where it thunked against the far wall. Talen expected retribution for that act of pettiness, but Rune still didn’t make a move to punish Talen. Instead, Talen heard him sigh, and watched as the Cruel picked up the plate and left the room. 

What the hell is up with this guy? Why does he keep acting this way? 

All this strange behavior was starting to mess with his head, and he hated it. Talen huffed and turned his attention to the cloth. It looked different from the other cloths Talen was used to. Brokens were usually given thin pieces of fabric that barely covered their bodies, were always stained, and made their skin itch. In the winter that fabric didn’t do anything for them, and in the end they all had to huddle together for warmth in one big pile. 

Talen knew it wasn’t winter, so why had he been given something so thick? Upon further inspection, it was also far more colorful than any cloth Talen had used. This cloth was dark blue and had stripes of green and light blue criss-crossing throughout it. And it didn’t seem scratchy… it almost looked… soft?

Talen’s head tilted even more. Maybe this Cruel really was mocking him. Or maybe he didn’t have any thin itchy cloth. 

Either way, it was there, and Talen had grown too curious. He crept forward and sniffed at it. It held a particular scent to it, but one Talen couldn’t put a name to, and certainly one he’d never smelled before. He leaned forward and brushed his nose over the cloth. He flinched back at the unbelievably soft texture. He stared at it for a moment, processing the new feeling. He reached out and slowly glided his palm over the cloth. 

This is the softest thing in the world…!

Movement out of his peripheral snagged his attention, and his gaze snapped to the Cruel reappearing in the doorway. Rune leaned on his shoulder against the doorframe, watching Talen with a calm gaze. Talen bared his teeth at him and backed away into his previous corner. 

His eyes stayed glued to Rune’s feet. For a moment they remained still, but then they walked towards him once again. Talen growled, but Rune still didn’t care. A hand came into view, and Rune pushed the folded cloth underneath the bed, closer to Talen. 

Talen’s brain short-circuited for a moment. The Cruel was insisting that Talen take it?

What the fuck is wrong with this Cruel?

Talen stayed put. He was having a hard time understanding the motives behind this Cruel’s actions. 

Rune seemed to wait for another moment, backing away only a few extra feet. He seemed to be waiting for something. The longer Rune waited, the more nervous Talen became, and he worried that the Cruel would decide to take the soft cloth back. Talen didn’t want to lose the soft cloth, so he reached forward and dragged it over to him.

Grabbing the cloth caused it to unravel, and Talen discovered that it was actually quite large, larger than any cloth he’d ever been given to keep warm. It looked big enough to cover him completely and leave some room left over, and realization dawned on him. This was a blanket. Only Cruels had ever been allowed real blankets. Talen couldn’t believe his eyes. 

He stared at Rune’s feet in shock. What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?

Rune continued to wait for only a couple seconds longer, and then he turned and left the room again. Talen’s brain struggled for a few minutes, until he finally accepted that this blanket was in his possession. He didn’t understand why, what reason this Cruel had or what trick he was trying to play, but what he did know was that it was soft, and it was big, and it was his. He knew the Cruel would take it away at some point, or use it against him in some sick way, but for now it was his. 

Talen ran his hands over the wonderful texture, marveling in its softness. He unfolded the rest of it and draped it over himself, settling down on his side to curl up underneath the blanket. He pulled it tight around him, and he smiled.