Rigel curled on his side and closed his eyes. He couldn’t help to think about his scars -it was inevitable since he first saw Peter- and when he finally got a break enough to just breathe for once… His mind recollected every moment, every scar that was forced onto his body. Rigel shuddered where he was, muscles tensing but he kept his eyes shut. Not now, please not now…
Kohaku purred softly in her sleep, thinking about the future ahead of them. I doubt it, but what if we find a place even better than Katsumi?? She dreamt loosely about the walls and the floors guilded with shining gold, the stairs carved from white marble. An elegant fountain stood galantly in the foyer, with a divine statue of Ryuu on the top, signifying his power over the land.
Such luxury…. only the highest of royals would deserve a place like that….
(Timeskip to morning?)
(I dunno— sure)
Rigel jerked awake, sweat heading down his face. He had been so close to crying out in his sleep, but at this point he just sat there, trying to get in shaky breaths. Light filtered in, the only indication of morning. Rigel still felt his dream -nightmare- like it was a blanket that suffocated him.
Kohaku pulled her fluffy tail over her head to block the light from her eyes, knowing it was morning already. She groaned as Daichi shook her gently and said, “Kohaku, it’s time to wake up— we don’t really need to stay here longer than we should.”
She still sat there, pretending to be deep asleep when the truth was that she heard him loud and clear.
Rigel sat up, sweat clinging to his face. He tried to shake the feeling of hands off of him but gosh they were everywhere. Rigel focused on his breathing, trying to get in air at the same time. It’s not real, it’s not real.
Kohaku finally got her fur out of her face and glanced over at Rigel to see if he was okay. He’s looking all sweaty and stressed and stuff…. I’d seriously hate to be him right now…. Her brow scrunched with concern as she sat up. “You doing okay….?” She asked.
Rigel tensed a little at the noise directed at him, sucking in a breath and strutting, “I-I- I n-need air.” He wanted to get out of the the too-tight room but felt anchored in place by invisible chains.
(Uuuuuuuuuuuummmmmm…..)
Kohaku sat up and stretched. “Mamoru,” She called, “Rigel looks like he needs help…”
Mamoru went over to Rigel quickly, seeing that he looked somewhat spaced out and unfocused. “Here,” He got him up and supported by his shoulder. “Lemme take you outside, if fresh air is what you need.”
(Ahhh, autocorrect HATES me… oof, I meant stuttering back there)
Rigel leaned on Mamoru, trying to recollect himself with every step. Peter’s coming for me…… He felt sick to his stomach, as if Peter had reignited the past like a wildfire trying to swallow Rigel alive and suffocate him.
(It’s okay — also, that’s why I have autocorrect turned off)
Mamoru took Rigel outside the mill, getting a nice breath of fresh air himself. “Take as long as you need, but remember, we still need to get the others and get ourselves out of here before he finds us again.” He didn’t want to drag it out for too long, but he said what needed to be mentioned.
Rigel nodded, taking deep hearty gulps of air. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he needed to tell someone, so he finally explained quietly, “I- I dreamt about him. I relived a lot of things that he- that he did to me. He- He hurt me -abused me- in more ways than one.” Rigel felt like letting the words out, sharing them with someone, made a difference, even if it was small.
It was hard to tell if Rigel wanted to keep it a secret and not think about it or share out and nearly relive everything again. “That’s…. unimaginable…” This man is lucky to be alive, yet…. I think he might say otherwise… “Well…. if you need to share out, I’m all ears….” I’m unsure what he wants… He inhaled the air deeply, finding it refreshing as well. “I heard Kohaku ran into him as well while she was out finding you…”
Rigel took a deep breath, then let a few words tumble out, “He- He raped me. He tested his knives on me, he lit my skin on fire to see what it would do, he- he- he-“ Rigel started to cry, burying his face in his hands. The words were a small relief, just letting parts of it out… Telling someone else what had been done to him was therapeutic in a way.
Mamoru was blown away. “I… honestly had no idea….” But now that I know, we can make more of an effort to stay away from him… whoever he is…. His ears folded back irritably. “How could anyone do that? Even people didn’t do that to us…. it was bad, but….” I can’t use words to describe it….
“Remember— if you need anything…. we’re all here to help you.”
“I don’t want to be hurt again,” Rigel whispered, that broken piece of him surfacing again. He took long, deep breaths as he tried to calm himself. It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay… “We should- We need to keep moving.”
“I’m sure Daichi has everyone up by now….” He went back inside to check on people— their clan was standing at the bottom of the stairs, and they were in the middle of a conversation with Shika.
“So…? You were saying….?” She asked.
“We’re leaving right now, if that’s what you needed to know,” The panda had Youichi usher the others to the door. “We thank you for housing us, and we appreciate your generosity.”
Shika surprisingly bowed and said, “You’re welcome. I suppose I can say feel free to drop by when necessary.”
Mamoru bid her goodbye and beckoned Daichi to come with him. “So…. did you hear about why Rigel’s running from that man?”
Rigel found himself standing next to Kohaku, feeling a bit safer. He trusted her, even though she was younger than he was, ever since she had been there when Peter had attacked him in the alley. He took a few more deep breaths, finally regaining his composure.
“No…” Daichi confessed, continuing their conversation. “What’s that?”
Mamoru didn’t want to tell him without Rigel’s consent, so he said he’d finish the talk a little later. But for the meantime, he wanted to focus on getting to their next destination. “Does anyone have any ideas on places to go?” I have no idea where we’re going…
(Where should they go oof? Should there be mountains nearby maybe?)
(Why not?)
“Maybe we could go to the mountains, I know there are numerous caves we coud hide in,” Rigel mumbled quietly, squaring his shoulders. I need to be strong, I can’t let myself curl up and hide until we get to safety.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to make that,” Youichi said. “In fact, I’m sure this river passes right through a mountain range not too far away.”
“Then you lead the way if you know where we’re going,” Mamoru allowed Youichi to get in front, and they were on their way to safety again.