No warnings added
~☆☆☆~
He was brought into a new room, blindfolded, after their little trip to a new place. He was pushed to his knees, the small pebbles beneath them pushed into the sensitive flesh.
"Chains, off." He heard, "He's a hybrid, not an animal."
The clash of his chains hitting the ground was almost deafening. He let his arms rest by his sides, nervous about why this man has let him off.
Steady crunches from the gravel approached him and he mentally prepared himself for something, anything that could harm him. After the steps suddenly lying stopped, he felt finger slipping under the blindfold to then take off the fabric. As he blinked a couple times, the man crouching in front of him waved off the other two that stood beside.
"Healthy, not injured besides the branding on his forearm... Alive, unlike the last one." The man looked at the two guards, "Tell Gladiator I thank him for the Phoenix. His powers will not go to waste. Dismissed."
The man gently grabbed the tag attached from his ear, "Xelqua... Well, first things first. Let's get this thing out of your ear." With a click, the weight of the tag was gone and the man tossed it aside as he stood. He then held his hand out to the boy named Xelqua, after a moment of hesitation, the man calmly states, "Come on now, I don't bite." He pulled Xelqua to his feet and said,, "Follow, and tell me about yourself, about the time before."
"Before?" Grian asked, confused on what he meant.
"Yeah, before, as in before you became a victim of Sam Gladiator's." They began walking down a hallway, "I'm already aware Mr. Gladiator hasn't been kind to you. That scar across your neck and the brand, it's kinda obvious he wanted to keep you."
"I... My name was Grian." He started, "I used to live happily with my family and boyfriend."
"Yeah?"
"But I can't remember where that home is anymore, it's just been so long and I don't know-"
"I didn't ask what you didn't know kid." The man interrupted, opening a door to a new room, "This is where you'll recover and rehabilitate. I'll start reintroducing you to the above ground in three weeks. Change out of those rags, dinners in two hours."
"Yes sir."
"Don't call me sir."
The door shut and he heard a click behind him, sounding like a soft lock. He then looked around the room, a soft carpet, walls decorated as clouds, a bed that took up a forth of the room, he felt he was back in some sort of hotel.
~☆☆☆~
Xisuma softly knocked on Etho's door then let himself in, "Etho?"
"What Xisuma? I'm kinda busy here."
"I just wanted to say sorry about last night. It's just- ... Is that a feather?" He asked as soon as he saw what Etho was holding.
"It's identical to one of Grian's other feathers." Etho said, looking at the ends of both, "I want to have it tested."
"Etho-"
"Don't try and stop me. X."
"I was gonna ask if you had keys to the lab."
"What's making you want to help me now? Last night you were just yelling at me that Grian was dead."
Xisuma stayed silent for a moment before speaking, "Because part of me thinks you're right."
~***~
After hours of working, the two hermits heard a beeping on the computer, indicating the system had found a match from the feather. They took a breath before looking at the screen.
"Well I'll be damned." Xisuma said breathlessly, he looked at Etho, "He is alive."
