Water Bender of DC

-{ Worry }-

-[ Water Tribe, South Pole ]-{ Tonraq }-

Everything hurt, it was freezing, I was tired, and Father was furious, when we got back home and inside he immediately dropped me and went to tie Unalaq's arms. When he finished he turned back to look at me before walking off.

He returned soon after with an old wooden crate and more rope. He set everything in a corner before grabbing me and tying my legs so they were bent like I was kneeling. I was then put in the crate with my legs and arms further tied to the front, back and sides, so that I couldn't move even the slightest bit the crate even allowed.

He left me there without giving me anything for quite a while, as he took Unalaq to train. They would come back and Unalaq would be tired enough to fall asleep against the crate. That was until about two days later when he brought back a hurt Unalaq from training. Everything was so sore and hurting that I could barely move, and I never wanted to experience this punishment again.

-[ Loading Dock, Gotham City ]-

Being abruptly pulled from my sleep induced memory/dream I was left very confused and disoriented. There was so much commotion around, too much commotion in order for me to be alone in the container anymore. So I began to wake up even more, but nothing came into focus, as I was still in between the past and the present. There was flashing lights in reds, blues, and white, yet there was also faint light that barely lit the room. There were sirens, dogs, and people, yet also quiet, wind, and light sobbing. There was still the feeling of the cuffs cutting in, and the tension of the wire, yet also similar feeling but a little softer, but still the same soreness of muscles beginning to set in.

Then I felt it, the cage began to move, and I started to panic. If the cage was starting to move then we were back in the south pole, or Unalaq was hurt. All reason left me as I began to struggle, trying to move even the slightest bit. Then the top came off and I could feel slight tugging at my elbows and wrists, then I heard a snap and the wires went slack, or was it creaking of old wood and rope. In confusion I froze as the front came off next, and then I felt something solid yet soft envelope me. It wrapped around me as my forehead leaned against it. It was warm, and smelled like Bruce.

At that point I didn't care whether it was actually him or not, I just didn't want to be here anymore, so I leaned into it and began to relax. As I relaxed I heard the wires snap, and felt them go slack, but the cuffs still didn't come off. After a couple more minutes, the thing that reminded me of Bruce wrapped me in something that was soft, like fur, and warm, and comfortable. Then I felt myself be lifted up and moved, but I was too tired to really care anymore, so I let myself fall sleep again.

-{ Bruce }-

I was relieved when Tonraq began to calm and relax into me, and once he was free from the wires, since we couldn't get the cuffs off currently, I warped him in his coat. When he seemed to go limp I took the opportunity to pick him up despite the onlookers, and quickly brought him over to Alfred and Dick so we could leave and get to a hospital.

When we got there the nurses had to take him from there, and this being Gotham I had no doubt that they would get the cuffs off while I fill out the paperwork. Unfortunately for them though, just as they got Tonraq into a room he noticed my absence and woke up. Hearing the disturbance I walked over, and when I made into the room the nurses were doing their best to calm down Tonraq, who was beginning to panic again, while also trying to hold him down.

Without any prompting I stepped in bringing Tonraq into my arms at first he tried to pull away, but I maintained my firm yet gentle grip. Soon he stopped struggling and seemed to be processing something before he finally decided to lean into me again. When he stayed like that for a while I gave a nod to the nurses, who were standing to the side in amazement, and they got to work in taking off the cuffs.

The rest of the time from there on Tonraq remained tense and still, even now that he's free he still hasn't moved. So when the nurses left I readjusted him so he was more comfortable, but still leaned into me. And a minute or two after that Tonraq began to shake slightly, as he leaned harder into my side.

"'m sorry. . . I couldn'. . . I tried. . . I really did. . . But I couldn'. . ." Tonraq began to mumble and I could feel tears soke into my shirt, but I had a feeling he meant more with those words than this situation entailed. In response I just hugged him and rubbed his shoulders, which were probably sore, as he continued his silent tears.

Tonraq continued to mumble and shake for a while before he gave into his exhaustion and passed out in my arms. Not long after Alfred and Dick walked in, and Alfred handed me another set of papers. I didn't let go or leave Tonraq this time, as that didn't really end well, and filled out the paperwork before handing them back to Alfred.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Dick asked as he sat and leaned against the bed, as he looked at a sleeping Tonraq.

"Physically, yes, but mentally, that's gonna take a while." Was the answer I gave him as I got more comfortable on the bed seeing as I probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"But he seemed to be getting better." Dick continued the conversation seeming worried for Tonraq.

"Yeah, he was making great progress, but he wasn't ready for this encounter, so this could be a major setback for Tonraq. If anything we might be back at square one, or even below that." I explained to him while coming up with a plan to help Tonraq when he woke up. It was quiet after that as we just decided to wait in the room with Tonraq until he woke up, so the doctor could check him over. In short he didn't come around until later in the afternoon.