#I really really really wanna have a reveal in time for whumptober bc thats when i can share all the whumpy stuff

[lumpywhump]

Hidden Scars #2: Pline

still don't know how to do the fancy word link think so boom here ya go

tw: flashbacks

"Hey, are you okay?" Kane stared at the boy. This kid, clearly no older than 12, was out in the middle of nowhere talking to a beaten up stranger who was just laying on the ground. "Mister?" "Uh—" Kane went to talk but was cut off by his own coughing and had to sit up. The boy moved to help, but Kane put up a scarred hand. "I'm fine," they coughed out, finding his pride again. He didn't need help from a child. "Where are your parents?" "Me and my mom live right over there," the child pointed to his right. "Do you guys live near a town?" Kane tried to scratch under the thick metal collar around his throat. "Yeah! Our town is really fun. Trust me, I've been to Farinsburg. We've got an ice cream store right in the center. Can I show you!?" The kid was practically jumping at the idea. "Uh… sure?" Kane shifted and all his muscles ached. "Ow ow ow," they chanted and they slowly stood up. "I have to go tell Mom where we're going and then we can go," the boy began walking. "Oh," he stopped, "my name is Pline, what's your's?" "Kane," he answered as he attempted to keep up. The twigs and bushes scraped his barely covered skin. "Wow, that's a really common name. Mine's a lot less common. My mom named me after this guy who died," Kane nodded, unsure how to reply to that. They approached a house. It was a decent size with yellow sidings and two floors. Pline pulled Kane up the stairs of the deck and opened the glass sliding door. "Mom!" Pline yelled, making the boy jump. "I found someone out in the woods! I'm going to go show them Mermaid's!" Carpeted footsteps echoed through the house until a woman appeared. "Pline, what did you find this time…" the woman trailed off as she took in Kane's appearance. He didn't know how he looked but he was sure it wasn't a pretty sight. "What happened?" She gasped. "I dunno," Pline shrugged, "found him like this. Oh! I forgot about my Lego house!" The kid ran over to the swarm of legos on the floor. "Come in," the woman beckoned.

The woman, Tammy, gently held Kane's chin as she cleaned their relatively fresh wound dragging from their nose and touching his neck. "Where are your parents?" She asked. Kane could tell she was trying to distract him from the pain. "They're in the capital," "What's your last name?" "I—" "Mom!" Pline yelled as he appeared in the doorway. "I finished my house! Can I show you?" "In a minute, I'm trying to help our friend here." Tammy poured more hydrogen peroxide on the rag. Kane hissed as rag touched his skin. "When can I show them Mermaid's?" "When he's feeling better." Tammy reached for a square bandaid to put on the first half of the wound. As she put it on, she folded the bottom so the sticky part wouldn't touch his wound. "Can you hold that?" She grabbed the second bandaid and put the top bandaid over it. "How old are you?" She picked up the rag again and moved onto his arm. "I don't know," Kane whispered. "Last I knew I was 18. What year is it?" Tammy gave him an odd look. "It's 2024," His stomach dropped and his breath quickened. It was as if a thousand bricks landed on him. "It's been two years?" He felt his eyes begin to water, but quickly wiped them away. "Heh, wow," he put on a smile and looked at Tammy. "I've been gone a while," The boy watched Tammy's face go from concern to full blown panic. "What happened?" She quickly schooled her face. "Where were you?" His voice caught in his throat for a second. "I— I don't know," he whispered as he began to stare at the wall. "There was— I didn't— oh my god." He bit his lip and began to scratch around the collar. "Hey," Tammy gently lowered the boy's hand, "why don't we get that off you, yeah?" Kane nodded, his ratty hair bouncing with the movement. He tensed as he watched Tammy's hands slowly reached for his neck. His skin throbbed under the collar as the woman felt around the back for a release button. With a satisfying click, Kane could finally breathe. Without the weight of the collar, it finally sunk in what he had done. He was free. "Holyshi— sugar!" Tammy blinked. "Uh…" she looked down at the collar. The thing was brown on the outside and black on the inside. There was a metal ring in it. The ring matched the patterns of burns on his neck. Kane stared at the floral shower curtain. He didn't want to meet the woman's gaze, afraid of what he might find.

"No one wants you now. Think about it." The boy's captor chuckled. "Why are you still here? With your family's resources they should have found you easily," Kane looked around although the blindfold was snug around his eyes, he still tried to catch a hint of light. "You're not hidden that well. They just don't want you back. They know you're ruined." A smooth finger traced the large scar on his arm. "Can't have you seen all mangled, hm?"

"Kid?" Kane blinked and returned Tammy's gaze. "You okay?" Kane was about to nod before he was interrupted. "What kind of question is that? Of course you aren't. Listen, when you're all patched up we're going to find your parents, okay?" "Uh, sure." Kane didn't want to argue with her that he was an adult. Especially because he did in fact live with his parents