#this is also known in my head as storm in the room electric boogaloo

[alcordraws]

A conversation with Rose; or, Steven does a lot of projecting

[spookyboywhump]

Passing Out From Pain

Dogs= complete, X’s= Requested

Also known as Wren’s Branding Two Electric boogaloo. This takes place after This Piece and This Piece, Cain makes good on his promise :)

Character: Wren

Fandom: Original Work

Word Count: 2263

CW: Branding, pet whump, dehumanization, drugging mention, strangulation mention

***

He knew what was going to happen the second Cain entered the room that morning. He’d been up all night dwelling on it, trying to make his peace with it and accept the pain that would come, but somehow, when Cain came to get them, all of that preparation completely disappeared, and finally, for the first time since he’d been there, Wren snapped.

“Come on you two, time to get that brand replaced.” He said, a sickening grin on his face, and Wren didn’t move from his spot sitting on the bed.

“No.” He said simply, immediately shocking Cain, even Zander gave him a surprised look.

“What was that?” He asked, his voice taking on that warning tone, expecting Wren to grovel and beg for forgiveness.

“I said no.” He repeated, still sitting exactly where he was. “If you want me out of this room then you’ll have to move me yourself because I’m. Not. Going.” He said seriously. He wasn’t exactly surprised when Cain stormed over, grabbing him by the collar and roughly pulling him off the bed, causing him to gag as his airway was restricted.

“You really want to be defiant now you little shit?!” Cain snarled at him.

“Let go of his collar, you’re going to fucking strangle him!” Zander snapped, trying to step him but Cain just dragged him further towards the door. He didn’t get him out of the door way though, not completely, when he tried Wren suddenly grabbed the edge of the doorframe, and he refused to let go.

“I’m not fucking going!” He screamed, panic and anger evident in his voice. “I’m not dealing with that again, I’m not! Fucking let go of me!” He held on tighter as Cain released his collar just to grab him around the waist, struggling to pull him off.

“Fuck when did you get this fucking stubborn!” He snapped. “Zander, make him let go already.” He ordered, and instinctively Zander stepped towards him.

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Wren yelled at him. “I swear to god Zander, if you listen to him I’ll never, ever forgive you!” He screamed, and that was enough to make Zander freeze in place. Cain growled in frustration and finally, with one final yank he managed to make him lose his grip, dragging him out into the hallway. He let go of his waist only to grab his wrist, and without thinking Wren lurched forward and bit his arm.

“What the fuck!” He cried, he almost let go of him but instead kept a tight grip on his wrist, using his other hand to grab him by the hair and suddenly slam his head against the wall. He did that two more times until Wren was easier to drag along, still weakly struggling and screaming.

“Let go, let go, let go!” He screamed. “I’m not fucking going through that again, let go of me you fucking son of a bitch!” He yelled, sounding more and more like Zander rather than himself. Cain dragged him down the hall rather than trying to get him out of the house right away, he had to struggle to keep a hold on him so he could cuff his hands behind his back, which he had to kneel on his back to hold him down long enough to do so. That made it much easier for him to drag him out though, Zander following after them. He was just as surprised by Wren’s outburst as Cain was, stunned to the point he really couldn’t do anything but follow and wait to see what happened, wait to see if Wren actually won this battle.

He didn’t though, he was dragged outside kicking and screaming to where there was a car waiting for them already. Rather than shove him in the back though, Cain popped the trunk, struggling to lift the thrashing boy up.

“Hey- you can’t put him in there!” Zander finally snapped into action, trying to make Cain let go of Wren but Cain just shot him a look.

“Either he goes in here or I’m going to wrap my hands around his fucking throat and squeeze until he passes out.” He said seriously, in that tone that Zander knew meant he was serious. He had no choice but to back off, he refused to help with this, and finally Cain was able to lift him up, roughly shoving him in the trunk before slamming the door shut. “Either get in the fucking car now or he’s going through this alone- again.” He said, and Zander was quick to obey. He’d been worried enough the last time, he wanted to be there for him this time around.

He felt guilty but he tried to ignore the sound of him screaming the whole ride there.

***

Getting him down there was a feat of its own, but once the leash was clipped to his collar he decided to try something different. He dropped to the floor, sitting down and refusing to move, the way he would when he was throwing a fit as a little kid. Cain tried to persuade him by roughly yanking on the leash, only to finally look to Zander.

“Pick him up.” He said sternly.

“I’m not doing that.” He said immediately. “I’m not helping in any of this, you shouldn’t even be fucking doing this!”

“You sure have a lot of opinions on this when it’s your fucking fault!” Cain snapped back. “I told you to fucking behave! I told you this would happen if you fucked up again and you didn’t give a shit, now shut the fuck up and grab him!” He was clearly pissed off, Wren hardly cared though, just sitting there listening to them argue.

“No! If you want this done then you’re doing it yourself, I’m only here so he doesn’t have to be alone!”

“Zander, do you remember your branding?” Cain said, suddenly calm, and Zander froze, something that unnerved Wren. “You remember what we had to do to make you calm down?”

“Don’t you fucking dare-“

“Either you pick up the fucking boy or he’s going through the same thing once I get him down there. You better think hard about it, since you’re already responsible for what’s happening to him.” Wren didn’t know what exactly Cain was threatening but he didn’t like it, he didn’t like that Zander actually had to think about it, and when he locked eyes with him, he saw the guilt in his eyes and he immediately tried to jump to his feet and run.

Zander was quicker than him, grabbing him around the waist and easily slinging him over his shoulder, and Wren broke down immediately.

“Put me down!” He yelled as Zander numbly followed after Cain. “Zander you can’t- you can’t fucking do this, how could you?!” He screamed. He was angry when it was Cain but Zander was different, it was scary, it almost felt like a betrayal. “Put me down right now!” He screamed, if his wrists had been free he would’ve been slamming them against Zander’s back, he would’ve done anything to get free right now but Zander was stronger, and he almost seemed to be ignoring him.

He was taken to that awful room again, and by the time they entered he was already in tears, still screaming and crying, Cain spoke to the person who would be carrying it out while Zander held him in place.

“This time it’s going on his chest.” Cain said casually, and Wren wailed, frantically struggling against Zander’s grip. It was decided that he needed to be sitting up for this brand, and once he was put down he was held by the hair as his shirt was cut off of him, nobody taking a chance with uncuffing his wrists. Cain looked to Zander with a sickening grin on his face, saying, “Mutt- hold him down so we can do this.”

“Absolutely fucking not!” He snapped.

“Fine, I’ll just have them get a needle ready then-“

“No!” He groaned, clearly frustrated. “No, no I’ll- I’ll do it…” He sighed.

“Zander!” Wren cried, absolutely heartbroken. He tried to push himself away, but Zander got on the floor with him, easily grabbing him and holding him in place. He had to brace his back against a wall, grabbing him around his arms and having to trap his legs with his own to keep him from kicking. He still struggled though, desperately trying to get free. “Let me go! Let go of me, you can’t do this!” He screamed, tears streaming down his face.

“I’m sorry Wren, just- just trust me, this is better, okay?” Zander said, his voice shaking, but Wren was hardly listening, continue to struggle during the agonizing moments spent waiting for the brand to heat up.

“You should probably keep apologizing.” Cain snickered. “The pup seems pretty damn upset with you.”

“Shut up!” Zander hissed at him, tightening his hold on Wren, causing him to sob. He seemed to stop struggling for a moment, taking a chance to catch his breath, he felt sick and light headed, his chest hurt, but as soon as they came over with the branding iron, he started up all over again.

“No no no no no! No- let me go!” He screamed, struggling to break free from his grip, “Let me go, Zander, Zander fucking let me go!”

“I can’t do that kid, I’m sorry…” He said softly.

“Let me go!” He sobbed. “I fucking hate you please just let me go!” He didn’t even think about what he said, rambling everything that popped into his head, too panicked to even think straight. He kept yelling, but it pitched into a shriek as the branding iron finally touched his skin.

It was just as bad- no, definitely worse than the first time. That white hot, searing pain was back, paired with the pain of being restrained the way he was had him wailing in agony. He screamed so loud he swore his voice would give out completely, the iron was pressed against his chest further, and oddly, abruptly, his entire world went dark.

The boy went limp in Zander’s arms, his screaming suddenly silencing. It wasn’t a relief, it was terrifying, his head fell back against Zander’s shoulder and for a split second, he was so, so scared he’d simply screamed himself to death. He was breathing though, shallow breaths, but he was completely unconscious, and when Cain saw it he laughed.

“Aww, the poor thing couldn’t take it!” He laughed. “And did you hear him? He says he hates you!” Zander chose not to respond, it already hurt enough to hear it from Wren but at the same time, he didn’t blame him at all, if anything he knew he deserved it.

Wren didn’t come to until the branding was over and done with, Zander held him the entire time, too scared to move him even as the smell of burnt flesh made him nauseous. He’d adjusted his hold on him, gentler, more protective, and desperately hoping that he’d passed out before the pain has gotten too severe.

***

Wren sat on the bed, staring numbly across the room at the red handprints on the wall. He wasn’t even really thinking, just sitting silently, his thoughts reduced to static and nonsense. He was aware of the awful numbness from the burn on his chest but he didn’t want to think too much about it. At some point, Zander came to sit next to him, reaching a hand out to him.

“Don’t touch me.” He said right away. Zander seemed to hesitate, but he pulled his hand away, even moved off the bed. Wren hardly cared. Right now he didn’t feel bad, he didn’t feel guilty, a part of him was still angry. He didn’t know what Zander thought could be worse than what he did, being restrained by someone he trusted. He almost would’ve preferred if Zander had just hit him, holding him in place for that kind of torture was something else though, something he wasn’t sure he’d ever get over.

He didn’t remember much after he’d woken up, but he remembered the pain all too clearly. His throat was still sore and aching, his voice would definitely be shot for days to come. His arms and legs were sore from being restrained the way he was, he didn’t want to think about the bruises that would be left.

Eventually he got off the bed, his legs shaking as he walked into the bathroom, giving himself the most privacy he could get. He approached the mirror hesitantly, scared of what he’d see but also knowing it would drive him crazy to not check just how bad it was. There in the center of his chest was the worst burn he’d ever seen, worse than the brand on his arm it seemed. He almost felt nauseous, the room seemed to warp around him and he was quick to sit down on the tile floor, taking deep, shuddering breaths.

He’d already been branded once. That one had been easy to ignore though, he forgot about it often but on his chest… he’d see it every time he changed clothes, every time he took a shower, he’d see it constantly, he’d be far too aware of its existence and it made him sick. Tears welled up in his eyes again and he didn’t bother to hold them back. He sat there on the bathroom floor, sniffling but otherwise crying silently, wondering how the fuck things got this bad.

***

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