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Katana stiffens as soon as she hears footsteps approaching the dark cellar that makes up his prison. They're too loud to be Broker, too slow and heavy to be Scythe. Someone new coming to try and break her will.
A complex tangle of emotions scatters Katana's thoughts like dandelion fluff when Wakizashi's voice sounds out, sad and serious in a way Wakizashi rarely was. "So this is where they've been keepin' ya."
For a moment, there's a pause, like Wakizashi expects a reply. "Look, Kats. I don't- I don't like what they've been doin' to ya.
"I don't like seeing my brother hurt."
Katana grinds his teeth together through the piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth. Not enough to even talk to me, though. Not enough to object to me being treated like a stress toy.
"It's like I don't even know ya anymore," Wakizashi breathes, soft and earnest and full of genuine, honest hurt.
Katana's hands fist from where they're bound at his sides. You don't get to be hurt. Not anymore. Not after everything.
"Please, Kats. I just want my brother back." So do I. "If you come back, it'll be better for ya. Please. For both our sakes."
A pause, quiet yet full of unsaid words. Katana turns his head slightly, looking towards Wakizashi. The glare she fixes him with is teary and spiteful and weak. Katana can see his hurt reflected in those garnet eyes, but not the anger.
Wakizashi stares for a moment, gaze like acid against Katana's skin. His eyes linger on the gag shoved in Katana's mouth. With a forced laugh, he says, "I guess that's why you've been givin' me the silent treatment, huh?" The humor is hollow, the quip stilted and lifeless.
As soon as Wakizashi steps towards Katana, he flinches. "Relax Kats, I'm not gonna hurt you." You already have.
Helpless tears well in Katana's eyes feeling Wakizashi's fingers brush his face. She has to focus on the differences. Bigger fingers with poorly maintained talons, not hoof caps filed into claws. No gloating spoken like honeyed poison. Not cupping her cheek in a cruel mockery of affection.
The first sound that makes its way out of Katana's mouth is a soft, painted hiss. Swallowing thickly in an attempt to soothe his dry, aching throat, Katana looks towards Wakizashi.
"I'll be dead before I return to this rat's nest of corruption," Katana spits. He can feel the barest hint of a Templite accent bleeding into his words. That thought makes a low growl at the back of her throat. She's not one of them. She's better than that. She's Denizen.
"Heh." Wakizashi's face is smug, but the pain in his eyes remains. "If that's what it takes, we technically got that down."
Katana growls wordlessly, feeling hot tears prick in the corners of her eyes. "Leave. Leave me like you've already done once."
In a moment, Wakizashi's face hardens. His gear springs to life in his hands. "Me? Ya were the one that left. Do ya even know how it felt to see Scythe come home bleedin', sayin' ya were the reason she was like that?! Because ya don't. Ya only thought about yerself, leavin' us all behind for some shiny new life in Crossroads!"
Katana growls. "You don't know what you're talkin' about."
Wakizashi snarls right back. "And neither do you!" With one smooth motion, he cuts a thick red line across Katana's shoulder, got blood pouring from the wound.
Katana pulls back, hissing in pain. Wakizashi glares at her, face hard and cold. He still looks the exact same as he did all those years ago. Unruly short hair, sunburnt face, gold rings on his painted horns and shallow scars on his forearms.
It's unfair, how Wakizashi gets to be so unaffected. Katana knows he's a mess in comparison. Feathers ragged and face ashy, with hollow cheeks and covered in dried blood.
Wakizashi breathes out, desummoning his gear. "I really do hope you come around again, Kats. I've missed ya."
With that, Wakizashi leaves. His footsteps echo through the room, louder than the pounding of Katana's heartbeat. Silent tears pool in Katana's eyes as he curls up on himself, face buried in his forearms. She gradually falls asleep, wounds still stinging with pain and heart still heavy.