Ouroboros Spine You won't know your worth now, son, until you take a hit

You sound so sure. And so sick; he did not miss the sneaking of breath or the shudder of her sides. Had he cared for her at all Kiliutak might have offered to aid her. Not now; not this witch who held him here and continued to work her spells. Trying to trick him.

Maybe she was right. She could have known his father at some point. It was not something Kiliutak wanted to entertain or acknowledge; doing so would make his father a real thing, dead or alive, and his abandonment was something Kiliutak had never let himself deal with.

I have had many names by now, he remarks cooly, before lapping at the water again. As a thread of water drips off his chin he goes quiet, as if thinking. Call me what you want. Your words mean nothing to me.

It would have been nice to accept this new name, he thinks. To belong somewhere, rather than to someone. Avicus came to his thoughts then, livid and red and dripping blood rather than water from her grimaced teeth; a flash.

Where is the girl? He asks finally, looking sharp upon her face. Tracing those wounds with some pride.