Blaming myself, tied to these chains, living in pain

It was almost as if the seconds between him admitting his loneliness and Erys answering had been minutes instead. A wave of relief washed over him when he'd promised to stay and moved closer that where he previously stood. With his eyes cast towards his own paws still, he couldn't even bring himself to look at Erys again. He felt ashamed, as if asking for something or even mentioning that he might want something was a luxury shouldn't be able to have.

The words he spoke next must have been some kind of dream. Even his nicest owners had their moments, always promising they wouldn't hurt him with the intention to do quite the opposite. Though for some reason, it felt different now... like maybe this time it was real. He knew better than to trust blindly, but what else did he have to lose? He sucked in a breath after a moment of holding it in immediate response, but with the movement of his lungs he began to crawl towards Erys, closing the distance between them and curling up tightly at, and slightly on, Erys' paws.

"Speech."