Blaming myself, tied to these chains, living in pain

Even if Erys was truthful about staying and not hurting him, he was still surprised the man didn't jump or shy away when he curled up on his paws. He was visibly shaking from the fear of being pushed away, yelled at, or worse. It would take him a few moments to calm back down, though he was ready to scamper away if needed. He certainly never expected to feel a kind touch and flinched at the first many gentle strokes, his skin and nerves acting on muscle memory to touch.

His flinching was less strong with each touch until it had faded away, quickly calming the small man and helping him relax at the paws of Erys. He still couldn't help but wonder why they were being so kind to him. He wasn't meant to be kind to, he was meant to be bossed around and used. "Why did you want to save me?" His voice was small, questioning more of why him than why in general. If only Erys knew everything he'd done 'wrong', then he probably wouldn't have wanted to save him.

"Speech."