TRP: Ba'ob and Ombre (Muzzle)

**Izzy:** at 3:07 PM

[SETTING: The Frozen Manor, Day 220.]

It was a dank, tiny, windowless room, and it made Ombre
think of her grave.

Her hands and mouth were bound, still, and she had to wonder
if Bala planned on ... feeding her, or what. She didn't have her focus (or her
amulet, or healing staff, or bag; any of her things), but maybe when they fed
her, she'd be able to move her hands enough, behind her back, to cast something.

She squeezed her eyes closed against the dim oil lantern
dangling from the ceiling, and recited spells in her head. Firebolt. Blink.
Invisibility. If -- if she could find a little bit of copper somewhere in these
crates, she could Send for help, but it looked like food storage, mostly.

Immolation. She swallowed. She didn't ... want to hurt
anyone. She didn't like using that spell, but she could, even without her
hands, if they just took off the muzzle -- she could do it twice, and then
maybe get her hands free, and ...

**Abby:** at 3:16 PM

Bala had Ombre. Ba'ob didn't... didn't know what she wanted
but she had Ombre now. Wanted to help Ombre but couldn't. Just cried into
wolf's fur for a while, she whined and licked. She loved him. (Even though he didn't
deserve it, be better off if he'd let the pack tear him apart, just a stupid,
weak, useless elf.)

Eventually though. He had to find out. Had to- see if Bala'd
kept Ombre or let her go or... Ba'ob had to find out if he could find Ombre.
Locked wolf in the room, so no bites, safer that way. (She hated it. Ba'ob
hated it. What else could they do?)

Ba'ob didn't ask anyone. Half afraid that... they wouldn't
like him trying to find out. Just padded through the house, looking in doors,
in rooms, and eventually- eventually. Found her.

Small, dark, cramped, worse than Ba'ob's. Tied up-- Ba'ob's
fingers itched to untie her. But Bala wouldn't like. So he just- stood there.
Shut the door, so didn't get caught, but just... stared.

**Izzy:** at 3:21 PM

She opened her eyes, ready for -- for something, she didn't
know what.

But not for it to be Ba'ob.

He didn't have his wolf with him, and he looked unhappy, and
he wasn't bringing food or water. He was just looking at her. She waited a beat
to see if he was going to help her, but he didn't.

Tears glazed over her eyes again.

**Abby:** at 3:24 PM

Ombre was- she cried. Ba'ob whined, quietly, so that they
wouldn't overhear. Friend was trapped and Ba'ob could do nothing. "Am-- am
sorry," he said, rubbing at his arm, at the metal. "Didn't. Didn't
want."

**Izzy:** at 3:27 PM

She sniffled and blinked a couple times. He really sounded
miserable.

She tried to make a sound like Why?

**Abby:** at 3:33 PM

Ba'ob couldn't make out the word, but he knew animal noises.
Sadness, wondering- it was enough. "Had to," he said, pressing his
back against the wall and sliding to the ground. "Would. Would have hurt
me," he whimpered. Rubbed at the cuff again, stinging the barely-healed
skin.

**Izzy:** at 3:41 PM

Ombre's shoulders dropped. She hadn't even realized they'd
been tensed, but -- but Ba'ob was so sad, and ... he was so young and more of a
wolf than an elf, and Bala, she had to be older than Ombre and hadn't spent
decades hiding in a tomb. She'd been murdering other kitsune instead.

Ba'ob had never had a chance.

She shifted to wipe her eyes on her shoulders and sniffed
again, then nodded to him, trying to signal for him to come over, and bounced
one shoulder.

**Abby:** at 3:48 PM

Ba'ob shook his head. Grabbed at his hair, started pulling
at it. "Made a mistake," he said. "Asked for this. Begged for
this." Looked at her with tears in his own eyes. "Should be mad at
me."

**Izzy:** at 3:54 PM

"Mm-mm." She shook her head emphatically. She
wanted to tell him that she wouldn't get mad at him for making mistakes. She
wanted to tell him that Bala was an evil diabolical bitch and there was no way
he'd asked her for anything. She must've tricked him. She'd used him, and hurt
him, and that made Ombre angry -- angry enough to think of fire and ash.

She half-shrugged again, offering a wheedling hum.

**Abby:** at 4:02 PM

Ba'ob didn't deserve this. But... he'd missed it. Having
people caring. Slowly he crawled over, curling up next to her and pressing his
face into her fur. "Sorry," he said again.

**Izzy:** at 4:04 PM

She propped her chin on top of his head and sniffled again,
and shook her head.

[END]

Title: Muzzle. Summary: Ba'ob goes to visit a captured
Ombre. She refuses to let him feel bad for Bala getting the best of him.