"Tick tock" is the sound a clock makes to indicate that seconds are passing. That fits very well to explain the hundreds and hundreds of "tick tocks" that went by while Lior was asleep.
Lior spent hours and hours unconscious due to the mental and physical exhaustion caused by his desperation. It was truly a moment of terror for the poor, thin semihuman. The fear of being locked up, the terror of being locked up, the desperation of being locked up. Everything culminated in a climactic moment of overflowing emotions.
All the semihumans imprisoned in that place witnessed that moment. Everyone saw the anguish and desperation embodied in a poor, weak boy with cat-like traits. Each of the semihumans present looked at him with pity and understanding in their eyes. It was what they wanted to say all along, what they kept restrained so as not to cause a scene. It seemed that the poor boy could no longer endure his emotions and ended up in that horrible display of desperation. Everyone looked at the boy with sadness. Everyone looked at the boy with compassion.
It was then that a young semihuman girl with feline traits, who was close to the boy, approached him. At first she hesitated, but finally decided to come closer. The weak girl was also bound by a chain coming out of the wall, but the boy was close enough for her to reach him. She moved little by little toward the young semihuman. She sat beside the boy and slowly brought her right hand to his head. With warm gentleness, she placed her hand on top of the boy's head. She felt how he was trembling even while asleep.
[Semihuman: Shh… c-calm down]
After placing her hand on the boy's hair, she stroked it. With a soft, pale white palm, she gently and subtly caressed the poor boy's head. The poor boy had several wounds, more than she did, especially on his back. The boy had most likely been whipped with a fairly thick whip, as the marks truly looked painful.
"Poor boy," she thought.
She felt very sad seeing the marks of multiple lashes around the young man's body. He was a young man who emanated a feminine aura, yet he looked truly worn down despite that aura.
"…"
She spent a while stroking him. A long while. A moment of peace. A very peaceful moment that made her forget for a few minutes the nightmare lived hours earlier. It was such a beautiful moment. It was such a lovely moment.
[Semihuman: Sleep in peace]
She said to the cat boy who was right beside her, whom she herself was gently caressing.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hours, hours and hours had passed since the incident that caused Lior to faint.
This semihuman boy had passed out from sheer desperation. The desperation of losing his family. The desperation of being locked up. The desperation of losing everything.
That same boy had screamed with all his strength inside the dungeon. All that desperation quickly dissipated with the boy's collapse.
Finally, little by little, the boy began to regain consciousness. Finally, the boy began to wake up. Finally, the boy began to open his eyes.
Little by little. Very slowly and calmly. Little by little. Calmly and without fear, he began to open his eyes. Slowly, he started to see what was in front of him. Calmly, he began to make out what lay before him. Little by little, he opened his eyes wider and wider, until he finally opened them completely.
In front of him was the face of a beautiful young woman with feline traits. Beautiful emerald eyes looked straight at him. The young woman had long, dark brown hair. She had cat ears in her hair that were the same color as it. Her skin was pale white. She wore ragged clothes, just like all the semihumans in that place. She was beautiful overall.
"..."
[Semihuman: H-hhello]
She looked at him with a nervous expression and a very faint blush on her cheeks.
[Lior: H-hello]
In the same way, and with the same nervous tone, he replied to her.
[Semihuman: How dyo you feel?]
[Lior: F-fine]
"Who is this girl and what is that 'dyo'?" he thought while looking into the girl's emerald eyes.
[Pomeli: Ah… um… sorry for not introducing myself… I'm Pomeli. Nice to meet you, nya]
[Lior: Ahhh… um…]
"What was that 'nya'?" he thought.
Cat semihumans had a distinctive accent. Generally, in the stories he had seen that featured these beings, the characters would say "nya" at the end of several sentences. He never thought he would encounter one face to face—and even less, become one of their race himself.
[Lior: Um… I… My name is Lior]
[Pomeli: Is a pretty name, nya]
She replied with a smile on her face, along with the movement of her ears and the gentle sway of her tail, which quickly lowered to rest against her legs.
[Pomeli: I was very worried about you, Lyor. You were very cold, nya… I thought you weren't going to wake up]
She truly had been worried about him, as her gaze looked quite exhausted. The fingers of her left hand were nervously playing with the tip of her tail. She quickly placed her right hand on Lior's forehead, and just as quickly pulled it away.
[Lior: T-thank you for worrying about me. Um… nya?]
[Pomeli: What is it? Nya]
As Lior tried to understand that "nya" the cat semihumans used, he sat properly beside Pomeli—more specifically, against the wall next to her.
Lior didn't understand anything about the cat accent, but to be honest, it interested him quite a bit. Still, when he tried to imitate it, he failed spectacularly. From those words and expressions, Pomeli realized this peculiarity about Lior.
[Pomeli: You don't have a cat accent, nya?]
[Lior: Umm… I've never… I've never used it]
[Pomeli: I see… you're strange, nya]
[Lior: S-sorry]
Lior was quite embarrassed about not knowing how to use the cat people's "nya." This mixed with the shyness he usually showed. At first, Lior had been fairly extroverted, but little by little that extroverted spark had faded, leaving the Lior who now stood in front of Pomeli.
Pomeli fully noticed this obvious shyness from the hesitation in his voice when he said "sorry" at the end. Pomeli was quite different—or at least, that's what she seemed to show…
[Pomeli: You don't know how to use "nya," nya? That's pretty strange, coming from a cat]
[Lior: It's just that… I don't use it… I don't…]
[Pomeli: You don't know how to use it properly, right? If that's the case, I can help you, nya]
[Lior: N-no… it's not necessary… you really don't have to do that]
[Pomeli: But if you talk with me, little by little the accent will rub off on you, nya]
Pomeli looked quite excited about teaching him. Her tail swayed rapidly and her ears perked up, her emerald eyes shining beautifully. But to Lior, that idea didn't seem very good…
[Lior: N-no… I don't think it's really necessary… nya…]
[Pomeli: See? That "nya" was pretty natural. Just by talking a little with me, your first "nya" already came out. It's catching on quickly, nya]
[Lior: Ah… how… what?]
"D-did that 'nya' come from me?!"
Lior had only just begun talking with Pomeli, but in such a very short time, his first unconscious "nya" had already slipped out. Was he turning into a cat?
Pomeli looked at him with a sparkle in her emerald eyes, her ears standing straight and her tail swaying rapidly. At the same time, Lior's tail was swaying along with Pomeli's. Left, right, left, right—their tails swayed.
[Lior: It feels so strange, nya…]
[Pomeli: Did you say nya?]
[Lior: Ah… no, um… nya—ah!]
Unconscious "nyas" were now slipping out of Lior consistently. He realized that this way of speaking had already completely rubbed off on him, and when he tried to avoid it, a "nya" would slip from his lips again.
"I became a cat…"
Only a few minutes had passed since he first spoke with Pomeli, and her way of speaking had already rubbed off on him—more precisely, the way cat-type demihumans spoke. This was most likely due to having been reincarnated into another body, since the voice he produced was somewhat high-pitched, and there was a noticeable, constant use of that feature in his throat. Perhaps the demihumans' "nya" was, rather than a habit, something unconsciously produced by their vocal cords. That would explain why he had adopted the accent so quickly.
Moreover, it was very likely that Lior, being in such a vulnerable state, was imitating Pomeli's manner of speaking, since she was the only one who had spoken to him and stayed by his side up to this point. His identity at this moment was more malleable than usual, as he had just gone through a reincarnation and an exhausting moment of stress and desperation. He still had to adapt to his new identity.
[Pomeli: It's catching on fast, nya. You can even hear that high-pitched accent already… but… that's something females usually have, nya]
[Lior: Aeh… um… really? Nya]
[Pomeli: Yeah, but it doesn't matter. You were already pretty strange for not knowing how to use it, nya]
[Lior: Yeah…]
Lior felt quite uncomfortable being treated as a cat demihuman, since he had never been one. This caused an even greater mental clash between his identity and that of the cat demihuman he had reincarnated into. The truth was that, apparently, he was a demihuman with no acquaintances at all, since even Pomeli, who was of the cat demihuman race, did not recognize him. He realized that his identity was as unknown as he himself was to it.
This led him to ask himself even more questions. Why had he been reincarnated? Why him and no one else? If this were the story of some novel, he honestly wouldn't understand it, since he was a terrible reader.
But…
The events that had occurred earlier gave him an answer.
"Most likely, as I suspected a little while ago, I'm a demihuman slave."
This deduction made him confirm something fairly quickly.
"This means that I have no priority over the others, and I'm just a reusable object from the point of view of normal people."
Lior, despite being shy, was quite—very—intelligent, even though that didn't fully explain how he had reached this answer so quickly. He had probably thrown out a random answer, but one that made far, far too much sense.
"All I can do is assume something I don't know for sure, but it's the tension in the air that makes me say it. Even so, being a slave… is my worst possible fate."
If he was a slave, that meant he was just another slave among many—his death would basically mean nothing. Even more so, he was a reusable and disposable object. Slaves held the worst position anywhere. They were sold like objects and used for horrible things. He could basically be used as a toy.
That thought truly stunned him, because he wasn't prepared to have to live as a slave. In fact, he had never even thought about living as one.
[Lior: I'm… an object…] he whispered.
All of these deep thoughts led him to dissociate for a brief period of time.
[Pomeli: Lyor, did something happen?]
[Lior: Aehh… huh? Ah, no, nothing]
His eyes were staring into nothingness, and his tail was slowly swaying, while his ears were slightly drooped.
[Pomeli: Really? It looked like you fell asleep sitting up with your eyes open, nya]
[Lior: Ah… um… sorry]
Lior had many things on his mind at that moment, but a beautiful girl with emerald eyes was watching him curiously from the front. Her eyes were fixed firmly on him, her ears fully perked up, and her tail swayed slowly.
[Lior: Um… changing the subject… how long was I asleep, nya? Uh…]
[Pomeli: Quite a while, actually. It's been several hours since you fainted, nya]
Pomeli answered with complete honesty. He had been unconscious for several hours. This made Lior realize how much time had passed between his sobbing breakdown and his awakening.
Lior looked directly at Pomeli and felt his heart tremble. He had worried a poor demihuman girl who wasn't in a better situation than he was. She had surely seen his crying, and her kind heart had made her come closer to his side. All those thoughts made him feel a terrible sense of guilt.
Pomeli, looking straight into Lior's eyes, sensed the presence of that emotion. She saw it clearly—the emotion of guilt. Feeling it so strongly alarmed her, and she tried to dispel it.
[Pomeli: But… you're awake, right? That's enough]
She replied while looking straight into his eyes and giving him a sweet smile.
Seeing that gentle smile, Lior blushed in embarrassment. He had worried a poor girl who was close to him. He didn't know her at all, yet she showed him such great and beautiful kindness and concern. How stupid must he have looked, screaming like a madman? Well, the answer to that didn't really matter anymore. The girl was genuinely worried about him… just looking at her gave him a warm, comforting peace of mind.
[Pomeli: I was worried because… you looked really bad, I thought you might've hurt yourself… like… on the inside, nya]
She said with a slight nervous stutter on her lips.
[Pomeli: In places like this… it happens a lot… and I nyo knew what to do…]
She said, lowering her head and her ears, then quickly lifting both again. An exhausted smile spread across her face.
[Pomeli: So… now that you're awake, don't close your eyes again, okay?]
She said, lifting her feline ears upward, her tail gently swaying, her eyes looking tired.
[Pomeli: Even if it's only while we're here, nya… I don't want you to feel alone]
She took her tail and wrapped it around his arm.
[Pomeli: If you want… I can stay by your side a little longer, nya…]
"..."
Lior was quite surprised by the cat girl's proposal. He had barely opened his eyes and already a beautiful girl was sitting beside him. He didn't know what to say… he felt rather confused by that behavior. He didn't dislike it, but still… asking something like that from someone who had just woken up… was it normal for catfolk to support others in that way?
[Pomeli: Uh… um… it nyo bothers you, right?]
She said, gently moving her tail over his leg.
"..."
[Pomeli: It's just that… I… I felt a little… lonely… a-and I wyanted to be… close… close to someone]
She said with a faint blush on her cheeks, holding her tail and softly stroking it. Her head and ears drooped as well.
The girl was also deeply affected by everything that had happened. She was in the same situation as him, being a slave put up for sale. Who knows what horrors the poor girl had been forced to endure in order to end up here. She was far more vulnerable than him, since she had spent more time in this place—her scars proved it, confirmed it. What awaited her in the future? Most likely, she would be bought as a slave in the not-so-distant future. She was just as terrified as he was, or perhaps even more.
Lior unconsciously moved his tail to his legs and wrapped it around them. Looking at the young girl's downcast face, he sighed. He shifted his body to face her; with a quick but gentle movement, he achieved it. He softly took her hand, and with a slight movement of his lips, he spoke.
[Lior: Don't worry… you also look really distressed…]
His tail swayed slowly from side to side.
[Lior: Try to forget what I did earlier… and if you need to lean on someone… t-try to do it on me, n-nya]
With a faint smile, his ears standing tall and his tail gently swaying, he spoke softly.
[Lior: You worried a lot about me, so now it's my turn to support you, right?]
The girl quickly lifted her gaze. Her emerald eyes pierced straight into the boy's diamond-like eyes; her tail and ears stiffened. A very noticeable blush spread across her cheeks.
Unconsciously, a tear slipped from her left eye. Slowly, that tear ran down her cheek until it finally fell. Another tear followed, then another, and then one more. Little by little, her face filled with tears, which gently fell one after another.
Until, in one moment…
She lunged toward the boy and hugged him tightly. There, against the boy's shoulder, she began to cry uncontrollably, pressing her face into his shoulder and clothes.
She cried, cried, cried, and cried. Pomeli cried. She was completely broken inside. Her pride and hope had been shattered by humiliation and the fear present in every single moment. She cried silently so as not to cause a scene. She cried, cried, cried, and cried. She suffered and suffered. Torture and humiliation—she suffered them. Unthinkable things—she suffered them. Deaths close to her—she suffered them. Constant fear—she suffered it. All of it, and more, culminated in this subtle, fragile crying, loaded with the greatest terrors she had endured in her life. At last, she was able to release her feelings after years of being dehumanized and constantly mistreated. She clung to him tightly… and… cried.
Lior, seeing her cry, felt a sense of déjà vu, but he didn't give it much importance. He slowly moved his hand toward the girl's head. Slowly, he brought it there, and with great delicacy and tenderness, he rested his hand on her hair. As his hand touched her hair, he gently and calmly began to stroke her hair and ears. Little by little, his hand moved along her hair—slowly and sweetly, with deep compassion and extreme gentleness. It was such a heartbreaking yet beautiful moment that small tears welled up in his eyes.
[Lior: It's okay… it's over now]
He said in a soft, comforting calm.
"How much did you suffer?" he asked in his thoughts.
How much had that girl suffered to cry like that? What had she gone through? What horrible things had happened to her? All the questions he asked himself led down the same path.
Both semihumans began to slowly sway their tails. Both pairs of ears tensed at the same time. The two of them were fully embraced, facing one another.
Pomeli cried, cried, cried, and cried. Her exhaustion allowed her to do only that—to cry. That action slowly drained her energy, and she was quickly becoming exhausted. Little by little, her face dulled as her emotions poured out. That comforting crying consumed a great amount of her strength.
[Lior: Sleep…]
Slowly, she began to fall asleep. She had run out of both mental and physical energy after releasing so much suffering through her tears. Little by little, she lost consciousness. Her tail fell limp, and her ears drooped. Slowly, she sank into a deep sleep—a sleep that came after emptying her heart. Gradually, with great calm and peace, she nestled herself against Lior's body, and once she was properly supported and at ease… she fell asleep.
[Lior: It's okay…]
He said it while lifting his tail from the ground and resting it over both his body and hers; his ears lowered along with the movement of his tail.
Slowly, Lior lay down on the ground, with Pomeli's body resting on top of his. All the semihumans in the place were already asleep; most likely, it was already night outside this prison. Holding Pomeli securely, he lay down on the floor, placing her slightly on top of him so her body wouldn't feel the cold of the stone floor. Lior, with the pain in his back from earlier, now lying down and with Pomeli hugging him despite being asleep, remained there on the ground, thinking about everything that had happened before.
[Lior: There's no escape… there's nothing I can do to get out of here]
He murmured, once again resting his tail over both of them.
[Lior: I'll try to sleep… there's nothing else I can do, nya]
He whispered it so as not to wake anyone.
Lior prepared himself to hold the girl in his arms properly, to shield her from the cold. He closed his eyes and let his mind go blank—well, he tried to.
[Lior: I just have… to… sleep]
He let those words slip out the moment his body felt a deep wave of drowsiness. And little by little, slowly and harshly, Lior began to fall asleep. His consciousness faded into the black void of his mind. Gradually and subtly, it slipped away.
Until…
He finally fell asleep.
"..."