| " | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mahin coughed as he came around, trying to take in deep breaths before being reminded of the muzzle gag harness that was locked around his head ever since he was thrown within this underground prison. He was not sure what happened, but upon opening his eyes and taking a cursory glance at his surroundings, the young fox found himself surrounded by rubble and debris everywhere... not a good sign, even in this wretched hive. Then he remembered. He was supposed to be taken out for execution this day, when what appeared to be an earthquake shook down the entire dungeon... followed by monstrous howling of creatures that were clearly not meant to be heard. Although his handlers were nowhere to be found, the binds that he was restrained with remained intact, strictly limiting Mahin's movements. His elbows and wrists were tightly bound behind his back with thick ropes, placing an unpleasant strain on his shoulder joints. Heavy iron ball attached to his already short ankle chains meant he was not getting far anytime soon. And then there was an unforgettable feeling of cold chastity cage around his sheath that used to torment him in rare moments of solace—an incessant reminder that his pent-up arousal would never be satisfied as long as the infernal device remained in place. Although he could move around freely, Mahin was still exposed and utterly defenseless. The sound of iron ball grinding loudly across the surface made him an easy prey should he be discovered by others, or worse... whatever creature was out there. He had to find a way to undo his bindings fast, but rubble pieces were not able to cut through the ropes he was bound with. He needed something sharper, and he was not going to find anything useful in this near-total darkness. Looking ahead he could see faint flickers of light in the distance. Gradually calming his breath, Mahin slowly rose up using a nearby wall as a support, and began treading carefully across the ruined hallways. He tried to create as little noise as possible, but he could only do so much with his leg shackles scraping around with every movement. His ankle chains frequently tangled up against uneven debris, creating noise and making him lose his footing each time. Every step became a continuous struggle between staying quiet and not falling flat on his face, and the frustrated fox found himself unable to stay focused with his shaft constantly throbbing against its cage, demanding attention that Mahin so desperately wanted to provide, but could not. It took forever for him just to reach the end of the hallway, but Mahin could finally see around the lit corner... and gulped as blood stains also came into view. There were clearly signs of struggle; futile attempts to fend off whatever was there. Approaching cautiously, a glint of light around one of the corners ahead caught Mahin's attention—a sword! Or, whatever was left of it. But the thought of finally being able to move his arms freely brought much-needed elation to the exhausted fox, who was always kept in strict bondage in one form or another. Mahin hurried his way towards the broken blade, ignoring the chafing around his ankles from dragging the heavy weight around. Slowly but surely Mahin drew closer and closer to the blade, heaving and grunting as he pulled the iron ball over the last hurdle of debris. Once he got close enough, Mahin turned around and crouched, feeling around the rocky surface with his hands until he finally felt the hilt of the sword. Right before he could pick it up, Mahin suddenly froze in place when he came to realize that he was not alone. His breath stopped, ears perking up as he heard shuffling movement ahead of him. He cursed to himself beneath the muzzle, figuring that he may have given away his location after carelessly rushing towards the sword, creating more noise with his shackles than he had to. Mahin tried to quickly reach for the sword and hide in an unlit corner, but yet again his ankle chains got caught on a nearby block of debris, and this time he was unable to recover his balance. He fell flat on his side, sending horrendously loud echoes of chains rattling in every direction. Mahin's eyes widened in fear as the noise in the distance abruptly grew agitated, footsteps gradually drawing closer towards the direction of the rattling. Glancing around his back, Mahin saw the sword still in immediate vicinity, and scurried to grab it before trying to hide. But the panic-stricken fox could not bring himself upright to stand back up—falling down with every rushed attempt. Mahin started to crawl away in desperation, his bound hands carrying the short blade with painfully tight grip, knowing that he will not have a third chance to retrieve it. He let out muffled whimpers as the iron ball turned every frantic pull into an excruciatingly slow process while the noise in the distance drew ever closer. Somehow, he managed to make his way around one of the unlit sections of the hallway, pulling in further to bring the cursed iron ball out of sight. Mahin took this moment to calm his panicked breathing before attempting to work on his binds... but his respite was cut short by a monstrous shadow emerging from the corner of his eyes, accompanied by grotesque growling and heavy footsteps. Mahin could see shapes forming several claws that could easily tear through flesh and earth alike, and shadows of liquid dripping from its appendages—most likely blood from its victims. The creature paused around the source of the noise, near the corner that Mahin was hiding behind. Fortunately it did not know where he was, and started its search in an empty area. However it was only a matter of time before Mahin's luck ran out, and he knew that trying to move at this point would only give away his location. Finally remembering what he had in his hand, Mahin carefully flipped the sword over his wrists and started sawing against the ropes, hoping that his arms would at least be free before being inevitably discovered. What to do afterwards, was another matter entirely... \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t