The sound of slow rhythmic dripping was what finally stirred his senses back from beyond unconsciousness. That somehow both quiet and loud little tap... tap... tap... tap... tap tap filling his ears until first the left, then the right flicked. Motions almost meant to try to dislodge the noise from within even as his muzzle stretched into a wide toothy yawn. It was only then that the sensations that filled his body worked their own way into his senses.

The cold chill of a stone floor and an aching unlike anything he had felt before caused all four limbs to pull in against his core. Eventually though a growl from his stomach forced him to uncurl and take in his previously unseen surroundings. That spot on the floor he had been occupying was some feet away from a pile of straw that, given the bits and pieces strewn, he surmised he must have crawled from at some point in his sleep. One wall stood dominated by the tattered and stained threads of a tapestry, while the opposite housed a single heavy looking wooden door. In the far corner from where that makeshift bedding was piled there was a pile of snow that had clearly made its way in from a hole in the roof. That quiet tapping of the drips coming from a ring of icicles that lined the opening a dozen feet above. 

Pulling himself up onto his feet the pup began to make his way past the large pile with full intent on seeing just where that door went. Only when he was next to it, however, did he realize two things. One, he wasn't alone. Two, it was a mistake to walk so close to that pile. Both of these were made abundantly clear when the dark fur covered paw reached out and seized hold of his leg. A rough jerk serving double duty in pulling the limb out from under him as well as sending his weight crashing to the floor. 

In those moments he barely registered the releasing of that grip, but he certainly felt when it grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and proceeded to haul him upwards until he was left dangling. "Well, well, well. Someone's up early. I would have expected you to be sleeping until the afternoon at least." Even as that deep rumbling voice spoke the pup was already being hauled through through the air as the much larger wolf pushed that door open and carried him into the dark hallway beyond.

"Let go!" His voice was much higher pitched in comparison. A contrast of youth much like the contrast of white on dark brownish black that made up the pair's furs. Those smaller paws reaching up to claw at the hand which held, quite uncomfortably if you asked him, the pup aloft.

"No." A simple answer for a simple creature who easily ignored every scratch or strike from hands or feet while navigating the pitch black darkness of that maze of passages. A fact that left the pup all the more disturbed given that he couldn't see a damn thing. He did hear another door open though. Felt the air it disturbed as it swung in front of his face. Half a dozen paces further the voice spoke again. "Behave." The paw holding his scruff first dipped, and then raised. Tossing him out into the darkness even as a shout of surprise left his throat.

A second or two of being airborne ended when his tumbling form crashed into water. The warmth of it enough that for a moment it felt like hot needles poking at the skin beneath his fur. Once that had passed, and he had managed to right himself though, then he was left to tread water in pitch black darkness for several another moment until he heard movement disturbing water followed by the voice again. "And here I thought you said you weren't a pup. Sure seem like one just splashing about over there."

Biting back a low growl the boy shot back a retort into the darkness. "I'm not splashing! I can't see anything!"

Amusement filled the voice then. "Oh? Why didn't you say something." 

Before he could even try to shout something back a little light flickered into existence somewhere up above. A little mote which began to slowly float down like a snowflake cast from invisible clouds. Then came another, and another, and yet more still until he could finally make out the barest of details in the dark. Blue eyes watched as that first mote made contact with the water before transforming into a little hiss of steam. Suddenly he grew exponentially more worried as he spun to try to stop another from touching him only to feel an almost soothing warmth strike his left ear. With a great deal of cautious curiosity he reached out for another mote, and when it met his paw the same sensation blossomed there as well.

"Not a pup hm? Seems like you're still one if you're playing in the water with firelights." 

Turning then he saw the larger wolf's partially visible form made abundantly easy to spot thanks to those glowing eyes of his. His attempt to bark something back interrupted when one of those big dark paws swiped and sent a spray of water crashing over the pup even from over ten feet away. "Be sure to scrub everywhere before we leave. If I find a single bit of you that's not been cleaned to my satisfaction then I'll scrub you myself from now on. And punish you each time too for the annoyance."

With his sputtering over the white furred pup barked and then growled angrily, baring his teeth at the larger and older wolf. "Touch me again and I'll bite you where it hurts!" Blue eyes watched as that dark form rose from where it had been sitting along the edge of that great stone basin. Several strides pushing the water aside as though it were nothing as the older male approached and then fast as a snake took hold of that scruff again.

"Every bite you give me is one I'll return back to you pup. Neither of us will find it pleasant but neither of us will endure lasting harm from it either. Just like you cannot be harmed because of those bands on your legs, I too cannot be harmed for long thanks to the curse in me." Pausing that arm lifted, bringing blue eyes right up to meet deep yellow orange. "But just because you can't be harmed doesn't mean you can't feel pain."

Then he felt it. A sharp pinch that caused his eyes to dart up and see the claws of the paw that wasn't holding him. There above him the two points met on the inside and outside of his ear. Again they pressed, and again a jolt of pain came from the pinch. Shifting his weight as much as he could the pup added a jerk to his head in at attempt to dislodge the grip. Neither action worked, and if anything just got an amused chuckle. "Seems you'll have to learn your first lesson now then."

Again he was hauled. Out of the water, through the air, and then through another door and yet another near pitch black room. Though hit didn't remain dark for long. A number of torches and a great fireplace springing to life and casting their illumination even as he was slammed chest down onto a slab of heavy wood. The grip released him, and when it did he spun onto his back only to realize that such a action was a mistake when his throat was met with with the same grip which this time slammed his head back against he wood with a great crack.

The sensation was certainly uncomfortable, but he knew he wasn't hurt. Disoriented and dazed? Absolutely. But he had already experienced being hit over the head with a stone large enough to split a skull clean open once and had come out without even a scratch. Still by the time his senses came back to him the pup realized that leather now held his neck down to the wood. A quick check confirmed that all four paws and even his tail has been similarly secured such that he was left splayed out and utterly exposed even as the dark figure returned to loom over him.

"I'll let you decide." Fingers found his chest, then one of the nipples there before giving it a tug. "One of these." The grip released and moved up past his muzzle to his left ear. "One of these." It was on the move again, this time descending until those fingers found the flesh of that spade between his legs. "Or this."

The boy couldn't help but scoff at what he assumed as a threat to remove something. Especially since the entire reason he had ended up here was to try to discover a way to remove what was between his legs so he could get back to how he had been before. So it was that his voice was ever so confident when it gave his answer. "That."

That figure above looked rather amused at the answer even as he moved to take up a position down between the boy's legs. It was only then that the pup saw the glint of metal and realized that the wolf was holding a rather large needle. In that moment his eyes narrowed in confusion. He had also been stabbed and such things had never even broken the skin, or any bones below for that matter. The most such things left was a bruise. 

The older wolf then gave a demonstration by pricking the boy on the thigh. An act which caused him to jolt with a sudden yelp. That... that had actually hurt. Like really hurt. Like how he remembered thorn bushes felt only worse. With wide eyes he watched that larger form lean down until hot breath washed over the flesh of the boy's spade. The glint of that needle slipping closer until it was hovering ever so close to it. "I'm thinking something nice and colorful. That way it stands out."

Realization set in then. The muscles in his limbs straining, but thanks to the leather around wrists, biceps, legs, thighs, waist, chest, and throat there was little that he could actually do. Then came the sharp stinging pain, only if the jab to the leg has been twice or thrice what a jab from a thorn bush was like, then this was a hundred fold. So intense was the sensation that he couldn't hold back the sudden cry of pain nor the tears that welled up in his eyes.

"I know. You've been without pain for so long that it's much more intense now. But it can't harm you no matter how much it hurts. In fact, with enough time you should even start to enjoy it. I speak from experience."

He felt those digits pinch his flesh. Holding it still even as more pressure was applied and the needle continued its journey. Each second felt like a whole new eternity. Grip, push, stabbing burning pain, adjust and then repeat. Eventually his voice gave out. Then yet more time passed and eventually he felt a light pat on his thigh. "There you go. All done. Here, why don't get a good look." 

He felt the pressure on his legs and waist ease before the leather was pulled away. Then that grip forced his his up. A pressure that slowly folded the pup over on himself. Even as muscles, tendons, and bones that weren't used to such a limber stretching argued against it that force continued to push and in the end his body surrendered and moved.

There. He saw it. A bright blue gemstone shot through with hues of purple here or there, as well as a softly glowing light which slipped and slid around within it. All of it set into a bit of bronze colored metal which vanished into the flesh at the top of that spade of his. 

"Now you don't have to worry about getting lost in the dark." As the rumbling voice spoke the lights in the room began to dim, at which point he saw the 'truth' in that statement. There in the stone that glowing almost liquid light slipped and slid about even as it stood out in the darkness like a beacon. He felt the pressure on his hips let up before guiding them back down to the wood. There in the dark he felt a sudden warmth prod before a pointed tip began to spread that spade of his. "Now you're going to thank me for giving you such a valuable gift. Metal and gems like that don't come cheap pup. But it looks good on you." 

Even as that tip pressed deeper those larger fingers slid up his stomach until they found one of the lowest pair of nipples hidden away in his fur. "Maybe I'll even be nice enough to decorate all of these. And your ears. And maybe even... more."