Hello! POV chapter here. It'll be very different to how I write Cyne's perspective, which is full of rambling and detail.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

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He’s here. The priest spoke of him. He has to be killed, not captured. Our targets were captured. I was left behind to finish the mission.

I could hear him, I could smell him, and I could feel his movements in the air. I threw my daggers at the target. Strange… he dodged.

I curled my fingers into a claw, sending magical energy along the wires. The daggers targeted him again. One successful hit. He dodged the rest.

The target is dangerous. I leaped from the building I was stood, planning to slowly entrap him in a meshwork of wires. But then, everything went black.

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Where am I? I tried to move my arms and legs, but found myself restrained. I felt my pulse quicken and my breathing became erratic. I was captured. I failed.

I felt something, lightly running along the surface of my skin. I panicked. Punishment. I don’t want to be punished. I tried to pull myself away from the caressing touch of the target. I couldn’t.

The caressing continued. I was scared. I hadn’t been scared for so long. I failed. Lun will punish me. My despair started to wash over me. I worried and worried. The caressing never stopped.

I lost the will to resist. Lun will surely punish me. I am alone. I felt resigned. I wouldn’t be able to avoid my fate. It’s strange. The only comfort came from the soft touch of the man I was sent to kill.

I could feel his face come closer. His lips were right beside my ear when he whispered.

“You really are beautiful”

What? My mind went blank. Beauty. It’s a foreign thing. There was a time when I was permitted to see the world with my own eyes. Am I beautiful? Does it matter?

I felt confused. The caressing felt less ominous. It was almost… tender. So delicate, as though it was afraid to harm my skin. This feeling was also unfamiliar. Punishment was the only time similar to this. But I wasn’t feeling pain. It felt nice…

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It continued for hours. I found comfort in his touch. His fingers would trace patterns over my skin. The patterns were familiar. They were the results of punishment. Now instead of pain, it was a soft and pleasant sensation.

He stopped. Don’t stop. Don’t leave me alone. Don’t go. I wanted to speak. I can’t. I felt my despair seeping into my thoughts once more. Lun will surely punish me. I enjoyed being captured. I was happy that that I had failed. It was only for a moment, but it sealed my fate.

He was coming back. I could only feel despair. I yearned for his soft touch. My fate was decided. I wanted to feel the sensation of his fingers running along my skin. I would be punished. Please stay with me.

Something cold pressed against my lips. What? There was a painful tug on the edges of my lips and a snap. No. He can’t. Don’t. The punishment. It will be worse. I struggled. The restraints were tight. I couldn’t move.

“Why so scared? I just want to talk…”

The stitches snapped. One by one. Scared. I was scared. They were gone. I opened my mouth. Air rushed in. Strange, it felt very strange. I was scared, but curious. I moved my lips. My mouth opened and closed.

While I was distracted, his finger suddenly ran along my abdomen. I was surprised. I let out a gasp. The sensation felt refreshing.

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He gave me a name. Silk. I think I like it. He was a person. It only came to me now. He wasn’t just a target. He was nice. Even though I tried to kill him. A strange feeling began stabbing into my gut. It was unpleasant. Guilt?

He asked if I wanted to see. I do. I can’t say that. I vainly struggled. Then he said something. I stopped. Is that right? I’m the victim? I’m not sinning? So… no punishment? Relief. I felt relieved. But then guilty.

Wouldn’t he get punished? I don’t want that. He was the target… but he is nice. The wires were removed from my eyelids.

I opened my eyes. I saw him. The nice man. He was young. And… handsome, I think? I don’t remember the last time I used my eyes.

“Hello”

“How does it feel?”

He asked me this question. It feels good. It makes me happy. So I answered, “…good…I think…”

I was curious. I want to see more. What do I look like? I looked down. My eyes widened. Shock. Horror. Sadness. My body… I could see all of the remnants of punishment etched all over my body.

I felt tears. I couldn’t control myself. Punishment reflects your wrongdoings. Your mistakes. There were so many scars. I made mistakes. My body paid the price. I had been mutilated by my own sins.

“Hmm… why are you crying?”

His voice shook me from my thoughts. I watched as he traced his finger along the scars.

“You really are beautiful”

How? How can he say that? He was wrong. It wasn’t beautiful. But… His words were comforting. I liked them. But, I felt uncomfortable holding his gaze. I realised now, that I was without clothing. This sensation would be embarrassment. It’s new, and uncomfortable.

He continued to speak with me. As he did, doubts about Lun began to grow in my mind.

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He kept staring. We were travelling. Day after day, I felt his eyes on me. I felt embarrassed. He had seen my body. It was strange though; I didn’t really dislike it when he looked at me.

His owl was nice too. It would occasionally peck him, but their interaction was different and amusing to observe.

We eventually entered the city. There were new sights. Everything was a new sight. I’d been here before. It was much more fascinating to see everything. Before, the noise and great number of people were confusing. I was unable to feel comfortable with my sense so obstructed. Cyne sorted most things out. I simply kept looking around. I felt happy.

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What? Why is he coming here? I felt my heartrate rise. It was almost jumping out of my chest. Wait… He only booked one room. I couldn’t move. He got into the bed.

What does he intend to do? I felt panicked. He wrapped his arms around me. My body tensed in surprise. His fingers slowly traced over my scars. It was pleasant.

I was frightened. I liked it, but it was scary. My emotions confused me. I tried to free myself from his grip, but it strengthened in response.

I looked at his face. What was his intention? He was smiling. He always smiled. He looked really happy. Why? Was it because of me? That possibility made my heart race.

He was always touching me… So it would be fine to touch him… right? I hesitantly put my fingers to his lips. I was nervous, but he didn’t reject it. It made me happy.

I want to smile as well. I forced my facial muscles to pull up the corners of my lips. It hurt. The wires were digging into my flesh. They tightened all along my face. It hurt a lot. But I was smiling.

“Your smile is lovely”

That’s what he said. Four words. Only four words, but they made me feel so content. I didn’t want to stop smiling, even though it was painful.

I felt a bit embarrassed by his words. I didn’t want him to see my embarrassment. I pulled my head down and into his chest. I tried to get closer to him, pulling myself further into his embrace.

I don’t know why I was so worried. He’s a nice person after all.

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I like him. The teachings of Lun always said that it was wrong for his tools to desire worldly things. I don’t like that. Lun hasn’t punished me yet. So it’s okay to desire something.

It was night time. The slow, rhythmic breathing of Cyne’s, relaxed my body and mind, as I enjoyed the comfort of his arms. I looked at this sleeping face and began to trace my fingers over his lips again, pulling them up into a smile.

I desire him. He’s nice. I’ll stay with him until the day Lun punishes me, should it come to pass. Until then… He’s mine. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. I don’t want to let go. I like it here, in his embrace.

We'd only been in each other's company for little over a week, but I feel so close to him already. I want to get closer. I want more. More of him. He won't reject or punish me. I want him to embrace me with a stronger grip. I want to be as close as possible. I want him to embrace me in every way possible. If I can have him, he can have me.

I slowly drifted off to sleep in his arms, looking forward to the days to come.