Not for the first time in his life, Malachi felt like an animal put on display.

While Nettie circled him, inspecting the damage done, he felt color burn his face and kept his eyes downcast.

Arthur looks worse, he almost said, I don’t even know if he’ll wake up.

“It’s fine,” he said in regards to the pain, giving only a slight wince when he first felt the salve touch his skin. “It… was my own fault, some of it. Most of it.”