The well shaft. Tykiri remembered that day as if it had just passed. He had been searching for Karim for hours, long after the sun had gone down, bounding through the tall grasses, digging under the fence to search outside of the property's borders. He had been so terrified that his dear friend had been taken from him-- had been sold off for being too rambunctious, or had been stolen away by an envious master who wanted another pretty boy to warm his bed. He even fear that Karim had tried to run, and left him behind. But instead, he heard him crying at the bottom of the well-- he hadn't even though to look there since that was not a task that Karim was usually given. He had climbed down to check on his dear friend and carried him on his back himself. Karim had been hurt, but those were days that Kiri spent by his side, tending to his injured body and taking care of him in whatever way he could.<br/><br/>At the time, it had been his worst fear and his greatest joy-- that his dear friend had been hurt, but he was able to heal him. Now, Tykiri could see that it was happening again. He knew what kind of life Karim had been destined to lead. He heard the murmurs in the crowd as the inquiring slavers had inspected him, as if he was already theirs.<br/><br/>But never again. Karim was going to be safe here. Tykiri was going to take care of him.<br/><br/>He held Karim's hands, lacing their fingers together. Though his eyes were doing their best to focus on his features, his gaze drifted from one side of Karim's face to another, constantly searching, trying to make sense of his shape. He did not want to tell him, but it would be painfully obvious soon enough.<br/><br/>"I'm sorry," he said, rubbing his palm over the back of Karim's hand. "She was a broken woman, and he was cruel man. I'm afraid that I am not surprised to hear any of it. I just wish it had not been you that had to suffer for it." He gripped Karim's hand a little tighter. How many hours had he spent creating those callouses? How many years would it take to tame them back into his skin?<br/><br/>"Our past is just that now; the past. Our Master-- ... your father. He has been dead for years." The news came with a grim expression. "When I saw him taking his last breaths, I was devastated that you were not there. I'd thought... because of who you were..." Tykiri shook his head. "A terrible illness took him. There was nothing I could have done, even if I'd wanted to." And to be frank, he didn't. He sat by the man's bedside, listening him struggle for air in those final moments. He felt his fingers just barely grazing his knee as he reached out for him. Tykiri only sat by him, and once the choking had stopped, he pulled the sheet over his head and went to deliver the news.<br/><br/>Realization struck him, and his face colored. "I'm a doctor now," he said, suddenly abashed. "I have been for a few years. It's a very long story..."