"N-No.."I'll c-come.."
Austin's pained whimpers haunt him as he walks away
(Big timeskippy to when they are teens-HAENAN MAKER｜Picrew)
(okokok-)
-Three years later-
Austin and Cyan were both teens now-but Austin was more or less completely unrecognizable from the kid he was. When Cyan had first entered his life, he had been so much...happier. More energetic. But he had also gotten more bold. He would fight the guards tooth and nail when they came to take Cyan for testing-or any other kid who he had befriended-although it happened with Cyan the most. And everytime, the guards would beat him down. And everytime, nothing would change-the kid would still get taken for testing. This made Austin a bigger target for the scientists too-they were curious to see why he had so much fight in him. He was constantly covered in bandages, constantly bloody...but after three years of this...he had just...given up. He didn't fight anymore, didn't even try. When the guards hit him, he stayed down. When the scientists took the others for testing, he stayed quiet. He barely talked anymore, keeping his head down-he was just...broken.