And now begins Day 2 of posting this thing on ! Let me know what you think!

"We come into this world unknown
But know that we are not alone
They try and knock us down
But change is coming, it's our time now

Hey… everybody loses it,
Everybody wants to throw it all away sometimes
And hey… yeah I know what you're going through
Don't let it get the best of you, you'll make it out alive."
(People Like Us- Kelly Clarkson)

Honestly, after the exciting adventure of having a cold induced cold and her companion awkwardly caring for her, Maia had expected captivity to return to the same pattern as the first five days. It hadn't. She had tried one night to sleep back on the floor, but her companion had been firmly against that, depositing her on the cot again. That hadn't lasted very long either, as she'd shivered once and earned a speculative scowl from him.

She gave him a small smile, "Would you mind?"

His only response was to join her.

Maia sighed, and let herself relax. He threw off warmth like nothing she'd ever known before, and she was already more than a little addicted to sharing in that warmth as she slept.

A few days later, for the first time since she'd arrived, Maia woke up before he did. She took a second to look at his face, to really look for the first time. He had strong features that matched the rest of him, coupled with rather un-masculine eyelashes that were currently hiding his forest green eyes from her, and she found herself missing the dark woodsy color she'd become so used to looking at. His lips looked like they'd been carved out of marble, as did his nose, which looked as if he'd broken it at some point and it hadn't quite healed properly.

Of course she only knew that because of a friend from ninth grade summer camp who had been obsessed with Owen Wilson's face. She's learned a lot that summer that she probably shouldn't have known for a while longer, enough to make using the toilet anywhere near a man mortifying.

It had been over two weeks, and Maia still dreaded every time she had to use the restroom. The first time, however, had been the worst. She'd woken up the second day feeling like her bladder was going to burst, and had been forced to spend several minutes evaluating the reality of exposing herself like that to a mostly deranges claw wielding man or just peeing herself and her sweatpants, and living through the smell.

She'd decided to do the braver of the two options, mostly out of fear of him having to smell her for however long it took to get cleaned up. She'd already figured out that his senses were heightened, and even she was aware that the smell of urine was not one that needed to be experienced in even greater detail. Later that day she'd had to take care of her other business, and that had been even worse. Right after she'd flushed the stainless steel demon though, he had gone right over and, as her brothers would have described, peed like a race horse. After that, well…she couldn't find it in her to be bashful about bodily functions. They respectfully turned away, but she didn't make a big deal about it, especially after he'd held her against his body when she'd been sick.

That had been a miserable few days, but she'd be a fool to not have seriously appreciated his warmth and firm body. Maia regretfully eased out of his grip, glancing up at the camera that watched their every move. She bent over and touched her toes, grimacing as her spine cracked. Despite being able to cuddle up next to her cell mate, they were still sleeping on a cot. She was honestly surprised that it was holding up beneath the weight of both of them.

Maia began her daily ritual of staring at the door until food was slid through the slot. She'd tried once to shove her hand in the slot, but Wild Man had pulled her back just before a gunshot that could have taken her hand off. She hadn't needed to read his mind to know he was pissed at her. He had to think she was an idiot at this point. He'd saved her from losing life and limb several times already, most dramatically being when she'd run at the door on the second day and had gotten close enough to feel the electricity she hadn't noticed before he jerked her away.

Two weeks, and she was beyond stir crazy. Half of her wanted to open her mind to his again just for entertainment, but she wasn't a masochist enough to subject herself to another raging headache. A snarl from behind her sent a shiver down spine. As a rule, he was eerily quiet for such a big man, unless he was growling at her for being an idiot, so the snarl was terrifying.

She turned around slowly, "You okay?"

He was still asleep, but his face was contorted in what seemed to be agony. He gasped several times, and Maia put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, hey, wake up." He bolted upright, causing her to stagger back, "Wild man?"

He didn't respond to her nickname, he just stared through her with bloodshot eyes, and he roared at her, claws extending with a snick.

Maia had nowhere to go. Her options were him or the electrified door behind her. He approached faster than she could move anyway, so she just crossed her arms in front of her, closed her eyes, and used her last breath to yell, "No!"

She expected searing pain, and it came, but it wasn't in her body like she'd been prepared for. Her arm felt like it was on fire, and when she opened her eyes, she was stunned to find him frozen before her, the claws on his right hand having just slid against her skin. He was blinking at her slowly, like he wasn't quite awake.

Maia let the barriers in her mind fall. She couldn't afford to keep them up anymore. Ignoring the blood oozing down her arm, she reached out to him, hoping to stir him. His first coherent thoughts were about the blood dripping from her arm onto the floor. She touched her fingertips to his face, "Hey, hey, look at me. It's just a scratch. I'm okay." His eyes drug from her blood to her face, and she read his guilt both in his mind and his face. She also now knew why he'd attached her: He'd been having a nightmare. Maia cupped his face in her hands. "It was just a dream, Wild Man, a bad dream. It's just me. No one here is hurting you."

It took a few seconds for him to realize the truth in her words to sink in through his confusion, but he was finally able to focus on her scent, fixating on the warmth in it. Maia smiled at him, "There you go." She slid her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She couldn't protect him from anything, not really, but she could make him feel at least a little safe, give him a little comfort. She'd been accidentally hurt by her younger cousin when she was twelve, and had forced herself through the pain to comfort the poor kid. It was almost one of her specialities, and the reason that she was the favorite female cousin compared to her ice-queen sister, Sarah.

He nuzzled his face into the side of her neck like a dog would, but the sensations it brought didn't make her laugh like being nuzzled by a grown man should have. She certainly wasn't laughing when one phrase came to the forefront of his mind much more coherently than before.

'I hurt her.'