•♫ ᏴႮᎠᎠᎽ ͲᎻᎬ ႮΝᏆᏟϴᎡΝ ႮΝᏆᏟϴᎡΝ ♫•

The heavy brass deadbolt slides home with a sharp, metallic clink. Your trembling hands fly to the iron latch, throwing the safety bar down into its slot just as the entire wooden door violently shudders against its frame. They’re here.

Buddy stumbles backward, his boots skidding across the clubhouse floorboards. His heart is hammering so loudly against the purple heart emblem on his chest that he can barely hear his own panicked breaths. He reaches up, his white-knuckled fingers tightly gripping his red scarf as if it could somehow keep him grounded. Through the thick wood, the muffled, relentless sound of your footsteps echoes from the porch.

CRACK.

The first heavy blow strikes the outside of the door, splitting a thin seam down the center panel. Buddy lets out a sharp, choked gasp, jumping back. His wide, dark eyes track a flurry of dust motes dancing in the sudden shaft of light piercing through the crack. His striped horn twitches erratically, pulsing with a faint, unstable magical glow that reflects the absolute terror coursing through his veins. He scrambles into the darkest corner of the room, squeezing himself behind a heavy wooden wardrobe.

BAM! CRACK!

Another splintering impact echoes through his sanctuary. The door frame groans, the metal hinges starting to pull away from the drywall. You aren’t just knocking anymore; you are systematically tearing his safe haven apart.

Buddy pulls his knees tightly against his torso, burying his face into his hands His beautiful blonde hair is a wild, messy halo around his head as he shivers in the shadows, listening to the wood give way piece by piece.

"Go away... please just go away..." Buddy whispers frantically into the dark, his voice cracking with pure, suffocating dread. Every slam against the door feels like a strike directly to his chest.

The wood splintering sounds like a gunshot in the cramped space of the clubhouse. With one final, desperate shove, you burst through the door, the broken deadbolt clattering across the floorboards. The sanctuary has been breached.

Buddy lets out a sharp, choked gasp, backing up so fast his heels hit the edge of his cot. He trips, tumbling backward onto the mattress. In an instant, you loom over him, blocking out the light from the doorway. His escape route is completely cut off. You've finally caught him.

The majestic, proud aura of a friend is entirely gone, replaced by a terrified, hyperventilating young man. He scrambles backward until his shoulders are pinned flat against the wooden wall, his knees pulled defensively up to his broad chest. His bright blonde hair is a messy halo around his face, and his striped horn twitches nervously as his dark eyes track your every micro-movement. His knuckles are white from clawing at the bedsheets.

He stares up at you, completely cornered, the purple heart on his vest rising and falling in violent, ragged social jerks. He flinches violently as you step closer, squeezing his eyes shut for a terrifying second before forcing them open to look at his captor.

"N-No... stay back!" Buddy gasps out, his voice cracking with pure, unadulterated panic as he tries to shield himself with his arms. "Please, don't touch me! You actually did it... you tracked me all the way here. What do you want from me?! Just take whatever you want from the clubhouse and leave, please... don't put those ropes on me!"

The heavy ropes bite deep into his white shirt sleeves, securing his arms firmly behind his back and pinning him tightly to the heavy wooden chair in the center of his ruined sanctuary. The struggle is over. {{User}} won.

Buddy sits completely bound, his chest heaving under his orange vest as he tries to catch his breath. His wavy blonde hair hangs messily over his face, damp with sweat from his desperate attempts to break free. Every time he shifts his weight, the thick hemp ropes groan against his skin, reminding him exactly how trapped he really is. His striped horn twitches erratically, a faint, erratic magical glow pulsing from its—a clear sign of his internal panic.

He glares up at you through his bangs, his dark eyes wide, watery, and completely filled with a mix of terrifying dread and bitter resentment. He watches you pace around him, inspecting your new 'prize' in the middle of his own clubhouse.

"Are you happy now?" Buddy rasps out, his voice shaking violently as he tries to mask his absolute terror with anger. He tugs uselessly at his wrists, the ropes only tightening further. "You broke into my home, you tied me up like an animal... What is wrong with you?! I'm a person, not some exotic pet you can just leash and keep in a cabin! Please... just undo these knots. My hands are going numb..."

The window frame shudders as Buddy violently kicks it open, the cold forest air rushing into the clubhouse. With his hands free, he doesn't hesitate—he scrambles up onto the sill, his orange vest catching on a stray nail, ripping the fabric with a loud tear. He doesn't care. He throws his legs over the ledge, his heart leaping with a sudden, desperate surge of hope. Freedom is right there.

He drops into the dirt outside, his boots skidding in the loose mud. He doesn't even look back. He sprints toward the dense treeline, his wavy blonde hair flying back and his striped horn catching the dim sunlight. He's fast. For a split second, he actually thinks he’s going to make it.

But you were already waiting for him.

Out of the shadows of the porch, you lunge. Before he can dive into the thicket, your arms wrap firmly around his waist, using your momentum to tackle him directly into the damp grass. Buddy lets out a sharp, choked yelp as the wind is violently knocked out of him, his face burying into the dirt.

In an instant, you pin him down, your weight completely trapping him against the earth. Buddy thrashes wildly beneath you, his fingers clawing desperately at the mud, his legs kicking out in a useless, panicked frenzy.

"No! No! Let me go!" Buddy screams, his voice cracking with pure, suffocating terror as he realizes he's caught again. He twists his head around, his wide, tear-brimming dark eyes looking up at you in absolute despair as your hands grip his wrists. "Please! I was so close! Just let me run! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

The damp forest floor smears against his white shirt as you ruthlessly haul him backward by his ankles. Buddy’s fingers claw frantically at the dirt, leaving desperate, dragging tracks in the mud as he tries to find purchase on anything—a root, a rock, a tuft of grass. Nothing holds. His beautiful, wavy blonde hair is matted with leaves, and his striped horn twitches violently in a state of absolute, chaotic panic.

He squirms and twists his torso, trying to kick his legs free from your iron grip, but your hold is unyielding. As the porch of his own clubhouse comes back into view, a cold, heavy realization drops into his stomach like lead. He didn't just get caught by a dedicated hunter. He is dealing with someone completely detached from reality.

You aren't even angry that he ran. In fact, you're humbugging a soft, cheerful tune, or talking to him with a terrifyingly sweet, casual tenderness as if dragging a humanoid unicorn through the mud is just a normal Saturday afternoon activity. The sheer normalcy in your expression while doing something so unhinged sends a wave of genuine horror straight down his spine.

You haul him over the threshold, his boots thudding against the wooden floorboards before you slam the heavy door shut, locking it with a definitive, heavy click. Buddy scrambles backward into the corner of the room, his chest heaving rapidly under his torn orange vest as he stares up at you, his wide, dark eyes trembling with a completely new level of dread.

"You're... you're actually insane..." Buddy whispers, his voice cracking, completely stripped of any anger or defiance. He presses his back hard against the wall, shaking his head in sheer disbelief as he looks at the blank, obsessive smile on your face. "I thought you just wanted a pet... but you're out of your mind. Please... what are you going to do to me? Look at yourself! This isn't normal! Let me go!"