no subject

[It was the loss of his beard that got to him, in the end. The paralyzing, the broken fingers, the skin of his hands being sewn together - that was all awful, unimaginable pain, and the worst of it had him screaming uncontrollably, lashing out with each remaining limb until all of them were, one by one, rendered unusable. But seeing his shorn hair fall to the ground in wisps, landing in a neat little pile on the floor as it was cut away from him - that was what broke him. He stared down at it, vision blurred, tears falling down newly-bare cheeks.

Now, what little fight he has left in him is tucked away, being kept safe for when (if) he ends up really needing it. When Royce says his name, he barely responds - just twitches his hand a little, fingers brushing his raw and razor-burned chin.]