What was he going to do with Willow?

"You don't like me very much, do you?" Val said conversationally, reaching out to snag the bread. Willow flinched as if he expected the hand to strike him, which he probably did.

"My opinion of you doesn't matter," Willow retorted, giving him a look so flatly neutral it bordered on dislike. Val could read confusion in the depths of those red eyes. "I don't understand why you're treating me like it does. I'm not your equal."

"If you mean you're not youko, then I already knew that," Val told him, forking a tasty-looking mouthful of greens. "But if you mean that, as a person, you're not capable of being my equal - well, that's where you're wrong. I've never discriminated against humans." He sat back and waited for that to sink in. He'd deliberately misunderstood Willow to force him to think about a few things.

"No, it's because I'm a Key!" Willow exploded. "You really are a country-boy youko, aren't you? There's no way ideals like that could survive long in the city."

Val lifted a brow. Willow was too young to sound so bitter. "Don't you think life can be better than this?"

Willow glared at him. "Not for me." He pushed away his plate, the discussion obviously having destroyed his appetite. "That's for romantics and dreamers. Real life is pain, and then you die."

"What about love?" Val baited him. "I suppose you don't think that exists, either? But youko can't be born without love in the Bond."

"If youko are so sacred and loving, then little half-breed bastards like Kyo wouldn't be born, would they?" Willow snapped.

Val glared at him, heat kindling in his golden eyes. "Don't. Call him. That." He'd taken a liking to the cowed little half-youko with fiery hair. "It's not his fault he was born, and now he has to make the best of that. He'd be better off if he weren't in the Palace, though."

Willow stared silently at his abandoned plate, lips compressed.

"And so would you," Val added.

The boy's head snapped up, thin white braids spilling over his shoulders. His eyes were startled. Obviously the thought had never entered his head, that he might ever leave the Palace. "I'll never be able to leave the Palace," he growled. There was a trace of weary despair in his voice. "I'll die here some day, and that's the only way I'll be able to leave." One slim hand rubbed absently over his arm and the dark markings of the tattoo.

"Not if you had someone help you," Val said softly. He pushed aside his own plate. He could sense things building to a point where he would have to act.

Awareness of the young, slender body so close to his own was pushing against all of his senses. He didn't understand why now, why Willow, but Val had been tutored on what to do in this eventuality since he was a pre-pubescent kit.

"And why would you help me?" Willow growled. "Why should you give a shit? I'm just a Key, and you're just a hayseed youko passing through." His insults were getting bolder, since he'd obviously gauged it would take a lot more to get Val angry than his regular clientele.

Val shifted. He was starting to feel restless; anticipation was stirring and building up inside of him. He bared his teeth slightly. "Youko are very territorial," he informed the boy. "If I claim you, I'm taking you with me."

He fingered the knife on his tray. Would it be sharp enough? He was sure there were knives in the suite somewhere, for S&M purposes, but the thought of using something that had already tasted Willow's blood made him sick. He'd have to make do with this one.

Willow folded his arms, leaning back away from Val. His crimson eyes were mingled now with uncertainty and confusion, partially dropping the barrier of hard offense he maintained. "Why?" he muttered. He folded his birch-pale legs under him, writhing tattoos giving the impression of moving bark. "Why would you?"

Now.

Val surged up from his chair in a smooth graceful lunge, a hunting motion. He'd tumbled his brothers to the floor in much the same fashion, a long time ago. This time it wasn't play; it was serious. "Because you're the one. My Bondmate." He pinned Willow to the floor with his body, grasping slim wrists in one hand and holding them to the floor. Willow had shouted hoarsely, but with the purpose of this suite, no one would come running.

He settled his body firmly against Willow's, looking down into shocked crimson eyes.

"So you are like all the rest," Willow muttered, turning his face away.

"Not exactly," Val sighed, letting instincts come to the fore, licking Willow's cheek in a broad swipe. The boy tasted good, skin a trace of salt and musk and human and the scent of his recent meal lingering a little. Tasting Willow as he concentrated his senses only confirmed it.

Willow gasped, body tightening under his. "What?" He tried to jerk his hands free.

"I'm sorry about this," Val said apologetically, "but it has to be done, and once the unpleasantness is over I guarantee you'll feel very, very good."

"What are you talking about?" Willow growled, still trying to jerk his hands out of Val's grasp. He struggled underneath him and Val pressed down harder.

All that squirming was starting to arouse him, and it wasn't time for that yet.

Val didn't know how or why, he only knew it had to be Willow. "Hold still," he murmured, "this'll hurt less if you don't struggle." And held up the knife.

"What are you doing?" Willow demanded. There was no anger or revulsion in his voice, only wariness, and Val sensed even that was part of his *act.* He was saying what he was supposed to, repeating lines spoken before. He was putting up the resistance he thought was necessary to Val's enjoyment of the full purposes of this suite. But Val wasn't like his other customers, and he wasn't acting out some sado-masochistic fantasy. He wasn't enjoying this, and he only wanted to cut through the farce.

Val plied the knife against himself, drawing a bright line along his arm. Scarlet welled up, shocking color against his gold-cream skin.

"What are you *doing?*" Willow repeated, and this time there was a note of genuine alarm in his voice. His experience had never involved the Master hurting *himself.*

Val hitched himself into straddling position, taking a stronger grip on the boy's wrists with both hands. This meant he had to drop the knife, of course, but he could pick it up later. Willow's eyes flashed crimson betrayal at him, merging in his mind with the blood that had to be spilled; he gasped and fought the urge to kiss the narrow face. Instinct was overwhelming everything else. Willow was struggling in his grip, putting up the fight expected of him, but he had no idea what this was really for. Otherwise he might be fighting a whole lot more.

"I'm not enjoying this," Val gritted, "but it has to be done."

Willow went motionless with surprise. He looked guarded and suspicious. "What?" This was usually the part where the Master expressed extreme enjoyment.

Val took advantage of his lull to haul Willow to his feet, half-dragging, half-carrying the slight boy over to the bed. He resisted every step of the way and Val ended up making use of the chains on the bed. The blatant intended purpose of the room, reflected in its furnishings, had disgusted him. Still did. The place was crafted for S&M and he couldn't expect Willow not to act accordingly, expecting Val to have a taste for the same. Now as he fixed the chain around the writhing boy's wrists, he felt something hard and implacable that would make use of the furnishings. He was not having fun; Willow wouldn't enjoy it either, but it had to be done.

He went back for the knife, tired at the jaded wariness in Willow's eyes. If he could cut through that, if he could show him... Val only hoped he was making the right decision. He rejoined the boy on the bed and unchained his arms, curling up next to him. Now Willow was thrashing quite skillfully in his grip, trying to escape. Val still didn't sense any true emotion in this resistance - except shock, perhaps, that Val had turned to this after all - but aside from that, Willow was playing his role, trying to strike Val to make him angry and hit back. The narrow face changed, reflecting surprise that he hadn't been hit or cuffed, that Val continued to restrain him passively and evade his blows.

Val picked up the knife and sliced a corresponding mark on Willow's white, almost transparent skin, pallor emphasized by the bark-tattooed markings. The boy stared at the cut without emotion, then grimaced as the pain hit him.

He had gone still again, watching almost in a daze as Val pressed their bloodied arms together, lacing his fingers with Willow's limp ones, holding his free arm ready in case Willow turned on him again.

If there had been someone here to Witness, a father, a brother, they could have tied Val's arm to Willow's, securing the Bond and testifying later that the union had taken place. But there was no one here. Not even Kyo would have been able to tie them, since he wasn't allowed in the suite, so the scar would have to do in place of a Witness.

"What are you doing..." Willow repeated a third time, but the fight had gone out of his voice. His brow furrowed. "It stings. It *burns!* What did you DO!?" His voice turned sharp; he began to struggle again, clawing at Val like a wild animal.

Val grimaced too. "I'm sorry." He trapped Willow's free arm between their bodies; held the thin, lithe body close as Willow bit and convulsed to escape and shouted curses.

"You fucking youko! What did you DO to me?"

Willow shook like a reed; he keened at the pain eating into his arm and chasing up into his body. He didn't understand what was going on and Val had no leisure to explain. "It hurts! Stop it!" He struggled hysterically.

"I can't, it's too late for that."

Trapped, Willow contorted in his arms like a crazed, wounded animal. He was screaming like he was bound and determined to scream his voice gone, or maybe shout himself free. One of the advantages, Val thought, fighting grimly to maintain the embrace as the boy lashed out, of having stumbled onto a Key in possession of the S&M set. No one would come to investigate the source of the screams.

At last Willow went limp against him. His face was twisted as if he might cry, but couldn't. Val knew he wouldn't. "Bastard," he breathed, eyes filled with flame-colored anger. At last, a genuine emotion.

"My fathers were Bonded, actually," Val said mildly. "That insult doesn't apply to me." He wanted to stroke the tangled white braids back from the ice-pale face but knew Willow would hit him - or bite him - if he let go to do that. Then the struggle would begin all over again.

"Pervert, then," Willow rejoined, starting to struggle again, his efforts half-hearted. He whimpered as it stirred up fresh fire in his arm, and his eyes hardened. "What is this, youko magic?"

"Not yet," Val said. From the tingling pain that had traveled up his arm and suffused into his body, he judged the physical part was done with. Time for the next step. He opened his mind.

Willow's thought slammed into him with unexpected force, and he reeled, crimson-lashed blackness pulling him out of conscious awareness. They were twined too intimately to escape.

*"You're going to be a Key, boy."*

*Another voice joined the first. Darkness undulated around him, light from the door giving shape to two shadows, tall thick-bodied men. "Your slut of a mother would be proud."*

*"If she had any mind left for pride," the first voice corrected. "The disease barely left her body intact, let alone her mind."*

*"She tried to buy your passage out of here, boy."*

*"You don't have a name anymore, boy. You're a Key now."*

*The boy whimpered, pulling the coverlet tighter around his thin body. He was weak, so much weaker than before. He remembered fever dreams and a woman's frantic voice calling out and not much more. Under the covers, tucked under the pillow, was a small stuffed animal that someone had overlooked. He wasn't going to let anyone find it. It was from...was from...he didn't remember.*

*But it was important to him and, unlike his name, he would never let it go.*

*The first voice continued, "But you'll never leave here, boy. The Palace is your home now."*

*The second voice was smug. "You'll spend the rest of your life spreading your thighs to pay for the healer who was skilled enough to save your skinny carcass from the disease."*

*The disease? Was that why he couldn't remember?*

*"You're going to be a whore, just like your mother."*

*"More than a whore," the second voice purred. "A Key."*

*The boy shrank back from the shadows and tried to remember his name.*

*So that's how they did it.* Val curled his body tightly around the boy, who had stopped resisting. His mind was full of black shadows and blood and thorns that tried to push him away. Val turned aside the shadows and pulled up his best memories.

*Look. See. It can be better.*

*An exasperated, warm tenor washed over the two giggling dark-haired kits, smeared liberally with mud, tails matted and clothing torn and grubby. "Must you two bring the entire outdoors back with you after it rains?" Tsuyoshi Morgan leaned against his mop, glossy black ears flattening back as he glared at the muddy tracks leading into the recently cleaned kitchen. "I suppose I shouldn't even bother cleaning on a rainy afternoon."*

*"We were just playing, Outo," Valteria said innocently. "It's not my fault Valirion was klutzy enough to fall in the mud puddle."*

*"And I suppose it's not your fault he dragged you right after?" a deeper voice demanded, scooping up a shrieking kit under each arm. Ahrin Morgan hefted the twins up, carrying them easily through the kitchen, nudging the door open with his toe, and dumped them into the water barrel. They squalled.*

*"Thank you, love,"* Tsuyoshi's golden eyes sparkled with amusement. "If you hadn't, I would have. Keep them out there until they're clean - and then they can clean the kitchen, too."*

*The golden-haired human saluted his youko mate with a fingertip-kiss. "Just make sure the other pair isn't getting into trouble. It's been quiet upstairs too long, and Arashi and Kirin are the devious sort."*

*Tsuyoshi snorted, pushing back his endless fall of black hair. "Teach a youko to steal chickens, why don't you."*

*The twins popped sleek wet heads out of the water barrel, splashing the back porch. "Papa! Otou! When are you going to teach us to steal things?"*

*Ahrin threw his head back and laughed. "You two don't need any teaching."*

*Your life isn't real,* Willow argued in his mind, slicing at him with razor-sharp images of pain and degradation. Val almost flinched back but held firm - recoiling now would lose him the fight, and then they'd both be in serious trouble. He saw how the act of love had been twisted in Willow's world to equate with pain and suffering.

*That's where you're wrong,* Val told him, mind-tone gentle. *I can't lie to you here.*

A flinch. He knew it was true. *What are you doing to me?* Panic, and a hint of struggle.

*If you'll let me, I'm going to love you.*

Val wasn't sure how long they lay entangled. He came up from the jumbled images of darkness and light, stroking Willow's braided head. His arm was still tingling where they were pressed together, and there was pressure now from Willow's fingers. Not much, but it was a start.

The healing wasn't over - it was a *long* way from over - but it had started. Just the fact that he'd woken up meant they had Bonded successfully, and they could complete the healing process together. He'd gone so deeply into Willow's mind, but still hadn't found the boy's original name. It had been erased under the damage the fever had done to his mind, and the years of pain, the way the boy had been warped in forcing him to become a Key. He could pick his own name once they were free of this place.

Val grinned wolfishly. First, though, there was the final part of the Bonding to be completed. Blood mingled, minds merged...now, bodies joined.

Willow's breathing pattern had changed, even though the startling crimson eyes hadn't opened yet. He knew the boy was awake. Gently, he touched his face with one finger.

One eye slitted. "Why me?" Willow asked simply, almost a whisper.

"Because you're *mine,*" Val growled, with a ferocity that surprised them both. He dropped his hand to the boy's belly, rubbing in soothing circles, curling his arm around the boy's waist and hooking a leg over the slender leg beside his.

"Can life...is it really like that outside?" Willow's hostility was gone and only curiosity remained. "Is it really beautiful? It feels...the way it felt in your head?"

Val nodded and lowered his head. "Yes." He brushed his lips over Willow's. "I'll show you." He released the boy's hand and peeled their arms away. There was a wince from both of them as the blood that had congealed, sealing them together, was broken with a painful little jerk. Val eyed the marks. Not bad; they would heal nicely.

Fascinated, he bent his head to Willow's arm, licking at the fresh blood that had welled up. He could taste both of them. Gently, he cleansed the wound, then lifted his eyes to Willow's face. The boy didn't look disgusted; on the contrary, his scarlet eyes were fixed on the sight. His expression hardened and he looked away.

"I don't believe in love," Willow informed him, but the words held all the plaintiveness of the little boy Val had sensed inside his head.

"All right," Val murmured, hand questing between slim pale thighs, seeking the ready heat of the boy's cock. Willow flinched, going tense beside him. How many times had that simple motion been a prelude to unloving violence? He stroked the spill of braids, hand coaxing the penis he cupped. "But I know you believe in this, so I'll show you."

Willow's eyes were tightly closed and he looked like he was expecting a blow. He was. Val sucked in a breath. He *was.* Sex had never been anything more than violence to him - and once he sensed Val's arousal, he was sure the violence wasn't long after.

"Willow." He gripped the boy's shoulders; waited until a sliver of crimson peered at him. "I'm not going to hurt you." He eased away and undid the ankle chains that bound the boy, looking up at him. Willow was looking disoriented as the possibility for violence retreated.

The boy's gaze hardened and his mouth firmed. "What's the matter, aren't you man enough?" He struck a pose at once taunting and very, very seductive.

Val's ears flattened and he struggled not to growl. This was part of the act and he knew it, but he was aroused and it was hard not to ignore a challenge to his manhood. "You'll find out what kind of man I am."

Willow's expression shifted and he glimpsed fear before the expression turned sulky and challenging. Val could still smell it, though; he could feel the emotion thrumming through the new Bond and it made him sick.

"No," he spoke aloud, holding out his hands placatingly. "That's not what I meant, and you know it." He concentrated on projecting soothing feelings, wistful desire, instead of inflicting his lust on the boy. No wonder he was recoiling - Val was giving him the same scent, the same feeling rather, as any of his clients.

Slowly the sensation of panic subsided and Willow was looking at him merely with distrust. Val could smell the doubt on him and he gave Willow a winning smile, taking the boy's feet in his hands, nuzzling up one calf.

"What are you doing?" Willow jerked in his grasp but couldn't twitch free. Part of his mind registered that what the youko was doing felt really good, and he didn't *want* to get free.

"Come on," Val drawled, exploring the firm youthful muscle of those legs, an ankle in each hand, "if you don't know the answer to that, you're wasting time for us both."

Willow collapsed back onto the coverlet with a quiet groan. "It feels good..."

Val grinned at his victory and licked a path up Willow's inner thigh.

"I can still feel you in my head," Willow tried to lift himself up. "I can still - is that supposed to..."

Val silenced him by crawling up to the juncture of the boy's thighs, letting go long enough to paw aside the loincloth and take him into his mouth. Willow lapsed back with a cry, hips easing up in appreciation of the lips fastened on him so greedily. However many lovers he'd had in the past, none of them had been youko, Val thought to himself smugly. His mouth moved in long strokes over the stiffening organ, pulling back to tickle the tip with his lips, plunging down the length again rapidly as he listened to Willow cry out again above him. Willow fit perfectly into his mouth, the head of his cock sliding partially down Val's throat, but he wasn't big enough that he gave Val any trouble.

Willow's pleasure was singing through him. It was blended with surprise and confusion, and over it all, the part that had linked with Val was groping towards him, forming the first tentative reciprocal link born of pure sensation.

Val worked faster as he sensed Willow approaching the edge. He wanted this first time for Willow to be entirely his, without coloring the encounter with Val's needs. The boy groaned, hips thrashing under him, forcing his cock deep into Val's throat before the youko threw his arms over pale tattooed thighs. Choking was not fun.

With a shudder, the boy was coming, spilling a flood of his taste onto Val's tongue. *Beautiful.* He took it all, delighted that he could take his Bonded inside him like this. Val licked the softening cock clean, rolling the thought around in his mind like the flesh beneath his tongue. *Bonded. I've finally bonded, the way Father and Otou bonded.* Willow wasn't the person he'd have expected by any stretch, but that was the point. The Bond brought together people who were perfect for each other, not necessarily people who fell in love at first sight.

He lay comfortably on top of Willow, letting the boy recover his breath and wits. The sense of wonder was still filtering from Willow to Val, diffusing between them easy as sunlight.

"Was that okay?" Val finally asked, rubbing a cheek against one prominent hipbone. His tail was mantling up and he wanted to mark Willow with his scent. He forced the urge down. Not quite yet.

Willow shuddered. "I've never..." His voice cracked and he tried again. "I didn't know it could feel like that."

"It gets even better," Val purred. He turned his attention back to the cock between Willow's thighs; it was still half-hard, reflecting Val's state of desire as well as the resiliency of youth. Gods, Val remembered being that age. He rubbed it and watched it grow under his hand. He looked up and found Willow's intense eyes on him.

"What about you?" Willow asked.

Val rubbed him again, enjoying the way Willow's pupils dilated; his cheeks flushed and he swallowed convulsively. "What will you let me have?"

Willow stared at him. "No one's ever asked me that before."

"Get used to it." Val bent and traced his tongue around the dip of his navel; Willow shuddered again. He was so sensitive to the smallest of caresses; probably because he'd never been given anything resembling a true caress before.

"You can have anything." Willow's voice came out small and strangled.

Val paused and looked down at the closed eyes. "Are you sure?" Eyes still closed, Willow nodded. Val hunched himself up and eased his own clothing out of the way. Willow's breathing was light and rapid. He took a hold of one slender hand and pressed it to his aching sex; Willow's fingers closed around it and moved. He no longer sensed any fear in the Bond between them. Willow was filled with curiosity and a desire to feel the way Val's mouth had felt on him again. There were only small, lingering shadows of previous masters.

"Well, then," Val said, voice coming out throaty, "I want you like this." He slipped his hands under Willow's butt, lifting him up onto his thighs. The boy's eyes flew open but the hand kept moving on him, thumb smearing pre-ejaculate over the head of his cock.

"You've got a lot..." Willow's voice was unsteady. He closed his eyes again and swallowed hard, trying to relax onto the coverlet.

Val looked down at himself, at the place where Willow's hand kept working over him. The hand was practically drenched with pre-cum, as if he'd already had his climax even though Val knew *that* hadn't even started yet. "Oh," he nodded, "it's because I'm youko." Centuries of evolution - helped along by a few appeals to their God - with the male youko vastly outnumbering the females had allowed them to reproduce with other males, including humans. This was a side effect that made penetration easier.

Willow was breathing faster. "Are you going to fuck me?"

Val felt like correcting him but what they were doing was more primal than love. "Yes." He reached behind him, probing beneath his tail for the sensitive glands that were already producing scent along with his arousal. He brought back drenched fingers and ran them over Willow's lips.

Scarlet eyes stared up at him and the boy gasped, hitching up in his lap, legs sprawled to either side of him. "What-" Val pushed his fingers in and Willow sucked on them, surprise melting into pleasure. "Mm..." He tried to push his hips up again, legs drawing Val in.

Val couldn't wait much longer; he was throbbing to the bursting point. He covered his fingers with scent again, using the sticky fluid this time to probe at Willow's closed little pucker. The boy groaned and two fingers slid in with relative ease.

"Please. Please fuck me." Willow twisted under him, his own voice surprised. Val could sense that he'd never begged for it before, not unless he was forced to beg for it. This time, it was something he wanted.

Unable to resist, he drew Willow closer up his thighs, guiding his aching cock to the tight hole that would take him in and seal the Bond. Willow arched into the touch then relaxed, his red eyes fixed on Val. He watched, biting down on his lip as Val pushed into him, slow and careful. His eyes grew wider.

"It doesn't hurt," Willow whispered, then his eyes slid closed as Val buried himself all the way, still moving slowly. "Oh, gods it doesn't hurt...it feels good..." His legs flexed around Val, locking him close.

Val bent down and kissed his tight little nipples, licking them, rolling his hips in tight little pulses that sent fluttering shocks up both their spines. Willow's legs tightened, encouraging him. Val took that as permission and pulled out partially, making them both groan as he thrust back in.

"More," Willow demanded, legs flexing rhythmically. He lifted himself up into the rocking motion of Val's hips, braids tumbling around him in lovely disarray. He had adapted quickly to this pleasure and was taking all he could. Willow laughed a peculiar laugh. "You're not going to hurt me!" He heaved himself up against Val's penetrating sex.

True, Val's thrusts were hardly going to hurt after the pain the boy had received...Willow was telling him not to treat him like glass. He groaned and braced himself over the boy, giving himself leverage to lift the boy's ass higher on his thighs and pound into him.

"Oh, gods..." Willow's fingers clutched at his shoulders, tearing at him with scratches he barely felt. He keened at the pleasure, lifting up to receive every slamming thrust. "Val!"

*That's the first time...* Val was dazed. *He called me by name.* He bent and kissed the boy's open mouth, nearly coming right then at the frantic response, a tongue pushing against his with equal urgency. He could taste his own scent on the boy's mouth and it aroused him further, possessive lust making him shove even harder into the welcoming pliancy. Willow was sobbing now but he could feel only intense pleasure surging back and forth between their link.

"Val! VAL!" Wet warmth erupted between their bodies, clamping the tight little ring in beautiful constriction around Val's hard invading sex, making him shudder and spill himself as his lips perused the mouth below him.

"Gods," Val groaned, still moving in shuddering thrusts, the snug ring of muscle milking pure intensity from him. He collapsed on his Bonded, hips spasming a few times before they lay still. He kissed Willow and got a mouthful of white braids.

A hard fist dented his arm. "Get off," the muffled voice reached his ears. "You're too fucking heavy to sleep on me."

Val sighed and rolled to the side, bringing the boy with him. Obviously it was going to be quite some time before romance entered the relationship. The thought was muzzy and soon lost in sleep.

*I hate him,* Willow thought, eyes sealed shut, too tired to roll away from the damned youko still entangled with him. *I hate him.* His face was pressed against the youko's musky side. His name was Val. He wasn't 'the Master' anymore. It had been the most amazing thing. He had moved within Val; had felt the innermost chambers of his mind, had entered him mind and body and felt the most intense pleasure his short life had borne. That was why he hated Val.

He wasn't just 'the Master' anymore, and that was the problem. That had changed the minute their minds had become so intimately entangled; more so than the way their bodies overlapped now. He hated it because Val meant this much to him, he was more than a Master, and Willow could never have *this* again. Not past the allotted month.

"You bastard," he whispered, with as much venom as he could muster. Didn't he have any idea of what he'd done? Ruined him! He couldn't be anything but a Key, and now all he wanted was more.

Val murmured something incoherent and shifted against him. There was a little smile on his perfect face as he turned over and nuzzled at Willow's braided head. Willow wanted to hit him. Hard.

He spared a few more moments for quiet hopelessness before sleep claimed him, too.