On All Fours

Kino drops to all fours, locked tight in the stocks. Heavy wood pins his wrists and ankles. His ass exposed. An Li and Elise circle him like sharks. The cane cracks first. Red lines bloom across skin. An Li watches Kino's face twist, then swings harder because of it. The pain travels. One hits, the other feeds off the reaction, and the cycle spins faster. Whips slice. Canes land. Fingernails rake. Kino's back arches but the stocks keep him down. They keep going. Each strike lands sharper because the other is there to see it. No mercy asked. None given.