Notes: This is AU. Yep. I read DK 9 and this begged to be written, so here you go. If you don't want spoilers for book 9, look away now. Also, I have no idea if a demon (even an outcast demon) would have a Darnas (riding dragon. Hope I got the name right!) or not, but meh. I don't care.  Also, I KNOW you spell his name Laamgarnas, but I liked 'Lamgarnas' better. That a problem? Plus, I've seen pictures of Gil with red, blue and purple hair. I'm going with red; it just seems to suit him better. I'm trying to make his as much like a cat as I can. As for Lamgarnas, I'm just guessing at his colours, hair and eyes. Okie? Oh, and the 'way of getting Gil to swallow painkillers' idea was shamelessly leeched from a sweet little Yu-Gi-Oh doujinshi I have. I loved that idea, so I thought I'd use it. Do they even have pills in Dragon Knights? They probably use herbs, but that wouldn't have been nearly so amusing. *Smirk* 

More than an Animal.
By Koneko Shido

"Gil, is that your name? It's what they were calling you." The handsome young man asked, looking down with a soft smile at the terrified, naked creature before him. Gil scrambled back a little, his tanned skin criss-crossed with bloody scratches and bite marks, dripping blood onto the bare floorboards. 
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. My name is Lamgarnas." The outcast demon said gently, holding out a hand towards Gil. He knew what had been done to the younger man; he'd heard the other demons talking of their new 'plaything'. Gil's body remained unchanged, but thanks to Shyrendora's spell his mind had become that of an animal. Fedelta's demons had used him like their own little slave, only there for their sick amusement. They beat him, raped him, taunted and tortured him... The moment Lamgarnas had learnt of Gil's existence he'd rushed to find him, having to fight off three of Fedelta's pathetic minions who had been amusing themselves holding Gil down and drawing bloody furrows down his back with their sharp claws. 
He had to try and sound soothing, he had to try and get Gil to trust him enough to leave with him before Fedelta returned.
"Please, don't be afraid," Lamgarnas whispered, kneeling before the trembling young man, who gave a startled growl and pressed himself back against the wall, his amber cat's eyes widened in fear and pain.
Gil stared at the man who had saved him from those others, the ones who had been hurting him. He looked into Lamgarnas' gentle blue eyes, trying to figure out if he could trust the man. He hurt so much, all over, and all he wanted was for someone to make the pain go away. 
"I won't hurt you. You can trust me." 
At those soft words everything rushed in on Gil and he leapt into Lamgarnas' arms, his eyes filling with tears as he sobbed brokenly.
"H-hurts..." He whimpered. Lamgarnas was pleased that Gil at least understood some of what he'd been saying, and was even able, it seemed, to say a word or two to convey what he felt. That was good, since with Shyrendora's spell making him mentally little more than an animal he was a creature of feeling now, not thought. 
"I know," Lamgarnas soothed gently, wrapping a soft, grey blanket from the bed in the corner around Gil. "I can make it stop hurting if you come with me. The ones I chased away will bring Fedelta..."
Gil visibly cringed at the name of the fire demon, whimpering softly in his saviour's arms.
"Away..." The tanned demon murmured into Lamgarnas' shirt, clinging to him tighter when the outcast demon lifted him up in strong arms and stood, walking slowly towards the door.
"It's alright, I'll take care of you now." Lamgarnas told the trembling cat demon, holding him close to his chest as he walked, treading carefully so as not to startle the frightened creature. 
Gil kept his eyes squeezed closed tightly, burying his face in Lamgarnas' chest and listening to the strong heartbeat within, breathing in the scent of the man who had saved him.
"Here, now hold on to me, Gil." Lamgarnas instructed in a gentle voice as he reached his darnas and carefully climbed up onto its back, feeling Gil's claws digging into his shoulders in fear. 
Gil growled low in his throat, not trusting the riding dragon, but he soon forgot his fear when Lamgarnas, who was seated behind him, pulled him gently back into his arms and held him, all wrapped up in a blanket.
Lamgarnas used one hand to hold the reins while the other stroked through Gil's red hair gently to soothe him, making him lean back with his eyes half closed and purr quietly. 
"Do you like that?" Lamgarnas smiled, and Gil's eyes slid closed all the way, an affirmative murmur leaving his lips. "I'll take you home where I can get you some food and clothes, and treat your wounds. No one will find you with me." Lamgarnas said. Gil didn't understand much of what he said, but the cat demon softly repeated the word 'home' and nuzzled the outcast demon's shoulder, wanting to have his hair stroked again because it felt nice. 
"More?" He asked in a sleepy voice.
"All right," Lamgarnas laughed, running his fingers through Gil's unruly hair again. By way of thanks Gil turned a little to lick his saviour's cheek with a hot pink tongue, then he curled up against Lamgarnas and shut his eyes, feeling secure enough to sleep.

* * *

When Gil awoke and found himself alone in an unfamiliar place, his first instinct was to panic, leaping up from the bed he'd been laid on and looking around frantically for an escape route. The door was open, so he warily padded out into the main living area of Lamgarnas' home, his heart pounding in his chest, expecting Fedelta or one of his demons to appear before him at any moment. 
"Gil, are you alright?" Came a soft voice from nearby, and Gil gasped sharply, whirling to face the owner of the voice and backing up against the wall.  He growled in fear as the person came closer, saying something that he didn't understand. Cornered, Gil whimpered and slid down to the floor, hiding his face in his hands and hoping that the person would leave him alone.
Lamgarnas knelt next to Gil and touched his shoulder gently, surprised when Gil gave a broken growl and swiped at him with sharp claws, tears filling his one visible eye.
"No!" Gil sobbed, hiding his face again and shuddering. Lamgarnas raised a hand to his face, tracing the light scratches Gil had just dealt him and wincing a little.
"Gil, it's me, Lamgarnas. I won't hurt you, don't be afraid." The outcast demon said in a soothing voice. "I took you away from Fedelta, remember?"
Gil looked up sharply, his heart racing.
"Please, come with me and let me get you something to eat. I've cleaned your wounds but I still need to bandage a few of them." Lamgarnas murmured softly, holding out a hand.
That gesture triggered his memories and Gil calmed a little, realizing that he wasn't in any danger for the time being. He looked up at Lamgarnas, taking the hand offered to him, and allowed himself to be gently drawn into a comforting embrace.
"Sorry." Gil mumbled quietly, reaching up to run his fingers lightly across the scratches he'd given the older demon. 
"It's fine, don't worry, it doesn't hurt. I'm sorry for leaving you alone." Lamgarnas smiled, stilling as Gil leant up and licked along the length of each scratch, holding on to the front of the outcast demon's shirt.
"Hurt?" Gil whispered, looking up into Lamgarnas' eyes with a worried expression, biting his lip with a fang.
"No," Lamgarnas smiled gently. "Do you hurt anywhere?" He asked, having only briefly cleaned the most obvious of Gil's wounds. 
"Yes." Gil nodded in understanding. "On..." He wrinkled his nose as he tried to think of the word, frowning as it escaped him. "On here." He pointed to one of his long, tanned legs and Lamgarnas gave it a closer inspection, noting the bruising up his thigh and the scratches and deeper cuts on his calf leading down to a ring of bruises around his ankle, matching the other one.
"Tied here." Gil gestured to his ankles, looking up at Lamgarnas to see if the outcast demon understood what he was trying to say.
"This is where they put chains on you? To keep you tied up?" 
Gil nodded.
"Them. Those... bad ones?" He frowned again.
"You mean Fedelta?" Lamgarnas asked, and Gil winced but nodded.
"Him. And others. Put chains here, so I not move far." Gil shook his head to emphasize his point. "Could not break them. Very bad. Hurts here most." He gestured again to his ankles and his injured leg.
"Will you let me bandage it? I can give you something to stop it hurting, if you like." Lamgarnas offered, though he had no idea as to how he would get Gil to swallow any kind of painkillers.
"Stop hurting." Gil agreed, letting Lamgarnas help him up and limping a little as he followed the outcast demon back into the bedroom he'd first awoken in. Lamgarnas sat him down on the bed and looked into his eyes, standing over him.
"Wait here for me, alright? I'm just going to get the bandages and the painkillers. I'll be right back, I promise." He explained.
Gil looked a little uncertain, but bit his lip again and looked down at his feet.
"Promise?" He asked in a quiet little voice. Lamgarnas smiled and touched his cheek gently, bringing his amber eyes back up.
"I promise." The outcast demon nodded, then slowly left the small bedroom, pausing at the door to take a glance back at Gil. The cat demon was looking around the room, taking in everything curiously.

* * *

A few minutes later Lamgarnas came back with everything he needed to treat Gil's wounds. The cat demon was now sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, staring fixedly at one of the soft, white pillows as though it might move so that he could pounce on it and rip it to shreds. Lamgarnas smiled, thinking that, if Gil had a tail, it would be twitching back and forth in irritation about then. Sensing Lamgarnas' presence in the room, Gil turned to face him and stuck a leg out, looking questioningly at all the things the outcast demon was carrying.
"I think, before anything else, that you should perhaps put on some clothes?" Lamgarnas laughed, passing Gil a long, white shirt and white shorts to match. "Here, these are for you." 
Gil blinked at the clothes and turned them over warily; trying to assess the level of threat they posed. Finding them to be relatively safe, he struggled his way into them, figuring out for himself which item went where and which limb went through which hole in the soft fabric. When he was fully clothed, he looked expectantly to Lamgarnas, who was sorting through the things he'd fetched from the other room.
"Looks good," Lamgarnas smiled, picking up a single, red and white capsule and sitting on the bed beside Gil, who looked innocently up at him. The white clothes he was now wearing contrasted against his skin, highlighting how beautifully chocolate-coloured the cat demon was, apart from his wild, orange-red hair and his jewel-like yellow eye, the other hidden. "Ok. Now this is a pill, and if you swallow it, it will help to stop your cuts and bruises from hurting. Can you do that for me, Gil?" Lamgarnas asked, holding out his hand with the pill for Gil to see. Gil took one look at it and shied away, shaking his head and looking upset.
"Bad." He said in a muffled voice, biting his lip again uncertainly.
"No, this is good, Gil, it'll help you. Please take it? It won't hurt, I promise."
"Not good," Gil whimpered, looking pleadingly up at his saviour. 
"Good." Lamgarnas said firmly, nodding his head. Gil didn't seem to believe him, though, because the cat demon turned away and buried his face in the pillow he'd been glaring at earlier, clutching it tightly, his shoulders tensed up.
"No, no no no! Bad thing!" He insisted into the pillow, growling out his words.
"Please, Gil..." Lamgarnas began, sighing as Gil gave up on talking and gave a long, low growl, clutching the pillow tighter, then hissed when Lamgarnas touched his shoulder gently.
"Well, I suppose there has to be some other way to get you to take it..." The outcast demon murmured to himself. After a few moments of watching Gil cowering into his pillow, Lamgarnas finally had an idea and smiled, feeling a little guilty for what he was about to do, but figuring that the ends justified the means, in this case. Popping the pill into his own mouth, Lamgarnas touched Gil's shoulder gently again and looked down into his eyes, showing his hands minus the pill to persuade Gil to release the pillow and sit back up again. Gil did so, and the outcast demon stroked a gentle touch down his cheek, looking down at the shorter demon with half-lidded eyes.
"Can I have a kiss then?" Lamgarnas asked softly, feeling incredibly guilty.
"Kiss... me?" Gil looked surprised, gesturing to himself and looking questioningly up at the outcast demon.
"Yes." Lamgarnas nodded. Gil looked down a little, then back up and nodded uncertainly, closing his eyes and sitting very still.
Lamgarnas leant forward, hoping that the pill wouldn't dissolve before he could give it to Gil. He gently brushed his lips to the cat demon's, bringing a hand up to bury in Gil's fiery hair, then ran his tongue along the outline of Gil's closed lips, encouraging him to open them. Gil obediently parted his lips, his hands moving up to cling to Lamgarnas' shirt, not noticing when the pill was slipped into his mouth. He swallowed without thinking and Lamgarnas smiled into the kiss, glad that the younger demon hadn't spat it out or been frightened by it. 
Now that the medicine had been taken, willingly or not, Lamgarnas decided that he really ought to break off the kiss since he'd fulfilled his objective. But... Gil's lips were so soft, and he could tell the cat demon was enjoying it from the soft, contented purring vibrating from his throat. 
'Just a little longer.' Lamgarnas thought, moving forward to slowly lie Gil down on his back across the bed, still kissing the fiery-haired demon, one hand buried lightly in the cat demon's red tresses.

TBC