[ Nikolai comes back to himself slowly. He hums a little sound in his throat when he hears the sound of metal clinking and feels a shift in the chains restraining him. At first he keeps his eyes closed, murmuring in a sleep-blurred voice: ]

Thanks.

[ He doesn't even realize yet that the one releasing him isn't Zoya. Not until his words aren't met with one of her usual sarcastic comments. Only then does Nikolai wake up enough for the memories to start filtering in. Right. This isn't his bed, isn't his palace, isn't his world. And the person unlocking the padlocks is Onni.

Nikolai wakens quickly, then. As soon as his hands are free, he pushes his hair from his face, trying to finger-comb it into some semblance of order. His head is pounding with the start of a rather nasty hangover, and he can feel the places where the chains have bruised his wrists and ankles. Nothing he isn't used to.

What's in the forefront of his mind is that Onni had stayed. He'd seen the monster without fleeing and without recoiling from Nikolai as he freed him. That overwhelms Nikolai a little; he's grateful Onni asks a question, giving him something simple to respond to. ]

It doesn't have a name. Usually, I try not to talk about it at all. When I do, I just call it... 'the monster'.

[ Nikolai rubs at his forehead, composure coming back to him as he wakes up. The most immediate crisis posed by his presence here is solved, for the time being. The restraints had been sufficient, and he has Onni's protective spell as a backup. That still leaves plenty to manage, however. He has to contact the doctor about a sleeping tonic. He has to - he realizes this with a grimace as he lowers his hand - find some gloves so that he can cover up his scars. And then, of course, he has to figure out a way out of this place and back to his home.

Nikolai smiles at Onni, small but genuine. ]

Thank you. For all of it.