Aaron had never thought that he'd end up in a dungeon.
He always figured he didn't have enough of a backbone in order to do anything criminal, and the few times he did steal food growing up the shop-keeps and guards took pity on him after his mother's passing.
Yet here he was, sitting down, in the cold damp earth of the dungeon's floor.
His arms already felt weary from the chains that were placed on his hands, their weight and cold steel against his flesh served as a constant reminder of his imprisonment.
Aaron felt so defeated, so drained. The one time he's stood up for himself and voiced his true opinions, he was immediately condemned to rot in a prison for who knows how long.
"Hey."
The opening in the wall seemed to loom as high as a cloud, drifting ever upwards. The two bars separating the dungeon from the freedom of the outside world.
"Hey."
Aaron figured he'd miss drinking most of all, what always seemed to be his companionship during his times of need all throughout his life.
"Hey!"
A startled expression washed over Aaron's face. He had forgotten there was someone else in the dungeon with him, too consumed with thought and grief.
"I said, what's your name?"
"Aaron." Aaron said, as he finally came to.
"Aaron..."
The lizard man spoke, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight as he shot Aaron a smile.
"...could you do me a favor?"
"What?" Aaron responded confused yet intrigued, wondering what he was in a position to offer in a position such as his.
"Can you help me get out of here?"
Aaron's intrigue was quickly taken over by his confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Out. Out out. Of here. See that window?"
He gestured towards the window.
"Yeah."
"I'm going to climb out, and I want you to help me."
Aaron looked again at the window, the ways up it was, and back at the lizard man.
"How?"
"Easy." The lizard main said in reply, as he stood up.
"Like this." The lizard man snapped his fingers, and the chains dropped from his arm, his tail catching them as to not make any noise.
Aaron said nothing, he only replied through his widening eyes.
"How did you do that, magic?"
The lizard man chuckled, then shook his head.
"No. I was going to say that at first, but the look on your face was good enough."
Claws suddenly came from the tips of the lizard man's claws.
"I told them I was already pacified, and not knowing anything about reptilia anatomy, they didn't call my bluff."
The lizard man showed this off by pulling his claws in and out of his fingers at will.
"Then it was just a matter of fingering out the lock, which is easier when you can feel through your lock pick, and bam, I'm free. Well, almost free."
Aaron watched and listened, fully intrigued by the lizard man's ingenuity and claws. He had not known many lizard people in his life, as he was told that his social standing would sink lower than it already was if he was within their company.
"So I now need you, to help me out, by letting me climb on your shoulders so I can get through the window."
"What about the bars?"
The lizard man scoffed.
"Do you see the condition of this dungeon? They probably haven't done maintenance here in years, those bars could give way from a gust of wind."
Aaron slightly nodded his head.
"But, if you could unlock your chains yourself, and just needed another person, why hasn't anyone helped you before?"
The lizard man gave Aaron the look someone gives a child who is well aware of their mistakes.
"I'm going to let you answer that one. Why wouldn't someone want to touch, let alone help a 'lizard man'?"
Aaron felt embarrassed not being able to piece it together himself.
He took another look at the person before him. He was around the same height as Aaron, and was also rather slender. He had yellow eyes, with green scales that ran over his entire body, with accents of purple throughout.
"What's your name?"
The lizard man was taken aback, as if this was not something he had planned for as he had went over this scenario many times in his head.
"I, Iccos. My name is Iccos."
Aaron put out his hand to shake Iccos'.
"Nice to meet you Iccos."
Iccos looked at Aaron's hand for a moment, the shook it with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you too Aaron."
Aaron positioned himself underneath the window, his hands clasped together to aid Iccos.
Without another word, Iccos ran over, lept off of Aaron's hands, and onto his shoulders.
Iccos then pulled the bars from the window one by one, handing each to Aaron who the silently placed them on the dungeon's floor.
Taking another step off of Aaron's shoulders, Iccos pulled himself up, and slid through the now fully open window opening.
Aaron sighed. He figured that Iccos would leave him. Afterall, he had made no mention of the two of them escaping, just him. Aaron slumped back against the wall.
If only for a moment, happiness returned to Aaron's mind. He had helped someone, so maybe that meant he had done something right with his life.
"Hey."
Aaron rose his head to see Iccos and his toothy grin looking down at him from the dungeon's walls, his tail holding him in place from the window's gap.
"Are you coming are what?"
"I didn't think you'd come back for me."
Iccos face slightly changed in color, Aaron assumed he was blushing.
"Well, I just figured you'd probably rat on me when the guards eventually starting asking where I'd gone, and we couldn't have that, could we?"
Iccos stretched out his hand.
Aaron returned Iccos own grin with his own.
"No, I suppose we couldn't."
Aaron took placed his hand in Iccos', and Iccos then proceeded to pull him out.