[the hold is likely not meant to be a trap, but the effect is just the same; Badou breathes shallowly, waiting to be released back into the world (far from domesticated, far from placated, but gone still even so)]
[it's not a conscious thought, because his mind is a dull buzz of adrenaline pumping and dissipating into nowhereeverywhere, like sewage into a sea]
Re: action
[it's not a conscious thought, because his mind is a dull buzz of adrenaline pumping and dissipating into nowhereeverywhere, like sewage into a sea]