4/2/2025, 9:13 PM
She shouldn’t have looked.
Lithe knew it the moment their eyes met. Something cold dropped in her chest, heavier than the night air, and her limbs stiffened with the weight of it. The way he turned—like his bones weren’t made right, like he could hear the sound of her thoughts as they flinched away from him—it made her stomach twist.
Come…
The word clung to her ribs like ice.
She hesitated, breath caught somewhere between lungs and throat, but not for long. Fear was faster than thought. She unfolded herself carefully, one paw at a time, keeping low as though that might make her smaller somehow. Less interesting. Easier to forget if he changed his mind.
Stone scraped beneath her pads as she crossed the den floor, each step a silent plea to the moon overhead: Don’t let him touch me. Don’t let him change his mind. Don’t let him decide I’m fun tonight.
She didn’t sit beside him right away. She hovered first, unsure how close he wanted her, unsure if hesitation itself might be a punishment. Then, slowly, she lowered herself into the space he’d marked—small, quiet, pretending her heartbeat wasn’t pounding in her ears.
She didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe too loud. Just waited.
For whatever he decided she was for.
Lithe knew it the moment their eyes met. Something cold dropped in her chest, heavier than the night air, and her limbs stiffened with the weight of it. The way he turned—like his bones weren’t made right, like he could hear the sound of her thoughts as they flinched away from him—it made her stomach twist.
Come…
The word clung to her ribs like ice.
She hesitated, breath caught somewhere between lungs and throat, but not for long. Fear was faster than thought. She unfolded herself carefully, one paw at a time, keeping low as though that might make her smaller somehow. Less interesting. Easier to forget if he changed his mind.
Stone scraped beneath her pads as she crossed the den floor, each step a silent plea to the moon overhead: Don’t let him touch me. Don’t let him change his mind. Don’t let him decide I’m fun tonight.
She didn’t sit beside him right away. She hovered first, unsure how close he wanted her, unsure if hesitation itself might be a punishment. Then, slowly, she lowered herself into the space he’d marked—small, quiet, pretending her heartbeat wasn’t pounding in her ears.
She didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe too loud. Just waited.
For whatever he decided she was for.
![[Image: 3-by-nopeita-di8epxv.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/PfbwRdVq/3-by-nopeita-di8epxv.png)
