Walk | Talk | Think
She stared stubborn and resolute at Jakart as he looked pitifully back at her, daring him to take the bait and begin a new argument for her to focus her energy on, something easier to deal with than the fear and panic that were currently threatening to consume her. She needed it desperately to keep up the angry façade she was hiding behind, but with a quiet, equally stubborn tone, he denied it. Callisto's jaw clenched, her weight shifting from one side to the other as her tail flicked anxiously behind her. But she did not move, could not as he walked toward her. Her silver-blue eyes stared intently at him, trying to gauge what he would do by the words he spoke. He was so calm, gentle even, that she found him near impossible to predict, outside of her realm of comprehension. Why did he not lash out or get angry? How could he stay so insufferably collected?
The anger in her expression began to falter the closer he got to her, cracking in places and revealing the anxiety beneath. Would he snap? She would have, and she braced herself for it, wishing she did not feel so rooted in place as he closed in the last few feet between them. It was too late to turn now, and Calli stared in worry into Jakart's face, recalling suddenly that he was a fighter, bigger than her, stronger. She should have run while she had her chance.
She flinched as he reached for her, and felt his foreleg slip around her shoulders to bring her closer to him as he apologized. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes, unbidden and without restraint. He was sorry? He had not done a damn thing! Standing tense within his embrace, weakly straining against him as the fight slowly began to leave her, she felt him shift and bring his other foreleg around her, not tight enough to confine but strong enough to comfort. She did not understand his misguided need to see her happy, could not fathom why she of all wolves had been singled out, but here and now the words she had spoken rang truer than ever.
On a weak, desperate whine, Callisto's resolve crumpled. She fell into a seated position, too defeated even to stand, and pressed her from into Jakart as he held her, her eyes clenched shut as she tucked her head into his chest. Silent tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, tears of sadness and confusion, desperation and helplessness. She hated this, hated that she felt so dependent upon this grey wolf, but her need to have him close, to keep him beside her, was greater than anything. "Don't leave," she whispered, begged, shifting further into his embrace as she gave in to her weakness and sought whatever closeness he would offer her. "I can't lose you again."
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