crushing

Pyrrhic had developed a bit of a split in his personality. It was strange. He could go from fully functioning and engaged with his friends and family to devastatingly sad in the span of a heartbeat. The little things set him off but he struggled to predict what those things would be. They'd come out of nowhere, blindside him and leave him with a bitter, hollow feeling in his chest. It was like getting stabbed in the heart. The feeling was so strong and so sudden he'd fallen to his knees once and searched his skin for the wound that was causing him actual physical pain. And there hadn't been one to find. He didn't know what was wrong with him and he certainly didn't know how to go about trying to fix it.

He was in the middle of one such event currently. The crushing feeling had sent him reeling away from Aerie and the hopeful, watchful eyes who might not understand his invisible agony. His family was pretty understanding but he couldn't bring himself to lay his soul bare and admit to his inability to heal. Pyrrhic did not want to appear broken and beyond fixing. He wanted to be man; to stand tall and strong; unbowed by the challenges and heartbreak he'd faced.

His blind run was brought to a screeching halt as his feet tangled in the shadowy roots that littered the floor of the Deluge. Pyrrhic fell hard and was unable to catch himself. His chin struck the ground and blood burst across his tongue. Instead of getting to his paws and shaking the dirt off, he lay still in defeat with frustrated tears welling in his eyes.