Sweet as pie

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. The minuscule woman repeated the mantra in her mind, taking deep breaths which she fought to keep even. It had been a long time since she'd had a panic attack. In the comfortable lull that daily life had now turned into, she'd forgotten to always be ready. In her previous life, she was always ready to be handled. Always ready to be hurt. She didn't have to do that now, so she'd let her guard down. It wasn't Segin at all. It was her. She was the broken thing here. Her reactions to physical touch were unnatural. Yet another thing to set her apart from other wolves. The only reason that she was able to allow Indigo his light touches was because he had saved her from death. The giant man had been patient with her and he had earned those touches. Segin was new. He was foreign. She wasn't ready for him to touch her like Indigo did. Maybe some day, but not now.

Segin apologized in turn and offered to leave if she wished it. Her frail frame still quivering, she shook her head. "No, please." He'd told her that his paws were in front of hers and she could feel the heat of them right before her own. Gently, Gypsy reached one paw out and placed it upon his, her soft, pink pads settling and staying there. "I need to get used to having someone care." Abuse had been an every day event. From her father, from complete strangers. Having someone touch her and not want to use her... it was new and somewhat scary. She would get used to it, but it would take time.

With her breathing stilled and her paw upon his, Gypsy began to calm more and more. Something about the offer that Segin had made, leaving and trying again later, had instilled a bit more trust in the broken young woman. "Thank you for being patient with me. I know it's not easy." Her ears slicked back and her muzzle drooped a bit. "I know I'm a burden to everyone." The tears that had been in her milky white eyes were still there, so she reached up with one dainty paw to wipe them away.

Gypsy didn't really need to be understood. It would be nice, but it wasn't something that she needed to survive. She wondered if the wolves around her understood though. It was no secret that she had been abused, but did they realize just how abused? Forced to sleep with men and women constantly, that wasn't even a big deal. Before she even realized it, Gypsy was speaking again. "Did you know that I used to have a long, soft tail?" Behind her, the little puff of a tail gave a little flick back and forth. "It was removed on purpose. Better access." Less resistance. Gypsy sighed and placed her head down between her paws, the side of her muzzle touching Segin's paw in the process. She was trying, she really was. Some days rained memories while others were dry.

"Gypsy"