Douse This Fire

Ezra watched her with concern as she turned toward him with a sigh, the tension and nerves so clear on her face and in her posture. It was at least a small relief to hear that the scenario his mind had come up with in his mind wasn't the truth, but then that just let the mystery wide open again so there was no real relief for his concerns. He waited quietly while she settled with her tail curled around her, fighting back the urge to go sit beside her and hug her in some attempt to make her feel better about whatever it was that was bothering him. That felt like he'd just make things worse though so he forced himself to keep sitting still while she tried to find the words, talking about her first heat and being nervous about it, giving him this look he didn't really understand. She looked so ashamed, but why?

Then she dropped the truth on him. She had been raped. The slight, encouraging smile he had been wearing as she tried to tell him what was wrong fell away and shock took its place. He didn't respond right away, listening as she went on and spoke about her life before she became a loner and how she thought he would think of her as weak and that he wouldn't want to be around her any more. Confusion pulled at his expression, his brow creasing as she looked away from him. He was stunned into silence for a moment, guilt and sympathy filling him and overwhelming him in a way he wasn't used to feeling. His ears flicked back while he struggled to think of anything to say. Nothing felt right, nothing felt adequate. What could he say? That he was sorry that she got raped? That he'd kill whoever did that to her? Saying he was sorry felt shallow and he didn't even know if the perpetrator was even on this continent so he couldn't make that promise without possibly making himself a lier.

But maybe what hit him hardest was the fact that she thought he would think less of her because of it. That he wouldn't want to be around her or that he would think she was weak. His heart broke and shattered as he watched her and immediately all he wanted to do was fix this. Whatever he had to do to help her feel better, he wanted to do it. Without a word, he got to his paws and carefully moved toward her, making sure that she noticed him approaching her so hopefully he wouldn't startle her too much. He stopped in front of her and leaned his head down, ever so gently resting his forehead on hers. He didn't want to try to hold her or hug her or kiss her. All of that felt too much like what she might have experienced before and he didn't want to hurt her more while he was trying to comfort her. It was a fine line and he had no idea of knowing if he was going too far until he tried.

"Why do you think I would ever think you were weak?" he questioned softly, no longer having to speak over the sound of the waterfall with them being so close. "I'd never think that about you, especially not for... Not for something that isn't your fault. What that other wolf did doesn't change how I feel about you... If anything it just makes you stronger. You endured that and now here you are... I think that's pretty strong." He leaned back then, looking for her gaze and hoping that he might have managed to ease her worries even a little bit.

Ezra Adravendi