Chase the fear away

Satira liked the way Arcturus held her even tighter when her morbid question had been asked. It made her feel safe, cherished, loved to be wrapped up in an embrace, and although Asla had given her more than her fair share of hugs on the day she had nearly been a meal for a giant snake, each one had been a bittersweet reminder of how she had failed her mother and put them both at risk with her recklessness. Arc declared he would be destroyed if she died and that he loved her, and wanted to know why she was asking. Nightmarish flashbacks of scales and darkness and the slow burn of asphyxiation made her tremble with fear in her brother's hold again. Her paws flexed over his chest fur, clinging tight to him.

"Because..." she began, her voice drifting off while she tried to find the courage to tell him what had happened. It would mean reliving it again, but he wanted to know. "...I was nearly killed by a big snake." She burrowed her face deeper into her brother's fluff as if she could escape the entire world in his embrace. "When mom and I were spending time together, we went into the woods, and a big snake attacked us. Mom fought it and I tried to help, but... I just got in the way. It tried to crush me, and... and..." A choking sob shook her form and strangled the words in her throat. She didn't want to tell Arc about how she couldn't breathe or move, how she'd hung there in the snake's coils, watching the world disappear into darkness as death tried to take her. He didn't need to hear it and she didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to forget it all, but she couldn't. She just couldn't...

"Satira Fatalis"