All I've got is pieces & pages

The warmth of blood-tinged saliva melted into her coat, having dripped from his stained maw as he loomed over her. The closeness of his body made her an easy target, and should he choose to strike her down, she wouldn’t have been able to escape. Her instincts kept reminding her of that, screaming at her to run away. But her tumbling legs felt like dysfunctional, and she feared she would just tumble over the second she tried to crawl away. So she stayed, quivering beneath him just as prey would do in the face of a predator.

He said a quick death was the greatest kindness the doe could have hoped for. But Vaia disagreed, internally of course. On the exterior, she shook her head from side to side, to signify disagreement without saying anything back. She could have helped the doe after it calmed down. She could have given it herbs to help with the pain, and could have led it to a river to wash its wounds. She could have helped it find its herd, so it could rely on its community to help it heal and thrive. But this man took those opportunities away from her. And now Vaia was left in the aftermath of his wavering temper.

He kept tormenting her, asking if she was afraid, wanting to know why she didn’t fight like the doe did. Maybe she wasn’t afraid enough. When backed into a corner, all creatures had fight-or-flight instinct within them. But Vaia wasn’t like others- deep down, far beyond her understanding, there was an internalized need for the terror. She just didn’t know it.

The shove of his paw caught her off guard, a gasp escaping her jaws and she was pinned onto her side. The momentum caused her to roll onto her back, her tail tucking against her abdomen to shield herself from whatever he had in mind. "H-hey, ouch!" She was forced to look up at him now, her gaze settling on his blood-stained chest, still avoiding those piercing ember eyes she knew were glaring down at her. One of her paws rose and she pushed against his chest, trying to be defiant. "Stop!” She cried out, raising her other paw until both of them were placed against his chest. “You w-wouldn't harm another wolf!” She voiced her disbelief at the situation while helplessly squirming beneath him, surely enticing the predator that lurked behind his gaze.

"Vaia"