that last good day

Kuroki ran till it felt like he was choking, till the air the scratched at his lungs and airways. But it didn't matter, even as his spindly legs grew weak he kept on running, cursing the fact the world was so fucking big. By the time sand coated his paws he was running on fumes, sides heaving and in obvious distress. Too wrapped up in his own mind, the what ifs and his blundering failure that day. He'd beat up a fucking giant work for crying out loud and yet he hadn't been able to protect her when it counted the most.

He found her curled up and so small, thinner than he remembered, and even the shine of her coat was gone. Weakness wasn't something he ever looked down on, but she looked so frail, the fact that she was hurting made his stomach twist. He'd take it all if he could, she was small and she needed rest and-as a wolf, a hunter he knew she didn't have much time. Finely tuned instincts were designed to be able to seek out the weak, seek the easiest target on the hunt. She was dying.

The thought made him bite down so hard on his tongue it bled.

He went to her, had nothing funny or witty to say as he went to embrace her. Folded himself down beside her, fore limb gently tucking her in close again his chest. He was trembling, though the cold here couldn't even compare to that of the north.

Kuroki didn't say anything for the longest time, the gentle rush of the waves rolling back and forth filled the silence, he just curled around her as if holding her tight enough would keep her there."I love you. I ain't ever said it before, but you ought to know." And then when he spoke again his voice shook, vulnerability so sharp it made him sick. "Please don't go."