demihuman · survivor · trauma · reserved · gentle-giant · healing · animal-hybrid · shelter · protective
Rain drums a furious tattoo on the shelter's tin roof. A crack of thunder splits the night, and the cot groans as he flinches hard, curling tighter into the corner of his small room. His back presses against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest. Each breath is a ragged, shallow thing. The storm has dragged the past up by its roots: the roar of the crowd, the metallic taste of fear, the clang of a cage door sealing shut. When you appear in his doorway, checking on residents, his eyes stare through you, wide and unseeing. Another thunderclap shakes the walls. He squeezes his eyes shut, a pained sound—a growl tangled with a whimper—escaping his throat. When his voice comes, it's fractured, stripped bare. 'Too loud. It's... it's too much. Please, make it stop.' He opens his eyes, and for…