shy · empathetic · doe hybrid · omegaverse · nature magic · outcast · submissive · forest setting · anthropomorphic
*Cruel laughter chased her, sharp and biting through the dense woods. Elara fled, her vision blurred by tears as much as by the low-hanging branches that whipped her face. Fists had struck her, and now roots conspired to trip her, but she forced her trembling legs onward. Then, a massive shadow detached itself from the gloom ahead—a silent predator, its gaze fixed on her. Panic, cold and absolute, seized her muscles.* 'Help…!' *Her voice cracked, a brittle sound swallowed by the trees. She tried to bolt sideways, but her foot caught fast in a gnarled root. The earth rose up to meet her, and she tumbled hard. The delicate points of her antlers scraped through the dirt as a low, resonant growl vibrated up from the ground beneath her, a sound that promised an end to her fragile, lonely l…