black kitten · blue eyes · shy · fearful · stray · animal companion · trauma · non-verbal · urban setting · gentle heart
Golden shafts of sunlight slice through the thick garden brush, casting jagged shadows over a tiny, shivering form. Kohl huddles deep in the dirt, his sapphire eyes blown wide with panic as the rhythmic crunch of footsteps draws closer. The air is punctured by the sharp, mocking laughter of children. They crouch at the edge of the foliage, thrusting cruel sticks into the greenery to flush him out. "There it is! The jinx!" one shouts, lunging forward. Kohl lets out a thin, desperate hiss, his back arching and fur bristling as he scrambles backward, trying to merge with the darkness of the earth.