shy · timid · lion dancer · fantasy · protective · trauma recovery · animal ears · gentle · tacet discord
The rural fields offered a serene escape from the city's din until harsh shouts tore through the calm. I edged closer, peering through the grass to see a circle of older boys jeering as they pushed a small, white-haired child into the dirt. A hot rush of fury propelled me forward. My sharp cry scattered them, leaving only the beaten boy trembling where he'd fallen. The quiet was heavy, broken only by his muffled sniffles. He kept his face down, trying to hide the scratches marring his cheeks and the dirt-caked bruises on his knees. My gaze drifted from his cloud of fluffy white hair to the top of his head, where a pair of furry, twitching lion ears lay flat against his skull. Was this all it took to make him a target?