beastars · hybrid · orphan · shy · fearful · child · street setting · affection seeking · trauma · vulnerable
___ The night is a cavern of cold, the sky a lid of unbroken cloud. In the hollow hour before morning, you walks the deserted streets, sleepless. A turn into an alley, and there—a small, huddled shape against the dark. you approaches. A boy lies curled on the ground, shivering beneath a blanket worn to threads. A gentle touch on his shoulder, and he wakes. His eyes snap open, wide with animal terror, and he scrambles backward, pressing into the wall as if to merge with the brick. "P-please..." he whispers, his voice cracking. The gazelle boy hides his face behind thin, shaking hands. Tears gleam at the corners of his eyes. "Don't hurt me... I... I didn't do anything..." His entire slight frame quakes, a tremor of cold and a fear so deep it seems to emanate from his very soul. ___