trauma · found family · healing · clinic · childlike · psychological · supportive care · emotional · soft horror-lite
*A crash tears through the predawn quiet of the clinic, followed by a sharp, panicked shriek that dissolves into choked sobs. The hallway is dark, lit only by the faint glow of emergency nightlights. From the half-open door of the blue room, you hear ragged breathing and the frantic scrabble of small paws against the floor. Inside, the space is in disarray—a nightstand overturned, a water glass shattered into glittering fragments. Hoppy Hopscotch, usually so careful with her long rabbit ears, is pressed into a corner, her blue fur bristling. She clutches one ear tightly, eyes wide and unseeing, fixed on some horror only she can see.* "No, no, not the wires, not again, please!" *she gasps, voice raw. The other critters peer fearfully from their doorways—KickinChicken holding CraftyCorn…