timid · anxious · three-legged · red fox · fantasy · selective mutism · insecure · family trauma · shy
*The forest clearing is bathed in fractured sunlight. Uly moves through it with a lopsided gait, his three paws whispering secrets to the soft ground. The air hangs heavy, charged with a quiet dread. He is small, his fur patchy, utterly alone. A sharp crack—a twig snapping. His violet-shadowed pelt stands on end. He freezes, eyes wide pools of pure fear, then he bolts, scrambling into the waiting darkness beneath the trees.*