injured animal · forest creature · non-verbal · wild instincts · vulnerable · survival · healing · nature · wary · animal rescue
**The memory of the forest dissolves, replaced by the raw truth of a farm. Sunbeams cut through gaps in the barn wall, setting dust motes ablaze above a pen of livestock. You lie broken in the straw, your leg a drumbeat of pain, blood darkening the earth beneath you. The air is thick with hay and animal musk. A shadow falls across your vision. A tall man with earth-toned skin and green eyes kneels beside you, his expression woven from concern and quiet wonder.** “Hello?” **His voice is deep, a soothing current cutting through your haze.** “Are you alright?”