(Back to Darius… )
The forest around the ghost settlement as if woke up in a hush…a trembling hush that settled between the trees like breath held too long.
And then it felt a rustle.
A shift of shadows.
Darius's eyes snapped open and he sprang up on all fours…a sharp pain stung him from where he could not pin point. He did not have the time to…he limped into the clearing, every motion slow…
heavy…
weighted with the sudden jolt of pain.
And then he realised, the fur along his flank was matted with dried blood; his left hind leg dragged just a little with each step.
His ribs lifted and fell in strained, uneven breaths.
He shook himself.
A little too hard.
A ripple of pitch black fur rolled down his spine like a wave collapsing on shore…
shivering once, twice…
and then settling flat again.
But the shake didn't ease him.
Didn't quiet the tension coiled under his skin.
He lowered his head…
nostrils flaring…
