Words: 500+
Sorry for making you wait! ^^; This is kinda rambling, too...
The young woman swallowed, her long eyelashes fluttering nervously. Alexey was a good listener; attentive and polite, but always knowing when to interject, to keep her story rolling. Coli hadn't really explained her full story, not to anyone - Auntie Mew didn't want to hear it, lest it tarnish her image of her little brother, and Cercelee hadn't the time to sit down and catch up. "Why... didn't I run away too? The thought never crossed my mind," she murmured, brows furrowed. "I guess I thought he would track us down if both of us left... Silly of me, because I don't think he would. He had sent us off together to join a pack, and it was some time later before we came back to him. I'm sure he was happier on his own." Coli let her eyes flutter closed, trying to picture how it had been back then. She had been happy with their little family, playing boldly with Cercelee, her cousin who was like a sister, and spending time with the capricious man who had sired her. They had been getting older, maturing, becoming more rebellious and intelligent, and it was putting a strain on Haku, who seemed to resent fatherhood more by the day. Or was it just that he was battling his own demons, and took it out on the girls? Most days she didn't blame him for his temper. It was hard for a daughter to hate her father without a real reason...
"I... anyway, he... Well, we fought a lot, once Cer wasn't there anymore. He had such a short fuse; everything was an argument. I had recently learned how to shift, and - I don't even remember what started the argument, but - he snapped..." Coli bowed her head, fiddling with her claws. She didn't mind telling Alexey, but she had the sinking feeling that the girl would be disgusted by her afterwards. It wasn't exactly something she was proud to admit to. "He... I don't know what went through his mind, but he attacked me... Physically, he assaulted me, beat me to the ground. I was terrified, and couldn't defend myself at all. He had never hit me before, and he almost killed me that night. I couldn't stand up afterwards, not for days... and..."
Despite her fragile psyche, Coli was not one to cry. The last time she had shed tears was after that night, realizing that she had been left for dead. Her voice trembled, but did not break, and she softly finished her tale of woe. "I was laying on the floor... and then... he decided to... dominate me," she finished softly, hoping that Alexey would know what she meant. She had only once used the ugly word "rapist", and that had been when Firefly and Svara had so vehemently defended him. "There's not much to tell after that - he left, never came back. I didn't think I'd ever see him again. It was a year before I got up the courage to look for other wolves. I was lucky to have lived, I guess... but it's not really living to be afraid of everything, is it?" She watched as her breath crystallized in the chill air. "See why the boys might be better off without me around...? I've often thought that no one would have missed me, if I had just died that night like I should have..."
