OoC: Words: 300+
A small sound interrupted her peaceful musing. Her pointed ears pricked up, swiveling to pinpoint the location. There it was again - something rustling in the frozen vineyard, hidden from her view by the frost-rimed leaves of the grapevines. Coli bit her lip, rising slowly from the boulder where she had been resting. Was it a deer? Most prey had already bedded down for the night - birds, rabbits, that sort of thing. It sounded too large to be a mouse, or even an owl... Rubbing her arms around her midsection in the frigid air, Coli stood on her tip-toes, trying to peer over the plant cover to make out a shape. Half-heartedly, she called out softly, "...Is anybody out..."
And then the scent hit her, paralyzing her, flooding her with terror. Haku, Haku, Haku, he was out there and he was coming for her. The fur down her spine prickled and rose, her blue eyes round as saucers. He had found out she was here. He didn't want her here. Snapping her muzzle shut abruptly, Coli scrabbled against the ice, struggling to flee. All of her hollow words, her promises to be brave and protect those she cared about - that was forgotten in a flash as she panicked. She knew she couldn't outrun him, could never escape him, but all her shaky thoughts could muster was the fervent wish to disappear, that he would give up and not hurt her again. The wild hammering of her heart, the ragged gasps for air, the desperate pounding of her footpaws against the snow seemed to echo in the deafening silence. Her voice had completely failed her - even if she thought to scream for help, she couldn't muster more than a terrified squeak. Oh gods, she had been right about him all along - he was going to string her entrails up like those coyotes he'd gutted, turn her into his most tortured piece of artwork yet...
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