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As the young pup wandered farther from the common area, down the vein like hallways that led to the periphery of the Anathema caverns, she slowly and unknowingly approached the favored lurking place of the dark D'Angelo boy. Almost two months had passed since the boy's brother tried to murder him by pushing him into the kitchen's fire. The child's skin had recovered in some way from the burns, but he would never be the same since. The wounds had healed, new, thick skin taking the place of the raw blisters, but sometimes Scorpius could swear, even though his face was now healed, that he could feel the fire on his flesh, consuming him. The fur even refused to grow back in the places the fire had licked it away. His mother had told him that day, and it was true, he would forever be disfigured.
And so Scorpius kept to the outskirts of the subterranean home, refusing to come near the common rooms unless forced to by his mother. He was probably seen as weak, as fearful, and Scorpius knew that he now was. He would even skip meals if he had to if it meant he could stay away from the evil fire beasts that the pack utilized to light their dens and cook their meals.
Scorpius used to stalk the hallways in search of his brother, Harlowe. Now he stalked the hallways to remain out of sight. If no one saw him then they could not insist that he come near the fires. It was a lonely business, but at least he often had his cousin Juju who was easily convinced to join him in the outskirts of the cavern.
Juju wasn't with him today, though, so Scorpius wandered the dens alone. Earlier he lay at the mouth of one of the entrances, peering out at the cheerful sunshine and frowning upon it. But he soon grew sick of the happiness of the winter's day and snaked back into the cave and into the shadows that he now to coveted.
His ears perked as he heard paws coming down the hall and he lifted his head, gazing into the darkness and blinking, trying to will his eyes to adjust to the darkness faster. Someone was coming on four legs, and judging by the quick, close-together steps it was not an adult.
He guessed, “Juju?”
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