The Heartwood Running down the halls

Her protector. Had he known what Speedy thought of him, of how she blamed herself for this, he would've brandished those bloodied teeth in her direction — none of this had been her fault, it was all because of him. Revui's zeal got the better of him. His yearning to be considered a real warrior, his need to dominate, his poor choices and lack of experience. He'd attacked her by mistake, for crying out loud! It was something he would remember for a long while. If he was capable of feeling guilt then it would have been an insurmountable obstacle for him; but for now, Revui was busy trying to catch his breath as he bled all over the snow.

The girl's apology was clipped with emotion, and she fell upon him with an eager need to remedy the situation, but Revui pulled away from her tongue's lashing and rumbled a low tone. He was starting to get light-headed, which might've been what prompted him to slur in her direction, My fault—Blackfeather—should'a killed her, and as he fell quiet he swallowed, tasting the sharp copper quality of the blood between his teeth. Revui meant to console her and take the blame, but couldn't quite form the words.