Redhawk Caldera Suicide

As she approached the borders from the wrong side, Wildfire hit another invisible wall. Her eyes fearfully scanned the nearby woods, looking for any sign of Goober. Had he chased her? Would he attack her again? Subconsciously, she had fled to the nearest safe zone and now found herself unable to leave it, despite the threat hanging over her own head.

A barking voice caused her to flinch, whirl and crouch all at once. It was her Uncle Elwood. Wildfire felt a strange mixture of emotions: relief to see a familiar face; anxiety at his tone (understandable, considering where he had caught her); and, most powerful of all, a sense of shame that flared up like fire from her core.

She slunk a few yards forward to straddle the borderline, then pressed her entire body to the ground, but not before flicking her tail between her legs to hide the trauma to her backside. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do to hide the marks on her neck. Nor could she simply run off, despite the growing impulse to do just that the closer he got.

Wildfire found she couldn't speak.