Shadow Mountain what i had once mistaken for death was, instead, a door

He feels a sudden pang as the boy gives a small cry, an obvious plea for help. Yes, of course he was hungry. Phocion was once an orphaned child, having to beg for scraps where he could find them. He saw a lot of himself in this dusky gray boy, alone and frightened and having to survive without help from others.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Phocion assured him, flicking his tail. "Promise." He spun on his heels, trotting to where he had seen the hares.

Keeping his pawsteps light and steady, the white wolf padded down the trail he had used to climb the mountain in the first place, his ears pricked for any small sounds. A small, brown figure darts across the trail in front of him, and he pursues it swiftly, pouncing and hoping his paws land on something soft.

His pads hit hard, cold stone. Damn.

But the hare feels too much comfort, too soon. It pokes a questing nose out from the boulder it had taken shelter behind, only to find its head trapped between the jaws of an apex predator. Phocion bites down before it even has the chance to make a sound.

Trotting triumphantly back to the pool, he sets the hare down and pushes it forward, toward the boy. He takes several steps back, swallowing the saliva that had pooled in his mouth at the taste of fresh blood and flesh. He nods, signifying all is well. Eat, his eyes implore the boy. You need it.

rolled in Disco