Emberwood fairytale revisionist

A wince from the tiny form and K shrunk back instantly, his voice seeming to disappear far down his throat, so far he feared he might never speak again. But his voice, it had been too loud, that much was obvious. Now. He should have known better, but the impulse, the surprise, the ecstatic nature of the moment had been too much. It had slipped, inevitably.

"oh shit shit shit, shhh shhh i'ma so sorry ibis i'ma sorry" he whispered so faintly the musk of the den could have easily swallowed those words whole. But he coiled himself up and wiggled further into the den, gently and cautiously nudging his maw towards her, scared to even touch the scruff of her fur but desperate for the confirmation of this reality.

Then the one thing that could brighten his day, that could banish even the heaviest, most potent of shadows from his heart.
She smiled, ever so faintly. Ever so fragile and delicate.

K held his breath, as though the slightest exhale could risk blowing away this happiness.

As she spoke he felt his heart shatter and sink, his mind still overwhelmed by the elation of her revival, but the pity of hearing that rasp, of seeing her frailty in person. Gently K would extend his neck a bit further, trying hard not to smother her but instead tenderly nuzzling her cheek, the side of her nape. He wished it was purely selfless, to give her some contact comfort, but truth held firm that he needed it just as much.

"of course, of course," he murmured softly, fully, tenderly into her fur before pulling back and seeing a depth of sadness in her eyes. Before watching as she shakily let herself down again, which struck a panic within him instantly.

"please, don't fall 'sleep again ibis. i.. i.." he shifted to make room to look behind him, his mind racing, flurried, trying to piece together the way to fix this. To fix everything. "i'ma be back, i'ma get you somethin', i'ma fix you." His voice was gentle but heavy in its pleading, "pls don' fall 'sleep again..."

I won't be able to take it again.

And with one quick but significant lick of a kiss on her forehead, with one last deep breath taking in her - heartbreaking foul - scent one more time, he squinted from the hesitation as he began to backwards-wiggle out of the den. Once exited, he'd quickly kick his legs into a full sprint, seeking out the cached remains of his meager hunt from the morning prior.