Redhawk Caldera In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree

When she said the word "torture" he shied away slightly, and balked. His throat clenched and he tucked his tail tighter as though the mere mention of the word stung him. As a result, he didn't respond, but forced himself to start walking forward away again, just...A couple feet further away from Fennec.

It seemed, though, that maybe she'd forgiven him. She'd have to have forgiven him to not care that he'd been gone, but he felt still that she was missing some of the picture. Bronco had left- but he wasn't himself, now. And he felt she was expecting a lot from someone in his shape. Maybe, thiugh, she just didn't quite understand exactly how profoundly he was impacted by what he'd been through.

But he could do this. He had to.

"I will. I do. I just...Will he...Be OK, with...Me? He won't even remember me, I don't think, and I...I dunno, I don't wanna overwhelm...Or not meet his expectations." He naturally worried if he'd be enough. If Fennec had told Killdeer about him, it certainly wouldn't have been anything that would suit him now- injured, nearly emaciated, and practically incapacitated by his own fear.