Panther Park [m] Healer's folly

Ah, there it was. 

Albeit, less than gnashing teeth and angered jeers, but it was all the same.

You don't belong here, nor here, nor anywhere.

Yet the man cloaked in hues of mountain and meadow stood before her, muscled and well-fed. She'd hone in on that last detail. Far from satisfied with the meager scraps she could manage on her own, perhaps it was food motivation that would drive her to shuffle a little closer, ears perked attentively. 

Yellowstone claims the plains nearby, said the behemoth. She couldn't help but allow a flicker of hopefulness to dance across a visage of silver and pearl.

Maybe perhaps, it was the prospect of loneliness upended. Her mind didn't distinguish. She was raised to rest amongst the pelts of others, not to suffer the cold embrace of shrubs clad in thorn, of cragged rocks and every other miserable area she could find to rest her head.

But this one hadn't come to meet her under the threat of violence like the others she'd tried to worm her way into... Yet, at least— and so she saw an opportunity rearing its head. 

She'd caught glimpses of bison amidst the plains; brutish, yet magnificent beasts, far from anything she'd ever attempt—For even reckless abandon could know its own limits, on occasion.—Yet still they'd caught her ravenous eye. In contrast, this man surely looked like he could hunt the lumbering things and most of anything in between; and there was more of them? That was a prospect she liked. 

What must she do to secure a meal? To secure a home? Must she grovel? Degrade oneself? Offer herself up?

How can I be worth keeping? 

Well then, she'd grovel! Do exactly that! 

-Follow others, and they will feed you, little devil. Just don't forget you too must offer something, for nothing is free.
- - not even for me?
-Of course not.

The last of the wisdom imparted on her played like a symphony in her head, and she would dance to its song. A ballerina with all the grace broken ankles could provide. 

She'd ignore his mention of business, ignore his request to not linger, and instead assail him with a statement so blunt and utterly non-sensical, it fell from her jaws without her own say. Desperation spoke for her. Can't I stay?

Owl-eyed. She'd stare, searing a hole into the gaze she matched with fiery intensity. Reckless confidence even in the face of the drastic difference of stature.

LetmeLetmeLetme