Hushed Willows I'm good to go, and I'm going nowhere fast

the first wail elicited no response from dahlia aside from perhaps some perverse feeling of victory. the second — her cries for their mother — struck fear into her heart.

some children were content to receive any kind of attention, good or bad, but dahlia was not there just yet. she wanted to be a good girl. she wanted to be her mother's favorite. and every time she did something like this she was reminded — if not by their mother, than by the shame in her heart — that she had done bad.

she let go. foxglove screamed again. dahlia's ears flattened as she let the fear flood her face. she needed an alibi. she needed it fast. it was an accident, no, i didn't mean to bite her so hard.