Starglow Basin Hawk of may

saya kept her face a mask, though the words struck her with a force she hadn’t anticipated. cubs. the very idea made her stomach twist, a storm brewing beneath her composed exterior. yet, she would not let it show. not to him. not to anyone.

her lavender eyes followed his every movement, unflinching even as he drew close, his presence looming, suffocating. she let the silence stretch, counting her breaths to steady herself as he finally withdrew.

you wouldn't want cubs from me? she asked, her voice steady, smooth like silk despite the turmoil beneath. the question came boldly, but she had to know. had she been ruined? entirely, blazen, stricken with ugliness that the patron saw her as a feat of heralding ogress?

let him laugh at her. the words had already slipped from her lips before she could control them.

it was a pathetic question. she knew this. but that was all she had, wasn't it? the beauty, the concept; there was nothing beneath her angelic shell except a tortured, bloodied princess. woe is me, her mind echoed, but she hushed it away.