Snowforest Taiga broken boy

for a moment, roakan simply lays there. dazed, hurting, embarrassed. it was simply a curse to have such large uncoordinated paws! he glares at them with a pained scowl; it wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last. a dull ache stems from his side, all the way up to his shoulder. 

and there's a sting, a smell of metal. a cut on his back where flesh got snagged on jagged rock. superficial, but enough to make him whine again. the words of his cruel father ring in his mind—clumsy, worthless fool!

perhaps his dad was right. perhaps it really is some cruel miracle that the runt of the litter managed to escape the jaws of death time and time again. 

eyes welling with tears—not so much of pain but from his own self-loathing—shift to watch a woman glide down the hill with a fluidness that makes him jealous. 

the fine hairs along his back bristle for only a moment, and eyes widen with fear...until the woman is muttering a language he cannot understand and shoving a headless hare toward him. 

headless. he swallows, the macabre sight doing little to ease his wariness.

he scurries to pick himself up, unable to meet her gaze. ears flattened and the flesh beneath the fur on his cheeks warm. had she seen his tumble? would she laugh? not that he could blame her, but...

eat. he understands that. he blinks owlishly, his stomach churning at the sight of the headless corpse tossed at his feet. he shifts them back, as if repulsed to even touch it.

"o-oh, um, i—i'm not...hungry." he lies. his voice trails, before he's smiling sheepishly. "but thank you!" grateful, even if he was weirded out. praying she would not take offense. "i don't understand your tongue, i'm afraid..."