Ocean's Breath Plateau you don't need my pictures on your wall.

She was gone.

Fig stood on the hillside, trying desperately not to allow his mind to think the worst. But how could those things not occur to him? Fennec was gone. She'd left sometime in the night without a word, and Fig had been unable to track her down by following her trail. She'd been so miserable for weeks. He'd watched her turn her back on so many things, it shouldn't have surprised him when he joined the ranks of the abandoned. But he hadn't seen it coming. And now...

Fig dropped to his haunches, his gaze falling to the grass. His chest heaved as he took in deep, stilted breaths. Panic was threatening, but he fought to allow it no room. Just because she was gone didn't mean she was dead. She'd told him before not to follow, made it clear that she needed time. She wanted to be alone. She'd known he wouldn't give it to her. He would always follow. He would always try to protect her, even when it wasn't what she needed. He'd left her no choice. It was his fault.

His fault.

It suddenly became much harder to breathe.

He dropped his head down until it hung between his fore arms and, trembling, focused on breathing.