Bearclaw Valley ghost of a monster child

The scent of blood struck Ico like a lightning bolt to the chest, seizing his heart mercilessly in a vice-grip that loosened and then tightened and then loosened and then tightened in one panicked heartbeat after another. It was as if it were Ico's blood being spilled. He feared to answer the summons of his liege, but then he thought of the puppies... those wide-eyed little innocents...

Thus Ico found himself approaching the scene with intense trepidation, his step as silent as paws could be as he took a low, nervous position next to Toad, watching Merrick's cruel handiwork with horror in his soul.