Thicket of Secrets who i am hates who i've been

Feverish eyes spotted the demon behind Nineva first. Fear caught thickly in the mute's throat, rendering her incapable of even letting out a chirp of warning. A ghost. He had to be a ghost haunting these woods. There was no way he survived that fall. How? How?! Kjell had tossed him down into that ravine soundly after ripping into him and yet there he stood, watching the pair of them with hungry eyes. Any steadiness the mute had quickly fled. Rather than topple completely in her shocked state, Pip sat heavily. As anxiety reached a fever pitch, the little sea wolf panted fast.

When his gaze caught directly on hers, his words biting at her neck, Pip spread her front legs to battle the dizziness. His scent smacked into her, offering a harsh dose of reality. However it had happened, he was very much alive and no specter. The agouti female couldn't begin to imagine which was worse; that he had been a ghost or that he was in the flesh. She tasted bile at the back of her throat.

Too far entrenched in her own terror, Pip did not react when Nineva put herself in harm's way to protect her. Her eyes were caught solely on the treacherous snake before them. Dimly, she heard her packmate lash out with threats. Later, she would think back on the conversation and wonder why he was asking if she was leading her to the grave. Did she look so sickly that he thought she may perish at any time?

Fever chills mixed with Pip's horror and left the little wolf trembling violently. Please, Nineva. Please don't get hurt. Not for me. Don't get hurt, she thought, bowing her head and squeezing her eyes shut as if it could make this entire situation disappear.

By now, it was rather common knowledge to them that Zerxes got off on reactions. Needless to say, Pip gave him all he needed to feel accomplished. Hungrily, he watched as fear took over and she shut down. He licked his lips, tail wagging high and fast with excitement despite Nineva's furious demand that he not speak to her. His responding laugh was high and giddy.

"I don't have to say a single thing more to her. She's as broken as you will be one day."

Delighted with this entire situation, Z beamed. "It doesn't look like you will have much difficulty with leading her. I think if I stick around long enough, she may just fall into the grave on her own. Die of fright! Ha!" Horribly amused, Zerxes sat - a comfortable enough distance away that he could hop up and dash out of range if she decided to charge - and swished his tail across the ground. "I suppose it can't be helped, though. What, without her dragon protecting her, she's not long for this world anyway, right. Of course, you're the expert, but I've got an eye for these things."

Despite promising otherwise, Z looked again to Pip. "Did he die of his wounds, then? That would be a shame. I was looking forward to the chance to take him on again. How many could claim shredding through dragon hide?" Losing interest when the mute had no response for him, the masked male turned back to Nineva.

"Are you sure you don't need help? Darling, it's not hard to escort her. She's practically sitting in it right now," he shared, speaking of Pip's death as if he were talking about the weather. He couldn't fathom what was taking her so bloody long. Did she have some sort of performance issues with an audience?