The next morning

Though the next morning on the planet had dawned warm and quite pleasant, nothing stirred. Normally the creatures would seize a brilliant morning such as this to gather the last of their supplies before winter took hold, but however, today none even dared to set foot outside of their burrows, let alone go scavenging. There was a strange, ominous feel building in the air, though it hadn't reached its peak quite yet, or would do for a number of days, the seeds of a great fray were being sewn, and all could feel it in their very bones.

Laying, curled up together and fast asleep beside a small lake, were Xero, Flinch and Taro. They'd been walking the majority of the previous day, as well as half the night, and were taking a well deserved rest from their travels. Flinch lay with his back up against the tree, snorting and snuffling in his sleep and a smirk of happiness on his almost featureless face. He had both his hands rested on Xero's upper back, across her strong shoulders, as she lay on her front partially between his long legs - which were stretched out either side of her. Xero had her head pressed up to his chest and both arms around his thin waist, but had a slight expression of discomfort on her face, not from her sleeping position but from the dark dream that current buzzed like an unwanted and tiresome wasp around her head. Taro lay quietly curled up in a ball in the centre of Xero's back, much in the way a kitten would do. Though he didn't yet stir, Taro was awake.

Just then, a soft fluttering of wings disturbed the little xeno and he looked up to see a red butterfly flit past him. His curiosity tweaked, Taro sat up, watching the tiny creature as it danced luringly about, teasing him. Taro begun to edge closer to it, lowing his head and staring fixedly at it as it flew around Flinch's face, briefly resting on his dome and flashing it's red wings at Taro. Both Xero and Flinch remained lost in dreams, oblivious to him as he edged closer to his prey. 

Moving along Xero's back on all fours, Taro lashed his tail, watching the creature as it moved round to the front of Flinch's head, spreading it's wings out and luring the little xeno closer, like a siren to a sailor.

'Yes, yes nice,' coaxed Taro to the butterfly in an attempt to make it stay still. Lowering his body, now stood just below the back of Xero's head, Taro grinned as he wiggled his back end to ready his muscles. Then, he sprang!

Digging his claws sharply into Xero's back and head, Taro scrabbled up over her and onto Flinch's face after the butterfly, letting out a loud hiss as he attacked. Both Xero and Flinch almost simultaneously screeched in shock and pain, Xero springing back and grabbing her bleeding head and neck, and Flinch tearing a now terrified Taro off his face, leaving long scratch marks in it.

'TARO!' Snarled Xero, bristling with anger as she advanced on her quivering son. 'What the hell did you do that for!?'

'No, no, no,' snivelled Taro, cowering away from Xero as she hissed in rage at him, and looking desperately up at Flinch for reassurance. However, Flinch's face held no sympathy.

'No, Taro,' he growled coldly. 'You do not jump on Mummy and Daddy like that.' He rubbed the fresh cuts across his face with his other hand, wiping a splattering of blood away from his lips. 'You could have really hurt us! Not nice!'

'No, no, no!' whimpered Taro desperately, throwing his head back and wailing, struggling to get out of Flinch's hold.

'Be quiet! Quit making such a fuss!' Hissed Xero to Taro, who only wailed louder.

Holding Taro up, Flinch hissed calmly but forcefully: 'Taro, say sorry. Say sorry.'

With a quivering lip, Taro whimpered to Flinch: 'Ssssss.. So.. Sor.. Sorry, Daddy.' 

'Now,' said Flinch, turning his son around to face Xero, who was rubbing her bleeding back. 'Say sorry to Mummy.' But, Taro refused, shaking his head and avoiding Xero's gaze, he was still sore at being shouted at by her. 'Taro, say sorry to Mummy,' persisted Flinch sternly.

'Sorry,' mumbled Taro, looking down and away.

'Say it properly, Taro.'

'Sorry, Mummy,' murmured Taro grumpily.

Now satisfied with his sons apology, Flinch set Taro down and moved up to Xero. 'You okay my sweet?'

'As well as I can be with a load of scratches over my back,' grunted Xero darkly, rubbing her back. 'Damn that hurt. Why the hell did he do that?'

'Beats me,' shrugged Flinch. 'Maybe he was just playing?' He moved behind Xero and ran a hand over one of her cuts slowly and super softly, examining it.

Xero abruptly hissed and leapt forwards away from Flinch, bent over and snarling: 'DON'T TOUCH ME!' She hissed again, lashing her long tail in anger.

'Woha! Easy, girl,' said Flinch in surprise, moving closer to her again and holding his hands up, palm forward. 'I only wanted to take a look.'

'Well don't!' Spat Xero, confusing Flinch further. 'Just... Just leave me alone!'

'But, Xero? I want to help you,' explained Flinch, but his words fell on deaf ears. 'Please?'

'I can look after myself, thanks,' spat Xero, drawing her lips back to hiss angrily at Flinch. 'And I don't need you to help!' 

Then, she stopped. Her face fell and a sickening feeling clenched her stomach, like someone had just punched it, as she looked at the stunned and now upset face of Flinch, realising what she'd done. 'I.. I need some time... I'll be back later. Sorry.' Suddenly, she turned and ran off into the bushes before he could stop her, and before she could hurt him further.

'Xero! Don't...' Sighed Flinch, giving up, and he threw himself back down on the floor, rubbing his face in his hands. He had no idea why Xero had just said that or why she was being so grumpy today, but it had hurt him slightly. He'd only wanted to help her, but she'd pushed him away. It had been a long, long time since she'd been like this. 

Drawing his face up from his hands, Flinch saw Taro sat at his feet, a look of worry on his face. He'd seen the spat and was scared.

'Mummy, no yes?' Whimpered the little xeno, tilting his head as he looked up at Flinch.

'No, Mummy will be back soon, kid,' smiled Flinch forcedly, reaching over to pat his head. 'I hope.' 

Taro moved closer to Flinch, placing one of his black hands on Flinch's grey foot, and asked worriedly: 'Daddy yes?'

'Yeah, Daddy yes. Daddy okay,' mumbled Flinch, smiling at Taro, who smiled innocently back. Sighing, Flinch then leant further back against the tree, resting his hands on his legs and casting his gaze up to the sky. He allowed his mind to wonder slightly, thinking about Xero and what he could have done to upset her. 

While Flinch fretted over Xero, Taro started to wander off. He'd smelt a strange sent, one he'd never smelt before, and was investigating. Taro crept across the floor, muzzle lowered to the leaf litter as he tracked the sent, like a hound on the trail of a fox. But, little did he know the sent he was following was not of some tiny, harmless bug but of something far, far, far larger. 

The little xeno obliviously edged closer to the danger, moving up to the bushes and hissing with excitement as they rustled. He pounced up to the undergrowth, wagging his little tail and letting out a loud hiss, but then stopped. Crying with shock, Taro backed up swiftly, freezing a few centimetres back like a rabbit in the headlights, as the Predator stood up.

Flinch shot to his feet, pulling out his sawn off and letting out a hiss of shock as he saw the tall, female Predator push her way though the bushes and move threateningly towards him. The Predator, who hadn't yet noticed the tiny Taro and thought all the noise had been Flinch, whipped her wrist blades out and advanced on the hissing xeno faster, lowering her body into a slight crouch. Suddenly, Flinch sprang for the Predator, colliding with her and hitting her over the head with his shot gun, but barely succeeded in denting her helmet. With a roar, the Predator took a swipe at Flinch's face, only just gracing his thick skin and unwittingly giving him a chance to kick her legs out. 

Hitting the ground with a yowl, the Predator grabbed her back in pain, twisting onto her side, where she suddenly alighted on Taro. Taro let out a squeal of shock and scrabbled away as she lunged for him, screaming in anger at the sight of the little Xenomorph.

'Leave him alone, fucker!' Yelled Flinch as he aimed and shot at the Predator, but missed, only succeeding in peppering her mask lightly with pellets. Flinch dove forward and grabbed the Predator by her dreadlocks as she took another swipe at Taro, throwing her across the floor and into a tree. She staggered to her feet, snarling as Flinch then lowered his head and charged at her, wanting to keep her away from Taro and end this as fast as he could. She brought her arm back, wrist blades out, and slashed at Flinch. 

"Sssssslllluuuuuppp." The Predator sliced four long, deep streaks into Flinch's chest. 

Looking down, Flinch let out a soft moan of shock and pain as he saw the gaping wounds in his chest. He stood deadly still for a second, mouth agape and a quietly surprised look on his face. Tottering slightly, Flinch fell forwards onto his knees then slumped back onto his side. His chest rose and fell deeply as he struggled to breath, his body falling into shock as blood poured out from the fresh wounds down his chest. 'R... Run Taro,' choked Flinch, a trickle of blood dripping from his jaws. 'Run.'

'NO! DADDDY!' Screamed Taro, trying to run to his father's side, but freezing as the Predator advanced on him again, her smirk being hidden by her helmet.

'Taro! Run, please!' Flinch begged desperately, grabbing his chest as acid blood poured from it in torrents and curling up into a ball of pain on the floor. 'Please...'

'No... No... Daddy,' whimpered the little xeno in fear, shrinking away from the towering Predator as she closed in on him. 'N.. No nice! No! NO!'

'Get away from him you bitch!' 

All three creatures looked up suddenly to see the snarling and furious form of Xero, her back arched and lips drawn back in a hiss of rage. Inching towards the Predator, Xero bared her fangs threateningly and lashed her articulated tail, holding it above her head like a scorpion. No one came between Xero and her son and lived. 

She sprang for the Predator, smashing into her and sinking her fangs into her head full force, cracking her helmet and splitting her skull beneath. Ignoring her screams of agony, Xero suddenly drew her head back, coming away with the entire biomask, as well as a large section of the Predator's skull. Grunting, Xero spat the section of skull across the floor and dropped the lifeless body to the ground, rushing to Flinch as he lay very still on the ground.

'My god, Flinch! You okay?' Questioned Xero in a terrified voice as she scooped up the groaning form of her partner into her arms.

'Y.. Yeah, I think so,' murmured Flinch, grabbing his chest hard and moaning in pain as she moved him. 

'Daddy! Mummy!' Yelped Taro as he skidded over to them, looking terrified. He ran to Flinch's side, pressing his little head against his arm and looking in shock at the torrent of blood that flowed from in between his fingers, not understanding what it was. 'Daddy, yes? Daddy, yes?'

'Yeah, Daddy, yes,' smiled Flinch weakly to Taro, who was peering in confusion at the flow of gore from his chest. Then, turning to Xero, Flinch asked: 'It's not too bad is it?'

Looking down at Flinch's shredded and bleeding chest, Xero bit her lip. 'Do you want the truth or...?'

'The truth, please, girl,' muttered Flinch, raising his head back and gritting his teeth in pain. 'Fuck, it hurts!'

'Um... well... You may have a few scars,' sighed Xero, softly moving Flinch's hand away from his chest to look at the wounds on it. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you earlier, I-' Xero was cut off at Flinch put a blood covered finger to her lips briefly, his arm then slipping back to his side and leaving a smudgy mark over Xero's face. 

'Shhh, it's fine, sweet. I'll be okay,' muttered Flinch, leaning back further into Xero's arms and sighing, wincing slightly. 'Just give me a while to rest and I'll be okay.' He grunted as Xero laid back a little, moving him and causing his chest to hurt again.

'Okay, we'll rest a while. You just relax, I'll keep watch,' said Xero with a smile, hiding the edge of worry from her voice as Flinch got comfy in her hold and laid his head down on her leg, twitching slightly as pain shot through him again.

Moving her position slightly, Xero wrapped her long tail around Taro and pulled him close to her. She very softly and artfully rubbed the dome of the little xenomorph's head with the deadly tip of her tail, caressing it and making him purr happily. A small smile spread over Xero's lips as she looked down at her son, but was quickly extinguished when she cast her gaze back to Flinch. Parting her lips slightly, she sighed softly as she gazed at his fresh scratches across his chest and clavicle. A stab of guilt pricked at her cold heart as she was reminded of the last time something like this had happened to another she loved, Luka.

Sniffling a little, Xero lowered her head and pressed it to the side of Flinch's as he rested. She took in a deep breath and suppressed her sadness and worry again, just like she'd been doing for years. Though she knew the consequences of doing this, she did it to save Flinch from worrying about her, a decision she would soon come to regret.

*

A few hours later

It was late in the day before Flinch awoke. The sun had already passed the midday point and was slowly slipping down towards the earth and afternoon. However, the sky was far from crystal blue. It was smothered in a thick mob of dark, brooding clouds, dampening the sun's weak glow and making the forest appear darker and gloomier than normal.

Flinch raised his head and yawned slowly, opening his disjointed jaw as wide as he could go as he did. He grinned happily as he found himself encircled by Xero's soft embrace, her arms across his front and legs entwined with his. Glancing down, Flinch sighed, his smile dropping, as he saw the four fresh scars embedded in his skin, surrounded by a coat of dry blood. It had been many years since he'd received a scar of any sort, but it looked like his luck had run out.

Sitting up carefully, breaking from Xero's hold, Flinch scratched casually at the scabs over his chest as he surveyed the small lakeside resting place. Xero was curled up slightly, laying on her back with her hands rested on her front in a patch of soft grass behind him, but with a twitching hiss on her lips as she slept. Taro lay within the safe coils of her tail, snoozing peacefully. The body of the predator was still lying where she fell, surrounded by a pool of oozing blood a few metres from the group of xenomorphs. Flinch pushed himself tentatively up onto all fours and padded over to the dead Predator. Shaking his blue patched head, Flinch ran his gaze briefly over the body with a disdainful look on his face.

'Daddy?'

Flinch turned his head to see Taro looking at him, yawning slowly. Smiling, Flinch said to the little xeno as he freed himself from Xero's tail: 'Heya, kid. Sleep well?'

'Yes, yes. Nice,' chatted Taro as he bounced up to Flinch, smiling. Then, he turned his head curiously to look at the deceased Predator. 'No nice, yes?'

'Yeah, no nice. Preds no nice,' chuckled Flinch. 'Hey, Taro, you hungry?'

'Yes, yes!' Barked Taro excitedly at the prospect of food. He watched his father eagerly as he leant over the body and whipped his tail out, carefully using it, along with his claws, to rip the belly of the Predator open, allowing her green guts to spill out as he did. Flinch then yanked off one of the Predator's arms at the elbow and placed it before Taro, who inched up close to it and sniffed it.

'Go on, take a bite,' said Flinch reassuringly, tearing out one of the ribs for himself and sucking the flesh off it. Taro watched Flinch eat for a while before lowering his head and eating too.

'Nice. Yes nice,' muttered Taro between bites of food, a trickle of green blood running down his black chin. 

'Yeah, I thought you'd like it,' chuckled Flinch, grinning at Taro. 'Ain't nothing like pred to eat, 'ay?' 

Before long, they'd ploughed through quite a substantial amount of flesh and were both laid back, relaxing. Flinch causally licked the remaining droplets of blood from his long fingers and looked up at the gloomy sky, a relaxed smile on his lips. He felt nice and calm, full and happy, totally at peace. 

But, as Flinch glanced over to check on Xero, coming out of his happy day dream, his face fell. Xero was writhing about like a fish out of water and twitching her lips violently, emitting short sharp hisses as she squirmed around. Her body writhed and pulsed as she dreamt dark and dismal dreams about times long passed. A cold sweat drenched her slim body and she convulsed up, letting out a deafening howl as she suddenly awoke.

'NO!' Screamed Xero as she sat bolt up right, her claws on her feet gripping the ground hard and a petrified expression on her almost featureless face.

'Xero? You okay, sweet?' Flinch asked as he ran over to her, worried.

'What?! Er... Yeah. Of course I am,' muttered Xero, turning her head away from Flinch slightly as he approached, looking down. She wiped the sweat from her face and let out a soft sigh, her lips still twitching slightly as she forced herself to calm down. 

'You sure? You look kinda shaky and you did wake up with a start,' ventured Flinch as he moved closer still to the twitching Xero.

'Yes I'm fine!' Spat Xero curtly, flashing her teeth in warning to Flinch, who backed off. Then, her face still dark with anger, she turned to what remained of the Predator and grunted: 'Nice to see you left me some then.' 

As Xero moved over to the remains of the meal and begun to tuck in rather savagely, Flinch watched her. He knew something was definitely wrong with her, she hadn't been this snappy for a long time, but he had no idea what could be upsetting her. Yet. 

It was quite a while before Xero finally finished her meal and turned back to face her partner and son. She appeared to have calmed down a little now, although Flinch could still smell the air of anger on her, bubbling just below the surface, as she asked him: 'You feel any better?'

'Yeah, I do, much,' nodded Flinch, giving a kind smile to Xero, who returned it. 'A few to add to my collection,' he laughed as he looked down at the cluster of fresh scars across his grey chest, casually scratching at them again.

'I wouldn't scratch them if I were you,' warned Xero. She sat back on her backside, curling her long tail around her feet and flashing the deadly tip like a knife. 'You'll only make them worse.'

'Nah,' chuckled Flinch with a grin. 'I reckon I'll be fine. It's just a few scratches, nothing serious.'

'It will be if you keep doing that,' said Xero as she ran her be-scarred right hand over her dome. 'Trust me.'

'If you say so,' shrugged Flinch with a grin. He then turned to watch Taro for a second, watching the little xeno as he chased excitedly after another red butterfly. 'I reckon we should get moving again soon, girl. We're almost at the town now, be a shame to give up, 'ay?'

'Hm, true,' agreed Xero, a tinge of doubt in her dark voice. 'I don't think you can walk all that way like that.' She gestured to Flinch's fresh scars with a flick of her tail.

'I'll be fine, Xero. Don't worry about me,' said Flinch with a smile as he pushed himself up onto his knees. 'I'll be fine.'

'You sure? I could carry you?' Offered Xero forcefully, smiling sweetly as she stood up. 'I don't mind.'

'No, no. It's fine,' chuckled Flinch. 'I can- Woha!' Flinch yelped as Xero grabbed him round the waist and swung him suddenly into her arms, holding him carefully. 

'Oh, Flinch,' Xero grinned at him happily, her lips twitching slightly. She then whipped out her long tail and wrapped it around Taro, the way a snake does to it's prey, scooping him up safely in it. Taro squealed happily in excitement as Xero begun to walk, swinging her tail from side to side.

'You really don't have to do this, girl,' said Flinch with a smile up to Xero as she carried him gently in her arms. 'I'm fine.'

'Consider it a rare treat. I'd make the most of it if I were you, it won't last long,' she grinned down at him, showing her pointed teeth. 'I'm not going to do this often.'

'Well, I will make the most of it then,' smirked Flinch and he slowly slipped a hand round her waist to rub the base of her tail, making her lift her head up and grin to herself.

'No... Yuck...' Grumbled Taro unhappily, looking disgusted at his parent's actions and turning his head away.

After a small while of walking, Flinch seeming to greatly enjoy being carried by Xero and was definitely making the most of being close to her, Xero spoke. 'Hey, Flinch?'

'Hm?' Flinch looked up from where he'd been casually watching Xero's backside as she walked to her face. 'What's up, girl?'

'You feeling better yet?' She asked, a smile playing on her lips. A small red butterfly, much like the one Taro had been chasing earlier, flitted past her, whizzing up towards the dark, angry sky.

'Oh yeah, much much better,' he chuckled in reply. 'My chest barely hurts at all.'

'Oh really?' Said Xero, a slight edge of danger returning to her voice. 'You've been fine all this time, right?' 

'Yeah,' grinned Flinch, leaning back into her arms, too absorbed in his relaxed mood to notice the danger. 'You told me to make the most of it, so I am.' He chuckled to himself.

'So I've been carrying you all the time for no real reason?' Remarked Xero, her smile slipping like rain down a window.

'Nope.'

'You're not actually hurt at all are you?'

'Not anymore, nope.'

'Well then,' said Xero dangerously, grinning a sharp and forced grin. Suddenly, she dropped Flinch abruptly and stepped over him, snarling: 'Walk!

Landing with an abrupt thud on the floor, Flinch let out a yelp of pain, grabbing his backside as he hit the ground hard. His happy mood evaporated instantly and was replaced by a look of irritation, his lips twisting up slightly, as he watched Xero stride away, swinging Taro up into her arms with a flick of her tail. Putting on an angry pout, Flinch folded his arms and huffed angrily, like a defiant child, as Xero strode a few metres in front of him, muttering under her breath to herself. Slowly, Xero slowed to a stop and turned her dark gaze on Flinch, who still sat on the floor where she'd dropped him.

'Oh for gods sake, Flinch! C'mon!' She growled exasperatedly, putting a hand on her hip. 

Flinch stayed still, ignoring her. 

'Come on!' Continued Xero, showing her deadly white teeth at Flinch and turning to face him fully.

Flinch didn't even look up, just stared huffily at the ground.

'Why are you being so bloody childish?' Snarled Xero and she begun to advance on him.

'Why am I being childish?!' Stormed Flinch, abruptly getting to his feet and advancing on her. 'You're the childish one!'

'I am not childish!' Spat Xero, hissing. Taro, who was still tightly held in Xero's arms, begun to whimper and squirm about unhappily as the argument escalated. 'You're childish!'

'At least I'm not so fucking grumpy!' Growled Flinch as he came right up in Xero's face, standing over her. 'I told you I was fine, but you forced me to let you carry me then blame me over it!'

'You liar! You never said that! You just wanted me to do that so you could get a free ride!' Argued Xero, lashing her tail as the anger built up inside her like a volcano.

'I fucking did! You just didn't listen to me,' Flinch snarled, shaking his head vigorously. 

'The universe doesn't revolve around you, Flinch, no matter how much you want it to! Life is unfair, it's not all peaches and fucking cream you know!' hissed Xero, tightening her hold on Taro as he protested further to their argument.

'Oh, don't you talk to me about that like you know it all!' Lowering his head, Flinch hissed in a low, dangerous voice. 'You have no idea what I've been through.'

'Like I care!' Spat Xero, flashing her tail harder as her anger overspilled like a boiling pot. 'I don't care about you! You're a selfish, arrogant asshole and you killed my only remaining family member! You don't care about me really, only about yourself, and I wish I'd NEVER MET YOU!' Turing on her heal, Xero sprang off, leaving Flinch shouting after her:

'FINE! I hope I never see you again! Fucking bitch!'

Flinch watched Xero go, a look of loathing on his face, his mouth contorted into a furious hiss. He was mad, madder than he'd been for a long time. What was Xero's problem? What had he done to upset her so much? Grumbling to himself, Flinch sat down. His body twitched slightly with anger and he wiped a trickle of sweat from his head as he took a deep breath in to calm down, digging the tips of his claws into his face. Why was she in such a bad mood today? He'd done nothing to upset her, had he?

But, as Flinch's anger begun to disperse, the rage that had fogged his mind cleared and he realised with a sickening stab what he'd done. Xero had been upset with him because he'd killed her last remaining relative in cold blood, and now her and Taro were totally alone in the world as he'd pushed them out too. 

Rubbing his face dismally in his hands, Flinch moaned: 'No, no, no. Oh, why...' He twitched, sniffling. He felt like he'd just fallen seven stories and slammed into a concrete path. Suddenly, he twitched harder as a fresh wave of anger shot through him, but this time he was angry at himself. He should have realised what was wrong. Of course she'd be upset about that! Flinch himself knew what it was like to lose the whole of ones family, as it had happened to him as a child, and it tares you apart. Xero had had a good reason to be angry at him, it was his fault her only relative was dead. Maybe he shouldn't have killed him? Maybe he should have just left him there? Maybe he would have left them alone and none of this would have happened?

Letting out a heartrending howl of grief and rage, Flinch cowered onto a tight ball, brining his knees right up to cover his face and beginning to rock back and forth, the way a grieving child does. One of his hands reached for the small, purple rock around his neck and he ran a thumb over it to reassure himself. He whimpered and murmured desperately to himself, trying to kid himself into thinking everything was just a dream and would be fine in a plea for sanity. It didn't work, Flinch was going mad with grief. 

Flinch raised his head, a slight edge of insanity on his face as he stared fixatedly at the floor. He needed to punish himself, yes, punishment would work. That's the way he'd been taught to respond to mistakes as a child, punishment. Casting wildly about, Flinch spotted a large stone and his face lit up like an excited child. Perfect!  Scrabbling towards it, Flinch ceased the grey stone and turned it over slowly in his hands. He then gripped the stone tightly and brought his arm back, smashing the rock into his head.

Over and over Flinch pounded his head with the heavy stone, ignoring the pain as it stabbed through his head like a lightning bolt through a tree. A trickle of blood oozed down the male Xeno's head, leaving a long trail down his face, but he ignored that too. He must punish himself, punish himself for being bad, stop himself from doing it again. Flinch continued to slam the rock into his dome until his acid blood melted it down to nothing more than a sticky pile of goo. He wobbled slightly, before falling fowards onto his front with a sigh, his chin hitting the ground hard.

A dizzy, sick feeling settled upon Flinch as he lay there limply, blood gushing from the huge gash on his head and burning the grass by his side. He remained totally silent and unmoving for a while, his normally hectic mind empty of thoughts as he wallowed childishly in self pitty. A soft whimper escaped from his grey lips as he thought of past mistakes and the heavy prices he'd had to pay for them - including the cruel breaking of his tail, the loss of almost everyone he ever cared about and the unfathomable psychological wounds he had received over his 21 years of life. 

Then, Flinch struggled up onto his knees, pushing himself up into a stand. Wiping some of the blood from his face, Flinch sighed as he looked straight ahead of him at the passageway of trees. He may as well try to continue towards the town, after all it had been his idea and he did want to take a look around, mainly to see if there were any discarded weapons there he could have. With a long, deep sigh, Flinch pushed his dark thoughts and emotions to the back of his mind as set off into the trees, alone.

(C) SheWolfey 2013