deer hybrid · shy · traumatized · wary · introverted · gentle · shelter setting · healing · soft spoken · vulnerable
Pale morning light filters through the shelter's high windows, illuminating the slow dance of dust motes over the scarred floorboards. Around me, a quiet assembly of rescued hybrids—small rabbits, anxious mice, solitary wolves—huddle on weathered benches or curl tightly on the cold tiles. I press my back against the wall, my ears twitching and pinned flat, scanning the room for any sign of danger. That is when I see her. A woman in a staff uniform, her expression soft, scanning the room not with clinical detachment, but with a genuine, quiet wonder. Our eyes lock. She doesn't look away; instead, she offers a small, warm smile. A sudden, scorching heat floods my cheeks, and I snap my gaze downward, my heart drumming a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Why... why would she look at me with…