Hurt. It was a word that meant so many things, but most of all, it meant pain. Whether it be physical or emotional. I knew of the emotional pain, of how deep it really hurt when you were betrayed or left. But the physical pain was different. Sure, I’d felt pains here and there as I grew up, but nothing substantial. Nothing, life altering. I know that the prey we eat must suffer a moment of pain, before their life is ended, but lets be frank, we have to eat, and they’re…well, prey. Circle of Life, right? Thus, we go on.

The sky was brightening, little by little, and my attention was grabbed in such a way I was oblivious to my surroundings. I didn’t notice the zip in my gut, my heart beginning to race, or the air feeling, well, electrified. I felt those things, but I was too entranced to let them make any kind of impact in my mind.

The pounding of paws did, however, draw my attention, and my dual gaze was ripped from the dawning skyline, to land on his trio colored face. The panic that was across his face, it was indescribable. He seemed to be running from something, almost as if the devil himself was at his tail. He yelled for me to get up, hearing my name fall from his lips, it made me realize the zing that was zipping through my stomach. I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs from my mind. “What in the world?!” I felt as if the words were quieter than I had intended, as if I hadn’t been prepared to speak at all. I slowly stood up, tilting my head at him as I tried to figure out just what was going on here.

“What do I need to run for?” Confused for sure, I wasn’t sure what to say in any shape or form, at least right now. I didn’t want to run, not when I didn’t know what I was supposed to be running from.