The silence that followed his unveiling was endless, and his heart sank deeper, and deeper, and deeper. He knew that he was monstrous. Grotesque. Hideous. But her silence only confirmed that she now knew these truths too.
i destroy
He lifted a hoof and took a step back, feeling hollow. Not even the endless background noise of the jungle could steady him. He was a fool for entertaining hope, and he clamped down on the dismay rising up through his chest with an iron fist and forced his chin to lift, if only to hide the way he was beginning to crumble inside.
everything
Yes, she said and his brow furrowed, nostrils flared. Her explanation earned nothing but silence for a long time as he contemplated her answer. He could sense no break in her conviction, but that did not make it true. Wulfric could argue with anyone that the sky was purple with all the belief in the world and that would not make it true. His tail drifted listlessly over his hocks as he studied her.
i touch
"What do you think I am?" The question rose to his lips without guile, sincere and genuine despite the strangeness of it. He had been a disappointment to his mother, an afterthought of his father, an unwelcome burden to his brother. Only the jungle seemed content to accept him for who he was, and even her love came with conditions and risks he could not avoid.