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The young female stray sat upon the ground. She looked up at the sky, the diamonds scattered across every nook and cranny. Her left paw was painfully hurt. She ignored it, watching her breath create foggy figures in the empty space. Her pack had left her, and there she was now, despised and injured. The only thing left in the world was to give up, to let death capture you in its dusty palms. She tried to reassure herself.

I'm fine.

But as her paw bled even more, the more she licked it, and the more it stung.

I'm okay, it's just a scratch...

But then her paw felt numb. A feeling she never felt before. A cold, empty feeling. She shook it violently and watched as it waved back and forth, bits of blood scattering the ground like the night sky was scattered with stars.

"Night, hear me out...please.." her voice was choked. Her best friend, Night, left her to join the others. She remembered the choice they gave him.

''You can go with your little friend to rot, or you can come with us. Join our safety.''

She nearly vomited thinking that her best friend had chosen the others rather than her. She remembered all the times they had together.

"Oh my god," she whispered to herself, eyeing her still bleeding paw. It was still running with blood. "I have to clean it."

The stray gripped her paw tightly, then looked around for something to cover it. A leaf lay just out of reach, the leaf she remembered she and Night used when they had a cut from horsing around too much. But the sight of it just increased her pain.

Suddenly, she heard a branch break. What the hell?

She spun around and noticed a figure emerging from the shadows.

She grinned.

It was Night.

"So you didn't leave me after all," she sighed in relief, tortured by the fact that she hated him still.

"Well, yeah," Night muttered, grinning from ear to ear. "But I figured you'd be too stupid enough not to come back."

Not to come back? Stray was quiet for a moment. "Do you mean they'll accept me back again?"

"You actually thought they were gonna leave you? Heck, that was just a warning." Night seemed surprised. "Don't you know how things work?"

Stray thought for a moment. Then anger got the best of her. "I'm not feeling well," she murmured. How could the pack want her back if they bit her paw so that it never stopped bleeding?

"Come on," Night nudged her.

She had had enough. "Just-piss off!"

Night stared at her blankly, as if something had plunged a knife in his delicate heart.

Stray realized her mistake. "It's not you-it's the pack..." she looked up at the stars. "I don't want them to hurt me again."

Then Night noticed her paw. "Oh my god," he whispered. "That's one bad cut."