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Wolf was running again, and this time, she was unable to stop. The earth shook from the large paws that chased after her. Hunting her. She'd always known that Kipo was a threat. That she would hurt her eventually, despite her endless promises. Why didn't she listen to herself? Why did she let her guard down? Why did she trust her?
There was no place to hide. Only trees, trees and more trees. They would do nothing to hide her scrawny body. Kipo's nose would find her effortlessly. She just had to keep running like she always did.
A roar echoed through the dark, startling Wolf into tripping over her own legs. She hissed at the landing, feeling her palms and knees burning. The jaguar was getting closer. She was going to catch her soon enough. She had to keep going. She had to survive.
Wolf forced herself back on her feet, ignoring the throbbing in her legs as she did so. She started running again, faster this time. She didn't want to die. She truly didn't want to die.
She could hear it behind her. The panting that didn't come from herself. The thumping against the ground. Daring to turn her head to look, she found herself staring into a pair of pink eyes. She gasped, eyes filling with tears.
Why did she trust her?
No matter how fast Wolf ran, Kipo just got closer and closer with every second. Wolf felt her heart beating out of her chest. Her legs were giving out underneath her whilst her brain kept screaming at her to keep going. She couldn't do it anymore.
Wolf slowed down her pace, panting heavily as she glared up at Kipo's large form. The jaguar towered over the trees easily, and her magenta eyes never left Wolf's teary ones.
The two looked at each other in silence, neither moving an inch. Wolf did her best to hide her trembling hands, but Kipo detected it nonetheless. She knew that Wolf was scared.
The jaguar slowly lowered herself into a crouched position. Wolf knew what that meant, and so, she shut her eyes tightly. She didn't want to watch whatever came next. She didn't want to. She didn't-
~~~
Wolf awoke with a gasp, looking around with large eyes. She recognized the camp where she and her friends had taken shelter. Benson and Dave were curled up further away from her, snoring loudly. Her eyes traveled to Kipo's closed ones.
She observed her closely. No jaguar fur. No sharp teeth. No claws. Wolf sighed of relief. It was just a nightmare.
She wrapped her arms around herself. Before she met Kipo, she would stay awake for the rest of the night, afraid of having another nightmare. This time, Wolf knew that she desperately needed sleep. And comfort.
She soundlesly crawled closer to Kipo's sleeping form, pressing up against her. Her heartbeat was slowing down and she could finally breathe again. Kipo's arms moved to wrap themselves around Wolf's waist securely. Wolf felt herself tensing up for a second before relaxing again. Kipo wasn't attacking her. She wasn't trying to hurt her.
Wolf let Kipo hug her closely as her eyes drooped. She knew that Kipo wouldn't hurt her. She knew that she could fall asleep without worrying for her safety. She knew that she was safe.
She knew that Kipo would make sure that she was safe.