~Heart thrumming painfully against her chest, Ash's breath began to finally come in ragged bursts.
Ugh. I'm tiring.
She shifted down lower into her haunches while running in a vague attempt to conserve already-spent energy. She deftly swerved around an oak that the deer had nearly collided with.
With a guttural snarl of raw power, Ash forced her throbbing limbs into one higher level of speed. She hurriedly raced up beside the doe, her mind spinning with wild anticipation of blood; instead of shying away successfully, the exhausted, profusely-sweating deer fell to its knees. Ash was on it in an instant and held the deer's gaze for a split second.
The dark eyes stared right back into Ash's soul, pleading a clear message: Take me. End this pain. Ash silently tried to commune her gratitude through her own vessel of vague telepathy before giving the lethal bite.
The deer uttered its final squeak as its lifeblood pooled out onto Ash's own, bleeding paws.~