Kuronue squinted and fell still again, obedient but anxious. It went against the grain to shift his wings apart again, and they quivered with the tense reflex to pull together and cover up the sore spot the fox kept touching. Trying to get his mind off things, he chewed into his lower lip and glared at some blank spot on the ground in front of him instead. There was a stain that looked a little like a cloud. It took him a long moment to realize the stain was his own blood. Disturbing.

"... 't hurts."