i'm still caged inside [open]

[Zealot Duskhowl]

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[atrb=background,http://i52.tinypic.com/bimrme.png] Zealot stood on the side of the road, where the turnoff for the parking lot was, staring into the forest just beyond the pavement. Her body was stiff, muscles tense. Her golden honey eyes stared with a burning intensity, flitting left to right as wind rustled leaves. Her muzzle twitched, and her ears pricked as a scent passed before her. More than anything she wanted to leap into the woods. To disappear and never return. She could be perfectly happy living as a wolf instead of a monster pretending to be human. Her eyes dropped, and she seemed to sag. The only thing stopping her was the fear that she would lose herself. There wasn't anyone else like her, or if there was she hadn't heard of them, and if she were to disappear now... she'd never fill the aching hole in her heart. The one that demanded she turn her back on the wild. At least until she could find a mate. Involuntarily she took a step forward, her paw touching the warm asphalt. Lifting her gaze back to the trees, she struggled internally, debating whether she would return if she went in. Letting out her breath in a frustrated chuff, she turned and walked back toward the parking lot. There was a gasp from a family that had just gotten out of their car, and a noise of curiosity from a small child. The mother grabbed her daughter and stuffed her back into the van, her husband rounding up the other two kids and hopping in the driver's seat. They didn't squeal the tires as they left, but Zealot knew by the rev of the engine that the man had floored it out onto the road. Now feeling like more of a monster than before, depression sneaking up on her, Zealot padded to a picnic table set back in the grass, mostly out of view of the parking lot. She sat down on top of it, resting her paws on the seat. You'd think that after such a long time of existing in this place that the humans would get used to freaks of nature being around. Then again, most of them appeared human. Not like a giant wolf anthropomorph. The wolf put her head in her hands, angling her ears backward and shutting her eyes. At least she made an effort to appear less wild. She wore clothes, though they made her uncomfortable and itchy. She looked down at the tan cargo shorts and v-cut shit shirt she wore. She growled, half tempted to rip them off. But it wouldn't do any good. Zealot leaned back, placing her arms behind her for support, and lifted her muzzle to the sky. It was a bright blue, with a few fluffy clouds drifting lazily across. The day was warm and inviting, the perfect day for a hike through the woods. The scent of deer, though stale and old, made her jaws twitch in excitement. She knew that if she went into the woods, she would never return.