Private Finished Hard But Soft Landing

At this point Salal knew the forest near her cabin like the back of her hand, so this time she had decided to venture a bit further in. Salal knew better than to approach the Forbidden forest, it had its name for a reason and Salal had been told not to go there. Salal didn't have any intention to run purposefully into danger and accidentally hurt herself, or worse, other living creatures. That was the last thing Salal wanted to do.

So, Salal kept firmly away and wandered the forest 5 or so miles away from her cabin. It was fascinating to see how different nature could be within the same island. The forest near where Salal lived mostly consisted of deciduous trees, but here there were a lot of evergreens like pine and spruce. The scent was lot more sharp and clear, it made Salal's eyes widen and fur bristle. These were the kind of forests she had roamed back home as a bear, and her body remembered it.
Salal rubbed her arms, where the fur was standing on end. Perhaps she should avoid these kinds of areas if the reaction was going to be like this...

"Chirp!"
Salal paused, and looked around when suddenly a small but loud sound permeated her ears. She looked around for the source, and soon found a small bird on the ground by a tree. It looked to be in shock, deathly still aside from the loud chirping that it occasionally let out. Salal gently picked the bird up and it didn't resist. She looked up, and was able to spot a nest on one of the branches in the tree. The bird must've fell from there and hadn't been able to take flight fast enough. If it stayed on the ground like this it would certainly perish...

Salal didn't take long to make a decision. She carefully tugged the bird inside her shirt, between her breasts to be specific, and began climbing. The pine was bigger than any Salal had ever seen, and she was able to easily climb its trunk. Salal dug her claws into the wood and heaved herself up, up, up. It reminded her of all the honey hunts she had been on before, climbing tall trees to get some of that sweet goodness.

Salal eventually reached the branch, and gently set the bird in its nest. The bird seemed to calm down and Salal smiled, happy that the bird was yet again home.
Salal looked around and saw, that the tree had a very good and open view of the surrounding forest. She gasped quietly and stared in awe at the scenery. The sea could be seen in the distance, a glimmering sheet of blue and silver that went on for forever. Truly beautiful...
Salal took her time taking in the scenery, and when she began to try and get down she suddenly spotted movement down below in between the pines. Salal squinted, and a wide smile appeared on her face. It was Yvarn!
"Yvarn! Hello! It nice day, is it not?!"
Salal hollered from far up in the three, waving widely at her friend down below.

Yvarn returned Salal's wave, and she smiled happily back, still waving. But the waving, a friendly greeting, turned out to be Salal's doom, as she suddenly felt the branch she was sitting on let out a soft creeeak. Salal froze, but before she could move off the branch snapped and she plummeted down towards the ground. And on the way she collided with the branch that had been right below her, and as her head collided with it Salal could feel a sudden sharp pain skewer her temple. She let out a short shout of pain, but she didn't let out any other sounds as she felt her body fall.

Salal squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for the impact, which she knew she'd be able to take. Her body was sturdy and Salal would probably survive with air leaving her lungs and some bruising. But instead Salal felt her descent slow down, until she felt her body safely touch the ground. Salal could hear Yvarn's voice, asking her if she was okay. Salal's ears were ringing and she carefully opened her eyes, ready to reassure Yvarn.

But when Salal opened her eyes she saw red. So much red. Salal's breath stopped for a moment, and she forgot Yvarn. Salal lifted her hand and carefully touched it to her face, then bringing it before her. Salal's fingers had blood on them, quite a lot of it, and when she realized that Salal started breathing again. First deeply, but then her chest tightened and her throat closed up. Salal started gasping erratically and she leaned forward, her eyes wide with fear. Flashes of memories went through her head, memories filled with yelling men and violence and warm blood all over Salal's hands and face...
"No, no, I did not want to do it, it was accident, forgive me..."
Salal started repeating in-between her gasps, pleading at invisible figures that existed only within her mind. Her voice was so growly and deep her words were barely understandable.

Salal's head and thoughts were swimming and hazy due to the hyperventilating, and oxygen didn't reach her brain properly. Not that Salal was aware or capable of thinking about it now, she was too busy muttering quiet pleads of forgiveness to men that no longer existed in this world, to men she had killed. Salal was squeezing her hands into fists so tightly that her own nails were in danger of pushing through the skin on her hands.

But then Yvarn started to help Salal's breathing with his ability, and as oxygen properly reached Salal's mind and rest of her body she became more aware of her surroundings. She vaguely registered Yvarn's hand on her face and his general presence, and once Salal's mind returned more to this moment she saw Yvarn's face before her. Salal slowly blinked away the red in her eyes, and once Salal registered the pain in her head once more her thoughts, though still scattered, became more coherent.

"Yvarn..."
Salal said slowly, letting Yvarn know that she had more or less stopped panicking. Salal lifted her arm and wiped away what blood she could from her face, avoiding looking at it by focusing on Yvarn.
"Th-Thank you. I can not...this is not good for me...to see this..."
Salal tried to explain, avoiding the word "blood" as she didn't want another attack to be triggered. Salal gently took a hold of Yvarn's wrist and lowered it from her face, giving him a shaky but gentle smile.
"You help me. If alone I would not be well, it is good you are here. Thank you."

Salal did as asked and closed her eyes, gladly. She could more easily calm herself if she couldn't see the very substance that caused her to be in this condition. Salal took deep breaths and eased the thrumming of her beating heart, assuring it that she wasn't in danger, everything was fine. She was with a friend.

The sound of cloth being ripped made Salal open one of her eyes slightly, and she made a small sad frown. Yvarn had ruined his clothes because of her, and such a fun shirt too. Salal reminded herself to buy Yvarn a new one, an even more fun of a shirt. It was the least she could do.
"I'm sorry, you ruin fun shirt for me..."
Salal apologized quietly, as Yvarn first cleaned and then wrapped her wound. Salal tried not to flinch when the fabric moved against her wound and caused a spike of pain to go through Salal's head.

"W-Why...?"
Salal repeated, uncertainty clear in her voice. She swallowed, Yvarn deserved an explanation after saving her and even helping with her attack and the wound. Salal took a moment, forming the best possible words to explain it in her head.
"In not far past I...I do bad thing. I cause...lot of pain, to me and others. There was...lot of...this then, it still in my mind. I can not make it go away."
Salal explained, her voice getting quieter and quieter towards the end. She hugged herself to stop the trembling that had started. Salal didn't want to cry, she hadn't cried since...the incident, and Salal had decided to not cry unless something as bad or worse happened. So, she shouldn't cry now.
"I'm sorry..."