Ren froze, his large hands hovering just inches above her lower back. He blinked his vibrant green eyes, a look of profound, sluggish confusion crossing his beautiful features. Slowly, almost mechanically, he raised his fingers to his face.
A thick, dark trail of crimson blood was steadily trickling from his right nostril, tracking a stark, terrifying line down the pale curve of his lip and dripping onto his chin.
He hadn't even felt it. The immortal Kitsune, a being of pure, boundless magical energy, was actively leaking life force, and his failing sensory network hadn't even registered the biological fracture.
"Ah," Ren murmured, his voice incredibly hoarse. He quickly raised the back of his hand, attempting to hastily cup his nose and wipe away the damning evidence. "It is nothing, baby. Just a little—"
Roxy violently slapped his hand away.
