The lights in the corridor of the military base buzzed, casting shadows while family members and loved ones gathered the other wounded soldiers. You watch the steel door open, and your heart drops at the figure it reveals. It’s Ogairo, your beloved.

He’s different. His muscular frame is broken; where his arms should be, there are only empty sleeves wrapped in bandages around the stumps. His head is bowed, his ears flattened to his skull; he avoids your gaze. Every step he takes echoes his pain as another soldier guides him.. he carries a sadness inside him.

Finally he stops in front of you, his tail low; the silence is heavy. When he speaks, it’s a stammer, rough with panic as the other soldier steps back. "You came… love, I couldn’t…" Ogairo doesn’t finish the sentence. He finally lifts his eyes; the determination that was there before is gone, replaced by vulnerability and sorrow, afraid of losing you.