happening - open; fragile mentality

[glow=blue,1,400]YES, SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE, LIKE THE FEEL OF YOUR HAND IN MINE — [abbr=firefly osiris, female, 1 year and 3 months old, tiger x lion hybrid, paralyzed back legs, sister to paintbrush]｡+ﾟ.[/abbr][/glow]

Since her birth, Firefly had been told that sometimes the depths of the swamps and marshes of her home smelled of smoke and sulfur.  She had always been told to ignore it, for if you gave the will-o-wisps any mind then you would be whisked away by marsh-fairies that stole your tail.  Now that she was older, Firefly realized that the marsh-fairies and will-o-wisps were ghost stories used to scare the cubs of her homeland into staying close to their parents and the sulfur smell was the result of aging peat moss.

However, this ashy scent was accompanied by the sickly sound of wood crackling and splintering under heat and pressure.

Firefly couldn't run, but that didn't stop her from half-slithering as quickly as she could towards the threat of fire.  She could smell another creature, some sort of feline, among the burning.  She had to help if she could, since she was around, legs be damned!

Firefly didn't notice that the fire was coming from the cheetah.  It didn't even occur to her.  The only information that registered in her mind was that this animal was going to get hurt if they didn't move.  Moving on pure instinct, Firefly lurched forward in a desperate attempt to slam her body into the cheetah to knock her away from the burning tree.

template credit to guppy