through residential streets
near
the dancing jackal
For a while, panic attacked his being. Leto saw that the pup could be register what he as saying, and as his mind groped for other possibilities, he turned back to see that the man was still there and aiming to kill. What else could they do? He'd die, and the pup would die, if he didn't run back to kill to the man -- but he was a human. How could he ever raise a paw at those he loved so much? The pain in his shoulder increased with every breath he took, his vision flickering in and out of a black abyss. Had the bullet grazed his shoulder or did it shoot right through in a clean hit? He couldn't even tell with the pain.
Luckily, the pup started dashing down the streets through the back paths, and he felt relief wash over his body. Forcing his body to move, he ran after her and hopefully out of view of the gunner, each step bringing a heightened sense of agony that the adrenaline couldn't cover. His powerful eyes scanned the path in front of them, seeing things that others couldn't see: there were groups of humans farther down; if they kept running in that direction at that speed, they'd hit them in no time. He didn't have a problem with that, but he was sure the pup would be terrified.
"Wait, it's not safe down there!" he called out, cringing as the wound bumped against a rough, brick wall, tearing at the wound. If he wasn't careful and concentrating on his movements, he'd quickly develop more injuries and worsen the received damage. "Pup, don't go! Was she even listening? Would she listen? He couldn't take that chance; increasing his speed, he managed to jump over her with the intent to block her way in the narrow back alleys. His legs were longer, more developed, more powerful due to the age difference and the experience; catching up and passing her through the air was easily enough.
He landed a couple of feet in front of the small, terrified wolf; he could see the fright in her eyes, due to his appearance or the gunshot, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was because of both. The brown wolf could only hope that the pup wouldn't try to escape someway and listen to what he had to say. He had her safety at his heart, even if she didn't realize it.
"Wait, just -- just wait one moment," Leto said desperately. With each step, he felt as though he was ripping the wound further, mutilating the gash to something worse. "Listen to me, listen -- I won't hurt you. I promise. I can see farther than you can; if you keep going down this direction, you'll hit several groups of humans. Just stay right here where it's safe; no one will find you here, and I won't eat you or something ridiculous like that."
Black dots clouded his sight.
"Please believe me. I won't hurt you."