a more sane person might have immediately removed themselves from the area of such a crime, but we have established, dear reader, that merrick was the opposite of such. 
and so he lingered near, the damned mountain from which he had thrown the boy rearing at his back as the inviting scent of a pine forest wreathed forth, and he went with his shadow to explore its recesses.
in truth, the memory of all they had done in the cave had been drowned by the anticipation of meeting his mother once more, and presently he turned his burning eyes upon astara, showering her with gestures of something as akin to love as merrick might ever come.

he entered and was immersed in shadow, presumably flanked by his beloved shadow. merrick realized in that moment, his skin atingle from her earlier touch, that he had become dependent upon the girl’s familiarity with him, in a way he had not with tadec or indra or even nunataq.
his consciousness balked at the notion; impulsively merrick considered rounding upon the dark seraph and cutting her throat with a careful snap, but the dire thought passed as quickly as it had come.
she was his and he hers and until that sense of belonging ended, merrick would long for her to stay beside him. the boy put his muzzle to the ground in silence, a sense of contentment settling over him.