Bearclaw Valley just have the strength to know you're wrong,

set immediately after this thread

indra had first been in disbelief to see stigmata had graced their lonely valley once more; at first she had stubbornly refused to acknowledge him. it was spiteful, but indra had accepted him into their ranks, and he had just as easily walked out on them.

just like reek had done. and saena. and in a way, xan.

for that alone stigmata did not earn her counsel, and she had every intention of leaving him unmet at the borders.. but sweet piper had come to intercept him, and indra could not well enough leave the girl alone with him. it didn't matter if the man would or would not harm her; it was simply not in indra's code to leave piper unsupervised with a man, especially so soon after lucas' mysterious disappearance.

stigmata had not been above being a suspect in lucas' departure; he had disappeared roughly around the same time, and there was something about the man that indra knew was being held back. somehow, she knew also that whatever part of him he concealed was a part in which she had no desire to be knowing.

the only thing that absolved stigmata from the full brunt of indra's ire was that his scent had been entirely absent surrounding lucas. yet despite this inconvenient truth, it did not spare stigmata from her reproachful stare from within the pines: she kept a hawkish eye on him as he entertained bearclaw's firebrand youth, her hand ever ready to exact vengeance should he show any sign of harming piper.

she was loathe to give him the time of day for what he had done to them, but after the conclusion of piper's interest in him, she stepped from the tall shadow of the trees and made towards the man with a cold expression on her features.