Dragoncrest Cliffs we want them to say, damn, these bitches can paint—

there is a habitual weariness to the way that blodreina watches aure as the pale sylph cooes out a shortened version of her name, followed as it was by the hearty sniff. oh no. were those tears in the pale woman's eyes? it reminds her of the last time she'd spoken to wildfire — there's a mental hiss when she thinks of the traitor's name — shortly after she'd given birth. she too'd been crying and blodreina feels the awkward surge of uncertainty, of not being sure what to do about it. blodreina hadn't meant to make aure cry — she'd only been trying to dissuade her from making a stupid decision that might've cost her the lives of her goufas.

blodreina's ears cup forth alert and then they flutter back to rest at half mast atop her skull, particularly when aure says she has the 'kindest' of hearts. i really don't, blodreina protests, not because she thought she was evil, she wasn't evil; just a salty bitch. she doesn't want aure to get any romanticize the fact that she's an anti-hero with a secret heart of gold. she's been far too cruel in her life to ever believe that was true.

you'll be disappointed if you believe i'm kind. she was capable of it, of course, but she'd always been driven by aggression, hostility and her own desire to make sure she didn't fade into the background. being the runt of her litter had fueled a competitive edge that has never went away. being forgotten about in the wake of ( at the time ) freyja's perfection had always been her biggest fear. freyja'd been the chosen one, the golden child. heda's favored pupil ...and she'd stabbed the commander in the back. life hasn't made me kind. it's made me bitter and angry and broken. but that was ok, because blodreina could handle it.

life had yet to throw her something she couldn't handle.

heh.

aure's admittance of never having been thought of family before sparks compassion in blodreina despite her talk of not being kind moments before. i'll accompany you outside the borders if you insist on venturing out. blodreina offers. it wasn't like she had anything better to do; she wants her old rank as wanlida back but has yet to actually talk to blixen about it. truth be told, she can't help but think that verx should be the one offering bodyguard services — he was, at the very least, ( because blodreina doesn't know if aure and verx are mated or not because she doesn't much care to know about other's relationships ) the father of the children. i've got the credentials. i used to be heda's cheka, once upon a time. a time that felt, in the wake of the commander's death, like a lifetime ago now.