Wapun Meadow when i was a younger man, looking for a pot of gold

indra's own expression faltered alongside aurewen's, reciprocating the brief trouble that toiled her features. she did not like where this was heading, truth be told -- already her mind hammered aurewen's faceless would-be-mate as the villain, the dog, the cur worth not even a slip of moss.

only, this man seemed to have stayed; he did not take aurewen as her mate (why? came that insistent voice, rude and prying) but he did not leave her behind either. she thought of tadec, and how their roles were not so different. her little crow had loved her dear, but they had never been mates. he was merrick's father, but he was not indra's mate.

she found if she had anything cruel to say, she would be a hypocrite. so, she kept her cutting remarks on aurewen's suitor to herself.

"i guess that is good," indra started, trying to stay positive.. and yet, trying wasn't doing, and before long there was a spill of venomous thoughts to fuel her words, coloring her tone. "you know what someone once told me?" she prompted suddenly, a glint in her eye as she relayed "love the cock, ignore the mouth." indra spoke it ruefully, letting it sink in with a brief lapse of silence. "i don't think she was wrong. were it not for the fact men men came out of their mothers and stuck their dicks in others, i don't think they'd have much use for women at all. we're either mothers or lovers for them, little else. just teats to suckle or sheaths in which to plunge their swords when they're bored."

after this tirade indra fell silent, but it was not shame she felt -- it was injustice.