Bearclaw Valley the spectacles

it would come as a surprise that in motherhood, astara was patently patient.

perhaps it was her years on the run that had softened her reactivity, or maybe, it was the constant needling of jealousy surrounding merrick that tempered her soul (and the babes served as reminder that merrick was hers' alone); all the same, the antics of her bearcubs were typically met with a quiet brand of interest. for now, her daughter clambered along her angular shoulder like a billy goat; while her brother scurried lizardlike after her.

astara was not without a little mischief: she waited until her daughter was close to her neck, and then dropped her shoulders and head downwards in a gentle attempt to upend avi's expedition and send her towards her brother's waiting jaws.