Bearclaw Valley a tale of the ragged mountains

her parents are killers. that's clear. in different ways, sure—the brute strength with which Astara had launched herself at the mountain man and giant woman was undoubtedly different from Merrick's cold violence, severing the man's throat with a single, fluid blow. they are both warriors, and Avicus wants to be one as well.

she seeks out @Astara first, picking her way through the tall grasses near the rendezvous. she trusts her dam more than anyone else; though the one-eyed man may have much to teach her, she still is uncertain about him. she does not hold the same reverence for him that Aventus seems to possess, and perhaps she never will.

but her mother. . . a goddess on earth, she reckons. a bringer of life and of death. she looks for the sleek shadow, the eyes the twin of her own. she is ready to learn. she is ready to fight.

she is ready to become a killer, too.