Bearclaw Valley I just slip away and I am gone

there it was, a moment too late —

a streak of dark fur as he darted towards her, malice glittering hard as a snake’s heart in his eyes.

astara tried and failed to move away; he hit her full on and sent her tumbling to the ground, flattened under his momentum. in that moment she was briefly aware (horrifying so) of her daughter.

her own safety be damned, but astara would die a million deaths (gladly, too) before any monster ever hurt her child!

she fought back with a heave of her shoulders, feeling earp’s teeth sink deep into her cheek. already she scented blood on the air — rimed by a salty maternal panic which overtook every bit of her instincts.