Wapun Meadow and the space has been broken, our love is broken.

challenged lingered in the mismatched gaze of her adversary. astara met his stare hungrily, waiting.

at last he shifted, moving in quick succession towards her.

his limbs outstretched as his body dropped; astara, thinking he was attempting for a leg, quickly shied away. instead, he'd been aiming for shoulder -- astara was buffeted aside by the brute force of his blow, with two neat red lines like hedgerows marking her shoulder. she rebuked with a series of snaps at anything close enough; a quick, harsh bite aimed to reward him cruelly for his success.

again she placed distance between them, studying him with newfound wariness. he'd hit her several times more than intended, and she would not let him come close again.

prowling carefully, astara began to let the distance between them stretch further and further. one eye was always trained to him with glowering contempt, happy to escort him out of her valley.