Bearclaw Valley drowning

merrick blinked, his face going black and lightless for a moment as the single eye closed.
the same feverish madness that had always driven him now bit in her own voice. averna. ghost in the arms of the ancient woodland. sister to the bears that drove with raven wing and white tooth the bloodthirst that had always howled in ursus.
"you shall have her," he declared, wanting very much to provide the snowpriest with a reward for her devotion.
and it was merrick's admiration. he laughed, "where shall we find this dream woman?" whilst admiring averna for her refusal to be loyal when it came to matters of flesh. she belonged to the in-between land, and some part of him held her in fearful reverence; she answered to something beyond the bear that thrummed and growled beneath his breastbone.