Bearclaw Valley eight seconds

From the corner of his eye, Aventus watched while his sire retreated with Evien's head in tow, and felt some sickness coiling in his stomach. He willed his attention to the task at hand and tried not to think of the physician's lifeless eyes. Whether he understood it or not, this was the way things had to be. He had done as he was told.

When the hole was wide enough, he joined his sister in dragging what remained of Evien to it. It was surprising how heavy the body was. In life, Evien had seemed buoyant in a way, light on his feet, or perhaps light only in the eyes of Aventus, who knew him as the only truly kind influence within Bearclaw's walls. Now the whole weight of his life unlived draped over his body and made it difficult to lift.

The corpse tumbled into the hole, and for a long moment, Aventus merely stared down at it. Then, still without a word or even a sidelong glance at his sibling, he began to scrape the dirt back over the body.