Dawnlark Plains the pit and the pendulum

Finally the deer between them cleared, and Laurel was glad for her patience. What she didn't expect was the immediate attack that followed. There was a madness in Indra's eyes when she lunged forward, and once more Laurel was reminded that though this vessel housed Indra's soul, her memory was wiped clean and she was also Merrick's daughter, a different person. Laurel shrieked when she was lunged at but managed to move out the way just in time to prevent being thrown to the ground, done for. Teeth grazed at her fur and scraped past skin, leaving smarting marks, a few times but did not manage to bring her down yet.

Laurel was no fighter, and in perfect condition she didn't think she could've ever fought Merrick's daughter, who was more trained in such matters. But she remembered the Indra she had wanted to put out of her misery — remembered how pathetic she had looked — and she knew that she had a chance. She knew she had to push through. She wished that she would've been here by the side of someone like Xan or Mahler — her heart squeezes in agony as she thought of how he was not — but as with everything in her life, Laurel was left to her own devices. The only one she had and the only one she could trust was Laurel, and it fueled her belief that she could get the upper hand and end Indra's miserable life. She'd always be alone, that was how it would be.

Unless she would kill Indra now.

Unless she could have Indra be reborn and shaped by her own ideals, back in her life as the reliable subservient sister she had been before.

She'd have her sweet, sweet Indra back. At what cost? It was worth it; every bit would be worth it.

And where attacks from men had always made her flinch in terror, this time Laurel felt bloodlust churn in her heart and she felt determination rush through her veins. This time, she could do it, and she felt zealously righteous in what her hand would be in their intertwined destinies.

Without hesitance Laurel lunged back at Indra, eager to slow them down to a halt so that she could snap her neck and kill her; no more than a prey, now, think of it as hunting. Think of the razor-sharp teeth as hooves kicking back. Teeth exposed and eager to draw them to the ground, for teeth to seek purchase until Indra would stop moving.

So that she may finally have peace.

So that she may be reborn in a better body, a healthy body.

So that Laurel may have her back.