Northstar Vale Yioí

It did not matter what her intention was, Tamar’s words had made the boy feel small. His perception had twisted her lesson. Antigone thought that his mother was speaking down to him. She called him a boy. She said that he had no say in Meadow’s wants, in what she deserved.

She said that Antigone had shamed Meadow.

Then she called for the monster.

The red-hooded boy did not wait. He did not stop to listen to her anger. The lesson had been lost on him. Neither one of his parents would hear his pleas. They ignored his cries for help. They favored the word of a hideous fiend to that of their son.

Slick with pond water, Antigone raced to the edges of Epoch. When his paws broke their borders, he hurried on. Until darkness swallowed his figure and tucked him away from sight.