Jade Fern Grove slay the nemean lion

While it brought her endless amusement to occasionally drop in and check on Avicus and the rapidly growing children, her frustration rose nevertheless like a fever every time she left them to resume her patrol. Prophet should have been there for them- he should have been there for Avicus, and he should have been there for her.

Needing to blow off some steam she informed Avicus she would be going out for a short scout- tracking to see which herds were travelling through the valley, knowing the does would be dropping their dawns soon. 

Ranging brought her some relief, though she still felt the stir of wickedness driving her forward, searching for an outlet. A familiar scent distracted her from her quest, and she felt an odd stirring in her chest. 

She remembered the way she’d felt when she first saw the man- the leader of a pack called Basilica. They’d been too focused on their hunt to stay long, but she’d given him a brazen wink before they’d left. 

She wondered if he remembered her- or if she’d changed too much since then for him to recognize her.

She preened her coat, splitting the fur along her shoulders where lynx claw marks left three takes along each shoulder, like decorative epaulettes. 

She sought him out, following his scent, and when she caught sight of him in the distance, she felt ravenous for some sort of self-sabotage. While she didn’t know exactly why she felt the way she did, she felt driven to go too far- to reach for too much from him. Even to potentially ruin her chances with the other young men she’d flirted with-

Some way to make her worthy of Prophet’s abandonment.

”Ingram, right?” She called out, sharpening the curve of one shoulder, casting her cornflower gaze in his direction with as much charged teenage energy as she could.