Starglow Basin [m] vengeance is hereby mine

from the pass to the butte to the many-rounded lakes and back again indra roamed, had been roaming, felt like she would be roaming for the rest of her life; having turned away from the known wilds and any pieces of the gang, seeing as they weren't worth their spit these days, she had gone solo once more. it was a harder life but one she could adapt to quickly. her paranoia as at an all-time high, as was a natural side-effect of relying only on yourself and needing to be safe from outsiders, which served her well enough. she was still here; the rest could've been dead or something worse — settled — but indra didn't give two shits.

she sulked now westward from the butte and the last half-assed camp she had built, finding the tendrils of the serpent lake as it dribbled through the badlands, and followed it. in the grudging light that passed for days indra crept along, a wraith by all accounts, alive but looking more like a shambling corpse for all the successes she'd had (almost none). the silt of the river gave the water a murk and she knew she would only struggle to find any fish there, or frogs, and after a moment of consideration she chewed the side of her cheek and spat, watching the gob hit the water and vanish.

south, then. south and south and constantly, mindlessly, south; to where the water seemed to take over more of the land but it still remained heavy and the dust followed her every step and soon there were trees, tired the way she was tired and clinging to life with their roots. she gave them a glare, and thought she saw a shape moving among them. indra stopped and stared a while, squinting against the cloud-blindness from above, and could not be certain if the body moved or if it was there at all. she could not stand idly by for much longer and she knew that. a decision had to be made.

ducking and snaking, then. she made for a hedgerow of spines with a spidering gait, then hunkered low and watched a little longer. there was a voice now, and no body. it held a familiar snark to it but that would not lull indra out of her watching place; she knew better than to be baited this late in the game. the moment the voice said red, her white ear flicked towards it.

i'll be, she said to herself, inhaling through a grimace.

standing now, wild-coat prickled and red-rimmed eyes ablaze, she saw him. not the rest of it: the pile of bones which held nothing but more dust, not even a bite to eat left on them. she stalked closer but not too close, in case this was a ploy of his. yer the only shit i see, i thought i scraped yew off my heels way back when. toothy grin, watching eyes. yet here you are. nothin' keeps yew down fer long.