Bearclaw Valley our love, it's broken

she sniffs and wags her tail as Astara licks her nose, clearly enjoying the caress. when her dam fixes her with a questioning stare, Avicus pauses. she and her mother have engaged in various spars—when Astara wasn't watching over her tussles with Aventus—and it might be a good day to do so again.

two memories blend together in her mind: Merrick's tale of Indra's murder (and why), and the feeling of Earp's lifeblood pulsing out against her tongue.

her father would have had to do that to his own mother. she stares at Astara's throat.

could she do it?

no. . .no. once dead, her mother will remain dead. and she likes her mother very much alive. a life without the dark woman seems impossible to imagine. 

Avicus rears up, a sudden movement, and tries to hook her foreleg around Astara's shoulders. futile, in terms of taking her down, but she is only really playing.