Never Come Between Us

Any day that Satira could spend with her mother was a day well spent in her book! The little tan pup, growing to look more like her mother every day, gazed around the mist-veiled forest they entered with tiny coos of awe and eyes wide with wonder. Just like her brother, Satira was fearless—she just showed it in a much less outwardly reckless way. She gazed around at the mossy tree limbs and hazy air. She rode on her mother's back through the woods, still perched atop her from when they left the Armada lands. It wasn't that Tira was incapable of walking herself, but traveling over long distances with such short legs did prove to be a time consuming challenge. Plus this way, she'd get to cuddle with her mama every step of the way, os this really was a win-win!

Tira blinked in surprise when Asla scooped her up and set her into the hollow of a tree, peering out from her little hideaway in the tree while her mother wandered off to fetch them food. While she was gone, Tira bravely defeated a spider that had been in the hollow as well, squishing the creepy thing with two paws and a triumphant growl. Not long after, she saw Asla return with the fattest hare she'd ever seen in her life! Satira stared at the rabbit, salivating while her stomach growled. Tira carefully jumped down from the hollow to the ground and eagerly pranced after her mother, her ears bobbing with every bouncing step she took. After a short walk, Satira saw where her mother was leading her to: a large, gnarled tree that looked like it had been here for centuries. Satira gaped at the collection of bones all over the place, the piles of skulls and assorted bones hanging from the twisting branches.

The smell of fresh blood tore Satira's attention way from her fascination with the dismantled skeletons and back to where Asla lay, ripping into the hare. Giggling with excitement, Tira went bounding over to snuggle with her mother, nestling between her paws while she tore happily into the guts of the hare. The prey animal was virtually the same size as her, so Tira was in awe at the amount of food and her mother's hunting prowess! Asla was just an incredible wolf and someone Tira wanted to be just like when he grew up. Her mother was so strong, so dauntless, so driven. Satira glanced up at her mother with red staining her muzzle, paws, and chest as she had all but dove into the open stomach of the hare to eat. "It's the best day ever! Thanks, Mom!" She flashed her teeth up to Asla in a sweet, bloody smile and batted her bright blue eyes. "Is this your tree?" she asked as he ate, glancing around at the things Asla had collected over her lifetime, mulching down a mouthful of hare. "Wha do oo haf sho money buns?"

"Satira Fatalis"