Clean claws make a dirty kill

Perhaps it was a trick of the wind, a delicious delusion that had led him on the trail of his flesh and blood. At first the Ivory God had thought it was that disobedient girl of his, but alas. It carried a different edge to it, faint and ever fleeting. How could he not know who it was?

Setekh's crimson eyes glowed against the stark white of the snow-covered landscape. The unexpected sight of Melanth, a daughter long unseen, stirred something dark and twisted within him – a flicker of something akin to joy, though tainted by his own brand of madness. Sick delight tinged with the need to control. She was a nice distraction, but reclaiming her freedom for her, had been tedious and bloody; and the very reason his other daughter had fled from Khrona in the first place. Pity.

He moved silently through the drifts, his ivory fur blending seamlessly with the winter's canvas. Only the piercing molten red of his gaze betrayed his presence. The howl of the wind was a whisper compared to the chaos in his mind, a cacophony that had driven him to the brink and back again in his relentless quest for Absinth. The God had his moments of clarity, of sense and reason, but more often than not he was ravening of bad daughters and anguished laments. How my God bleeds! How cruel! It can’t be true!

But here stood Melanth. Another lost daughter, but on a different side of the coin from Absinth, fraught with memories of violence and despair that he had saved her from. If only Absinth had let him do the same for her, like he had planned. Thankless girl, Rebellious girl! His lips curled into a semblance of a smile, but there was no warmth in it — only the predatory gleam of a wolf who had found unexpected prey. He could see what she planned to do, the deer fat with its unborn fawn, so he decided to help her; in the way he thought best.

“Melanth, Helonia,” The soft purr of his voice cut through the stillness, dripping with a haunting blend of paternal pride and malevolent pleasure. “Run her down, trip her up — her own weight will do the rest.” Setekh's eyes narrowed as he breathed the words into the back of her skull, a chilling chuckle escaping his lips as he waited. He knew some of the machinations of her mind, but not all. Precisely why he wanted to see what she would do, his red eyes glinting with a sinister pride as he watched. Oh this wicked disjointment! Do not let her be a disappointment!