Drip... drop... drip.

Aithne stands near a pond in the marshes with her head hung over the murky liquid as her emerald eyes take in the vision before her. Kaius has left a gash on the right side of her jaw, long and thick that drips steadily. Between her eyes is a scratch from his filthy claws that oozes only slightly, the coagulated blood looking more dirty than fresh. His body rested in the graveyard that Andras had always kept for she had drug him there. With each thrust of her thick muscles she had begrudged the disgusting male a bit more for he did not deserve to even grace the soil of Iromar, yet he would be a trophy for others who wished to test the mettle of the Empress. The gators were too good for the corpse of Kaius, only rot and vultures would do.

She is immersed in the memories that seem to have come undone by this afternoons violent happenings. The feel of the male pressed into her back and violating her, the fury that boiled within her blood at being so helpless despite being so strong. The heady rush of blood lust that had consumed her as she chewed into Kaius and as his jaw popped beneath her jaws. The way she had glared down at him once Astaroth wrung the life out of his thick neck. Everything seemed to spin and coalesce until he was the one that had done such a terrible deed to her, and yet that wolf was dead. Her tally in life now was two - two dead.

A cry catches her attention, russet ears flicking back before a bolt of realization has her turning in a sudden tizzy. Praetor. Her heart leaps into her throat for a moment, jaws parting in a whoosh of air before she gathers herself and springs off her hind legs into a dead run. The call is urgent and her body finds a new round of energy in her adrenaline rush to reach him. The marsh does not hinder her - it yields beneath her paws as if guiding her on the shortest route, eager to assist it's Empress, and when she spots the darkened figure of Praetor with two lighter wolves her pace slows, ears pricking as her eyes slide from her imprint to the white male and then immediately to Vesper.

She cannot help the way her tail begins to swish from side to side in her excitement that the silvered female is here; their time shared in the grotto had been relaxing and informative. But why? Why were they here? Her eyes dart back to Tesseract, taking in the blood that stains his pristine pelt, before they leap to Praetor once more in a swift worry but she is relieved to find not a scratch on him, although her own face must look a fright. She pads up close to Praetor, unable to help herself until she is certain he is not in any danger. Nostrils flare to consume his scent and she stands closer to him than ever before, eagerly scanning his body and finding his presence soothing the maelstrom of emotions that had been consuming her.

"What is the matter Praetor? What has happened?" Her hoarse voice is laced with worry, her blood still slowly dripping down the side of her jaw as her eyes snap to Vesper. "Vesper, it is good to see you," and her voice shows how much she means it before her eyes stop on Tesseract once more, inhaling his scent and recognizing it as the one that had stained the shores. "You must be Tesseract."