He trips. I stifle a smirk. He scrambles and squirms like the children he has created. I can feel my breath catch in the back of my throat, unspoken pleasure found in his pathetic display yet, I remain passive, allowing him these moments to grovel and plead with whatever force he hopes to sway. I cannot leave them alone. My eyes flick up as I shake my head a little, almost in surprise. "You don't have to." I sound almost earnest perhaps, but I seldom speak the whole truth. He does not need to leave them alone because they never will be as such and, certainly, he does not need to make such a decision. To ease his burden, I have decided for him. "Hate? You misunderstand." The children, after all, will not be hated. In time, they may very well become loved.

I sigh then, lowering myself down to a level more akin to his own. I reach out, gentle and slow, offering my shoulder for him to use in order to stand, rocking my weight towards him to serve as a rock. He babbles and pleads and for a moment, I am almost convinced he could not have done such a heinous thing. Yet, the male who had taken Raven had been just as pathetic - simply in a different way. Such creatures are always pathetic, always so undeniably weak, so weak they cannot resist their instinct nor control their own decisions. No, this is less out of hate than it is out of mercy, pity even. I am freeing him from his weakness, freeing my daughter from hers.

"Your love..." I begin, rocking my shoulder into him more as I bring my mouth towards his ear to whisper such words. "Has your love ever brought anything to this world other than misfortune?" My lips are taut then as I recoil enough to meet his eyes with the cold intensity of my own. "Your love ended with her in a pool of her own blood and tears," I state it with a nod, assured of its truth. "Now, my love will do the same for you." I motion towards him then with my muzzle, another nod given to him to affirm the facts: he is going to die. There is no if, no when, no praying. There is nothing but that fact.

I allow the words to sink in for a moment as I steady myself atop my paws, a sudden calmness washing over me as my eyes drift to his neck, his face, his gut. I probe each piece of him with my eyes, discerning quickly where best to begin showing him what love can do. "I will tell them all of how valiantly you fought." I bow and then, in an instant, I lurch forward to grip his shoulder, shoving him down with all my force so that he might kiss the very dirt itself. It will not be swift, not entirely, but freedom always comes at a cost.