91st of Summer, 514 AV
The snake nailed to her door was like a kick in the face, or like the bite of a gator upon her body, merciless and instinctively difficult.
It hung there, limp. With jaws open as if it had tried to strike in its last moments, the forked tongue dangled out.
It was not the first snake to be staked to Adrienna Lynint's door, and she suspected it would not be the last. However, the woman still grit her teeth and began the process of removing it, delicately pinning the snake with one hand as the other began to work out the nail. Lucian, at her side, placed a hand upon her wrist.
"Remove yourself, slave," the Lynint snapped at him without looking at him, and he obeyed. He stepped back and watched her work, taking care to ensure she did not actually hurt herself in her solitary endeavor. He knew what she was doing, why she was doing it, and he maintained his silence. Even though Lucian had no love of the reptiles that made the swamp their home, he still found the unnecessary death of one to be wasteful and cruel, a slight against Caiyha herself.
Adrienna flinched when the nail fell free, only after she'd reddened her skin with the force needed to twist it free. It was dropped without care in exchange for cradling the dead snake close. Quickly did she step aside and allow Lucian to unlock the door into the store, a maternal sort of feeling welling within her as she held the dead animal. In her hands, it was still warm. With every shaking tremble that gave motion to the serpent, she could pretend it was still alive and would yet coil around her hand and arm for stability before beginning exploration.
She knew this snake. She'd sold it, about half the season back, to a child. She already knew what had happened why it had been put into her door, and she knew that a change would be needed. She could not let this continue happening.
Lucian unlocked the door and stepped within, beginning a round of the store that Adrienna herself would mirror when she'd finished her work with the snake. It was a necessity to keep an eye upon the animals there and make sure that they had not been harmed as the snake had. Rare was it that a person antagonised the larger scalies, and it was very uncommon for a person to break in due to the unsettling nature of the wares within.
Eventually, Adrienna deigned it important to follow him inside and out of Syna's protective warmth. The snake was not placed aside nor cast into the swamp, simply cradled close to her, bloodying the woman's dress. It was not something she cared about, not in this moment.
Someone had found one of her children unworthy of life and removed her from it in a cruel act. There was nothing more important than that.
The snake nailed to her door was like a kick in the face, or like the bite of a gator upon her body, merciless and instinctively difficult.
It hung there, limp. With jaws open as if it had tried to strike in its last moments, the forked tongue dangled out.
It was not the first snake to be staked to Adrienna Lynint's door, and she suspected it would not be the last. However, the woman still grit her teeth and began the process of removing it, delicately pinning the snake with one hand as the other began to work out the nail. Lucian, at her side, placed a hand upon her wrist.
"Remove yourself, slave," the Lynint snapped at him without looking at him, and he obeyed. He stepped back and watched her work, taking care to ensure she did not actually hurt herself in her solitary endeavor. He knew what she was doing, why she was doing it, and he maintained his silence. Even though Lucian had no love of the reptiles that made the swamp their home, he still found the unnecessary death of one to be wasteful and cruel, a slight against Caiyha herself.
Adrienna flinched when the nail fell free, only after she'd reddened her skin with the force needed to twist it free. It was dropped without care in exchange for cradling the dead snake close. Quickly did she step aside and allow Lucian to unlock the door into the store, a maternal sort of feeling welling within her as she held the dead animal. In her hands, it was still warm. With every shaking tremble that gave motion to the serpent, she could pretend it was still alive and would yet coil around her hand and arm for stability before beginning exploration.
She knew this snake. She'd sold it, about half the season back, to a child. She already knew what had happened why it had been put into her door, and she knew that a change would be needed. She could not let this continue happening.
Lucian unlocked the door and stepped within, beginning a round of the store that Adrienna herself would mirror when she'd finished her work with the snake. It was a necessity to keep an eye upon the animals there and make sure that they had not been harmed as the snake had. Rare was it that a person antagonised the larger scalies, and it was very uncommon for a person to break in due to the unsettling nature of the wares within.
Eventually, Adrienna deigned it important to follow him inside and out of Syna's protective warmth. The snake was not placed aside nor cast into the swamp, simply cradled close to her, bloodying the woman's dress. It was not something she cared about, not in this moment.
Someone had found one of her children unworthy of life and removed her from it in a cruel act. There was nothing more important than that.
