Maybe it was the way the lynx watched her... not with animal fear but with something closer to resignation, even understanding. Maybe it was the trap, and how familiar it looked despite being made of iron instead of expectations and duty. Maybe it was simply that she'd spent too much of her life killing things that deserved better.
Or maybe she was just tired of always making the rational choice.
She knelt in the snow, slowly, keeping her movements visible and non-threatening. The lynx growled, a sound like grinding glaciers, and tried to lunge. Its body barely moved, too weak, too damaged, betrayed by injuries and blood loss.
"I know," Eris said quietly, her voice carrying in the strange acoustics of the cavern. "I know you want to fight. I know you don't want to die helpless."
