She desperately tried to hold her mother down, but snakes were a lot more slippery then she'd first thought. Of course, she'd touched her mother before, she'd only just been in a tender embrace with her. But her own scales were soft and unlike a true reptiles so she wasn't used to exactly how smooth they were.
Without much effort, Winter was able to slip out of her grip. She took a step back, the bravery that had been apparent a moment ago quickly draining away. Eyes were wide with fear and disbelief that she'd actually done that - she'd actually attacked her mother.
It wasn't that she wasn't used to violence - the world itself was violence. She hunted and killed to eat and survive. She'd seen fights and had been in a few scraps herself. But this was different. This was her mother who would never be able to fight back.
This was so wrong.
Lyra steeled herself. Shit, she was hesitating too much. If she kept this up then...Winter would escape, probably. She would figure out that Lyra wouldn't let her leave and get away. She couldn't let that happen. She had to hold her here.
She crouched and lunged again, this time, instead of aiming to just hold her down, she aimed at her main body, to sink her teeth into her back. Start ripping up scales and skin so that she would be too wounded to go anywhere. She slammed into the snake and she felt her jaws breach Winter's body, warm blood filling her mouth.
She almost let go with disgust. She wanted to vomit, but knowing that she was doing this to keep her safe, to keep her from dying, was what kept her holding on.
The hiss caused Lyra to flinch.
It cracked her bravery again. She could have ended it there, ripped open a wound large enough to send Winter into her chrysalis but she hesitated again. Her mother was still locked in her jaws, but she made no more effort to open the wound. Even now, with her blood straining Lyra's muzzle, Winter wouldn't attack her.
Tears were flooding from her eyes. Her heart was breaking into a hundred pieces, watching Winter in pain like this.
She let out a choked sob as more blood flooded her mouth. She had to finish this. She hadn't meant for it to take long at all. The less pain, the better.
So she pressed her paws against Winter's body, locked her jaws in, and ripped out with all of her strength. With it went a huge chunk of her backside, skin and scales clenched in her jaws. Blood immediately poured from the wound left over.
She opened her jaws to let the bloody chunk fall from her mouth and stepped back, trembling violently as she watched what she'd done.
She watched as the agate gemstone slowly began to cover Winter's body, every moment more painful then the last. She couldn't believe that she'd done it. That she'd hurt her mother to the point of death. But it was necessary. Now that Winter was in her chrysalis, she couldn't participate in the Trials. She would be stuck in healing, probably until it was over.
Lyra didn't know if the Merchant would be very pleased with losing one of the volunteers. She didn't know if Winter would receive punishment for not showing up. She'd gathered enough information to know - the Masters that ran the Trials were not forgiving. So, she'd take her place instead.
Once the chrysalis was fully formed, Lyra stepped forward, leaning down to nose it and roll it away - towards Canis's wall where it would be better protected. She tried to convince herself that she'd done this for a good reason. That Winter would be safe, now, that she couldn't be in the Trials.
But she couldn't help the disgust and horror of the act. She'd done the unthinkable to protect her family.
*exit