Amarena skidded to a stop inside the crater where Halie lay, her form demonized almost beyond recognition.
She was in war form, and while she knew it wasn't the best thing for her endurance, she wasn't about to underestimate her teacher. Not while she doubted that she would last long enough for the others to make it from the lake.
"Halie, stop!" Amarena barked as her teacher stood.
Halie assumed a top-heavy, forward stoop, her left arm growing to match her outsized right.
"Mrrrnaah..." she panted heavily, a long, thick, whip-like tail covered in cruel, slashing scutes arcing behind her.
Their eyes met.
Halie's eyes were still hers, nestled amidst now-black sclera. But they were filled with a fire Amarena knew all too well.
Wrath. It seemed to fill the air with its oppressive demand that she confront it. Fight it. Acknowledge it.
That she make it the core of her world and her expression in this moment.
