you could rattle the stars.
you could do anything,
if only you dared

Vhalla remains on the ground, supporting her weight with her hands, head bowed as she attempts to soothe the very stars she sees in her vision. That whimper of pain escapes her lips before she can clamp her mouth shut and it's only the presence of Tetradore behind her that has the assassin dragging her head up, her eyes unfocused as she finds the panther behind her and her master. Pushing herself to her feet, she wobbles as the world spins and the woman even must go so far as to raise her hands at her side slightly to get her balance back.

Closing her eyes briefly, she reaches out to place her hand on the top of the piano; the damn room wouldn't stop spinning. It was Ivan's... tight voice that draws her eyes open and it takes her longer than she would have liked to focus on the pair; Tetradore herding Ivan away from herself, "Have I upset you?" he purrs at the jungle cat, though there is a bit of hesitancy coating his words as that full force of fear hits him. He controls his fear, only barely, so his scent does not go wafting off him and filling the room, instead, he hides that fear lingering in his eyes with a cruel smile. "Interesting," he murmurs almost to himself.

Noting the way Tetradore's muscles tense, his shoulders bunching right before he pounces, Ivan's eyes dart back to Vhalla who still stands behind the cat, hand on the pianoforte to get her balance, though her eyes are alight with confusion and horror and a slightly dazed look. "Vhalla," his voice is utterly demanding, there was no room for disobedience, the sound shuddered in her bones as her shoulders straighten, just as Tetradore lunges. There is a fierce tug in her abdomen, drawing her in so she would protect her master. The assassin doesn't have time to fight it, before she feels her body compress, it was an almost suffocating feeling as she gasps for breath as she simply disappears and reappears in front of Tetradore. Her mind takes a moment to process what exactly happened; as a hint of delighted surprise shoots across Ivan's features, though he makes no move towards the assassin. Ivan simply stands there, hands folded behind his back, a faint smile tugging at his features.

Vhalla blinks, astonished as she fixes her gaze on the panther's claws and fangs.

Vhalla's eyes widen, though not in fear, as she meets Tet's own emerald eyes. This was how she was going to end; a fitting death for her murdering tendencies; death at the hands of someone she... cared for? Vhalla doesn't allow herself to close her eyes and as if the world had slowed for this very moment, a sad smile twitches the corner of her lip up as Tetradore connects with her, his jaws clamping down at the junction of her neck and left shoulder, his jaws entirely engulfing her lither shoulder. And when he snaps those powerful jaws closed, Vhalla's entire body tenses at that burning sensation, that pain that so engulfs her. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She sees black and red, a scream tearing from her throat that so ravages her body; as the venom courses into her blood.

Still, Vhalla hears screaming and it takes only but a moment to realize it's her making that noise before her legs give out and she collapses onto the ground, and right before she loses consciousness, she can hear a faint cackle coming from Ivan.

Ivan stands there, glancing down at his bleeding assassin who had crumpled to the floor, his eyes flicking up towards the panther as he sighs, amusement sparkling in his cold eyes, "Look what you've done to my assassin," he pauses, regarding the King briefly, "I would have given her to you for the night, free of charge, after I finished her punishment," he shrugs before turning away from the wreckage beneath him, "I suppose that bite of yours will serve as punishment for her disobeying orders, though you did take my fun away. She's your problem for tonight; rest assured I will return to collect my belonging," he smiles as he exits the room. It's only when he's in the cover of the darkness does he allow that shudder to course down his spine. Tetradore was a force to be reckoned with; he would have to be warier with future interactions.

Vhalla Solarn

To the stars who listen- and the dreams that are answered