Coming to Grips

It had been a month since she had met the cocky, greedy man with a big heart. She continued to wonder how he could exist with such an apparent contradiction, but she supposed that was something he resolved on his own time. The trail they found turned out to be yet another dead-end, no doubt set by her inglorious bastard of a for her own entertainment. Shortly after though, they found another scent trail, so once again, Renesmee was on the hunt. However, a gut feeling told her this trail would be different; the great moment of truth where mother and daughter would meet to finally end things.

The assassin continued to marvel at the full feeling of her stomach as she and Aethon flew through the Pergrande skies, headed east. "So that's what happens when you actually feed properly...." It was a sentiment she had forgotten in the two years prior to the disaster a month ago. More importantly, Aethon was surprisingly quiet, the being typically animated on their flights between destinations.

"What are you thinking about Aethon?"

For a few moments, the bird didn't respond, still weighed down by their own thoughts. "I don't know..it's just, this could be it...Do you feel ready to face her again?" the familiar asked, worry creeping into its tone. While it wasn't there for the first battle (having not existed yet), it couldn't help but feel trepidation after watching Rene toss and turn night after night, tormented by nightmares it knew involved Esme.

"Yes. There will be only one of us leaving the battlefield, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it's me. No more games, no more illusions, and no more handicapping myself; she dies today," Rene responded, her voice cold, focused.

"I hope so." Aethon flew lower, picking up speed as they felt the scent pull ever closer. More than a scent, there was magic mixed in: her magic. As sly and a cunning as its master, full of devious intent. It immediately set Rene and Aethon on edge. Then they saw a flash of red below; something moving quickly. Aethon went into a dive, giving chase as it put on every ounce of speed it could muster.

"Her."