Stars (Ascension Short)

Stars Part III

The training grounds had become a wreck.
Victoria panted, claws clenching the packed ground.
This couldn't be happening. It wasn't right!
Why couldn't her daughter just be normal? Why did she have to be a threat to their very way of life?
Victoria screeched, lashing out at one of the target dummies, shredding it.
Why did her life have to be so difficult? Why did her daughter have to complicate things?
Screaming bloody rage, Victoria slashed another dummy.
"We need to talk."
Victoria turned on her partner with a snarl of hatred. He had been the one to bring her the news of their daughter's anomaly. He had been the one to ruin everything.
Bolden dodged her vengeful slash, not terribly surprised.
"No," Victoria growled, a guttural note, "we don't."
Bolden nodded, moving into a fighting stance.
"You trust that this is best for us?" He questioned as the two began circling one another, searching for an opening in the other's defenses.
"No." Victoria retorted, closing the distance and slashing at her partner's exposed flank.
Bolden rolled under her attack, landing a quick slash to her underbelly before she could react.
Victoria snarled and clamped a talon down on his tail before he could get enough distance, smirking at his slip up.
"You know that none of this is going to end well." She elaborated.
Bolden kicked her back legs out from under her with his back paws, taking advantage of his opening to pin his partner.
"The fight or our situation?" He questioned, "because neither are going to end well."
Victoria sneered, pulling on her solar ability to summon flames that coated her wings.
The whooshing flames had Bolden retreating.
"Cheater." He grumbled, pulling on his own connection to the sun.
His connection was weaker but now by much.
"We can't keep this a secret and you know it," Victoria growled as the two circled one another, adjusting their fighting style to accommodate the use of the sun's power. "Sooner or later this will all blow up in our face and we'll have to put the pieces back together, if there are any pieces left that is."
Bolden grinned, satisfied that he had managed to coax out the reason behind his partner's anger. He surged forward, moving his wings to block his partner's when she brought them up to distance herself from his approach.
Victoria smirked, sensing victory as she prepared for her partner's attack. She fell back as they collided, using her momentum to drag him down with her and turn his attack to her advantage.
"We'll be ok," Bolden said as his partner pinned him, a talon to his throat, a deathly light that spoke of vengeful hatred in her eyes, "we've been through worse and come through stronger than before."
Victoria narrowed her eyes at her partner, the dangerous temptation to slit his throat with her claws appealing to her more and more as she realized just how unconcerned he was by the whole situation.
"If we mess up and she uses her ability it's not just us who will pay for it," Victoria rumbled, her voice low as she looked into her partner's cool gaze.
"I know." Bolden murmured.
Victoria snorted, backing off her partner, allowing him to get up.
"You don't," She said, "you never will."
She left her partner alone in the training grounds with his thoughts, the marks of her hatred visible on his bruised throat.