Voldemort's word was law and Hermione learned that pretty fast when she arrived here. However, the mere suggestion that this woman was going to train her made her jump from her seat, even risk punishment for insubordination.

She respectfully inclined her head before speaking. "My Lord, I've been training by myself and o-of course with your earlier input I have improved exponentially in this last months. I do not wish for your Lieutenant to waste her time with something, I assure you, I can do by myself."

Voldemort listened attentively to her words; Hermione internally sighed in relief as he didn't seem to be mad at her.

"Bellatrix?" The dark wizard directed his gaze towards the other woman.

"No, no waste of time, at all" Hermione didn't need to turn around to see that the woman was smiling.

"Then I don't see any problem." The man said.

She sat down again, understanding that this was a lost battle. Frustrated with herself for not being able to find a strong viable argument that may dissuade the man from his decision, Hermione had to relent.

A shiver ran down her spine, one of her biggest concerns have become reality, just the idea that she was going to spend more time with Lestrange it made her stomach feel uneasy.

'Could it be that Bellatrix had suggested this?' That'll explain her lack of reaction and her unnerving willingness to train her.

'But If the idea was hers, what would be the purpose of it?' Her nails started to dig further into rosy skin 'To make my life a living hell.' Her mind came to an immediate conclusion. 'This was Lestrange's idea and Voldemort agreed to it' It made complete sense to her.

"For how long?" This time, the brunette turned to look at the woman.

Bellatrix's eyes were filled with amusement; it was obvious she was taking pleasure at the girl's distress. "Let's see, I could train pixies to wield a wand faster and better than you in one week. With you, I don't know, it'll probably take several months. Even years."

Hermione's nails dug deeper into her palm, but she didn't take the bait. She knew what would happen if they start to fight again. She turned her attention to Voldemort "My Lord, I have other responsibilities with you that I do not wish to neglect. And as a personal responsibility with myself, I might not be going to Hogwarts anymore, but I wish to continue my studies. I beg you."

Bellatrix snorted loudly at her back.

If Hermione clenched her jaw any further, she was going to break her teeth.

"For now, your only responsibility now is to become better at dueling." He turned around again to face the scenery outside "But I must agree, education is important."

After a few moments of silent consideration from his part, he spoke again. "You'll train with Bellatrix till she deems you suitable, for 3 hours a day."

"Thank you, my Lord."

"Now, leave us." Hermione bowed before walking away.

As she was leaving the room, she heard the beginnings of the conversation between Voldemort and Bellatrix…

"Now, be brief. How many Aurors are dead and how many caches were lost…"

"It was Greyback's responsibility to…"

"But you were in charge."

Moonlight filtered through the windows, illuminating every step of the way. Voldemort liked to live up to his name: 'Dark Lord' The man enjoyed spaces where the light was scarce. Normally the whole mansion would be fully illuminated until midnight when the elves extinguished every source of light in the common areas. But here, like the rest of the rooms the Lord likes to use, the light was very limited. If it weren't for the natural light, Hermione would have to use her wand to be able to see.

Amidst the boiling feelings of frustration in her gut, Hermione rational side wondered if Bellatrix will actually train her? And if so, how far will she go? And how could she defend herself if the woman decided to create real damage on her? She couldn't help but make up images and scenarios of the endless possibilities in which Bellatrix might abuse the power she has been granted over her. The idea itself only helped to increase the turmoil of sensations in her stomach.

She stopped at the beginning of the hallway; she looked to her left, she wanted to climb up the stairs and go to her room, then destroy and explode something inside. She was in dire need of an outlet for her magic.

But first, she needed to confront Bellatrix, to confirm her assumptions and more importantly to know what game was Lestrange playing at this time.

She waited.

It irked her to no end to see Bellatrix so satisfied with herself, she looked like the cat who ate the canary in that room. Which it made her think that this was indeed Bellatrix's idea.

And if this wasn't Lestrange's plan like she believes it is, the other option was that Voldemort had this idea, only because Bellatrix told him that she got injured, which if she had kept her mouth shut then they wouldn't be here. In the end, it was Bellatrix's fault one way or another.

Hermione wasn't willing to move on, a part of her just couldn't help but hang on to the strong emotions she was feeling in this moment. At random moments her mind will keep replaying the fight they had yesterday, she was rapidly getting tired of the physical and verbal abuse that this woman did to her. On the other hand, she knew Bellatrix, if provoked, would make good on her promise to kill her.

Then why was she waiting for her? She was angry and she wanted answers. And the witch had them.

Before she could stew further in her irritation, the girl came back from the depths of her mind just in time to see Bellatrix crossing in front of her.

Hermione went after her and placed herself next to Bellatrix matching the speed of her steps with the woman's pace. "Lestrange, this wasn't his idea. You did this! You suggested this! Why?!"

Bellatrix didn't bother to look at the girl, she kept walking faster, but Hermione followed after her.

"I don't understand! you hate me just as much as I hate you!" The girl raised her arms in exasperation, frustrated that sometimes she just couldn't figure it out how the mind of this woman worked.

"I didn't! stupid girl!" The woman halted her steps. "You are worthless filth, what makes you think I want to waste my time with you?" She looked at brunette like she wanted to strangle her.

"How about to make my life unbearable?"

"Don't think so highly of yourself, mudblood"

"If not to make my life unbearable then why?!"

"When he asked me about our little mission, I did tell him that you are mudblood, useless as they come. Dead weight on my shoulders." She sneered. "He didn't believe me, asked me to see into my memories."

Hermione's tense posture deflated a little. It had been his idea, after all. What was the Lord thinking? Was he changing his opinion about forcing Bellatrix on her? With what purpose? She already proved her loyalty to him. It didn't make any sense.

'He saw into her memories…?'

"He is punishing you" Was the only conclusion Hermione could arrive at. "Us…"

"You for lying and me for getting injured." The dark witch features relaxed slightly; Bellatrix's eyes flashed with recognition, telling the brunette that the dark-haired woman share the same conclusion.

But then her eyes turned to their normal selves. "I didn't lie. You are deadweight"

Hermione was about to open her mouth and retort, but Bellatrix kept talking "But then I thought that is not such a bad idea" The dark witch stepped closer to her, an intimidation tactic that Hermione was pretty much familiar by now. "Because you see, little mudblood, I don't trust you." Bellatrix looked up and down and sniffed in disgust "You hide something…And what better way to know if you are not a traitor than to have you under my thumb."

"Our Lord doesn't seem to think so. He believes that I'm worthy enough to be here." Hermione said.

Bellatrix's lips shaped into a cruel smile; her piercing eyes opened to emphasize her next words. "Don't confuse your usefulness with being worthy, you are not worthy of anything."

The smile became wider and pitch-black eyes glinted at the sight of the girl's bravado flickering for a second at the same time trying hard to swallow her own words. "Be outside in the back garden after midday." Bellatrix didn't wait for a reply as she walked past by her side, shoving the girl with her shoulder.

Brown eyes, framed by a deep frown, watched the woman disappear into one of the many rooms ahead. "Bloody witch…" She closed her eyes for a few seconds, feeling the subtle pulses at the back of her head, a common symptom that a headache was coming her way.

There was no way something good would come out this, the girl thought.

"Granger." A monotonous but familiar voice called her name from behind. Hermione turned to face the man. She couldn't explain why, but a feeling close to relief set on her stomach and for just a second Hermione wanted to display a small smile, probably because the man was the only reminder of her past life.

But before she could display these feelings that were close to manifest in her features, she thought better of it and reminded herself that the man before her wasn't her friend.

An Ally? That remained to be seen, hopefully soon. Was he another pawn in the greater game? Yes, just like her.

And if her suspicions were true, he spied for Dumbledore. Which was something that mattered to her, not for the Lord's cause but for her personal cause. With that in mind and her anger lingering under the layers of her temperament, her reply turned polite without being anything else but general courtesy.

"Professor Snape."

"Must I remind you that I'm not your professor any longer?" The was certain undertone there in his words and voice; like he didn't truly mean it.

"Snape, then." A pawn just like her… An equal.

"Making friends, I see." The man said while his head turned to see the trail that Bellatrix walked minutes ago.

"You saw it. The best of friends." She said dryly.

They stared at each other. Behind his usually stoic face, Severus observed carefully, there was a reserved look in his eyes that Hermione had seen before but never understood what was about.

"Walk with me, Granger." The man turned to his left and approached the main door.

Outside the night was chilly, living in higher lands would make, that even in summer, people wear an extra layer of clothes during the night. The peacocks' cawing announced that they were still cavorting at these hours, their feathers became brighter as they were touched by the rays of moonlight; looking stunningly beautiful. Hermione winced at the shrilling sound one of them did, she remembered that their high-pitched calls were the main reason why she didn't like these animals.

They continued walking in silence, taking steps farther away from the Mansion. Hermione chose that moment to rose her head up to the sky and see the beautiful moon shining brighter even at its Waxing Gibbous. She could not help but take it as a reminder that in no less than 20 days the full moon will come and with it her transformation.

"I saw the newspaper." Snape spoke, bringing her back to reality. They continued walking down a path to lower terrain, the brunette realized this one led to the Mansion's west gardens.

Hermione expected him to elaborate further, but after a short span of time, nothing came. "Your point?"

"Did you participate in the murders?" There was no emotion in his voice, nothing that could tell Hermione whether he approved or not.

Was he expecting a negative answer?

'Why does it matter, anyway?' Her hand went through her hair instinctively as an attempt to dissuade the increasing pulsing in her head.

"Yes."

The man only nodded in acknowledgment; his features remained impassive. Soon, they were stepping over low-cut grass, marking the beginnings of the luxurious garden. As the silence between them reigned again, the brunette sensed that he wasn't about to continue that line of conversation.

"Have you told Dumbledore that I'm still alive?" Hermione wondered what would she do if he were to say 'yes'

"I believe you said you didn't want him to know."

"That's correct… But I can't stop you."

"Neither can I stop you."

"He lied to all of us." Severus said.

'Ah…Of course.' She more than anyone understood the feeling.

They stopped at the main fountain right in the middle of the garden. This fountain, unlike the others she had seen before, had the Malfoy crest in the center. Three male statues held the heavy crest over their shoulders; their gazes set on the nocturnal visitors of this garden. Hermione could swear they were looking at her with a certain disdain. The black dragons on the side of the shield batted their wings while the snakes on top intertwined and hissed among themselves. And the ribbon under the large 'M', which occupied most of the space on the shield, proudly displayed the family's motto: Sanctimonia Vincet Semper.

Even though Hermione considered some of the political views from Voldemort were reasonable; the blood purity one was just plain ridiculous. Seeing it present in the Malfoy's family crest only managed to annoy her.

"You are either too naïve or too stupid to realize that he would know earlier than you can count on." The potions master said.

"He won't know if you don't tell him" Hermione insisted.

Now that she had the answer she was looking for; Hermione could move on and ask the question she was meaning to ask in their last conversation. "Shall I be worried, Severus?" Her eyes were set on the silver-colored fishes that swam in the water fountain while her fingers played with the outline between her wand and her sleeve.

"Shall I be worried that if he were to know, will he order you to kill me?"

She wanted to cast a Diffindo across the fishes, slice them into chunks or maybe Crucio one by one

...Maybe later.

"...Will you kill me, Severus?"

This time Severus turned to fully face the girl, Hermione did the same. "What do you think that is going to happen when things start to progress from now on?" He raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner but didn't wait for a reply.

"You won't be killing murderers anymore. You'll be killing innocent people. Are you willing to pay that price?"

Hearing no reply from the girl, Severus kept talking.

"What are you going to do when you and your friends meet face to face? Because if you think it will not happen, you are severely mistaken, Granger" His voice started to turn harsh and angry. "Do you think our Lord will let you live, if you as much refuse to kill them? Have those thoughts have passed through in that big brain of yours?!"

"Of course not! Why would you? You don't seem to understand the consequences of your actions."

"And allow me to enlighten you and give you the reason I know you haven't truly thought things through." He made a pause as if he was trying to harness the frustration threatening to become more clear in his voice and features. "Because you are here! Still playing in a war. A child! In a war that only belongs to grown-ups."

Hermione brushed aside his words. There he was again, talking down at her like she was a little girl that understood nothing of how things worked. The brunette was reaching her limit from this constant derision towards her persona. Old and new anger started to creep into her again, running through her body like fire being fed with oil "Do not presume that I haven't! Because those thoughts are always in the front of my mind just after I wake up and before going to sleep. Always! Since the moment I accepted his offer!"

Hermione bared her teeth at him "And if you knew what really happened, you'll understand that I didn't have a choice." Tired of being scolded she emphasized her next words by raising her voice. "Do me a favor and don't regard me like a fucking child. Because the moment that Albus Dumbledore put me in Gryffindor and killed my parents I'm anything but! He made sure to rob me of that!"

She closed her eyes; her headache was throbbing with full strength and the exacerbated emotions weren't helping.

"You had a choice. You will always have a choice." The man insisted.

She opened them again, this time, filled with incredulity, a mirthless chuckle escaped from her throat "Did I? When did I have a choice? The part where our Lord offered me to stay with him or just leave? Yes! He gave me the option, all right. But really? If he were to tell you that, would you believe that rubbish? Would you be so gullible to believe that he was honest about his intentions with me? I'm not stupid" She hissed "Either I joined him or die. It doesn't take 2 brain cells to reach that conclusion"

Hermione internally recognized that she wasn't being entirely honest. No matter if the Dark Lord had or hadn't given her a choice. That day, she was driven only by the pain of betrayal and the need for retribution when she decided to take her wand from Voldemort's hand. However, Severus didn't have to know that.

"I'm here because is the only thing close to living"

'…Not true.'

Severus, who just kept listening to girl's rant, displayed a deep sneer on his features. This was as far as a true reaction the girl had seen on his face. She sneered at him with equal measure.

The man turned his back at the brunette and walked a few steps further from her. "Then let me ask you this…" His voice sounded cold, detached. "What are you going to do when you have Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley in front of you? Ready to defend Dumbledore and the cause they believe in." His gazed fixed on the girl and started to approach at the brunette "Will you kill them?" He cocked his head. "Will you let them live at the price of your life?" every step he took sounded heavier and deeper at the girls' ears

"What are you going to do?" He positioned in front of the girl.

"Answer!" Hermione's shoulders rapidly tense up, not expecting the sudden shout "What are you going to do?"

She really didn't know; Hermione didn't want to kill them. Her friendship with them might have been strained the last time she saw them, but still, she has very fond memories of them together. She hopes that when the opportunity arises, they could…Talk.

Well, that sounded stupid even in her head.

"I don't know"

This is not fair. That she was being treated like this just because she didn't have all the answers.

'But you already have the answer…' A voice in the back of her mind whispered over the frontier of her conscious thoughts.

There was a time where her friends meant everything to her… Does the feeling still exist?

'No.'

'…Yes!'

"What?" Asked the man.

'Perhaps…'

Enough!

"I SAID, I DON'T KNOW!" Even the dragons and the snakes from the carved crest hissed and shrieked at her roar. The loud breathing was the only thing filling the silence. Her body started to feel boiling, she could feel how her heart was pumping blood to all her extremities.

The man was again composed and stoic, not a single trace of his earlier contempt remained. However, there was pity laying under that heavy gaze of his, something that Hermione only wanted to erase by pulling his eyes out with her own hands.

"Then you haven't thought of anything, but little fantasies of your petty revenge."

Hermione denied that statement by shaking her head; her mind was a swamp trapped in strong emotions, muddling any rational thought wanted to bring some sense into the girl. "That's not true." Brown eyes filled with fury looked at the figure in front of her.

"Isn't it?" The man said, getting one step closer to the girl, now he just seemed to have a laugh at her. "Maybe is true what they say, Mudbloods are not that bright and capable as they believe they are. You are very disappointing, Granger."

She felt like he punched her at on the stomach, Hermione clang to every word the man just said. Her face turned numb, not aware of the pained expression of her face. Her head pounded like a drum; Her breaths suddenly became shallow and her steps wavered slightly.

Something broke inside of her, that it was clawing its way up to the surface. For a moment she thought it was her heart, but that wasn't possible. Her heart was already broken. No, this was taking place in her mind. Suddenly her headache became horribly painful.

And then everything went red.

"Pull out your wand"

Hermione took out her wand from her sleeve and aimed it at the man.

"Pull out your bloody wand now!" She growled.

Snape didn't react at her bravado display. Which became more infuriating to her, she decided to motivate the wizard by throwing a stinging hex at him.

The man repelled the attack like she expected him to. Severus didn't retaliate, but his wand was out and his feet were separated from each other.

He was ready.

"What do you think you'll achieve with this Granger?"

She didn't know, neither did she care.

Her feet started to move in synchrony with the movement of her arm, her casts were strong, brutish and heavy even if they were non-verbal spells. Hexes came out from her wand at the rhythm of her heart, drumming by the rage that consumed her mind and body by an equal amount.

Hermione's steps were unpolished and sometimes wrong, the man immediately noticed it. But her magic was unrestrained and primitive compensating her inferior lack of technique with the strength of her spells.

Severus maintained himself at the offensive by disintegrating attacks and repelling the ones that held a large amount of force within the projectile. The explosive sounds of hexes rumbled against the hard soil and stones of the garden; dust rose from the ground forming small clouds around their bodies. The noise of bushes being severed, the explosion of nearby flowerpots and wind condensing and contracting oxygen particles became the orchestra that accompanied their fight.

The man saw the girl's face and how out of herself she was. She bared her teeth like a feral animal ready to bite or in this case attack. The more he repelled her attacks the more her gaze became erratic and her attacks turned more destructive.

"Ignis fulgur!" Hermione roared.

A flame with the strength of a lightning was aimed at him, Severus was barely able to physically evade the attack, the unexpected spell left his mind stunned for a costly span of time as he had to roll again for the second shot, this time the veiny residues from the curse grazed his robes slashing a part of it, he rolled once more on the floor to turn off the fire growing on the lower end of the robe.

Two things came to the man's mind: One, he underestimated the girl's ability to cast dark magic. Two, she wanted to kill him or at least fully maim him.

The magical sources that granted light had long extinguished during their fight, now the bright moonlight was their only source for visibility.

"Reducto!" Her words were closer to guttural growl than a human voice. Hermione failed again, and instead hit one of the statues holding the Malfoy crest exploding it into tiny pieces.

"Granger, what do you think you are doing?" the man hissed. That spell was meant to kill him.

She wasn't in her right mind, that was very evident. He needed to neutralize her. Now.

He pushed himself from the thoroughly burned grass "Very well, Granger. Let's see how do you defend yourself."

He moved with the art and technique that only a wizard with his experience could have, favoring speed over brutish strength. Yet the force of his attacks was never to be underestimated, as they were perfected to break weak and middle barriers. Although his priority, for now, was not to harm the girl but to disarm her and bind her, Severus was ferocious with the spells.

The girl was repelling his attacks, her shield was firm and didn't flicker when being the recipient of a strong spell, her reflexes were so sharpened that she could react with easiness at the next projectile.

His heart started to beat faster, sweat was running down his jaw; a small smile flickered on his face. Hermione fought like an equal to the wizard, almost. Severus was about to finish this feeble attempt of whatever it was.

As he prepared to break her shield, moonlight fully illuminated the girl's face, Severus hesitated. He frowned at the sight confused and marveled all at once.

Hermione's eyes were a bright shade of amber, a far cry from her earthy brown eyes, dangerously shinning under the light and on the painted snarl of her face he saw two prominent fangs coming from her upper teeth.

It was one of those rare moments in his life where he didn't have the explanation of such phenomena.

However, right now, it wasn't the right moment to make sense out of it as Hermione was ready to shoot again. Red jets of light expelled from her wand, with brutal force and speed. Severus rapidly redirected it at the fountain, hitting the center of the crest exploding rest of the pieces, leaving no piece untouched by the destructive nature of the attack.

The girl didn't leave him with other option but to knock her down.

Severus positioned himself to counter-attack and calculating eyes set on her ex-student, this time though, he wasn't planning to be considerate for her well-being.

For every spell he cast, the blue-lighted blasts started to burn a path on the ground and the bushes, became the recipients of his spells that Hermione reflected; the vegetation around started to light small fires. Both witch and wizard were relentless in their attacks and even though Hermione was losing ground, the determination in her gaze never wavered.

He had to give it to the girl, none of the students at Hogwarts, or even Potter could ever last as much as she had lasted, and that was something to be respected, if not admired.

But this has to end.

"Sectumsempra!"

That ended it. Hermione fall flat on her back.

The spell was a vicious one, Severus knew this, he created it after all. Pain like that was rarely given by his wand, it was a different sort of torture from the conventional ones.

Death by a thousand cuts.

Invisible knives cutting the victim's chest and arms till he or she bleeds to death. He takes pride on his spell; it is efficient and more often than his opponents never see it coming. Giving him the fully exterminate the enemy or neutralize the victim till he gets what he wants. This time though, it left a sour taste in his mouth as he saw the girl twisting on the grass in agony. She refused to utter a sound but Severus could see the anguish in her face.

Regardless that she wasn't in her right mind she needed to be taught a lesson. Severus convinced himself, that it was for her own good.

Despite the pain, Hermione's hateful gaze on him hadn't lost its edge, like the pain was a secondary plain right after the impulse to want to kill the man. He approached the girl and kicked the wand that was lying next to her hand, then proceeded to take it and place it in his pocket next to his.

He kneeled beside to the girl whose chest was rising and falling from anger and pain more than from exhaustion, his hands went to the sides of her head holding her with a firm grip. He wished to confirm what he believed his eyes were earlier deceiving him. The man expected to meet some resistance from the girl; he wasn't disappointed. Hermione in her desperation tried to scratch his arms and face, even bite his hand.

"Calm down, Granger I won't hurt you." Not anymore was left unsaid. Perhaps, it was the fact that every time she moved or took a breath seemed to hurt her even more what made her relent.

He took a closer look, his eyes opened in surprise as if he was seeing it from the first time. Both eyes were a bright amber color, just like honey. He inspected her mandible, her teeth were all normal, except from the two sharp fangs that almost grazed her lower lips.

Maybe this wasn't too much of a mystery and more of rarity… Werewolves were emotional beings… Perhaps what he said…. And maybe the moon might have… How about the people who don't fully suffer from lycanthropy but still show symptoms? Could it be that she may…?

His mind was running so fast trying to find an explanation for such fascinating development he never heard the steps approaching a few meters behind him,

"Severus, what happened here?" The man turned around at neck-breaking speed. For a fleeting moment, he got the feeling in his gut he was caught doing something terrible and unforgivable according to popular opinion.

"What happened to her?" Hermione was barely conscious at this moment; her eyes were losing its focus, and the breathing became ragged. Severus quick response was to cast on the girl the counter-spell for his attack. A white light came out of his wand slowly closing and healing the severe damage, leaving no evidence behind of its nasty effects. However, the counterspell was only designed to cure what damage had his invented spell had done. The small scratches on the girl's cheek and hands were still there, he needed to treat those separately.

Another flick of his wrist accompanied with mumbled words and Severus put her to sleep.

"Severus?" The man hesitated a few more seconds before standing up. The last thing he wanted was to reveal a secret that didn't belong to him.

"We were dueling." He said. "Why are you here, Narcissa?"

Narcissa raised an eyebrow while crossing her arms over her chest. "The elf told me there were wizards fighting in the garden" The woman hid back her wand under her sleeve. She inspected the wizard in front of her. His hair was unusually disheveled, drops of sweat ran all the way to his chin. The vest and lower part of his pants had dirt spots; The robe got most of the damage as it was partially burned at the lower end.

"And why did you come? Why no Lucius?"

Narcissa didn't appreciate the distrust in his voice. "Lucius and the others are out" She replied with a clipped tone.

"Draco?"

"Sleeping"

Her gaze set on the girl once again. "What happened?" Narcissa thought if she were to find another man hurting the girl as he did, she would probably hex them then asks question later. But Severus wasn't that kind of man. She knows him. Yet still, she won't be taken for a fool. It was evident the man wanted to lie to her.

Severus attention drifted pass Narcissa, seeing all the damage they did to the terrain made him released a tired sigh. "I'll explain. But first, allow me to take her inside." He took the girl in his arms.

Narcissa only nodded, moving aside to let Snape pass before her, the smell of smoke and sweat lingered behind the two bodies as they moved. Before following the man, the blonde turned her gaze once more at her garden in ruins, making a mental note to instruct the gardening elves to repair everything tomorrow and to send a letter to the design enchanter for another family crest. As she was about to turn back, she caught a whiff of something roasted, were it not for she already had dinner, the smell could have awakened her appetite. Blue eyes scanned the area looking for the source. Was someone eating nearby? The question lasted less than 3 seconds, with five tentative steps towards the rose bushes Narcissa found the answer

The Malfoy matriarch stayed still, her eyebrows knitted at the sight of two peacocks laying charred on the ground, considering how they were positioned they were caught while mating. Now, it appeared to be that their flesh had melted together, the longer ends of their now darkened feathers still sustained small flames, smoke came from their bodies which carried around the objectively delicious smell.

She blinked twice before cursing under her breath "Maybe we shouldn't have any animals while she is here." She turned back and walk away.