forget stardust

There are similarities between Roche and Kasra that one or both of them might have noticed if they took the time to talk rather than fight, to learn each other in any way past the physical—but the bull-headed joining of two opposing and equally stubborn forces rarely comes with that sort of democracy. Kasra wards himself from his losses and mistakes, whereas Roche has an impressive ability to make it seem as though nothing bad has ever happened to her at all, which she prefers over the idea of anyone pitying her. They are two sides of the same coin, for better or worse.

So Roche prods at a wound she doesn't even know exists, and Kasra reacts, his tipping point reached. Her grip on the ledge was stable, but not vice-like in fear, and it allows the bulk of his shove to push her forward, one paw tripping over the edge, and the other grappling for purchase when the earth gives way beneath it. She isn't the sort of lion who typically screams in surprise or fear, and her reaction is all base instinct and near silence as her body quickly drops low to settle her distribution of balance, her forepaws braced awkwardly against the side of the cliff.

She wavers on her heels, her chest pitched downward in such a manner that she is not evenly balanced enough to pull herself back up, nor is she at immediate risk of pitching over her own head and off the mountainside. At least, not until the rock wall she has her claws dug into begins to disintegrate beneath her paws, sending Roche into a sudden and unexpected downslide that no amount of backpedaling will allow her to backpedal from.

She can't help it—this time, she does scream.

you are iron