---

Tig raised her fist to punch him again but faltered as she observed that her first hit had had the desired effect. A sense of euphoria came over her and she felt as though she was radiating heat, as if her blood itself was boiling. He'd not fatally kissed her, and he was now at a more respectable distance from her and... bloodied. She'd punched him in the face and drawn blood. He was bleeding. She'd done that. She glanced at her fist and although the skin was abnormally pink, she was disappointed not to see his blood streaked across her knuckles.

She'd never punched anyone before.

She wanted to do it again.

Considering she'd felt cornered and nearly died mere seconds ago, the smart thing to have done would've been to flee and rejoin the gathering. Had she not been emboldened by Kristoffer's bloodied face and the certainty that she'd won the upper hand, she would probably have done so. The flash of fear she'd felt mere moments ago was all but forgotten.

As much as he might remind her of Tiberius, she felt strangely liberated around him in a way she didn't with her husband. He was like a cheap imitation Tiberius, a cheap imitation whose life she held no respect for. In the early days of marriage when she'd fallen asleep wishing Tiberius dead, when she would have gleefully celebrated his demise, she had been too naive, too immature to make a serious attempt on his life. Now she could think of a thousand ways to widow herself and moreover was better equipped to carry it out, but she didn't really want to anymore.

She shouldn't kill Kristoffer Lestrange but she could. There'd definitely be some repercussions but she wouldn't regret his death, conversely she suspected she'd regret Tiberius'. Both deaths would be a pain in the ass to deal with afterwards - she'd have to tell Tiberius (preferably before she dropped dead from the Unbreakable Vow) if she killed his cousin and he'd have to... smooth it over with his family. If she killed Tiberius then she'd have to deal with being a widow and she wasn't sure what provisions would be made for her, if any. (Surely he was obligated to provide for her if she outlived him?) Regardless, the main impediment to her killing Tiberius was that she didn't want to. Even in a rage, nowadays she only wanted to harm him non-fatally. What did it mean if it wasn't practicality keeping her from wishing Tiberius dead?

Tig didn't want to think about it, not now, not here, not ever.

Do I need to hit you again to get the point through your thick skull? She balled her fist again threateningly and took a step toward him. So much as breathe in my direction again and I promise you'll regret it. Do you understand? She brought her other hand up towards his face and aimed a sharp flick of her finger at his wounded nose.

---

Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes: