The mud and grit slapped Aicanassë like a cold wind in the morning. His head jerked to the side and despite the cold, hard bite of it, he felt nothing but red hot fury. He took a sharp inhale, smelling the earthy hues, bringing his finger up to wipe away his lips, before spitting flatly to the side while facing Vesta. He had come with hope at last, with an eagerness to move. The sprite’s words to listen to her, though he had relayed them mockingly, had been with some genuine intent.<i>And this is what he got for his troubles?</i>Now it was gone.<br/><br/>She was defiant, proud of her childish action. Stubborn. Aica took another great breath and released it, never taking his eyes off of her.<br/><br/>Then his right hand flashed, leaping over his left shoulder as fast as a snake, before striking like thunder from a cloudless sky across her face. The hard backhand would resonate in that clearing, silencing the birds and insects, even making the trickle of the water seem distant. He stepped forward in a follow up, left hand grabbing her wrist so she couldn’t fly far or even flee, keeping her still as his right hand came about and caught her by her neck, raising her up and slamming her hard into the ground at his feet, on her back. He stepped over her then came down, hands on her wrists, pinned to either side of her.<br/><br/>He said nothing, merely snarling and fuming as he glared down at her. For a moment he was like that, full of fury and hate, thinking of only utter spite and ruin for this stupid girl he was cursed to have as just that; his wife. “Perhaps,” Aica managed to sneer out, “perhaps you need a remainder who you belong to, what oaths were sworn. Shall I remind you then? You will eat the same as me, I reckon.” Aica hissed, releasing her wrists to grab at the collar of her ragged clothes, hefting her up violently before slamming her onto her side, before rolling her onto her belly. A hand came on the back of her neck and he pressed her hard into the mud and earth below.<br/><br/>Her hands he cared not about, though his other went down to the hem at her ankles, bunching it up and pulling it up, revealing her bare legs, first to the knees, then up along her thighs. He forced it up to the small of her back, before using his knees to prod and push up her own to bring her hips up more. It wasn’t the first time he elicited a<i>bedding</i>in this fashion.<br/><br/>And right when the cool air tickled the naked flesh of her womanhood and rear…Aica suddenly ceased. His hand went weak and pressure was relieved on her head. He rose, standing over her, looking down at her with pursued lips.<i>What was he doing?</i>Images of those…beasts who rutted in her flashed in his mind. Was he the same?<br/><br/>He reached down for her again, hands under her shoulders, hefting her right back up like a child, tossing her up then catching her with an arm around her waist, violently jerking her before wadding into the water. He didn’t stop until it was up to their hips, where he dropped Vesta onto her knees, soaking her right to her chest. One hand clamped on her shoulder, keeping her faced away and towards the water.<br/><br/>The other…cupped water and splashed it to the side of her face, washing off the mud he had been pressing her into moments before.