Small and Insignificant [FOX]

[Velnias]

Maerad

I never should have come here alone. Never, never, never! Stupid...why did I do this? I had wanted to get away, away from the horses. Those stallions kept following me and I finally snapped. But I should have brought that mare with me. She wouldn't have been fazed by such a strange place. Because here everything was gray, the sky, the grass, the trees, th dirt. There were empty, hollow valleys and low hills that looked like welts on a dark, dirty landscape. There was a chilly wind blowing through, whistling in the grass, and I was a lone mare, small in stature, steely gray as the entire land. I felt insignificant. Not that that was unusual. Ever since the day of the burning, and the death of my mother, I wasn't the same. All I had was my mind left, and that was slipping it seemed, day by day. And I had my mother's wood flute, that I always kept with me.

None of my powers seemed to work here. Perhaps I wasn't strong enough. But I wasn't familiar enough with the land here to know where I was, or where I'd wandered into, and what sort of trouble I'd wandered into. I felt like there were eyes watching me...everywhere. I walked with a fine gait, and I always tried to be alert, but being in such an open space made me afraid. I was afraid of many things...and all around me, the utter and complete silence, frightened me the most.

- - -

I didn't want her to make it all the way out here. I was very afraid for her, I think. But it wasn't my place to choose; only to watch without being seen. Bristile had instructed me to do this, and therefore it was my job. The slim, small, petite mare was unnoticed hardly in the scape of green-brown, grayish land. I remember the first day I saw her as a young filly. The day her mother died, but not in the fire. But now I was back again, unseen, knowing what a sad mare she'd become and how much she'd grown. On the air, the scent of a stallion caugh my nostrils and I looked to the North. It was more of a knowledge than a smell, because nothing ever escaped me. I felt needed elsewhere and with a final glance at the mare, from the corner of my eye I noiced the second stallion's dark form approaching her. He was not new to me. And I thought, we all have to grow sometime, Maerad. And I disappeared.

MUSE short, sorry! I was in a hurry.
NOTES All after the '- - -' line is not meant to be noticed by Karasu, who is the dark figure I mentioned seeing. I'll bring in another mare as well, to make it more interesting.

[Deleted]

A demon. How many times had he been called that today? Seven? That sounded about right. It wasn't like he actually expected anyone to believe that he was good. After all, they'd be wrong. Dead wrong. That's just the way it worked. It wasn't as if he'd wake up on day and that malice that gifted him so heavily be taken away like the life of another being when they were killed. No. It was nothing like that. It was a sick twisted malice that only grew with each passing day. Not that he minded it at all. After all, it's what made him, well, him. He was different, that was for sure. A twisted, cruel being that was so messed up in the head, one would assume that he were tortured as a child, when really, it was the other way around.

His onyx carcass traveled through the lands, the grey mist that covered him made him almost invisible. What a twisted world this was. What a twisted being that lived the lands, with the cursed mark of the damned. Repent his sins? No. Never. Why? What point was there? To live a life of eternal bliss. To never struggle? Wasn't that boring? Wasn't that reason some equines resorted to sin? To cure their boredom? It only made logical sense when thought about from all aspects. Only logical. There was really no loop hole in the theory, as there was in most. Instead, it was a pretty solid way of thinking. Of course, there were alternate options. But, if one didn't know them, then one didn't deserve to know them. Simple as that.

The monster heard the sounds as they moved quietly, her breathing was heavier than she thought, and the beast smirked, the devil's smile spreading across his raven coloured maw. His wavy locks covered his ink black orbs, though he could still see through the curtain of mane. His banner drug along the ground, sweeping it gently. His stocky body moved with such grace at his high-stepped trot, that it was almost unbearable to watch as he moved. After all, a giant was not suppose to move so easily, so beautifully. It was sinful.

The monstrosity felt something on him. Almost as if he were being watched, but that only caused the smirk to grown, then, thoughts flashed across his own. They were fearful thoughts. Oh yes. The femme he now stalked without her notice was frightened. That much was easy to tell. Oh, how easy prey was to come by. How wounded this one seemed to be. As he caught sight of her grey pelt, he frowned. Such a tiny thing. What's in God's name had brought her to such a place? Did she want to die in the lands of the Devil himself, or was she simply lost? Either way it went, the creature was indeed scared out of her wit. She didn't want to stop moving, and that much was clear by the way her body moved.

The best turned on a mighty heel and began to lope in the opposite direction, his hoofbeats sounded quietly over the moistened ground. He made a sharp turn onto a hill and continued to lope until he'd passed up the mare. Of course, she couldn't get a good view of him from up here. All she would have seen was a shadow loping over a hill. She'd never know that he was after her. Never know how close he really was.

The hill began to decline, and Karasu instinctively leaned back onto his haunches a little, just to keep up his loping gait. He wasn't in the mood for a gallop, and that would make things seem to obvious. However, his tensed muscles moving beneath his sleek pelt gave him away for something mischevious. The monster turned once more, knowing that he was ahead of the female. She was actually heading in his direction now, and he continued to lope. As she came into sight, he smirked once more. His giant frame came past her petite grey body, and he nipped shoulder. He then whirled around, sending his frame in front of hers, so close that she'd either stop or run into him. His smirk grew, and an evil glint appeared in his black orbs. "Hmm... Now, now. What is a female as tiny and innocent as yourself doing wandering these lands at such a late hour?" The beast asked in his deep, russian, accent. He glanced at the obscured moon for a moment, before his orbs fell back onto the tiny figure that stood before him. She was beautiful to say the least, an he couldn't help but notice.

[Velnias]

"I..." I was utterly at a loss for words. My legs were hidden by the wind-blown grass weeds, dead and dry as they were. But they still covered them up past my knees and tickled my belly. They made me feel funny, but not as funny as this horse made me feel. He made me shake on my own hooves, my skin tremble. I was afraid of many things, oh so many things. And here was a list to add to them. This was my welcoming party? I silently cursed myself for having been so careless. And I couldn't afford to be careless. Subconsciously I traced my hoof in the dirt, standing there beyond being nervous before this great hulking beast. I crossed my leg over the other and felt the wind flute, encased in its leather pouch on my limb, press against my leg. A small wave of comfort and warmth flowed into me.

But that warmth and calm was surpressed by the flood of anxiety I felt. "I'm just passing through." I steeled my voice, trying to steady it and make myself look stronger than I was really feeling. I hoped my face didn't give away all my fear, because if he sensed it, which he no doubt did, he'd have power over me. I was all alone out here. What did I have to protect me, the undead forest creatures? Everthing of this valley smelled of pure evil. Giving a quick nod to the black horse, I picked up my courage and walked around him, keeping my ditance, warily watching him out of the corner of my eye. When I was only strides away from the creature, I squeezed my eyes shut, praying silently. If there are gods in this place, I pleaded, please, please, please, I thought over and over. My hooves seemed to quicken but they seemed to take forever to move. And when I thought I heard pounding behind me, I knew it was all over.