Post by illɘgal on Apr 23, 2023 2:46:00 GMT -7
I'm not proofreading any of these, so I apologize in advance xx
CW - violence, themes of depression
Prompt: Back in time (back to when he was on Mustang and lost his lands, love, and daughters to a fire)
Bonuses:
-A new point of view (Riddler is the only one I do in first person)
-It was only just a dream
-Special guest? Fiore, Halloween, Nadira and November (all from Mustang, Nadira and November are my characters from there as well)
-If that special guest counts, then challenge accepted as well
-1500+ words (1763)
This one is weird because his age on here makes things awkward and he was about the same age on the other site when this happened lol
CW - violence, themes of depression
It started like any other morning. I had slept down by the creek that was my land's namesake, the cattails reminding me of my childhood by the lake. The wind was cold and biting, but nothing I hadn't grown used to. It had been almost a year since I took over Delphinium Creek at this point. At first, I was worried that I was too young for the responsibility. I had never had to step into that type of role before. Sure, Merity and I had left our respective herds fairly young and struck off on our own but... We all know how that worked out. Blood shed, murder, that deep, deep pit of depression I had wound up in.
It didn't take me nearly as long to move past that bullshit as I thought it would.
I can't take all the credit. If the Fates hadn't trusted me to bring life and laughter into this land, I would still be wallowing in my self pity until I would finally put an end to it. I now had purpose. A new learning curve. I had to learn how to be a diplomat and when to keep my mouth shut, which became harder the older I got. I was still young, headstrong, and while I knew that I couldn't know everything, a part of me believed I did.
Perhaps that what was made me finally want to settle down again. My herd had grown into one of the largest in the Southlands, and I was proud of the family I had created. Many of these equines were like me - lost. They had come from nothing. I too gave them purpose. Hell, I challenged a battle tested Draft because he was trying to take a mare back to his lands by force. A woman I didn't even know. She now prowled the Deadlands for more mares who might need my help, using Hyde as a messenger when she had to call on me.
The night she did changed my life. All I could think about now were those kaleidoscope eyes full of trauma, a blue eyed foal full of hope, and my heart trying to mend itself back together. Fiore made me realize that I could embrace that dark side of myself, but not get lost in it.
I looked at her as she continued to peacefully sleep next to me, the twins curled up and snoring softly on the other side. Declan was the only one missing. He was with his father this week, due back to my lands tomorrow at sunset. I loved when all three of the children were together. The colt antagonized his sisters endlessly, and while their wails hurt my heart, it was all out of love.
I stood and shook out the more sleep, my violet eyes sleepily looking over the mist hanging over the water. I tried to gather my thoughts to remember what I had to do today (something involving Halloween... but I really didn't want to see the bastard) when my body went on high alert. Mist? I moved closer to get a better view of the creek, coming to a stop at the top of the slight knoll we had found ourselves on.
That wasn't mist.
The fire had already spread thanks to the wind and the dry summer we just had. It was violently beautiful to witness it all burn. For a moment, I just watched. It had engulfed the forest at the edge of the territory already and was making its way inward, and the creek wasn't large enough to stop the onslaught. No, this type of damage would require the Fates to step in, and there was no way they were going to do that.
I turned to my sleeping family, sorrow slicing through like a spear of ice. I nudged Nadira and November, their soft bleats making my breath catch in my throat. What's going on? I sighed and slowly turned to Fiore as the smell of the smoke finally reached us. We have to go, I barely squeaked out. Her beautiful eyes widened as she pieced it together, rising quickly to gather our daughters. They were too young to realize the danger, but could tell from our movements that something wasn't right. We pushed them away from the hill to prevent them from possibly seeing their home be destroyed.
We moved quickly back to the heart of our home, hyper aware that the brambles that were protection were going to damn us soon enough. My guards took off to wake the herd, and they quickly began to gather in panic. I didn't even know where we would go. To the south was the ocean and the creek cut through Theseus's territory on one side and Halloween's on the other. The fire prevented me from reaching our true allies, and I had to decide which of our options was the lesser of two evils.
Fiore was trying to keep the foals of our herd quiet and calm, but I knew she was panicking as much as I was. Declan was on the other side of the fire - hopefully safe. But who did this? It somehow felt personal. I doubted that the King would have wanted to take me out, but I suppose it wasn't entirely out of the question. But the investigation would have to wait. My people needed me more than I needed to solve the mystery.
Halloween would have to do. While we weren't necessarily friends, he did like trying to make me grovel. The word was passed quickly through the ranks, and we began the painfully slow trek along the coastline to avoid the flames. I could smell it in the air, hear the crackle and pop and trees were consumed. My life, my home. Their lives and home. Gone. But we could start over. We had to.
The border patrol was waiting for us, no doubt already on high alert from the fire. I gently pushed through the crowd to stand before the one who looked most familiar to me. I need to speak to Halloween. Immediately. My tones were firm and surprisingly calm given the situation. The appaloosa looked displeased at my words and the soot covered equines standing before him. For a heart beat, I thought he was going to deny us an audience. Instead, he stepped aside as a large, perlino stallion made his way towards me. I shoved down the natural disdain, hoping we could put aside our differences for all the innocent lives that would be lost if not.
He said nothing as we stared at each other for far longer than I would have liked. I had to fight to prevent my lip from curling under his scrutiny, but not wanting to beg him to be a decent being either. After what felt like eternity, he looked back to the spotted stag with a jerk of his head. A collective sigh of relief was felt as my herd made their way towards the swamps. I waited until the last foal wandered between all the guards before preparing to follow, when the lord stepped in front of me.
Halloween looked between Fiore and I, a wicked glint in those pale blue depths. Not you four. My heart sank. He was going to let my children die? Fiore die? Halloween, you can't be serious, I tried to reason, fighting to keep the panic at bay. Leave me, if that's what you really want. But don't damn them because of our feud.
The bastard turned to walk away, the guards trying to close in. I pushed through them, charged at the larger stallion in anger. He had the height, but I had the muscle. I moved to his side before he could kick at me, reaching out to tear at his flank. He didn't react fast enough to avoid me, and his blood filled my mouth. It didn't take long before we were fighting in earnest, more violent than any of our previous skirmishes. Fiore had starting fighting the guards that had retaliated, carefully keeping herself between them and the twins. Their attacks became more frantic as I fought Halloween to the ground, fear and loyalty fueling their movements. Some wisely turned tail when I was finished, though honestly I was too tired to go after them anyway.
Fiore and I were both heaving at that point, blood flowing freely. A few of the guards had remained, quietly watching us lean our heads into each other. I looked at them, saying nothing as I again nudged the twins forward. All four of us were allowed to pass, and I steered the girls past the violence at our feet. No need to traumatize them further.
As we walked up the gentle hill, I looked back. Again I was struck by the feral beauty in the flames as it left nothing but ash in their wake. While I had lost my home, it appeared I had gained a new one. One I could better protect once I figured out who did this to my family.
I awoke with a start, my chest heaving and my body covered in sweat. The dream - nightmare - kept rushing back as I lurched to my feet in near panic. No, no. That's not what happened. I wish I had had the courage to fight back. Instead, we had retreated. Fiore, Nadira, November. They had died under my watch. I only managed not to succumb to the smoke by sheer luck - or one of the crueler Fates had saved me. Regardless of the circumstance, that dream was merely what it could have been. What it should have been. That pain had given me purpose - eventually. At first, I was lost. I was in pain, drowning in a deeper depression than what Merity had given me. With Merity, I just had a promise of what things could have been. With Fiore, I had it. It was right there in front of me. Personified in a broken woman and two beautiful girls full of life. A family that should have been, and never would be.
I walked to the small stream nearby, needing to wash the taste out of my mouth. I allowed that pain to wash over me for just a moment. It was a part of who I was, but it wasn't allowed to define me any more. I couldn't live like that. It was time for me to grow up once again, and move past the heartbreak.
Fiore would be proud.
It didn't take me nearly as long to move past that bullshit as I thought it would.
I can't take all the credit. If the Fates hadn't trusted me to bring life and laughter into this land, I would still be wallowing in my self pity until I would finally put an end to it. I now had purpose. A new learning curve. I had to learn how to be a diplomat and when to keep my mouth shut, which became harder the older I got. I was still young, headstrong, and while I knew that I couldn't know everything, a part of me believed I did.
Perhaps that what was made me finally want to settle down again. My herd had grown into one of the largest in the Southlands, and I was proud of the family I had created. Many of these equines were like me - lost. They had come from nothing. I too gave them purpose. Hell, I challenged a battle tested Draft because he was trying to take a mare back to his lands by force. A woman I didn't even know. She now prowled the Deadlands for more mares who might need my help, using Hyde as a messenger when she had to call on me.
The night she did changed my life. All I could think about now were those kaleidoscope eyes full of trauma, a blue eyed foal full of hope, and my heart trying to mend itself back together. Fiore made me realize that I could embrace that dark side of myself, but not get lost in it.
I looked at her as she continued to peacefully sleep next to me, the twins curled up and snoring softly on the other side. Declan was the only one missing. He was with his father this week, due back to my lands tomorrow at sunset. I loved when all three of the children were together. The colt antagonized his sisters endlessly, and while their wails hurt my heart, it was all out of love.
I stood and shook out the more sleep, my violet eyes sleepily looking over the mist hanging over the water. I tried to gather my thoughts to remember what I had to do today (something involving Halloween... but I really didn't want to see the bastard) when my body went on high alert. Mist? I moved closer to get a better view of the creek, coming to a stop at the top of the slight knoll we had found ourselves on.
That wasn't mist.
The fire had already spread thanks to the wind and the dry summer we just had. It was violently beautiful to witness it all burn. For a moment, I just watched. It had engulfed the forest at the edge of the territory already and was making its way inward, and the creek wasn't large enough to stop the onslaught. No, this type of damage would require the Fates to step in, and there was no way they were going to do that.
I turned to my sleeping family, sorrow slicing through like a spear of ice. I nudged Nadira and November, their soft bleats making my breath catch in my throat. What's going on? I sighed and slowly turned to Fiore as the smell of the smoke finally reached us. We have to go, I barely squeaked out. Her beautiful eyes widened as she pieced it together, rising quickly to gather our daughters. They were too young to realize the danger, but could tell from our movements that something wasn't right. We pushed them away from the hill to prevent them from possibly seeing their home be destroyed.
We moved quickly back to the heart of our home, hyper aware that the brambles that were protection were going to damn us soon enough. My guards took off to wake the herd, and they quickly began to gather in panic. I didn't even know where we would go. To the south was the ocean and the creek cut through Theseus's territory on one side and Halloween's on the other. The fire prevented me from reaching our true allies, and I had to decide which of our options was the lesser of two evils.
Fiore was trying to keep the foals of our herd quiet and calm, but I knew she was panicking as much as I was. Declan was on the other side of the fire - hopefully safe. But who did this? It somehow felt personal. I doubted that the King would have wanted to take me out, but I suppose it wasn't entirely out of the question. But the investigation would have to wait. My people needed me more than I needed to solve the mystery.
Halloween would have to do. While we weren't necessarily friends, he did like trying to make me grovel. The word was passed quickly through the ranks, and we began the painfully slow trek along the coastline to avoid the flames. I could smell it in the air, hear the crackle and pop and trees were consumed. My life, my home. Their lives and home. Gone. But we could start over. We had to.
The border patrol was waiting for us, no doubt already on high alert from the fire. I gently pushed through the crowd to stand before the one who looked most familiar to me. I need to speak to Halloween. Immediately. My tones were firm and surprisingly calm given the situation. The appaloosa looked displeased at my words and the soot covered equines standing before him. For a heart beat, I thought he was going to deny us an audience. Instead, he stepped aside as a large, perlino stallion made his way towards me. I shoved down the natural disdain, hoping we could put aside our differences for all the innocent lives that would be lost if not.
He said nothing as we stared at each other for far longer than I would have liked. I had to fight to prevent my lip from curling under his scrutiny, but not wanting to beg him to be a decent being either. After what felt like eternity, he looked back to the spotted stag with a jerk of his head. A collective sigh of relief was felt as my herd made their way towards the swamps. I waited until the last foal wandered between all the guards before preparing to follow, when the lord stepped in front of me.
Halloween looked between Fiore and I, a wicked glint in those pale blue depths. Not you four. My heart sank. He was going to let my children die? Fiore die? Halloween, you can't be serious, I tried to reason, fighting to keep the panic at bay. Leave me, if that's what you really want. But don't damn them because of our feud.
The bastard turned to walk away, the guards trying to close in. I pushed through them, charged at the larger stallion in anger. He had the height, but I had the muscle. I moved to his side before he could kick at me, reaching out to tear at his flank. He didn't react fast enough to avoid me, and his blood filled my mouth. It didn't take long before we were fighting in earnest, more violent than any of our previous skirmishes. Fiore had starting fighting the guards that had retaliated, carefully keeping herself between them and the twins. Their attacks became more frantic as I fought Halloween to the ground, fear and loyalty fueling their movements. Some wisely turned tail when I was finished, though honestly I was too tired to go after them anyway.
Fiore and I were both heaving at that point, blood flowing freely. A few of the guards had remained, quietly watching us lean our heads into each other. I looked at them, saying nothing as I again nudged the twins forward. All four of us were allowed to pass, and I steered the girls past the violence at our feet. No need to traumatize them further.
As we walked up the gentle hill, I looked back. Again I was struck by the feral beauty in the flames as it left nothing but ash in their wake. While I had lost my home, it appeared I had gained a new one. One I could better protect once I figured out who did this to my family.
I awoke with a start, my chest heaving and my body covered in sweat. The dream - nightmare - kept rushing back as I lurched to my feet in near panic. No, no. That's not what happened. I wish I had had the courage to fight back. Instead, we had retreated. Fiore, Nadira, November. They had died under my watch. I only managed not to succumb to the smoke by sheer luck - or one of the crueler Fates had saved me. Regardless of the circumstance, that dream was merely what it could have been. What it should have been. That pain had given me purpose - eventually. At first, I was lost. I was in pain, drowning in a deeper depression than what Merity had given me. With Merity, I just had a promise of what things could have been. With Fiore, I had it. It was right there in front of me. Personified in a broken woman and two beautiful girls full of life. A family that should have been, and never would be.
I walked to the small stream nearby, needing to wash the taste out of my mouth. I allowed that pain to wash over me for just a moment. It was a part of who I was, but it wasn't allowed to define me any more. I couldn't live like that. It was time for me to grow up once again, and move past the heartbreak.
Fiore would be proud.
Prompt: Back in time (back to when he was on Mustang and lost his lands, love, and daughters to a fire)
Bonuses:
-A new point of view (Riddler is the only one I do in first person)
-It was only just a dream
-Special guest? Fiore, Halloween, Nadira and November (all from Mustang, Nadira and November are my characters from there as well)
-If that special guest counts, then challenge accepted as well
-1500+ words (1763)
This one is weird because his age on here makes things awkward and he was about the same age on the other site when this happened lol