|' t i l l| m e m o r i e s| f a d e| a w a y|

[[esperanza]]

&&.waste away, i'm crawling blind
hollowed by what i left inside
for you, just you, i'm caught in place
but i can't ignore what i can't erase.&&

She didn't, couldn't watch where she was going. Once more the nightmares were coming, once more she couldn't sleep. She blamed that black stallion. No, not the one she lived in constant fear of, but the one that easily could have been his twin. They even smelled the same.

My daughter...why did I abandon you? No, don't hurt her! You...you demon!

Guilt, fear, regret, all these emotions were like knives stabbing her heart, and she couldn't escape, she could only run, faster and harder, under the full moon, under the silvered tips of tall pine trees. They looked eerie at night. Ghostly.

&&.i will run and hide 'till memories fade away
and i will leave behind a love so strong.&&

She paused as she came into the clearing. The ruins of the old cabin shocked her. Who knew that something designed to house life could look so...dead? The mare tilted her head to one side, staring at it curiously with bright eyes. All she could hear was the sound of her heart pounding in her chest.

His young legs were frozen, covered in snow, and some of his flesh had been eaten away by scavengers. A horrible, horrible sick sight that she would never forget. But the dead foal before her transformed into a white filly with red ears...no!

The mare shook her head to push the memory aside. Was it a memory or a nightmare? She couldn't tell, but she pushed it aside. It was too late, though: the knives had done their damage, hot, salty tears were running down her cheeks.

&&.close my eyes, these voices say
haunting me, i can't escape
for you, just you, time will always wait
while i throw away what i can't replace.&&

She took a cautious step toward the old decrepit cabin. The cieling had wrotten, fallen in; the floor was a carpet of weeds. It looked eerie in the moonlight, ghostly, like tall pines with silvered tips...

Leaving, running, running away, but he was chasing her, with fiery red eyes from hell.

Forget about it.

She snorted loudly and stamped a hoof in defiance, even as the tears still trickled out of her eyes. The sudden noise echoed in the still night air, startling a family of bats out of the house. Mavra took a deep breath, glancing around at the creepy clearing she had found herself in. Then she discovered something very important.

She was lost.

[/color]

{OOC//Song}[/center]

[[R].ebel]

Silence.

Deathly silence.

The area seemed ominous, dark, dreary. Something seemed amiss; something seemed strange. The darkness seemed to be darker here, in this one spot. Why? It was no different than any other piece of land... but even this could not detour the being. The old, broken down cabin was too tempting to ignore.

Hooves running.

They were coming.

Who was 'They'? Ears twitched at the sound. Listening, wondering who it could be. Another blood? No, the being could not have been missed yet. Frame stood still, keeping out of the patch of moonlight casting out on the old wooden floor. A crack here. A missing board there. It was old, that was obvious. Silence...silence, silence. Why so silent? Who was there? Friend or foe? Too many questions, not enough answers. Answers must be found, now. A hoof stamped. Bats screeched and flew, nearly making the beig flinch, but saved the fear for later. Now, was time for cautious behavior.

The wind blew in the beings' favor. A mare. A Cimarron mare. Not only that, a familiar one. Marva. Yes, that was it. A sly grin crossed the features, hidden in the dark. This could be fun... Silence settled once more... the being let it fall, let it drape over the clearing.

Dreadful silence.

CRACK!

The black form clattered through the old cabin, the sounds of his hooves making a dreadful sound in the clearing! Holding back the laughter, the young form leaped through the open door, the sudden moonlight throwing his body into a silvery glow as he let out terrifying words.

"Boo!!!"

Lightning's hooves sank deep in the ground as he landed at a stop, just outside the house, a wide, childish grin on his face. Rarely did he ever play pranks on anyone, but tonight was an exception... perhaps, however, it was a "wrong place, wrong time" situation...

[[esperanza]]

And this, she told herself, is why she should sleep at night.

But it wasn't her fault that the nightmares came to her. After the bats flew off it was silent, too silent, a deadly cold silence. She shivered, even though the summer night was warm.

Memory, nightmare, or reality, everything was blurring and mixing together in her mind, and she could no longer tell the difference.

She couldn't hide here. He was coming, red wolf eyes in the darkness, in the shadows of silver-tipped pines in the moonlight, a predator, hunting, hunting, waiting, stalking her...what was that?!

The mare jumped, her skin trembled, and her ears pricked foreward.

Just an old rotten board falling to the weed carpet, that was all. She dared to calm down again.

He was here. Waiting, breathing, she could feel his prescence in the dark. It was winter, she was heavy with a foal...no, it was summer, that was a year ago, but he was here, he was--

"Boo!"

The colt turned into a stallion in the mare's confused frightened head, and she reared up, a black sillhouette against the moon and stars, and let out a terrified, bone-chilling whinny of pure terror. Once her pale hooves met the earth again, she charged, her neck held low, ready to drive off the intruder.

She stopped short, took a step backwards.

Only a colt? A black colt.

[[R].ebel]

The colt nearly thought he had to prepare to fight. The defeaning scream of fear put fear into him. Had he really scared her that badly? Lightning watched as she charged, a bit surprised but ready to fight if he must. But before any fighting could be done, Mavra came to her senses. She stopped rather quickly and stepped back, away from Lightning, He watched her with wondering eyes, head tilted in curiosity, then an apologetic look came in his eyes. Lightning knew he'd made a mistake. He didn't mean to scare her so badly, but he also got the feeling something else was bothering her. Something about her just didn't seem to click in the colt's mind, but he said nothing about it, instead apologizing.

"I'm sorry, Mavra. I didn't mean to frighten you so badly... I was just... Well, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know if you remember, but I'm Lightning. Duke is my dad... Are you okay now?"

[[esperanza]]

As Mavra stared into the colt's eyes, those innocent eyes that had nothing to do with evil at all, she finally became fully aware of the night around her. For now, at least, the nightmares retreated back into a forlorn corner of her mind.

"I'm sorry, Mavra. I didn't mean to frighten you so badly... I was just... Well, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know if you remember, but I'm Lightning. Duke is my dad... Are you okay now?"

She remembered him, and nodded. Duke...that was the stallion she had met some other night, who had brought the nightmares back into her head. She couldn't blame him, though. For all she knew, Duke had never even heard of Demon.

"I'm sorry Lightning," she said, her voice weak. "I...I guess I'm just not used to these lands at night."

She studied him, feeling a pang in her heart. Her own daughter would be about a year old now...younger than Lightning, but still. No, she couldn't dwell on that, she had put those memories behind her.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, still trying to shake off the lingering remains of her fright.

[[R].ebel]

I'm sorry Lightning, I...I guess I'm just not used to these lands at night.

Even though Lightning had showed himself and mentioned his name, Mavra still seemed afraid. He couldn't help but wonder why and blame himself for it.

What are you doing out here?

The colt watched her for a moment, eyes blank in thought as if he hadn't heard the question; then he blinked himself out of his trance and looked to the old two-legged cabin.

"I was exploring... Me and my dad walked near here earlier today, but he wouldn't let me go in that thing..."

Lightning pointed his nose to the cabin to show what he meant, not knowing the strange things humans built and what they were called. Duke had quickly taken over as the roll of a father once again, only meaning well to watch out for Lightning... Of course, it annoyed Lightning to some point but had he known of his father's trials in the fort, the colt would have better respected Duke's warnings. Turning the tables, Lightning looked back to Mavra and returned the question.

"What are you doing out here?"

[[esperanza]]

Mavra had been studying the scenery, trying to make sense of the strange shapes that were tinted blue and black and silver in the night. Her ears were constantly flicking around as they caught the sounds of insects chattering and the wind sighing through the trees. The night was actually rather still, almost peaceful, but to the mare it was still a landscape of half-imagined fears.

"I was exploring... Me and my dad walked near here earlier today, but he wouldn't let me go in that thing..."

She snapped her attention back to the colt, registering that he had said something, but not quite sure what he had said. She stared at him blankly until the words sunk in. Her eyes jumped back to the decrepit cabin and she nodded. She didn't blame the colt's father. Things like that could be dangerous.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep." Her answer seemed...stupid, now that it was out in the open, and she couldn't deny it. A full grown mare who was afraid of the dark? But it was true. She ducked her head to scratch her muzzle against a white foreleg, a distracted gesture. Such weakness wouldn't have been tolerated back with them...but no, she told herself, she wasn't dwelling on that, she had put those memories behind her.

That's what she kept telling herself, at least.

[[R].ebel]

I couldn't sleep.

Even though Lightning was young, his mind was advanced for his age, even if at times he didn't act like it, but a foal was a foal. The young colt could feel something was wrong, his eyes filling with concern and curiosity for Mavra. He couldn't help but feel there was more to it than her answer, and his curiosity wouldn't stop him with that one question.

"Is everything alright, Mavra? You seem... distracted..."

Distracted didn't seem to fit it just right, but it was the best word Lightning could use, but either way, the question meant what it meant and it craved an answer.

[[esperanza]]

Shhh, a summer breeze whispered softly through the trees. The leaves trembled, shimmering in the faint light; the air was clean, fresh. She tried telling herself that everything was alright...that she was safe here.

But then, she wasn't really safe anywhere. Not if he could come into these lands whenever he wished. Boundaries meant nothing to him.

Lightning said something?

The mare's eyes darted to the colt. "What's that? Oh, I'm alright..." she said, her voice hushed.

She remembered when she had first met Lightning and...what was his name? Duke. They had shared such a strong bond, and Mavra could tell that they had truly loved each other. She felt a stab of pain and longing; would anyone ever be able to love her that way? She had failed at being a mother.

Finding the area safe, a bat fluttered in the shadows, returning to its roost in the cabin. A darker shadow clung to her chest: a baby, trusting and loving its mother to not abandon it.

Salt was being rubbed in her wounds.

Mavra ducked her head, turning away, and quickly snatched at a clump of grass to occupy herself. But the mechanical chewing did nothing for her, and an involuntary tear slid down her cheek.