Falls

He doesn't know why he left her. Perhaps he knew she would be giving birth soon. Perhaps the pain of that knowledge became too much for him. Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to watch her lay on the ground in agony while the spawn of that monster worked its way out of her body. He tells himself it was for the best. She had paid her dues to the Lagoon, and was now free to go where she pleased, no longer his property. But after a couple days, he begins to worry. Is she okay? Has she run into trouble? Is she hurt? Part of him also wonders if she misses him like he misses her. He had grown so used to having her at his side, day after day. Her absence leaves what feels like a gaping hole in his chest, a black void of nothingness that threatens to consume him daily. He tries to keep himself busy, tries to distract himself, but his thoughts always go wandering back to her in the end.

So he follows her. It's been days since he's last seen her, and her scent is fading, but he manages to track it well enough. The trail leads him to the Falls, becoming stronger, fresher as he goes along. It goes past the stream and towards a small nearby thicket. He takes a deep breath, and pauses. She's in there, he can sense it. On the other side of that wall of tangled branches and leaves, she is there. With her child. The smell of blood and afterbirth is unmistakeable. His heart constricts inside his chest and his veins turn to ice. Can he bring himself to face her, after abandoning her like that? The bigger question is, can he bring himself to face the bastard child of the man that had tore her innocence from her?

He has to. It isn't a question of if he wants to, or if he can. He has to, even if it's the hardest thing to do in his entire life. He at least has to apologize. Taking a deep breath and steadying himself, he pushes into the small thicket, and soon he is standing over the pair. His eyes first fall on Cae's face. She looks absolutely exhausted, sweat gathering on her skin, her mane clinging to her neck, but in her blue eyes there is a happiness he has not seen in a very long time. It feels like ages since he's seen her this joyful. He then turns his gaze to the child at her side. A filly, she is dark in color, so unlike her dam. His breath whooshes out of him all at once, and he feels like he's been hit by a ton of bricks.

He turns his eyes back to Cae, but doesn't directly meet her gaze - he's far too ashamed of himself for that. He fears that if he looks at her directly, he will only see her hurt and anger at his actions reflected back at him. He doesn't need that. He just wants her to know he's sorry. "Cae...." Her name falls like a prayer from his lips, like a repentant man begging his god for forgiveness. He sighs heavily, as if it might relieve him of his burden somehow. Like it might make up for the wrong he's done.