The stallion stood motionless in the muck and mire of his home, his head drooping and his eyes closed. Ears cast aside, thick forelock mostly covering his face, and his tail hanging limply to brush against his heels. Vadim had pushed, and done, and gone to the point of utter exhaustion. The need to be a thorn in Psychedelic’s side, to start fires and be an overwhelming nuisance had been more time-consuming and energy draining than the large stallion could have ever thought. It had gone hand in hand with his own vendetta as well. The scars now marring his flashy pelt had multiplied quickly, and the pain in his shoulder had not yet gone away, but it had been worth it. His persistent stubbornness had won out the moment he had driven Devi and their child into the sea waters and to their new home. Since then, as with every mare Vadim brought home, he left them in the shadows to disappear for a new quest. He could not corrupt something so new, so innocent, with his clear corruption.


Although Vadim did not sleep, he did not pay much attention to his surroundings while he rested. Possibly a mistake on his part, the warmth of the day and the stillness of the wind made the Lagoon seem lazy around him, as if it were ready to sleep too. So, when the hushed silence around him was broken by the sound of another approaching, Vadim’s ears twitched in acknowledgement before he opened his eyes and lifted his crown. Drawing himself up as if he had not just looked broken and defeated moments earlier, he turned to face who disturbed him. Instead of a stallion, or one of his newly acquired trinkets, it was Miriella.


At first, Vadim felt a bit startled that the white-faced roan had approached him so suddenly, and without the foal skittering along behind her. The look on her face could be for any number of things; after all, he had been a very, very bad man as of late. But for a moment, he was sure something had happened to their foal. Her name, he didn’t even know. Realization crashed down on Vadim almost the same instant, sure that Miriella would have been acting wildly different than the no-nonsense expression she wore now. This seemed more business than personal.


Vadim would change that.


Instead of letting her come all the way to him, the gold and white stallion moved to meet her. To prowl around her in a way he had not carried himself before. Vadim had changed; the last seasons hardening him into something crueler than he had been before. The goofy boy that had been struggling with morals was dying quickly, being replaced by something much more ugly and sinister. Ears tilting back, Vadim went down one side of Miriella and then up the other until they stood shoulder to shoulder. “Looking for me?” he all but whispered in her ear, before he moved again, making another circle around her. Only this time, he reached out to let his darkened lips trail across her beautiful roan skin. “It’s about time, I’ve missed you.” Vadim all but purred in his now husky voice.


Exhaustion still clung to Vadim, making his hooves feel as if they weighed more than he could lift. His mind did not want to play this game; he only wanted to rest his heavy head upon her back, close his eyes and fall asleep with her warmth against his side to chase away this monster that whispered on the inside. But that would appear weak, and Vadim had worked too hard for too long to appear that way ever again.