Her observation of his fearfulness shocked him. He did not think he had behaved in a necessarily fearful way, but she was, perhaps, not wrong. He could not survive in this world without being mindful of how it might harm him, and what was mindfulness if not fear of the consequences?

"You are not a monster," he murmurs confidently, ears ticking forward and then resting lightly against his poll. He could not prove his conviction, but it remained unwavering anyway. He had experience with monsters, and she was not one. Not the way he was. Not the way Vanya was.

"You think I'm afraid because I don't show you my face?" He asks, genuine curiosity softening any bite the words might have had. His brow was furrowed beneath the flaxen tangle of his forelock. He dragged in a slow breath of consideration before stepping forward slowly, carefully placing each saucer-like hoof into the underbrush as if he were arranging a meal for her on a platter.

He felt lain bare as he came closer, the comforting cloak of the dense underbrush no longer concealing his grotesque appearance from her eyes. He might have one day grown up to be a handsome young stallion, if nature and his mother had been kinder. As it was, most of his topline was obscured by thick scarring, with only small random tufts of mane that had not been destroyed by the sun. A zombie, as his brother had once called him.

A monster.

"Was it worth it?" He asked, his voice a small, quiet whisper, issued through lips pressed so tightly together it was a miracle any sound was made at all.

(( Quote to come later ))

Stallion - Young - Mutt - 16h - Silver Black Overo - Rougaru x Vanya