Time is supposed to heal all wounds or so the saying would have you believe. The saying was a lie. It doesn’t heal all wounds; it simply makes them easier to deal with. Although, certain wounds just fester and fester until they have become infected with a darkness that cannot be controlled. That is what is happening to the beautiful tobiano stallion. His emotional and his mental scars are festering and there are days all he sees in darkness and the hell he has created. He has always hoped for better for himself, but he knows there is no possibility of that. He has tried seeking the light and has tried finding the happiness that he had once deserved, but both elude him like the woman who avoided mirrors. No, he is forever damned to the darkness and there isn’t a thing he can do about it. He will never find redemption for his sins, no matter how hard he tries.

Evanescence had been helping him cope with his own demons and the barber man had been helping him deal with the voices that haunt his every waking moment. They both had seen how badly he had suffered and how he mourns his lost childhood. While they both may not have understand his pain, at least the barber man (seeing as he was a dark and dirty soul at times as well) wouldn’t, they still tried to help him. When he had first met the couple his frame had been nothing but skin and bone and his eyes carried that deranged look a lost man will have. He was muttering to himself and he was oh so very skeptical of everyone. He wasn’t sure who was real and who to trust. The voices, oh how they whispered to him and ate at his soul. Little by little he lost who he was and if he had been on his own any longer, the man you see before you now would not have existed. He owed the couple his life.

Veteran had appeared the day before Evanescence was to perish. Why? That was answer he did not have. All the bay and white man knew was he felt her calling to him and that call (which had once been strong) was now weak. It had been a mere whisper in his ears but the pull he had felt in his heart told him he had to go. That pull told him the devil mare that had saved his soul wasn’t right and needed him to be there for her and that is what pushed him on. He travelled hard and he had travelled fast. His legs had never worked so hard in their life as they had that night. He had forced them and himself to run, run, and run all day and all night until he was at his destination. Veteran had arrived panting and sweating but happy. She had still been alive but not by much. Her once proud frame had withered down, not into nothing but it no longer held that intimidation factor. Oh but despite that though, she had been a fierce and proud creature.

Death had been on her doorstep. The signs were all there but she had fought him off to see him again. While the duo may not have been the most happy and warm couple known to man, the love he felt for them both was strong. He was gladdened that he could be there for her last day and make her laugh in her own way. He also knew that the barber man had been happy he could partake in the final moments as well. While none of them talked about the looming death, they all knew about it. It wasn’t hard to see. He and the mare talked about his past and how far he had come and how he had managed to control the darkness that lies within him. She spoke of the future and the worries she had for her children. She might have appeared heartless but she had cared for her children even if it was only a little bit. He swore to look after the ones that sought him out and while he might have gone a long while without having to, he wasn’t about to back out on his promise now. Skraeling would be the first he’d watch out for and if others followed, then they followed. Even though her children hadn’t sought him out (he hadn’t figured they actually would) he had kept tabs on them for a while. He had made a promise and he was bound and determined to stick by it.

If Skraeling were to ask about her mother Veteran would have a lot of praise for the woman. If Sweeney Todd hadn’t been in the picture he might have tried to court her himself, but she had been a perfect match for Mr. Todd and the same went the other way. He had no intention of messing with that himself, but he has had a hard time finding a woman like her. He may not want a woman exactly like her, after all there can only be one, he would love to find one that had her strong will. Every time he thought he had succeeded in finding what he had hoped was a strong woman, she always broke. If the land didn’t kill her it was him. He was a vile man and he knew it. He needed a strong woman to deal with him in his darkest days and so far, all the women have been subpar.

As for what Veteran sees when he looks at the night colored mare, he sees a strong woman and at the same time he sees a filly. As time moves on and he gets to know the child who is now a woman he will stop seeing her as such. While he might see her as a filly woman now, he knows and I know that in time she will become just a woman. Even now he can see the strength she has and the determination. She was so much like her mother and yet she was quite different. The similarities were fascinating and almost spooky, but the differences were so vast that even if Evanescence been alive, telling the two apart would have been quite easy.

He listens as she speaks his attention wholly on her. A ghost of a smile plays with his lips and his eyes hold all the understanding needed. He understands the need to be around familiar faces. He had been searching for one himself lately. He was tired of being surrounded by strangers that didn’t know of the darkness in his heart and tired of those mares who thought they could save his soul, as if they were the belle to his beast. He wasn’t the romantic, not anymore. His days of being the romantic type died back with his childhood love. If anyone had had the chance to save his eternal soul, it would have been her but she’s gone now and his soul is forever damned.

The man watches the young woman as she studies his home and he watches as she talks about her mother. He watches the hate turn into love but it was only a flash. He doesn’t judge her on it. He knew that Evanescence was a difficult woman and that it took time and perhaps a little bit of understanding to get along with her. He keeps silent on it though. He doesn’t think the filly from his past would enjoy being told that.

She tells him things he never knew and for a moment there is surprise on his face but it is quickly buried under the leadership mask. He had not been aware that he was highly spoken of, but he wasn’t going to argue it. Perhaps he did have a few qualities that were charming and worth speaking of. What they were, he wouldn’t know for he personally thinks he is a sack of garbage, but then she mentions a few old names and he lets out a chuckle.

“Ah, those are names I have not heard in a long long while. Do you by chance know how they are doing? Has Angel finally found her smile or is she still the depressing old hag I always knew? As for your mother, I was happy to be there for her. She and Todd boyo helped me through a pretty rough ol’ time and I was glad to repay the favor.” His tones (actually sound Irish in my head) are smooth and deep. They start out light and joking and then turn serious. He always had a fun time picking on the whitish grey mare for her eternal sadness. He knew it drove her up the wall and as for Evan, well she had been there in his worst of times…It was only right he be there for her worst times too.


Eye For An Eye
A Tooth For A Tooth
Blood For Blood
We've All Gotta Die