His heart races, his coat becomes slick with sweat and he feels like he might pass out as his blood pressure rises. Where is she? Does someone have her? Is she hurt? Is she... dead? The thought makes him feel sick, and his fervor increases as he continues to search for her. He feels he's going in circles now. Hasn't he passed that tree ten times already? His frustration is beginning to boil to the point of no control when he stumbles across a stream, and there she is in front of him.

He finds her laying in a stream, her pretty head resting upon its banks as the water flows over her body. The first thing he notices is the blood that trickles from her withers and stains the crystal waters red. Its iron smell hangs heavy in the air and assaults his nostrils. Then another smell joins it, and Dixon's heart drops like a stone inside his chest. The scent of another taints her skin and her body. He can smell the other stallion's seed from where he stands, and it repulses and angers him. Laying his ears back against his neck, Dixon approaches slowly, cautiously, as not to spook or startle her. "Cae..." he whispers, stepping into the pool near her. "What happened? What did he do to you?" He asks, even though he already knows the answer. He can picture her now, belly swollen with his child that grows inside her, a child that should be his, but isn't. He's not sure whether he should be angry or sad at that fact. Perhaps a little bit of both is appropriate.

Suddenly, a new emotion floods him: guilt. He feels his throat tighten and his eyes feel like they are burning. He drops his head shamefully, eyelids fluttering closed. "I'm sorry." He whispers pathetically. "I'm sorry." He apologizes over and over again to her, as if that would somehow make a difference. But he knows it won't. Nothing can change the fact that this is his fault. He shouldn't have brought her here in the first place. If only he had let her walk away, back to the Forest where she belonged, this wouldn't have happened to her.

Looking at her with a pained expression, Dixon shakes his head. "You know you can go, if you want. I won't make you stay here." He says. He can only imagine how scared she must be. If he were in her position, he knows he wouldn't want to stay in the place that harbors such terrible memories. "I'm sorry." He says again, dark eyes meeting hers. "I promised I would protect you, and I failed." He averts his gaze shamefully, like a colt who knows he's done something wrong. He wonders if Cae would flee, then... if she would run back to Lyden and never want to see him again. He wouldn't blame her; after all the promises he made, and then failed to keep, he would understand.