Zjeena's skin blisters and boils with the ghost of Liland's touch. She would rip it off if she could. Her heat still lingers, but the experience of a violation so personal has killed any desire to be wooed by a stallion.
The mare staggers on into the forest, letting the darkness consume her inside and out. As she picks her way through the trees, she scrapes her wet body against every exposed trunk, desperately trying to remove feelings she can't escape. A shoulder, still scabbed from her encounter in the forest is ripped open anew. The mare leaves a smears of blood along a path no longer Paradise but better described as a nightmare.
Rougaru follows in tender pursuit. Zjeena is only vaguely aware of him closing in. Whispers of her name are drowned out by the screaming in her head.
Her path leads her to a shallow creek bed. The water runs clear, shimmering in the diffuse light of the jungle. Hoof prints sunk into the mud end half a stride before the water and reappear on the other side, telling of a place where most travelers would jump. Not Zjeena. She marches onward, until her legs sink into the mud at the water's edge and walking is no longer easy.
Here she stands, sinking slowly into the wet earth. Empty eyes stare ahead, unfocused.
She is jolted from the still of a moment by the overwhelming musk of stallion. Rougaru approaches now, whispering words of support into her flank. He reaches out.
Zjeena's skin switches at the tickles of his breath and she shrinks away. Her ears lace back and she turns on him with a loud squelch. Mud flies in every direction as she frees her forelegs from the mire. She lunges at Rougaru, with her teeth bared, and lips stretched into the ugliest grimace. Black eyes burn, windows to the deepest pits of hell. The ice queen died in the Bay today. What Rougaru faces now is something far more sinister.
Zjeena is the monster under the bed. She is the nightmare in your closet. She done with pleasantries. She is done playing games. All deals are off. It's time to strike a match and watch the world burn.