Falls

As the night started to slowly fade away, Damascus padded quietly to check in on his brother. He hadn't been able to fall back asleep since the nightmares of his past had started to plague his mind, and the rude awakening had made his heart pound too loudly to think of resting more. He wanted to pretend like he hadn't heard the words that his brother had said. The sad tone in his voice when he stated that it might have been better for them both if he had drowned out in the open sea.
Though their rivalry was strong, it wasn't like Damascus wanted him to die. There was so much left that he had to say, he felt like the floodgates barring the communication between them had been significantly weakened when he had seen his brother again. Throughout the years, Damascus had convinced himself that he never wanted to see his brother again. He had played hundreds of different scenarios in his head about how their reunion would go. What he would say. How he would act. It depended on the day what he imagined though. Some days, he dreamed of going back to his herd and taking it back from his brother, stealing his happiness from under him as revenge for what had happened to him. He would emerge victorious from their match, hardened from years of fighting predators on his own. His brother would put up a good fight of course, and the last screams would come from him when he won, chest heaving and blood dripping from the wounds his brother had inflicted. But alas, wounds on the outside heal faster than the ones on the heart.
Other days, he imagined going back and begging his brother to go with him. A new life away from the heavy weight of his past sins. They would start a band together in the mountains perhaps. Together, they were invincible. No opponent would be able to match their might, and they would remain unchallenged for the rest of their lives.
But finally, the stallion shook his head, using his mane to shake off the feeling of unease. This was reality. None of the fantasies he had played in his mind had accounted for the fact that his brother was here. With him. And even if he was injured and tired and probably wouldn't have made it far on his own, Damascus was happy that he had chosen to stay. He crept closer to the alcove, and stopped on a small hill. He could watch over his brother without getting too close. But looking at his brother again, it was like seeing a ghost. Someone he thought he had made his peace with never seeing again, but looking at the stature, the build, the color, it was like looking into a mirror. And for a split second, Damascus saw himself in his brother's place. Yesterday, he had saved his brother after he had washed up on shore. Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe his brother would save him from this dark place he had locked himself into.

The thought left his head before he could really analyze or even notice it. He decided to get a head start on patrol, and turned away from his sleeping brother. He decided to start on the far end of his little bubble. He found that he didn't really need that much space, especially since it was just him. That being said, the far end of his territory was rather close. There was no one near this area of course, but he would not repeat the mistakes of his younger self. When he had first landed, he had claimed as much territory as he could handle. He spent his days exploring and terrorizing harmless predators, much like the badger he had driven off with his brother as foals. As time passed though, he realized that the emptiness that he felt was not something that could be filled with ownership. And thus, he cut down. He picked the best part, and made that his territory. So now, he started his loop, watching the familiar birds flit around and begin to sing.
As he walked, his mind began to wander. He aimlessly walked through the woods, pondering about life and all of the things contained within the small word. His desires, his hopes for the future, all of the things he had tried to repress after he had been banished. Was it so wrong of him to want those things? Was it wrong that he wanted a future, a family of his own? He felt guilty every time he thought about this. All the things he wanted were what he had robbed from his father. The happiness, the peace, it shattered when his father died. And it was his fault. The feeling of dissatisfaction gnawed at his core like a chained beast. Regardless of it it were selfish for him to want to be happy, it was what he wanted. Seeing his brother again, he realized that he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way.