Tuari is lost inside herself. Pale silver blue eyes glitter against the sunlight as unshed tears gather in the corners. For a moment she is lost in staring at the damp bundle bleating helplessly amid the tangle of tattered membrane. The mother inside her screamed for her to take the child beneath her wing. The desperate sound of her tiny voice causes Tuari’s creamy ears to twitch but the muscles in her body remain rigid and keep her frozen into place. The mother demanded she love her child, even if it was the seed of incest and of lies and deciete.


”Tuari?... ” the sound of her name causes her skin to twitch and lifelessly she turns her bowed head to meet that of the stranger. However the stranger is not a stranger after all. Recognition flashes through her pale eyes as pink nostrils flare to inhale his familiar scent. Fearghas. For a moment that haze of oblivion lifts and Tuari turns to meet his approach with bent head. Tears spill free now at the sight of him. She knew the ferocity of the bachelor stallions, knew that at one time Fearghas had been among them, that much he shared with her. However, from the his flitting gaze towards the dense sawgrass and shadowed underbrush, apparently he too was not as welcome as she herself felt. ”Fearghas…” she breathes, her words strangled in her own throat as she starts towards him. The only savior she had ever known.

But the fates are never kind to her. No sooner did he slide free from the embankment of mire, that another appears causing Tuari to slide to an immediate halt and drop her head once more in submission. Though the pale mare had never met him herself, she had heard that the golden stallion defeated Cullen in battle for control of the bachelors. It was clear from his stoic expression that he had no intentions of letting her once more disappear into the shadows in the company of a friend.

The golden stallion barely acknowledges her, something that Tuari had grown rather used to here where the stallions ruled each other. His dark eyes of honey gold drift over the damp bundle that attempted to stand with a bit more desperation now that its mother had moved away from it. For a moment Tuari feared the stallion might even attack the child but perhaps what frightened her the most was her lack of care. Could she stand by and watch as another destroyed the life that she had bore into this world? Could she feel nothing for it? Did she feel something? Again the questions torment her, causing her to sway on her hooves, stumbling nearer to Fearghas. If only she had never come back to these godforsaken islands. If only she had fled for the purple outlines in the distance and let fate decide whether she survived the swim or drowned in the attempt at freedom. If only.

But the fantasies come to an end when Torsten appears. Like a bucket of ice water upon her back the creamy white mare grows rigid at the sound of his voice. Ears disappear beneath the silky tresses of her alabaster mane as Tuari lifts her head and wheels around to face the monster in her nightmares. Fear rims her eyes in white as he moves protectively between she and Fearghas his gaze flitting from Rade to chocolate spotted stallion that had once freed her from his grasp.

She should have stayed gone. She should have stayed in the Savanna with Fearghas.

”Im...Im sorry…” the voice breaks in a brittle whisper as she turns her sad eyes to the dark stallion. I'm sorry. It was feeble. But it was the only thing she had. An apology. That was all she was ever good for. Apologizing.

Torsten turns to her now, his touch like fire against her frozen skin. Despite herself she begins to shake as she shies from him as though she had been burned. Matted tail tucks tight against her rump as she turns to face him, watching with dull eyes as he steps towards the damp foal to nuzzle the tiny creature. Desperate for contact, the little filly bleats again insistently, stretching her tiny muzzle towards the stranger, pressing her weight against his muzzle to untangle her gangly legs from beneath her. Tiny damp ears flop forward as the little filly stands, peering up at the face before her for approval.

”No.” she whispers, her gaze fixated upon the foal once more. ”I…. I can't. Not again. I won't.” she reels taking a step backwards, her head shaking furiously.