Nightmares are dreams too
When Khar’pern had denied him, Garmr had smiled before it spilled over into a laugh. “Suit yourself.” he had said just as casually as he had the rest of the conversation. But the gleam in his eyes seemed to radiate with excitement. “What horrors await your doorstep.” Before he had turned and left the Peak without his Marauder. It did irk him in some manner that Khyber was not going home to return to his rightful rank, but that was all in a matter of time. The Peak would cave, Garmr knew they would as soon as they saw the corpse that would be left at their doorstep like a well-placed present. How many would it take, before they gave him what he wanted?
When the Boss returned to the Lagoon, he gave it a few days, stewing over who his first victim would be, and letting the Peak fret over the promise he’d left them. If the pale mare he’d abused last Fall were still around, it would easily be her he’d leave on their border first. But when he attacked the foal; the daughter that shared their blood, he had not seen the mare since. Perhaps she had succumbed to grief. Good, weakness would never be tolerated.
It was only by her misfortune that Garmr scented Ainaz first among the mares of the Lagoon. Poor little caged bird, maybe it would be a mercy to set her free along with his Marauder. Only it wouldn't be the same sort of freedom. Prowling through the swamp until he came across the mare, the scent of her made his nostrils flare and a burning sensation fill him. It was the same one he’d mistakenly fell for last year. Instantly it soured the stallion’s mood and his ears flattened to his poll. Without saying a word, he approached her with head lowered in a snaking position, and anger hardening his typically glittering gaze.
It wouldn’t matter if she tried to allude him or not; whether she went quickly or tried to duck away from him, the persistent outcome would be the same. Only as they moved through the Falls, nearing the Peak border, does he slow his constant pushing. It was nearing time. He knew she wouldn’t go peacefully. It was not in her fiery nature. “Any words of hate to offer me?” he growls from behind her, his tone chilling to how he’d spoken to her before or how he’d spoken to he Peak mares. All entertainment and amusement drained from him with what he was about to do. What he was about to enjoy.