He hears the twigs crunch and an ear swivels in her direction. The smell comes next and his nostrils pull it in. Another mare.
It was a shame she could only see him like this. A weak and bleeding thing. Not the stallion he once was, back when he was the Dawn Knight for a kingdom. When he ran against the winds and could feel the sun on his strong back. He remembers the laughter of his family, he remembers their screams, too.
Her voice is soft when it comes. Raath lifts his head and turns slightly towards her, looking at the pale mare with his green eyes. She stays a distance from him and he is glad for it at first because it gives him time to adjust his stance a little.
An old wound, Raath chuckles warmly. He makes a soft noise in his throat to let her know it is okay if she comes closer. He wont hurt her but he cannot tell if she would hurt him. Not yet.
Raath tries to stand at his full, proper height. He tries to find the old strength deep inside his bones. But then I ran into a dark stallion. Lucifer is what he called himself.
It is not fear or shame that colors his words, it is simply a fact. I am an old knight, you see. From an old family far from these islands
And, Raath pauses and looks down into the water. And they are no more.