a long sought after re-union;; [silky-poo]

[s o y ღ]

No way in hell was she going to bother with the claiming grounds. She doubted this barren place even had formed a herd yet, anyway. Silvery tail got caught on a branch as she wound her way through the land, and a feeling of de ja vu brought her under. But Silk had never been here before; this land looked like someone had held a 10-year grudge with it, and finally got it out. Debris was everywhere, and the constant noise of the ocean was giving her pretty little head a not-so-pretty-and-little headache. Picky hooves almost stepped on a dead fish, but thankfully an angry gull chased her away. Shuddering, she stepped carefully over mounds of seaweed to look at the sea. It appeared to be alive, and angry. It swirled and swished, every now and then spraying Silk with foam, even though she was a good twenty feet away. The sand under her was dry and lifeless, and something inside her screamed that it was wrong; that it should be beautiful and a gleaming scarlet.
Oh, shit. She was going crazy now, too.

And Silk was beginning to recover after that fateful day with Dom. Sure, maybe it was her fault for being to sensitive... and making up that lie, so long ago, but still. She was angry with him for choosing that man. She was upset with him for not even looking back. She was heartbroken because of him for not chasing after her as she fled. But, most of all, she was in love with him. A wave a nostalgia took hold of her, and all she wanted was to be back in Bell Vayle with Ruben and Dom and even that mare, Flo, and even Sorrow... How she'd give anything to be free and happy again, the sun always shining in her world...
Wait a tick.
Silk's chocolate eyes narrowed as she took in the array of caves. There was something far too familiar about this place, even if it looked like a war had come through here. She glanced back out towards the raging sea, more foam falling upon her silvery back.
The mare let out an audible gasp; not that there was anyone here to hear it. Well, aside from dead fish and gulls, but they didn't count.
This was Dreaver.
She was in the heart of it; or at least the heart of it for her.
Bell Vayle.

Silk froze, every one of her muscles turning to stone.
No, no, no. She'd almost rather never come back than see her old home like this. What had happened to it? Had something really been mad at it? Maybe when the horses left, the natural order of things had been disturbed...
Or, maybe not. Maybe she just brought bad luck wherever she went.
With a frown, she let herself relax, but could not stop those painful memories from coming.

She was young and beautiful, and she knew it. Yet still, she was shy. And pure of heart, of course.
The little Arab was at the claiming grounds, admiring the beautiful place. The sunlight filtering through the tree leaves were creating dapples on her otherwise flawless coat, and she giggled as she though of herself as a dapple grey. Yes.
There were two stallions, standing there. Were they fighting over her?
Maybe. Both were a striking shade of palomino, which Silk had previously thought to be rare.
Still, she stepped shyly forward.
"Lo, m'lords, I'm Silken Angel, but call me Silk." Her voice had been so sweet back then, and slightly musical.
One of them had replied, and they'd started a conversation.
King and Ruben, she'd later learn to call them. But Silk went home with Ruben, to the magical place called Bell Vayle, where the grass was green and the sea was sparkling and calm. The sand was a red-ish color, and the caves were never-ending.
It was the perfect light home, and she was overjoyed.
Silk thought it would stay like this for years, decades, centuries.

If horses could cry, a tear would be leaking out from the corner of Silk's eye, and she turned away and made her way back up towards where she had entered. Something just didn't feel right. She stopped on a bed of shoal, then her legs began to shake and she sort of collapsed. Silk let her eyes closed and she lay there, then turned on her back, belly up.
Maybe the gulls would mistake her for a dead fish and eat her, so she wouldn't have to live with this pain. Or maybe not.
Muscles were getting sore from laying like that, so she went back to laying on her side with her eyes closed. It had been too long since she'd slept like this. Back when she was a filly, she'd lay down and fall alseep. Silk to a leap back in time and drifted softly to sleep, the sounds of the sea her noisy lulabye.

[/blockquote]

love me forever

[/color][/right]

[..!INZ.z]

He knew exactly where he was. He hadn't wandered here blind, like a beggar or an old cripple. He hadn't had the courage - and he realised now, it was courage he lacked, whatever pathetic excuses his subconcious threw at him - to come back before, he had been too ashamed for running in the first place, fearful of what they would all say of him. But now, when everything seemed to have gone to hell, when he couldn't even remember what had dragged him into this state of affairs in the first place, he knew. He knew it was time to go home.

It hadn't taken much finding. Every step away from this place had been a wrench on his heart, an unbearable suffering - and the way back seemed almost imprinted upon his eyes. He had come here almost without thought, without concentration: his wandering mind had been free to tear at itself, while his hooves carried him ever closer.

How often had he longed for this place? How often had he gazed out at an unfamiliar sea, and wished he could call it Bell Vayle, wished he could call it home? So desperately had he focused the sweep of beach in his mind, the narrow little ravine, the trickling creek and the endless blue horizon, praying that by some miracle he would open his eyes and find himself there. Often enough he had called himself stupid for that, pathetic and weak. It was a place, senseless, impersonal, just a beach on a coastline, nothing more. But it was Ruben's home. He had loved here, he had wept here. It had seemed the only thing that would bring stability to him.

Ha. Wishful thinking. Bell Vayle had been destroyed.

The palomino was not stupid. He had seen the ravaged lands of Dreaver as he traveled down to the coast, he had seen the wrack and ruin raged by wind and water. But somehow... Somehow, he had never imagined to see the beach like this.

The stallion stood upon a jutting pinnacle of headland, gazing into the foaming sea below. All sign of the beach was gone, but how could that be? The high tide had never stretched so far; had it? Perhaps his mind was playing with him, as it did so often of late. But the battered cliff-face, the angry, thrashing ocean below, all grey and green and laced with weed and dead fish; Ruben's gaze panned slowly across, alighting upon the narrow gully which had wound down to the shoreline. It was choked with depris, all signs of vegetation gone: in fact there was nothing there now, save a small shoal beach descending until the great thick bole of an uprooted tree blocked its path.

He should have been confused, grieved. He should have been wondering about Comanche, who he had left in command of his herd - had he made it out when the place was ravaged? He should have been wondering over the other horses who he had left behind. He should have been thinking about Sorrow, whom he always hoped would one day reappear on the beach.

But there was nothing. There was just this dead, hollow weight inside him, spreading through him, chilling his bones. It was worse than any pain.

Silently, the palomino began to pick his way toward the shoal beach.

[/blockquote]

[s o y ღ]

She looked up at her mother, smiling. The filly was still young, and greying out. She used to be black; some day she'd be a white-ish color. The mother frowned down at her baby, worry creasing her brow.
"Darling, you must run. Hurry. Fast." The mother spoke anxiously, eyes darting around with fear. She was sweating, but the filly just kept on smiling sweetly back up at her mom.
"Mom, no, come with me. You have to see something." She was outside of the stall, but her mom was inside it. "It's me, I'm older. You have to see."
"Silk, get out of here. Quick, before--" Then the mother collapsed, and Silk began to worry.
"Before what, mother? Are you okay? Mother?" She frantically kicked at the stall door, trying to get into it. An angry human chased her away, sending her outside into a storm. It made streams of water run down her pelt, and she ran for the cover of the forest.
The filly began to wander, then stopped as she came across a herd. It was what she'd seen before, her, older.
A two-year-old filly was in that herd, and she was grey. The grey was talking with a colt. He was handsome; he had a white layer underneath his chocolate one.
Silk tried to walk to them, to talk to them, but a bolt of lightening and a crash of thunder distorted her vision, and soon she saw a four-year-old silver mare, at a nice little field. She was talking with two palomino's this time.
Silk-the-filly tried listen to what they were saying, but soon they were walking. She tried to follow, but couldn't. Instead, she ended up a big leap from then. She saw that same mare, laying on a blanket of shoal.
'No...' Silk-the-filly shook her head, trying to rid herself of the vision. She was not that broken horse, she would be someone else. Yes. Someone else.

The mare awoke with a start from her nightmare. Sweat was thick on her body, and she rolled so her legs were under her. It took her a moment to recall where she was, then realized she was in the remains of Bell Vayle. It saddened her to see the ruined place that had once been a glowing sanctuary, a place that so many horses had called home and felt safe. Well, I guess it wasn't as safe as it was cracked up to be.
Silk's nose lowered itself to the shoal beneath her, sniffing at it. It smelled odd; she'd never actually seen this before. Maybe she shouldn't be snoozing on it. It didn't seem dangerous, though. The shoal appeared to be harmless and nice, sort of out of place here in this wreckage. Chocolate eyes swept their gaze once more towards the sea, where rocks were haphazardly placed, as if the Gods had gotten bored one day and decided to see who could destroy Dreaver to most. They'd turned the ocean against the horses and put holes and other dangers in the path of everyone. They'd probably laughed as they had fun, dropping things and re-arranging them and sending hurricanes directed toward Dreaver.
Oh, yes, how hilarious. Silk loved ruining other's homes, too.

A wince crumpled her face as she realized that was probably true; at one point, at least. A look of pure pain had overtaken her as she remembered what a true beast she had once been. At one point in her life Silk had enjoyed crushing other's hopes, dreams, futures. She laughed at them, and stole their mates. What a devil she'd been--and she had still called herself a light. It seemed so long ago; though, in reality, it was under a year. She seemed so old, too, but she was a mere five and a half years old.
Oh, Silk, what have you done with your life? The voices inside her head seemed sympathetic, and she groaned in an agonized response. A shake of her pretty head made them go away for now, and took all those questions she didn't want to answer--much less hear--with them. They'd be back, though. They always came back to torment her. Remind her of her tangled past and all the horses she'd hurt with her mindless, selfish ways. Comanche, Dom, even Ruben, with her last below-the-belt blow. Probably countless mares, too, though she didn't keep track of them. The sane part of her wondered what had become of everyone, even that Lady Amber, whom she still unrightly despised for making her lie and claim she and Comanche were in love, and hurting Dom even more.
At one point in her life, she liked to blame other equines, to dump all her troubles and burdens on them, and trot away quite carefree. At an earlier stage she liked thinking that life was good, that she'd never have any troubles because she was an angelic light.
But now? What did she think now? Her thoughts trailed off as a new scent--one that was different than gulls and dead fish--swam softly into her nostrils.

Silk could feel her muscles tense, her eyes widen so the whites were visible. Was she afraid? No. Was she terrified? More likely.
The one who she smelled was the one she did not want to see, who she was still shamefully embarrassed from the last time they had met. It wasn't really even that long ago; maybe a month. Maybe less. Who knew? Who even kept track of time anymore?
The grey mare heard hoof beats coming her way. Thoughts swarmed in her head, making the world spin around her in a way she hated, for it upset her stomach. But, what could she do?
He was coming. She had a feeling that he didn't quite know she was here yet, because of the distance. Her scent was probably masked by the salty sea by now. Silk decided that the best thing to do was be a possum-to play dead.
She silently lowered her head and neck back down to the shoal. It was slightly uneven, but there was no time to be picky. She lay back on her side and stretched her legs out as quietly as she could, letting them dangle lifelessly from her body. Eyelids drifted shut over her cocoa eyes, and she made them stay there without any fluttering. Silk tried to keep her breathing to a minimum, shallow and slow.

Wait, why was she doing this again?
Oh yes. To avoid Ruben. It was all she could do to keep from grimacing as words from their last encounter seeped out of her mind and through her whole body.
Just when everyone needed you, you went and ran off, leaving another stallion in your place! There had been more, but that was all she needed to be reminded that he probably had no desire to ever see her again. What a true bitch she was.
A monster, too.
Silk allowed herself one big sigh before her breathing all but stopped.

[/blockquote]

love me forever

[..!INZ.z]

Ruben traversed the steeply declining headland, his hooves dislodging pebbles and pieces of scree as he picked a path dangerously close to the edge. Even now, he knew every inch of this place, every blade of grass and every breath of air. It hadn't changed, not really. Yes, the beach was submerged. Yes, the vale was clogged with boulders. But it was still the only place Ruben would ever want to be. It was still his home.

He was unaware he had company. The palomino had accustomed himself to being solitary, had grown used to isolation - save for, of course, the frequent fights he got himself into with the odd red-eyed, satanic beastie. But that didn't matter. To begin with, just after he had left Dreaver, he had craved a friendly face, had longed and pined for someone, anyone, to talk to. Now he was quite used to it. Any friends he had had were dead, gone, scattered to the four winds. His tangled mind could produce nothing reasonable to say, and so he said nothing at all.

The strings had been unwinding of late. Ruben was not old, and he did not look old: his coat glistened like a new-minted coin beneath the sunburst, and his flaxen mane lay full and thick upon his neck. But slowly, ever so slowly, his mind had begun to turn in upon itself, gnawing at its own edges and contorting the palomino's sense of conscience, justice, reason. He didn't really think anymore - thoughts occurred to him, and he didn't see to question them. He was not insane: he did not tear at himself and run about like a lunatic.

But perhaps he had been alone too long. Perhaps the years without a soul to take his soured love were taking their toll.
His heart was bound in thorns and his mind wrapped in poison ivy. He wasn't touched anymore.

Ruben skidded down a rocky depression, coming to halt just at the mouth of the shoal beach. His eyes alighted upon the pillowy form of the equine, cast so carelessly upon the ground; his ears flicked, trying to catch breathing. Her scent had lain in his nostrils for a while, he realised: he just hadn't noticed it. It dawned on him that he knew this creature, this mare, that he knew this body that lay so lifeless upon the ground.

Silk. The word came unbidden to his mind, but it seemed to make sense to him. With a snort Ruben stepped forward, hooves clacking against the silt and small pebbles of the narrow beach. He drew to a halt as he reached the curve of Silk's back - for now he was sure it was Silk, her scent was so strong and familiar - looking down upon her motionless body.

One forehoof arced out, scuffing the mare none too gently against her spine.
"What are you doing?" It seemed like the obvious thing to say, though the Ruben of a few years ago would have found it absurd.

[s o y ღ]

She was content to just lay a while on the shoal. It was actually quite nice, once one got over the reek of dead fish and the sound of the murderous waves. Somewhere, far away, a lone bird started up his song, sounding eerie and chilling. A shiver ran up her spine, ears still straining to catch the last few notes as the bird ended. It was short and quite frightening. Silk wondered what he was singing about. Maybe another bird? Maybe about the horrors that had made their way through Dreaver? Ruben's hoofbeats were closer than she thought, and a silver ear swiveled slightly to try and decide how long she had 'till he was here.
The stallion might be a bit oblivious, but he wasn't stupid. He was bound to find her, and then she'd be stuck with the hurdle of conversation. What would she say? What could she say?
She'd already apologized for their last encounter, and she had no desire to talk about it. Yes, she'd messed up big. A few times. Actually, a lot of times. Not that it was all too horrible, she realized. Silk hadn't lost all that many friends; as she'd only had a few. Ruben, Dom... maybe an odd mare every now and then whose names' Silk had long since forgotten. Would she win back Ruben's friendship?
What makes you think you want him as a friend, sweetie?
There it was again. That annoying voice. It tormented Silk's already struggling head, and it took some effort to keep from pinning her ears back. She decided not to answer it; she might accidentally answer aloud and make Ruben think she was not exactly right in the mind. Which could be true, Silk realized with some uneasiness. At least she had an excuse for acting so... well, Silk-ish.

Blue dots creept in at the corner of her eyes as she became lightheaded. Her breathing was very light and shallow, and threatened to become hyperventilation as she tried to control it. Okay, maybe laying here was not so nice. Her whole field of vision was distorted by the dots that was taking over, making her whole body ache and her lungs scream for more air. Silk told them that if she breathed any deeper Ruben would notice her. Her body dropped a few degrees as she felt his steps in the ground, right next to her back. Silk flinched away from his hoof and groaned, breathing normally again. He didn't sound exactly happy.
"I'm dead. Go away." Eyes stayed shut and she kept her back braced just in case he used his hoof to nudge her spine once more. Silk tried to imagine the look on Ruben's face, but she found herself surprised by only being able to recall the palomino at the previous Bell Vayle, and though she fought to remember how he'd changed, she couldn't. Sighing in defeat, Silk rolled onto her stomach, her feet underneath her. Defined head tilted upwards to see the golden pelt that she'd dreaded seeing.

Fore legs straightened out in front of her, then back. She was soon standing, looking ahead at his neck. Chocolate eyes didn't dare to venture upwards into his. Silk couldn't think of anything to do, so she swished her tail, silvery strands whipping her hocks.
Ow.
"Hi." Her voice was sort of flat, but at the same time held a tiny note of hysteria in it, desperate for something to say. Something that would make everything better so they could talk normally, and Silk wouldn't have to examine every hair of his creamy mane to keep herself occupied. "I'm Silk."
Oh, brilliant. Yes, she had a pretty good feeling that he already knew this bit of information. Though he might think she thought she was Star...
Or something like that.
Yeah.
Sure.
What were we talking about, now?


[ooc] =o ... crappy and random; sorry. ;.; [/ooc]

[/blockquote]

love me forever

[..!INZ.z]

It occurred to Ruben she probably didn't want to talk to him. Their last encounter hadn't exactly been peachy, after all. Maybe they shouldn't talk to each other anymore. Maybe too much had happened - maybe he should go his way, and she should go hers, and they could nurse what memories they had. But though Ruben was loath to admit it, he was achingly lonely. He wanted, he needed, Silk to talk to him, even to cast a random glance in his direction. The grey mare was more of a crutch than he would like to admit, especially now.

"Does the corpse walk as well as talk?" He asked sarcastically, then remembered he probably shouldn't act like that around Silk anymore. She'd become somewhat... explosive. Where before they could have made fun at each other and laughed about it, they would probably now become engrossed in an argument. "Sorry," the word was mumbled, rushed, as if it tasted foul. He seemed to be apologizing to everyone constantly.

Ruben stood back as she scrambled to her feet, and now he found himself wondering if he should just leave there and then. There was nothing here, save awkward conversation and sideways glances. He was sure she didn't want to see him. It would probably be better if he didn't see her - if he just started again, tried to sort his tattered self out. These meetings only brought back memories that made him throb deep inside. She had a life, after all - Dom was somewhere... Ruben had nothing.

His ears flicked as her stuttering words drifted across to him, and before he could check it his bitter reply was squeezing past his lips. "Really? Not Snow, or Star, or Sugar-and-god-damn-rainbows? I'm Ruben, though I may change it to Wind Dancer, or Frost, or, bloody hell Silk, what's happened to us?" He swallowed. The palomino couldn't even rightly remember what he'd just said, but he knew it wasn't good.

Ruben dropped his head, eyes wandering across the pebbles; he picked up a hoof, partially turning away. "This reunion's going really well." Words were laced with soft irony, but they fell like dead things to the ground.

[/blockquote]

[s o y ღ]

Large eyes looked dared to look into Ruben's eyes, portraying as much innonce as she could muster. Still, Silk had a feeling things wouldn't work out so great. Just the way the two equines held themselves around each other, sort of awkwardly and waiting, suspense hanging around them. They were each waiting for the other to do or say something that would mark them as enemies once more, and so the cautious standing was probably the only option. Grey ears twitched to catch his words, and a dry grin wound its way upon her muzzle. Oh, that was right in more ways than one. Yes; she was a pretend corpse right now. Or a few seconds ago, to be more acurate. But in the past how many days or weeks or even months, Silk had been a real corpse. She'd been a zombie, just sort of staggering through life, wide eyes forever open but never seeing. Ever since she'd last seen Dom, his chocolate speckled pelt walking towards that human, she'd been sort of dead. But, at least she wasn't the head case she'd been before. Though, perhaps that was preferrable.
Before, Silk had snapped at anyone before they'd even opened their mouth. Before, Silk had wanted everything for herself, including stallions. Before, Silk had been drop-dead gorgeous, but with a high price. Before, at least she'd had a personality.
In another life, way before the mean Silk, she'd been sweet and innocent. She'd been viewed as simply beautiful, long lashes over cocoa eyes, gleaming silver coat sometimes catching the eye of others. How had she changed so much?

The smile slide down into a frown as she tried to figure out how it was possible for one horse to have so many different lifes, and wondered if that was the way for everyone or she was just some kind of freak.
Well, she was a freak, that was for sure. A bird's call snapped her back to awareness, and she realized she was supposed to be talking to Ruben. Oh. What had the just said? Oh yes, that crack about the corpse... that had made her think about how she'd been a living corpse, and her past lifes, which had gotten her off track...
'Come on, Silk, pay attention... talk, before he thinks you've gone mute.' She told herself this to attempt to pep talk her into a good reply, yet she could find none within herself. So, she just opened her mouth and let whatever words that wanted to be spoken, spoken. "You hit that nail on the head." Hmm. Maybe that was a bit too... cryptic. Ah well. She didn't have the energy to rethink a response to that; he was already talking again.

No, she wasn't. Not anymore, or, at least, right now. She could barely think 'how witty' before the mare was laughing. It wasn't a normal laugh, though, it had a dry hint to it and building hysteria. A bit scary, in truth. Yet, she couldn't stop laughing. Eyes squished closed and she lowered her head, trying to stop the manical laughter. It probably wasn't very pretty, and when she stopped and opened her eyes Ruben would probably be gone, frightened off. Real great.
Still, the mare kept on laughing. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't stop. Soon, though, the desperate laughter turned into gasping for breath as her oxygen supply was getting greatly diminished. Silk was finding it slightly hard to breath, but a sudden memory popped into her head. Of her lying to Lady Amber about Comanche, and Dom seeing.
All of a sudden, she was crying and laying down again. Great sobs heaved her sides and you would've thought the mare was giving birth rather than having a very deranged, very emotional moment. Though horses can't have tears leak out of the corners of their eyes, their noses can run.
Drippage was leaking out of her left nostril, getting her mouth full of snot. Ew.
Finally, though, (probably after scaring away the few inhabitants of Bell Vayle with her strangled sounds) Silk stopped and was silent. Without so much as a sniff, she brought herself to her feet, staring down at the ground before daring to see if Ruben was still there.
Silk looked up.
Then she hiccuped.

[ooc] Sorreh, once more, vereh crappy and random. xD [/ooc]

[/blockquote]

love me forever

[..!INZ.z]

Right.
Well.
This was interesting.

Ruben watched with blank indifference as Silk proceeded to participate in what he could only describe as a fit. Her laughter stung his ears, shrill and manic and hysterical. He wondered briefly if she found what she had done amusing. Was breaking Dom's heart, leading Comanche on and then dumping him in the dirt, and trying the same trick on himself - was that funny? She never stopped whining about hard-done-by she was, with her mate abandoning her for a two-leg, and yet now she rolled with laughter?

Though, the palomino mused, muscles not even troubling themselves to twitch as she began to gasp for air, she probably wasn't laughing at that. She probably didn't even know what she found funny. It was kind of sad, he supposed. Maybe, after the pretty-and-innocent guise hadn't worked, and then the be-a-complete-superbitch act had backfired, Silk had decided to stuff it all and play insane, just to see how many stallions she could seduce with it. Ruben didn't know about Dom, but he certainly wasn't digging it.

Heck, she was crying now. What was she crying for? Like her life had been so harrowing and painful. Well, perhaps it had, but howling on the floor like a baby wasn't going to help matters. Ruben found his gaze drifting off, snagging towards the irresistible pull of the ocean. Skyline and water blended at the horizon, darkest blue and pale cyan merging like soft pastels. He had always loved the sea. Inland he had felt hemmed in, cornered, claustrophobic almost. On the seashore, there was just endless space - the waves stretched on into forever, and there were no barriers or mountains to get in the way.

He was glad he was back. He was glad he was home. Even with Silk moaning at his feet, he could almost close his eyes and imagine himself two years ago, the comforting warmth of Sorrow leaning against him, her soft breath in his ear, the snide comments she used to make about the other horses, comments which he had laughed at, though he knew he shouldn't.

Reluctantly he dragged his eyes back to Silk, though his vision hitched on every rock and grain of sand. He didn't have the energy for her. He had always thought Silk was the one horse he could trust, who would be there for him. She had been his support. But now, seeing her like this... Maybe it was selfish. It probably was incredibly selfish, but Ruben didn't care. The Ruben of a few years ago would have been right next to her, comforting her and whispering sweet nothings of reassurance in her ear.

But he couldn't anymore. He was too bitter and broken and angry at the world to realise how very un-Light he was being.

Finally she stood up, hiccuped. "Are you quite finished?" Ruben asked, voice quiet and soft as ever. "Only, I have better things to do than watch your tantrums."
Abruptly, he found himself wanting to fight something, anything. He just needed to take it out on someone.

[/blockquote]

[s o y ღ]

Yes, she did regret losing it in front of Ruben. His opinion of her was probably even lower. After trying her little tricks out on him and failing, she could expect for him to be mad at her and think she was pretty low. And ever since, she'd been trying (and failing) to redeem herself in other's eyes. Silk had never even thought about what she saw in others, and realized that little voice inside her head was right. Maybe she didn't need all these horses for friends, if they were just as messed up as her.
But, something had changed. The mare heard the palomino's not-so-kind words, which might not be so infuriating if he hadn't been speaking as if he were comforting her, or telling a mare that he loved her. His voice was so sweet and gentle, like nothing was wrong. It made her suddenly very, very angry. Suddenly all her senses were at full alertness, and she could see again. Not that Silk was every blind, but all of a sudden everything was so bright and blaring, even the now dulled tones of Bell Vayle. The stallion in front of her was a gleaming gold color, dusted with a creamy mane and tail. The sounds were alarmingly loud, too. The crashing waves of the ocean, the chirping of gulls, even the far-off calls of other horses. The smells were intense, too. Silk wasn't alone in this world, she realized. She was... well, mad. At what? Mostly herself, for being so stupid and wasting the past few years of her life being mental. Silk needed one more second of being a problem, though.
Without realizing what she was doing, she snaked out her neck and opened her teeth to grab a mouthful of Ruben's skin. She was in such a daze she didn't even know if she had bit him, but she thought it would be only fair if she bit herself, too. So the mare reached around and pinched her pelt between her teeth, tasting blood, though if it was hers or Ruben's she couldn't tell.
Silk was bleeding slightly from her own bite, glistening red substance dripping down the silver hair and onto the soiled ground.
But for once in her life, she Simply Didn't Care.
Silk had, to put it cheesily, awoken from that sleep that she'd been in. It was as if those past few years hadn't happened, but she still had to make up for them. Why was she mad at everyone? It was her fault. She just had to apologize, to set things right. First of all, she needed to find Dom. Was he here? Probably not. Did she know how to find him? Not a clue. But hopefully he'd fall out of the sky like he always seemed to. He always seemed to catch her at a bad time, too... but now, he wouldn't have a chance to find her when she was cranky. Silk was happy again. All thanks to Ruben, who, for some reason, had cracked her out of whatever state she'd been in.
Perhaps she should return the favor? Silk looked at Ruben, for real this time. She took in everything about him, all his scars and flaws, but at the same time, all his good things. Great things. Like, how he always seemed to be there when she needed him, even if his support wasn't always exactly... up to parr.
Curious gaze had just a note of pity in it, for a moment, but it turned to sympathy. He was going through rough times, though she still wouldn't admit they were rougher than hers. That Arabian pride still kept her head high and a bit of attitude, but that was nothing compared to what it had been. A careful footstep was all that was heard as she stepped forward and nuzzled his shoulder lightly, softly. Her muzzle barely touched him, but it was still a very affectionate action.
"Sorry, Ru. I was a bitch. But still, you have to be careful. Sometimes it can be the pot calling the kettle black, you know?" She cocked her head for a moment, wondering if that would set him off. In her heart she wanted to tell him how she'd broken out of that awful gloominess that had held her, and how he could, too. But she didn't. Silk had learned that sometimes less was more. "I hope we can still be friends. If we even are now. But I have to go... I'll be back; promise. But maybe..." Silver mare's voice trailed off as she took a step towards the exit. Delicate shoulders shrugged lightly and she stepped once more. "I'm not sure. Don't be mad, okay? Don't..." Silk sighed. This was harder than she thought. "Don't hate me."
And that was that. This wasn't exactly realistic, but then again, most horses weren't as messed up as she was. Though she wasn't exactly healed, she wasn't that ignorant and innocent horse she'd once been. Silk was more. She could still lose it and snap at someone--or take a snap at someone. But she wasn't that annoyingly depressed horse anymore.
Ruben was better for her than she'd previously thought. At first she needed him only for company, then for familiar company, then for familiar company that reminded her that she hadn't made up what had happened at the previous Bell Vayle. But now, she needed him as her friend. Maybe even her best friend, though he probably didn't think of her as that.
Silk would go soon; off to make her life better. A blush nearly heated up her face, for this sounded very, very cheesy. Still, it was true.
Before she went, she paused, waiting to see if he'd have anything to say to her.

[ooc] Ummm... yeah. xD Messed-up, lol... but Silk has snapped out if it.x) [/ooc]

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love me forever

[..!INZ.z]

He didn't want to be there.
He wanted to go, to turn away, to block out everything else. He knew he was being pathetic, he knew he was being stupid. He knew he should stop pratting about, get over himself and move on. But he couldn't. At that moment, he couldn't cope with any of it. He wanted to shut his eyes, bury his head in the sand; the colours were too bright and the sounds were too loud, and everything was worrying at his mind like nails screeching down a blackboard.

The palomino looked down, scuffing at the shrapnel-sharp slivers of stone that littered the little beach. It was always like this - when he was alone, he longed for company, and when he was with other horses, he yearned to be isolated. He had wanted to see Silk, regardless of what had gone on before: he had wanted to be reassured by the presence of an old friend. But now these reunions seemed bitter, twisted and pointless: he looked into Silk's eyes and all he saw was a reflection of the things that had ruined her.

He needed no reminding of them.

The palomino started back with a strangled snort as Silk lunged for him, her head snaking from seemingly nowhere. Her lips grappled with his flesh, and just as he jerked away Ruben felt the sharp tug as her teeth cracked open his skin.
Instinctively he snapped back, but already she was turning, gnawing at herself like a thing demented; Ruben could only stand and watch, dimly aware of the beads of blood which blotted his shoulder.

He didn't bother asking what was going on in her head - he could see the consequences of it plain enough, scrawled across her face. She seemed to be calming, contemplating, organising herself after that moment of frenzy; Ruben looked away. Of all the mares he had ever known, Silk confused him the most - and he couldn't bring himself to understand her. A soft sigh was emitted, barely audible above the crashing waves.

So things had worked out for her. She was all better now, and she could skip off and play happy families with Dom. Well, good for her. Sure, she'd just had a fit of madness on the floor, and yes, she'd just attacked him - but it didn't matter, did it? He was the one to be pitied.

Ruben didn't say anything. He hadn't really been listening. His ears twitched at her last words, however, and the palomino shook his head with a wry smile. "There's no point in hating you, Silk." He turned away, all of a sudden feeling old and brittle. He hoped Silk worked it out with Dom. If not, he was sure she'd come back to throw all her angst at him.

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