i see a DARKNESS

[Forte!]

The colt lowered his head dejectedly, breathing hard as he finally slowed his frantic galloping through the land. His fluffy down had only just begun to disappear, although his head was still to big for his body. His pelt was beginning to shine like a slick flame, so orange that it was almost blinding in the stark contrast to his black tips and striped mane. Blue eyes, slitted like those of a cat, gleamed darkly as the colt raised his head, looking back toward the border where a frantic neighing died down and then rose up again. His father. Why couldn't Tamber ever understand that his son wasn't like him? Tears rose to Cat's eyes, and he hastily blinked them away. Why couldn't he just be kind and peaceful? Why did he have to be so angry at everything? His sister, his mother, his whole family. Oh, how he tried to live up to his father's expectations. But he never would.

The cries died down as his father turned away, no doubt ashamed of his son. Cat shuddered and raised his head in silence. What he had done... He had argued with his father yet again, and in a rage he had been unable to see anything except hatred in front of him. So, he had run. Was there anything else to be done? He had run to the one place where he could be alone with his thoughts, although he was barely weaned Cat already showed the same pensive sadness that his father had displayed in his younger years. Now Tamber was a king, and fit for the role, strong and powerful, and happy finally with his love. Cat was too young to see the secret rage and hatred that his father held for the world, too young to know that this rage had surfaced in his colt, although his sister, Kalua, seemed to be the perfect foal that every family wanted. Oh! How desperately Cat wanted to be like that! But he could not, he would always be the one who sneaked off into the forest to be alone as he did now.

The colt stopped at the river, staring at his reflected face in the water. He even looked freaky. His blue eyes shone out too brightly from his red pelt, slitted strangely in the way that gave him his name. "Why can't I just be like him?" The colt whispered to himself, and then rage filled him, blinded him, and he struck out as his reflection with a small hoof, sending ripples shattering across the pond as he suddenly charged across the river and through his own reflection, dashing it to join the million disjointed images that flickered on the surface of the water. The colt stopped a good deal away, galloping into a small hole beneath a fallen log and shuddering with rage and fear because of that rage. Tears streaked down his blood bay pelt, cutting lines through the dirt that covered his face. He turned his head away, burying his eyes under one leg, barely moving as shudders rose again in his small body.

[s q u e e z i e-People Eater]

Aura nibbled at the short winter grass. She had wandered out of the herd lands, but she knew that Blazer and Basilisk, the ones she thought as her parents, wouldn't be too cross. Her fur was thick, and fluffy, still with the foalish pelt, but then the extra winter coat as well. She wagged her fluffy white tail as she ate, content, and at ease. There were no pestering, blood sucking beasts to bother her, and she was well hidden in the shade of a bog oak tree, even though her white sheen stood out. She knew she was safe here, and if any thing did happen, she could fit places, adult horses could not.

Out of the corner of her soft blue orb, she saw a shape. She looked up to see a bay colt, a few months older than herself, looking into the near by river. She watched, puzzled. He seemed distrot. Unhappy. She stood, unmoving, her orbs fixed on the colt. She saw him stretch out his leg, and break the reflection in the water. When he started to bolt, she couldn't help herself, but follow. She kept a little behind him, taking care not to make any noise. She skidded to a stop, when he shot into a hole, beneath a fallen log.

She made her way slowly, to where the colt now lay. She stopped in front of the hole, her blue orbs full of curiosity. The colt's head was under his leg, so his facial features were hard to make out. She stood there, swishing her fluffy white, filly's tail.

[Forte!]

Cat was snapped out of his reverie by a swishing noise, the hairs across his back rising in fear as he rose his head, teeth bared at the little filly. He leapt out, a snarl rising in his throat as he stared at the blue eyes that mirrored his own, trying to figure out what this other was doing here. Little ears laid back across his too-large head, touching the hairs of his still-spiky mane for a moment before the scent of the other hit him completely and he jumped back out of surprise, half-stumbling back into the hole. Humiliation rose in his throat, and with it came rage as his blue eyes narrowed and his teeth bared.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled, every muscle in his body tense as he stared at the strange white filly. Why had she been following him? It didn't matter, she ad brought back all of his anger and hatred by embarrassing him. Unluckily, the tear streaks down his face still stood in stark contrast with the rest of his pelt, and the sclera around his bright blue eyes was laced with outstanding veins, giving them a bloodshot appearance. "Were you FOLLOWING me, you impudent little maggot?"

He snarled, the horripilation following the course of his back as he began to circle her like a cat about to fight. His name was truly fitting, that was clear as his blue eyes flashed with malice and his red-streaked black tail swished back and forth uncontrollably. Even as a foal with a too-large head, the well defined Morgan muscles showed in his Arab frame, marking him as more powerful than he seemed for a foal.

[s q u e e z i e-People Eater]

Aura narrowed her eyes. What right did he have to call her a maggot? She was royal, and Blazer and Basilisk, would not be happy if they found this creature calling her a maggot. "As a matter of fact I was following you" she said, raising her head, so she looked bigger than she actually was "And you're the maggot. I am the daughter of Blazzer and Basilisk." she said the last words with pride. She had a happy life with the ones, she like to call her parents.

She followed his movements with her eyes, not moving a mucsle. "Who are you any way?" she asked, in her curious, yet slightly demanding way. She suddenly realised, that this place was horribly farmilier. It was the clearing that she had been cruely abandoned in, when she was a young foal. She snorted and stamped her foot, though this might have been misinterpreted for something else. She then saw the streaks on the colts face. He had been crying. The look changed on her face to puzzled. She hadn't expected to find him crying.

[Forte!]

Cat narrowed his eyes right back at her, holding his head high and snorting in mock disgust. He was looking over the filly - she was a bit younger than him, and he could easily take her in a fight. But he wouldn't... he was already tired of fighting. His eyes filled with hate as she admitted following him, pupils narrowing until they were no more than dark slashes in an expanse of blue. "FOLLOWING me? Following ME? What do you think you're doing, fool!" he hissed. But when she spoke of her parentage he was impressed despite himself. "You think your royal parents matter to me?" he asked, ears back against his head.

He snarled, pacing back and forth with the hair raised on his shoulders, his head not looking so huge now that he was fluffed out. In truth, he looked more ridiculous than fierce, his ears back and the sclera showing around his deep blue eyes. "Who I am is of no consequence to you," he said, spitting on the ground a few feet in front of her, stopping and facing her with his tail lashing from side to side and his eyes glittering with anger. How dare this filly look at him that way! He saw the curiosity cross his face, and in truth he was curious about her, as well. He would've given anything to be the heir to an alliance, but as it was he wasn't even the heir to his father's throne. No, that was for his goody-goody of a sister.

[s q u e e z i e-People Eater]

Aura lashed her tail in anger. How dare he call her a fool! Blazer would not be happy if he found out about this. The colts eyes looked strange to her. They were blue, like her own, but they were slitted. When he flattened his ears back though, it was all she could do not to snicker. He looked ridiculous, with his fluffy fur, and his large head. She rolled her eyes, as he started pacing up and down. "Well yes, because royals can do what they like. After all, they do lead an entire alliance" she said, a smug look, passing over her facade.

She snorted when he spat at her. Who did he think he was? She laid her auds back against her snowy crown, the innocent foalish look she gave her so called parents completely gone. She knew she was beautiful, even for a foal her age. She could easily take down this colt. But then she saw it. Behind the anger, she saw him drift off slightly. "You're jealous of me" she said. It wasn't in a taunting, or a surprised way, but a mixture of both. Then the fearsome look returned to her face, mixed with a glint of mischief.

[Forte!]

He snorted, standing still now, his fur flattened out. He looked much more impressive than he had before, even though his head was too big, still. His eyes blazed with fury at her were. Impotent little...! He cursed at her silently, using all of the dumb insults in his little foal brain. As much as he acted tough, he didn't really have the experience to be tough. "Hmph. You're no queen yet," he said smugly, stomping a hoof in front of him and lashing his tail from side to side. This filly was really getting on his nerves. Perhaps he should just get out of here... But she was blocking the way.

He chuckled as she laid her ears back, "Quite the fierce one, are we?" he asked, holding his head higher. Then, rage consumed his features again at her comment. "Am not! Why would I be jealous of a silly little rodent like you?" He snorted angrily, stepping towards her with a look of disgust on her face. Then, he decided to concede a bit. He wanted to know this filly, she had proved herself quite sharp. And, to be honest, he didn't want to fight her, or get angrier. He just wished he could be peaceful like his father... "My name's Cat.... What's yours?"

[s q u e e z i e-People Eater]

Aura rolled her eyes. So what if she wasn't queen yet? She didn't want to be queen yet. It was way more fun being a foal. She stomped her foot back at him, her eyes piercing into his head. She had a nack for that. She found that other horses felt it some what disturbing, which was in her opinion, quite funny. She snorted as he mocked her, and then called her a rodent. Her white fluffy tail lashed, and she bared her pearly teeth slightly.

She was about to strike out, when the colts attitude changed completely. She was somewhat baffled as he introduced himself, and then asked for her name. She blinked, but then responded "My name is Aurora" she said, less aggressive now. She could sense that the colt didn't want to fight, or get any angrier. She unpinned her ears from her crown, and lifted her head, so she looked taller. She now looked like the foal she usually was, keen, and bright, not aggressive and stubborn.

[Forte!]

He returned her icy stare, his blue eyes matching hers. he was really quite stubborn, and it was clear that he would stare at her for hours if need be. But then, he saw her relax, and he did, too. He really didn't want to have to face her father, it was true. It was also true that he was a little jealous of her. Why couldn't he be a prince? His father even denied him the chance to be the heir of Golden Prairie! He chuckled slightly as he watched her try to be fierce. Then again, he probably looked like that, too.

"Aura, huh?" he asked, having nothing else to say, "Why were you following me, anyway?" He was curious now, acting like the normal little foal that he was. If only he could say in truth that he was normal... After all, a normal foal wouldn't have snapped at her like that, would they? He should probably apologize for being mean, he knew that, but it would be awkward to say it to her now. Perhaps he could make it up to her by trying to be nice.

[s q u e e z i e-People Eater]

Aura raised her head as he asked her the question. She wasn't evan sure herself why she was following him. She thought for a minute. "I was just curiouse" she said at last. She flicked her tail. She wasn't quit sure what to say. They were in one of those akward silences, that made her feel uncomfortable. She eventually broke the silence. "Where is your herd?" she asked, wondering if this question might trigger him again. She didn't want to upset him again.

She wondered what had made him so upset in the first place, and wanted to ask, but she decided to leave the subject alone. She looked up at the sky. The sun was getting lower in the sky. Her eyes widened. Blazer would be so angry at her if she was out by herself in the dark. But then again, she wasn't by herselft anymore. What ever she did, and who ever she was with, she would still need to head home soon.

[Forte!]

Cat snorted a little bit at her answer. Curious? He knew to stay away from other foals, especially when they had teeth and hooves that could hurt. The horse was a creature of fight or flight, and he himself had too many times been turned upon by tooth or hoof to want to disturb anyone. This little white filly seemed a bit foolish to him, but then again, she was younger. And a princess. Perhaps princesses got treated differently. "I come from Golden Prairie. My father is Tamber, the king." he replied, without any emotion. He wasn't particularly fond of his home over any other place.

"So..." he began, eager to fend of the silence, "what's it like, being princess of a whole alliance?" He honestly didn't really care about the answer, he just wanted to talk. He had never met any other foals his age, and he was, honestly, glad to finally meet one. His auds pricked as he followed her gaze to the horizon. The sky had already begun to catch on fire with the dying light. It would be dark soon, and the moon and the stars would come out to replace the stark brightness of day. Cat liked the dark, but he didn't want to be out here, so far from home, when the sun set. Predators lurked when the sun was gone.

But, still, he couldn't go home yet. Not when he was still so angry with his father and his sister for being so... perfect. With a shiver, he realized that he might have to stay out here alone. Surely Aura, as princess, would want to get home to her perfect little life with her perfect little family. What she had said earlier was true - he was jealous of her. He envied her for everything she had, everything that he did not.

[s q u e e z i e-People Eater]

Aura took note of his snort. She knew it had been foolish, but then again, life was full of full of things to be learned from. "I was born near to your home" she said, in a small voice. Memories came flooding back, but they were all a blur. She tried to block them out, but to no avail. When Cat asked her what it was like to be a princess they came at her more aggressively. She shut her eyes. She couldn't live a lie.

"I have no idea where my mother is, and I don't even have the faintest clue to the identity of my father. Blazer and Basilisk are not my real parents, and they will never be the same as them. I was abandoned by my mother, kicked and bitten, and then left to die. Blazer found me by accident." She looked up at the colt in front of her. She probably looked pathetic.

Suddenly she didn't want to go back to her so called home. Not yet. Maybe not ever. She hated living a lie, and wanted to find her true mother. To get her sweet revenge. But she knew that chances were low. No, she would never find her.

[Forte!]

Cat's ears pricked suddenly when he saw her expression. What had he said? What had he done to make her so upset? Perhaps she was at war with her parents, too. He listened to her next words carefully. Born near Golden Prairie? How? Wouldn't the royals give birth in their own lands? He opened his mouth, about to ask, but then shut it again as she closed her eyes. The questions chased themselves in circles around his mind, and he could barely hold them back, biting his tongue softly to stop them leaping out of his mouth. Even he could see that she was upset, and he understood that.

Her next words took him by surprise, and his eyes widened. So, she wasn't really the heiress after all. Suddenly, his own predicament didn't seem so bad. After all, he at least knew his parents, at least they were there for him when he was hurt or upset. What was it like to be abandoned, without any true family around you? He couldn't imagine life without his family, his mother, his father, even his little goody two-shoes sister. "I'm... sorry," he whispered, overcome by empathy. She, too, was trying to find her true identity.

He went up to her and nuzzled her softly. Not out of compassion... it just seemed like the right thing to do, to comfort her. "I-I... My father and I got into a fight. That's why I'm out here alone. All I ever do is wrong, and he's always so perfect, so infallibly good. I always look at my own reflection and... and... I see a darkness there, and it scares me." he could barely speak the words. He hadn't even realized them himself until then. "That's why I was crying. But... but you are stronger than me. You don't cry."

[s q u e e z i e-People Eater]

Aura shook her head. She was not stronger. She was nothing. She didn't know who she was, or what she was. She was obviously been worth enough to have been kicked, and left to die. She would have died if Blazer hadn't come and found her. "I am not stronger than you. You are at least someone. I don't know where I beling in the world, but I know for sure I do not belong with neutrals. My mother was more than likely dark." She sighed. She knew no one could be all worng...accept for herself. She had been all wrong befor her life had properly begun. At least he had a father. A mother. A sibling. It was far more than what she had. Where would she go when she grew up. Surely she could not stay in Autumn Mountain.

She tried to pull herself togeather. A foal should not go through trauma, weather it was being left to die, of fighting with your loved ones. Her legs folded underneather her snowy white body. She was so tired now. Sleep was closing in on her. She tried to fight the drowsiness, but the darkness swept her up and took her.

[Forte!]

His ears laid back a little bit as she spoke. She lied. She must know that he was only a weakling compared to her. "You ARE someone. I met that someone," his whispered, watching the last wisps of sunlight fad out across the horizon. He looked back at her as she laid down, he could see the drowsiness creeping over her. He fought against the leaden heaviness that now plagued his own eyes, blinking off sleep even as he looked at her, watched as the darkness took her. He heard, on the edge of his audal range, the searching whinnies of Tamber fade away. His father finally understood that he wasn't going to come home, at least not tonight.

"Good night," he whispered, mostly to himself, and looked out into the dark, sides quivering. A yawn passed his lips, and he fought off sleep as valiantly as he could. But he stood, on the edge of true darkness and the lingering purple of twilight, guarding the form of his new friend. On and on into the night, his blue eyes watched out for her and for himself, until finally they too closed. For another moment, Cat wrestled with sleep, and then the darkness took him, as well, swallowing his mind in the growing blanket of stars.

The last thing he saw was the distant form of Sagittarius, that half-man half-beast, galloping across the sky with his bow slung over his shoulder. Horses and humans share only one sky sign, and that is the hunter, the centaur, forever chasing something that he never seemed to catch. For a moment, Cat knew just how he felt, to be chasing something ethereal and beyond your own sense of the world. In his dreams, a little red-and-black colt with eyes of the purest blue, slitted like those of a cat, ran away from him forever and ever... Always right where he could not be touched.