BLACK RIVERS IN MY MIND ,

[Kezz]

Fell had lived nearly ten years, and her life, still, felt as hollow as it had in her first. She had accomplished emptiness in the place of her dreams; her childhood wishes until recently had been long forgotten. She'd become so wrapped up in loss and anguish and anger that those aspirations had fallen; they'd been lost to he fray that was Fell's inner turmoil. And for a long time she had not believed they could return — that they would be eternally obliterated by her own inadequacy. 

But something had changed after the birth of Riften ( that wild boy made from chaos ) something that had spurred her on and something which had led to recent happenings: the stealing of a colt from Bear's Den. Fell had been vaguely aware of an old alliance between her father and Halloween, but both were now dead and times had evolved; the past would not suffocate her again, at least that was what the mare told herself. 

Wilhelm, that was his name, no? Fell shrugged her brindled shoulders as she stood beside an old bare willow — one that she remembered from her days here as a young girl. Cattail Lake was the catalyst of the aching nostalgia in her chest, and though a year ago Fell may have run from the longing, now she faced it. It was a strange thing: to long for a time that had been so perpetually lonesome, but the truth was that no matter how solitary Fell's youth had been, nothing compared to the seclusion and loneliness she had experienced as an adult. 

WICKED♪ ♫ hope you don't mind, I just wanted them to meet!

[WICKED♪ ♫]

The sunny skies betrayed the turmoil that roiled in his heart. Birds sang in the treetops and a pleasant breeze whispered through the grass, and Wilhelm hated it. Today it should be raining - pouring - a reflection of the darkness inside of him.

His little sister, beautiful but sickly Venetia, had been left behind. For over a year he had been her guardian, her protector. After their mother was stolen by Rowtag, Wilhelm had been the only one left to care for the young filly. And now he'd been stolen, too. What was Nerissa doing, letting all her herd members get whisked away? Didn't she care about them at all?

He cantered into Cattail Lake with one thought on his mind: to find Fell, the one who had stolen him. They had to talk strategy, had to get Venetia out of the Den.

The land was pleasant on the eye. Simple, open, and swishing with tall cattails that grew on the banks of the river for which it was named. The openness made Wilhelm a bit nervous, for he had grown up surrounded by thick trees in the Den. He felt exposed here - vulnerable. So when he saw a brindled lady standing near the trunk of an old willow tree, he went directly to her.

"Afternoon," he clipped, and then he drank in a few gulps of breath. It wasn't easy to canter so far for so long. He was out of shape. "I'm looking for Fell. Do you know where I can find her?"

^Kezz

[Kezz]

Wistful navy eyes watched the leaves flutter on their branches, calmed by the warmth on the breeze and the birdsong overhead. The reeds whispered their summer song to her, a melody she knew well. Fell was at home here in this small but bountiful land. And you could not deny the modest beauty of the lake: the ripple of time reflected upon it's calm waters, the death and rebirth of a countless dusks and dawns captured on the surface, mirroring every burst of colour. It was here she felt a sense of belonging that seemed to exist nowhere else. Her peace, however, was interrupted quite abruptly. He appeared swiftly, striding toward her with impulsion and intent; Fell's caliginous gaze narrowed, broad powerful shoulders squaring off as she straightened her frame. Her medium, principally, was hostile intolerance, and it showed in the gruffness written across her harsh features.

"Who wants to know?" - she grunted.

WICKED♪ ♫

[WICKED♪ ♫]

The mare's response was not at all what he had been expecting. At her gruff tone he flicked his ears forward, curious, and then let them settle into a neutral position. His eyes, though, green like spring, were alive and impatient. His hip popped as he shifted his weight back and forth, anxious to get moving, to get talking. Anything to relieve this worry. He needed to know that Venetia would be safe. The herd would be good to her, but they wouldn't watch over her as he had done. Who would stay by her side when she had a coughing fit? Who would make sure she was always near a water source so that she could ease her raw, aching throat? No one. Wilhelm had been the only one, and now he was gone.

"My name is Wilhelm. I'm, uh...new here." He didn't feel quite right admitting to having been stolen, so he just cleared his throat and got on with it. "I need to talk to Fell about something important. Can you please point me in the right direction?" He offered the mare a sincere smile and hoped she wouldn't continue to slow him down. It was important business he needed to attend to.

^Kezz