On Top of the World (saz)

[Swede]

Once his young trainees were ready, Cormorant had urged them into a brisk canter out across the desert sands. A flat run might've been preferable, but it was a bit of a distance to the mountains, after all; no need for them to collapse before the real work started. The whisper of hooves against sand gradually turned into a more solid thrumming as the surface shifted to dirt and rock, and Cormorant relished the feeling of having reliable footing once again. The ground was admittedly a bit more uneven, which might pose a challenge to those who were only accustomed to endless expanses of soft smooth sand, but each stride landed solidly where it should, without slipping or sinking. The desert really was a hellhole, and he couldn't understand why Ranger had chosen to live there; even the air was more pleasant in the shadow of the mountains, clearer and cooler. But to each their own, he supposed. He wasn't one to complain in general.

He was panting lightly by the time he signaled a brief halt at the base of where the slope began to increase more dramatically. After a lifetime of hard travel, he had accumulated quite a bit of endurance, but he didn't feel he had quite the energy these days as before. Quit thinking like that, weakness is only present if you acknowledge it, he growled mentally. "Okay then," he said briskly, turning to his pupils, "All warmed up? Right, see that ridge over there? That's where we're going. Remember to pace yourself- stopping to take breaks will just make you feel more tired when you keep going. Steady pace, all the way up. Choose your path wisely, ideally move so that you can avoid major obstacles but without taking such long detours that you end up making the trip significantly longer. We don't have all day, so get going. I'll be right behind you two; you'll learn by doing, me showing you everything isn't going to teach you how to get out of a tricky spot when you screw up. Move on, then." Ravines, overhangs, slippery stone, rock faces, dense patches of vegetation, who knew what could get in the way. It would be interesting to see how the desert natives fared outside their element.

[Saz]

The twin greys moved swiftly upon the sandy expanse of land as they followed their dark mentor from their homelands. They hand been born and bred within the golden lands so the footing, although difficult for outsiders, was easy for them to move upon, even if they slipped sometimes. Then, as the mountains began to loom closer and take up more of the horizon, the ground began to firm up, the sound of their hooves changing from a soft whisper to a dull thud. They both stumbled a few times over the stray rock or root of a tree as the lands surrounding them slowly became more lush with vegetation.

The two halted as their mentor did, pausing and watching the dark stallion as they caught their breath. Eden lowered her head, breathing the fresh air deeply to slow her thundering heart, she raised it at his words, a slight disbelieving look within them as she looked up at the towering land above. It seemed to disappear into the clouds that lingered far above the earth, giving the whole situation a far more intimidating feel. She let out a shuddering breath before glancing to her brother who was currently assessing the best route to the top. Azazel glanced briefly at his little sister before grinning brightly at her an launching himself forward at a steady lope, taking one of the more direct paths to the ridge, but it was one fraught with obstacles, one that would take him the better part of a few hours to overcome.

She cast a cautious glance to Cormorant before gazing up at the huge rocky structure that lay before her. Breathing a deep, steadying breath, she then moved off at a steady jog, moving to the left of her brother's chosen path and taking a much simpler direction to the ridge. She scaled the first of the obstacles upon her chosen path with deliberate ease but it was as she got higher in her journey that the path she had chosen became more difficult. It held unseen difficulties and obstacles that one could only see when confronted by them.

She had gotten almost a third of the way up the mountainside before one particularly problematic obstacle showed itself. Part of the mountainside had obviously caved in upon itself, possibly the result of an avalanche. But there were rocks and boulders strewn along her path, stopping her from advancing much further. "Ah crud." She grumbled, moving a few feet forwards and craning her head upward and to the side to see if there was any way for her to get past the blockage.

Sighing deeply, the filly was about to turn around and attempt to find another way around further back along her path when the snow began to fall. It was slow at first, and it allowed her to backtrack and find her new path, but then it began to get heavier, little flurries of snow forcing her to slow her pace to a careful walk. One misplaced step could send her off the edge of her chosen route and down to a painful death or an incredibly harsh injury. "Cormorant!?" She called her mentor's name loudly, unsure if the black stallion had followed her or her brother up the mountainside. She made to call to him once more but a fierce wind snatched her words from her mouth.

Squinting, ears flattened against the extreme weather, she turned on the spot and peered through the thick flakes that fell, determined to halt her progress and obscure her vision. Suddenly she caught a flash of black and took a few steps forward, forgetting where the edge of her path was, she slipped and almost slipped over the edge. Crying out in mingled surprise and fear, the filly backpedaled furiously, determined not to have her life end on such circumstances.

((OOC: Ermagerd, Cormorant, save Eden so she can have your babies *-*))

[Swede]

Cormorant watched critically as each of his charges took on their assigned tasks in a different manner. Azazel didn't seem to yet realize that going straight up a mountainside never worked; but that was what this lesson was for, and he would find out soon enough what a foolish hope that was. Most creatures followed their own secret switchback paths, ancient invisible trails that crisscrossed the slopeside in a fashion which, though the actual distance traveled was greater, certainly required much less energy and effort; if forced to patrol in the peaks for long enough, finding such paths would become second nature for Ranger's young troops as well.

From the foot of the mountainside, both greys were fairly easy to keep track of, and Cormorant decided to linger there for a little while longer; once he started climbing, they would be harder to catch up to if they veered away from their paths before he managed to predict them. Still, he had said he would be right behind them, so after assessing their trajectories, he too began making his way up the slopes. It was not long before he felt a cold wind tugging at his mane; it seemed an unforeseen storm was billowing over the ridge, previously hidden by the tall peaks. They would have to cut the lesson short then, and return to the lowlands. Glancing sideways, he could see Eden in the distance, and ahead of her, a steep ravine in the mountainside. She would have slow going, if there was any going at all, and Cormorant could see a general path that would take him straight to her without too much trouble. Turning the other direction, he bunched his muscles and powered up the mountainside, dust and loose rocks scrambling down in his wake. "Azazel!" he shouted as he got a little closer, enough for the younger stallion to hear him at least, "That's enough! Storm's coming, turn around and get back down to the bottom, I'll go get Eden!"

Snowflakes fluttered past his face on the frigid breeze now, taunting him of the monster to come. A lapse in judgement, old boy? You're getting soft, maybe another war will be too much for you, the wind seemed to whisper. Hmph, winter squalls could blow up without warning, nothing to fret over. He'd just get to Eden and get her down, and then they'd be fine and trot on back home. The going was a bit slower than expected, however, as his vision became obscured and the rocky path became more and more slippery with damp. How far ahead had she gotten?! There was movement all around him in the falling snow, and her grey coat didn't make her stand out in the storm either; but something larger and swifter up ahead, could it be..? Yes, he was certain of it- but what on earth was she doing, teetering on the edge like that? Nothing good, it seemed; risking the footing, he broke into a trot, moving quickly along the treacherous path just as she slipped and scrambled desperately to save herself. "Easy now," he rumbled, reaching forward and grabbing a tight hold across her withers, tugging her with surprising ease into a better position. He might not be too impressive to look at, but years of experience and a tough nature had given Cormorant a sinewy strength that came in handy quite often.

Once he was certain she had good footing and was away from the edge, he let go, and shook his head at her in hopeless amusement. "You can walk off cliffs once the war's over and you've got a few demons to haunt you; surely this little training exercise wasn't that bad," he quipped. But his expression quickly hardened as he looked up at the sky. "We need to get down pronto, trail's only getting worse," he said. "Follow my steps, be quick but be careful." Turning, Cormorant narrowed his eyes, attempting to discern the best path. Already his previous tracks were beginning to fill with snow. No matter, we don't want to go that way anyway, it won't take us down, he thought. But down.... he couldn't even see down anymore. He could only hope Azazel had managed to get to the foot of the mountain before the going got too rough, if he was stuck on the hillside he'd be hellishly difficult to find. Right, forward along this ledge a bit, stop to test the footing, nope that rock is loose, can't step that way... up a little to skirt around the outcrop...

Cormorant halted, eyeing the path in front warily. It was difficult to see much more than a couple strides ahead, and snow was drifting in various places and making the landscape look much different than what it actually was. From what he could tell, a segment of earth stuck out from the mountainside in front of him, and across from that seemed to be a relatively smooth downward slope. But snow coated the ledge, and he could tell neither how thick it was or what material it was made of. If it was only dirt, it would need to be quite thick to bear their weight without collapsing; rock was preferable, but with the slight sideways slope of the ledge, it might be too slippery to traverse safely. "Wait here a second," he commanded Eden behind him. Carefully, he dug at the snow, unearthing- dead weeds and mud. Acceptable footing at least. He leaned slightly on his foreleg, testing the solidity. Nothing. He stomped on it to be certain, but it still held. "Okay then," he murmured to himself, stepping forward. Halfway across, the snow suddenly disappeared beneath him, as his foreleg plunged through a caved-in section of the ledge hidden beneath the drifts, his chest crashing against the other side. His instinctive panic to regain footing allowed him to pull himself upward by clawing at the opposite side of the ledge, but the sudden impact and weight caused the earth to crumble, and he managed to regain his footing and backpedal just as a six-foot section of the path slid down the mountainside. In broad daylight with dry footing, one might be able to jump across, but this was a deathtrap now. Had he been on his own and in good shape, he might have attempted it anyway, but the chances of both of them clearing it were slim, and already the muscle in his chest felt sore from the impact.

There was no other option, it seemed. Well then. "Back up a little," he called over his shoulder. "That cliffside we passed around the corner, it was a bit more sheltered from the wind and snow, we can stay there. I know it makes for a lousy field trip but we'll just have to wait out the storm, it's too dangerous to try and get down now." He edged himself around until he was facing the correction direction, and then followed Eden closely, his head swung across her back in case he needed to stabilize her if she slipped, his breath fogging in the cold and creating little ice crystals along her hip. "There, stop," he commanded. "We'll wait here." The cliffside shielded them somewhat, and the path was broad and stable enough to stand on without any worry. Cormorant looked her over carefully for a moment. Then suddenly he stepped closer, sidling his body tightly against hers and nudging her up beside the wall. "For warmth," he explained carelessly, "Your mother might've given you a pretty face but that desert blood isn't going to keep your circulation going up here, not in this weather." Sighing, he fell silent, glancing outwards through the now-raging storm. It was his job to train them for war, and they couldn't fight any battles if they died before it all started; thus it was his duty to protect them as well. Already he could feel his own heat reflecting from Eden's body, and as long as the wind didn't turn and the storm didn't last more than a day or two, she ought to be fine; but he had to take care of Azazel as well, and he had no idea whether the young stallion had made it down in time. All he could do was hope; for now, they weren't going anywhere.

((OOC: Cormorant to the somewhat-powerplaying rescue! But seriously Eden, please don't faint, I nearly went full fanfic mode on this before I realized it probably isn't good for your health <.< ))

[Saz]

Her breath came hard and fast as she slipped and slid, not able to find any purchase with her front hooves as she attempted to backpedal, her ability to keep her balance on just her back legs was failing her too. She was about to completely slip over the edge when her saviour came in the form of a familiar black stallion. He easily yanked her back and she stood there shivering for a moment as he spoke, and somehow after a near death experience, he brought a small smile to her face. "It could've been worse." She replied shortly, still somewhat out of breath, it seemed almost falling off a cliff did that to you. Watching him carefully, she nodded and followed his instructions, after all, he was the more experienced of the two.

Traversing the mountains in the snow was far harder than she would've ever thought. You never knew where placing your hooves would put you. The floor beneath the snow could be perfectly fine, but the slightest slope to it could cause you to slip down the mountain anyway, or it could be weak in places but strong in others, causing you to walk a few steps in perfect confidence and then it could collapse beneath you without any warning. Her heart was still beating in a furious manner as she followed her mentor forwards as they attempted to descend the mountain, she placed her hooves exactly where his had been as they moved, she didn't ever wish to experience falling off a cliff again; even if it only almost happened.

She paused as he ordered her to and watched him like a hawk as he began to move away after testing the solidarity of the footing beneath them. Her breath was forming clouds around her, the water vapor turning to ice crystals in a matter of moments, snowflakes had caught in her dark mane and tail and were only just beginning to melt, whereas any that settled upon her back or sides were melting almost instantly, giving her a distinctly damp look before the frigid temperatures froze the moisture once more and created small patches of ice on her coat. She continued to watch him as his dark form began to blur from the interference of the blizzard they were in. Eden squinted once more and saw him falter, her heart leapt into her throat and she made to take a step towards him when he suddenly backpedalled and the path collapsed, almost sending Cormorant to his death.

She was about to ask if he was okay but he cut her off by speaking once more, she nodded, closing her mouth before she turned carefully and slowly edged toward the cliffside he had mentioned. A small grin formed across her face and her cheeks coloured a mild pink as she felt his head swing across her back before sitting beside her hip, his breath creating a small patch of ice crystals on her coat. She shivered slightly at the sensation before attempting to focus her mind on the task ahead, but it was a difficult thing to do when you have the stallion that you're crushing on only mere inches away from you. Biting her lip, Eden squinted slightly as the wind threw more snowflakes at them before dying down a little as they got around the corner. It was at this point that she would have to stop herself from fantasizing about what might happen with her mentor. Stop it, Eden. He wouldn't ever look at you anyway, you're just a filly. She mentally berated herself, frowning a little before controlling herself and breathing deeply to calm her over-excitable thoughts.

Thankfully, as they got right under the outcrop, the path became slightly wider and far more stable. This meant they could both stand and move on it without any worries of it collapsing like the previous one had. She glanced over her shoulder once her thoughts were under control, and nodded as he spoke before she shuffled a little more into the shelter to give him some room. She doubted he would exactly snuggle up to her on a whim. Her mouth almost opened in shock as he did just that, her cheeks flushed bright red and she quickly shook her mane so he couldn't see her ridiculous reaction.

Oh. My. God.

Oh. My. God.

OH. MY. GOD.

Wait... did he just call me pretty?

OHMYGOD! HE THINKS I'M PRETTY.

Ohkay, Eden, don't have a spaz attack now. Chill, breathe, be thankful that he's snuggled up to you right now.

BUT HE'S SNUGGLED UP AGAINST ME - for warmth - AND HE THINKS I'M PRETTY!

WE'RE TOTALLY GOING TO HAVE BABIES TOGETHER

NO. Stop. Now. Calm down. No ridiculous fantasies. He's your mentor. You are his student. He's older than you, in fact he's old enough to be your father. Now stop with the creepy freak out, and just be a normal horse for once.

I-I... Okay... But he is pretty cute... And handsome... and strong... and - STOP. If you want to talk to him, thank him for saving your life and ask him if he's okay. He fell earlier, if you remember.

Oh yeah! He did, I hope he hasn't injured himself...

The internal discussion with herself took a few minutes to complete, by which point the wind had changed directions and seemed to be helping them keep some sort of shelter by blowing snow in the opposite direction to them, however every so often it would flicker in its direction and cut through them both with its icy fangs. She shivered a little and instinctively curled closer to Cormorant, instantly feeling warmer when she pressed herself against him. She raised her head slightly and glanced towards him through her thin forelock. "I... uh... Never thanked you for saving me back there. So... uh... thanks." She paused, mentally wincing at the utter smoothness of that sentence. Real smooth, Eden. Real smooth. She mentally growled at herself before looking at him once more.

"You fell back there, when the path collapsed. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" She paused, swallowing deeply before quickly adding onto her question, "I'm only, um, asking because I don't want you to be hiding an injury or something because, ah, uh, you're a stallion... I just mean that... oh jeeze... I, ah, just remember that once when I was younger Azazel hid an injury because he thought that was what stallions were supposed to do. Though, to be fair, Mum would've overreacted if he'd told her he'd gotten injured..." She trailed off, flushing a deep red as she gazed at him. She couldn't have been any less smooth as she had spoken, she fumbled over her words, umming and ahing, almost saying something incredibly sexist and then speaking incredibly quickly towards the end of her speech. She was about as unsmooth as the wall she was squashed against, which was rather rocky and bumpy. She breathed deeply before biting her lip and then bursting out with, "I'm sorry if I've offended you... I'm just... I'm not great at talking to... uh... you, I guess." More blushing and stumbling over her words and she then proceeded to look utterly mortified she ever said that. "Oh god. No... just.... just ignore me. I totally didn't say that. Nope." She shook her head, before promptly lowering it and refusing to look at anything but a particularly fascinating spot on the floor.

[Swede]

Eden's voice, a crystalline contrast to the howling wind swirling past their sheltered hideaway, cut through Cormorant's thoughts and brought his focus back to her. He listened silently, watching her as she spoke; the poor girl seemed rather nervous, but she had been through a relatively harrowing ordeal today and he supposed it was understandable. He shrugged, not particularly accustomed to being thanked for anything. "Your father needs soldiers in his war, I can't be letting them die before they even step out on the battlefield. I said I'd train you and keep you safe while doing so, and that's what I'll do. I just hope Azazel made it down to the lowlands in time, it wouldn't be good for him to be panicking up in the mountains all on his own."

Sighing, he shifted his weight slightly, knowing it was no use worrying about Azazel. What happened would happen, and he would find out his other trainee's fate sooner or later. "It's natural for prey animals like ourselves to hide an injury. Whether our foes are predators or other stallions, it isn't wise to announce our weaknesses, because then you give them something to take advantage of. In the safety of a herd, others can help you heal, but if you're already vulnerable..." He sighed again, drifting from speech into thought. He had never really had a safe herd; the Strath had mostly just been waiting for an excuse to kill him, and in his exile he had been a wanderer. His brief term as leader of a rebellion might have allowed him some comrades, but it was hardly a peaceful life, and after that, he had traveled in the shadows once again.

"Anyway, you don't need to be concerned about me. I've had worse, and in far more precarious situations; I'll be fine. And don't worry about offending me, either; you've grown up in a quiet family herd, and even trainees who were born and raised in war can be nervous and uncertain how to address their mentors. The urgency of your father's situation means we're short on time for training, and thus some formalities can be skipped," he added, completely misunderstanding the source of her flustered behavior.

[Saz]

She nodded slightly and as her bright fuchsia blush faded he said something and her cheeks reddened again. "Yeah... The war..." She paused, sighing deeply and moving her gaze briefly to Cormorant before staring out at the whirling snow as the wind threw it around just outside of their somewhat sheltered hiding place. "Do you think we'll be ready for it, Cormorant?" She asked quietly, her voice barely heard above the whistling and howling winds that rushed past them, snatching at their manes and tails when they changed directions and occasionally pelting them with snowflakes.

She bit her lower lip, suddenly realizing that in just a few months, maybe a year, if she was lucky, she would be at war. Killing other horses and putting her life on the line for a family feud. Would she ever have foals? Would she ever be in any herd other than her own? Would she ever find love? Questions ran through her mind, scrambling over each other in a frantic attempt to be heard, to be the most important. And then, as she thought harder about the war, there was no doubt in her mind that she would lose family members, her brothers, her father, her sister... Cormorant... At that final thought her gaze travelled back to Cormorant and her throat felt tight.

He, for some miraculous reason, hadn't realized her feelings for him yet and she began to feel incredibly disappointed. He wouldn't ever see her for what she was, for what she felt for him. And she knew exactly what she had to do before she died or lived to regret it. She, most likely, only had another year or so to live properly, without having been in a war and her view of the world skewed and warped with memories, grief, and an undying rage to avenge her fallen brethren. And that was if she managed to survive the war, if they won. If they didn't she would be forced into hiding, constantly running from Hunter and his pawns, she probably wouldn't ever have a foal, nor would she fall in love. Her guilt would be too tremendous, she couldn't put anyone else in danger just because she was selfish enough to put herself first.

She paused, but then again, telling Cormorant about how she felt about him... wouldn't that be selfish? Wouldn't that be putting him at more risk than he should be? If he knew and she didn't survive, how would he feel? If they lost the war and both survived, they would never stop running, never be able to have a family. If Hunter found out about her infatuation with Cormorant... he would be targeted, she would be a vital weakness and him along with it. Again, her thoughts began to chase each other round in circles, stumbling over each other so they could all be heard in the midsts of her inner turmoil.

It was then, as she focused and really looked at the dark stallion who so willingly gave her shelter and kept her from dying, that she realized that none of that mattered. She would regret this eternally if she never told him, and if she died then so be it, that was how life went. Blinking against a stray gust of wind, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak. But as she did so they were both attacked fiercely by the biting winds. It froze up her throat, making her seize the words that were attempting to escape and swallow them in favour of snuggling into the black stallion in an attempt to stay moderately warm.

Eventually the winds died down, but the snow that had been thrown at them barely melted, forming piles at their hooves and freezing the water upon their pelts, streaking them both with white. Shivering violently, Eden dipped her head forward and glanced past Cormorant at the unrelenting storm. It seemed they would be stuck here for the foreseeable future, she just hoped that Azazel was okay. Biting her lip at that thought she remembered their all too obvious mortality. It didn't take much to harm an equine or to kill them either.

Just a slip of the hoof on precarious terrain could send you down a sheer drop or break a leg, then you were done for. A swift change in weather could see you buried in snow, frozen solid or it could see you dying of dehydration. Then there were predators, mountain lions and wolves. The diseases could put you flat on your back within days. The world was a harsh place even when you weren't directly involved in a life-threatening situation like a war. She breathed deeply, attempting to soothe her frayed nerves before she rubbed her face against her knee in an attempt to loosen the frost clinging to her cheeks and muzzle.

The silence that had fallen between the two equines was palpable, and it began to morph into tension. At least on Eden's side it did. Finally she sighed and nudged Cormorant to make sure she had his attention. "I... I'm not really too sure how to say this, or how to go about this. And to be honest I haven't been too subtle either, probably about as subtle as a large rock. I like you, Cormorant. I like you a lot. And to be honest, I don't care if it's not 'right'. Or that you're older than me. Or whatever excuses and problems that are forming between us and in the judging minds of others. Look at Indra and Altair. They've got a perfectly working relationship and even a daughter. But I'm not implying that we should have a relationship, that's up to you. I just want you to know that I like you." More like love you, She paused, inhaling deeply and adding a small afterthought with a mildly nervous smile.

"And I've probably only got a short while longer to properly live, and I know that if I don't tell you this now then I'll live, or die, to regret this for my entire existence. I don't know what I want you to say or to do, but I need to say this, I'm not infatuated nor am I being controlled by my hormones when I say this to you. I... I just really like you." She ended her short speech with iron clad confidence and a strong tone as she stared at the older stallion. She wasn't quite sure where they'd go from here. But for the moment they were stuck with each other so they had to work it out. Or at least get things out into the open.

Or so she hoped.

[Swede]

Cormorant shrugged. "Nobody is ever ready for war," he said grimly, "But you soldier through it as best you can." It didn't matter how much you were trained; the first battle was always a shock, even among the Strath warriors he'd grown up among. Over time, you became hardened to death and destruction, but you weren't ready for it. You just blocked out the horror and hoped for a dreamless sleep at day's end. He had been attacked, he had been hunted, he had killed and had seen his own trainees die before they could even rightly be called adults. Maybe by training them he had done his best to protect them, but had he not also justified their place in battle in doing so? If they had been unskilled and unprepared, might they not have chosen to flee and save themselves instead?

He blinked out of his thoughts at Eden's touch. The dangers of inactivity, it brought on the doldrums and with it the ghosts who howled their lamentations in the blizzard. Hopefully they would not be here for much longer. But it seemed Eden had been doing some thinking herself, and though at first he was perplexed by her sudden desire to make a speech, his heart quickly sank. She was young, and foolish perhaps; but fools were stubborn and difficult to dissuade, and sometimes difficult to read. She almost sounded pragmatic in the way she spoke, but if her feelings ran any deep at all, she might as well have been announcing her own death sentence in a matter-of-fact tone. Cormorant had become adept at distancing himself from others, and had rarely associated with happy-go-lucky fillies in the past, mostly only war-scarred mares who had other things to think about. He should have seen this coming, and prevented it; but he had not. More mistakes that would cost others dearly.

The black stallion exhaled slowly, averting his gaze from the young mare beside him, though he couldn't ignore her close proximity. "Eden, if I were to..." He stopped himself. What was he going to say? If I were to die, would you miss me? Of course she would answer yes, even if just out of courtesy, but to have her confirm it would do nothing but make the situation worse for her. To die unloved and forgotten was his destiny; to witness the deaths of any who tried to change that was his curse. He mustered his composure and looked at her again. "If you survive this war, you have your whole life ahead of you still. You have not met many unrelated stallions yet; I promise most are far better than I am. It is kind of you to think positively of me, but it would be better if you did not. Please, trust me on this: I am here to train you while your father is busy, that is all. I cannot be your friend, or anything more than that. It is best if you think of me only as another of your father's hired cannon fodder. Please," he said, as gently as he could. Any other mare, he might've regaled with some slightly embellished tales of past mares he had loved and who had died because of him; but he still needed Eden's trust, if nothing else, if he was supposed to train her. He didn't care for her, he didn't; he just had promised to give her and her brother the skills they needed to survive this war, and he didn't have to be overly fond of someone to want to prevent their death. That was all; nothing more. There could never be any more, for her sake.

[Saz]

The grey filly sighed gently as Cormorant merely affirmed her suspicions of war in a grim tone. She closed her eyes to avoid staring at him as she attempted to cool her inner turmoil. War... though he had mentioned it barely and had only said that no one was ever truly ready for battle, she knew that it would change her and each of her siblings. Dragon was already changing in the mere preparation for the big battle. And her father, well, how could she tell? In the past three months she had seen him four or five times? But each time he had seemed more weary and aged than she remembered. Azazel was a whole other story, it seemed he was attempting to be bright and airy to combat their serious, grim demeanors, he almost echoed Ren in her own demeanor, but Eden felt if anything it was only making things worse. It wasn't real, no one seemed to truly accept the seriousness of the situation, for when the time came, there would be casualties on both sides. And no one was facing up to the fact that there was a very real possibility that they could loose.

Her eyes opened at Cormorant's first words but she managed to remain silent until he had finished speaking completely. She sighed heavily and lowered her head to rub it on her knee as she composed her thoughts so she could respond. "Cormorant... I understand and trust you in my training, I know that you are my mentor and I, and my siblings, trust you to handle my training well, to prepare me for battle. However, it is a lie that I have an entire life ahead of me. If I survive this battle, I won't be the same, I will be scarred, both mentally and physically. And I imagine there are almost no stallions that would accept me for that, that would help me and allow me time to heal. It is not the way that the vast majority of stallions work, it might possibly be different if they all knew how I am now, so they had something to work with. But that will never happen." She paused, swallowing and turning her face away from the dark mustang.

"And if we loose this war, if I survive, I will be running for the rest of my life, Hunter and his army will never tire in their search for me. I could never truly live with them on my back, I could never bring a foal into the world knowing I would be dooming them. I could never take a lover, ever. I'm not an idiot either, I understand how dangerous it is for me to have feelings for a superior, but hell, this is a family war. I'm going into battle beside my brothers and sisters, if one of them is in danger you had better believe I'm gonna try and save their ass." She shook her head and refocused upon Cormorant before continuing.

"It's not going to be like Hunter's side, where everyone is out for themselves, I'm going to try and look out for everyone on my side, you included in that. This is the one thing that you've got to realize, Cormorant, I'm not the only one who cares. For both Dragon and our father you've been a relief, someone they can trust to take care of Azazel and I. For Azazel and I you've been a mentor, someone who has taught us to fight and the key things that could well save our lives in battle. For Altair, he respects you, and that is clear, he certainly wouldn't allow you to be near Azazel and I if he didn't think you were a capable mentor. So, to the vast majority of my family, you mean something, so I suggest you forget not being a friend to me, because whether or not you wish it, I'm going to think of you like a friend, and as a mentor." She spoke smoothly, watching him with a weary gaze, she was tired of pretending she was happy with how everything was going.

She was tired of everything, tired of not having a proper family, of her sire not being around much. Tired of the constant training. Tired of the thoughts that plagued her like a dark cloud every minute of every day. Even in her sleep she dreamt of the battle, of fighting, of the blood that would be shed and the innocent lives that would be lost. That was the reason for her outburst of feelings a few moments earlier, but it was all true, and even if no one else loved him, they all at least saw him as an ally, someone they could trust, someone they would mourn if it came to it.

[Swede]

(ooc: I've gotten really rusty in my slowness the past few months, I know I had a plan for my reply here but I don't remember it, so I might end up doing a couple shorter but quicker responses in order to get my thoughts back in order for Cormorant here)


Each word she spoke resonated in his ears like the strike of a hammer driving yet another nail into her coffin. He should have kept his distance; such a fool he was. The moment he had realized this was not just a war between rival stallions but one into which they dragged family and passion, he should have turned right around and left. Warlords didn't care if soldiers fell; they were just numbers. This would be different. Perhaps Ranger would not regret much, but Cormorant had spent too much time around this herd, this family, to have remained a nobody. All his life he had been Outcast, the one who was occasionally useful but mostly just a figure in the background until they figured out a suitable excuse to kill him; he never stopped to think what others outside that environment would think of him. With that, he had made a grave mistake.

"Oh, Eden..." Cormorant sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "You know so little about me. My past isn't pleasant. From birth I belonged to a select category of scum, the sort of filth that even warring parties could both agree to despise. I used to think it was unfair, but the things I've done, I'm not so sure anymore... even now, I hire myself out to whatever stallion needs an extra set of teeth and hooves to kill his chosen enemy with. Who with any level of integrity does such a thing? I've plotted murders and rebellions in the name of justice, but in the end when you stand in a field of corpses, justice suddenly seems to be a very fleeting thing. A family war, everyone in it together, determined to protect each other..." The black stallion shifted his gaze to study his young companion's face. "Do you believe in curses, Eden?"

[Saz]

Her gaze turned defiant as she continued to stare at him with weary golden eyes, she listened to him in silence, and her heart slowly grew heavy. "This is a family war because my father was stupid enough to get us involved. As for us protecting each other, that is what a family is for. That's what it means to be related to someone. You may not have had a strong familial upbringing, but I have, though I was born into a war, I feel compassion and affection for my siblings, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my parents. And by sticking with us through this, Cormorant, you have become part of our herd, whether you like it or not. And I think Azazel would agree with me on that. As for curses... I have never needed to believe, so why would I?" She replied quietly, her gaze searching his for any trace of reasoning behind the question.

Her searching gaze was cut short as a sharp gust of wind blew frost and snow at them before it died down and settled for just occasionally slicing past them or howling against the cliff wall just inches away from where they were huddled. Gazing past her mentor, Eden flicked an ear to catch the sounds of the wind as it screeched again and she watched the snowfall begin to slow to the occasional couple of flakes, but still they settled atop the fresh flurries that blanketed the mountainside and hindered their ability to reach ground level once more. It seemed they would be stuck here a little while longer at least.

[Swede]

Cormorant turned his head slightly as the wind lashed at them, but did not flinch. Oh, to be so lucky as to have no troubles more severe than foul weather! He sighed. "I didn't either," he said heavily, "And maybe it's all mostly rubbish, but the things I've been told, well... at first I ignored them. That was a mistake. I was punished for taking it so lightly. How do I put this... I wasn't supposed to exist, I was born into this world an unnatural and blasphemous thing, an insult to the gods or to Fate or whatever one chooses to call it. Everyone just wanted to forget my existence. And bad things happen to those who see me any differently."

She had been a low-ranking mare in one of the Outsider herds that lived in the old valleys, a mere speck in the grand scheme of things. But where everyone despised him, Dalt, Strath, and Outsider alike, she had been different. She had been wary, but curious; if the cruel overlords hated him, then surely he could not have been like them. For the first time, somebody looked forward to seeing him, acknowledged him as an equal, as a friend... Starved of affection for so long, it was no wonder he fell in love with her. That curse was just nonsense; look at him, he loved and was loved in return, he had proven the curse wrong! But Fate did not like being cheated, and the punishment was swift and severe. When he later met Aurelie, he respected her and appreciated her kindness, but was careful to avoid becoming anything more meaningful than a pleasant companion. She had Shrine, after all, and it was safer for her to not become too attached to him. It didn't matter. When Shrine was killed and Cormorant was her only friend left in the world, her worry for him as he was hunted spelled the end. The colts who had escaped and joined him in rebellion, all slaughtered. As soon as someone cared, they were struck down.

"Please listen to me, Eden. There isn't anything in me worth caring about. For goodness' sake, I'm teaching a couple of youngsters how to kill someone. By all means, worry about your family. But for the sake of your family, do not worry about me. When one war ends, I move on to the next. Death follows me and strikes those who take any extra notice of my presence. It's just the way it is. I... I don't want anyone else forced to suffer simply because they are too kind to forget about me."