{CAN BE CLOSED}

[flyff]

[OOC: Sorry, I've had no muse for this one lately xD]

The buckskin stallion bucked and shivered violently. But, suddenly, his body stilled, but it was not for long... within a moment, he had reared, screaming terrifyingly, and he charged at the foolishly brave black mare, obviously aiming to kill.

A fool... he thought gloatingly. Both she and her daughter will die! But, suddenly, Farandi crashed into his thoughts, and the charging stallion came to a shuddering stop.

I'll not let ye take control like this! It's mah bosy and I intend t'keep it that way!

Fool! If I let you take control, nothing will ever get done! This is necessary for both our futures, so stop getting in the way!

But, just as suddenly, Farandi was back in control again. Warmth re-entered the stout-framed stallion's eyes. But the horse didn't move... he was frozen, head bowed, fearful of doing anything else. There were a few moments of breathtaking silence, and then the stallion suddenly turned and galloped away, crying silent tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wait!" The bay mare called after him without thinking, stepping forward. But, a moment later, she decided, rather reluctantly, that it might be for the best if Farandi left for the moment. Undoubtedly, Faradera and her daughter needed a bit of tiem to recuperate.

Turning to the shaken filly, she smiled gently. "It's all right... Farandi was just having a bit of a... well, it was something that's quite out of his control, and he can't help it. We're hoping he will get better on day, but for now it's best that all of us, including him, be careful." She noticed the stout-framed stallion had stopped, a bit away... but perhaps still within earshot?

After another moment of thought, she turned her fierce amber eyes back to Faradera. "My friend," she said softly, "It would truly be appreciated if word of a rogue stallion such as Farandi did not spread."

[Swede]

Faradera stared after the stallion. "I am not a gossip- what would I have to gain from spreading such things? But I would appreciate an explanation. I assume it's not his fault, but I'm extremely confused." She was somewhat shaken. What had caused this sudden bout of madness? As if in reaction to the event, the foal kicked madly inside her. Hold on, my little one... be different from the others... Rosemont had said it would live. But then again, she had lost faith in him, and in most equines. Only L'eau, Tulip, and this foal had kept her sane. Tulip was gone to who knew where, and L'eau was getting bigger every day. A year old now, she was, and she couldn't stay around forever. One more year? Maybe two? Then she would need to move on. Shaking her scarred head, the mare turned back towards Confederate Rose. "Could you please tell me what is going on?"

[manda]

L'eau watched as Farandi kicked out at her mother, but she couldn't do anythin about it. She stood behind Confederate Rose until Farandi was back in control. She walked slowly over to Farandi and looked at him for a while. She stepped closer and nuzzled him gently before she stepped back. She watched to make sure that he wouldn't lash out again. She was growing a bit taller, but she was still small compared to the other horses. She stood back just looking at Farandi and wondering what he would do next.

[flyff]

The bay mare gave her black-coated companion a long, judging gaze. Finally, she turned her intense amber eyes away from the mare, and gave a small sigh.

"I'm not sure... how to explain it," Confederate Rose said softly, so softly that the only reason she could be heard at all was because, following Farandi's violent outburst, a silence had fallen upon the Watering Hole. The few horses that had been there when Farandi first came in had, by now, quickly dispersed at the sight of some mad stallion charging at two innocent mares and a filly. The thought of that made Rose sigh once more.

Undoubtedly word will spread even more, she thought wearily to herself. It will only mean more hardness for Farandi and I... She swallowed a lump of foreboding that had been stretching her throat. Her stallion, Eros, wasn't aware of Farandi's... condition. If he knew, they would most likely be thrown out of the herd... But, swallowing against her worries once more, she continued to speak.

"I'm not quite sure how it happened, really, and I'm not entirely sure what goes on inside his mind, but I do know a few things..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Farandi's body jerked violently at the touch of a soft nose. Not again! This outburst would've started just as the other one had... but, to his surprise, the voice stayed deadly silent.

He turned, slowly, cautiously, to see the nervous-looking filly, looking just about ready to bolt. The pinto gave her a weak smile, and shook out his dark chocolate mane for a moment as he stalled for time, wondering what to tell the young thing...

"Yawl need t'learn caution," he said, finally. "I dun think et's a good idea fer yawl t'.. t'.. well, I think it's best it yawl run along t'yer mother naw. I'll be awright, but if anything happened to you, she darned well won't be." He gave the filly another weak, mostly humorless smile.

[Swede]

ooc: JFYI, Eros is up for adoption. All of Dusty's charries are. *cries*


Faradera gave Confederate Rose a questioning look. "Go on," she said quietly. The mare glanced to L'eau, who was trying to comfort Farandi. It didn't seem to be working. he seemed to truly regret it. How awful it must be, to be unable to find friends or have a herd simply because you were unpredictable for reasons beyond your control. Her ebony tail swished against her side nervously. Most of her winter coat had been shed already, but it wasn't exactly an improvement in her looks. The scars stood out clearly against her dark pelage, whereas they had been covered by fluff in winter. She had also lost a lot of weight- just her and L'eau wasn't much security, and she was not born to survive in the wild. It had taken its toll on her health. The heaviness of the foal inside her was misleading at first glance, but on closer observation she was a complete mess, physically and mentally. More confusion would just add to the stress, and she needed to have this cleared up.

[Swede]

ooc: JFYI, I would appreciate it if we could hurry this on along. Not to rush y'all, but I can't wait to break Faradera's heart *is ashamed of self*

[manda]

L'eau looked at Farandi and listened to him quietly. She stepped back a bit to make more space between the two. L'eau glanced over at Faradera and Confederate Rose. She was bored so she wandered off a bit toward the edge of the water. She lowered her head to drink and then trotted off to find other foals to play with. She was a yearling now and growing more independent with each day. She headed off to Foal Fields. She hoped other yearlings would be there, if they weren't then she would go to Sunshine River.

[flyff]

[OOC: yesh, but hasn't Eros still been able to keep his terra?]

The bay mare sighed, shaking out her dark mane. "I've been alive many years, and never have I seen something like this," she said finally. "I've been captive and wild, I've met humans and horses, everything. But..."

"Farandi... I don't even... well, Farandi is... not... himself, all the time." She turned to face the wind, taking in a deep breath. "He gets... apparently, well, he hears... voices." She shot a rather nervous look at Faradera, knowing that it sounded strange. "Voices. Or a voice. That..." She paused, and then sighed.

"I don't even know the whole story. Just that, if the voice gets out of control..." She shuddered slightly. "I think you have seen what happens." Confederate Rose knew that would have to be enough. No one except Farandi really knew what went on inside his head right before his outbursts. It would simply have to remain a mystery, forevermore...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The buckskin pinto watched the small filly, his one-time playmate, gallop off to who-knows-where with empty eyes. She was just like the rest of them. All who ran away... none of whom could stand his company. Perhaps they found his melancholy manner too awkward... but most were simply afraid. Afraid of a stallion who was afraid of himself. Afraid of Farandi, the kindest, gentlest, friendliest stallion who ever walked the earth. For, he could not call that other him Farandi. The monstrosity, that insane killer, didn't deserve his name, didn't deserve any name, and even he knew that.

[Swede]

ooc: All histories etc are cleared as soon as they're up for adoption, so it's like he never showed up before, meaning he loses terra. BM just tends to be behind a couple months in the herd boards

She was quiet, absorbing Confederate Rose's words, trying to understand. "How terrible," she murmured at long last. Faradera swung her scarred head towards Farandi. He was so alone... with only this mare in front of her who trusted him in the least. And it was not his fault. Farandi had a good heart; she had witnessed it when he played with L'eau. It was that other- whatever it was, that voice, that had ruined a potentially wonderful life for this stallion. How awful it must be, to walk the earth constantly in fear of being overpowered by someone inside your head, someone determined to destroy happiness. She didn't know what to say, and just shook her head. Quietly, she asked, "And there is no way to stop this... voice?" Stupid question. If there was, he wouldn't have just gone insane right now. But she was filled with disbelief at the idea that Farandi hadn't killed himself years ago because of this. Faradera herself would have; perhaps he was of stronger stuff than she.

Her pupils dilated with pain for just an instant, as the foal kicked within her. Her- their- time was near, growing closer by the minute. Before the morning, at least. Perhaps. But not quite yet. First, the nerve-shattered mare needed to know.

[flyff]

[OOC: I thought some people still got to keep their histories..? Ah well -.- Nevermind. Confederate Rose and Farandi can find their way ]

The mare shook her head slowly, letting her dark mane fall in front of her eyes. She stood, silent and thoughtful, for a few moments. However, she already knew the answer. She and Farandi had spent many summer nights, what seemed like a very long time ago, before she had even met the mysterious Eros, discussing it earnestly.

"If there was," she said softly, after a few moments of silence, "I would've done everything in my power to make it happen." Confederate Rose decided, impulsively, which was most unlike her, that she suddenly couldn't stand the silence anymore. Perhaps it was because in the silence, there was pity, and pity was something that she knew neither she nor Farandi needed or liked. Out of the blue, she blurted, as if it was not already obvious, "Your daughter has left, it appears."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stocky buckskin heard the mare's concerned voices drifting over from near the bank of the Watering Hole. He turned his gentle, dark eyes away ashamedly, not wanting to see the expression, probably of disgust or fear, on the black mare's face. Gruesome images drifted through his mind as he imagined what he could've done to the mare, so heavy in pregnancy... shuddering slightly, the pinto shied away from the mares even more.

Finally deciding that he couldn't take the pressure anymore, Farandi turned and set off at a gallop. He didn't know where he would go. But he certainly knew that he wasn't going to stay here.

[Swede]

Faradera swallowed and nodded. She felt pity; she couldn't help it. She was a mother at heart, and pity was one of the foremost emotions brought with that. She looked up, glanced about for L'eau, and shrugged. "She's independent; she's at that age. Never stays close anymore. It's only for the best, seeing as she needs to know how to take care of herself. I..." I won't be around much longer to watch over her, she thought, but not completing it in words. Freedom was slowly killing her. She knew only captivity, loving humans and spirited competitions, a warm stall at night. Not this- digging through snow for withered grass, cougars, temperamental stallions, the elements. The mare shook her head, both sadly and defiantly. She could not go back- they were all dead. How could they not be? The car was burning. Her sister had a six inch metal shard driven into her chest. Her friend, the grey gelding, had been as good as dead. It was in the middle of the night in a blizzard, 20 yards away from the road. She was the only survivor. And she didn't want to be.

[flyff]

Confederate Rose nodded silently with understanding, although, at this point, she wasn't listening to Faradera in particular. She was watching Farandi gallop away with a mixture of feelings pounding wildly through her, making her feel almost dizzy with their arbitrary contradictions, and all the moral implications that came with each. Her heart roared that it was wrong to simply stand while a stallion she loved to much fled, distraught, confused, depressed, and with nowhere to go, and told her to do something, anything,[/i, to comfort him. Run after him, shout his name, anything, everything! But the side of her that was all 17-or-so years old knew it could be the last thing she ever did. The touch of mares or fillies, the presence of stallions, or strong emotions seemed to trigger the voice in particular, she had noticed. By reaching out to them she would be doing nearly all three, putting herself in danger of being attacked.

Her eyesight began to spin with all the wild mental warfare within her. She imagined, briefly, that this was what Farandi must feel like. You need to stop thinking, she told herself firmly. Thinking as much as you are, it's enough to drive any horse crazy. But she knew that thinking was what got her to adapt to the wild even though she'd been raised in captivity, she knew that think was what had kept her alive when there were no wooden walls and high picket fences to keep her safe.

After a brief moment of more thinking, Rose decided on the spot what she would do.

"Faradera, my friend, I hope to see you again," she said softly, after a moment of silence. "I will go and alert my herd... I feel that they have the right to know about Farandi's condition." After hesitating a moment. the bay mare bowed her head and touched her nose respectfully to the weary-looking black mare, before turning and galloping off. Clouds of gray were quickly rolling over the clear blue sky, which had once been so beautiful...

[Swede]

Faradera bowed her head gently, watching the mare and stallion go separate ways. She suddenly became aware of how eerily quiet it was- all others had fled at Farandi's, or rather that voice's, presence, L'eau had trotted off, and now this strange pair had vanished. She felt very alone. And somehow, it didn't really bother her. It was nice to be alone with her own thoughts and fears. But now, she had something important to do, something that would change her life forever, for better or worse. She shot a last glance at the distant horses. "Good luck, my friends," she whispered. Then, heavily, resolutely, she turned and trotted towards her fate.