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The mountains held a chill in the air that even winter couldn’t best--but tonight it was colder than it had ever been before. Blood hung heavy, the scent fresh and thick, a scent that should’ve been a comfort to the young kalona mare, but instead it sent her heartbeat racing, sent her breathing sharp and erratic. Before her, her mother lay motionless in the snow, her rainbow spattered pelt marred and dirty. The sick thing? She looked at peace--all except for the horror and surprise in her blank eyes, which gazed up at Annushka as if to accuse her of doing this to her.
Bile rose in Annushka’s throat, a burn at the back of her throat that matched the tears blinding her eyes, but she knew she couldn’t just…stay here. She wasn’t safe now. Her mother had always protected her, always kept her safe. And now she lay surrounded by snow quickly turning crimson, her throat torn out by fangs. She couldn’t cry. She needed to be able to see. Panic rose quick and sharp, her wings flared out around her as if to make the small mare bigger than she actually was. Her tail, long and whippish, skated the snow behind her, lashing back and forth as she glanced around.
The night was still… A shiver wound down her spine and with one wing, she brushed the tiny claws against her mother’s face. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, nuzzling her mother--the mare who had protected her all of her life, the only person in her life to show her affection--one last time. Then she backed away, ears flat against her skull as she scented the air. She trekked south.
The mountains had always been her home, the rocky crags familiar and homey and suddenly Annushka was filled with nostalgia. Could she ever come back? She swallowed hard and kept going, one hoof in front of the other, but her fears cropped up one by one. She was afraid of being alone; it was a fear that her father tried to rip out of her as a filly, but only succeeded in making it worse. He, unlike her mother, was a monster and his scent was all over the mountains. His territory, his space, and she needed to run.
Fear urging her on, she ran at a gallop through the mountains, surefooted and graceful as she’d always been. Her dark coat helped shroud her in the shadows of the night, but she could feel a sudden change in the air--a crackle of anger and disapproval--and she pressed her eyes shut. No. No. Please… Hoofbeats struck the ground behind her, not very far. She squealed and dodged as fangs snapped over her flank, drawing blood. She wheeled away with a kick, landing it against her father’s shoulder, shoving him back, but he was always relentless.
She could smell her mother’s blood drying on his fur and she had to repress a sob. She spun to face him, ears flat and fangs bared and eyes flashing, but he merely smiled his eerie smile, his jaw split too wide to be natural. “You failed…” he hissed, low and sharp. His brows narrowed over silver eyes--eyes that she hated and feared--and he snaked his neck towards her again. She jerked away, nearly losing her balance.
Failed what? Horror flooded through her then, fresh and filling her veins with ice. “Mom…” she accused, legs braced against his next attack. Pain flashed through her side as he shredded her shoulder deep enough to leave scars, but she didn’t let him go without a few bites of her own. And for many breathless moment, father and daughter fought a bloody battle, hooves striking and teeth cutting and wings pounding upon one another.
He was stronger--damnit, he was always stronger. Annushka could feel herself slipping, her energy waning, dipping down as exhaustion tugged over her. “Please…” She bit out the word, panting for breath even as her coat darkened with sweat and blood. He stalked towards her, eyes pinning her in place, tail lashing like an angry cat. “Father…” He was no father. He was merely the blood who sired her, his hatred flowing through her veins, and despite the fear and anger that poured through her like a rushing river, she stood to accept her death.
As her eyes met his, he jerked his head back and snarled. Her legs trembled but she didn’t move. “I’m tired of running from you,” she whispered bitterly, ears flat against her head. “You can’t control me. You won’t control me…or mom anymore.” The wound on her side throbbed with each beat of her heart.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Annushka…” His words were laced with poison. “I will hunt you until your last dying breath, my darling, but I won’t be the one to kill you… Go ahead--run away like the coward you are. You’re no daughter of mine…but don’t close your eyes. I have allies.” His smile was cruel, cold as the mountains. “And they like to play with their toys before they end their pathetic lives.”
He lunged, snapping at her flank, and she wheeled away. Her hooves clattered over rock as she ran and leaped into the air, wingspan spreading to flap heavily at her sides, forced forwards by adrenaline and dread. She circled around to find him laughing and with a shiver, she dove off the side of the mountain. Spiraling downwards, she thought for a moment that she could collide with the earth, to be split in two by the rocky crags, and that her life would be over…
But her father was right--she was a coward--so she flared her wings to catch the wind and smoothly sailed to freedom. She knew he would never give up. She knew she would never be safe and in that moment, she knew he still controlled her. As she flew, tears slid down her cheeks, anger and hurt and grief.
One day…
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