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Reaper soared high above, scanning the land for his next victim. It had been awhile since he had come out for an attack. Meeting his son had been an unusual -- and surprising experience for him. He couldn't hide in the recess of his mind forever though and tonight, he would make his comeback.

It seemed like every Soquili he spotted was surrounded by a plethora of others. Were they getting smarter? Somehow, he didn't think that was possible. Still, he preferred to pick those that were alone. He was still rather pissed at his run-in with that one stallion with the flame hooves. He had nearly killed his own daughter up until that point. Almost succeeded. He would find that fire stallion and kill him some day.

The dark angeni shook his head as if the movement would scatter the thoughts right out of his head. He had wasted too much time thinking about the things that happened recently. Tonight.. he would have fun.

Something caught his eye near a cliff. It was a most curious site because he could tell instantly that it was an angeni, much like he used to be. He found himself flying down towards her, drawn simply out of curiosity. If she was an angeni, wouldn't that make a wonderful victim as well? Even better than killing a unicorn. As he neared he could make out singing though it took another moment before he could understand the words.

He landed with force behind her. He was not attempting to hide his appearance but the action did make him wince. The movement shook his body and made the spikes hurt a great deal. They hurt all the time as they were part of his punishment for betraying the Angeni, but at times the pain was almost unbearable. It was a sacrifice he accepted despite the pain.

He took a moment to simply stare at her before he finally answered, "I hear you," he mocked at her. She was beautiful, he had to admit, even though he couldn't see her face. Truth be told, it was the skull mask that really intrigued him most. Though he couldn't hear all of her song, what he had heard had a darkness to it.

Her song was a bit melancholy yet he found it rather soothing. It brought a peacefulness to him that was unexpected. "I let go of Heaven a long time ago," he commented, "Nor do I wish to go back. They can go ******** themselves as far as I care." His body barely moved except the occasional flick of his tail and his dark, empty eyes tried to search her own, beyond the mask. It was almost as if staring into his own eyes for they were just as dark.

To be honest, he was curious how she would take the crudeness of his words. Would she find him vulgar and scoff at him like the other Angeni did? Or would she ignore them? He knew he was baiting her in an attempt to study her responses. Why did she intrigue him so? Dare he hope that she was thrown out too or at the very least unwelcome amongst their kind? He found his eyes roaming over her body. She didn't seem to be physically punished for any wrong doing but then again.. he had gone quite far, hadn't he? Killing his own father who had been high standing and well respected as an Angeni. No, the gods did not like that one bit and he felt it every day of his life. But he would have the last laugh. Every day, he made life unbearable for the kind creatures that adored those very gods.

Once again, he turned his concentration back on the mare. He found himself wondering what her story was. "The view of the moon and stars are more magnificent from this point of view anyway," he finally added but his curiosity was not appeased. "Tell me, Angeni, why does darkness follow you like a second shadow? Why do you sing sad songs? Why are you looking at the Heavens from the view of an outcast?"

"Perhaps I do not hear it because they do not wish me back," he stated rather dryly before adding, "Or perhaps I do not hear it because I do not choose to. I have been there. I have lived that life. It is not one I wish to go back to. It was a life that never suited me." The female seemed a bit confused to him. Or simply mad? He couldn't hold it against her if that was the case. To take a fall from heaven like that was enough to drive any mad. Reaper embraced his fall, so his punishment had been the spikes and the new tail to symbolize he would be considered a demon henceforth on. It seemed that curse or punishment was genetic.

Reaper cocked his head to the side to watch her emotional display with utmost curiosity. He took a few steps before her, ignoring the pain in his muscles. Was she crying? It was hard to make anything out because of the mask. It had been a long time since he had seen a female cry, especially an Angeni one. It was a bittersweet realization. "They got you," he finally commented. "Where my punishment has been physical, it seems yours has been mental."

The large stallion walked over to the edge and looked down, "I can destroy your wings so you can't fly back up," he pointed out matter-of-factly. "That way you would be sure to die. But I don't think that will fix what is going on with you. If you were punished like me then it's probably what they want," he said, nodding up towards the sky. Who is watching you? Who is wanting you? What were you cast away for?"

The mare was damn crazy but surely she had some memories left to her that had not been damaged.

What a perplexing creature, Reaper thought to himself. She really did bring a calmness to him. Even when she leaned over and partook of some of his blood, he didn't feel any violence towards her. Was it because she was miserable? He did prefer to kill those that enjoyed their life. He had been in this land for quite awhile now and he had never met anyone that seemed as unhappy as the creature before him. She was a breath of fresh air.

"Your heart was stolen?" He couldn't make out much of her eccentric ramblings and the only thing he could do was try to piece fragments of what she said together and hope for some real clue.

"You speak of Mercy as if it is a living creature and any living creature can be overcome. If you speak of the act though, it is one I do not deserve. Do you wish to know why I was tossed out? Do you want to know of pain?" The stallion was angry now, but not at the mare. No, he was angry at the memories that continued to come forth, more so these past few weeks. "I was different. Oh, I didn't always have these spikes, or this tail. I looked a lot like you, really. I had a real name.. Gabriel."

The large stallion turned his head away from the mare and looked up at the heavens. "I had a mother and a father. But I was different. I always knew I was different. I had a darkness in my heart. My father tried to beat it out of me a lot when I was a foal. I understood the punishment. As an angeni, I was supposed to be pure. I brought disgrace to him and my mother. In that, I hurt them deeply."

"But I could not change. I tried a few times but I always failed. The darkness always took over. The angeni had a gathering and decided that I would need to be shown this 'divine mercy'. I do not know if it's the one you spoke off but the decision was that I needed to die. I was not worthy of life because I was an abomination. My mom.. she broke the moral code. She came to me and told me to run away. Told me to flee heaven. She said she would be able to bear anything other than my death. So I tried."

The large stallion lowered his head to the ground. He would not cry but he was consumed with guilt and sorrow for the moment. "The males caught up to me. I was younger than them, so I could not fly as well. So I made my stand on the ground. I.. killed them. I killed all four of them. I.. I.. killed my own father. All I remember after that was being slammed against the earth. Though my body felt broken, it was not. I had these spikes all over me. I cannot die, even from blood loss. I tried. I cannot stop the pain. And this tail.. I used to have a beautiful tail but now I have this monstrous one. I have to say that it is growing on me though."

Finally the stallion turned his head to look back into the eyes of the mare before him, "So you see, my dark beauty, I do not wish to go back. I was never welcome there and I have hurt my mother beyond compare. I killed the love of her life. I killed the fathers of other angeni foals. Brothers. Mates. I ruined lives, even the one I most care about. I do not wish to go back. I also get to be myself here, which is a freedom that no one can take away from me."

Reaper sighed, "You're heart is not lost. It is just damaged. What do you remember of the life you once had? Why do you think your heart is stolen? Who caused you the pain you carry?"

A softness came over Reaper's eyes. It was something that had not visited those eyes in a very long time, "You did not kill him. He chose his own path. The true test of love is to give the other what they want, regardless of if every bone in your body protests. It seems you acted out of love alone and that is nothing to be punished over."

It wasn't long before his eyes glazed over with anger that they were so used to. He turned his head up towards the sky once more, "The gods are cruel and the Angeni do not understand. They speak of love and sacrifice but they only allow it if it fits THEIR idea of it. Anything else is blasphemous. Anything else is unacceptable. It sounds to me like they blame you for a choice that was made from your lover. It sounds to me that you blame yourself for it as well. It's one thing to act out of love and make the right decision without selfishness.. but when you have time to think about what was done, selfishness plays a strong role. You will miss him. You'll ask yourself if there's anything else you could have done. Any other way around it. There's not. Your lover, my father, we cannot change the past. We cannot bring them back. No matter what we think now, if we had to do it again, I am sure we would have made the same choice."

It touched him that she used his real name. She was the first on this mortal world that he had told it to. It was strange how comfortable he was with her but in so many ways, they were similar. Being around her tied him back to his roots but not in a way that it was uncomfortable. If she had been a 'true' angeni, he was sure things would have turned out very differently. He did feel a kinship with her, "Can I ask your name?," he finally questioned. Though it was something most would take for granted, he was not the sort to ask personal questions, but it would be nice to put a name to the vision before him.

"I would like to speak your name when next I tell you that you did not kill your lover. If anything, you freed him from a life that would have brought him only misery and pain. While I am sure you were a great joy to him, he probably felt like things were so far gone that he couldn't take time to enjoy the happiness he had with you. Some of us are not strong enough to handle our differences, especially when the Angeni are concerned. I know I certainly would have if I had a love such as that. It's easier when you have no one to worry about but yourself. Just as you worried for him, he worried for you."

"A true death is not meant for you, and even the gods cannot decide your fate so readily. You can make your place here as I have and you can try to find contentment in your life. To wallow in your misery is to give them what they want. They do not care for you. If they did, they would understand your own sacrifice. They care for no one but themselves. Sing your songs into the night. Sing them to your lover. Sing them as loud and as long as it takes to bring peace to your heart. Cry for him. Ignore the heavens, ignore the pain and sing out to the love you knew. Sing until you cannot sing anymore and when you are done, embrace the life before you."

Reaper wasn't sure if anything he said made any sense. But it seemed like this female had so much pent up inside her. It would do her good to get it all out. To shake her body free of that burden no matter what it took. If she did not, she would be trapped within herself. He was sure that's what the Angeni and gods wanted and he would do anything he could to ruin those plans.

Things were going well until the mentioning of one of his sons brought him back to reality. Even being referred to as a friend didn't phase Reaper and he was growing fond of hearing his old name. He wondered which of the son she had met. Dante or Ezriel both of them had spikes like him, though in different areas of their body. Ezriel was the one that looked most like him so Reaper was sure it was him. He couldn't picture the pansy son approaching a mare such as the one before him.

"I have two sons and a daughter though I recently found out about them. It was not planned. I attacked a mare and left her for dead but she had lived through it all and became pregnant." He had been honest to 'Nimue' so far and he wasn't about to stop. It wasn't like he felt ashamed over it or anything. "I tried to kill my daughter but changed my mind in the end. She actually had a similar voice to my mother and I couldn't bring myself to finish her off. I have two sons, Dante and Ezriel. I imagine Ezriel is the one you met. He resembles me more. Dante is.. disappointing. Both are a bit wet behind the ears but Ezriel shows promise. I have been trying to lure him away from all that he was raised to."

To be honest, he did not expect his son to join him. It seemed that Ezriel was a social creature and they often had big hearts. Hearts too big to take on the path of a loner, especially a dark one. If he had raised them instead of that blasted mare and her unicorn friends, he was sure they would have been different. If only he had known the mare had lived and carried his offspring. If they were truly lost to him, he would simply have more. He wanted to raise his own foals one day, to teach them from birth what they were capable of. He'd like to have at least one son at his side, some day. They would be powerful, especially with the right mother.

"Nimue, can you tell me what you thought of my son?". He wanted to know. Perhaps Ezriel could be lured away yet, especially if this mare was in a position to help. A part of him loathed the idea of Ezriel befriending the mare though. Now that he found her, he had half a mind to keep her for himself.

"I wouldn't say it's been nice," he started, taking her words into consideration. "Perhaps it would have been nice if they felt like they were mine. But they were raised to shun those like me. They were raised by pure hearted creatures." He spat the last bit out as if his tongue had tasted poison. The unicorns reminded him much of the Angeni. They carried this front that they were pure, kind and helpful but who knew what darkness lurked beneath.

The large stallion tore at the ground with his hooves before calming back down. "I admit, I would like foals of my own, if only to raise properly. There's so much potential to had with them. Perhaps if we gathered a large enough force, we could take back our place up there," he nudged his head towards the heavens, "and kick THEM out." It was a nice enough thought, though they were greatly outnumbered. Perhaps one day, it wouldn't be so impossible.

Ezriel.

The mere thought of his name started to make Reaper angry. Did his son have his eyes on Nimue? Was there the potential for them to be more than acquaintances? The mare smiled when mentioning his son. SMILED. Sure, she had mentioned him as well as his son but that didn't seem to make things any better.

"You have cried enough this day," he stated, almost a little too coldly but softened up soon after. She was not the one he was upset with. He didn't want to question her as it could make things tense between them. He would have to find his son. He would find out what -- if anything -- is between the two of them. If there is anything, he would see that it cease. It is rare for the him to want anything and he'd be damned if his son steals it from him. Ezriel was not worthy of such a mare as Nimue. He would never truly understand her pain. Know what it's like.. to have lived in that world. Anyone can offer a kind shoulder to lean on, or words of adoration, but to truly understand.. to really know what it's like.. you'd have to have lived it.

"Why don't you go rest your eyes for a bit, Nimue," he offered. After all that crying, she was bound to be exhausted. Who know how long she had been there before he arrived?