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In the light of a slight and silvery moon, the pale white body of a doe be-speckled in a myriad colors shone, her body rising and falling with every breath as she slept. But suddenly, the simple rhythm faltered. An ear twitched, a bright, orange eye slid open. She awoke, but not where she had bedded for that night.

'No...'

This was a place she never wanted to see, not again. She rose, eyes so wide they hurt, as she took in every detail she had been trying to forget. She was in the thicket made by the Prayer Tree, it's thick roots a tangled mess that kept this small enclose space a secret. Moon flowers dotted the ground where the little hooves of her children had helped wear away the grasses. It was here that her entire life changed, twice even. Once for the better, and then for the worst she had ever witnessed. She closed her eyes tight, fighting back tears as her life mate's voice echoed inside her mind.

'...All will be well, my dear...'

"No," She shook her head, lightly at first then more violently, "No, NO!" She sobbed, falling back to the dirt, her body shaking in loss.

Suddenly, a piercing cry raises her eyes. Through a veil of tears she sees a great eagle, white as snow with eyes as black as death, perched upon the stone that had been laid at the head of the grave of her beloved. Only... She blinked the tears away and stood once more, stepping closer to the grave. A gasped wail tore from her lips when she looked down into an empty hole. Panicking, her head spun left to right, eyes searching.

'Where? Where is he? Who took him?!'

The eagle whipped up its wings and glided deftly around the thicket, crying once more before landing where the path out of her old home had once been. Now, red vines clung to the tree, wet and glistening, like the blood that demon child of hers had spilled upon this very ground.

"That way." She decided, and with eyes swimming between hysteria and determination, she stepped forward.

'Again, again!' She thought, repeating it over and over as she turns and lashes out at the vines with her back hooves. Thorns dig into her, red blood blossoming on her snow white fur, but she pays no mind. At last, a clump of vines falls loose and with a cry of releif, she turns to inspect the hole she's made. While it is far too small for her, something catches her eye; a patch of fur, torn from a kin. In the moonlight she can barely see the colors, but they are ones she would recognize anywhere. They are brown, blue and silver. A shuddering cry falls from her parted lips and panic sinks further as she frantically tried to get herself past the vines. 'Again!'

Adrenaline pulses through her and with shaking hooves, she tears at the ground. Digging up the roots with teeth and hoof, something else comes up with the dirt and vines. A Kimeti-sized rib bone rests on the earth, as if dropped. Frantically, the rainbow doe, her white pelt splattered with blood and mud, continues her panicked digging.

With a angered cry, Mirage darts her head into the water, fangs open and ready to lash. Too slow, however, she only manages to graze the pike as it lunges at her face. A huge gash opens up on her cheek, blood trickling into her mouth. Crying out, she attacks again.

Another solid blow landed hard on the pike. It hung on her ankle, stunned momentarily, before offering one last attack. Mirage yelped as its needle teeth tore into her flesh.

Pulling herself up onto the shore, Mirage made her way up the slippery slope, slowly but surely making progress. Her hooves slipped and slided, causing her to brace herself against the trunk of a small tree. Her eyes followed one of the branched that dipped down into the water. Fighting back a gasp, her eyes saw something long and brown tangled up in the branches; reddish-brown hair, from a tail, she would guess. She was getting closer.

Her momentary relief quickly faded as her second step resulted in an angry shriek. Before her, a rat, furious to have been disturbed, crouched, ready to lunge. Just as the creature leaped, its dirty claws grazing Mirage's foreleg, she let forth a kick, sending the rat floundering into the waters.