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Oh, a kalona that killed mares. Now that was interesting. He could see that happening. Girls were so annoying. The less, the better! Azrael sounded like a real bad a** too. He bet Azrael was probably as big as his daddy. His daddy was huge! Too bad his daddy didn't go around killing mares. Or maybe he did but kept it a secret. Damnation found himself curious. Either way, it looked like the story was getting better and better by the minute!

He didn't dare speak his questions out loud. The one girl seemed to be doing that just fine and a lot of what he wondered were along those same lines. Perhaps she was smarter than most girls, kinda like his sister. He thought his sister was smarter than most girls.

"I'm sure he'd just kick you to the moon," Damnation responded to the usdia, even though she clearly wasn't speaking to anyone in particular. "I like meat," he said, "but I like berries too. I don't think it could be enough but daddy and I only eat animals or fish. When I get old enough, he's gonna teach me to hunt, but I won't hunt girls. That's gross." The idea of eating another of his kind was disgusting, girl or not!

Ariel lowered her head and winked at Darma. "Those are fine questions and will be answered sooner than you think." The mare raised her head and continued her story.

"If it was one thing that spread quickly in the land, it was gossip. The next morning, Raphael heard about Raynia's fate and became furious! Despite the protests from his friends and family, he went after Raynia and Azrael, hoping he would be able to get to her before it was too late. He traveled both day and night, hoping that by skipping sleep, he would be able to gain ground. On the afternoon of the second day, he could smell the scent of rotting flesh and knew he was close to Azrael's lair. Now Azrael had a habit of killing the mares at night, when the moon was out. So if all went in his favor, Raynia would still be alive as there was no way that Azrael would have been back in time to prepare for the ritual."

"Favor did smile upon Raphael that afternoon. As he neared the cave he could hear Raynia's sobs echoing within. The stench was horrible. Outside of the cave laid the remains of the dead mares, all of which were in various stages of decay. Maggots and other parasites could be seen feasting on the bodies. It took all of his willpower not to become sick on the spot. Poor Raynia! She had to suffer the stench for hours now."

"Raphael crept up to the cave entrance and peered inside. It was very dark. He could see nothing but endless black. He had no choice but to step inside and walk further in. He took slow, careful steps as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. After several minutes, he saw a faint light in the distance. The cave opened up to a larger room which had a hole in the top, allowing light to come in. The room was adorned with skulls and various bones and trinkets left over from the mares no doubt. In the corner, he could see Raynia. He was laying down on the cave floor with her eyes to the wall, still crying."

'He called out her name and she gasped. Did her dream dare come true? Was that Raphael's voice she heard? She pushed herself up and turned and froze. Standing just behind Raphael was Azrael. He had returned and quietly stalked Raphael as if he was some prey. Raphael was smiling and had no idea what danger lurked behind him. Before she had time to call out a warning, the Kalona slammed down on Raphael's back with his sharp hooves. She saw her darling fall to the ground in pain and could hear Azrael's laugh drowning out her tears."

"What Azrael did not understand was the power of love. Raphael had gladly taken a beating for Raynia and though she had not realized it, he would have gladly taken many more. To him, nothing meant more to him than the moments he could spend with her. It was something that physical pain could not break. As easily as he had gone down, he stood back up. Azrael was furious. He kicked and bit. He whipped Raphael with his tail and tried to claw at him with the tips of his wings. Raphael took hit after hit after hit and still he stood. Azrael found himself wondering how such a thing was possible. How could a mere regular stallion take such a beating, especially one that came from Lord Azrael himself? It was then that the large kalona paused in his actions, too shocked to continue, and it was then that Raphael made his move."

"With a speed that was almost unnatural, Raphael slammed his forehead into Azrael's as hard as he could. He used his own kicks to return the blows and as fate would have it, the cave joined in. When Azrael slammed against the side of the cave, an already loose chunk of rock fell down and smashed him on the head. He went down, unmoving, and one of his horns broke off."

"Raphael and Raynia left the cave. Her tears of sadness turned into tears of joy and she nuzzled her love and tended his wounds. For a unicorn had a wonderful gift of healing and when you heal out of love, the magic works all the more strongly. In no time, Raphael was as good as new and the two returned to the clearing. Raynia's father came forth, ready to attack but Raphael dropped Azrael's broken horn at his feet. The father's eyes widened and he quietly picked up the demon horn and retreated."

"All was quiet for some time. Raynia and Raphael became mates and produced three beautiful children. They varied from race. One was a unicorn, one was a regular, and one was a mix between the two. They were raised with love and acceptance and in turn, loved and accepted those around them. The land was beautiful once more, the seasons brought joy instead of heartache and it was rare to not see a smile. The only tragedy to strike was the mysterious death of Raynia's father."

"Some say that Raynia acted on the resentment had built up for many years and killed her father one night, just to be done with that nightmare. Others say that he tried to sneak Raynia off in the middle of the night, along with the pure unicorn grandson and that Raphael had no choice but to kill him in self defense."

"Those that saw the body though.. they knew what really happened. The stallion was left completely in tact except for a couple things that were missing. Would you like to know what they were?"

Ariel paused momentarily before smiling and adding, "The unicorn's heart and Lord Azrael's horn."

Melos settled a little uneasy about the idea of hunting trips, from the young Kalona had told her, though the thought of what happened in the story was the same thing. The Kalona there had hunted mares, sorta speak and this young Kalona was saying that his father would take him hunting some day. Still, they seemed very different at the same time. As the story ended, Melos flinched at the mention of a rock smashing into the old meanie's head.

"Served him right though. No one deserved to take another's life away like that." Melos shook her head trying not to really think about it. Though the ending confused her, who would want the old unicorn's heard and the Kalona's horn? "Is there more to this story? Or is that really, the end? Sounds like there should be more."

Damnation rolled his eyes. Girls really were stupid. "Duh, Azrael is still alive!" That was the best part of the story for him. At least, that's what he thought. The mare never said that Azrael had died in the cave, after all. "What else happened to Lord Azrael?" he asked. He wanted to know if he went back to killing mares or if he had moved on to stallions now.

He had to admit that he was happy for Raphael. It was good that he finally fought back though he didn't understand why he sacrificed so much for a girl. If he had his choice, he'd be more like Azrael than the other characters, only you know, not eating the hearts of mares. He was pretty tough. "I want to be like Azrael," he stated towards Ouriel.

Ouriel twisted to look at Damnation. "You want to hunt soquili?" He asked incredulously. "I thought you said you ate other things." He missed the kalona link between Azrael and Damnation and rattled on, blissfully ignorant. "Besides, isn't it better to use your strength when you actually need it than to throw yourself around like a bigshot?"

He looked back to Ariel as she spoke, and felt a little better about his current weak state. "My name's Ouriel," he announced, and inclined his head politely. "I'm not so sure about this whole love business, but I hope if I ever get mixed up in something like that, I can do what I want." Whatever role he felt he needed to play. He was not particularly partial to any of the characters, but the idea of power was quite alluring...

"Oooooh." Now she understood. It took her a little bit longer to catch on, but now that it was explained a little bit more she saw. She glanced around at the other foals, keeping a slightly wary eye on the Kalona colt.

Looking back at Ariel, she tilted her head. A wide grin spreading across her face as she was asked her name. "Darma. My names Darma! Mhm!" Her eyes fluttered upward as she seemed to be searching for something in her eyelids. "I'd probably be like both Raphael and Raynia. Maybe more like Raphael...but I wouldn't mind haveing a handsome stallion come to my rescue someday." The filly giggled, prancing in place.

Zara listened to the story, intrigued. While the others chattered during the pauses, while they commented on Azreal and Raphael and Raynia the little unicorn said nothing. Occassionally she'd glance from one to the other, ears pricked in curiousity, but for the most part she kept her magenta gaze firmly upon that of Ariel.

What a story!

She particularly enjoyed the fact that there were unicorns involved - her absolute favorite - but she knew not what to say about the father beating up the foal. Baldev would never do something like that. . . would he? But he did often speak highly of unicorns being the best and the purest race. Zara wasn't so little as to not understand his bias or wasn't so bold as to be able to ignore his teachings. There were others in the world, certainly, but the little lady was also in agreeance that the most special were the unicorns.

Still, she kept her tongue in check and wriggled her but in excitement as the story progressed. Lord Azrael scared her, though she didn't dare admit it, and she wondered why the family didn't fight. "Why didn't everyone just fight against Azrael?" She questioned at the end, huffing lightly. "If one normal stallion can down him, surely he couldn't take on an entire herd!" It made sense to the little filly.

Pawing at the ground, her little blue tufted tail wagging, she shot Melos a look. The tiny, tiny filly sure had some spunk! Zara could appreciate that, certainly, but she didn't think Melos (or any of the foals in the area) would do much damage against an adult anything. They were too small yet and too weak.

Finally, at the end of the story, Zara heaved a small sigh. It saddened her, slightly, that the unicorn father had been killed. Pawing her little cloven hoof in to the ground, she shook her head and finally added, "He wasn't all bad either, ya know. My Papa is just like him and says that unicorns are the best. . . .But he wouldn't ever hurt a foal!" Or she didn't think. "I don't think he should have died though - someone should be sad for him too!" She eyed the others before heaving a small sigh and shurg.

She couldn't help it - they all seemed so happy that the unicorn father had been killed. And maybe he was wrong but . . . it sounded so much like Baldev Zara couldn't help but defend his logic. Or try to. As far as she knew this could have been her life someday in the future.

Except she didn't have any regulars as friends.

Heck, outside of Melancholy and her sisters, she had no friends.

"I think Raynia should have fought more. Just because she was a damsel in distress doesn't mean she couldn't have tried to help beat Azrael up. If I were gonna be eaten, I'd make sure they felt it!" She giggled a little, mimicking Melos' earlier hoof stomp with one of her own.

Still, it was a wonderful story. Whoever this Ariel was she certainly knew how to captivate an audience! "I'm Zara," she added as the group went about to name themselves.

"Oh, I played games all the time as a foal," Ariel admitted. I loved pretending I was in various situations and scenerios. An imagination is a wonderful thing to embrace. The more you use it, the bigger it becomes!" It was endearing that the little usdia wanted to play. Sometimes, Ariel wished she were still a foal. It would be less awkward to join them on their games if she were.

Ariel turned her head towards the little unicorn. "Some races are feared. Either because of their looks or their nature, they are different then the rest. Some don't fight because they feel it's none of their business. Some don't fight because they don't involve themselves with the other races. There's various elements that are at play in such times. It's hard to figure out the reasons to them. It would certainly be easier of everyone could work together, wouldn't it?" She paused momentarily and walked over to the unicorn filly.

"Don't feel bad for the father dying, for a unicorn is a proud race and there is nothing wrong in that. They are also very special in their ability to heal. Even we Angeni do not have the ability to heal. We have a different ability entirely. I do believe it was wrong of the father to force his daughter to live a life based on her beliefs instead of letting her choose her own. In that, Raynia was very much a captive in her own life. The father was also cruel natured, something rare for the Unicorn race. It takes a special kind of darkness for anyone to strike a foal. Though there are probably similarities between the father and your own, I think it would be safe to say that they are not the same. Why, if he was, you would not be allowed to listen to my story, would you? What separates those of us of similar races and similar ideas are our actions."

Ariel couldn't help but giggle along with the foal. "Yes, I think if I were in Raynia's place, I too would have joined in on the fight. I certainly got in my fair share of scrapes when I was little!"

She took note of all their names. Perhaps in the future, she would check in on them and see where their own life story took them. She hoped for the best, for every one of them.