An extremely loud bellow echoed through the canyon as a brown colored stallion winged his way away from a shocking revelation. His flight was erratic as were his thoughts. He barely felt the familiar presence of Pandora riding around his neck. Although the stallion didn't want to dwell on his thoughts unbidingly they washed over him once more. He screamed in dismay before angling his flight to a steep ascent. There was no possible way; none whatsoever. It was a lie. It had to be a lie.
What had just happened? Zacharael tried puzzling out the pieces as his mind reeled in shock. Was there a bigger bomb that Ara could have dropped on him if she had tried? How could he go on with his plan to aggravate the mare to no end with this new found knowledge that she had imparted upon him.
It had started out pretty benignly. A simple trick: some carefully whispered words to portray his trustworthiness. There was an undercurrent to his seemingly honesty to aid another individual. Then it all erupted into screaming and shouting and cursing as he shed his innocent air like a ratty cloak that needed to be thrown away. Zacharael had prided himself on carrying on the act for as long as he had before he revealed his deception to Aresenciel. Oh he knew that she would get back at him; even kill him if she laid eyes on him again. That did not worry the stallion in the least though. He could easily take her in a fight.
The second time that they met was purely by accident. How was it that they came to be wandering around in the same forest on the same day? Was fate playing some cruel joke on the pair of them? Needless to say Aresenciel had NOT been happy to see him at all. Although the feeling was mutual especially after her familiar had lunged out to attack him. The stallion's fight or flight mode activated and he had almost killed the damn snake for merely existing. Something had happened though in that moment and Zacharael still couldn't make sense of why another individual had interfered. It didn't matter though. His temper cooled infinitesimally enough to realize that his actions would have dire consequences. Without missing a beat Zacharael had insinuated himself back into Ara's personal space. He would have continued to press his luck if it hadn't been for what she had told him in her anger.
That was when he had reeled away in shock. His knife slashed at the air wildly as if he were battling some unseen enemy. In this case the enemy was the truth he saw in Ara's eyes. Without another word he turned his entire body away from the encounter and scooped up his familiar before taking wing. He couldn't face the truth. How could one just be informed that he was a father?
Angling his wings once more Zacharael spied the ground far below him as his mind went blank. How easy would it be just to fold his wings and drop like one of the many stones he'd stolen from Ara in their first meeting? Zacharael's eyes closed as he felt gravity pull at him. He almost gave in to his selfish desires before thinking about his son. HIS SON? Choking back another anguished bellow, Zacharael spun towards the earth in a steep dive. He'd not give Ara the satisfaction of raising their son in her own footsteps. He'd dog both mother and son in an effort to influence Gabriel to his manner of thinking. It was in his right and his fatherly duty to do so.
