Trigger Warning; Gore and Nasty Skinwalker Stuff
Arrogant?
Perhaps.
Idealistic?
Not anymore.
Foolhardy?
Definitely.
Staring at the entrance to the skinwalkers cave, Seresai knew she would probably die here. The search party had gone on at her insistence that the area was clear - because she was the Protector, and if the dread wolf was indeed here, she did not want her soft-hearted searchers to fall victim to him.
If Tai was here ...
Avert the thought, they would find him. They had to find him! Tai had never been the same after his lifemate had left him, but even then he'd been a shining, golden light among their herd. The Great Spirits wouldn't take such a light from them, they couldn't!
Deep inside the cave, she heard a low rumbling sound - and it set her teeth on edge.
Hoof it, she was going in. She would clear this place personally, whatever the cost. The entrance itself was wide enough for her to fly in (or out of) if she dared, but for now she kept her hooves on the ground. The footing was good enough, hard packed clay over the bedrock itself. Nothing to tangle her up or mire her down. Pinning her wings tightly to her side, Seresai gathered her foolish bravery around her and marched forward into the darkness.
- - - - - - -
After what felt like an eternity walking in total darkness, a tiny light appeared up ahead. Blinking at it, Seres fought down the urge to run for it, and instead continued her quiet walk towards it. Eventually the light gave way to a giant inner cavern with a small (or just very far away) sky light at the top. Taken in by the grandeur of the space, she did not immediately see the finer details.
No, it took a second, cautious look around to see the pile of red and gold directly in the center of that spot of light.
Shock overwhelmed her in one heart stopping moment as her eyes registered the scene before her. Like a performer upon a stage, the skinwalker stood poised - framed in sunlight too bright for their surroundings. At his feet, the mass of brown and gold shook, a haphazard breath breaking the silence before it stilled. Eyes wide open and staring, Seres realized with a jolt to the heart that the mass wasn't a mass at all ...
"Tai..." The whisper echoed, cast out to ears that could no longer hear .... ripped as they were from the place they belonged to lay beside his vital organs in a pool of the stallions lifeblood.
"Welcome, my dear." The sickly sweet voice broke through the icy stillness of her heart, drawing her gaze back to the skinwalker. Was he moving? It was hard to tell, he was still far from her, but maybe ---
"Yes, welcome." He continued, sliding from the corpse of Otaikimmio'tokaan to glide effortlessly across the space between them. Frozen, Seres could only watch - the wolf's hypnotic eyes holding her in place unwillingly. "It has been ... quite some time... when was the last-"
"The City of Thieves." She whispered, the words erupting painfully from a throat gone dry.
Green-gold eyes sharpening, Seethe noted the interruption - a sign that his spell was not yet perfected - but he nodded none-the-less. "Yes, you were with another young mare... Wildfire, was it?"
Too young, too inexperienced ... Seres had spilled everything to this cunning master of deception back then, but now. Now she held her tongue. Tai was dead, but she didn't have time to mourn him now. Escape. Yes, escape had to be her first priority and --
"Do you wish to leave?" The voice was closer, an intimate rumble in her ear that drained all of the blood from her face and nearly took her resolve with it. Fear coursed through the rest of her, and she cursed it. Seethe fed on the fear of his targets, but how could she be anything but afraid? The silky pelt of the wolf brushed softly against her side as he circled her, his tongue leaving bloody traces on her white coat. "I can taste it on you, my dear." He went on, his nose ghosting along her jawline. "Your heartbreak." Unbidden tears betrayed her, giving him reason to continue. "Your loss." He was too close, get away! "Your fear." Now he licked at her tears, Tai's blood mingling with them to leave a crimson reminder painted on her cheek.
"Who wouldn't be afraid." She heard herself say, drawing courage from his abrupt withdrawal. Whatever he'd been expecting, that wasn't it.
"The brave, or just foolhardy." He replied conversationally, drawing in close again.
"I am neither." She lied, her breath catching when his teeth left marks on her flank. Vexed, he stepped away again, this time to gaze at her searchingly.
"Neither brave, nor foolhardy ... yet here you are. A puzzle." He said, silky voice taking on a hint of irritation. She was not playing his game. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, dear Seresai?"
"I'm here to kill you."
