Kahlua trudged through the land, somehow making her hooves work she she did not want them to. She wanted to lay down and curl up and never think about anything ever again. Unfortunately, she also had duties. Having been promoted to Glazier, she was expected to perform them. Antheia's death was fresh in her mind and she was having trouble forgetting the terrible event. Try as she may, she could not stop the constant replay of the painted unicorn jumping from the cliff that was occurring in her head. Without fail, every few steps, Kahlua sent Antheia tumbling from the cliff side once again. And try as she would, no matter how many times she ran forward, she could not stop the fall. She could never reach Antheia on time.

With a sigh, because she could not stop the gruesome video, Kahlua carried. She didn't want to do any work, she just wanted to hide, so hide she tried to do. Back to her home she went, the little copse of trees that she called her own. The place was bland right now, just a little mossy patch nestled in a semicircular grove of trees, but some day she would be able to fancy it up. However, as she came nearer to her place, she stopped short. There was a child. With a snort, Kahlua eyed the child. On any given day, Kahlua could tolerate a lot of things- even the foals she was not especially fond of. Today, she had no patience for anything. She wanted to be by herself and wallow in her misery. She wanted to lay on the ground and never get up again. She wanted to do a lot of things, but entertain children was not one of them.

As she finally came up to her place her ears were drawn back. She did not remember ever seeing the child about- and Kahlua had at least seen most of the horses of the Edge. Social as she was, she spent far too much time talking. Besides, the young foal did not smell of the Edge. Even at her age, if she lived here, she should have the scent of the pines and the mists upon her. Kahlua could not understand how she had gotten this far into the Edge. Certainly one of the sentinels should have stopped her by now. Once again snorting her disapproval, Kahlua scowled and then chided the small thing. “You're trespassing. You could be killed.” She didn't mean that she would kill the child, even in her vicious misery she was not a killer.

“Now get out of my home before I call one of the warriors,” she demanded. She never wanted to be alone. Why, in this one moment when she was finally asking for a little peace, could she not have it? An impatient stomp of her hoof finalized her words and she stalked past the girl with a flick of her tail. Even now, with her mounting frustration, the image of Antheia still played, a never-ending loop that made Kahlua sick to her stomach. Even the crashing waves that she could hear from her lonely copse of trees made her feel ill. And even now, she began to blame her dead friend for the troubles she was having.

@[Abishia]