"I thought this would be easier" he complained in a low voice and kicked a small stone over the edge of the cliff. Watching it fall into the crashing waves far below, the gold-backed stallion felt the little dragon stir on his back, her reply little more than a drowsy thought between dreams before she went back to sleep. Muttering under breath Lace turned and kept to his meandering along the rand, somehow enjoying the precarious balance between dense forest and open space, knowing all too well how much it would hurt to fall down the wrong way. Seeing the familiar view of watery horizon had stirred memories he'd rather forget, images of himself cackling madly as he threw himself off the ledge and crashed into the frothing sea, bones breaking and tearing through muscle and skin from the impact... He shuddered and looked away, tried to keep his focus on something, anything but the jagged rocks at the base of the white cliff. The emptiness seemed to call for him, pulled and tugged at his spirit as if daring him to jump, to see if he would survive the fall one more time...

He hadn't intended to stay in the Edge, yet somehow it wasn't as easy to leave as he had made himself believe. Seeing the faces of people he loved and cared for was wonderful and heartbreaking all at once, and saying that he wasn't coming back for good was probably the hardest thing he'd had to do. Lace hadn't been able to refuse a short stay, yet as the sun began to set he found himself withdrawing from the company of others, instead walking to stare out across the ocean and the darkening sky where stars kindled one by one; faint lights that could never truly rival the brilliance of the sun.

What were they going to do? A part of him wanted nothing more than to stay here, become one of the masses and simply follow the new leaders of the Qian. It would be easy, simple, an effortless life without duties or obligations other than to his lieges, a life spent doing nothing at all if he wasn't forced to act. But another side of him kept complaining that it would be too easy, a shirking of responsibilities. Nothing more than another flight, and hadn't he sworn to never run away again? The truth was, Lace didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore. Once he had known his place in the world and been content with it, but ever since a thoughtless act had gotten him kicked out of a herd he simply couldn't bring himself to trust his own actions anymore. Hence he had begun to wander, roving from land to land, between friends and positions and gods until he hardly knew who he was, let alone what his duties really were. How was he supposed to find himself again?

It all seemed so frustratingly pointless. The stallion heaved a deep sigh and kicked another rock off its perch, watching in grim satisfaction as it tumbled through the air and disappeared without trace in the dark waters below.


@[Faeanne]