Life was not kind. Life was not fair. And sometimes life was not worth living.

The worst moment of Alleo's life was realizing that he'd failed his youngest sister, Hana, and that he was failing Lakota and Rasta. He had promised that he would keep the both of them safe and he had failed continuously to do that. He had promised Rasta that he wouldn't hurt her, but then he'd turned and fought against her family when his sister helped invade the Falls and then  he disappeared. While his disappearance wasn't without a reason or a purpose he still left without saying anything to Rasta or to his sister. He just left. He wandered and he searched because he had it in his mind that he needed to find Hana. He needed to bring her back to the Falls, back to their family where he could keep an eye on her and Lakota and protect the both of them when they needed it. She needed to be there when Lakota gave birth to her first child, because he'd seen the swell of Lakota's stomach even though he'd kept his distance and had never said anything to her.

But she was nowhere to be found in Helovia.

So he left. He slipped out of the Threshold in the cover of night and he searched until he finally found her, but he was already too late. Her body was was broken, her blood staining the ground red, and what was left of her soul had been slipping away. He'd laid beside her on the ground, the white of his coat being stained by the crimson of her blood, but he didn't care. He cradled his baby sister's broken body against his. He whispered to her that he loved her and that he was sorry he hadn't been there to protect her. Her asked her who had hurt her and she whispered brokenly to him, the descriptions of stallions that he knew. He made her promise him that she would meet him on the other side when he could finally join her and when she finally slipped away he continued to lay with her until her body was like ice against his own.

Only then did he rise, and when he did he hunted.

Alleo found them only a few hours later and when he did he attacked. The rage that he felt, the grief was mind numbing. He fought and he killed mercilessly and the blood of the stallions that had murdered his baby sister was added to the crimson of her own that turned his white coat to rust.

His coat was still stained red as he slipped back into Helovia's borders. The expression on his face was grim as he made his way toward the Falls, to Lakota and Rasta and a niece or nephew he had yet to meet. He still didn't know how he would tell her that their sister had died, how she'd been murdered by a band of stallions from their home. He didn't know how to explain to Rasta where he had gone and what he'd done because he couldn't lie. She would know. She would smell the blood and the sweat and he was sure she'd be able to sense the grief and anger that still boiled his blood.

As he stepped into the Hidden Falls territory he only felt a sense of dread because he would not be able to avoid the reunion that was coming and he knew it. He just hoped that he was strong enough to break the news to Lakota and accept whatever anger and disappointment Rasta would throw at him for his disappearance.

"."