Myrrine

His lips were upon her shoulders and it felt so good to have contact again. To feel the love and compassion he exuded in the tender movements of his teeth into her wet, speckled skin. How she wanted to stay in this moment forever, to let him take her away back to her old home the Edge; where she could spend her days with him and watch Laume grow like she should have done from the beginning. That would be the perfect happy ending wouldn't it? To feel like she had a family, a sense of belonging that she had craved her entire life. So with a tender stroking of her muzzle did she caress his neck, closing her eyes and taking in everything that was Mauja. She would remember his scent, the musk of a man lost in his own thoughts for years, and she would remember the deep grumble of his voice that he barely used in her presence. The way he would keep his thoughts simple and to the point, how his eyes of blue would look into her but not always see her; like he was in his own little lost land. This was the man she would remember, would think about as her eyes closed and the air would begin to seep away from her lungs only to be replaced with salty brine.

"I will miss you."

Oh how she nearly broke then and there, because it sounded like he truly meant it. He was really there for her through everything, and here he was again to see her make the biggest decision of her life. Was... was this what being a parent was supposed to be like? To see them through thick and thin and let yourself feel anguish just because you wanted them to learn about life in their own way? Were you supposed to hate yourself because you were worried that what you were doing was wrong for them? And then were you supposed to act on it, or did you have to stand on the side lines and simply watch them make the same mistakes they did? Wasn't that what Mauja had been doing this entire time?

So focused in this thought she did not notice her name being called, she could only focus on him as his words laced her ears and tenderly kissed their insides, coaxing her to turn to him and watch with suddenly wide and scared eyes. He spoke as if this was something he was extremely familiar with, as if this was not his first rodeo with mortality. So as his words washed over her like a balm, one that filled her with guilt and uncertainties, she took another step towards him; to look into his eyes and study him silently before whispering in a hoarse voice,"How do you know? It hurts so much Mauja... do you know how to make it stop? I just want to make all the pain go away and I can't and there's nothing that has been fixing it. This surely could be the only answer. Not to mention the justice that Laume deserves."

"She needs a real family. Not a young whore of a mother who laid with a man because he made her feel special and pretty. Not a dead father who was pushed away so that he couldn't even see her before he was found battered and bleeding by his almost lover," she was gasping now, sobbing and trying to keep herself afloat figuratively and literally as the waves began to grow harsher. It wasn't until the familiar man was nearly in her face did she finally notice him; and with an abrupt squeak she jerk backed, watching him warily as he rambled on about what she was doing. How selfish she was being.

Then she was suddenly angry, filled with so much fury and dare she say hatred for this man who spat in her wounds then had the gall to turn around and try and save her. He may have thought her offers of shelter and friendship were a lie, yet then who was he to talk to her so condescendingly with such venom and hate for what she did, then turn around and act as if he actually wanted her here. Her blood was boiling, her teeth sudden gnashing as she faced him with squared shoulders, shaking from her crying and the newfound fury to this man.

"I'm sorry, weren't you the one who pointed out how I had left my daughter starving? How you slaved hours over her to heal her and arranged for a foster mother because of my incompetence? Surely you're not stupid enough to come back and act as if you care?" her words slipped out like venom, eyes cold as ice and teeth bared in a defensive stance. Instinctively her body moved to Mauja, to press into his skin and seek comfort and familiarity in his presence because again she felt she was being attacked in the worst way possible. She found no comfort in his words, in his musings, because she believed them to all be filled with false worries. He was here to satiate his own guilt, because who wouldn't feel bad if they drove someone over to end it all? Her eyes were watering, and she looked to Mauja for help, for some sort of release from this man who had shattered her soul in two so many days ago.

If anyone had asked her what had pushed her over the edge to do this, she would answer with one word: Tilney. So there stood her reason of wanting to end it all, the thing that made her finally see that she really wasn't good for anything. Trying to take back all the hateful words and anguish he brought upon her soul because he wanted to make himself feel better. Shutting her eyes tightly she tried to keep her breathing even, to keep away the panic and fear that was clawing at her chest and wanting to be freed. She tried to remain grounded, focusing on the crashing of the waves, the feel of her side against Mauja's, all until she could finally look back into this brown man's eyes and continue in a wavered tone,"I cannot abandon someone again who does not want me to stay Tilney. I met her again, I tried to apologize, I promised to care for her and love her like a mother should and she walked. Away."

The tears kept falling, her eyes shifting from the antlered man and to her beloved companion, searching his face before pressing her muzzle into his shoulder. She sniffled, whimpering as she didn't want to give this man the satisfaction of more guilty tears, and beneath it all she began to murmur so only the spotted unicorn could hear,"L-Let's just go... I don't wan-" Those were the last things she said to him before being swept away by the sudden current. It had come so unexpectedly, curling around her two right legs, and in her surprise she had buckled and beneath the waves she went. In her panic and surprised she screamed, it only hitting the air for a moment as before water capped over her inky lips and water began to seep in. Having just about to gasp in air before being pulled under, all Myrrine got was salt water that filled her lungs to the brim. Hazel eyes wide and burning from the salt and panic she tried to cough it out, to scream again but it wouldn't come out and this wasn't how she was supposed to let it end. She had wanted it on her own terms yet the Gods had taken that from her too and she didn't even get to say goodbye to Mauja and-

Everything went black before she could finish that thought.



"Talk."

the butterfly is proof that great darkness
can create great beauty