Crimson eyes gazed fixedly in the distance, not feeling the cool breeze through his pale hair or the misty spray of the waves against his face. The sense of nothing in his soul spread to his body, the hollow sensation widening like a gaping hole in his gut. Perhaps it would grow wide enough that his heart would fall to the sand beneath his hooves, and he would not care. Ebony ears tilted to the side as he watched the sun begin to fall beneath the horizon like the death of a mighty warrior into darkness. Charon would ferry the fiery soul across the river and into the realm of the dead before some sick turn of fate would rip it back out again to see the light of another day.
Was that how he felt? Like someone had ripped a dying sun from the losses and misery of war to fight again? And for what? His sons were gone, his daughters were old, and his youngest was already incredibly independent. Soleil's love kept him going, but someones, even that was not enough to fight the darkness that was threatening to rise in his soul. Too long had he denied his baser nature and the brutal teachings of his father, and he feared that he was starting to slip. Though this slippery slope did not lead to a mistake, it led to bloodshed and tragedy.
The bitter chill of night did not even make his body shiver, and the warrior stallion tilted an ear on instinct as shuffling in the sand and heavier steps revealed the oncoming of two others. One was smaller with padding steps like a bear or large cat, but the other was distinctly equine. Paladin did not bother to back more into the shadows of a rocky cliff, but instead, he stood, watching the horizon with emotionless eyes. A mirror image of himself made him pause, and he could not help but smile a little when her realized it was his eldest daughter (even if only by a few seconds).
Paladin nodded to her and then noticed that she had a bear with her. Everything was passing him by, it seemed, though he really only had himself to place. "I am predictable, aren't I," he rumbled deeply, feeling his heart thud dully in his chest. What cause was there now to fight for? No Tides called his honor, no loyalty tugged at his heart strings. He was misplaced, a relic from another age.
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