The arm-pit of hell wrought stony bruises in dinner-plate soles, leading limping Vincent desperately in search of better footing. The glimmering lake-water tempted him like rubies on a mermaid's bra, but one could only guess what kind of devilish siren lay below the surface. Vincent knew of Helovia's cumbersome deception, and he was not going to let anything shove harm in his way. The hulking mass makes his way, unsure where he is, unable to turn back into the growing darkness. It seemed routine to him, at least, to submerge into the unknown. Fear was never absent, and it grew as the light of the heart's core behind him began to reach its last stretch.

   Beyond golden eyes and bald face, he thinks of Archibald. He wishes the night never claims him, and that the face of fear never speaks to him. Riddled with worry and inner calamity, Vincent shudders in his own cage. The lack of sun pours inky sweat over his hide, and doesn't dry it.

   Eventually aside from dismal stone, the slate rock recedes before chalky hooves and they plunge into the familiar, beautiful taste of spongy earth. Hooves savor the feeling, and lips meet the glowing grass. He's too hungry to question his surroundings. The taste lingers in his throat and bliss overwhelms him as a glowing canopy reaches his hide, tasting the sweaty terror that so quickly evaporated. Hunger, the one real instinct that can overthrow fear, devours him.


@[Alysanne], I didn't have much time to write this! Expect better next time :P

   Entranced by the hair-like blades, Vincent's pink lips work mechanically at the fodder. There is a line between the instinct and condition and instinct usually wins. He wouldn't dream of crossing the dangerous line into the glowing room unless something dark and throbbing, like hunger, pushed him over the edge. When glowing eyes met glowing grass, the hunger was undeniable, sweltering starvation carved though fearful goosebumps and prodded in that sweet spot, just enough to send the frightful beast, without a question, into the unknown. It takes a lot to get Vincent to move.

   With lips in the grass his barrel heaved upwards, exposing a hollow slab of ribs on each side. The poor guy had frightened himself into starvation! The demonic chases in his soul drove him to pace against the yellow fire beyond the crystal wall. Vincent must have confused the light for a meal because he certainly couldn't live without it. The Heart's fire allowed him to see, to feel the outward darkness, and let it encompass him while the light lent him warmth. The plagued ones of the outer darkness haunted him like the sound of his serpent-tongued mother. It was no wonder he felt such terror in the darkness.

   The loneliness was no matter. He didn't even feel it anymore. Though he wished Archibald could be here at his side tasting the marvelous foliage, his thoughts wound up without him. He revered upon the sweet things in life, the good things he'd come across. This glowing presence brought him the most relief in a long time. Weary and spent, he could only rethink the few moments like this: they were fuzzy, shrouded like a fog was lingering in the near distance. He felt the candied taste of a summer's afternoon and how twilight could bound softly forth upon the grass, turning the sky pink. He remembered golden lines upon the clouds, drawn by the sun himself. He could almost feel the cool dusky air as it swirled upon the knolls, tousling inky strands when it passed him by. For the first time Vincent thought about serenity and beauty, that he'd only witnessed few times.

   To much surprise, Vincent did not bat one golden eye or tremble once at the presence of the painted Pegasus. He noticed her as a herd would welcome a piece of the family with a toss of his bulky mane and a slow swish of his tail. Politely, he shifted broad hindquarters, lifting his black crest to gaze at the much smaller girl. Vincent flicked his ears with a little flutter of anticipation growing in his belly as she apologized for her company. "N-no, you're quite al-alright," he said with a small smile, gold eyes glowing as he felt the most happiness he ever had, none of it he could explain.