Never did I think I would find myself walking this faded path, one just as dim and tragic as the day my Father had abandoned me. It was only Romul and I left to face the aftermath of loneliness, forever trailing the emptiness of our hearts back to each other. As I turned again to stare lovingly down at the somber wolf, I couldn’t help but feel utterly grateful for his constant assurance in all that I’d encountered in life. I feared what would become of me in the Basin, no matter what Ulrik said… It was nice to be able to refer to him as something other than ‘my captor’, but he was suddenly more human than I’d wanted him to be. Ulrik was a strong name and one that curled my tongue when I tried pronouncing it silently to myself. A few times I considered mimicking it aloud, just as confident and endearing as the man himself, but I couldn’t find it within myself to succumb to such an intimate thing. Admitting that he was no longer just a stranger to be forgotten was something I’d been looking to avoid… I didn’t want to remember him from this day forward and yet knew that, despite everything, I would.

“Essetia-,” I mumbled reluctantly. “My name is Essetia and this is Romul,” I finished while gesturing toward my companion and constant friend. Of course, the wolf was less than enthused at being mentioned in conversation and expressed his disdain with a weary groan. “There’s no stopping you is there?” he growled internally. I didn’t dignify his disobedience with an answer, but chuckled inwardly at the notion… It didn’t matter how many times someone told me no- I had to experience failure on my own.


I watched quietly as Ulrik shifted, indicating our eminent departure, before glancing back toward the clasps that inevitably held me in place. I wondered if they were but a hobble to keep me from running and upon testing them I found that they were just that. However, if Ulrik had planned on bringing me to the Basin he should have considered the amount of time it would take a hindered mare of my size to travel… hobbled no less. “I think we have again found something to disagree about Ulrik the Engineer. Your restraints will do little for us both now…” I grated sarcastically. Of course, should he try to release them, he would find himself forever marked with my memory in some way or another, if only for my troubles. Now that he had come to disable me, I would make him regret doing so… even if it only came in bits and pieces.


Trailing him was a slow process due to my shortened stride and being unaccustomed to the metal and the way it rubbed against my skin proved irritating. However, I was also able to examine fully the hard lines of Ulrik’s back and the bunching of muscle across his rump. He was so interestingly dark… and reminded me nothing of the unicorns residing in the Falls. Rostislav was similar in demeanor, but certainly not as intelligent –Gods bless him. Ulrik was of his own breed entirely; perhaps it had something to do with the nature of the Basin… Or perhaps they were all self-reliant creatures that needed no guidance when making their decisions. I was mildly envious of their strength because it was something I did not possess nor ever would. It was something that showed when the stallion spoke, especially when he lashed out at my assumptions in a way that left me feeling inferior, insignificant.


His passion was just beginning as he spoke of the Edge, though I frowned at their mention because of my childhood and the way the mists only reminded me of my father. I’d come to loathe the land and blame it for my own shortcomings. It had been dismantled when Mirage disappeared and I found no comfort in relating to Kahlua, whoever the mare might be. Of course, I couldn’t help the small grimace that reshaped my lips at the idea of her leading the Edge… It was not a home any longer to me and I couldn’t understand why such information made my blood boil. However, I didn’t have long to ponder or really do much of anything because the more Ulrik spoke, the louder he became. The tension was mounting and pressing in on me like the plague and I couldn’t help the sudden void in my heart that stemmed from his anger. I also couldn’t determine what had triggered such sudden sadness, however fleeting it was. “I think you fail to realize that I am not Kahlua or Guacho, whoever they may be, and that I care little for their opinions of the Basin. I joined a cause and perhaps I joined blindly, but it has served me well just as your Basin has done for you. Can two entities not remain peacefully ignorant of each other? Can they not interfere with one another? I just can’t seem to understand why it is so critical that the Falls accept the Basin as friend… would it do anything to benefit the two realms? Trade… is it truly all that important? ” I questioned quizzically at first.

“I noticed that you did not mention mutual protection for one another. The Edge and the Basin are not sister herds as the Throat once was and yet the Basin can somehow honor promises- for what? Tell me honestly… the Basin has ‘honored a promise’ not to torment the Edge yes? So if that is the bottom line, the true intentions of said agreement, then there is reason for prejudice and segregation, ” I stated simply. “What good is an agreement for exclusion if the base cause was only to prevent attack? It seems like more of a bribe, if anything. You’ve done nothing but reiterate my point, ” I concluded sarcastically. However, Ulrik was not done nor was he calm. I hadn’t intended for him to become outraged and yet couldn’t keep him from lashing out at my attitude or the way I represented the Falls. Maybe I was doing them a severe injustice by continuing to meddle with the Basin’s Weaver… or maybe this wasn’t about the Falls anymore, but myself alone.

His voice raised an octave, making me cringe with the sincerity behind each word as it pulsed harshly against my skull…

I couldn’t hide from the years of torment inflicted upon the Falls, no, but I also couldn’t hide from the truth as Ulrik presented it. He’d grown tired of my philandering, that much was apparent. He’d been victimized somehow and though I couldn’t determine just how, I was feeling remorseful nonetheless. Perhaps the lines were becoming blurred once again… Maybe I was confusing the argument between the Basin and the Falls for the argument between Ulrik and I. Either way, I stopped altogether. “I’m sorry, ” I breathed. It didn’t solve anything and it didn’t answer the many questions or points he’d raised, but I couldn’t seem to find my own strength anymore, as it was overshadowed by his.


It wasn’t until he slowed, consciously or not, that I was able to travel alongside him and I realized not only his obvious power, but his obvious kindness as well. Despite our constant quarrels, Ulrik was willing to offer me his shoulder during my time of fatigue. Of course, it had been his fault I’d been so excitable in the first place, but I was grateful all the same. Though, there was something wrong about committing to the action that kept me from doing so at first. It was tragic of me really, to accept his help after he had taken time out of his day to trap me in the middle of Thistle Meadow, but maybe I was just a tragic creature. Or weak. Had it been long enough for me to succumb to Stockholm syndrome or was I so genuinely impressed by the Weaver that I’d become entrance by the idea of him? Yet… as I touched his shoulder, my muzzle lingering there only long enough to inhale the masculine scent of him, I was suddenly taken aback. The heat of an invisible blush bloomed across my cheeks and I returned my gaze to the path ahead before drowning myself in his words. It was the only way to hide my embarrassment.

“You must know that you are not judged by the way you live, but by the actions you have taken in the past, ” I mumbled quietly. I was too distracted by the things he’d revealed that made him utterly real to comprehend what he had said about our differences and the judgements made therein. I was still just as much the fragile filly my father had left in the Edge so long ago to ever fully embody all the things Ulrik pointed out. I judged because I was afraid… and I judged because someone else had told me to. “It’s okay… I yelled back, ” I assured absently. However, with my head cocked at his next statement, I was able to recover some of the confidence I’d lost during his incessant pressing. “Then maybe he should do something about it. The more you talk, the more I believe the Basin to be a breeding ground for soft-hearted cowards, ” I smiled deviously.

essetia
ONLY YOU CAN COOL MY DESIRE
I'M ON FIRE