His bite had hit perfectly upon LEANDER’s rear, drawing blood and filling his mouth with the metallic, warm liquid. Drawing back, red droplets fell from his maw as he braced himself for another attack. By now the sun slept, stars twinkling faintly on the indigo canopy above. Everything had turned black and white, mercifully veiling the bloodshed and tragedy in a cloak of darkness. His breath was rapid and shallow, but no more blows were dealt. All around him, the fighting slowly came to an end, the turmoil ceasing as quickly as it had ensued. His body suddenly felt heavy as the adrenaline in his bloodstream disappeared, the pain hitting him like a slap in the face. Having a burnt backside was the worst part, making his scraped and bleeding shoulder seem like a minor scratch. Aury’s head was throbbing and he felt dizzy, but now was not the time to rest. Now, he had to see who was still standing.

Mauja was but a flash of white galloping past, but this time, the small stag did not follow. Hearing a voice shout his name, her perked his lobes and raised his head. Faelene. He hoped the ebon femme had not been hurt too badly; worriedly, he set forward in a waddling limp of a trot, finding her where Descaro had dropped to the ground. “Faelene, I’m here,” he spoke, his voice more shrill and strained than he had intended. It tore at his heart to see his family hurt and scattered, so when he stepped up next to Faelene, it was with a saddened look on his once mild features.

It seemed impossible to get an overview of the battlefield with the thickening darkness, even harder to tell who had come out victorious. In war, there are no winners, only death and destruction, he thought gravely, the ground moist with blood under his hooves. Mismatched eyes peered around for Lena, hoping to see her bay figure approach. Regardless who won, the battle had been devastating, and it would be many moons before both sides were fully recovered. His breath turned into mist as it hit the chill orangemoon air, floating upwards before dissolving into thin air; he was still alive, against all odds, but a small part of him had died with the battle. He had lost his faith in the good in all things living; the face he had seen here today had been pure evil.