Raven sighed. She watched from the corner of her eye as he took off. Her audits fell and she looked down at the sand in front of her. She knew she was falling for him. She felt bad, he didn't ask for this. She knew that. She was making things hard for him. Even though she wasn't trying to, she was the more she stayed there with him. A pang of guilt hit her like a punch in the stomach. She needed to give him his space. She needed to leave him alone, to let him go before she got hurt. He was letting her get close but he didn't want it. Whatever he had done must have been pretty bad for him to have this much regret. She didn't care about that. She meant what she told him. She wasn't going to judge him. But she wasn't going to force him into anything either. She watched him lay down and when he settled down and seemed to be asleep she got up quietly and walked down the beach in the opposite direction. Tears fell down her cheeks but she kept moving, she couldn't burden him anymore. She knew he would be happier alone. She was only making him uncomfortable and bringing things up from his past he wanted to forget about.

She didn't get that far, just a few miles away, before she settled down for the rest of the night. The waves crashing gently amongst the sand. She laid down pulling herself into a tight position and closing her eyes trying to get herself to sleep.

Morning came, the sun was bright and would soon get hot by every minute. Dolphins were leaping from the waters in the far distance, the loud crashing of the active waves started to wake the stallion. His muzzle had fallen closer to the sand during the night, his softly breathing up settling a few grains as they floated around with every blow. Audits softly flicking in the damp air, with a constant breeze from the sea. The studs pelt warming up in the rays of the sun. Red hues softly began to peek out on the scene before him, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the sun. Licking his dry lips, he let out a yawn before shaking his frame as the bits of sand that was clung to his muzzle soon fell off. Stretching his front legs out in a grunt, the old stud pulled himself to a stand, kicking a back leg to rid of the horid coarse sand from his thick pelt.

Pacing to the waters, he lowered his frame to drink from the ocean, the salty water hit his gut hard and sour, wrinkling his muzzle at the acquired taste, pinning his audits as he gulped away. Lifting his frame, snorting softly as the waters trickled off his muzzle, he turned to check on the painted mare. Audits quickly perked, 'where was she!?' He thought, did he push her away? Did something happen to her and he didnt hear it? He started to beat himself up and trotted down the shore line back to where he left her the night before, he paused when he squinted and seen her sleeping further down. Tilting his frame with a raised brow in question.. he slowly began to walk towards her

The black framed beauty sighed gently in her sleep. Audits flicking to the sound of the waves crashing and something else growing closer. The sun glistened off her stunning black and white pelt, warming her. Her blue orbs the colour of the waves crashing ashore, slowly opening and looking around sleepily. Her audits perked up to the sound of hoofbeats now clearly distinguished against the sound of the water. She looked up to see Vader walking up to her. Her ears fell slightly. "Oh. I guess I hadn't got as far as I thought." She murmured, her words barely audible. Sighing and standing up, Raven shook out the sand from her coat. She looked up at him softly. She didn't say anything, but waited for him to speak.

Coming up on the mare, he seen she had just woken up, audits softly perked as she stood up. "There you are, scared me to death" he snorted as he came to a stop a few feet from her. Looking her over, he could tell something had changed, "you okay..?" He asked softy with a raise of his brow, as his pluamge softly flicked behind him. His red hues studied her body language quietly.

Raven looked at him curiously when he spoke. She had scared him? She felt a bit of guilt spread over her body knowing he had gotten scared because she left. She lowered her head looking down, pawing at the sand with her hoof. "I thought you'd be happier if I left you alone. I feel like I'm putting to much pressure on you. I'm starting to feel things. Things I know I probably shouldn't be. You didn't ask for this. I don't want to force you into anything. So..I wanted to give you space to think. I was going to leave, but I got tired and I guess I didn't get as far as I thought I had." She said unable to look at him.

Red hues softly paced over her frame, he was confused and surprised, she wanted to leave? But she did have every right too, she wasn't his and he did came after her after he told her to stay away, 'you idiot' he said in his mind. Yet, his expression stayed calm, audits softly perked in her direction "I thought something happened to you..." he nickered as he soon listened to what she had to say and there it was... a slight admit that she had feelings for him... this made his heart drop into his stomach.. 'oh no..' he thought. He was worried but yet felt butterflies at the same time. He needed to tell her... that way all confusing signals could maybe get out of the way. He took a small step back.. "I.. I used to have a herd.." he paused to get her attention and to also find his words, for this was hard for him to bring up. He bared his teeth, closing his hues as he spoke, everything of his past flashing back to him, he spoke freely and open, with tones of pain in his voice as he opened up to Raven....

"My herd was passed to me after my parents passing, all my sires past trophies. He only had one true mate... my mother. He wasnt a very nice stallion, absued his mares in aggressive ways every heat cycle... there where times growing up I was made to watch... he wasnt kind to my mother either but she didnt get it as bad as the rest... no stallions but me where allowed to live in the herd..." he paused knowing this next part might hit nerves for the young mare " every colt born from my father was killed by him soon as they were born.. but thats sometimes how most herds operate.. when I took over the mares they thought I would be like my father.. but I didnt want to be. I allowed them to choose mates of their own accord, free to stay or go, long as their mate respected me We had no issues... foals were blooming left and right... Many wanted to be my mate or called me their mate because they never could look past me being my sires son. But, I never chose anyone.. until.."

He took a breathe once more opening his hues to look towards the waters. "I met Zora, She was the most beautiful filly I laid my eyes on as a young colt... a beautiful brown and white appaloosa... she was a loner and well... after some time we became mates... but she had a stalker from the herd she grew up in. A grey stallion, Zeke." His tone softly turned with anger as he pinned his audits. "He liked to try and cause trouble, Zora was scared of him, I sworn to protect her...we... we were going to have a foal together.. she was 2 months away from birthing and one night the crazed stud that was obsessed with her... attacked her... he broke one of her back legs trying to force breed to her to claim her as his own, but I got to him just in time... I was fighting him to the death not knowing a group of wranglers was zoning in on my herd... I could hear the screams of my herd being captured... The screams of my mate in pain from her leg... I was so zoned in on killing Zeke... something had happened, a fire broke out... the wranglers didnt take much of my herd but some where trapped surrounded by fire... others werent... by the time I killed Zeke, my mate had passed due to burn wounds from being unable to run or walk away... my unborn foal was dead... I didnt want to leave her... but other members of the herd tried to make me leave..." he paused once more as he looked at her.

"Raven.... I was so hurt and in pain... I killed them all... my entire herd... I dont know what came over me... everything went black.. i remember all their screams... the ones trapped by flames, I let them burn... I killed mares.. studs... even the foals of my herd... every last one... I had nothing after that, i watched as the fire claimed my mates body... I vowed to never fall weak to love again or have another herd or foal... I took the lives of others I could of saved and kept alive.. I don't deserve you or anyone else ever again" he snorted sternly. Though, he felt the weight of his guilt and burden lift off his shoulders, as he let another sigh escape his muzzle.

Raven stood there, quiet and stunned as she listened to what the stallion went through. It wasn't until Vader finished speaking did she reach out for him. She nuzzled his cheek gently, tears trickled down her face as she backed away. She shook her head gently. "Oh Vader....I'm so sorry." She looked into his reddish brown orbs with her gentle blue. "If you don't want another mate I completely understand why. But Vader, what had happened wasn't entirely your fault....You were upset and angry because that bastard hurt your mate and unborn foal. You made a mistake, and let the anger get to you. But you couldn't have changed anything about it." She began and sighed looking away. "The fire, the wranglers...they would have killed them anyways. You wouldn't have been able to stop them without them killing you too. That's what they do. Humans don't care about any creatures besides themselves. That stallion, what he did to her, was terrible. You had every right to kill him. I do not blame you nor do I think you're a terrible stallion. You're anything but. What you had to go through was awful. You lost you mate, your foal and herd all in one day." She said looking at him sadly.

She sighed. "I know you don't want me. I understand that. I'm not going to push myself on you. I respect what you want. If you want me to leave then I'll go." She said gently. She looked off to the ocean tears falling down but she didn't make a sound. She let the silence take over for a while. Unsure what else to say. Then she spoke up. "Thank you for telling me. For supporting and helping me." She said softly. "Even if we never see eachother again. You helped me find something I never though I'd ever find." She said and turned away from him as she waited for him to tell her to leave.

The stallion found himself drowing in her blue hues, soon feeling her reach out and nuzzle his neck, he felt the rest of his tension escape his body. Taking in her scent as she pulled away, he stood there in shock, and disbelief at the mares words, she wasn't afraid? she didnt hate him? she understood? He didn't think she would... knowing what he had done... the blood shed that was on him.. how was she so understanding? Lost in his thoughts, he shook his frame at her next words. Audits softly perking, he took a step forward softly nudging her back hip as he came to her side, he glanced at her seeing tears once more. He softly sighed, "I'm not going to leave you Raven... I do care for you" as he gently wiped her tears away with his muzzle, his warm breathe dancing over her frame. "I just dont understand how you can be so understanding... of what I did" he nickered still in shock at her words.

Raven waited, expecting him to want her to go. It was quiet for a moment between them untill he spoke up. Wait, He didn't want her to leave? He cared about her to? Those words left her breathless, unable to form any other thoughts. When he had come up beside her, he touched her gently on her back hip and then again whiping her tears away. The touch was so gentle and intimate, she could hardly believe it. She looked at him her blue orbs resting on his reddish brown. She let out a sigh geeling herself relaxing beside him. "Because, we all make mistakes and have skeletons that we can't change. I can't hold your past against you. Why should I? I wasn't there." She whispered.

"I didn't exactly tell you everything about my past." She added and sighed looking on at the water. "I have blood on me too my mothers." She sighed. "She was really sick, to the point she struggled to walk. A stallion tried to separate us and take me away from her forcefully when I was two. She died because of me. He attacked her. Injured her, broke her ribs and her hip. Because I was fighting against him and she was trying to save me..She was too weak to fight him, too old but she tried anyway. I managed to attack him, when he was going after her. I killed him. But the damage was done. She....she told me to do it. I could see she was in so much pain. She couldn't breathe or move. She told me to do it...So I killed her. I had to." She said pawing the ground slightly. "I couldn't save her either." She sighed. "You're not the only one who's had to do bad things Vader." She said nuzzling his chest.

Vader rose a brow when she had more of her past to speak of. Red hues watched here in silence as she spoke, blinking softly as she waded into his chest once more, he could feel her guilt and the pain she carried and her past was so recent at that. He let out a calming sigh and softly nibbled on her forelock before looking down at her "You did what you had to do to survive, the fact you could protect yourself and little of you could for your mother being not from the wild is amazing" he nickered "Horrible to say tho" he let out a weird chuckle trying to lighten the mood. "Taking her pain away was for the best, you did what you ahd to do to live... you are nothing like me, don't think it for a moment, your blood is clean" he cooed once more, as he stood tall, allowing her to melt into him as he closed his hues for a brief moment