i’ve been both a saint & a viper
Even though the unending night is gone, darkness continues to ravage him.
It spreads from the inky blackness of his legs and spills over through his chest and shoulders, splashed across him as it grows, nearly erasing any of the blue mottled coat he once had. Horns had begun to splice through his forehead, spindly and dangerously sharp - naturally aggressive and meant for tearing flesh. They are not even near their full height but still branch from his onyx forehead ominously.
He is hungry. He has been for weeks now. It keeps him from sleeping, making him wander all of the forest with a glazed look, forcing himself to eat but finding nothing to satisfy the pains that roil like thunder in his belly. The feeling agonizes him, along with the disembodied whispering that encourages him to find sustenance elsewhere.
Blood, they suggest with haunting howls.
As their voices ring in his ears, movement in the forest draws the stallion from his nightmarish reverie.
A soft glow, calming and inviting, draws the creature in.
The glow, however, is not what makes him continue following her.
He wonders if he is imagining the sound of her heartbeat in his ears (or if it is just his own) and the thought of blood rushing through veins is enough to make him salivate. Balto inhales deeply, shuddering, and halts his steps towards her. The voices protest, dragging their claws across his dark skin and snapping angrily in his ears.
“It’s not safe here,” comes his voice from the shadows, unaware if she has already noticed his presence or not. It’s not safe anywhere, they remind him, if you’re there. Balto wonders then how easily he might be able to splice her flawless pale skin - would it take only one swipe or two?
He winces visibly, groaning loudly. He takes a few steps back, swinging his head as if it would rid him from all the terrible thoughts that plague him - as if it would make the burning in his stomach disappear. Her blood, they suggest to him with laughter and the stallion champs his teeth at nothing. He attempts to forget her; to let her go into the night or for him to turn away, but is unable.
Balto
@[Ryatah]