Like a Thorn to the Holy Ones [Sib]

[Nymphetamine]

Around him, everything went on like normal. Around him, the birds flew overhead completely unaware of his turmoil. Around him, nothing really had felt right in some time. Siberian, the dear lad tried to comfort him, give reason and logic to the events of recent past, but there was no logic to it. "She had a year." His words were not mad, nor sad, nor happy. In fact, they were the blandest, vanilla, emotionless words he had ever spoken. Siberian was looking on a frozen figure. Nymphetamine's eyes were moving back and forth as they would when someone was deep in thought, he was obviously conscious and coherent. The outside world faded away, and every strand of thought, every vibration of his being went inward, worked at a thought he had to unravel.

The thought gleaned from the very depth of his mind, no his soul. It flickered, so it was just out of reach, but every fiber of his being told him to figure it out. Except the words to pinpoint its intent were not there, other than it involved Kimber. The blue mare's image flashed behind his eyes, and the mental image expanded out like a camera panning out to reveal the night he met her. The air was crisp, and heavily pine scented. She stood there, in that small clearing, completely unaware of the chain of events she was about to cause. The blood bay had acted a tad inebriated, overly bold, in an attempt to get information from her to take to Gates. She was alluring, she was complicated and she was different. Nymphetamine's goal turned from gathering information to trying to understand her. A goal he still felt he had yet to complete. She had played him like a fiddle, and he didn't know how much she was aware of it. The meeting was interrupted by Warship, and she had used him as he had used her moments before but the fascination hadn't ceased. There was something there, something beyond the games they both played on the surface. The necromancer walked away from that meeting, unable to shake the mare from his mind. He thought of her often; though at the time he was still with Keeva, the blue mare had managed to place herself under his skin. A curiosity he wanted to satiate, and itch he longed to scratch.

He didn't see her again until shortly after Keeva left, and they collided one night in the dense pine forest, both for different reasons, they came together. He had wanted a distraction from the numb, hollow mush where his strong independent heart had been before. She had her own reasoning, something to do with Warship, as his scent was all over her when she came to him that night. The smallest of smiles was visible on his face at the memory, that night had been... well, intense. But he had had moments with others, and none of them lingered in his mind as that one did. The thought flicked again, but the words to describe the nagging thought still escaped him.

The fact that their moment in the shadowy pine-forest had stuck with him meant something, right? So what else mattered to him about his interactions with Kimber that others didn't? Externally his brow furrowed at the revelation. Kimber, the stubborn, brilliant, yet infuriating mare meant something to him. One last moment made it clear. The kids. He had been with others, and he didn't care that he wasn't informed. He didn't care if the kids ever met him though he would gladly be a part of their lives if they wanted it. Kimber didn't tell him, and he about lost his mind with anger. The time with his family mattered, he viewed them as his family. The flickering thought increased in intensity as if he were on the brink of realizing it's full meaning. The words were still not there in to grasp it in its entirety, and his revelation seemed to end there.

The blue mare, who so long ago snuck under his skin and implanted herself there had grown on him. Her life had somehow become important to the sarcastic stallion. The bay's heart beat a little louder, a little harder, a little faster, as he thought about it. It was overwhelming to think that the infuriating blue soldier was important to him. It was more than he could handle, he didn't know if Killdare would even allow him to stay in Chamber. He couldn't handle actually caring about Kimber and then never being able to see her due to banishment (that is if Killdare actually banished him), so he stuffed the feeling back down, thought of it no longer. She could be important to him. That was fine, Killdare was important to him as his king... so were all his kingdom-mates, Kimber was a kingdom-mate...so, of course, she mattered to him.

He exhaled and realized he had been daydreaming, lost in thought for what felt like an eternity, but had more realistically been a few seconds. He looked at Siberian, and half smiled trying to hide the shock of his revelation from the bear stallion (and himself). "Mares, huh? They'll drive you crazy....you have the so-called 'pleasure' of having a lady drive you crazy yet? He eyed the stallion hoping he wouldn't press what had distracted him, he still didn't know exactly the extent of it himself so he definitely didn't want to have a discussion about it right now. Hell, he didn't even know how he felt about the truth coming to light within his own mind. What had he gotten himself into? He focused in on the other stallion to hear his reply, anything to distract himself from his own thoughts...and feelings.

SIX FEET DEEP IS THE INCISION, SUNSETTER

Nymphetamine