our demons are all around us; rodrik

[Rodrik]

Her laugh is sweet to his ears—a forbidden fruit he has never dared to take a bite from. Brunhild was a force that should not be reckon with, a force he should truly not intertwine himself in. There was something powerful in the way she holds herself. It is something he does not realize at this moment that could bring destruction and the very end of who he is. Then again, she had already started the tumbling down of his walls and the demons that chased him. Rodrik knows very well that Brunhild and him shared a connection that could never truly be explained. They were identical in almost every way there could possibly be between two individuals. Each of their pieces was compatible for another, fitting perfectly with no other piece. They were twisted and broken, but together they could possible feel whole together—a strange euphoria. He felt whole with her, a feeling he could not explain at all. And this feeling haunted him all these years. She takes a step towards him, leaving a small amount of distance between them. Her presence is closer than ever. It stirs long ago memories of what they shared—a piece of him gone for all those years. The red stallion takes her scent in, afraid that any moment she will simply fade away into the shadows like she did those years ago. No, not again, he wants to say. He couldn’t bear to have her fade away into the shadows. He says nothing though. When he asks how he is, he is not sure what to say. Rodrik could find a million reasons to spill out what he is feeling and thinking. However, he does not. He cannot find the right words to tell her how he has been. It was timeless and filled with such darkness. He felt like a chained animal all those years the power of the darkness harbored his soul. But she, always was there, and often he did think of her. He thought much on what happened to her, would could have developed between them. And even so, he wonders what sort of person he would have been if she was there at his side all of those years. “I have been okay,” he simply says. Rodrik does not tell her, a simple game of hidden secrets is what he is familiar with. It felt natural at first before when they first met, but right now, it feels so wrong to play such charades with her. “How have you been?” He asks, wondering if even she might give him something along the same answer he gave her. But, truly, he does wonder how she is doing and what became of her. Rodrik watches her carefully, the familiar neutral look is expressed. He knows this look more than ever from her. There is something different though, something she does not hide. Rodrik breaths heavily. He looks into her eyes more intently—no longer did she wear the mask of hooded eyes. It was all there, everything. He could feel it just at the edge and ready to tip over. Rodrik moves closer to her, closing the last distance between them both. Yet, he is too stubborn to let unsaid worlds slip away again. It was foolish of him to let her go. And he would not this time. Rodrik wanted her then and he still wanted her now—and forever if he could. No, he would have her no matter what the cost would be. He touches his muzzle gently with hers at first. The heart from her body expels; it feels warm and safe to him. She is a forbidden fruit—something he should never have. “Brunhild,” he says in a husky voice. Rodrik does not care to be selfish with her. He pushes himself closer to her, running his muzzle along her cheek and then into her mane. He inhales the scent of her, noticing how much fresher and sweeter it smells now. He lingers there for a moment, in a quiet silence shared with her only (and always her only). “You should not have gone,” he confesses to her, honesty spilled out from him in every word he says.

character info: here | character reference: here | image © rostyslav zagornov