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[Minette]

She was dreaming before she realized she was sleeping. A soft touch, a gentle kiss on her brow. There was a voice, crooning indistinguishable words. The kind of love babble a mother speaks to her child. The cadence sounded familiar and ethereal all at once. The confusion, the pain of not fully remembering was like an ache in her heart. Maman? Did she speak the words or hear them? Were they only in her mind? Dread filled her dream, daring her to look. Hissing, whispering in her ears. Control was wrested from her, and a thousand needle hands forced her gaze up in time to see the indistinct nightmarish face of a half eaten mare grow fangs and pounce. Pain blossoms in her shoulder. She is startled awake by her dream taking flesh. The mare is gone, but the pain from its bite remains. A startled whinny escapes from her mouth. Her long lashed eyes widen as the last of her sleep is brushed away and a white stallion appears before her. She does not scream, but freezes, like a rabbit in the hunter's sights. Fear is her first instinct. A shiver runs up her spine and she realizes the touch of this unknown still lingers on her skin. His words are a growl, turning the mare's stomach. If she had eaten recently, her meal would be roiling as her anxiety grows. Stand up, she scolds herself. She won't meet her destruction on her belly. There is pride here, just a bit. She does not know where it comes from, but she can feel it, deeper than the fear in her body. Her muscles aching from her run, Minette staggers to her feet, graceless. A spark of fire flashes through her eyes, and she meets the unnaturally crimson eyes of the one who woke her. "Why not?," she replies, after a shaky pause. Her words come out soft but build to a stronger tone. "I don't need to trouble you for long, sir. I only stopped to rest. I can-I mean, I will be gone from here as soon as my strength returns. I-I am sorry I intruded." She has misunderstood him, and in her heart she fears the truth, but her maman raised her polite and she cannot default to anything less.