He wants to stay here forever, entwined in his lover and completely at peace beside the creek. In the moonlight, she glows with an ethereal perfection, and his love for her seems only stronger as he watches her quiet movements in the night. Her breathing is slow and steady beside him, the scent of sweat on her skin a quiet reminder of their lovemaking, and his smile is gentle as he presses a hint of a kiss against her. Neither one speaks for the longest time, prolonging the inevitable return to reality. I love you. he whispers at long last, his words holding a promise and a truth, a dedication to be hers forever. At her suggestion that they return, he groans quietly, laughing into the curve of her neck as they both drag their feet for a few minutes longer… but he knows she is right. Leaning close to press his forehead against the swell of her belly, he whispers a silent prayer to Caligo for the safety and health of their unborn child, knowing that the miracle of life was starting within her with an instinct he couldn’t explain. There is a peace that washes over him, knowing that whatever the future might hold, they were ready to face it together… but at the same time there is something else that pulls at him. It is a sense of dread, remote but quietly nagging in his mind. A sense that something dark was coming. While he didn’t claim to have any sort of premonition in such things, it is a feeling he cannot seem to shake as he nods to Katniss and rises slowly to his feet. I suppose you’re right… best to get home. Home. He let the feeling of home push away the darkness that tangled in his mind as he falls into an easy pace beside her, turning toward the Night Court and leading the way in the darkness. Stardust lights their path as the lovers depart this place of peace and desire. All around them, the world is still and reverent, no sound filling the easy silence between them as they journey onward, each thinking of the encounter which would be a stolen memory between them forever. He watches her quietly, turning to look at his lover as they walked, a smile crossing his face as he drifts a bit further from her, eager to get a better look at the way she wore the moonlight like a bride might wear a veil. As he strays from her, time seems to stand still for the briefest of moments, each heartbeat amplified as the peace of their night is shattered in an instant. Metaphor steps confidently in the underbrush, his hoof landing on something foreign, snapping the device with a quiet click, and before he has a moment to react, he is thrown in a powerful explosion far from Katniss. The world is dark and immediately acrid, a ringing sensation filling his ears as the scent of blood clouds his senses. Metaphor blinks against the dark night, willing a dizzy feeling away as he tries to focus, opening his mouth to scream for his lover to ensure she was alright… but finding his scream to be only a whisper against the smoldering world around them. Kat… niss… He wheezes as smoke fills his lungs, adrenaline coursing through his broken body to mask the pain which only now begins setting in. Around them, the world is alight with flames, the beautiful greenery which surrounded Amare Creek blistering with heat and angry fire. As he struggles to make sense of what happened, his chocolate eyes find Katniss, thrown to the ground not far from where he lay. Metaphor tries to stand, tries to find his way to her side… but his body stays broken on the burning earth. Lifting his head in frustration, he gasps, finding crimson blood beginning to pool around him, stemming from a deep wound across his chest, side, and flank. It is then that the red stallion knows his hope is gone – for the healer in him knows his wounds are too severe to overcome, even as he blinks away tears of frustration and pain, a thousand memories clouding his thoughts – the greatest of these regret at their future lost. The knowledge that he would have to leave her again, more painful than he could bear to stand. Katniss? He wills his lover to his side, praying all the while that she was alright… choking on her name as his lungs begin to fill with blood. Katniss, I’m so sorry…
medic of the night court
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