Arby can delete. ^_^

Yeah... We know our plan.

Tempest snuffed the final hint of life out of the creature that had dared defy him, his hooves ripping and slicing the fur-covered flesh, leaving some residue of it caugh in the cracks of his long hooves. The wolf was naught but a mangled mass of blood and fur now, its organs crushed and ripped apart, shattered shards of bone sticking up at odd angles. The remainder of one rib protruded from the upper half of the pony's left foreleg as he stood, bloodsoaked and trembling, the sweat running from in in rivulets. Blood pooled around the jagged shard of bone that had stabbed into his leg, leaving behind a deep puncture. Blood flowed down the leg, mingling with that of his victim as it dripped past his stocky knee. Already some of the inky black fur had become hard and crisp beneath the congealed blood, proving that his unfortunate victim had been dead to the point of losing its bones for quite some time, and the the exertion the pony showed was not from killing his foe, but from taking revenge on its mangled carcass, releasing a fury that had never been meant fo him, but that had been forced upon him by the curse of life. He lowered his head, rubbing it against his leg in an attempt to alleviate the pain. The bone snapped out, leaving a few shards of ivory-like substance embedded in the deep wound, and ripping a ribbon of flesh from his face as it snapped upwards, flying through the air as it evaded the pressure of his hard skull. This new wound on his face was barely visible, camoflauged well by the presence of a billion more scars resting near to it. The pony's face was barely equine, not only because of the scars but because of the haunted expression it housed. And those eyes... They were the eyes of a dead horse. Glassy and staring, yet dull and clouded, devoid of all emotion. His body, too, seemed like it should belong beneath a gravestone. Neglect had allowed mud to cake thickly on his rough coat, yet it was still not enough to conceal the clearly visible frame of his prominent skeleton. His once glorious mane and tail had lost their subtle waves and their sheen, tangled as they were in a matted mass of twigs and burs. Finally, the panting, sweating, and bleeding pony turned away. He began walking, his left hind leg limping with each defeated step he took.

Tempest's ears flicked toward the sound and he slowly turned his dull eyes toward it, his gaze remaining lifeless as he blinked with a vague lack of interest at the small creature. He stared at it a while longer, noting its fear and hating himself for what he had become. Every creature feared him... It was either outright fear, mockery, or hatred and violence, yet in reality he knew they all stemmed from the same thing... He was different. He was human-tainted. He disgusted them... He could empathize completely, for he even disgusted himself, yet not quite to the point of self-destruction. He wished he could initiate a self righteous suicide, but his will to live was simply too strong... He had vowed to die in battle, or else in protecting something he cared about. He refused to go any other way. That was why he allowed himself to get weak... Why he sought battles... Always hoping that they would bring a merciful death, yet always left with only pain, disapointment, and a carcass of his foe...

Tempest's eyes flicked onto her, fixing her with their death-like stare. His ears flicked forward at the sound of his name, then flattened back into their usual position, clamping his filthy mane to his muscular neck. He lashed out a forehoof to paw the ground violently in a threatening gesture, but blood spewed from the deep puncture wound as he lashed it forward. He raised the leg, holding it above the ground for a moment, then placing it carefully down, fixing her with a withering glare instead.

"Keep the story of your pathetic life for somebody who cares." Tempest snapped harshly, flicking his tail in annoyance before flattening his ears and breaking into a heavily limping trot away from her, lame in both his left legs. It made movement difficult, but he refused to slow. He didn't care who the mare was or how she knew his name... He had forsaken his old life. Forsaken it, because it had abandoned him and he knew he could never get it back... It haunted him, both in nightmares and in waking thoughts. He was not keen to be reminded of it... Nor was he the kind, caring horse he had once been. That mare could perish in hellfire for all he cared. It had nothing to do with the creature he had become, even if she was a part of his past.

Tempest swung around as he heard a loud neigh somewhere behind him. The flames reflected in his dull eyes, turning them opaque with fiery brilliance as he stared blindly, poised on the edge of movement yet held back by hesitance. He didn't care... Yet he couldn't sit back nd watch that mare burn to death. Some distant herd leader instinct still remained, locked away inside him. He plunged boldly toward the flames, leaping high into the air and arching his back to throw his small form over a fallen log. His left foreleg bucked as he hit the ground, the deep puncture wound opning its lips to spit blood onto the ground. He struggled to right himself, but then his left hind buckled as well and he fell to the ground, his coat burning on the red-hot embers littering the ground. He scrambled quickly to his hooves, swinging his head around to bash it against his ignited fur, extinguishing the flame before it could begin. He limped over to the mare, towering above her and casting his flickering shadow over her. "Get up." He commended mutinously, his tone making it abundantly clear just what he thought of her forcing him to come back and save her.

"Now is not the time to act mulish." Tempest informed her callously. "I am damn sure not wasting my energy letting some ungrateful welp burn to death, so I am going to get you out of here, whether you like it or not. Help me or don't, but if you refuse to cooperate I shall drag you out by force." Tempest stated, standing calm and patient amongst the flames as he awaited her reply.

Bella
i snorted. "I'm not the half blind mare i used to be. I'm worthless. To leave me to die tempest. I'm not the same. " i mumbled

Tempest felt a sudden flash of anger, enraged by the way this ungrateful creature was testing his patience. He sighed, his anger fading into despair as the adrenalin drained from him, leaving him completely without motivation. No longer caring. He turned away from her without a word, limping off into the flames. He would not return. He had tried until his patience ran out. He had nothin left... No means by wich to save her.

It's took of a while, though i finally got to my hooves. Not caring as flames brushed me. I walked on. Only stopping some distance from the fire. Only then did unconsciousness hit me

Tempest stood amongst the flames for a while, not caring when they seared his coat and burned his skin. Finally, he turned and walked off, wandering aimlessly through the thick haze of smoke, unable to work out where he was headed.

Tempest limped slowly out of the flames, away from the deadly Carbon Monoxide fumes that invaded his lungs, poisoning his wear body. When he was satisfied that he was at a safe distance, the pony came to a standstill, leaning his exhausted body against a tree, barely hearing the creaking protest through the pounding of his pulse in his ears as the blood pumped rapidly through him, stubbornly keeping him alive. Pangs of disapointment stabbed into him, though he did not fully understand them. Why had he wanted to save the mare? Sympathy? How often in recent times had he shown it... He had forgotten what it was, having never received it himself when he needed it most... Why, then? The familiarity? The distant memory that he had all but forgotten...?

Tempest shifted his weight onto his two sound legs as he heard approaching hoofbeats, raising his head in hostility and pinning his ears back where they should be: flat against his neck. His dark, matted tail lashed irritably from side to side, and he might have stamped a hoof in threatening annoyance if he had had one to spare.

"Then what makes you sure now?" Tempest snapped irritably. "Why can't you just let me be?" He ground his teeth in annoyance for a moment, fixing her with a glare, then his anger faded as he ran out of motication to keep it going. He sighed, dropping his head and lowering his neck, his eyes clouding over and turning dull, leaving him suddely looking utterly defeated. "Just leave me alone..." He mumbled tonelessly, his dark eyes staring blankly ahead of him.

Tempest snorted in dismissal, glancing away to make sure he did not allow his cold, hardened heart to be affected by her words. "What you want to believe is your problem - not mine. I've never needed your help. I don't now and I didn't then. It was my fault, my mistake and my punishment. I shall deal with it as I see fit. Now let me ask you again: Please, can you just leave me be?" He spoke with a callous, toneless voice, his dark eyes seeming hidden by a haunting mask.