Nothing Hurts (Lotus)

[Brave]

N I C H O L A S    G E R A R D
victor
D I S T R I C T   T E N

- - -

The farm is the only thing that Nicholas Gerard ever really cared about, and it was the only thing that never left him. Sure, he loved his mother, but she died, and at one point in his life he might have loved his father too, but he was a vile imposter, so that didn’t work out either. And maybe Nick had loved Holly, but the Games had ripped her from him as easily as it had claimed his sanity. Yes, the farm was the only thing Nick cared about, because the farm had no beating, bleeding heart that would one day stop, and Nick loved that. He had encountered far too many of those bleeding hearts in his lifetime, carried one around within himself, even, and had no part left of his soul to give to watch perish. No, he had been wounded once, wronged twice, and now it was just him and his farm, and that was perfectly fine.

It was early morning, the sun still sitting half risen on the hillside, when Nick awoke. In his youth he had claimed to love sleep, but now it was a rarity, coming infrequently, and when it did, always bearing personal demons. This morning was no exception. He came from sleep with a start, his body flinching up and into itself without his consent as he gasped, his right hand coming up to his forehead experimentally, checking to make sure that the blood that had previously trickled in sticky streams no longer existed as he attempted to calm his breathing. It’s all in your head, he thought continuously, as he had long ago been taught to do when confronted with nightmares and post-traumatic stress, It’s all in your head and nothing hurts, he affirmed.

He got up then, partly because the farm was needy and partly because he was too afraid to fall back asleep. It was funny that way. Six years free of the arena and he still spent every night within it. He shuddered violently at the thought of the frigid arena, of the place that had taught him that hell wasn’t a pool of fire as much as it was one of ice and snow and absolute, desolate cold. Having such a fear was a setback now, especially on cold days and nearly always during the winter. Nick was scared stiff of the winter. But it was often manageable on hot days, when the sun beat down with it’s constant warmth and smarted away all the flashes and visions and evilness that was the 21st Hunger Games. Today wasn’t a warm day, though. Today it was cold.

He heard the rain before he saw it, with it’s pitter patter of sound against the slightly worn window that stood to the left of his slightly worn bed, and just that alone was enough to send him back, never mind the shock of cold that jolted through him when the bottoms of his feet hit against the icy hardwood floor. Suddenly their were icicles on the ceiling, and the skin was coming away from his face as he tried to rub away the snow he could feel falling there. This time the flash of pain and his panicked shout was all it took for the images to fade away, for the farm to come back, and for the room to slowly stop spinning. He exhaled slowly then, attempting to breath steadily as he made his way down the stairs, towards the kitchen, where he hastily set to brewing tea, and fetched some fried potatoes from the icebox he had left them in the night before. They were rock hard and greasy, but he forced them down anyways and then proceeded to rather carelessly pour the resulting tea into a chipped and faded mug. He stood then, mug scorching the palm of his hand, and pulled on a pair of black knitted gloves and a matching hat before shoving his feet into his boots and snatching his jacket, not really bothering to sling it on before he marched out the door and up the pathway that led to the faded red barn.

He was greeted rather quickly by his oldest dog, a rag tag mutt that had belonged to the farmer before he had to him. His name was Mathias, though it hadn’t been until the farmer had died, and Nick saw it fit to bequeath the farmer’s favorite dog with his name. It was a means of remembrance for Nick, because there was so much he already forgot. He greeted the aging mutt happily, his clothed hand falling down to rest firmly on the canine’s wagging head as he murmured words of greetings, not bothering to reprimand the dog as it placed licks onto the places of his hand where the gloves had long ago given away. Mallory was quick to join them, the young liver and white herding dog loping up with agility beyond the older dogs years as she extended similar greetings to the young victor. The only member late to the party was Bennett, the newest addition to the farm and the youngest of the dogs, being just a tiny young puppy. It was bizarre to see his absence, as he spent most of his time dotting around Mallory, but Nick was finally set at ease when he walked deeper into the rain and the spotted head of the mutt puppy appeared from the long grass, and soon all three dogs bounded around him as he made his way to the barn.

From there everything became quite routine, with Nick tending first to the pigs penned up in the back, and then to the little lamb that had recently broken it’s leg and had to be removed from the large flock that roamed to the west of the property. He then saw to it that the dogs ate and the horses, and after finally seeing to the chickens within their coop, he settled down within the field to drink from the mug and enjoy the early morning as he always did. It was out there, amidst the field, that he finally decided on what to do with his day.

He saddled his black mare with a practiced ease, pulling her saddle and bridle into place before allowing himself to mount the elegant creature. After that he simple urged her onwards toward the road and up toward the town, not really driven by any purpose but simply rather bored with events on the farm. He rode along silently, the ebony equine sloshing along through the muck the rain had kicked up. They continued on at an amiable pace for about fifteen minutes before it finally happened. The scent of the electricity was all it really took to set him off, and his sudden tensing combined with the flash as the lightning finally struck was all it took for the horse to chuck him from her back and take off up the road, fleeing out of fright and abandoning Nick without much care. Nick let himself fall, to far gone to really care as he hit the ground.

It was suddenly very, very cold, and there was snow falling fast outside the cave that he had taken refuge in. The announcement had just been made, booming throughout the arena with enough force to cause an avalanche if it wanted to. There was to be a feast, and Nicholas Gerard had been extended a personal invitation. Having just spent two days stuck up a rather large pine tree with three hungry mutts circling beneath him, he was in no rush to go back outside, but as his eyes flashed down to the girl that lay curled up at his feet, buried under blankets and barely conscious, he knew he didn’t have a choice in going. She had woken up during the announcement, even in her sickened state it had drawn her from her slumber, and her eyes now flashed to his, a whimper escaping her before she could stop it. He fell to his knees beside her instantly, drawn near by some invisible force as he reached out to her, his hand coming to rest uselessly on her forehead as he pushed the hair from her eyes. “You can’t go,” She had said immediately, emotion causing her voice to falter and choke, “If you go I’ll die,” Her hand untangled itself from the blankets then and reached for his, using all the strength she had to grab at it weakly. He stopped her struggles immediately, his hand finding hers quickly as he shook his head, forcing a smile for her sake. “No you won’t. I won’t let that happen to you. I promised, remember?” He had questioned her, only allowing his smile to falter when she shook her head numbly, her words coming out distorted and mumbled due to her fatigue. “You don’t understand. I’ll die,” She was growing hysterical now, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, and the knowledge caused a deep panic to erupt from within Nick’s core. He squeezed her hand tighter then, his opposite going to rest at her cheek as he attempted to shush her, to calm her fears. “You won’t, you won’t” He had repeated, a mantra that continued over and over again.

Suddenly the cave was gone, and in it’s place was instead the tribute of District 2, a cruel grin on his face as he grabbed the designated District 10 satchel and smashed it over and over again against the ground, similar to the manner he had Nick’s head, ignoring the shouts and cries and pleads that the opposing tribute attempted to force upon him. Nick had cried them, actually cried as he watched him smash the medicine to shards, and then he had simply stood up and killed him, simple as that. He had laughed while it had happened, as the crimson blood had flowed over the length of his fingers and then his hand and his wrist and eventually his whole arm. Laughed and laughed, until there was nothing left inside of him but hatred. Then he had killed the rest of them and gone back for Holly, gone back to find her lifeless and dead, her glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling in the same haunted manner as when he had first found her. And after that, there was nothing and no one that could stop him from killing every other person in that arena that had ever known her name.

He came to screaming as the rain hit him hard, his forehead sticky with blood in such a painstaking manner that he felt a part of him seemingly die, but then it passed and he was still screaming, because that was all he had ever been good for, wasn’t it? Time passed, and the rain kept falling, but no matter how hard he tried, the screaming didn’t stop. And it never really would.

- - -
Notes: Sorry this took so long!
Tagged: Anastasia
Words: 1,828

[Lotus]

~ ANASTASIA MERRITT ~
~ MODEL ~
~ DISTRICT 10 ~
~~~
Ana couldn't remember the last time she felt relaxed and happy. Nowadays she was filled with the stress of a thousand men, yet no one seemed to realised this huge weight that was being bared down on such a young girls shoulders. Yes, she was nineteen and she was able to fend for herself but that didn't mean that a nineteen year old has the ability to look after her shell of a mother, run the family farm alone and still have time to model for the Capitol so nothing more went wrong in her family. If she could, Ana would tell the Capitol that she could no longer model for them because her farm was her life, but that would lead to repercussions. And those she would not be able to handle. After losing her brother and father within the space of a year she couldn't afford to lose her mother to the same fate. Her mother had lost too much for Ana to mess around with the Capitol and cause more problems. Besides, the Capitol gave her good money whenever she worked for them and that money went solely on the farm and whatever her mothers needs were.

It had been a tiring few days for Ana and she was glad to finally be home as she walked through her front door. Instantly she went to check on her mother, who was, as normal, sitting in the swing on the porch staring off into the distance of their farmland with a vacant look in her eyes. Every day Ana saw her mother like this, and every day it broke Ana more. She knew her mother wouldn't come back to her, she knew the mother she'd known had died along with her father and brother but yet there was still a faint piece of hope left in her that that woman would resurface and tell her how to sort the many things going on in her life. So when she came to check on her, in the same place every day and to find she was still gone, it ripped her apart inside.

With tears threatening to fall from pain and tiredness and resided to her room for a few hours before dinner. The Capitol hadn't let her have any down time in the few days she'd been there for another shoot. It was early mornings and late nights from the parties they 'insisted' she attended, whilst the whole time she was assessed from head to toe by Capitol men that thought they could get their hands on her. She hated the looks they gave her and the moves of their hands to touch her in some way because they made her feel grimy, but most of it all, it made her feel worthless. Worthless because she could only attract the attention of sleazy Capitol men, rather than someone with a god heart that would love her for her and not just for her body. The shoots hadn't been much better. Whilst she got along with her stylist, she knew they didn't fully see eye to eye and she worked with the same photographer as the last couple of times. And she despised the man. He was a sleaze, just like the rest of the men she'd met up there. He put her in positions she didn't want to be in and made her take photos with very little clothing on, but her worst experiences were those shoots he made her do when she had to be with another man. Albeit those was all fake for, but it was too much for Ana, and this time in the Capitol had been exactly one of those shoots.

After being in the shower, scrubbing her body down, for around half an hour she stepped out and dried herself off before slipping into jeans and a red and black chequered shirt. She rolled the sleeves up before slipping on her boots and plaiting her hair off to the side. She slipped on her jacket before running downstairs and taking care of dinner for her mother. She laid it out on the table before walking back out to the porch to help her mother inside to eat. With a kiss to the forehead, Ana dashed outside. She knew it had been raining for the majority of the day, with storms, so it was just her luck that when she wanted to ride Midnight, it was still raining. Nevertheless she wasn't giving up the opportunity to spend time her her favourite horse.

Running into the barn she grabbed everything for Midnight before slowing down to a jog as she neared his stable. She grinned when she saw him and he snorted in welcoming. After a little while, Midnight was all saddled up and Ana swung herself onto his back. She loved the feel of riding and she was giddy to be able to calm herself down and forget about the Capitol whilst on Midnight's back. She clicked and off they went into the dingy afternoon with Midnight's feet sloshing in the mud beneath them but it didn't deter Ana. She clicked again and Midnight set off on a run.

Ana always loses time when she's riding so it wasn't a surprise to find it starting to go dark by the time she started turning round. But something caught her attention. At the end of their land was a fence to mark the start of the new farmland, but that wasn't what caused Ana to stop Midnight in his tracks. He snorted in complaint, but Ana pushed him forward. There, entangled with reigns to the fence, was a black as night horse. Ana slowly slid from Midnight's back and trudged through the mud towards him. "Hey, hey..." She spoke softly, trying not to spook the horse but he seemed too stressed anyway to really notice. She sighed and ran back to Midnight once she realised she couldn't do anything from this side of the fence. "We're going to have to jump Midnight." She pulled him back and ran at the fence before leaping over, skidding in the mud slightly on the other side.

Ana slid off Midnight again and came up to the horse. She gently put a hand on his neck and stroked, somehow calming the horse fairly quickly. She tugged at the reigns, but they weren't budging so she went back to Midnight and grabbed the rope latched onto his saddle. Lassoing it around the other horses neck so he wouldn't run off, she slipped the reigns and bit from the horses face, freeing him. Leading him back to Midnight she latched the other end of the rope to his saddle before mounting him again and leading them off, further into this person farm. "Let's find your own." She mumbled to herself, keeping an eye out for someone on the grounds because a saddled up horse all on it's own it's a normal sight.

With the light quickly fading, Ana was finding it more and more difficult to see but soon enough she heard something and stopped the two horses. She listened and heard it again; an incoherent mumbling. She sped the horses up, closer to the sound before sliding off Midnight and going the rest of the way on her own. When she saw the figure slumped on the ground she gasped and ran to him, slipping into the mud on her knees by his head. She placed her hands on either side of his face, trying to get his attention, "Hello? Can you hear me?" She hated moments like these, especially when he wasn't really responding. "C'mon..." She mumbled. "Just talk to me. We need to get you inside." He wasn't responding properly though so she looked up to the sky before sighing. She didn't know what else to do, so she slapped the man on the cheek as lightly, but as forcefully as she could.

[Brave]

N I C H O L A S    G E R A R D
victor
D I S T R I C T   T E N

- - -

Nick didn’t know where he had gone, for the depths of his subconscious were vast and unknown, but one thing was for sure. He very suddenly wasn’t in District 10 anymore.

It wasn’t raining anymore, in fact the sun was shining in such a way that it took his breath away. ‘Nothing should ever be that beautiful,’ he had thought to himself in wonder, ‘because there are no such places for such beautiful things, no where to put them and no place to hold them, so what use are they to anyone?’ that had been his reasoning, and he had never found reason to change it. His mother had just laughed at him when he told her, but then again she had always been such a beautiful thing in his eyes as well, with her gentle liver tresses and warm blue eyes, so he wouldn’t have expected her to understand.

Suddenly the rain was back on his face, and he was no longer a five year old child but a nineteen year old man once more. This time he managed consciousness for a few moments longer before the darkness sucked him back under, this time to a different place entirely.

Crimson blood stuck to the side of his forehead in the similar way that the rain stuck to the soil, desperate and unyielding. He couldn’t exactly remember how he had come to suffer the wound, but at the moment he felt too awful to care. The room he lay within stunk of age and ash, and the air was stale and thick with exhaust and smoke. The room was hot, humid in the way that made you sweat, but the chipped tile floor he lay upon was cold enough to make him shiver. He felt sick, his stomach rolling inside of him violently, and his head pulsed painfully, mostly because of the injury it had sustained, but also because of the impending sickness he felt pooling within the confines of his gut. Above him stood the reason for such torment, the aging lady that ran the hell hole of an orphanage, and as he glanced up she blew out a long gust of smoke, the result of inhaling the fumes from some sort of lit paper she clutched tightly within a shaking hand. The smoke caused Nick’s lungs to seize, and he coughed hard once before he stopped himself, feeling too unwell to continue. Above him, the women spoke to someone that was not himself, throwing around words he didn’t want to hear but picked up anyways. “Yeah, that’s right. Some tramp left us another one.”

His eyes snapped open quickly, his hand going to rest uncertainly on his stomach, as if checking to make sure the sudden nausea had disappeared along with the memory. He felt stiff, but satisfied in some bizarre way, and although he dared not to move he felt oddly at peace, the pale green of his eyes clouded over with a gentle, hazy calm. Above him, he watched in quiet fascination as a wood lark took flight, her wings stretching out elegantly to either side before she coasted away from him, becoming merely a gray figure as she soared farther and farther into the distance.

There was a time when Nick had believed anything was possible. It was safe to say that he no longer believed that. No, the only thing Nick really believed in anymore was the blade in his hand and the aim in his eye. He never missed, not anymore anyways, and he was quite certain that he never would again. Knives were a part of him now, in the same way that blood and hate and anger were, and that was just fine with him. For all he cared, he could be made of nothing and get by. It sure would hurt a hell of a lot less, after all. The small silver blade danced across his fingertips in almost a curious way, as if it wasn’t quite certain of it’s desired actions but was going to try for it anyways. A wry smile glanced off the edge of Nick’s lips at the thought, but he pushed it down. The tendons in his hands tightened as the crazed light within his eyes grew, and he suddenly froze, the knife poised within his hands, and struck downwards with practiced ease. The crumpled figure below him cried out in pain as Nick pulled away, the tip of the blade suddenly bloodied. Nick felt no remorse as he stared down at the bleeding man though, simply chuckled wryly and leaned back down to seize the front of his father’s shirt once more. “I’ll ask you one more time,” He had said evenly, “Where is my mother?”

The sky had darkened significantly, and he thought that funny for some reason he didn’t understand. The cool grass below him had suddenly become to warm, and the muscles within his body had started to hurt and cramp. His head felt like it had been punched through a wall as well, which didn’t strengthen his resolve to move, but even as he tried he realized it was quite an impossibility at the moment.

There was a girl with blonde hair that played throughout his dreams, and Nick didn’t know how he felt about her. She was another one of those useless, beautiful things, he had reasoned. He had nowhere to hold her and nowhere to place her, so why bother? Yet she fascinated him in some ways, puzzled him in others, perhaps in the curls of her hair or the blues of her eyes, and he loved a good mystery when it came down to the truth, so he kept her close to him instead of tossing her away, held onto her in the way a child clings to a particular possession. She was a lifeline in some ways, a death wish in others, and it all confused Nick to the point that nothing made sense and he wondered why he bothered in the first place. Then, of course, he remembered again and it only kick started his confusion. “We’ll always be here to protect each other,” The words flooded through his head like a mantra, one that Nick didn’t pretend to understand, because he was alone in this world. He didn’t have anyone to protect him, he did so himself, and he had already proved within the arena just how terrible a protector he turned out to be.

Things felt a little better as Nick gazed around. The pelting rain had turned to a soft sprinkling, and his mouth slackened as he opened his mouth to taste the warm water. It did little to quench his growing thirst, but it sated him to some measure and allowed him to close his eyes and relax a bit more, allowed him to pretend that he didn’t hear the cries of some distressed animal a little ways down the road.

It was dark in the cave, but then again it always was during the night time. The cloud cover caused by the blizzard left no room for any moon or starlight, not that there would be any inside the arena, but Nick had at least hoped that they would give them something to guide themselves with by night. He had his night vision goggles of course, but they were large and bulky and he was too warm and cozy settled in next to the sleeping girl beside him to reach over and pull them on. He knew it was a stupid decision, that someone could happen upon them and he would be blind, but he figured that he would be able to hear their approach before he actually managed to see them. And so he remained, snuggled against the sleeping form of Holly, her caramel locks soft against the side of his cheek. He let out a shaky breath then, uncertain for a moment as her soft scent washed over him, but then he felt it, her small gloved hand wrapping over his underneath the confines of the sleeping bag they shared, and he relaxed completely against her, a smile gracing his features. “And here I was thinking you were asleep,” He had mused, his chin rubbing ever so softly against the top of her head where she lay, her face tucked securely into the crook of his neck and shoulder. He felt her shift then, and his eyes flickered naturally to try and see what it was she did, but he saw nothing but darkness. At first it unnerved him, but then he was glad for it. It made him feel braver, as if her being unable to see him would help to not clue her in on just how terrified he really was. “Nope,” He heard her soft voice husk out, rough from fatigue, “I don’t think I could sleep if I tried,” She admitted rather honestly. Nick let out a sympathetic murmur as affection towards the girl beside him rushed through him, and he shifted closer to her, his arm instinctively tightening around her, as if under some pretense it might serve to soothe her. His lips had found her ear in a rather gentle way then, and then had parted to deliver the softness of his words. “Try,” he had encouraged, “And maybe when you wake up, you’ll be back home in your bed, safe,” He had attempted to assure. He was ever so startled but truly not surprised when he felt a sob rack through her, and he gritted his teeth to keep from joining her as she let out one soft, uncertain cry. They lay silently for a while then, Nick simply waiting for her convulsions to stop, and when they finally did she managed to lean back over to him, whisper another few broken words, “You know, I think you are my most favorite person ever, Nicholas Gerard,” She had breathed into him, her words so light and gentle that Nick wasn’t sure they had truly existed in the first place. It took him a moment then, to formulate some sort of appropriate response, but eventually it came, whispered back with as much tenderness as he had presented before, “And I do believe that you, Holly Belesthari, are the most uselessly beautiful thing I have ever encountered,” He had affirmed, the words whispered against her forehead this time as he lips pressed there, partly for comfort and mostly for warmth. She had given a laugh then, short and simple, and snuggled closer to his frame, her fingers lacing tightly against his as she had melted into him. “I don’t really know what that means,” She admitted gently, a smile as much in her words as on her lips, and Nicholas had joined her in the action, allowing a small chuckle for her benefit. “It means that I get to keep you.” He had told her warmly, and then quite suddenly her lips were against his and it was the most unreal experience Nicholas had ever had. They broke apart rather quickly, and he felt a shiver shoot through him, though not from the cold. “For how long?” She had humored him, settling back into him as she had before. Nick had simply smiled and closed his eyes. “A while,” He had said. She died three days later.

This time, when he resurfaced, he knew it was for good, because there was a shooting pain in his head and back and there were a pair of frantic blue eyes staring down at him from beneath the darkness and the rain, which had picked back up again, and his cheek stung lightly from some unknown impact. His first reaction was of course complete and utter horror, because he was in quite a deal of pain and he didn’t know what was going on, and the mouth that belonged to the eyes above him kept muttering words and sentences that Nick was still too disoriented to make sense of. Yet then he relaxed, because there was a certain familiarity to those eyes that made him believe that maybe, just maybe, the world’s most uselessly beautiful thing hadn’t died inside the 21st Hunger Games, that maybe she had somehow lived on in some shape or form within the concerned blue depths in front of him, and that ultimately made Nick happier then he had ever really been. He sat up immediately then, because the blue eyes in front of him spoke of shelter and refuge from the blazing elements, and that was possibly the best idea he had ever heard, and so without further ado Nick had hauled himself to his feet and reached out to take her hand. He looked around then, because he was sure that the cave was around here somewhere, and what was she even doing wandering around the arena when she was so sick? He didn’t ask her at the time, simply decided to ask her later, and then without any other concern led her through the storm and towards his home, the only words he bothered to utter being a simple and quick “Come along.”

- - -
Notes: Yay
Tagged: Anastasia
Words: 2,194

[Lotus]

~ ANASTASIA MERRITT ~
~ MODEL ~
~ DISTRICT 10 ~
~~~
Ana was starting to get a little frantic about this man's well-being, but as soon as she'd slapped him his eyes shot open. At first, through the dim light that was still shining across the fields, she could see shock and complete terror before they seemed to dim and lose their light. Some form of recognition crossed across his features, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Of course, with such a reaction from a man that had been laying in the mud with the rain pounding down on him for god knows how long, Ana was surprised when he jumped to his feet like he was perfectly fine and not soaked to the bone. She couldn't help but stare up at him as he reached down for her hand but she pushed herself up to her feet without his help. She was curious, after all, he knew something bad had happened to him because he was there when he ended up in the mud on his own but his reaction to her was completely cut off and guarded. It was like, despite it being obvious that she was only here to help, he couldn't and didn't trust her.

Ana wanted to say something, more than anything she wanted to open her mouth and ask him if he was okay; if he was hurt in any way. But she couldn't because he turned his back on her and began wandering off in some unknown direction. She heard his words, but how did he know where he was going? Surely he must be dazed? Then Ana couldn't make out his figure any more and she began to panic. Her worst nightmare is the dark, it terrifies her to no end. She didn't know why and to many it seemed like a childish fear that she must of grown out of by now. But she hadn't. Her brother had always been there at night when she was most scared, and he calmed her down but no this strange man had left her own her own.

Her hands started to become clammy as she looked around, desperately trying to see Midnight and the man's horse lashed to Midnight's saddle. She heard the snort and ran in the direction in came from, slipping in the mud as she went. In the fast dimming light she made out the shape of two horses and without stopping, she jumped onto Midnight's back, suddenly feeling an awful lot safer. She let out the breath she'd been holding, but her heart rate wouldn't go down. It was beating so fast she could hear the pulse ringing in her ears and she hated the feeling. She looked around and directed Midnight in the direction the man walked off in. "Hey! Wait!" She called to him, hoping he'd hear her as she trotted in the direction, keeping an eye out. Sure enough he was slipping and sliding through the mud as he tried to take himself to some place she didn't think he knew.

She slowed the horses down as she neared him and he eyed her warily, but after his cold reaction towards her she couldn't bring herself to try and be calming and polite towards him. Instead she was in a hurry to get out of the dark and out of the storm before she really did have a panic attack. "Get on your horse. Now. I'm taking you someone safe." She looked to him expectantly, hoping she wouldn't have to try and force him. After all the size of herself compared to the obvious size of him, she wasn't going to win in a million years. "Please..." She said softly, trying to see if that would work, she hadn't wanted to be harsh towards him but he had just left her in the middle of a field, in a storm, in the dark, all alone, after she'd helped him!

Eventually, he seemed to halt the internal battle he was having with himself and he hoisted himself up onto his own horse, but Ana didn't let go of the hold she had on the horse. "Don't you dare try to ride off, you're in no fit state to do so." She tried to warn, but she knew her voice was feeble with the rain making her body go stone cold and her teeth chattering slightly. She nudged Midnight's side, without waiting for his retort and trotted off in the opposite direction to which he had been walking. When she was sure the man was safe and holding on to his own horse without looking like he'd pass out she set off at a run, hoping the man's horse could keep up.

Soon enough, the light from a porch shone in the distance but it wasn't from her own home. Oh no, she couldn't take him back there because she was pretty sure this man's horse was not a jumper. As she neared the house, she slowed the horses down before sliding off Midnight and guiding him and the other horse under the awning, out of the storm before going round to the man. "C'mon then. Let's get you off the horse and inside. You must be frozen." Because she sure knew she was.

---
Notes: Sorry I took so long for you!! And I hope you don't mind how this panned out. I was going to leave it at the bit where she asked him to get on his horse, but I didn't think you'd have a lot to go on so I gave you a little more (: