Chapter Nine: The Wind Sorceress
Rue let out another angry exhale before straightening the chiming ribbons keeping her side-bangs tied back behind her head. That morning, she'd fallen in the mud and had been forced to rinse off in the river again, but her kimono would take time to clean.
So, until she had enough time to do so, she had been forced to wear some of the clothes that Kagome had given her. Mostly because her school uniform was in tatters after all the abuse she'd been through during the last few weeks.
She felt uncomfortable in the outfit she was wearing.
The knee-length pink skirt was a little loose around her waist, and the baggy, off-the shoulder violet sweater was seriously too big for her. If she hadn't done the smart thing and slipped on a black tanktop beneath it, the sweater would have revealed way too much. Plus, the sandals were too big.
Still, it was better than nothing, so she refused to complain.
That didn't mean the albino wasn't irritated, though.
After the previous night, the girl hadn't decided to forgive Sesshomaru for peeping at her body, so she consented to glare golden daggers at his broad-shouldered back—wishing all the while that the daggers from her eyes were real.
Why does he try to confuse and frustrate me so much? the girl wondered silently, exhaling once again as she walked. He hasn't used hurtful terms even once, though, so why am I getting so mad at him?! I don't really get the logic behind my own feelings sometimes...
"Would you shut up, child?" Jaken finally snapped, spinning around with an irritated expression; Rue instantly jumped back, startled. "You've been sighing all morning!"
"Er... sorry," Rue stammered, waving her hands with a fierce blush. "Um... I..."
However, Jaken's irritated expression melted into confusion when, out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind ripped through the air and brought everyone to a halt. The breeze was alarmingly cold, and it was pulling at their clothes and hair as if were trying to grab them with insubstantial hands. Rue squinted and covered her face with one small hand when the gusting intensified to a never-ending gale, whipping her silver hair around wildly.
"My Lord!" Jaken cried, looking up at something. "Look! It's—!"
The imp's voice was suddenly cut off when strong hands were wrapped around Rue's waist. When she was lifted off the ground, the girl squeaked in alarm since the earth blurred dizzyingly before abruptly coming back into focus. After he stopped moving, the demon lord bent down and pushed her to the ground by her head. She was so startled by his actions that she froze like a statue and wasn't able to breathe.
"What are you doing?!" Rue whispered, finally breaking free of her stupor. "What's happening?"
Sesshomaru leaned close to her when she tried to climb to her feet, practically turning her limbs and upper body to stone. His lips hovered right beside her ear: she shivered when his hair slid over his shoulder and fell across her back like a blanket.
"Be silent," the demon stated bluntly, making her freeze, "and don't move."
After giving her the instructions, Sesshomaru stood back up and disappeared in a flash of white.
Then the wind suddenly came to a halt and a woman's voice wafted into Rue's ears.
"Well, if it isn't Sesshomaru; the great Dog Demon Lord of the western lands," the newcomer chuckled, making her blink. "How's it going?"
"The wind sorceress!" Jaken exclaimed, then lifted his staff and suggested, "My Lord, shall I take care of her?"
After pushing her tangled white hair out of her eyes, Rue shifted her position and cautiously glanced through the grass. Her eyes flitted over to where the group was standing: Sesshomaru was nearly thirty yards away from her, and Jaken was positioned not far off to his left.
Beyond them was a beautiful red-eyed woman with dark brown hair pulled high into a ponytail, with two white feathers were sticking out of the tie. The woman's purple and white kimono flowed down to her feet, and a closed fan was casually resting in her right hand.
She was smiling warily at Sesshomaru, but other than that she was showing no hint of friendliness. Her body was more rigid than a pillar of stone, almost as though she expected them to attack at any minute. She stood there with wary eyes as she glared at Jaken and Au'un. It was only then Rue realized that she was keeping a fairly good distance from them.
"Shut up, foolish creature!" the woman snapped at Jaken. "This matter does not concern you."
"What on earth is going on…?" Rue whispered; she glanced over at Au'un, who was hissing quietly at the pretty woman, and Rin… who was sleeping peacefully on the dragon's back, completely unaware of what was going on. "Who is that, and why is everyone glaring at her? If even Au'un doesn't like her, she must be pretty bad."
"You must know why I'm here," the woman told Sesshomaru. "I want you to kill Naraku."
Rue jerked slightly, nearly gasping aloud in recognition.
I've heard that name before! she silently exclaimed, biting her lip in surprise. Inuyasha said that name when I asked if they could take me home! But... who is Naraku, and why does everyone seem to want him dead? Every single person I've met seems to hate him...
"If you want him dead, kill him yourself," Sesshomaru retorted, voice coming out much colder than usual. "In the meantime, which way leads to his castle?"
When a gentle breeze suddenly picked up and ruffled Rue's silver hair, the woman suddenly became stiff and flashed a rapid glare toward area where Rue was hiding.
The albino instantly froze, golden eyes becoming huge.
"What is this... an aura?" the woman exclaimed, raising the hand holding the fan and opening it with a snap; before Rue's very eyes, the sky above turned dark and the light seemed to vanish as a set of thunderstorm clouds rolled in, broiling and frothing like a pot left on the stove for too long. The wind fell still when the woman whirled around in a circle... then another circle... and then another... and then, finally, swung her fan out in front of her. "Dance of thedragon!"
Without warning, a roaring sound exploded into the air and multiple cyclones of wind roared down out of the sky. Leaping to her feet with a startled shout, the girl's golden eyes widened in horror as a set of monstrous twisters roared toward her at an impossible speed.
Her silver hair exploded behind her like a flag, blown clean out of her face.
She covered her ears with a scream, collapsing as the roaring became a deafening howl.
Then, Sesshomaru was there, wrapping an arm around her slender waist and sweeping her off her feet before leaping out of the path of the unnatural twisters. Moving faster than human eyes could ever hope register, the two of them landed nearly half a mile away from their original spot, and the demon lord protectively pushed Rue's shaking body behind him.
"Oh, ho, ho!" the woman laughed scandalously, pulling one of the feathers from her hair and throwing it into the air. In a blast of wind, she disappeared from the ground and was suddenly flying off on a huge feather through the sky. "Naraku will be surprised to hear that a demon lord like yourself is harboring another human girl! Especially since she has a strange aura: that creature is very interesting indeed!"
"I'm really sorry," Rue whined, rubbing her eyes with limp hands. "I never seem to be able to do anything right... but seriously, what the hell was that?! Tornadoes in Japan?! No way!"
"It was not you, child," Jaken dismissively argued. "It was the wind that gave your position away."
Did I just hear him correctly? Rue wondered, glancing at the imp in disbelief. Did he really just choose to defend me instead of reprimand me?
"We shall be in the village tonight," Sesshomaru stated, following the woman's path with his eyes before he set off down the road towards the nearest village. "Come."
Rue wanted to keep asking questions about what had just happened.
But she figured it would be smarter to avoid the subject and just walk.
So that's what she did.
About two hours later, they entered a village Inn and purchased two rooms to stay in for the night. Rue let out a sleepy yawn as the inn keeper led them to their rooms: she and Rin had a small room to themselves right next to Sesshomaru's. Jaken was going to share a room with him, partly because he refused to be anywhere out of Sesshomaru's sight and partly since he was so small that he could fit anywhere.
On the way inside her room, however, Rue spotted a walkway leading behind the inn and halted for a moment. Despite the fact that she was extremely tired, curiosity got the better of her and she tossed her hat into the room before closing her room door. After shaking her hair out and straightening her hair ribbon, the girl smoothed her dress and made her way back outside to check it out.
To her profound amazement, the path led into a beautiful garden that held flowers of all kinds, with vines growing up the gates and stone walls that surrounded it. In the center was a small fountain and a pool of crystalline water that looked as clear as the sky in the morning.
"Wow," Rue whispered in amazement, kneeling down beside the fountain and looking into the pool of water.
Two fish, one black and one white, were swimming around in a never-ending dance.
They drifted closer to her fingers when she touched the surface of the pool with her hand.
Ripples danced across the surface at her touch, and a faint, sparkling blue light slowly extended from her hand and into the water—flashing across the bottom of the fountain in shimmering rainbows. The oasis had rendered the girl speechless since Rue had only seen gardens like this in big cities—and those plants had been purposely planted in symmetrical neatness. The flowers in this garden were growing wildly, with no care in the world—but it had turned out much more beautiful than the ones back home.
Their colors had mixed and blended in no particular pattern, hummingbirds and butterflies flew in and out of the garden at will, and none of the natural creatures and plants surrounding her had to worry about disruptions from anyone. Feeling amazed, Rue stood up and made her way over to a large tree before sitting down on the grass underneath it. She smoothed her white dress flat before she lay down and gazed at the sky.
However, not even ten minutes after she'd lay down, Rin came skipping into the garden.
Rue almost laughed aloud when the little girl jerked to a halt, mouth dropping open.
"Wow!" Rin exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands before she continued on her way over to where Rue was lying.
"Yeah, I said the same thing," Rue murmured, turning her head slightly so she could look up at the child. "This garden is amazing, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's really pretty!" Rin agreed, then pointed at a nearby bush with a squeal. "Oh, wow—look at that butterfly!"
"Huh?" Rue followed her finger and immediately blinked when she spotted the insect; it was colored like a legitimate rainbow. "WOW! Those are extinct where I come from!"
"Really?! That's a shame, because Rainbow Butterflies are the prettiest of all!" Rin stated in shock, sitting down next to the girl; a gentle wind swept the grass around them as they admired the natural beauty around them, ruffling their hair and pulling at their clothes as they sat together in silence. "Um… Miss Rue?"
"Yes?" Rue inquired gently, turning her head to look at the girl. "What is it, Rin-chan?"
"Uh…" the small girl murmured, biting her lip before uncomfortably staring at the ground. "Why are you mad at Lord Sesshomaru?"
"I'm not mad at him," Rue stated, instantly glaring at her lap. "I'm... mad at myself."
"But, you were acting all mad at him, though," Rin pointed out, looking thoroughly confused by the reply. "You kept sighing and sending mean looks at him."
"Yeah, that's true," Rue answered quietly, slowly drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. "I did do that."
"Why?" Rin asked bluntly.
"Rin-chan, listen to me for a second," the silver-haired girl finally murmured, looking up at the sky with a solemn expression. "I'm not just mad, okay? I'm also… I'm also... scared... of Sesshomaru. I don't want to get close to him... I really don't, honestly, but at the same time... I also kind of do, and that's the problem. I'm afraid that if I choose to trust him—if I take the time to become his friend—he'll hurt me by using my own feelings for him."
"Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't do that!" Rin instantly protested, mouth falling open in outraged shock. "He would never hurt your feelings like that! Honest!"
"I know that he would never do it intentionally, but he's too… apathetic! His lack of expression makes me doubt myself because I can't figure him out!" Rue explained in a quiet voice, struggling to put her heart into words that a child could understand. "I'm afraid of what he'd be able to do to me if he knew that I'm starting to care about what happens to him, Rin-chan: even you can see that he's exceptionally harsh and blunt whenever he interacts with people. He tries to make it seem as though he doesn't understand anything about other people's feelings, and he tries to prove that he doesn't care by acting cruel and emotionless—even when I know that, deep down inside, he really does. I understand what he's doing... because I've been doing the exact same thing for three long years—and I still do it now, occasionally."
"Wow," Rin murmured, blinking a few times before frowning at the ground, "you know a lot about what people are really like, Miss Rue."
"Not really," the albino girl replied, lying back down on the grass and gazing at the sky once again. "I simply know the one thing about people in general that will never really change: you could be wearing the perfect mask to hide your emotions from everybody else, but that's all your face really becomes in the end—a mask. Just because you're wearing it to fool everyone around you doesn't mean that the things beneath it ever really go away: the truth is always under there. The mask that someone wears could be a smile, laughter, a joking personality... it could be cold, distant, mean... it could even be a mask with no expression at all. But a mask is a mask, and I've been wearing one long enough to understand that nobody... and I do mean nobody... is completely oblivious to emotion."
"One thing still doesn't make sense to me," Rin mumbled, blinking in awe. "If you were so mad at yourself, why were you being mean to Lord Sesshomaru?"
The wind ruffled Rue's moon washed silver hair as the stars twinkled in the night sky above, and she closed her golden eyes as a sigh escaped her lips.
She was silent for several minutes, but Rin patiently waited for her answer.
"Because, I…" Rue finally whispered in a small voice. "I… I don't want him to know that I'm beginning to trust him. Dogs and wolves... they're of the same species, Rin."
When the teen looked at the child, her eyes were glimmering with pain... and the cryptic words at the end had Rin blinking in total confusion.
"Well, your secret's safe with me," the Asian girl finally sighed, patting the albino's shoulder with a reassuring expression. "I still don't believe that Lord Sesshomaru would do anything to hurt you, though: he may act mean sometimes, but he's really a very nice person... he saved my life lots of times."
Hidden behind the corner of the building, the demon lord turned away from the conversation and walked away.
Later that night, as Rue was coming back from the baths—dressed in her newly-cleaned kimono—she stopped a few paces away from Sesshomaru's room and sighed. She knew for a fact that Rin and Jaken usually went to his room to talk about their plans whenever they stayed at local inns, so the girl was sure that they'd be in there by that point.
The two of them wouldn't have skipped out on a meeting, even though Rin and Jaken didn't really help in the planning process. It usually ended up with Jaken agreeing with everything and Rin doing her own little thing and ignoring them.
Maybe I should say goodnight to everyone before I go to sleep, she thought silently, absently running a hand through her damp white hair. Knowing them, if I don't say goodnight like I usually do, they'll probably worry about me.
Rue sighed again before quietly heading to his door and knocking gently on the wood.
She waited for a moment as she tied her hair into a simple ponytail with one of the chiming ribbons he'd given to her, but the small girl frowned once she was finished tying it into a bow. No one had answered the door, but she could definitely hear someone shifting inside. Rue quietly knocked again, then waited for another few moments—thinking that maybe someone was coming to the door.
However, nobody came and she didn't even hear Rin's voice.
Are they ignoring me? Rue wondered, but then shook her head in dismay. No way... Rin wouldn't do that. Maybe I have the wrong room?
Cocking her head to the side in confusion, Rue hesitantly slid the door open and peeked inside.
However, the instant she did so, her eyes snapped open wide.
Sesshomaru was sitting on the floor with no expression on his face, looking almost bored as a woman sat in his lap and ran her hands all over his chest. She brushed his kimono toward the edge of his shoulders and nuzzled her painted lips into his neck, whispering something with a giggle. The sight had the small girl feeling oddly confused at first, but then the woman looked up, straight into Rue's startled eyes.
"Who is this, My Lord? Is she a friend of yours?" she asked him in a deep, throaty voice; Rue's round golden gaze shifted to look at the woman's exotic features—but when she spotted her pointed ears and extravagantly painted face, her face went white. The woman was an Oiran employee that Sesshomaru had hired... and after a moment, she laughed seductively before covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. The woman mockingly batted her eyelashes at the skinny girl who was standing shell-shocked in the doorway. "Hmm… she's not very pretty... such a wonderful man, to take in a pathetic stray."
That's when something inside Rue's chest cracked.
She didn't know what it was, or why it broke, but it hurt.
A lot.
Covering her mouth, she bolted down the hall, not even bothering to shut the door behind her as she fled. She sprinted back to her own room, and after running inside, the girl quickly shut her door and pressed her back against the wall—using the wood for support as her legs shook unsteadily. A dull, throbbing soon began to ache inside her chest and she slowly slid to the ground, staring at the opposite wall with vacant golden eyes.
Her heart started hammering painfully with a familiar aching sensation.
Not as bad, not as bad, not as bad, she chanted, hugging herself when her arms started shaking uncontrollably. She instantly shut her eyes and locked her jaw, trying to fight back the tears that were welling up inside of her. It's bad enough…
"Why does it hurt so much? What he does in his spare time is none of my concern," she whispered inaudibly as she held herself tighter, trying to keep herself from shattering into a million pieces. A knock suddenly reverberated through the wood Rue was leaning against. "Whoever you are, please go away."
Ignoring the request, the person outside slid the door open.
However, she refused to look at her visitor and instead continued to hold herself.
"It's rude to enter someone's room without permission," Rue whispered, pressing a hand against her eyes. "Especially when they ask to be left alone!"
"You should take your own advice," Sesshomaru's voice replied, making her twitch slightly: she slowly lifted her head and looked at him.
"I was just thinking the same thing," Rue replied in a monotone. "I'll never enter your room again."
Shaking her head, the girl started to remove the beautiful ribbons he'd given her, but the chiming ties suddenly slipped from her fingers when Sesshomaru pulled them out the rest of the way. When her hair slid out of its ponytail and cascaded against her back like a waterfall of glistening snow, she twitched since she hadn't been expecting it.
"What are you doing?!" Rue asked in a startled voice. "Sesshomaru-san, w-what are you—?"
However, she cut herself off when she realized that he was suddenly standing behind her.
A shiver ran down her spine when his shadow obscured her form.
When his normal hand pulled down the back of her kimono and his lips brushed the back of her neck, her breath hitched in her throat and she froze, yellow eyes widening in shock: her rigidness only gave him the perfect opportunity to slip his other arm around her waist and grip the front of her kimono. The demon arm he'd taken sternly held her against his chest while—with one gentle pull—the cloth slipped off from around her small shoulders.
In that moment, her brain made the connection.
And her heart nearly came to an end.
"W-what are you doing…?" Rue whispered in a trembling voice. "D-don't…"
"Why do you object?" he inquired. "You're always complaining about how my behavior confuses you. Now I will give you an answer you can comprehend."
"B-but, this isn't what... I meant," she protested, feeling so frightened that her mouth felt like cotton, "I... can't do this... so, please... don't."
"Do not protest," he replied evenly, pulling at her kimono once again. "Lie still."
Rue's hand came up and grabbed a hold of the Kimono, trying to keep herself covered.
She shivered violently and glanced at him with horrified yellow eyes just as he began kissing her shoulder again. However, when Sesshomaru trailed his lips up her neck and closer to her trembling jaw, his mind wandered back to a conversation he'd had with the half-breed in question.
He didn't know why, but the words seemed to be stuck inside his head.
"Sesshomaru, you should've been able to prevent this," Kagome snapped, placing her medical supplies back in her bag.
"Why do you even have her with you, anyway?" Inuyasha demanded, coming to stand beside her.
"I don't need to answer to a half-breed like you," Sesshomaru responded, sneering at his little brother.
"You can't have any real feelings for that girl. You despise humans," Inuyasha pushed. "Let her come with us."
"If she wishes to leave with you, that's her choice," Sesshomaru retorted, lifting his glare to the young man. "I will not stop her."
"Is it?" Inuyasha dared, lifting an eyebrow as her narrowed his eyes. "Do you even let her make her own decisions?"
"What are you asking, Inuyasha?" Kagome finally asked, staring at the two of them in confusion.
"I know how demons are," Inuyasha continued, ignoring the girl as he hammered his brother with the truth. "They do anything to claim areas of land, and they seduce young women in an effort to have kids who will take over that land."
"What?" Kagome snapped, glaring at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, cut it out and be serious: demons don't rape humans!"
"Yes, they do, Kagome," the white-haired youth retorted seriously, looking at the girl with a fierce expression. "It's true that they choose demons as their mates, but the bodies of female demons change so rapidly that it's hard to bear children. Humans can rarely have children by demons because the mothers die after becoming pregnant with the child: their bodies can't handle it. That's also why there are so few half-demons in the world. Then... then there are demons... who can and do hurt any type of female creature to satisfy their basic needs and desires."
"What?!" Kagome shrieked, then she turned toward the demon lord and stated. "Sesshomaru, don't you dare—"
"The human has nothing I want," he sneered, cutting her off by walking away from them.
Rue couldn't remember how he'd gotten her onto her back; all she knew was that, right then, she was surrounded by the fur scarf he was always carrying. During the fierce struggle she'd put up after realizing he wouldn't stop, he'd torn her kimono sleeve clean off, and now her entire right arm was exposed to the cold air.
However, as of right then, he had both of her small wrists pinned high above her head.
"Se… S-Sesshomaru-san… s-stop," she stammered fearfully, voice cracking violently; she flinched when he looked at her with dark eyes, heart palpitating. "Stop it, please…"
"Explain to me why I should," he replied coldly, voice sounding frighteningly heavy as his fingers tugged at the knot that held her kimono closed. His lips traced across her collar bone, around her neck, on the hollow behind her ear, and back down her shoulders.
At this point, she was trembling with terror.
"B-because…" she whispered in a shaking voice.
"Why?" he asked bluntly.
"You… you're not like this… you have... more honor than… EEK! S-stop it," she whimpered, letting out a squeak of protest when he clawed at the knot a little faster. "Please!"
Instead of listening, he pulled her slender leg up around his hip and began ripping off the yellow and blue wrap that had been tied around his waist. Her heart flew uo her throat and she writhed in his grasp, pupils finally expanding.
"S-STOP IT!" Rue finally wailed. "DON'T DO THIS! DON'T TOUCH ME! SOMEONE, HELP!"
The demon jolted to a stop and lowered his golden gaze to her face.
Rue's round yellow eyes were wide and terrified, her pupils were dilated, and she was whiter than a sheet as she stared up at him with a trembling mouth. Somehow, the girl's expression reminded him of a small animal who'd just found herself caught in a trap. However, when two tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes, something unpleasant stirred inside him—something he'd never felt once during the entire course of his life.
Guilt.
Lifting himself away from her, Sesshomaru rose to his feet and left the room as though nothing had happened.
Trembling violently, Rue sat up and warily followed his path with her eyes.
When the emptiness finally hit her, the girl began trembling all over. Feeling thoroughly shaken up, she slowly crawled over to the wall and rested against it, holding her shredded Kimono closed and shivering a little from the chilliness of the room.
The albino merely sat against the wall with a vacant expression.
It felt like hours were passing as she stared off into space.
Rue couldn't remember ever falling asleep, but somehow, she found herself opening her eyes and staring up at the ceiling. She could hear birds chirping happily outside, but none of their happiness touched her the way it usually did. She didn't want to move anymore because the emptiness that had been festering inside her was overwhelming. She probably would've cried like a baby all night if she'd let herself show any emotion, but all of that pain was gone: nothing remained except for the hollow emptiness deep inside her heart.
An emptiness in the spot that her trust used to be.
She felt like nothing but a shadow of her usual self.
I want to disappear… she thought silently, closing her eyes again and curling up into a ball on the floor. I want to go back home to the present...
Don't you dare start that! Ria suddenly snapped. Don't let that bastard get to you, got it? You don't have to deal with the pain he's causing you! You're free here, don't you get it?! You don't need to stick around just because he's the only person you know! You don't owe him anything, so stop this!
What else can I do? Rue asked the woman hopelessly. If you have an idea, tell me—because I'm genuinely lost. I don't know the area, and nothing here is familiar to me.
Weren't you heading for the village with that tree so you could return home? Ria firmly inquired, making Rue pause. Well... even if you don't know the area, I can lead you there. Because I DO.
You can tell me where to go? Rue quipped silently, slowly opening her eyes again. How long will it take us to get there?
Just find something you can ride or else it'll take us forever—literally, Ria snorted, sounding a little irritated. You can't exactly run very fast.
Rue instantly sat up and was just about to get to her feet when she stopped.
There, on the floor right next to her, was a new kimono.
Her surprise instantly turned to a bitter anger and she stormed past the outfit.
Feeling irritated, she opened her pack and snatched the winter version of their school uniform that Kagome had loaned her. She quickly changed into the clothes and tied her hair into a ponytail, feeling a bit discomforted by how short the skirt was.
There was no way that he could buy her forgiveness.
Not for something like what he'd pulled.
Once she was dressed, Rue slowly slid open her door, glancing down both of the silent hallways before hefting her pack. She instantly darted down the left one and flew outside.
Once she was our in the street, the girl glanced around the quiet town, looking for any sounds of life. A thin fog clung to the grass while a few chickens pecked at the ground—but other than that, there were no people stirring from their houses yet. She headed down the road and left the inn behind her—but after sneaking halfway through the sleepy town, she spotted a few horses grazing in a pasture at the edge of the village and hurriedly opened the gate.
"This big guy will do," Rue murmured, walking up to a big roan stallion. "I hope the owners won't mind me borrowing him…"
After gently touching his flank to let him know she was there, she threw a blanket across the horse's back and used the gate to climb on.
Then, shaking her head, the girl used the rope bridle to lead the young stallion out of the stall and headed out into the morning on his back. In truth, Rue wasn't used to riding a horse with nothing but a rope around its muzzle for reins, but then again it was better than nothing at all. Feeling hallow, Rue Rosemerry Thompson glanced back at the sleeping town only one last time before kicking the horse into a gallop and disappearing into the fog.