Cold, calculating green eyes stared idly at the ceiling of her abode as the warrior had snapped them open. A waking that was like a calm whisper despite the last moments of the dream being explosive with a deluge of emotion that came washing down over her. In the darkness of her small hut all she could make out was the less-defined details in the ceiling as her breathing moved back into a steady pace. Unlike usual there was no frown, no smart remark but that same cold stare which had become like a permanent testament to her current state of mind was there yet again.

It broke.

With a twitch of her wings the War horseman was sitting up, small beads of sweat forming on her brow as the composure had been shattered. Despite her best efforts her breathing moved back to shallow as her hand worked its way through the mess of red hair behind her. There was nothing normal about any of it, the dream had sent shivers down into her as the haunting words of another her echoed down into her core.

"Only you have the key to release your demons."

It had been the image of a key that came with it and her hand instinctively moved to her chest, staring down at where she could have sworn had been a gaping hole. An unlocking sound rang in her ears and she swung her head around, but there was nothing there. Inside she felt the beat of her heart pick up slowly and she made a small grunting noise, but it came out like a squeak.

A fire had been lit inside of her and she felt the heat all around her, slowly dragging herself from the comfort of her bed and standing in the middle of the room. Panting heavily she couldn't bring herself to move as the stinging sensation of both anger and relief washed over her in waves. Sharp pains from inside were being mended into a duller pain. They were more tolerable wounds and not the many fatal ones on her psyche that had been there before.

"The key."

She said it slowly and the wheels in her head were turning. A pool of sweat was under her feet as she moved a few steps forward. "Then what now?" Closing her eyes she took in a deep breath, stretching out her wings and flexing them as she could, listening to her own breathing and feeling the cold air n** at the warmth of her skin.

Has anything really changed at all?

Somewhere within her was a distant song and the chatter of wisdom with voices she could recognize. It brought a small smile to her face in the moment as the darkness over her eyes created. Key. The word shattered her thoughts and she opened her eyes again, adjusting once again to the darkness. A glint within them was shining as they focused in on something white in the corner.

Hanging loosely from a hook on the wall was a won white pelt with gray tips, burned and tattered at the edges. The sight of it would normally send a shudder through her spine and she stood motionless for a brief moment before rushing to it and freeing it from the hook, petting it aggressively between her fingers and staring at the glaring white color. A scent lingered over it, but it was nothing calming or soothing but merely the burnt ash of a darker time.

Her grip tightened.

Something about that fact startled her as she usually had associated it with a time of happiness in her life, before her word literally came crashing down. A void in her head told her something had happened there, but she never had questioned it. An emotionless expression stared blankly to the pelt as she held the matted fur in her hands. It was no memory now but a tool for mourning and a poisonous reminder of a deeply rooted hatred.

"No more." She said softly, her nails digging into the pelt. "NO MORE!" In a fit of raw emotion she felt her nails acting like claws as the pelt became like any victim might in a heated battled. On the ground in seconds she tore into it with a banshee-like scream to accompany it.

Fur covered the entire hut as she stepped up, wiping it away from her face and staring back to its sorry form with a grunt. A deep exhale left her body and with it a weight came out with it. Blood covered some of her fingers as she had torn off several bits of nail with the relentless attack, but it was of little consequence of her as the small drops left her hands and she turned away from the mess, reaching above her doorway and resting her hands onto a spear, taking in more breath before turning back to the carnage of the room.

Whatever had happened in that dream felt like it had caused a storm inside of her that was now out and all over everything. Anger was too simple a word for her feelings, it was more like a tempest of all emotion, a spectrum she had rarely delved into as of late.

Yet here it was.

She swallowed away the hot sting of tears quickly enough and shook her head. "If I truly have the key, then I'm going to use it." She muttered to herself and grabbed a few things nearby, forcing her hair back up and staring outside. A light breeze entered through her window and she looked down to see the tufts of fur whirling away into the breeze. It was calling her for something, not just for this moment but for something greater in the future.

Something she had to get to.

"I'm done." She said again to the nothingness around her, but her voice was sharp and sure again as she stood at the threshold of her door. The dream had only been able to show her a glimpse of what she needed. "No more hiding." She said, stepping a foot to the outside of the door, a small smile on her face as she disappeared into the outside world.

I have to only be me.