It took him a long time to recover from his fight with the dragon.  Byunghyun could feel it when he moved.  Existing was tiring.  Even the smell of fear on the men who came to feed him couldn’t rouse him to anger like usual.  At least not at first.  He knew it was because of the amount of blood he’d lost.  It had happened before after all.  Usually, he was able to keep himself from being injured quite so severely but he’d slipped up.  Or maybe he’d just gotten tired of fighting for a change.

                He slept more than usual while recovering, and in fits of dream filled sleep, he remembered through the haze of rage that always made it hard to recall exactly what he’d done.  Fighting.  He always dreamt of fighting, but he did not dodge or was too slow or didn’t use his shield quick enough.  His body broke and repaired itself almost as fast as the wounds were inflicted, draining the dragon’s strength as it did so.

                Frantic, panicked instincts made the creature bite at him anew.  He could have dodged.  He knew he would have been able to get out of the way or deflect it, but Byunghyun just stood there.  Stood there while huge teeth ripped into his neck and shoulders and torso.  Agony flared, washing away the rage in an avalanche of pain.

                Tossed aside.

                He wanted to just lay there.

                Byunghyun didn’t want to get up to continue fighting.

                It would have been easier simply to die and just let it all go.  But his body refused that possibility.  It denied him even that respite as the healing took over, leeching the dragon’s life force to repair his broken form.  The beast keened as it felt the effect’s of Byunghyun’s power.

                Rage surfaced once more, sensing victory.  So Byunghyun got up and continued fighting.  He fought until the beast was dead.  He fought until his targets were vanquished.  He fought until his body could not go on anymore.

                And then he slipped into true unconsciousness.  Bereft of dreams, Byunghyun slept in the oblivion of ignorance.  But each time he woke again, he was a little bit stronger.  A little bit more energetic.  A little bit more ready to fight.  And the madness began to return, stealing what moments of calm he could enjoy.

                It wasn’t like he could do anything when he was sane.  The other unicorns had been wary of him when growing up.  What little time he’d spent in their company anyway.  He hadn’t been more than a foal when they’d turned him over to the humans.  As such, he hadn’t learned much more than the most basic language of the unicorns and only the briefest of facts about them.

                But even he knew he was broken.  He was not like a unicorn should be and that was why they didn’t want him.  They never fought and that’s all he did.  They were never angry and he was quick to it.  They could heal others while he could only heal himself.  They made everyone feel calm and he made everyone feel fear.  He knew that his mother was dead but he didn’t know why.  And his father only had pain in his eyes when he looked at Byunghyun.  He knew that he was broken and according to the other unicorns, he shouldn’t be alive.

                But he didn’t know why.

                No one had told him and the humans couldn’t speak to him in a language he would understand.  He was just so tired of not knowing anything other than rage and killing.  He almost wished he could die.

                Fight or die.

                That was what his father had told him he would be doing with the humans.  There had been sadness in his eyes then too.  But not the same sadness Byunghyun had become so accustomed to.  It made him wonder what his father had thought in that moment.

                But he’d never had the chance to ask him.  The other unicorn had left before he could, letting the humans trap him in a box.  His elongated head tilted upwards, basking in the memory of the sun on his face.  He could hardly remember a time when he’d been allowed to simply just run free.  But even as a foal, he’d experienced red-outs of memory, stealing what little of his childhood he did recall.

                Even then, he most often woke on the ground, consciousness rising from black darkness.  His father had always been the one standing over him.  There was no fear on him - unicorns didn’t experience it – but always there was sadness and it only made Byunghyun more upset, more prone to fits of rage.  He did not understand why he was the cause of such sadness.  And he hated it…

                His mother died while giving birth to him.

                He knew that.

                But he had survived so why was his father so very sad?  So willing to give him up to the humans who only used him for his brokenness?

                He hated that too.

                Nostrils flared when one of his many caretakers entered the room.  He smelled of old fear and fresh water.  Byunghyun’s mouth watered.  He’d finished his drink much earlier in the morning.  But water also meant food would come shortly after.  He was ready for that too.  It helped the healing and as much as his mind said he shouldn’t, his body demanded it.

                Dark hair and a white face.  The young man hurriedly dumped the water in, backpedaling quickly with the acrid stench of fresh fear rising as Byunghyun lunged to drink his fill.  Water sloshed with droplets hitting his chest, creating muddy splotches of damp blood on his hide.  His caretaker fled, a quiet whimper bubbling behind his lips.  Byunghyun drank until the liquid sloshed in his stomach, draining the bucket dry again.  The young man returned just as cautiously, carrying an armful of hay.

                To the other side of the cage he paced, following the human who was shorter than him.  The hay was practically tossed at him and he fell upon it, devouring the dry growth hungrily.  It was a distraction, he knew.  Something to get him away from the grain bucket so he wouldn’t lunge at the boy again.  He didn’t mind for the moment.  It meant he was being fed; he could continue to replenish his strength.

                And then…

                When he was back to where he should be…

                He could return to the battlefield.  They would have need of him soon enough.  If he’d learned nothing during his time among the humans, he knew they were an angry race.  Their love of fighting rivaled his own and even if there was peace for a time, they always found some reason to use him.

                Soon.

                He knew it would only be a matter of time.  Finished with the hay, he cleared the small distance to the grain bucket and began devouring that as well, ignoring the boy as he quickly fled the interior, leaving Byunghyun to his dimply lit, shadowy existence once more.

                Soon.

                Days passed and, as predicted, another battle was called for.  No one told him exactly, but Byunghyun could tell.  It was obvious in the tension in the air.  Everyone smelled of nervous excitement and fear.  They fed him better too.  Voices shouted in mock battles and hurried commands beyond the confines of his cage.

                He thought he knew them.  But none of the words made sense.  Even if he’d seen them, he couldn’t guarantee the madness wouldn’t take over anyway.  It stole his mind more when battle was coming.  The red rage rose up, clawing at his thoughts and turning his memory patchy.

                Soon.

                He wondered if there would be another dragon.  Maybe a griffon.  Or even a phoenix.

                Soon.

                He’d never seen the other two, but the unicorns had told him about them before.  His father had.  He wanted to fight one.  Just because.  Maybe it would be able to beat him.

                Fight or die.

                Maybe he would die if he fought a phoenix?

                The thought was barely formed before red washed over his vision, dragging him into the ever waiting rage simmering just below the surface.

                NOW!

                Mud squished under his hooves as he staggered through the soggy ground.  The battle was over and his rage had finally receded, but he was not ready to surrender to unconsciousness.  Not yet.  There had been no target worth fighting this time.  It felt too easy, so he’d wandered off, hoping to find something more challenging than a man.  Maybe that stupid phoenix he was wondering about.  There were wild ones, right?

                But he didn’t know where he was.  This place was new to him.  So was the area they’d stopped to fight in.  He thought they might have traveled for a long time to reach it.  Even the air smelled different.  Right now it was foul, like rotting vegetation.  But it lacked the scent of the mountains he knew his keepers were near.  How far had they gone?

                One hoof sank to his knee and he stumbled, glaring at the mucky soil with narrowed red eyes.  The terrain matched his mood.  Bleak and foul.  Hints of fog hovered in the distance, doing its best to block out the sun.  The heat felt good when it did show up.  It soothed his healed but sore hide, even if it did make him itchy.  Damn dried blood.

                Where was he going?  Stopping, Byunghyun snorted and flicked his tail, peering around.  Looking over his shoulder, shades of black and white and gray only showed the messy terrain and no humans nearby.

                Had he actually lost them?

                That seemed impossible.  They had shadowed him for as long as he could remember.  Long ears swiveled to try and catch their sound while his nostrils flared, searching for a scent.

                There.

                Worried voices echoed eerily through the fog, distorting when it passed around another bank.  Confused and concerned.  Byunghyun snorted with a gusty burst of air.  They had lost him.  For the moment.  It would be easy enough to go back.  To make them his next targets.  He was conscious enough, after all.  The mere thought tinged his vision the lightest shade of crimson, adding color to his world again.  But it stalled when he stayed put and the voices remained in the distance.

                ‘They’re weak, pitiful humans.  Why should I keep fighting something that isn’t even a challenge?’  Could nothing rival him?  Could nothing give him a decent battle?  A good death?

                Kill!

                He didn’t want to…

                Huffing with weariness, Byunghyun continued to plod further from the voices of the familiar humans behind him.  He was content to not bother with them for now.  But then what…?  He didn’t know that either.

                Not looking where he was going, he continued ahead.  Misty clouds drifted before him, revealing pieces of murky landscape beyond.  Uninviting.  Drab.  Just as bad as his ca-

                What was that?

                Byunghyun paused in his tired wanderings when something else moved within the fog.  His withers twitched as the thought of a wild griffin or phoenix returned.  He knew that was probably impossible but it didn’t keep him from wanting.  From wondering.

                The ‘something’ trudged from the mist and revealed itself to be a human figure.  It could still be a magical beast in its human guise.  Intrigued and curious, Byunghyun changed course and angled closer to the strange man beast.  He had not actually anticipated running into anyone else, but maybe this would prove to be interesting.  Whickering to draw its attention, he slowed when the figure didn’t even appear to see him.

                Was he ignoring him?

                That annoyed the unicorn.  He snorted loudly and stepped closer, more energetic than before.  You ignored something that wasn’t worth your time and that offended him.  Closer now, he realized it was a man.  But he was dressed strangely and only barely looked up to see Byunghyun as he continued to bridge the distance between them.

                Filthy.  He was covered in muck and mud.  The clothes he wore could have been any color or cloth.  And his dark hair clumped together in sticky strands.  At last, he finally seemed to see the unicorn, and the human just stopped, staring at him.

                Blank.

                Byunghyun came to a halt as well.  He’d seen many things in the eyes of men, but blankness was not usually one of them.  Was he not afraid?  Was he not even the least bit concerned?  Did he think that Byunghyun wasn’t a threat?!  Further insulted, his vision tinting red, the unicorn half reared and neighed a challenge.

                No response.  A slow blink of the dark eyes told him the human heard but there was nothing.

                ‘Why don’t you smell like anything!?’ Byunghyun wondered, confounded by this being.  There was nothing there to stoke the rage he often felt.  Fear and anger always gave him something to work with, but here there was nothing.  Brandishing his horn, the muck covered unicorn awkwardly trotted over, hooves sticking in the mud.

                Nothing.

                He got close enough to smell the scent of sweat and tiredness and something familiar but unknown to him.  But no fear.  Chomping his yellowed teeth, the unicorn stamped right up to the man and tossed his head, watching for the slightest hint of a reaction.

                But there was none.  The impassive face did not change and dark pools of endless depths regarded him without thought.

                Byunghyun’s stained muzzle brushed against crusted clothes.  The man didn’t flinch.  Smelling deeply, his ears flicking back and forth, he shifted from foot to foot, not sure what to think or feel himself.  Everyone was afraid of him.  Everyone avoided him.  Everyone hated him.

                In a last ditch effort to elicit some sort of response, he tilted his head and clamped his teeth around a thin, unarmored bicep.  Satisfaction bloomed when the man cried out in pain.  Teeth dug harder and a hand came up to rest against his nose.  But even then, he did not try to escape.  The unicorn could taste blood; he knew he’d broken the skin and it hurt.  So why wasn’t he even trying to stop him?

                Confused again, he looked up to meet the tense gaze of his target.  Eyes were narrowed in pain and his jaw was clenched.  He trembled as he stood in Byunghyun’s hold.  And yet…

                A strange thing happened then.  As Byunghyun continued to look into the man’s eyes, his rage and fury shattered against the apathy within.  Red withdrew from his vision as his teeth came free of the human’s flesh.  Dark and light shades returned and the unicorn felt as if he might fall to pieces at any moment.

                For the first time in a long time, he didn’t know how to feel.

                He gasped in surprise and confusion as mist rose around him.  Legs shifted and his vision twisted, pitching him forward when his body changed, the transformation unexpected and unfamiliar.  The stranger caught at him reflexively, a stifled cry emerging when his injured arm complained.  Byunghyun’s clumsy fingers snarled in fabric and he became dead weight dragging at the other man.

                Neither was prepared for the shift and so both fell into the muck.  Sludge-like soil cradled them, conforming to their overlapping bodies.  Stunned, Byunghyun tried to move first, but he was unused to this form, and the other human wasn’t helping in the slightest.  He was just lying there.

                “Uh,” he grunted, pawing at the man.  He had no words to communicate and that was… frustrating.

                A softer, weaker sound responded to his and the man looked at him fully once more.

                Haunted.

                That was what his eyes looked like.  But at last, he moved with one hand rising.  Long, slender fingers curled slightly as they brushed ever so gently against Byunghyun’s dirty cheek, curious and hesitant.  It was an unexpected but pleasant sensation and the unicorn picked his hand up to graze the thin wrist in front of him.

                But the familiar sound of a questing cry in the distance made him start.  Torn between wanting to feel the gentle touch more and needing to respond or flee from his pursuers, the unicorn froze.  In this form, he was so very helpless and exposed.  flesh shivered in the slight chill and he suddenly realized he didn’t want to be found.  Not right now.  Not until he’d had a chance to understand more of what was happening.

                If they caught him, they’d put him in a cage again.  They’d find some way to make him go unconscious and take this stranger away.  They’d use him to kill again and again and again and never let someone even try to get close.  But what could he do in this form?  All the thoughts filled him with a frantic energy that made him antsy.

                “Ah,” he gave a wordless cry, face scrunching in frustration and fingers wrapping around the thin wrist.  The man said something, his voice low and curious.  Byunghyun was annoyed he couldn’t understand, but he wanted to.  For the first time in a long time, he wanted something that wasn’t strictly driven by his never ending rage.  Another guttural grunt had him clambering to his feet, weakly dragging the other with him.

                The man followed the sound of the voices and, though his expression didn’t change – the apathy was still there, he at least consented enough to help Byunghyun get up.  Slender fingers brushed against his side as they drew closer again, a brief, steadying gesture.  Or maybe one of warding.  Byunghyun didn’t know, but the man didn’t fight him when he started leading them both away from the voices.

                Slight resistance did make him pause though.

                Byunghyun looked back to see the stranger shaking his head.  He looked over the unicorn’s shoulder, making the shorter man look to see for himself.

                Nothing.  Just the way the strange had come from.  It was the most direct route away from the humans following him though…  Frowning, Byunghyun looked at the stranger and pointed in the direction he had intended to go.  Once more, the man shook his head.  His expression was impassive but, if anything, his eyes appeared to be even more dead when faced with that direction.  Glancing between the two paths, Byunghyun snorted, flinching when snot and muck sprayed his chest.  With a disgusted grimace, he chose another direction at random.

                This time, the stranger didn’t object.

                , weary, and completely lost, Byunghyun moved forward, driven by something other than rage.  His sight remained curiously bland, with no hints of red, for which he was grateful, and he had to wonder if it meant something.  What did the sudden change in his form mean?  Why was he able to exist around this man without the usual desire to kill him?  When would his madness return?

                He didn’t know, but… he wanted this chance.  His fingers tightened around the wrist as he plodded forward.  He didn’t know why or what he could even do, but…

                There had to be more to his existence than killing and fighting and death.

                There had to be.

                Right?