Her Pain as Your Own

Okay, guys... this is one special picture, it's from C.L's and Cher Ami's past.
Have a good reading

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The mission was completed. Cher Ami had found a stallion she found suiting and was now covered. Now, she and C. L were on their way back home. It had been strange to leave Cher Ami alone with the stallion for a day, but it was for this that they were here in France again anyway. The stallion was a beautiful black Friesian. He was standing in a great pasture faraway from curious eyes. Maybe he was there just for the summer; C.L didn’t care, if Cher Ami was satisfied with her choice, then he was satisfied. They didn’t talk as they traveled home. They had many miles to ride now; they had almost crossed the Spanish border, but managed to stay on France’s side.

As they traveled on a dirt road through a forest Cher Ami noticed a crowd of travelers down the road. Normally she would have chosen another route but C.L didn’t give her the order to leave the path. They soon gained on the people, and then passed them by. Cher Ami observed the humans; they were traveling for some reason… She had a flashback from a long time ago. A nomad who had crossed their path way back in Switzerland many years back.

“I remember,” said C.L with a sigh. Cher Ami jumped just a little, she wasn’t aware that she had opened the channel to her master, sending him the picture of a man she saw deep within her horse memory.

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This was the time before C.L had ever used his mask. That had happened in a deep forest. It was a cold autumn evening when a man appeared on the road on which C.L and his mare were traveling. C.L had no interest in the stranger and neither did the mare. They passed the traveler, but C.L could feel the man’s piercing eyes in the back of his neck, so he turned around in the saddle. Just as he thought, the man was staring right at them. C.L pulled on the reins, ordering the mare to turn around; she did it faster than the lightning strikes and by the next second they were side by side with the stranger. C.L glared into the man’s eyes while his mare, clearly upset by this stranger, snorted and pawed the leaf-ridden ground.

“I see you share a special bond with this creature,” said the man as he looked from the rider to the horse. “A very special bond, indeed…” His voice was raspy and deep, his cloths torn and filthy. C.L couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose, “Écume” he thought. He had not the time though, so he ordered the mare to walk and she obeyed. The man called after them, his voice bounced against the trees to create an enormous echo. “She will not last forever!”

C.L froze in the saddle, Cher Ami on the ground.

“She will get old, boy. I can help you prevent the day when she passes on to the other side.” C.L turned around in the saddle again and observed the man who was walking towards them. Cher Ami lowered her gaze when the man placed himself in front of her.

“She is a beautiful creature, with a beautiful mind. A horse like this you don’t come across every day…” He pulled away her forelock and stroked her forehead, slowly. “I see that she will risk everything for you, even her life. She will do anything to keep you safe.”

C.L jumped off the saddle, landing heavily on the ground. He started pulling out his knife.
“You won’t be needing that, boy. It would never harm me in any way.” With a flick of his wrist, the knife in C.L’s hand flew out by its own force and pierced a tree nearby.

“I can help you. You don’t want to lose her, I can see that. Though, if you can’t make the decision, I’ll just ask her.” The gypsy turned to the mare, “Cher Ami, (C.L got stiff when he heard the man say her name, no one was allowed to say her name except for him!) do you want to be with your master forever?”

Cher Ami took a step forward to the man to confirm his question. Yes.

“Good, I will help you.” He looked at C.L. “Boy, do you want to be with her forever?”
C.L nodded slowly, afraid to show his weakness, but the mare was his only weakness, and it shone right through him.

The man smiled deviously as he held his hand out in the air. A mask suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. C. L noted that it was a white Venetian mask that rested on the stranger’s palm. The stranger placed the mask against Cher Ami’s forehead and looked at C.L.

“Don’t interfere, or she will die.” He closed his eyes and started to murmur some words, faster and faster. Cher Ami remained calm. Suddenly the man snatched the mask away from her, she immediately threw herself backwards. Her scream filled the forest as she cried out for help to escape from the inner, deathly pain. C.L panicked and tried to stop it all, but he was magically frozen to the ground. The mare’s eyes filled with pain and fear. Her every inch of body and soul screamed for mercy. A white shape left her body, a shimmering fog. It danced away from her, seemingly bringing the pain away from Cher Ami because she began to calm down. As soon she went silent, the whole forest filled with a spooky calm and eerie silence. The fog swirled around the traveler’s Venetian mask for a brief second, then finally emerged and disappeared into it.

C.L was suddenly able to move again; he ran towards the still terrified Cher Ami. Her black body was entirely covered with white foam and her eyes were bigger than any ordinarily frightened horse. Her gaze flickered back and forth across the forest as she threw her head up and down and side to side. C.L threw himself against her neck, taking a firm grip, and pulled her head down, trying to calm her down. She was no longer in pain, but the memory of the pain did just as well. C.L faced the man who offered the mask to him. The gypsy said, “For an eternity, she will be with you. A part of her soul is with you now. Wear this mask and she will remain with you as long as you are faithful. Take it off, and she will fade away like the morning fog. You will hear her scream and you will feel her pain as your own when she fades away into nothing.”

C.L snatched the mask from the man and covered his beautiful face with it, now hiding himself from the rest of the world. Cher Ami breathed heavily as C.L caressed her mane and tried to calm her down.

“I am no monster, boy. I will offer you a gift as proof of my good will. You may show your face to one soul, and one soul only. Choose wisely.” Thus, the strange traveler disappeared.

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”I wonder what he was?” asked Cher Ami as she walked across a river, splashing water beneath her.
”It’s a good question, indeed…”
”I wonder if we ever will cross his path again…”
C.L hoped that their path never would cross each other’s again.

Cher Ami walked steadily up to the other side of the river before jumping up the riverbank and continuing into the forest. C.L couldn’t help but touch his mask briefly with his fingers. He had to be careful when it came to taking the mask off. He had always needed to be absolutely sure that when he did take it off, no one would see his face. Then Kei came into his life. Only Kei was given the gift to see him; but if at any time, if anybody else would see him… Cher Ami would disappear into nothingness and he would feel her pain as his own for the rest of his life.

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So now you know why you can't see his face
It's sad in a kind of way, but he don't want to lose his beloved Cher Ami

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Tools & Info
Reference: No Reference
Estimated time: About 2 hours
Tools: Wacom bamboo tablet & Photoshop CS
Layers: About 19 layers
Editing of text:
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