Don't look back in anger, I heard her say

another mind, another soul, another body to grow old. it's not complicated. Mother. That word always struck a nerve with Otem. It pierced down to the marrow in her bones and lit up like a firework shooting through every fibre of her being. Rage rained through Otem like ash falling from a forest fire. She felt hot and cold, as if she could simultaneously explode into a tornado or remain so still so as to become granite. Tears wanted to well in her eyes but instead of letting them fall Otem held onto the stinging sensation and focused on it, allowing it to bite painfully in her brain, welcoming the needle-sharp pain. "SHUT UP" Otem roared, galloping forward. The filly thrust her ram-horned skull at odd angles, bucking and flailing in no particular direction. It hardly mattered though, since the spirits were all around her. It also hardly mattered because she very much doubted she could actually hurt them. They were spirits after all. But still. With every flail of her body, every outstretched limb that was firmly pulled back, every scream that left her throat raw and every shaky breath heaved in by her lungs made the sting of their words hurt a little less. Yes, her mother was still gone. But those spirits could go fuck themselves.

_{art by Chloe!}