I think I've been reading Good Omens too much bc I watched this movie and then decided that they actually were the four horsemen and this happened. Also, blaming this on my friend Zach who promised to stop me before I did something like this again.

Warnings: implied minor character death, war, violence

She is the first to arrive. She rides into town at dawn, carried on a wave of bloodlust, fury, and adrenaline. Her hair is red.

(So very, very red)

(They don't notice)

She slinks through the streets, gathering a crowd. A brush of skin, a flash of a smile, a whispered promise. They eagerly flock to her.

She has gained her audience. It's time for her to take the stage. She is set alight by the sunrise behind her. Her hair looks like fire.

She dances—sinuous curves not quite masking the sharp edges lurking underneath. She draws her blade and it sings with the tangy scent of copper and iron. She dances to its song and they love it. It's the oldest song in the world.

They join her in her dance. They sing the song with their words, their knives, their fists. The beat pulses through them as blood in their veins. She was born to perform, they think.

They fill the air with screams—of rage, of pain, of triumph. She knows it for the applause it is.

She bares her teeth. They cut themselves on that smile and beg for more. She obliges. Every performer knows when to indulge an encore.

It was quiet before she came.

(It won't be quiet again until much later—when the only sound is the crunch of ashes under blood-soaked feet.)