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once in the hands of fate... - Laviy - 03-17-2014 LAVIY DON'T SHED A TEAR FOR ME, I STAND ALONE My escape would have been faster and more complete had I flown but I have not had that luxury since I was a child. As it is I am lucky that there was chaos enough to keep everyones eyes and thoughts off of me. Useless wings pinned tightly to my side I ran until I could run no longer. Next I walked until my wind recovered then I ran again and so on and so on and so on. Here and there I stopped in a shadowy, sheltered place to close my eyes for an hour but sleep was scarce for me on the whole. I could not afford it. Run, walk, run, walk, run, walk, run… I was walking again when I found the trail into the thick, dark wood. For a moment I hesitated then I plunged on full speed ahead. The speed did not last long but my determination kept me trudging deeper and deeper, as far away from the sun as I could get. Walk, walk, walk, stumble, walk, walk… Surely I am far enough away now, surely they will not find me here. If they are even looking at all. Optimism is not my way but really, what is one slave among many? I think I have gone far enough that pursuit would be little more than a waste of resources for them. Just to be safe I push myself even farther until my legs give out beneath me and I crumple in a heap on the snow covered forest floor. Dreams carry me gently for a time, drifting on wings that are whole once again. Then a storm wakes in my subconscious mind. The dreams turn to nightmares and I scream as I fall from the sky… My mismatched eyes pop open wide, rolling crazily as my heart races and my breath comes in sharp, shaky gasps. In what seems like hours but is really only minutes I slowly realize that I am not falling, I am truly, very firmly on the ground. The panic attack subsides. I squeeze my eyes shut again waiting for the command to wake and get back to work. The command never comes. So, I did not dream my “flight” from the mountain then. Again I open my eyes but this time I take it slow savoring the light and breath of freedom. Suddenly my body begins to shake and I realize that sprawling here in the snow like this is probably not the healthiest thing I could possibly do. I get to my feet grudgingly not quite wanting to abandon that possibility of returning to sleep, a thing I could never have done before without tasting the lash as punishment. My diminutive height means I am not really much more of a target standing than I was while lying down so I am not terribly worried about drawing attention. I am rather out in the open at the moment though, to fix that I tuck in under the sun-bowed branches of a tall white-trunked tree. From there I gaze out at the silent winter wood finding myself at a loss for… well, everything. I have made my great escape and… what now? What does one who has never lived without the commands of another to dictate her every move do when she suddenly finds herself free and alone? Ambition does not boil my blood, I have no deep desires, no hidden secrets, no driving passions… my one dream is to fly again and, realist that I am, I know that can never, ever happen. What does this leave me? Nothing… nothing at all. Which is no more or less than I had before. I am Laviy the once soldier-trainee, Laviy the slave girl, Laviy the broodmare, Laviy the field hand and now Laviy the lost. Nothing has changed except that I can roll over and go back to sleep without being whipped for my trouble. Weariness overtakes me again but this time I do not sink to the ground. Instead I turn my back on the strange world beyond, press my forehead into the rough bark of the tree and doze. THIS PATH OF DESTINY, IS ALL MY OWN RE: once in the hands of fate... - Africa - 03-18-2014
RE: once in the hands of fate... - Laviy - 03-23-2014 LAVIY DON'T SHED A TEAR FOR ME, I STAND ALONE Rough tree bark rubs sweat and shed fur off my forehead as I shift my weight settling my hooves into the bed of slimy leaves and thin snow. Comfortable now I doze, drifting in and out as various noises rouse me and then at last I am slumbering deeply again. This time my dreams remain peacefully uplifting in a way that my daily life has never been and I cling hard to them. Snow drifts to my back from the branches above my head as winged creatures move through them but I sleep on... Ms. Parrot’s first missile falls to the ground on my left side and does not rouse me... The second, better aimed, connects squarely on my rear. It was delivered with enough force to cause a sharp, stinging sensation… much like the kiss of a whip, something I’ve felt more than often enough in my lifetime. I am awake instantly and turn cringingly to resume whatever assigned task I’d fallen idle in the middle of. I am half way out from under the tree’s cover when I realize that I have no task to return to. There is no brutal unicorn standing over me with one of those judging glowers that so often marred their perfect faces. Confused now I stop moving entirely and consider the situation. There is no slave driver in site and thus no whip, yet I know I felt one. Did I dream it as I dreamed my fall from the sky? No, no it felt far too real. Something hit me.. something… A search of the ground finds the rolled bark pellet half sunk in the snow. What in the world? I suppose I might have scraped the bark off the tree in my sleep but I certainly didn’t hit myself with it. That would take more talent than I could possibly have. A puzzled look to the tree branches above me reveals nothing at first. Stumped I return to my hunt over the ground seeking clues of any kind. The branches rustle and I look up again… nothing… It is something like the fifth or sixth glance up that finally yields results and even then only tenuous ones. I spot, or at least am firmly convinced that I’ve spotted, the glint of a wide and rounded eye peering mischievously down at me. Birds! Once my brothers and sisters of the air, in the carefree days of my youth, and now my greatest envy. I have suffered much in my life, much that perhaps I need not have were I stronger, braver, or simply luckier. It is not in me to stand against those more powerful than I but Gods help me I will not suffer such treatment from feathered pests! My temper, slow to ignite but relentless once burning, flares to life. I quelch it just enough to act with some modicum of sense. Whirling about as if to flee the scene entirely I judge my distance from the tree trunk and at just the right place lash out hard with a hind leg. I believe I have hit solidly enough to send tremors through every branch in the great tree and perhaps even shake my tormentors loose. I apologize silently to the tree itself and whatever spirits might reside within it but still I hope my “attack” has some effect... THIS PATH OF DESTINY, IS ALL MY OWN @[Africa] - please let me know if you'd rather not be tagged. RE: once in the hands of fate... - Africa - 03-30-2014
RE: once in the hands of fate... - Laviy - 04-06-2014 LAVIY DON'T SHED A TEAR FOR ME, I STAND ALONE I do indeed accomplish what I wished, in fact the result is even better. A smug grin cuts my features as I hear the branches snapping above my head while the bothersome feather-brain attempts to halt it’s fall. Of course the screeching is an unexpected side effect, that I could have done without and I wince at each earsplitting rendition of the garbled birdsong. My next reaction is to duck instinctively as a swooping shadow falls from above. Apparently the troublemaker was not alone. Turning back again I catch a glimpse of a swatch of night sky, very out of place in the dawning sunlight. That swatch flips like wings stretching out to shield it’s tumbling companion before the thing, whatever it is, retreats to the lower tree branches. I pay only enough attention to the parrot to assure myself that it has survived it’s fall before I move in an attempt to get a clearer look at the thing in the tree. I have no better luck than I did in catching a glimpse of my tormentor earlier. With a sigh of regret I turn back to the bird, hoping to discover an easy way around it so I can find a better spot to watch this new oddity from. However, I find no bird. No, only a teetering winged mare who certainly was not there before. She calls herself Africa and apologizes for having startled me… well, I should think so! Where did she come from? How did she get there without me noticing and where did my bird go? Yes, my bird… I was by no means finished repaying it for it’s harassment and so until I do, I consider it mine. I suppose it may have flown away while I studied the tree but I think I might have noticed and it surely didn’t look ready to fly again immediately. No, I am quite sure it was at least a little dazed. Peering intently around the hooves of Africa I look for signs of crushed bird body or hopping bird feet. I find neither… Puzzled yet again I lift my gaze to the face of the stranger and my eyes fall on a glittering crown of winged lizards. Now I truly am startled and I stumble backwards muttering to myself in consternation. I have never seen a crown on one of my own kind before, though I’ve seen many who were soldiers. Crowns were always on the heads of beastly unicorns. I’d not even thought to look for one when this stranger appeared. In my hasty attempts to put appropriate distance between us my hind legs slip landing my rear back in the muck. Deciding it is best to just remain still at this point I sweep my long, feathery wings forward to cover my bowed head. At least the useless appendages are good for something… hiding my shame. “Forgive me majesty...” I did not know, really I did not but I make no excuse for my delayed groveling. I know royalty has no use for such excuses. It is a good thing I remain unaware that she was the parrot or I’d be begging her to execute me as I deserve. THIS PATH OF DESTINY, IS ALL MY OWN @[Africa] RE: once in the hands of fate... - Africa - 04-13-2014
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