It had been a long time since we were here. My hoof prints were clear in the white layer of snow that covered my home. Cold wind bite my black skin, making me shiver uncontrollably. My son shivered as much, even if we were trying to keep warmth by walking side by side, coat to coat. Our faces and bodies were covered in small wounds as the result of our journey outside of Helovia, but we were as strong as always. We had to be. Purring vibrations wandered up my leg, and as I looked down, my dearest looked up. Dezba was scarred as well, but she was tough. Her beautiful, black-ringed fur was covered in red and brown lines of dried blood and exposed flesh while her face only wore the scars of my son's birthday. Dezba was big now, as well. Her head reached to my dark shoulder blades, as she was almost full-grown. My bonded looked at me and I caught eye contact, practically staring into her electric eyes.
There had been many - too many - who had tried to kill my bonded during our journey outside. They had seen her as a threat, something that I both couldn't understand and understood perfectly why. My bonded was a jaguar, a melanistic one who in some lands was seen as bad luck.

The only thing they had wrong was: She was my lucky charm. She was the one who had protected me and my son from the worst of dangers, she had taken the damage for us. A gash on her right hip, filled with dried blood, was the proof to just that.
My dearest wildcat still had her eyes on me and... It almost looked like she smiled at us. 'I will always protect you, Deli. We're a team, remember?' I smiled at her, locking my blue, hazy gaze on her. 'I know... We will always be a team, Dez. No matter what, remember?'
Sound of a cough made my snap my head to my other side, where my son was. He had grown so much during our journey together, from being only a little colt to a yearling. His long, dark legs were still dangly but they were stronger and could hold more. They could damage more, something that I unwillingly found out not too long ago. Aza grinned subtly at me, nudging my neck softly. "I'm okay, Mom."
I looked at him a bit longer with a worried tension in my posture. He wasn't okay, because he had been coughing for weeks now. I hoped to the deepest of my being that it was just a cold and that it would be over soon, but you never knew if the Gods liked you or not. "Aza... Promise me that you will tell me if you ever feel worse." I whispered, earning a slight nod from the golden boy.

We continued through the forests of Helovia and I almost thought we were walking in the Deep Forest, but everything looked so... Different. I barely recognized anything, because it was so dark. Everything looked dead, covered in dirt and pure darkness. Glowing eyes among the trees made us uncomfortable, but we knew that we could fight if we had to. We had practiced, trust me. Not exactly something I was proud of though. But eventually we reached the open lands, once known as the land between the Throat and the rest of Helovia. Another cough from Aza made me tense up again, but I just had to look at him to know that he was alright. My boy was big, he had a good immunity system. I hoped. The non-existent knowledge if Azarel was going to be okay was gnawing on my bones and soul, but I just had to deal with it until we found a medic. If... If there were even anyone left here.
Not a single horse had been seen since we entered Helovia and when we first left.. There had been screams. Horrible, horrible screams that left you with nightmares for weeks, making you wake up screaming in fear and sweating as if you had been running for three hours straight. Our minds were scarred and we knew back then that we would never be okay ever again. All we could do was to continue on with our lives, to leave all those screams behind and find safety. All we could do... Was to run away. I still remember the day we left as if it had been a few hours ago. I had been with Brighid, bonding and crafting a new friendship, and... Then the shadows came. Darkness. Screams that ripped your heart and very soul apart. Blood. I had taken Azarel and Dezba and just ran away from all of it.
You would think that they would understand, but... Nobody did. Not a single herd accepted us outside of Helovia. We were outcasts, wanderers who journeyed and did almost anything for just some food. We were homeless.

Dez woke me up from my memories and roared quietly. We were there. We were finally here. The heart of Helovia. It didn't look like before, because now a giant hole sloped down in it. When I tried to look down, I only saw darkness and I suddenly realized how dangerous this was. Looking at my two beloveds, I took a deep breath to steady my voice before speaking. "I'll go down first to see if it's dangerous. You two, stay up here and call for me immediately if anything - anything - happen." With that said, I walked down as carefully as I could down the hole, consumed by the darkness.
As I came down, I saw a wall of lava in front of me, flowing like a waterfall into a gigantic pool of fire. What was this place? The only reason I knew that the Heart had changed, was because of those last words I had heard before leaving Helovia. Those very last words, called out by an unknown voice.
"Get into the heart."

My son and bonded stood on the brink of the slope and looked at me. Even at this distance, I could see the fear in my son's dual-colored eyes and felt the well-known urge to have both of them close to me. "Come. It's safe." Azarel went down first and he almost crashed into me as he managed to get his hoof on a spot of wet mud. Dezba on the other hand came down without any troubles at all. Our wounds burned from the heat of the lavafall, making us cringe and jinxing each other when a sigh left us all. We looked around, observing the place we never knew had existed and felt the urge to know if we were alone or not. "Erhm... Hello?" My voice was shaky from the fear that had grown attached to my heart, making me sound too insecure for my taste. I was for fuck sake an adult. I wasn't supposed to be scared... But sometimes I just couldn't help it. My son called out as well, a little louder than me and with much more confidence:
"Anyone here?"

"Talking."
"Azarel Talking."

ooc: Back from the dead<3
word count: 1196