Aryel had spent long hours in the desert training her body, kicking dry trees until the bark was cracked, stretching every muscle in an attempt to discover her strength and flexibility limits. She had trained her body, but had no idea how to train her mind, until she saw the marsh stretching before her as she flew one day. A blanket of fog had hung over the marsh, obscuring it from aerial view. Intrigued, she had descended, skimming over the treetops. Suddenly, something had screamed in the underbrush far below, prompting the spooked pegasus to wheel away in fright.

Today, she had returned to do more than fly over the trees. If she was going to be a proper soldier, she needed to stop jumping at shadows.

Coming to the marsh to desensitize herself to fear had seemed like a good idea at first, but now she was starting to wonder if it was a foolish idea instead. Several slips into seemingly-shallow mud had left her coat with gunk almost to her knees, sweat streaked her neck and sides, and the mosquitoes were unbearable. More than one log had opened it's eyes and become an alligator as she passed (not that she wanted to get close to the stagnant water anyway) and she had seen the bloated, half-eaten rotting carcass of some unfortunate ungulate laying in the water once. Strange calls drifted through the thin, pale trees, and she had heard faint whispering every now and then, including a malicious chuckle that she still wasn't sure she had imagined. She had managed not to bolt during her walk into the marsh, but every muscle in her body was tensed with the effort, and she had to force herself to take each step forward. This swamp redefined creepy. But was most unsettling was the slowly-darkening sky, the too-close-together branches that would make it almost impossible to simply fly away, and the sinking suspicion that she was hopelessly lost.

The mare stopped, cursing herself for her stupidity. She hadn't even planned on how to get back out. Why couldn't she ever think things through? She cast a doubtful look back at her path, already unable to discern which trail was safe and which was dangerous, sucking quicksand and mud. With a sigh, she looked up at the sky, barely visible through the branches above her. She couldn't fly away. Should she keep walking, risking being sucked into the stinking mud, or stay here? "Wish I had never even come here." she muttered, shifting indecisively.

Walk walk walk walk.
"Talk talk talk talk."