What fresh hell had he found himself in now? Okay, okay, maybe it wasn’t going to be that bad but he had to admit that he wasn’t exactly sparkling with enthusiasm and hope. The last place he had showed up in they had welcomed him all kindly like and then that night he had been shown what the initiation process was like.

Not a pretty sight. Crake could always find room to eat but what they were trying to get him to do was just… no.

So he left.

Eventually he figured he’d find somewhere. Was it actually so hard to find a place to run away to? He’d been on his own for a while, about a month, and even with the crazy horses he had found a couple weeks back it was certainly better than being stuck with his mother. Even in the dangerous wild, he had never been all that concerned. He’d probably talk any attacker, whichever species, to boredom - Hey, watch it lady

Alright well he was a pain in the ass.

And this pain in the ass found his way, somehow, to Helovia’s threshold. Only he didn’t know that this was what it was. The forest looked the same as it had 10 minutes ago, and for an hour before that. But in the late afternoon sunlight, he could make out the forms of others and could see that this was a heavily travelled area. There were paths snaking around in the undergrowth all over the place. Had he found another cult?

“Hey you!” He blurted out, this little white and purple colt, upon seeing someone in the trees up ahead some metres. They were moving away, and did not seem inclined to stop for him. Crake rolled his eyes and stayed where he was – he was certainly not going to chase after anyone. Even if it was the first thing-like-him he had seen in a week. “Well fine, I didn’t want to talk to you anyway.” A disgruntled mutter as he focused his attention on other areas around him. Maybe someone else was lurking nearby?

Well he certainly hoped so. He had walked an awful long way and as much as he was sure whoever-it-was would bore him to the point where he’d think about ways in which he could impale himself just to get out of the conversation – right now he was pretty lonely.

Whatever. Let’s not make a big deal about it.

Not one to stay silent when there was a chance to speak, Crake called out in a decisively sarcastic sing-song tone. “Hello, hello, is anyone home?

Well, it didn’t take long for someone else to notice him – which was the whole point. Crake wouldn’t admit it but he wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of spending another night in this forest. It had to end sometime, right?

Oh no, the stranger was friendly. Crake wasn’t all that sure how to deal with friendly, smiling creatures – he had never really met any before. The horses he had run into that ran that cult were friendly at first but that changed pretty quickly. Maybe he had just found another. Figures. So to be quite honest, that cheer kind of gave him the creeps. For a moment, he just stared at the stranger with a blank expression – trying to figure out if maybe there was a chance that he hadn’t been seen yet.

Not likely, considering the proximity and the fact that the older colt had spoken to him directly. Crake did not have a lot going for him as far as intelligence went. I’m plenty smart when I want to be, thanks.

“Who says I want to make friends?” He managed to get out, though not a whole lot of effort actually went into the sneer. Half-hearted attempt at looking cool and uncaring but really it was pretty nice to see someone – especially someone so close to his age. He had never met someone his size before!

Clearly, Crake's experiences thus far had been narrow. It had been a pretty lonely life, living with the parentals.

Sacre was a pretty funny name, and Crake couldn’t shake the feeling that there should be a ‘d’ at the very end. Maybe it was just the colt’s accent. Sacred. Not even Crake’s parents had the audacity to name their foal something like that. At least he had a horn, though – Crake had seen some without them on his travels and they looked rather ridiculous. “Crake, I guess.” Step 1 for how to impress others: sound uncertain about your own name. Well it wasn’t the name he was born with; it was the one he had chosen for himself. So I suppose he was still getting used to it.

His next words sounded more confident, in an offhand sort of way. “Where am I anyway?” Clearly he was somewhere but that took a backseat as his imagination raced ahead and dusty-purple eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Are you part of a cult?” He wasn’t really certain whether he was asking because he wanted the colt to say yes or no – cults sounded fun in theory, but Crake was a big fan of staying alive so he’d rather not take part in some plan to commit mass suicide.

Well Crake was lonely but he really did not want to admit that to this colt. He could not think of a smart reply just at the moment though - so he simply moved his shoulders in a shrug like motion. That kindness in the other colt’s voice was alien to him – since when do others speak to him in such a manner? Certainly his mother and father never had, nor had the pack that he had come across on his travels.

So yes, he was terribly lonely and a little bit frightened – and he knew his abrasive manner was likely going to chase the colt off eventually. He wasn’t above following Sacre home anyway but it’d sure make things a whole lot easier with a guide and an actual, legitimate invitation. He wasn’t entirely sure how this whole thing worked, after all, but it seemed like this was the place where you were invited into a herd. It was a threshold after all – and it would appear there was a world called Helovia beyond it, as mentioned by his companion.

See, he can be smart when he felt like it.

Still, he had found himself in a tricky situation.

The white-and-purple colt did not want to be left her alone but he also wasn’t exactly willing to say that so easily. Maybe Sacre wouldn’t think him weak for it; maybe he’d actually be happy if Crake said something remotely friendly, but that tactic still wasn’t something he could live with at the moment. Better to not give the other colt any high expectations for the conversation. After all, he had to be cautious – he had no idea what being welcomed warmly involved.

This whole interacting-with-his-age-group was a lot more difficult than he thought it would be.

His suspicions still whirling around in his head, he managed to get a reply out with acceptable timing. “Sounds good to me. Can’t be any worse than this place.” He actually made something of an effort to not sound quite so indifferent – that survival instinct kicking in and telling him his purple ass would be left here if he continued to be a little snot. A crooked little grin even formed at the end of his sentence as he looked to the looming trees around them. Already the fading light was being choked out by them as the sun slowly moved towards the western horizon, bringing the forest into a premature dusk.

He exaggerated a shiver for effect and added: “These trees give me the willies.”

Well, hopefully he wouldn’t be led off to his doom. That’d certainly put a damper on things.