The Deep Forest lay still in the lingering light of the setting sun. The shadows of the trees had grown tall and what little sky was visible above the dark crowns held a deep blue color. A few stars even dotted the western skies. No birds were chirping though it was too late in the year for them to be active at this hour. They were all cuddled up beside each other, feathers fluffed and beaks tucked to their chests.

It was the coldest day of Orangemoon so far and this morning even a thin, thin layer of frost had covered the ground; clinging to every little straw of grass. The day had been clear with crisp air and as night slowly closed in cold winds began making their way between the trees of the forest.

At the base of a huge tree trunk, under the thick, protective branches of small needles a young cremello pegasus lay on her side. Her big, swan like wings hugged her body and her silky mane and tail lay spread over the ground. The only parts of her that were visible were her four tan hooves sticking out from underneath the ancient fir. Her emerald eyes were hidden behind heavy eyelids, her cheeks striped with tears and her body covered in dried sweat, clay, dust and ashes. The recently burnt skin on her chest, belly and the inside of her legs were sooty, red and pink. It was cracked and small chunks of skin were hanging loose. She was in a bad condition.

The mare’s belly was rising and falling very slowly and every time it rose she grunted faintly as her torn skin was stretched. The fever had started not long ago and in her half-woken state her dreams were filled with bright colors and sharp noises. She was getting weaker by the minute and without help she would be in life threatening danger.

Outside her resting place a clear pool of water glittered in the dying daylight. The bottom of the pond was covered in red stones said to be the blood of those who had died in the forest. Of this the little dove under the fir knew nothing, but if legends were true it would be only a short while before another precious stone would decorate the bottom of the pool. Life was slowly slipping away from the girl and nothing short of a miracle could save her from dying there under the fir.


ooc; @[Lakota] first, then open :)

Lakota
                     Her smile makes you wonder where she's been


Home.

Well it was no longer home to her now, but if she closed her eyes, she could still navigate this forest with ease. Every smell was memorized, every shift and scatter of light and shadow familiar to her. This, the place she had first began her journey to learning Ktulu, the place she had encountered so much. It was the forest that had housed her for many seasons, and though she loved the Foothills just as dearly, the tall trunks and chilling atmosphere would always be held precious in her heart. It was her first real home, wild as it was, unguarded by the Gods. Maybe it was nostalgia, drawing her there. Though it wasn't true, because she was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Loretta had come to her in hysterics, the normally composed bitch driving her from her home and leading her onward to her bonded. Circe had given birth to twins, and Lakota had nearly burst her heart sprinting such a long distance without stopping. In the end, it had been worth it. Circe and her boys were safe, and Lakota had done her duty. She had finally held purpose in her hands, and she wished it could have stayed.

Now, she was passing through on a detour home, backtracking somewhat to make a full circle back to the greenery of her borders. Aodaun was at her heels, far more used to long runs that required a lot of stamina, for his ancestors traveled all over the arctic looking for ice and hunting grounds. At least he was uninjured and unbothered by the long, stressful run to the call of Archibald and Circe. They walked side by side, in perfect tandem, the light playing off the snow of her back and the ice of his fur. They were one in the same, bonded for life, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Love washed over her, clearly Ao, who was very obviously returning the sentiment. Lakota smiled and gave a tired laugh, stopping to lower her ebony lips to the soft crown of his head.

Releasing him lovingly from the gentle touch, she watched him grow bored, for he was still young, and off he went into the bushes. Minutes later she felt a jolt in her mind, and heard his bark in the distance, and before Lakota's mind could even catch up she was struggling to get her near-useless limbs to speed up. Damn it what if he was in trouble?! Aodaun calmed her quickly, assuring he was alright, and instead letting her see through his eyes. Beneath one of the trees was a young maiden, prone on the ground, breathing labored. She was impossibly pure, a milken color, with downy feathers sprouting from her shoulders.

Lungs still burning from earlier, Lakota shouldered past a shrub and fell to her knees gracelessly beside the young fae. There was not much energy left in her body, but she couldn't leave one so young to die...she looked just like Arah, damn it, even if they were of a completely different species. And Gods, she was so young, why was she in such a state?! Lakota had always been so soft for foals...she was of age, but she was still so young...still had so much to live for. Lakota may not have much left, and it would be dangerous to her own health, but she had to try.

Aodaun growled angrily, threateningly, for he was compassionate but he was not so kind as to risk the life of his beloved for the one prostate on the ground. Lakota ignored him, trying not to feel the quiver of fear in her heart, and pressed her muzzle softly to the shoulder of the little one. The same temporary rush of power and health began to flow through her from where she touched the earth, and she directed it smoothly through her veins to where her skin touched the other dame's. Violet eyes lidded, she targeted the major problems she could see glowing like dimmed lights in the dark, as if she were inside the fae's body and the injuries were the only lights around. Once she felt her heart skip too many beats and felt a jolt of agony instead of relief, she pulled away with a hoarse gasp and began coughing upon the ground, muscles seizing.

It wasn't hard for her to heal injuries one after another in an invasion scenario, but she had put so much physical energy into making it to Circe on time, and even more on healing her...it was simply too much. Wheezing she began to lean on Aodaun, who was at her side in an instant, and stared weakly at the young fae, praying she had come in time.

@[Alina]

She had slipped away into a feverish dream. Colors swirled before her closed eyes, she could smell the horrific stench of her own burnt skin and her ears were assaulted by the nerve wrecking bark of a dog and the deep bellowing of a stallion. ”FUCK OFF!” the voice of Ricochet resounded in her mind. ”FUCK OFF!”

Slowly another scent intruded on her nightmare. She could not place it - it was unfamiliar, but it told her enough. A carnivore was lurking in the real world!

Fear struck the dove in her stupor and she fought the chains of sleep as panic seeped into her mind. In her dream of swirling colors minutes felt like seconds and before she could force herself into the waken world the equine Lakota had saved her life. But the dove did not know this. She had not felt the magic rid her body of the infection and she was too panicked to notice that her fever had gone down

Opening her bloodshot, still feverish, eyes Alina saw an image of a hornless and wingless horse accompanied by a dog-like creature. To her the pair looked like Ricochet and Guns and her heart seemed to stop. However her vision soon cleared and she realized it were not the buttermilk stallion and his border collie who were at her side. This hornless unicorn was a mare, she was much darker than Ricochet and her eyes were violet - not teal. The other creature wasn’t even a dog at all - it was a white bear of a kind she’d never encountered. Alina’s panik did not subside at this knowledge though. These two were still a threat to her and she had to get away!

Mere seconds after she’d opened her eyes she started flapping her wings like an injured bird as she tried to get up. Pain sliced through her as the raw skin of her burnt areas stretched and she gritted her teeth and grunted. Despite her efforts she could not get up though the branches of the fir hindered her from rising and the soft ground gave way for her flailing hooves. The dove gave up and slumped back against the tree trunk. She fell into tears.

"Ple… please-" she sobbed. "don’t hurt me."

It had not occurred to the pale dove that the blue roan mare was on her knees and supported herself on her companion. She was too frightened to realize that this woman had saved her; saved her by risking her own life.

Lakota
                     Her smile makes you wonder where she's been


Slowly the child stirs, and Lakota cracks open one violet eye to watch her when Ao gently prods her to tell her the dame is awakening. Fear is first in her face, and Lakota is confused and even a little snubbed. She'd just saved her life! Why would she possibly be afraid of her?! But as always Aodaun is the calmer of the two, and quietly reminds her that she had not acquired the wounds on her own, and surely she must have been attacked in some form. Lakota quiets then, watches as she struggles awake, and begins to try and fight to get away from the woman who had taken her life into her hands and breathed hope back into it. Her hopeless flapping was what calmed her the most, it broke her heart to see such fear in someone so young. Alina was lucky she was the age she was, for Lakota did not feel sympathy for others very often.

Grunting as she shifted her weight to the best of her ability, thankful for the fact Aodaun had grown so massive over the last few seasons, she winced and a cough wracked her body. Wincing at the raw feeling of it, she wondered how stupid it would be to use a numbing poison on herself. By Aodaun's reaction, very. "Calm yourself," she croaked, but her tone was as normal as ever- annoyed, frustrated, but very mild in both parts. A bitter chuckle shook her frame, and she winced. "Honestly, why would I attack someone I just threatened my life force to save?" Okay yeah, talking was hard, and she just wanted to fall into the blackness that was trying to welcome her, wanting her to rest and recover the magic and energy within her.

"Really, child, do I look like I even could hurt you like this?" It's frustrated, sharp, but directed at herself. What other choice had she had, though? Leaving the child to die? She was barely considered an adult, if Lakota gauged her age correctly. There was so much left of her life, so much more for her to discover, and Lakota would not have regretted her decision even if it had taken her life. The soul of this dove was probably far purer than her own, anyways. If their lives had to be traded, well...Alina's probably held more worth than her own.

"Now please, stop struggling, you're going to reopen the wounds I just risked my life to close. I would be very upset if you did," she warned in a weak attempt at a joke. Even her smile was crooked, as if it didn't remember how to form the shape of it anymore. "I didn't have much energy as it was to expend on you, they are not as strong as I could have made them at full strength. You must move gingerly. I cannot save you again, at this point." Again she sagged against Aodaun, knees pressed to the earth, head drooping as she tried to fight the urge to sleep. Lakota wasn't confident she'd awaken again if she gave in this soon.

"Mind telling me how you gained such wounds, anyways?" Oh yeah, and had she forgotten to tell you? She was awfully blunt.

”Calm yourself.”

The dove froze in place. Her sobbing immediately stopped and her reddened eyes widened. Her body tensed up, she clenched her jaws together and for a moment she seized breathing. That tone, that slight irritation lying beneath the voice of the woman before her, it reminded the cremello girl of her mother. A different fear rose within her and she stared at the hornless unicorn with chock clearly visible in her pale face.

As the sun finally disappeared beneath the horizon Alina listened quietly to the dark mare. She kept still even at the woman’s half-hearted joke and gave no response to what she was saying. With every word that spilled into the darkness the girl felt more and more uneasy. The words were kind enough and the voice didn’t sound much like Sarah Stephanie, but the tone; even if it were mild, it unsettled the girl. When it came to her mother the dove had always been on edge, always expecting an abrupt mood swing or even a swinging hoof. That horrible anticipation of receiving a scolding caused Alina’s hide to prickle and her heart to race. She knew the fear itself often was harder to take than the actual lashing; be it verbal or physical, but she could not shake the feeling nonetheless.

Now when darkness had surrounded them it was hard for Alina to see more of the mare than her purple eyes, but her companion was easier to make out due to his white pelt. Slowly the dove began to realize that unless the older mare was playing games she was no threat for the moment. And she was totally aware that, even if she had the same tone in her voice, this was not her mother. Anyway, those eyes could easily be mistaken as the eyes of Skuggi and in Skuggi’s presence Alina felt safe. And so she concentrated on the mare’s eyes and began to calm down.

”Mind telling me how you gained such wounds, anyways?”

Alina, who had let her eyes drift to the bear, quickly returned her gaze to the hornless unicorn and for the first time she showed signs that she had heard what the mare said. For a moment she wondered what to say, she felt the fault of the attack was mostly her own. She had decided to touch a stranger. She had been stupid enough to assume he was friendly despite his unfriendly demeanor. So really she had herself to blame.

"Instant punishment for stupidity, Milady." she said finally, her expression blank.

She wondered if she ought to thank this mare for what she claimed she had done. The pain was still so real and Alina was unsure if she might be lying. Anyway, she decided it was best to give thanks. Solemnly she said: "Milady, I cannot even begin to explain how thankful I am for your assistance. It seems I owe my life to you. Thank you."

At this rate she would owe her life to half of Helovia’s population before the end of her days.

Lakota
                     Her smile makes you wonder where she's been


Something in her tone freezes the youth like a startled rabbit, and Lakota bitterly wonders if she'd gone to all that trouble just to stop her heart with a few words. Even so, Lakota knows the strength of flashbacks and memories, and says nothing until the fae can compose herself. It takes a bit longer than the older mistress expected, but it gives her time to lean faintly against Aodaun, trying to recover her waning strength. She doubts she can make it back home at this rate. By the time she looks back up from staring at the wilting grass, wondering why she is so weak to every injured soul that happens to wander across her path, Alina is already shifting about once more. This time she is more careful, hesitant, as if she fears Lakota will use her prior tone on her once more. The sapphire mare remains silent out of both respect and lack of energy to be her usual sassy self.

A frown tugged at her dark lips at the response she got to her query. "Ridiculous. Child, I'm not sure where you got your understanding of punishment, but it does not involve burning someone to the brink of death for something you can label as stupidity." She is seething, but not at Alina. No, she is righteously angry at the fool that had caused such wounds. And Lakota thought she was fucked up! "There is nothing you can do within the realms of stupidity to have earned such a response. I have healed many burns in my day, child. Had I not just given most of my energy and life force to the birth of twins of my best friend, I could have healed you of your grievous injuries." Knowing her story, even if just a tad, Lakota's voice is softer. Apologetic. If only she had the energy to do right by her...

A gentle, dismissive laugh echoes out of her lips. "Oh, my dear, you do not owe me anything. It was I who decided to heal you, when I knew I could not do a complete job of it." Aodaun pressed his shoulder to hers as she did the same, his tall stature helping push her up onto her feet, a whimper of pain escaping her as she wobbled on her hooves. Taking a deep breath she gave a tight-lipped smile at Alina, head swimming. "My name is Lakota. I am the head Earth Medic and Poisoner of the Windtossed Foothills, lead by Apollo the Merciful and Phaedra the Opulent. Can I know your name?"

Lakota figure she might as well try her best to be friendly and gentle, as foreign as it can be to her at times. She doesn't want to scare the poor thing again. "If you come back with me, you don't have to join the Foothills, I promise, but I need some rest. After, I can heal you completely? I just...I can't do anything more without killing myself, kid," she whispers, head low with exhaustion.