Dolphins. They've been trying to tell you for a while now - leaping from the waves, flicking their tails, clicking, whistling and chirping until their throats grew raspy. And what have you done? You've called them cute. You've tossed them fish, and contemplated with warm fuzzy feelings, the way they always seem to be smiling.

Well, they haven't been smiling. They've been trying to warn you, but you haven't listened, have you? Basking in the sun, digging your hooves into the sand and frolicking in the waves, while danger loomed deep in the sea. It's too late now, and that's left to do is run.

A darkness seemed to emerge from the very bowels of the sea, rising up and tainting the beautiful blue waters. Waves of blackness grew and rose out of nowhere, covering the surrounding waters with a thick frothy ink that barred any light from passing through. The dolphins, having long prepared from this moment, were ahead of the waves. In one synchronized motion, they leaped from the seas high into the skies, calling out in a unified voice to all that could hear them: so long, and thanks for all the fish.

Then they disappeared.

What are you waiting for? Better get going.

---

THIS BOARD WILL CLOSE on January 14th, 1 week from now.
All threads should either finish using this plot or you can request for them to be moved here!

Welcome to Helovia's Darkest Hour.

*Make sure to stop making new threads and pay attention. Consequences will not be good!

She had been planning this trip for a few days now. Ever since the meeting about the darkness she knew that she would need to get herbs from locations that she might not have normally traveled to. She had seen some, in her time with Quil while trying to get him to a healer after the invasion. And, she had seen more while she had been roaming around looking for him. But, at this moment the Endless Blue stuck out to the tiny claybank mare as she racked her brain for an idea of where to go and just what herbs she would get. Really, when she thought about it, the ocean's side didn't seem that bad, and the Edge was just not meant to grow such herbs that required an environment of humidity, sun, and sandy soils - at least not in mass amounts.

Yesterday, Resplendence had spent the entire day preparing herself for this trip by getting Zarina to work away at her hair. The tiny marmoset already found joy in braiding her mane and tail, and thanks to Quil the little one had spent the day creating two baskets out of the mare's expansive tendrils of waves. One from her mane, which was the length of her neck and the depth from the bulging muscle to the point of her shoulder the hair was now out of the way and a good basket for the multitudes of herbs that she had no doubt she was going to try and bring back in order to help her family. The other basket was crafted from the locks of her tail, resting about an eighth of the way down and stopping halfway from the ground while only the width of about six inches. Both baskets were woven loosely enough that it would not try and pull her hair out, but tightly enough that nothing would fall from holes or cause her hair to begin to fall out.

The claybank had spent the night underneath her tree next to her garden. Lately she had been keeping an eye on her herbs and her herb box, afraid that the darkness might arrive under her nose again to torture her, to suffocate her, to try and make her join death itself like Rowan had. It was nightmares such as these which had kept her awake at night, but it was also nightmares such as this that were a driving force behind her desire to gather these herbs while she had the chance. After all, if they were trapped inside the Edge there was only so much they could before they ran out of supplies and had to start to fight the plants to keep growing - to aid her in keeping her herd alive and kicking.

Forcing her body up from the ground she shook out her pelt before heading to the Edge's only entrance and exit. Her usually meek voice is calling out in a peaceful call, notes singing and twisting in the air. "Anyone who wishes to aid me in finding herbs along the ocean's edge please come now! I want to get this done before the darkness has a chance to ruin what might be necessary herbs in the months to come!" She's not quite sure how long she waits, but there are a few people who are standing at her side, prepared to leave. And, as she sees Kaj's face and Eva - the mare she had just met the other night at the campfires - she turns on her haunches to begin to lead the journey towards the water.

Her hooves are trained towards the coastline, audit twitching as she moves and making certain that she can hear the soft lull of the waves as they crash up against the sand and then sway back into their homes. Resplendence's voice is blabbing on, delicate and carefully crafted word-choice spilling from her maw with short breaks between subjects to ensure that the knowledge has some time to sink into their heads. Every herb that might live down there is mentioned for them with an intricate description of what to look for with them. The mare seems to be bouncing a little, her tiny Morgan frame meant for long treks at the slow comfortable pace she has provided for the family that she has brought along with her on this fine morning. Mind you, the bouncing is just the gait her lineage has provided for her to ease the pressure along her hooves as she travels these distances, it is not really allowing you to see the mood that is etched in the hard lines along her face. For, this mare has seen a lot - a lot more than most of close to seven years of age - and it is those images which plague her mind and make her seem to be much older, much more mature, and much more afraid of the world than she might be upon her first appearance at this moment. After all, had those she called her family not been beside her, this pallid mare would be jumping at every noise that had dared to sound and resonate in her ears as she continued to inch her way towards the 'comforts' of the ocean.

It is when night falls that Resplendence tells her companions to hole up for the night, saying that perhaps each could take turns on watch over the group. That would help to aid with the darkness and the concern, allowing everyone a chance to escape if such is necessary. And, once turns are settled and everyone falls to their positions they sleep through the night with no issues under a small group of trees, about an hour from the Endless Blue's coastline.

When the sun rises, Res is the first to her feet, gently nudging each of those who are asleep and letting them know that it was time to move again. While ensuring that no one over exerted themselves, time was still of the essence if they were to get the herbs before this darkness continued to spread. So, with only an hour left on their journey, she picked up the pace, taking it at a leisurely lope instead of her slow trot until her flints had slid into the soft sand of the Endless Blue.

Once more, over the course of the rest of the trip, she had repeated the important information of the herbs that she felt would be most useful. And, before the family broke off to cover more land she said that with a call she would quickly come over and help them decipher just what it was that they were beginning to gather. She also said that if there were too many for them to hold that the basket woven into her tail could be where they placed all herbs they had found. Only once they were home would Resplendence start to pull them out and examine them to ensure that they would be of use and then sort them into the respective sections.

So they worked for perhaps two hours, gathering as many herbs as possible. The claybank mare humming a song she had been sung as a young one. The pitches mingling in the air in a calming fashion as they kept time with the soft crashing of the waves as they slid onto land and then retreated in continuous motions. And, soon, the dolphins are trilling along with her notes, dancing in the ocean near where the Edge family was working. It was so calm, so much different from her panic-stricken visit to the Veins of the Gods where she had needed to stumble back from with an anxiety much higher than anything she had ever experienced - leaving her weakened for days with nightmares of loneliness plaguing her mind every single time she shut her eyes.

But she had regained her strength. And it was calm. And it was nice. The breeze playing with her hair and reminding her that not all things have to be horrible.

She should have known, though, that nothing was allowed to go right in her life.

A good amount of herbs had been placed in her basket of mane when she felt a prickle down her spine that had her freezing where she stood. Death. Destruction. Darkness. She's backpedaling now, hooves kicking sand up in front of her and her lungs inhaling it as she fought to shake her head free of the images from the Sanctuary and the stag who had sent all of those images through her head. The world was getting darker, right before her eyes, and the sun was supposed to be climbing to it's height of it's journey. She tossed her head, trying to see if there was an eclipse in the sky, to have a reasonable explanation of what was taking place.

Reasonable doesn't happen, though. At least not anymore.

A black ink seems to be filling the skies. It's taking over. It's leeching out the sun and the light and she's shaking her head in disbelief. No. No. No. Nononononononono. NO! She's screaming at herself in her head before she remembers her family members whom she had drug with her down here - the ones she had brought with because Destrier had said not to go outside the Edge alone. "Eva! Kaj! We need to go! Now!" She yells, the melodic tones no longer present as her voice seems to clash with the chirps of the dolphins as they disappear into the water, racing the waves created by the darkness as it seeps from the ocean and towards the lands.

A sharp pain as she slams her haunches into a blunt rock on the beach's edge. She snorts, a gasp of air escaping her lungs before she is yelling at her family again. "Coastline! Follow the Coastline! North! Don't stop! Don't look back! Just keep moving!" She said, the pain beginning to circle around her heart until it has a good grasp only to try and choke it, digging it's nails into what was left of it. The pain is sharp, and she can feel her world crumbling away. But, she won't allow herself to be swallowed up by the creature of the darkness that is swamping them and trying to control their every actions.

So she runs.

There is a throbbing pain in her right haunch, no doubt that her pelt is beginning to bruise over and that it will require some form of attention once she has reached the Edge's borders. However, it's as if she can't actually feel the pain just a dull throbbing sensation as adrenaline begins to course through her veins. She screams at the two again, telling them to run faster before starting the sprint of her life.

Her Morgan frame coils up and catapults her forward, her body built to hit top speed quickly. If she could just get a big enough distance between the darkness and herself she could slow down to the comfortable pace that her lineage had meant for her to do - the endurance runs that had saved many before in battle. Her audit is pinned to her neck and she can hear the faint pounding of her hooves as she continues to rocket forward, too afraid to look back. Too broken to think. Too uncertain to form complete thoughts. Too lost to remember anything except North! and to move fast. And so she calls out her family again, telling them to keep moving as she finally manages to clamber up behind them, her pelt beginning to be soaked with sweat.

It looked like endurance was going to be needed to be added to the ability to sprint, today at least.

But then it stops. Her body suddenly feeling all of the pain as her muscles cry and she's forced to slow down, but the closer they get to the edge of the Secret Grove they would need to pass to get to the Edge the slower it seems that the darkness spreads.

Maybe, just maybe, they'd make it home.

Maybe, just maybe, the world would not die in flames. Because it seemed the world was going to end in a sheet of darkness with images too horrible for coherency, but feelings so strong they could raise someone's hair on edge.

No. They would make it home. They had too!

Windwalker did not want to go to meet the new one, but as a proper gentleman, he kept his mouth shut and followed Cypress. He came just within earshot to hear her apologiez, so he nodded and made a little smile, just to show that he agreed. In his mind however, he was not happy. Why did fun things never last? He wanted to be alone with his new little friend, even though the new mare was a pretty one. He wondered if she knew it and made up his mind that she did.

As Cypress tried to have a conversation, he fell back into his old habits of drifting off, and when he did, he looked out to the beautiful black sea. Wait. Black? That could not be right. And..where was the dolphins? He took a step to get a better view, just to get his fears confirmed. "Cypress..something is wrong with the sea" He did not shift his gaze as he spoke, for that could mean the difference between life and death in most cases. Was this one of them?

He began to get restless and moved a little bit away from the now hostile waters. "We need to get away from here. Now." The feeling of uneasiness never loosened the grip on him as his body told him to run. It was something he always did, for he never knew why some would stay to face their fears. And then he showed just how much of a coward he really was, as he turned around and started to run to safer grounds. He knew Cypress could run fast, for that she had already shown, but the new one. She had to take care of herself.

As he ran, his feet extended as far as they could, he thought about how easy it would be to just fly away from there. The earth was far more difficult to overcome, but he did his best to run as fast as he could, wishing he could soon hear the sound of hooves behind him, to know that Cypress and the mare had heeded his warnings.

Walking "Talking"

Windwalker

Cypress wanted to start a nice conversation with the mare, but it seemed Windwalker had different plans. He spoke in an alerted voice, his gaze on the sea. Wait... it was black! Cypress was scared for that moment that she had noticed the black covering the once blue ocean. She pinned her ears to her skull, her emerald pools frightened. Wind spoke again then ran, Cypress didn't want to be left behind, so she yelled to the other filly, "come on!" and took off after him. She was scared, her dainty hooves were the only thing thrusting herself across the dunes. She looked back for the light brown and white mare, only to have light hair whipping in her face. She looked ahead once again, only to see Windwalker there still. She smiled at the thought of having a friend, a kind one that understood her. But she quickly noticed this was not the time for her to be thinking about friends. She wanted to, but it just had to wait.

She could not just go thinking about friendship when a large black sea could be after them! She was scared, but her mind didn't want her to think about that, it wanted her to think about other things. Things other than almost getting killed. Her heart pounds in her chest, eyes glimmering with hope that they could get away from... whatever that thing was. The dolphins had left the blue tides, and black had taken over. What was happening to Helovia?

"Windwalker!" she yelled to him. "I..." she started, then noticed that he could probably not hear her. She would have to catch up with him to talk. "Talking"

Cypress

Nothing could make him stop, even when a scream caught up with him. His instinct told him that each one had to fight for their life and he could not change that. Maybe he was a coward because he did not help the others, but what could he do? He was scared, so scared, as he turned his head to get a glimpse of what happened behind him.

Cypress had gained speed and that did not suprise him. The younger mare they had met, was not that lucky, for it seemed like she was hurt. He stopped on the spot and turned his body around, so his voice could reach the unfortunate one. "Keep on running! You are almost there!" His mind raced as he thought about the possibilites, but he could not help her. If he did, they both may meet their ends. No, this was something she had to do on her own.

With that thought firmly in his mind, he threw himself in a fast gallop to get as far away from the sea as he could. Black hooves moved him fast over the uneven terrain as his breathing became heavier. He could smell safety, but he would not stop until he got home to Africa. Soon he disappeared over a sandy ridge and the sound of him died.

Walking "Talking"

Windwalker