Worry danced in and out of the painted warrior as she looked over her home. Everything that had been nice and quite peaceful for once was falling to shambles around her, unlike any other war that had ransacked the world around her this one didn't seem like it was going to be able to be won. At least not without more causalities than they could handle at the time being. Pink pools shifted about uncomfortably as she thought of how many of her kind had chosen to leave their homes in seek of safer grounds, somewhere that the deities would keep them safe from the demons that plagued the Earth they lived on.
Maybe she was foolish for not following them as a mare in her right mind would, and of course the thought of tracking them down now had always crossed her mind. It still did to this very day, but the thought of running away now seemed like a surefire way of saying she gave up. And giving up just wasn't something she would ever do, fighting to her death had been bred into her through many generations of good strong warrior horses...and she wasn't about to dishonor her ancestors or Kawhu by running away when things got tough.
Flicking a ruddy hark the well muscled mare allowed a sigh loose from her rosy velvets, it seemed that things would never go over very smoothly in these parts. But the least she could do was try and help regain some of the very weak normality that laced the lands of Helovia together, she hadn't been able to save her rider there was no way she was going to fail those who had trusted her enough to make her a member of their herd. Long, pale hued tail flicked over her splashed and scarred barrel as she brought her thoughts back to the reality that was around her, everything carried a stench of death and rotting...a smell that no matter how often it lingered on the delicate skin of her nares she was sure to never grow used to it. Curling the soft pink skin the painted mare turned away from the hill top she had been standing on, she had been standing here for too long and Cheveyo knew it wouldn't be long before she was spotted and hunted like a deer.
Shaking her skull as she walked back to the little hide away she had found, a safe distance from the last place she had seen one of the infected creatures, she began to wonder if it would have been wiser for her to follow what was left of her herd to safety? It would be easier to protect them when she could see them and the danger they would undoubtedly put themselves in. Stretching her stride out a little the mare picked up the pace from her easy floaty trot into an easily ground-eating canter that brought her upon her peaceful hide-away in little to no time.
A creeping feeling of something being off was beginning to grow on the painted mare as she grew closer and closer to her resting spot. Slowing down ever so slightly the mare felt the flame hued hairs on her back begin to stand on end as the stench of death grew stronger than it normally was around these parts. Changing up her normal path ever so slightly the painted warrior made it so she would go up behind one of the trees that grew near her spot, petal pools glanced about the rough bark that was rubbing against the soft skin of her nose only to see a mangled and rotting form sniffing at the place she normally laid.
Chestnut harks slammed back against her skull as different scenarios played through her grey matter, she could charge and fight the creature. But from what she had witnessed that normally led to the healthy one turning into one of them, not to mention it probably wasn't alone. So that left one and only one option, leaving. Biting the insides of her cheeks the mare turned and headed out of the Foothills, leaving what had been her home behind her in search of the family she had grown to care for.
***
Sides heaved as the painted mare slid into the hole in the ground that was saturated in the scents of the many different equines who were hiding out in the Heart of Helovia. Apparently this was one of the only places not infected and unreachable by the demonic creatures who had once been loved ones in everyone's lives. Pulling herself together slowly the mare took a few steps before placing her sweat soaked skull against the smooth rock wall, enjoying the feeling of the cool stone against her steaming facade. The buzzing sound of equines mingling down the stone pathway that she assumed led into a large clearing that everyone was gathering in, rang in her harks as her lungs sucked in as much oxygen as they possibly could.
Cheveyo had known that the outside world was getting bad, but after seeing that creature with it's intestines hanging from a hole in it's side as an eye dangled from it's socket, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to keep down the few bites of grass she had ingested before going to her lookout. Swallowing hard the mare took a few steps away from the wall and looked down the short tunnel knowing eventually she would have to go face the masses...but for the time being she was content standing here replaying that gruesome sight over and over again.

"Speech"
[Tag: @[Alleo] & open]
[Words: -9-5-8]
[Muse: Follow Your Arrow by Kacey Musgrave]
[Notes: Woot, audition post put to good use. Anyone is welcome to join in!!<3]

Red circles painted around the chestnut and white mare's nares flared in time as she sucked more and more of the much needed oxygen into her lungs. That run had nearly killed her and the fact that her normally fairly decent looking pelt was soaked in sweat, causing her flaxen mane to stick in random spots to her thickly muscled boa, gave the fact that her breeding wasn't made for running at that speed for such a long distance away. Coughing once the pink eyed mare placed her damp skull against the cool wall once again in efforts to pull herself back together entirely before one of the monsters decided to make a grand entrace...or worse, one of the equine who had made this place their home currently.
Much to the paint's dismay it didn't take long before the familiar sound of hooves hitting the stone ground was bouncing off of the walls to assault her back flicked harks with a strength she wasn't quite prepared for. The sound seemed quite amplified in the small passageway, the exact passageway that she had hoped to be occupying all on her own for at least a few more moments. But of course, as the gods would have it, this just wasn't her day. Not at all. As the sound grew closer the mare allowed a groan to flow from her throat as she took a weary step away from her cool wall, firey harks remained pinned back against her skull as they almost always were for her. It was nearly a trade mark if someone were to really think about it, the painted mare nearly never had her harks forwards or even relaxed unless she was in a really good mood. Something that as of late Cheveyo could honestly say she was never in. It was at this point that the sound of one clearing it's throat came barreling towards her, as if whoever the intruder was hadn't already made their presence known enough with their loud stomps in the hallway.
"Well. Look at what the cat dragged in." She could almost feel the surprise in the familiar voice as they drifted easily through the air, peeling back her ivory lids to reveal oddly pink eyes she looked upon the contrasting pelt of one of her fellow warriors. Alleo, he was a handsome stallion she would give him that, but at times she thought he opened his mouth a little too much for his own good. Nodding slightly in a greeting the mare realized her waste of energy in that movement was exactly that, a waste, the stallion's pale pools had drifted away from her and up towards the opening she had just slid through not too long ago. Snorting softly the mare rolled her tongue against the ridged roof of her mouth allowing the saliva to coat her once dry mouth before even attempting words. "It's getting worse out there." As much as the words pained her, it was the truth, the world they had once known was slowly being devoured by the creatures of the dead.
"What made you finally come to your senses?" As the baritones loosed themselves from his dark velvets his pools tore away from the opening of light to look at her once more. Shifting uncomfortably under his sudden gaze and the question she knew she was going to have to answer, the painted mare turned so she was facing the two toned stallion face on, worry danced across her features as her lungs expanded to their fullest capacity so she could force the next few words out. "Our home is no more." Swallowing hard the mare looked at the stallion sadly, he knew how very difficult it was for her to have left and find them. How hard it was to admit defeat against these monsters that were tearing Helovia limb from limb, but here she stood all in one piece physically while a number of her herd mates...former herd mates were out there ravaging the lands looking for any so unlucky to be uninfected and out in the open. Fidgeting uncomfortably once more the mare adverted her pools from the stallion's pale ones before asking a question that had been digging at the back of her skull since everyone but her had left the Foothills. "Did everyone make it?" Cheveyo couldn't help but hold her breath as she waited for the answer, preparing her mind to find out the worse but hoping and praying to every god she could think of that everyone would be just around the bend as chatty and happy as usual.



"Speech"
[Tag: @[Alleo] & @[Rasta] & open :3]
[Words: -8-0-7]
[Muse: Kacey Musgraves]
[Notes: -pets- I love her. <3]

An odd dryness overcame the painted mare's mouth as she finished speaking to the much larger stallion, it was almost as if she had just decided to take a nice big mouthful of sand...without chasing it with water. It was just about then that a much smaller mare came into the scene, her light golden pelt nearly glowing in the soft light given to the tunnel by the entrance, she was small, even by Cheveyo's average sized standards. Small enough that Chev was actually worried she would break if something or someone were to even look at her the wrong way.
Harks flicked back slightly at the mare's silence, it was as if she was standing there soaking in the conversation between the other two like a sponge. It was slightly unnerving to be around someone who was quieter than herself, not to mention someone who was a complete stranger. But the way she snuggled up close to Alleo made Chev wonder if the small mare really was a stranger? Or if she had just missed the fact that the massive two toned stallion had a lover running around the herd, that was unlikely. But it had been a while since she had been in the presence of her herd. Were there any love children? Or simply just a new romance budding? Did they even know that there was something there?
Snorting softly the mare pushed the foolish thoughts from her mind, their affairs were nothing for her to worry over. There were more important things to deal with, like the fact that their loved ones were being turned into zombies and taking over everything that they held near and dear. Love or any kind of relations for that matter were the last thing the lady warrior were worried about, luckily it was right about this time that the stallion's baritones interrupted her thoughts and brought her crashing back to reality. "Its always darkest before the dawn." The sadness that had drenched his vocals flooded the tunnel they were standing in, fidgeting slightly the mare's pink pools looked the the two toned stallion sadly as his eyes drifted to the opening she had slid from not too long ago. Everything was wrong, they were the living ones, why were they stuck six foot under the ground?
"I don't know. I've seen a few, but not many. Apollo has made it but I have not seen Phaedra or my sisters." Swallowing harshly the mare offered a meek smile to the stallion before lowering her skull ever so slightly and allowing her rosy velvets to part just enough to let her lyrics loose. "Do not worry for your sisters, they are strong girls." Cheveyo had never had the pleasure of a conversation with her friend's siblings, but from the tales she had heard of them, they were tough and wouldn't give in without a massive fight that would lead to bloodshed on both parts. "I have not seen hide nor hair of either of our generals. The Dragon's Throat, World's Edge, and Aurora Basin members are also present. I think more of them were able to escape and come here than our own." Ivory lids blinked harshly over pink pools as they quickly adverted themselves from the eyes of the stallion before her. Their Generals were still missing? Flicking her long flaxen tail against her side harshly the mare snorted before looking back at her comrade with damp eyes.
She couldn't think of words to say in reply to his last statement, it appeared that things were worse than she had thought they were. It wasn't only the Foothills that were affected by these monsters. Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth once the mare turned her attention away from the monsters and instead focused on the golden creature she had thus far not paid any mind too. "My apologizes, I am Cheveyo of what was once the Windtossed Foothills." It felt so weird introducing herself, most of her herd knew who she was, the sullen quite little warrior that liked to keep to herself. But she had never seen this little mare before in her life, so introductions were at least a start.



"Speech"
[Tag: @[Alleo] & @[Rasta] ]
[Words: -7-3-4]
[Muse: Kacey Musgraves]
[Notes: -- <3]

Cheveyo eyed the golden mare warily as the smaller girl shuffled around the large stallion. It was odd to see Alleo with a mare, especially a pretty one that seemed interested in him. Inwardly the mare let loose an easy chuckle at the thought of Alleo and this pretty gold girl hitting it off and being some kind of an item. As if. The two toned stallion was too hard of a worker, he threw his whole heart into his work and the painted mare didn't think that there would be any room for anything else in his life. But she could always be wrong.
"You're right. But the Constrictor was also strong and from the rumors I've heard she was taken by the darkness. From what I've heard there are many strong warriors that have fallen." Rolling her shoulders slowly the mare fought to keep the look of the deep sadness she had been feeling from reaching the nearly stone-like expression she trained so hard to be able to have even in the toughest of times. The Constrictor was down, no longer a living being...she was one of those half rotten creatures that were ransacking their homes as they huddled under the Earth like a colony of rabbits. Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in the lady warrior's typical nervous tick she noticed the stallion's eyes had drifted once more to the entrance. It was almost as if he was waiting for something bad to happen, one of those creatures to break through their safe haven and take them all down at once, offering him a soft smile the mare took a small step closer to the two toned stallion, feeling even smaller than she already had at a closer range. "Don't worry. There are enough of us here to fight." She wasn't going to tell him everything was going to be alright. There was no use in lying to the beast, things were obviously not alright. If they were, the entirety of Helovia wouldn't be where they are now.
"Did you see anyone else on your way here?" The stallion spoke once more, his voice sounding almost hopeful, but not quite there as the little gold mare shifted about by his side again. Her harks pinned on to the conversing pair as if she was taking in all of the information she possibly could. Sending a quick smile in the direction of the silent mare, Cheveyo decided that she did like this odd silent creature, she was quite observation...she only wished she could get her to talk about her opinion on this whole wraith thing. Looking back to the large stallion she shook her skull softly, she hadn't seen anyone that wasn't half rotten and smelling like death. A sad light flickered softly in the back of the mare's flower hued orbs, there was no one out there to save, if there was she sure as hell wouldn't be standing in here chit-chatting with old friends.
Snorting softly the mare's harks swiveled forward in an effort to lighten the appearance on her ivory facade. As her apologetic greeting rang clearly into the air around them, overpowering the soft murmuring that could be heard from the wide open clearing just down the tunnels from them. Expecting to get a vocal greeting from the gold mare herself she was surprised when Alleo's deep vocals rang out once again. "Her name is Rasta of what was the Dragon's Throat. She is mute until Tallsun." Surprise flashed across the mare's features before she had a chance to hold back the emotion. The gold mare was a mute? That explained the reasoning behind the plain observatiness that she was showing. Lowering her skull slightly the lady warrior nodded in understanding. "What is it you are questing for?" She spoke directly to the golden mare, knowing that if she weren't able to speak she would still want others to treat her like a normal creature. Flicking her flaxen tail against her splashed barrel the lady warrior almost felt bad for assuming it was a quest from the gods that the gold mare was on, but what else would cause one to lose their voice for such a long time?



"Speech"
Tag;; @[Alleo]
Words;; Seven Hundred and Forty Eight
OOC;;