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03-18-2014, 11:59 PM
For most of the conversation, only the flaming god had held Nasreen’s rapt attention. But now, as the others sought his favor, she became more and more distracted by the friend at her side. Inch by inch, the copper and ivory mare sidled up to Kahlua, looking comically like an overgrown duckling trapped in a swan’s body, waddling up to its mother. Barely able to contain her excitement, she lightly brushed velvet muzzle across inky withers—goodness, she hadn’t seen Kahlua in so long! Their reunion made this new dawn all the better. Nasreen wasn’t used to seeing familiar faces, and seeing Kahlua again gave her a sense of peace…and of belonging, strange as it seemed so far away from home. If she could, she would be wriggling with joy.
Yet as the minutes passed and she stood by her friend’s side, she became uncomfortably aware of something that she had brushed aside in her earlier excitement over the god’s presence: Kahlua had been sick. And from the sounds of what the others had been saying, coupled with what she had learned from Mermaid in the caves, Nasreen was beginning to see that the monster at the wall had probably had something to do with it. A slow sense of guilt was steadily enveloping her heart now, as she came to the dreadful realization: she had let it happen! She had stood by—or rather, hadn’t stood by—as her very best friend in Helovia had been attacked. Kahlua had once called her brave, she recalled. Standing here though, Nasreen didn’t feel very brave at all. She felt like a coward and an ingrate. Was this how she repaid Kahlua’s friendship and hospitality? She may have not been trained to fight, but had she even thought about returning after the attack? Had she considered looking for her friend? No. Deeply troubled, Nasreen had inadvertently found her answer to the god’s last question.
“O deity,” she began, voice thin with suppressed emotion, “I know what I would have done differently. I realize now that it is my fault that Kahlua fell sick. I left her when she was attacked by that monster because I was afraid. But, deity, in that moment, I was only thinking of myself. I hurt a friend who has only shown me kindness and comfort, and I repaid her care with selfishness and fear. I am no warrior, o god, but I pray that you would give me courage should anything this terrible—” and she dearly hoped that anything so dreadful wouldn’t “—face me, or my friends, again. If I could do it over…if I could do it all over, I wish I could have found a way to distract the monster, to let Kahlua escape. Even if I hadn’t been able to save her, I should have gone back. I should have looked for her, made sure she was all right, instead of running without so much as a thought to her safety.” She turned to Kahlua. She had apologized before, but once somehow didn’t seem like enough—nothing did. “Kahlua, I’m so, so sorry for what I’ve done. Can you ever forgive me?” Her voice, already brittle, finally cracked with the weight of her emotion. Ashamed, the Pegasus hung her head, awaiting her response.
Yet as the minutes passed and she stood by her friend’s side, she became uncomfortably aware of something that she had brushed aside in her earlier excitement over the god’s presence: Kahlua had been sick. And from the sounds of what the others had been saying, coupled with what she had learned from Mermaid in the caves, Nasreen was beginning to see that the monster at the wall had probably had something to do with it. A slow sense of guilt was steadily enveloping her heart now, as she came to the dreadful realization: she had let it happen! She had stood by—or rather, hadn’t stood by—as her very best friend in Helovia had been attacked. Kahlua had once called her brave, she recalled. Standing here though, Nasreen didn’t feel very brave at all. She felt like a coward and an ingrate. Was this how she repaid Kahlua’s friendship and hospitality? She may have not been trained to fight, but had she even thought about returning after the attack? Had she considered looking for her friend? No. Deeply troubled, Nasreen had inadvertently found her answer to the god’s last question.
“O deity,” she began, voice thin with suppressed emotion, “I know what I would have done differently. I realize now that it is my fault that Kahlua fell sick. I left her when she was attacked by that monster because I was afraid. But, deity, in that moment, I was only thinking of myself. I hurt a friend who has only shown me kindness and comfort, and I repaid her care with selfishness and fear. I am no warrior, o god, but I pray that you would give me courage should anything this terrible—” and she dearly hoped that anything so dreadful wouldn’t “—face me, or my friends, again. If I could do it over…if I could do it all over, I wish I could have found a way to distract the monster, to let Kahlua escape. Even if I hadn’t been able to save her, I should have gone back. I should have looked for her, made sure she was all right, instead of running without so much as a thought to her safety.” She turned to Kahlua. She had apologized before, but once somehow didn’t seem like enough—nothing did. “Kahlua, I’m so, so sorry for what I’ve done. Can you ever forgive me?” Her voice, already brittle, finally cracked with the weight of her emotion. Ashamed, the Pegasus hung her head, awaiting her response.
Please do not tag Nasreen except for in opening posts and in spars!
