They were brats, naive and reckless and so incredibly stupid in their wanton bravery that Cathun didn't even have the heart to snap back at them. Instead he simply followed, cursing under his breath as he descended into the forest, silently quivering in unease as dusk settled around him, tinted in red and altogether horrible.

He hated the thought that his newfound friends would think of him as a coward. The truth however was that he didn't even want to be brave in situations like these. What was there to gain by throwing yourself into the jaws of danger, what could one possibly achieve by meddling with things that went far beyond your own levels of power or understanding? War was one thing, but this kind of situation where strong magic was at play was a completely different matter.

He loathed himself more and more for every step he took, he knew he would end up paying for it sooner or later, and no sooner had he appeared at the edge of the clearing than he felt his predictions had come true.

Aliens. There was only one word for it; he had no other way to explain the vividly colored, misshapen and peculiar creatures that crowded around each other. The air was full of confusion, suspicion and wariness, and at the center of it stood a creature that reeked of so much power that Cathun blanched, nausea mixing with anger, hatred and fear.

A god. It had to be. That, or something very similar.

Well, that settled it. He wasn't sticking around to see what would happen from now on - if this was some kind of cult getting ready to worship he was out of here.

He had already turned to leave when a familiar face flashed across his consciousness from amidst the crowd. Ranjiri? Wishing to disbelieve but unable to disregard his own eyes the young stallion pushed his way over to her, agitation only barely suppressed behind a mask of worry.

"Hey, we should get out of here!" he urged, for the second time that day. "I don't know what's going on, but this is not a good place to be."

His amulet was humming worse than ever, the enchantment fluctuating under the force of the god's presence - or was it the whole place? It didn't matter, he didn't care, all Cathun knew was that he couldn't afford to linger much longer.

"I'm getting out of here, I'll..." he scrambled for the fist thing he could think of, desperate for any excuse that wouldn't label him as a sissy or coward, "go alert the Throat of what's going on. You should too!"

And he hurried off, hardly staying so long that a reply would reach his ears. He didn't want her to dissuade him or fill his brain with any heroic thoughts of self-sacrifice or heroism. That wasn't for him - he had little enough time as it was anyway without playing savior of a world he didn't give a shit about.


@Ranjiri