He thought he knew every part of Helovia after so much time spent roaming its forests. He'd thought the land was as familiar to him as his own body, home and safe even in all its unpredictability.
Apparently he had been mistaken.
He had never seen this forest before. Well, the towering shoots of bamboo that whispered in the wind were familiar, but they ought not have been there, nestled snugly within the magical borders. These winding paths, the hidden pools and trickling streams that murmured through fallen leaves felt foreign, and the stallion had goosebumps of premonition as he made his way in the direction of confused voices. Something was wrong, something was about to happen... and the dragon agreed, her scales rising and falling like bowing reeds where she huddled over his whithers. He could feel the growl in her throat rather than hear it, a vibration transmitted from taloned paws onto his skin. It made him just as tense as she was, and he moved with caution into the fray, nodding to those he knew - or thought he knew - and ignoring those he disliked until he finally stopped before his matron God.
"My Lady" he murmured, inclining the cob-webbed head in a respectful bow. May it be that she had committed acts of treachery and murder since last he looked upon her, and may it be that most present were hostile to her presence. Lace had no quarrels with the Moon, because he didn't know that he too had lost friends to her schemes; and either way, right now all that seemed very distant.
"If I can be of assistance, I am at your beck and call."
It was, most likely, pointless to ask what was going on. Likely he would get no answer, or too much truth to stomach. Lace preferred not to ask, well aware that there were things in this world he didn't wish to know about.
|