Nothing. That was what I had left anymore. No longer did I have a family. No longer did I have a herd. No longer did I have happiness. No longer…no longer did I have a purpose in this life. What was I supposed to do with myself? Was I supposed to just wander the expanse of the world until the day I died? Or was there some higher purpose to all of the bad that happened to me? If it was the latter, the great mother better hurry it up.

Tears stained my cheeks as I continued my long trek. For weeks now I had been traveling west like mother had told me to. Where it was she wanted me to find, I had no idea but hopefully it would be nice. Not that it would matter all that much just how nice it was. Nothing would be the same without mother and father and brother. Even just thinking about them made my heart ache so much that I would cry even more.

Night began to fall as I entered into a wooded area that was quietly inviting. It was almost as if the woods was silently whispering for me to come take shelter within it. Maybe it was my affinity for forests. Maybe it was something else entirely. Maybe this was the place mother wanted me to find. Whatever it was that made me want to tread the forest floor at night, it was directing me straight into the heart of the forest.

The moon climbed higher in the sky as the hours passed and as it got later, the wearier I grew. Eventually I found myself stopped in a small clearing, staring at the full moon in the sky with heavy eyelids. I shook myself to try to wake myself a bit, but it really didn’t work. It wouldn’t work. Soon I would have to find a safe place to sleep so I began looking.

It wasn’t long until my pale eyes beheld some sort of large leaved bush that was perfect for me. Before another hour could pass I made myself a bed beneath a leaf and laid down to rest. Quickly, slumber took hold of me and entrapped me within its grasp and images of my family and what happened to them flooded the backs of my eyelids. There was nothing but restless sleep since I found my herd murdered. Every time I would try to sleep I would be thrust back into the memories of my past – a past I’d rather forget. I knew with every kick or scream I had a greater chance of being found by somebody, and to be honest I didn’t really care anymore. If I was to die then I could join my family and be rid of this hell. For being awake and remembering everything was hard enough, but to be plagued by footage of the events in your sleep was even worse.

There was no escaping such things. Not now. Not ever.

It was awful. One minute I was running through the forest back at home. In the distance I could hear mother and father and brother calling to me, but no matter how fast I ran their voices only seemed to grow fainter and fainter. Somehow I manage to wind up on top of the cliff that was near the herd and still yet I could hear my family’s pleas for me. I had to get to them.

So I jumped.

I jumped straight off the cliff and outstretched my wings in an attempt to glide over the last bit of brush and soon I found myself crash landing to the ground just past them. A few minutes passed as I recollected myself and then I realized something: nobody was here but me. What exactly was going on? Did everybody leave without me? Did I miss something? The wind picked up and my ears swiveled as I could hear my family once more deeper within the herd land.

“Hey,”

The single word was barely audible and it came from within the woods. Puzzled, I looked around to see if there was somebody out there that I hadn’t noticed. But the voice didn’t call out again so I turned back and made my way towards where my family was.

That was a mistake.

My ice blue eyes grew wide as I stumbled upon a scene that my father used to set for the old days. An unmoving sea of red with viridescent red waves rolling with the coming breeze revealing the bodies of those who had fallen. Breathing become short and panicked as I forced myself to move through what was once my home. Every time I passed a corpse it seemed as though a tear fell too. These were all people that I had loved. People I had lived with. Friends. Family. Young. Old. It seemed that whomever did this didn’t care who they killed.

Then I saw them. Or rather it.

Whomever they were, they appeared as nothing more than a shadow. My eyes squinted as I tried to see what they were hunched over in the distance. What were they doing? Why were they here? Why did they kill everybody? Where were mother and father?

“NO!”

Out of instinct, I bolted towards the thing that was hovering over my mother. As I made my way towards them the mysterious shadow disappeared – going back to wherever it had come from. Tears burned at my eyes as I reached my mother. But I was already too late. She had already passed and not far off in the distance laid my father’s corpse. Sobs racked my little body as I fell to the ground.

“No. No. No. No. No.”

For the longest time I wept over their bodies. Then my ears swiveled backwards as I heard something. Had the shadow come for me too? I didn’t dare look up. I didn’t want to dance. I didn’t have the will to dance anyways. For all I could have cared it could have taken me, but then a voice echoed within the air and seemed to carry me away as the earth shrunk beneath me.

“Are you alright?”

My eyelids snapped open as the words brought me back to the waking world. Quickly my eyes caught hold of the black and white stallion that stood near me. Frightened, I jumped up and backed up into the bush some more as an attempt to hide myself. But once again I was too late. The stallion had already seen me, and what more there seemed to be some darker colored being a little ways off.  I peered at them both with widened, fearful eyes. Just who were these two and why were they here?

Slowly, I took a step out of the bush – all the meanwhile sniffing their scents even though I already knew I didn’t know them. As I unveiled my golden and green body I lowered my head as a sort of cautious move. In fact most if not all of my body language probably screamed of fear, but what else was an orphaned year old girl supposed to do when her mother taught her not to talk to strangers?

@Areli @Mauja
"speech"

When I ran and hid, I didn’t stop to notice that the other filly also seemed to back up and hide. But when both I peeked out from the bush and she stepped forward, I noticed that she wasn’t alone. There was some sort of…furry thing that hung around her hooves. And though my mind didn’t exactly scream danger about this…thing, my instincts were definitely telling me to be cautious about it. Why exactly, I had no idea but I had never seen anything like it before and thus knew nothing about whatever it was.

It’s okay, it’s just us.

Just us? JUST US?! Did this girl not realize who this just us really was? Let’s see, there was her, her furry thing, and a black and white stallion who didn’t seemed phased in the least by anything that was happening. It was almost as if he were a statue or something. Kind of creepy when I think about it. Like he just stood there. Waiting. Watching. Not moving. Yeah definitely creepy sounding.

It’s going to be alright now.

My ears swiveled as the statue decided to come to life and speak…or more so mumble. If I wasn’t already exhausted both physically and emotionally I probably would have rolled my eyes and made some sort of comeback of some sort to his statement. After all, how could anything be alright after losing your home and your family? It couldn’t that was the correct answer and it never would be alright. Nothing would ever…EVER be alright again. At least that’s how I felt right now.

“Vat you vant?” I spat the words out with a slight tremble to my voice. I was trying to sound tough, but that slight tremble - if either of them caught it - would give away the fear that plagued me. It was two…no three to one so I had to remain on my ‘A’ game. No way in hell was I letting them get the best of me right now.


@Areli @Mauja
"speech"

Curious blue eyes watched my company carefully after I spoke. I had no idea as to who or what destroyed my home and stole my family from me and even though I was sure I was far far…far away from there, I didn’t know these people. For all I knew either one of them – or both of them – could have done it. Or taken part in it. If any one of them did I had to be ready to run. I had to be ready to get away. I had to…

Wait.

My head cocked to the side as I took notice of the darker filly’s reaction to my words. She…she hid. She hid behind the stallion. Quickly, my head turned to look away from them as I tried to think and understand what just happened. Did I really come off that tough or fierce? Was I really that intimidating? What exactly did I do to frighten her?

As I kept thinking my focus shifted towards the ground and my “tough” body language seemed to just disappear. Only when the other girl and her furry shadow peeked out from behind the stallion did I avert my gaze from the ground and to them but the other girl didn’t dare to make eye contact. What was wrong with her? What did I do?

I looked to the stallion, but to my bewilderment he seemed to wear a similar expression as the filly, if only for a second before his face turned into something else and his eyes narrowed. My ears turned backwards out of fear as he seemed to get ready to speak. This was it was what I thought. He was going to let me have it. I imagined him yelling at me, coming at me with hurtful words. So I looked back down and waited for whatever was to be thrown at me.

To make sure you’re alright,

What? With eyes wide, my head snapped back up to look at the stallion. Did he really just say what I think he said? I had to be dreaming. Geez, I was so exhausted that I was starting to hear things that I wanted to hear.

To make sure you have somewhere safe to go. To help you.

A cold chill ran through my body as he said the last bit. Now that time I knew I wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating. He was actually saying these things. I looked back at the ground as the expression on my face changed from surprise to somber.

“Oh,” it was all was able to utter as my stomach turned in knots and my mind spun. All they wanted to do was help me and all I had managed to do was attempt to push them away. What…what was wrong with me?

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled out with rolled r’s, “I didn’t mean to – “

Trying to apologize to them both, I looked up to the stallion and then over to the filly. But when I looked at her this time I noticed something different. Something not right. Then I noticed the spots on her and him. They were sick with something! A soft ah escaped me as I took a few stumbling steps backwards. The filly didn’t have them earlier did she? And if she didn’t then she probably got it from the stallion. Whatever it was they could keep it, I didn’t want any sickness.

“Vat is wrong vith you guys?” My voice shook as I asked them about their ailments. But eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I found myself observing and inspecting whatever it was they had, albeit from a decent distance away so not to catch their sickness myself.

“Vat you have anyvays? Vat is it called?”


"speech"

I watched the filly as she stepped out from behind the spotted stallion. It seemed like she took comfort in the stallion’s words and I swear I saw a small smile in the works after my apology. Then she spoke up.

S’okay, I bet we just startled you when we woke you up. My eyes shifted to glance to the side of me. Well. That was one way of explaining why I reacted as so, but even still it wasn’t the full explanation. This girl would never, could never understand what had exactly happened to me. At least, not at this point in time. The stallion though, I wondered if he would. Would he understand why I acted the way I did if I explained everything to him? Or would he also be unable to understand? Perhaps I was just better to keep things to myself for now.

What’s your name? ‘M’Areli and this is Bee. Ears twitched as she spoke. The way she spoke confused me slightly. S’okay? M’Areli? What type of words and/or names were those? Was her name Mareli or was it some sort of terminology in this country that I had yet to comprehend. So. Not to offend her with a mispronunciation I decided to just simply nod and err well nod.

“Oh, um, my name,” I started suddenly almost forgetting to respond back to her due to my worry over whatever it was they were sick with, “My name is Galiel.”

Before I knew it, the filly was yelling at me. It’s called manners she had said angrily. Instantly my ears folded backwards and my eyes narrowed somewhat as she continued insulting me. Her and I didn’t seem to be starting off on a good hoof. But honestly, I only asked for the sake of all. Like what was so wrong about worrying over your own health as well as the health of others? There was no need for her to get all hot and heated about it.

“I know vat manners are and I do to has zem!” I spoke to her in an irritated manner, “I vas just asking because you are zick vith sumzing! Look.”

At the word look, I pointed towards her flank which obviously had the start of some sort of spotted rash. I didn’t however touch her at all, they could keep their sickness and hopefully get better before too long.

My attention quickly turned to the stallion as a rather colorful word escaped his lips. Did he know what this sickness was? Did he know how to treat it? Perhaps maybe he could treat it? All while wondering what exactly he knew and could possibly do however my eyes grew wide with surprise and I looked at the filly. He, he said a bad word in front of us. IN FRONT OF US! What type of place…no, stallion was this?

I think, that Areli has caught the tail end of a magical disease from me. His words hung and danced in the air around me. Magical? Disease? From him.

HE THINKS?

“You zink? Do you not know?” I asked with a cautious but somewhat caring tone. Areli and I, though we may not have started out the greatest were suddenly pinned onto the same side. This stallion was sick with something and he exposed both of us to it. Areli, I guess, just got the short end of the stick. Then my ears caught his next slew of words.

He wanted both of us to go with him to this edge of the world place. And yet, I sure as hell didn’t know who he was. Sure it sounded nice that he knew someone who could cure the disease and that this place was safe. Granted I couldn’t exactly imagine the edge of the world as safe (imagine horses just falling off…yeah nope). His eyes fell upon me as he continued to speak. Though this time he was saying he could tell me more of where I was and then I could decide where I wanted to go afterwards. Silently, I let my ice blue eyes look towards Areli and I tried to calculate some sort of response to this stallion.

“Vait,” I blurted out to the stallion, “Muzzer alvays told me not to speak vith strangers and never to go vith zem eizer,” I looked once more to Areli and then back to the stallion again, “But I vill go if she goes to zis edge of ze vorld place.”

Talking about mother saddened me, but I had to get somewhere safe be it with the stallion or Areli. Whomever or wherever that would be first, hopefully they had a place where I could continue sleeping. A yawn escaped me as I thought about that but quickly shook my head in retaliation. No sleeping until I was somewhere else!



"speech"