the Rift


[OPEN] Bearer of bad news

Erthë Posts: 440
Outcast atk: 5.5 | def: 8.5 | dam: 5.5
Filly :: Hybrid :: 14,2 hh :: 3 years HP: 64.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Chan
#1

For the longest time she put off the long journey to the red southern island, procrastinating the inevitable until the changing seasons forced her into action. It was neither the journey nor the destination that put her off her food, but rather the reason for the visit in the first place. The people who would be there to receive her, and those who would not be.

Mostly the last, actually.

When winter still reigned she could pretend it had never happened. The battle in the snow, the nightmarish scenario of a friend, a parental figure, a loved one being dragged away, forced to leave and not come back - while the clouds reigned and the days remained short and dark she could convince herself that it had all been a nightmare, a terrible dream she could wake up from. She could blame her helplessness on the weather, on the season, hide her guilt and sorrow and shame in the deep darkness of the night and pretend all was well with the world.

But it was not. Badger was gone, and with the melting snow this fact, like so many other hidden things, steadily returned to existence. Unable to hide the truth when the bright spring sunlight illuminated each shameful detail and highlighted the part where Erthë had been there yet done nothing to prevent it, she swallowed childish feelings like pride and cowardice and set out on the long trek to the sea.

She had made the journey across the straight before, but never had she been so reluctant to face the long flight to the off-shore herd land as she was this time. Teetering on the edge of a cliff with the porcelain cloves clinging tight to the red rock she felt the force of the wind like a battering ram as she measured the distance with watering eyes. Ashen locks whipped and thrashed around the face, pushed back from neck and cheeks one minute only to abruptly blast forward again, obscuring her vision in a cloud of silk. It was fine by her, really. She did not want to see, did not want to know that she would make it with plenty of energy to spare. Erthë did not want to go at all, because the Throat without Badger was sure to be a desolate, barren place, harsh and ugly and nothing at all the way she remembered it. It didn't even help to know that she had other acquaintances there, people who knew her and recognized her face; instead the thought of their reactions when she told them about what happened filled her with cold, dreadful premonition. They would hate her, wouldn't they. Maren, Ghost and the others... they would blame her for failing to protect their fellow, their healer, their family. They would blame her like she blamed herself, another soul lost on her account - there was no denying it.

Besides. It didn't really matter how much she liked any of them; they were not Badger. A hundred smiling faces could never make up for that one, who had been with her from the day she was born.

Another horse might have run from the heavy duty of informing the herd of these grim tidings. Erthë could have too, it was just that the thought of doing so, of turning her back and leaving the matter to sort itself out never occurred to her. For good or for bad she had to act - that was how she was, how she had always been. It was impossible for her to leave something to fate when she had a chance of making a difference - and in this case, informing the Throat might mean a way to retrieve her kin might appear. To Erthë that chance, however slim, was all she needed to set aside her own discomfort. To her, it was all encouragement she could ever ask for.

With a final, heavy sigh the young filly spread her wings and leaned into the wind, allowed it to sweep her off her feet and carry her off, away from the mainland and out onto open sea. The flight across the violent waters was not pleasant, the wind was strong and the waves rough - but she persisted, and had strength enough to keep on her wings even as graphite-gray waves were replaced by ochrea-red dunes.  Without penetrating deeper than necessary into the territory she circled the sky, making herself a target, a beacon for anyone to see. It would be difficult not to notice her presence; like a cloak or maybe a toddlers comforting blanket she swept midnight around herself where she passed, let darkness veil her passing and replaced the sun with velvet skies and the cold, pale light of distant stars. The moon was absent in this magical night of hers - whether because this was not Her season, or because they had entered the realm of the Sun Erthë did not know - but she missed the gentle brightness none the less.

It is always easier to be strong when you know someone to be watching. This time, for better or for worse, Erthë was on her own.


_________________________________________

Waiting for the rain I'm bracing for the thunder
A twig that wouldn't sway in the wind


Open, for anyone who wants to meet Erthë or talk about Badger being gone! :D

~| Use of magic and violence is always permitted |~
~| Please only tag in opening posts |~

Caneo Posts: 133
Hidden Account atk: 7.5 | def: 10.5 | dam: 2.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.3h :: 6 years HP: 61 | Buff: NOVICE
Ophiria :: Dragon Snake :: None kae
#2



        A shooting star - or something else cold.

        Two pairs of eyes trace the streak of white across a darkening sky. For Caneo, there's no recognition. He doesn't know yet, but her burden is meant for other shoulders, dearer minds, than his. For the beast crowning his narrow head, black eyes alight with wonder, just the watching is enough: to gaze up and feel the prickling of this larger creature's mind against her own. She catches him against a loop of his own devising: wonder sparked by wonder, hunger complementing an eternity of questions. Whether they spiral out of themselves or deeper in, Caneo doesn't know. He maybe fears it all, sometimes.

        Now, fear isn't on his mind. Thoughts brim full of questions instead like a thousand insistent wings, and slowly his hooves answer the call of the mind: go. He serves only himself in following; no thought of the herd's comfort, their safety, drags the smooth pendulum arc of each leg. To think he might protect is laughable; he goes to learn. Maybe that's his place here, anyway. If anyone still knows of him.

        The desert is vast, after all.

        It feels a child's playpen compared to home, of course, and easily the blue-eyed creature tracks his wayward star, following until the arc of her movement turns to circling, like some angelic vulture. He treks to the heart of the arc and stares upward. And stares, and stares. The thought, speak flicks through his mind and runs, abandoned. (he cannot) He waits instead, his gaze unwavering. The slow crawl of his tail across his hocks betrays the restless churning of his mind, the hundred questions tapping at the inside of his skull.

        She will come down.

        If birds must sleep, if stars must fall, if even the moon closes her unblinking eye... Caneo leans up on his hind hooves once, breathless, a dancer twisted thin against the empty sky, before he falls to all fours once again and the snake upon his brow begins to writhe, her coils slipping through the smooth curl of his horn, around the curved shell of an ear. And she is hungry, hungry once again. She does not understand yet how terrible a part of him this is - how permanent.

        She wants the star between her little teeth.

sxc.hu


ooc| uh? crashing here with yet another weird post, hoped he could interact with some other Throaters if they show up, too

* violence & magic use always permitted *
Do not tag Caneo unless you are starting a new thread you would like me to see! Thank you!


Ru Posts: 130
World's Edge Captain atk: 7.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 16.1h :: 3 [Tallsun] HP: 60.5 | Buff: Novice
Mar
#3




For the latter half of winter, her soul was beginning to grow heavy and restless. Somehow the grandeur of a herd had worn all its pretty details, from the simplistic hopes of joining a new family, of intertwining with new friends, of… reaching out to find a haven of comfort. Perhaps the Throat’s security was the only comfort to Ru, perhaps it was better than none, but inevitably it made the winter longer with its short and brief days. The nights no longer full with the promise of stars, pending the coarse winds and the churning sea that seemed to reflect her unease. Wrought with storms and the cantankerous, bitter freeze beyond the dunes.

She was to urge herself onwards, believing that it was silly of her to have faith in the strangers about her. They had owed her nothing. And like the travelers she had met upon her journey towards Helovia, they cared little for the meanderings of a silly girl. It was hard without the comforting words of an elder, or the gentle guidance of a mentor. There was structure to this herd, ranks and pursuits of rank for which Ru held very little knowledge of. And thus, lacked the motivation of desiring one or the other. If she were curious, perhaps there would have been the will to seek out those in their respective positions; the task however, remained impossible for the time being.

The youth walked soundly upon the Throat, trailing a path along the shores –as she made habit of recently. Though, a new development was beginning its course; both irritating and aberrant, to the degree of consuming the girl with a startling shyness. It started with an itch, a relentless and most foul itch; it tormented her until she could bear it no longer. She sought the palm trees, and rubbed the back of her neck with all her heart’s content along their bark – until the itching eased, and the skin throbbed instead. In the short course of a day or two, she’d shed all of her mane and the fluff of her forelock. The short, bob of a tail at her rear end wasn’t even spared the embarrassing changes. She waddled down the coast with her wings slightly spread out near her head, annoyed and reluctant to face any or all that might witness the balding features.

Though it was hard to hold its position for so long, and she was forced to fold her wings back for a rest. Ru’s coral eyes scanned the terrain with a hard glare; expecting to meet the curl of a grin, or the prying curiosity of a stranger. Surprisingly, she was caught by the trail of night splashed across the sky. For a moment she forgot of her ugliness, and paused with a budding air of wonder as she gazed on. She barely recognized the source of ethereal night, hanging in the sky, stark and endlessly shimmering from its portal – universes away, tapering in the sunlight. The youth let out a soft puff of air, as her eyes finally locked upon the nearly porcelain creature hovering – now – in circles. Swallowing her pride, she began moving in its direction. A chill reminding her, crooning and cajoling with the pinch of her appearance.

When she arrived she stopped short of the epicenter. Hoping that she was not noticed, she clung to whatever cover was afforded; the sparse, spindly limbs of some bushes, a few rocks – though hardly large enough to completely block the girl. It was as if she’d stepped upon some sacred dance, nearly interrupted the greetings of two long lost lovers. Capturing the stallion ahead, as he lifted himself into the air – gleaming upon the stage, elegant and poised. The sheen of his silver coat, stark against the sun-kissed sands provoked her curiosity. Her grunt ushered forth, a coarse, misshapen voice as her gaze eventually rested on the spiraling stranger. Seemingly just as elegant, otherworldly in the breadth of her stars, the showering of comets blinking above.

Perhaps she would stay only a little longer, investigate a little further – for the sake of resisting the urge to flee. To twist from their discourse, finding refuge in the edges of the sand, and the roar of the sea.


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