the Rift


[PRIVATE] But I have promises to keep [quest]

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
My thoughts are the cold kind,
I've got storm clouds brewing behind my eyes

"I can teach you about herbs sometime" she had said a few days earlier, as she came knocking at the Basin in search of the young filly. "It'll be fun, I promise". But the more Erthë thought about what she was about to do, the less 'fun' she thought it was. What in the high heavens brought the Lady Moon to give her such a horrible task? To 'get lost with a friend', it seemed like such an innocent and easy thing to do but in the end, didn't it turn Erthë into a villain, a really really poor friend indeed? She was bringing this already troubled girl on a trip that might cause her both worry and fright as it was, and then she'd try to make sure that they got lost?  

If Bathsheba ever forgave her for this it would be a miracle indeed.

Despite her internal worries however, despite her tender left side where soft pink skin peaked out through gashes in the sleek white coat (the horrible wounds had healed quickly thanks to the efforts of Tilney and Ultima, but no magic in the world would make the hair grow quicker) and her fear of running into the molester that had disfigured her so, Erthë couldn't help but look forward to the day - or days, if things went 'well' - she would spend with Bathsheba. Their relation might be rocky and peculiar, and the girl might not be the most companionably sort out there, but neither was she. Having company on her wild adventures was new and different, and perhaps that in the end was all the Lady was intending.

"So, how do you feel these days?" Erthë asked as she ducked in beneath the evergreens that marked the beginning of the Deep Forest, the dazzling blue of the late-autumn sky and its pale, golden light left behind along with the Thistle Meadow, replaced instead by the faded green gloom beneath the dense canopy.

"I'm sorry about the whole mess at the Throat... I really didn't mean to leave you behind, I hope you know that."

She glanced back over her shoulder with a small smile, at least partly to make sure that the younger girl was keeping up alright. Despite her crooked joint and mauled leg and the constant pain that caused her to limp, Erthë was able to get around rather quickly in dense woodlands such as these. This forest, well any forest really but this one in particular, was as much home to her as the Edge; her mother had brought her here on several occasions when she was a foal, and though it had been some time since last time Erthë believed herself able to navigate quite well.

But this time, she wasn't supposed to do that. She was supposed to lead them astray, lose her own bearings and (she assumed this was the main point) work together with Sheba to find her way out again. That was well and good... but first of all they had to get lost, which was a chore in and of itself. "The deepest part of the Deep Forest", the Moon had said. Hence, Erthë directed them towards the center of the forest and lead on, stomach roiling with unease about what she was doing.




Erthë
And my heart will be blacker than your eyes
when I'm through with you
image | coding


@Bathsheba @Virga @Katua

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Lyanna the Windswept Posts: 313
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 11 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2 :: 5 years HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Kyra
#2

i am a leaf on the wind

She always came back here. Now and again, anyway. She’d slip out of the Edge and fly over the now familiar terrain, teal eyes on the lookout for the Forest she’s come to love so much. It’s something altogether different from the trees of the Edge. It is dark and deep and beautiful. Perhaps it should be dark and deep and frightening.  The deep forest is a place to get lost, it is a place to get hurt.

But instead, she thinks of Apollo when she comes here, and she can see only beauty. Truthfully, she thinks of him in many places, and she comes here not to think of him but to look for him. Not that she’s seen that black form and blue horn in so long. Not that she thinks she is likely to ever see it again. But she still wears the ruby her gave her, plucked from the pool in the Forest that he’d shown her, around her neck. She still visits that pool like she mind find him or Zola.

Today though, it is not Apollo she finds. She’s not surprised it’s not him, but she is somewhat surprised it is anyone. Let alone someone she knows. Voices drift on the cold winter wind toward her, and the sound is familiar. Soon enough, white fur peaks through the trees, flickering as she passed behind some trees. Lyanna let out a pleasant call, not wanting to startle Erthe and her companion, before making her way through the trees that still separated.

“Erthe,” she says warmly, before turning her attention to the other girl and offering a nod. “I’m Lyanna,” she offers to the girl.  She hadn’t caught the words they’d already exchanged, and isn’t sure they really want her tagging along, though now that’s found them it seems strange to simply up and leave. Though her eyes catch sight of the gashes on Erthe’s side, and her thoughts of being an awkward tagalong disappear.

She can’t help but cock her head slightly, a silent “are you okay?” in her gaze. Though she does not ask it aloud, not wanting to pry either. Instead, she says, “Enjoying a stroll through the trees on this blustery day?”

watch how i soar.

lyanna


Please tag in all posts
Magic use/power playing is okay, but check before serious injury/death
Image by Kiki

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
#3
My thoughts are the cold kind,
I've got storm clouds brewing behind my eyes


Surprise colored her widening grin as she spotted the white-rimmed moon doctor, and there was no mistaking the honest delight in her voice as she laughed and practically skipped over to the older mare.

"Lyanna! Yes we are, I offered to teach Bathsheba here about herbs, but perhaps you'd be a better teacher. If you want to come along? I hope you're not busy."

Erthë threw a quick glance back to see if the painted filly was still there with her, but then her attention focused on Lyanna. It was rare to come across a friend like this on her travels. Usually the horses of the Edge seemed to stay at the Edge, and her forays into the wild were usually punctuated by the presence of passing acquaintances, people she knew and liked well enough but weren't exactly what you'd call friends. Actually, if she thought of it that way then the young hybrid really had more acquaintances than friends...

But never mind. She had one there now, right before her eyes. And the day was made all the more beautiful for it, the shadows less dark and the prospect of losing herself in the forest a mere child's game.

"I had an uncle who taught me some of the basics when I was a foal" she said, as she tried to lead the way further into the forest, "but it was a long time ago and I can't say I remember everything he said. Maybe you can refresh my memory?"

Tucking her wings in tight the young mare ducked under a low hanging branch, having no trouble talking and navigating the dense forest at the same time. Though the endless sky was her favorite place in this world, woodlands was a close second; the darker and mistier the better.

Erthë
And my heart will be blacker than your eyes
when I'm through with you
image | coding


@Lyanna I think we can keep going without Sheba, dunno if she's going to reply. :3

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Lyanna the Windswept Posts: 313
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 11 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2 :: 5 years HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Kyra
#4

i am a leaf on the wind

Erthe’s greeting is heartening. Warm, honest delight fills the girls voice and for a moment, Lyanna almost completely forgets that in some ways, she is still a stranger to this place. Though that changes every day, a fluid fact that becomes farther from the truth as time marches on. Still, she’s only been here little more than year. There are so many families here, so many friendships, so many established horses that she almost always feel a bit like a fish out of water. She finds it strange when Erthe, who’s lived her whole life here (short, though still longer than Lyanna’s time here) defers to her.

Erthe, to her credit, doesn’t seem to see it this way. Or if she does, she doesn’t show it. Instead, she makes Lyanna feel like she simply belongs, that she is not just an outsider but a part of the Edge and this world they live in. Like she might actually, truly, get a second chance a normal life. Well, as normal as Helovia ever could be.

The topic of herbs comes up, and Lyanna smiles. She doesn’t know them all, certainly, but she’s familiar with the Deep Forest and can lead them on a hunt for enough. “Wish I brought a few jars. I could have put you to work,” she says with a playful gleam in her teal eyes. Though really, she does wish she had some jars. Ah well. She’d have to work on hooking one to a necklace somehow so she had a spare for emergencies.

“I bet you remember more than you think. So if I’m repeating things you know, tell me, and we’ll try something else. The easiest is pine though. Needles and bark, though you can soak them in water and drink, rather than trying to eat pine needles and bark if you want. But pine is a good preventative herb. It helps keep us from getting sick, improves vision and skin.” She pauses, feeling like she’s rattling on and on. Ha. This must have been how her tutors felt.

Erthe is diving deeper into the forest, but Lyanna follows easily, having spent so much of her life in a forest. Little does she know that her friend loves the sky and the woods just as much as she does. There’s nothing like flying, but a deep, dark wood is a beautiful place as well. Between her love of the forest and her now herb-filled brain, she doesn’t notice where Erthe leads. She simply follows, eyes looking about for anything not buried by the snow. “Wild olive, if we can find any not killed by the snow, has similar properties but is much easier to eat. The leaves are thin, waxy little green things that clump together. Though I’d be surprised if any was still around right now.”

watch how i soar.

lyanna


Please tag in all posts
Magic use/power playing is okay, but check before serious injury/death
Image by Kiki

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
#5
E r t h Ë

Under the moonlight, under your moonlit gaze
I know I'd take a million bullets, babe


Losing the trail was easy. All she had to do was drown herself in the conversation and the pleasant feeling of Lyanna's presence. Occupying her mind with talk of herbs and straining to remember lessons from long ago even kept her guilt at bay, that ugly green-headed monster that clawed at her innards for daring to trick her friend like this. The kind, caring part of her wanted to just stop and come clean right away, give the Healer a chance to back out and go home before it was too late...

But a darker, less generous part of her kept whispering that it would all be fine as long as she didn't let Lyanna know that she was doing this on purpose. They were only going to get a bit lost, it wasn't like she was throwing them into a bears den or driving them off a cliff... What could happen, besides roaming around a while before finally finding the way again. They both had wings, all they needed was a clearing, a break in the dense canopy, an incline to jump from... and they would be off, free, back home in a jiffy.

Erthë had never lost her way in the sky, it would be easy to guide them back once they could see the stars again.

"I wonder if that tree has any properties" she said, nodding at the black memorial tree that leaned out over a ruby-lined pool she had once swam in on a lazy summer afternoon. Pausing in her step to dip her lips in the red water, Erthë reached for the smooth surface but found it blocked from her reach, cut off by a sheet of ice so clear she could see the bottom.

"Ooh, it's frozen..."

Sighing, she settled for licking up some snow instead, the cold mass crunchy and pleasantly cold against her tongue; it never thawed in her mouth, and as she swallowed the girl wondered absently how she ever got any sustenance from the things she ate; did the ice of her being affect her stomach too? Would she be able to put out a fire by swallowing it, smothering it's radiant heat with her very essence?

It was an amusing thought.

"Come on, let's go deeper; maybe there won't be as much snow further in where the trees stand closer together." Grinning impishly at Lyanna the young mare tripped off through the trees, the playful wave of her tail daring the teal-rimmed companion to overtake her. It was a game of don't-touch-the-trees and tag, a hide-and-seek and I-spy; and the guilt kept gnawing as the darkness deepened around them, and Erthë kept ignoring it as she reveled in the fun, like a child hidden in a candy store after closing time.

She knew she shouldn't enjoy this. But damn, how could she even resist?

Credit


@Lyanna

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Lyanna the Windswept Posts: 313
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 11 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2 :: 5 years HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Kyra
#6
so i listen to the    wind for an answer
What would she think, if she knew what Erthe’s purpose was today? That all this was, in fact, purposeful? Would she care? Perhaps, though perhaps not. She would be more sad, probably, to find that Erthe didn’t trust her enough to simply help, even if that did mean getting lost. But her friend needed her, and so she would go willingly. Which perhaps is naïve in a different sort of way, the constant need to help. Had she been like that in Morham? No, she hadn’t been. But she’d never really had to seek the approval of anyone in the way she does here.

In Morham, everyone sought her approval. In Morham, she had no real friends but more acquaintances than she could ever count. In Helovia, no one sought her approval. In Helovia, she had horses that actually cared for her. She had shoulders to cry on, should she need it. She had listening, understanding ears. She had horses she could roam the Deep Forest with with more joy in her heart than she had felt in a long time. In Morham, she’d wandered the forest alone. On occasion, with her brother. But her brother was gone.

Lyanna knows exactly where they are now. The pool is all too familiar to her, and her heart skips a beat briefly, as if he might be here. Not her brother, of course, but Apollo, with Zola lounging on his back. The ruby he’d given her from this very pool still hangs around her neck. Not that she really expects him to be here, but oh, how she wishes anyway. Instead of searching the dark landscape for that familiar blue horn, she focuses on the tree and Erthe’s words. “That’s a good question. I honestly don’t know, though I’ll try to remember to ask Alysanne next time I see her, or the other Moon Doctors. Perhaps they know.”

The pool is frozen now though – there’s no diving for rubies or drinking. Lyanna laughs lightly as Erthe discovers the frozen pool the hard way, though luckily, her tongue doesn’t stick to the ice. Lyanna was too preoccupied with thoughts of Apollo she’d never even thought about the pool being frozen. “It is rather pretty though, even frozen.” Which it is, but perhaps more so to her.

Erthe dares her to go farther, and Lyanna follows the flick of that tail without a second thought. The darkness envelops Erthe’s white form quickly though, and Lyanna slips into the trees behind her, relying more on sound than sight at this point. She forgets just how dark this forest becomes in here, though she’s too amused by this game of hide-and-seek to think much of it.

Instead, she slips around some trees to cut Erthe off. Well, to cut off the direction she thinks Erthe is headed, though she could be entirely wrong. A few flashes of white here and there (more like a flicker of light in the gloom than actual white though) make her think she’s probably on the right track. Hoping that her mostly black coat would hide her well enough (and that the teal and white wouldn’t just give her away), she springs from behind a tree, yelling ”Gotcha,” with a giggle, even though Erthe may not be there. But hopefully she’s got it right. Otherwise, she just yelled at a tree with lightly colored bark or a horse she didn’t mean to startle.

But it’s too much to fun to resist. Even if she did just end up yelling at a tree.

lyanna

art by yewrezz


@Erthe

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Magic use/power playing is okay, but check before serious injury/death
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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
#7
E r t h Ë

Under the moonlight, under your moonlit gaze
I know I'd take a million bullets, babe


It was beautiful, all of it. The trees, the snow, the flash of teal and white as Lyanna wove in and out of the trees, gradually closing in on her. When the black mare successfully cut off her path Erthë squealed in mock terror and darted to the right, laughing as she tried to put heavy trunks between herself and her friend.

"Haha no way! Catch me if you can!"

It was a game she had often played but rarely with another; on her long, lonely travels it was her shadow she had chased, or the wild deer or forest birds. Sometimes the game grew more serious when wolves or wild cats joined in, turning the chase into something altogether more sinister.

This, however, was by far the most fun she'd had in a long time. In the heat of the moment the girl forgot about her cunning objectives, forgot about quests and gods and winding trails, and for a while she reversed back into the happy, fearless foal she had been once. If her legs hurt Erthë didn't feel it; she was too busy laughing and playing to think about her limp, engrossed in the wonderful revelry that was friendship.

She only snapped out of the happy bubble when a root caught her hoof and made her trip. Staggering a little she looked up, the dazzling smile faltering as she looked around; it had suddenly gotten darker, and all around her the trees were closing in.

"Oww haha, didn't see that one... It sure has gotten dark in here. I wonder what time of day it is... can you tell?"

Glancing first at Lyanna, Erthë then turned her eyes upward and followed the arcing branches with her eyes, only now noticing just how dense they were. What little light that penetrated down to the ground was gray and indistinct, the sky blocked out so that she couldn't even make out if there were clouds or not. If darkness was falling soon... But that couldn't be, they had not been in here for that long.

Had they?

Credit


@Lyanna

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Lyanna the Windswept Posts: 313
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 11 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2 :: 5 years HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Kyra
#8
so i listen to the    wind for an answer
This was not a game Lyanna had ever played. Yes, she’d had siblings, but Corbin had been too busy being perfect prince charming and learning to rule to play games. His version of a game was a spar. And Adelene didn’t get dirty. Gods forbid she run around in the trees. So Lyanna had wandered alone, playing tag with the squirrels that always won, or racing the birds and pushing herself to be stronger, faster. That game had perhaps paid off. She was a confident flyer, if nothing else. She was not the fastest on the ground, she was certainly not the strongest, and she was only vaguely capable as a fighter. But she fly. She could dive off the cliff in nearly unsafe winds without fear, she could dive and twirl, and she could teach others.

Erthe yells back at her, taunting her more, and Lyanna keeps chasing, trying to figure out where the girl is going and cut her off somewhere. It’s almost impossibly dark, but Lyanna’s hardly paying attention to this (and oh, how she should be), instead wrapped up in the game they are playing. Wrapped up, really, in playing a game. Of feeling like she has friends here, of knowing with a growing certainty that life wasn’t over for her. It was just beginning.

Erthe’s cry of ow finally snaps Lyanna out of her childlike fun. Instantly, she follows the sound to find the girl, ready to heal whatever injury the other might have. Though when she gets there, Erthe looks relatively okay if not a little dazzed. But she doesn’t see blood or anything broken, so instead settles for, “Are you okay?” At least, if they were going to play tag in the dark with rather dense underbrush, they decided to do so with healing magic readily available.

Though the next question snaps Lyanna completely back to reality. From child, to Doctor, to simply Lyanna. And it is dark. Has she ever come this far in the forest before? She thought she knew it all, but nothing had ever been so dark on her travels before. Perhaps night has fallen, though if so, it seems to be a starless night. It’s hard to tell if the night is simply cloudy (the sky full to bursting with snow clouds) or if they were staring at nothing but trees. “I’m not sure. It’s so dark I’d say night, but it’s hard to tell…”

She pauses, taking a few steps this way and that, wondering if she can catch sight of the sky. But all she can find is darkness, a few branches and leaves breaking up the nearly tangible black. “Do you know where we are?” she finally asks, because she cannot figure out just where they are. There’s no sky to orient herself with. Just leaves and darkness and an worthless little trickle of gray light.

lyanna

art by yewrezz


@Erthe

Please tag in all posts
Magic use/power playing is okay, but check before serious injury/death
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smitty the swift Posts: 22
Administrator
Mare :: Other :: 1 :: 1
#9
Unarchived per request.

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
#10
E r t h Ë

Under the moonlight, under your moonlit gaze
I know I'd take a million bullets, babe


She nodded, then thought it must be hard to see in the gloom despite her nearly glowing white coat. "Yes, I'm fine" she said. Testing her leg she bent and stretched it, gingerly placed weight on it, and when she found that it still carried, if barely, Erthë inched closer to Lyanna, more worried than she wanted to let on.

"Yes, well... Not entirely..." Truth be told, this was a part of the forest she had never visited before. Turned around by the dense trees that would allow no spreading of wings or swift movements, she had always turned back before coming this far in. Now, with darkness pressing close and muffling all her senses, the young filly thought that she indeed had been wise to do so, because there was nothing pleasant at all about this place.

Still. Since it was her fault that they were here in the first place, she tried to keep up a good show of confidence, for Lyanna's sake if nothing else.

"It'll be fine, we should just retrace our steps. Can't be too hard, can it, just go back the same way we came..."

Turning her neck, she glanced back over the black mare's dock to study the ground behind them, the glowing acorn on her tail helping to spread a red-tinted light over the surroundings. Surely there would be tracks in the moss, traces of their romping onslaught if they only knew where to look... But all Erthë saw was a thick bed of pine needles, brown and even and barely touched by the snow. This early in the season the winds would not yet have penetrated down through the dense canopy, and any help the snow could have given them was denied.

Uh oh was the only thing that came to mind, and as she slowly returned her eyes to Lyanna a sudden lurch of unease turned her stomach over. Boy, were they in trouble now!

Credit


@Lyanna hope you don't mind continuing on this, I'd love to actually finish it somehow :3

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~| Please only tag in opening posts |~

Lyanna the Windswept Posts: 313
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 11 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2 :: 5 years HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Kyra
#11
so i listen to the    wind for an answer
Lyanna is rarely scared. And perhaps scared is not the right word. She has faith they will make it out of here in one piece. That much does not worry her. It’s more a matter of when they are going to make it out of here. At least if they have to be lost, they are lost in a place with both food and water. Lyanna can heal any reasonable injury they have. Their lives are not in danger.

But still, they are lost. Neither can see the sky, let alone fly through the dense trees. Erthe moves a bit closer to Lyanna, the tri-colored mare flicking her ears toward the girl as she speaks. She can’t help but laugh a little, not at Erthe, but simply at the predicament they’d found themselves in. “I’m not sure I could tell you which way we came from.”

She looks around, but in the darkness, it all looks the same. Gnarled roots lying in wait to snag their hooves, low angry branches reaching out to rake against skin. But no. She’s never seen a forest like that before, and she wasn’t about to start now. Even if it was dark, even if they were lost. The forest has always been her sanctuary. Her forest, long ago in Morham. The Threshold, where she was given a second chance at life. The Deep Forest, where she’d first met Apollo. Where only moments ago her and Erthe were having a blast.

“This forest is not endless though. We just have to pick a direction and go. Hopefully we’ll start to see enough of the sky we can be sure we keep going in the same direction.” That would be the key, finding a place where they could see the sky, so they didn’t just end up going in circles. “How about that way?” She nods in a direction she thinks they might have come from, though largely, it’s just a guess.

lyanna

art by yewrezz


@Erthe

Please tag in all posts
Magic use/power playing is okay, but check before serious injury/death
Image by Kiki

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
#12
E r t h Ë

Under the moonlight, under your moonlit gaze
I know I'd take a million bullets, babe


"It's as good a direction as any" Erthë agreed, nodding her head; though to be honest, she was not half as positive about the outcome of wandering randomly as Lyanna seemed to be. Did either of them truly know how far this forest reached? For all they knew they could rove around for the rest of the winter, or stray from the enchanted borders of Helovia without realizing it and end up Gods knew where. Not to mention all the potential dangers besides the unease of not knowing which direction to go; there were plenty of predators in this forest. Bears - no, they probably slept already - but wolves, big cats and probably no small amount of monsters paraded before her inner vision, and Erthë couldn't suppress a shudder from breaking over her skin.

Still, she had no better suggestions, so she set of in the direction Lyanna suggested, preferring to lead the way as she carried the only light-source they possessed.

It was not easy going. Before long, as she attempted to walk in a straight line without straying this way or that, Erthë found herself drenched in perspiration, her breath strained as she struggled up an endless incline.

"Did - did you remember there being any hills around the forest?" she asked, pausing to catch her breath in that she glanced over the shoulder at her friend. Looming out of the darkness, the black mare seemed no more than a shadow to her in the dim light of the Earth God's charm, the whites of her features a ghostly gleam that looked oddly disconnected from the rest of the body.

"Ma-maybe we should have marked the trees as we went... "

Feeling stupid that she hadn't thought of that before, the young acolyte looked around in search for something sharp to score the bark with, as she was reluctant to use her magic unless absolutely necessary. Just as she reached down for a rock however, a piercing scream rang through the air and she stiffened, eyes wide with surprise.

"What was that!?"

Credit


@Lyanna you get to decide what the source of the scream is ;D

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~| Please only tag in opening posts |~

Lyanna the Windswept Posts: 313
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 11 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2 :: 5 years HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Kyra
#13
so i listen to the    wind for an answer
She’s really not all that confident in her plan either, but she’s trying to pretend that she is. It was a trick she learned, to pretend to be something you wanted to be. It helped you believe it, and believing was half the battle to making something come true. They would get out of this, alive and well and whole. Bears and wolves and predators lingered in the corner of her mind, but she kept telling herself it would be fine. Though she kept checking the horn that hung around her neck, making sure she could easily reach it should they need a shield. Lyanna had no magic to help them, but she could at least create a small shield to give Erthe time to run.

Though for now, Erthe leads the way. Lyanna sticks close to her, though lets her lead because really, Lyanna has no light to offer. And she’s far more likely to disappear in the darkness than Erthe is. The white girl is like a beacon, hard to lose even in the gloom. Erthe pauses, and it’s too dark for Lyanna to see the sweat that drenches the girl, though she can hear the white mare trying to catch her breath. Lyanna too is exhausted, sweat slicking her black coat, this incline more than she would have expected.

“Hang on, let me help a bit,” she says, tugging on the Moon’s healing magic. The wind picks up around them and though it’s too dark to see the black mists roll in, she can feel them as they slip around her and Erthe (though Lyanna is ready to pull the magic away should the girl decline the offer). The magic works to help her tired muscles, cool her overheating body. It wasn’t a huge help, but it would certainly give her some more energy.

As the mists begin to recede, she adds, “No, I don’t remember hills,” trying to think where they might be. She’s too focused on the magic to put much thought into it. It isn’t until the mists roll away and the wind dies down that she continues. “Oh, I think the Falls borders the forest. Perhaps we are heading north, into the mountain range. If we start marking trees as we go hopefully we won’t get turned around…”

She trails off, beginning to doubt her own words, beginning to struggle with this fake confidence. She hadn’t thought to mark the trees at all. At least Erthe thought of it now, and it looked like the girl was busy trying to find a way to mark the trees. But before Lyanna can ask and offer to help, a scream rings through the air. Lyanna stiffens, ready to flee in the opposite direction before she realizes she doesn’t know what the opposite direction is and doubts she could run anyway.

“I don’t know,” she says, keeping her voice to a whisper, trying not to draw attention to them. She grabs the horn around her chest and keeps it in her lips, ready for whatever mind find them. She begins moving slowly, creeping in the same direction she thinks they were moving. Her ears flick around them, listening for any more sounds. A scream, a crack of a branch because that predator is now after them…She glances to Erthe every few moments, making sure the girl is okay and still with her.

And then there’s a flash of eyes, caught in a little bit of light that filters through the trees here. She freezes again, watching as the creature comes closer. There’s a sliver of light getting through the dense foliage, and though it’s not much light, it’s just enough to see as the red fox creeps into the beam of gray light. Lyanna relaxes visibly, knowing full well that foxes make some of the worst sounds. Still though she keeps the horn in her mouth, ready to hit the fox with a blast of light should he try anything. But one small fox against two large horses were not good odds for him. But of course, he may have friends…

She nods to Erthe, hoping the girl can see her, and begins to creep forward again. If there was a small patch of light here, maybe they were heading in the right direction.

lyanna

art by yewrezz


@Erthe - feel free to fill in any gaps, like if he has friends or anything!

Please tag in all posts
Magic use/power playing is okay, but check before serious injury/death
Image by Kiki

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
#14
E r t h Ë

Under the moonlight, under your moonlit gaze
I know I'd take a million bullets, babe


Lyanna offered aid, and the pale girl could not see any point in refusing it. She nodded, too tired to speak, and allowed the glittering darkness to envelop her. Breathing it in was like inhaling the very night itself; it was cool and refreshing, brought to mind starlit waters and dripping forests from ages past, whispered conversations long forgotten, like the memory of a dream she'd had but never recalled until now. Her breathing slowed and the dull, throbbing ache in her legs eased, until she felt as though she'd had a full nights rest.

Breathing out a slow sigh of relief, she smiled at the friend over her shoulder, far more grateful that Lyanna had come along than she could ever say. "Thank you, Doctor" she smiled nevertheless, a whisper of laughter to her voice; "I'm glad you're here. If not for you..."

But the scream cut her short, and Erthë forgot what she had wanted to say. Tensing up until all the knotted muscles in her body felt as though they would never untie themselves, she stared into the looming blackness that surrounded them, breath forgotten as she listened. A glimpse of movement in the underbrush made her jerk the head in that direction, the whites of her eyes gleaming in the soft light. Over the sound of her own pounding heart she heard it again, and... and then she saw it.

Before Erthë could understand what she saw, she nearly bolted. But as the fox crossed into the light and turned its head to stare at them, she nearly laughed out loud; a fox! A mere fox, and there she was almost peeing herself from fright.

For a second she returned the gleaming, lamp-like stare of the small predator, and the moments stretched out into what felt like an eternity... then it bounded off into the darkness, and when no others followed the young apprentice breathed out a long, slow sigh.

"A fox..." she said, feeling the need to confirm this to herself as much as to Lyanna. "GODS, that took years off me."

She shook herself, realizing she was close to tears with relief. If it had been a wolf...

But it hadn't been, she told herself. And they should hurry, before something worse really did find them. This had been a good reminder, and suddenly Erthë was overwhelmed with regret for having dragged her friend into this mad undertaking.

"Come on" she said, averting her face from the teal-eyed healer as she picked up the rock. "Let's move... Hopefully you're right, and we'll end up where you said... really wouldn't mind seeing the Falls by now... or anything else for that matter.."

For a long time she led them on in silence, marking the trees with notches in the bark every so often, but as the guilt grew steadily stronger she couldn't keep it in any longer;

"I'm sorry for this, Lyanna."

Credit


@Lyanna

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

Lyanna the Windswept Posts: 313
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 11 | dam: 4.0
Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2 :: 5 years HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Kyra
#15
so i listen to the    wind for an answer
She’s never used the magic on herself before, and it’s a strange and lovely feeling. Cool and dark and beautiful, full of a light one might not expect. It suits the Moon, she thinks, enjoying the feel of the wind that tugs at her hair, the mist that cools her overheating skin. The sweat dries, leaving her clean rather than sticky and itchy. Her muscles quiet, the screaming ache from the uphill climb turning to a dull throb and eventually, to nothing. She feels refreshed and rested when the mists roll away, and she’s thankful for the magic in a way she has not been before. Appreciative of a power she’s only ever watched worked on a far more personal level now.

Erthe thanks her, and Lyanna is about to protest, to tell her to thank the Moon instead. It was the Moon’s power, after all. A gift Lyanna was allowed to weild, but it wasn’t hers. Not really. But the scream cuts them short and she forgets anything she had thought to say. It’s not until the fox is gone and nothing else comes to join them that she drops the horn back to her shoulder, letting it hang in its’ usual place against her black skin. It’s the first time she’s had cause to use it, but it’s the second time in one evening she owes the Moon Goddess. Not that she was entirely certain their Lady had given her the horn, but it certainly looked like it.

Lyanna laughs slightly, though her voice stays hushed. “I rather hate foxes,” she says, though it’s not entirely true. They were fine unless they were making noise, and then it was anything but fine. She’s never gotten used to the sound, and never would. But of course, she couldn’t pick a fox’s scream out from a regular one. They sounded far too alike.

They start moving again, faster now. Erthe leads, and Lyanna follows, keeping her eyes turned upward as much as she can. If there’s been enough light to see the fox by, certainly they must be heading toward some place where they could see the sky. Where they could find some way to orient themselves. But her attention is drawn back to Erthe as the girl apologizes. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I wasn’t paying attention, and I should have been.” She was older and should have been watching out for Erthe, not losing herself in games. But she’d let herself get carried away, and put them both in harm’s way. If anyone should be sorry, it was her.

lyanna

art by yewrezz


@Erthe

Please tag in all posts
Magic use/power playing is okay, but check before serious injury/death
Image by Kiki


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