But she had told Roskuld she wanted to help out with the patrols, and she wasn’t about to shy away from this spot when she had walked boldly into the Spectral Marsh. Theoretically, at least, there was no longer any danger or monsters hiding within these caves.
Besides, it was easier to be brave with Naerys as her patrolling partner. She’d happily snatch up every single chance she could get to spend time with her daughter, so thrilled as she always was to see the beautiful mare she had grown up into. At least, in her mind anyway, her relationship with the girl was one of the more stable ones she had in her life lately.
For the first time, they had flown together - and Hemlock was positively bouncing as he trailed along behind them - feeding off of Alysanne’s joy and the image of mother and daughter soaring together in the golden afternoon sunshine.
Near the Heart, Alysanne descended and landed - lingering a moment at the mouth of the Caves opening before slowly making the descent further down. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust after the brightness of the world above and she glanced at her daughter with a soft smile - her curiosity evident. “Have you ever been here before?”
alysanne
the devoted
for @Naerys and any!
I had them arrive together, let me know if you'd like me to change that Rottie my dear!
made by the lovely tamme |
World's Edge Sleuth atk: 7 | def: 10 | dam: 4 |
Mare :: Pegasus :: 16.1 :: 3 :: Tallsun HP: 65.5 | Buff: NOVICE |
Petyr :: Bornean Green Magpie :: Ashen Rottie |
|
image and table by goatfairy
@Alysanne
So it only took me months. D: but it's here and I'm sorry.
IN YOUR HEART SHALL BURN AN UNQUENCHABLE FLAME
permission for all except death and dismemberment.
** please tag naerys in replies **
replies slow? check here for status updates.
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5 |
Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 hh :: 11 years HP: 62 | Buff: NOVICE |
Hemlock :: Flammulated Owl :: Heal & Cypress :: Great Horned Owl :: None Sarah |
But their patrol wasn’t in the skies, it was below ground, and they were forced to land eventually.
Naerys’ close presence by her side does soothed whatever it was that had made her hesitate at the opening of the caves. Although she had never had a reason to fear these caves she can’t help but find it unnerving to descend into them. She was a creature of forests and of light, after all, and spending time in the darkness was just too strange.
She used her daughter’s presence as a means to ground herself so that her mind didn’t drift away into the darkness, dredging up things that it did not need to. They were here to patrol, after all - and she needed to keep her wits about her. Her attention easily latched onto Naerys when she noticed that her daughter seemed uncomfortable with their location - not enough to say anything, but commenting on how creepy the caves seemed. An understanding smile softened Alysanne’s face and she nodded her agreement. “It is, isn’t it?”
Perhaps it was the presence of Kaos making Naerys nervous about being down here - though Alysanne hardly thought that a god would bother a mother and daughter out for a stroll. She led them deeper into the caves - Hemlock swooping ahead of them and using his keen eyes to spot anything the horses might not see.
In an attempt to sooth her daughter’s nerves, Alysanne thought to bring up a story. She regretfully couldn’t remember what Naerys had heard and what she hadn’t - and maybe her daughter had already heard this one from someone else - but it felt better to pass the time in the darkness with worse than with silence. “Before you were born, all the herds lived down here for a while, you know. Whenever I come back down here it always feels so quiet compared to those months when there were hundreds of horses filling all these spaces.”
alysanne
the devoted
<333 NAENAE
@Naerys
made by the lovely tamme |
Helovian Ancient |
Stallion :: Equine :: :: |
The walls of the cavern begin to shake violently.
All around the two mares rocks and rubble tumble down. A deep bellow resides from somewhere deep, deep within the intricate systems of caves. Inside the walls a furious scratching can be heard.
scratch
scratch
....
And then, for a few seconds, silence.
Suddenly the walls appeared to move, but it wasn't the walls moving, but a thousand tiny spiders with bright red eyes suddenly pouring from the cracks created by the minor earth quake.
World's Edge Sleuth atk: 7 | def: 10 | dam: 4 |
Mare :: Pegasus :: 16.1 :: 3 :: Tallsun HP: 65.5 | Buff: NOVICE |
Petyr :: Bornean Green Magpie :: Ashen Rottie |
Her fear of the caves was supposed to be unfounded. They were supposed to have an uneventful tour, chatting, laughing, and overall just catching up on life. For a relatively brief period, that's exactly what it was. Alysanne's understanding smile and soft expression soothe her a bit; her mother's acknowledgment and validation of her anxiety allowing some of it to simply melt away. So as Alysanne moves deeper into the caves, Naerys follows as closely as she can manage. Petyr sits contentedly upon her withers, preening her mane and loosely braiding a few bits that he can easily reach. His touch, no matter how simple and nonchalant it is, helps to calm her frazzled nerves. The further in she travels, the braver she begins to feel and soon Petyr takes off to fly with Hemlock; leaving the two mares to walk together. To be completely honest, though, a wave of relief washes over Naerys the moment Alysanne begins to distract her with a story. Even if it was a story she'd partially heard from her biological father long ago - before he left them behind without so much as a loving hug. "Miykael told me a bit about it... back when you left with the warriors." Naerys is, of course, referencing the invasion of the Falls but she was too young at the time to really understand what was going on. Just the thought of him makes her jaw clench and her nostrils flare - anger flows unbidden from deep within, the pressure of it heating her flesh. Perhaps her anger at him is irrational now, perhaps she needs to simply let it go but it is of some sort of benefit to her right now - it's warming her up, fighting off the chill of the cave air. "But then again... how do I even know if he told the truth?" she asks, sarcasm soaking the words like gasoline, her clenched jaws adding an obvious air of hatred to her words (though the question itself is entirely rhetorical). And that's when nature affirms her hesitation when it came to the caves. The walls begin to shake but the shaking doesn't start small and steadily increase in intensity with time. No. It starts violent, effectively halting Naerys' forward progression and knocking her off balance (though somehow she manages to keep her hooves beneath her). She flails, fumbling about like a newborn foal trying to stand for the first time and at least once she feels rubble from the walls bumping against her legs (that'll bruise later). Her heart hammers in her chest but she is stunned into silence. Somewhere between the deep bellow and the incessant scratching noise, she fully expects some massive beast to come crawling out of one of the rooms with the intent to attack and probably kill them. Petyr somehow manages to keep to the air, dodging the rocks and rubble but Naerys' fear is also his fear. The vibrant hued bird hovers cautiously, keen eyes searching the dark for anything that might be the source of the rather noisy disruption. Then everything is suddenly silent. In many cases the sudden silence might have been comforting but this isn't one of those situations. Perhaps because the silence was short enough that Naerys and Petyr weren't lulled into a false sense of security. Short enough that she didn't really have the chance to even consider that maybe they were safe now. Good thing, too, because then the walls seem to move - dark and shifting, leaving the brown and white pegasus in a state of confusion as her teal eyes attempt to adjust. "What is that?!" she gasps, nearly choking on her own words. Understanding flashes upon her face before Alysanne can answer her. Spiders. Why in the fuck did it have to be spiders?! Thousands of them and they all have red eyes. Naerys' head raises, her eyes widen until the whites are slightly visible, her nostrils flare and her ears lay flat - she's panicked but she can't seem to move. Naerys is frozen to the spot, teal eyes glued to the small, red-eyed spiders swarming the cave walls, pouring from the cracks the earthquake left behind. |
@Alysanne
OMG spiders. D:
IN YOUR HEART SHALL BURN AN UNQUENCHABLE FLAME
permission for all except death and dismemberment.
** please tag naerys in replies **
replies slow? check here for status updates.
World's Edge Queen atk: 7 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5 |
Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 hh :: 11 years HP: 62 | Buff: NOVICE |
Hemlock :: Flammulated Owl :: Heal & Cypress :: Great Horned Owl :: None Sarah |
Alysanne came to a stop, ready to reach out to Naerys, to talk to her like she should have a long time ago, but just as she was opening her mouth (wasn’t that just the worst luck?) the walls around them started to rumble and shake. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear as rocks began to crumble off of the walls around them. A few hoof-sized rocks land heavily on her back, but the welts that they were going to leave were far from the biggest problem.
Hemlock came streaking back from the caves, screeching as he barreled towards Alysanne and Naerys. Like Petyr, he ducked and weaved around the falling rubble making his way over to Alysanne. He was already trying to usher them back towards the opening of the caves.
The scratching that followed the bellow was somehow worse because it was all around them - it wasn’t something coming from deep within the caves. And though the silence made Alysanne uneasy, her focus turned away from the walls and the caves and turned to her daughter as she reached out with a cautious muzzle to check her reached out to touch her daughter - making sure that she was okay an uninjured.
But their peace didn’t last long. The walls began to shift and move - and it took Alysanne a moment to realize what was going on.
Spiders. An unnatural amount of them crawling out of the cracks caused by the quake - and not just any spider either, these ones had glowing bright eyes.
And they were everywhere.
Hemlock’s wings in Alysanne’s face were what finally got her out of her shock and her green eyes flashed to Naerys - who also seemed to be rooted to the spot. Alysanne’s head reached out again to her daughter, trying to bump against her daughter’s shoulder a little roughly. This wasn’t the time for gentle nudges. She didn't want to wait around and find out if these spiders were the type to bite and she had enough of critters crawling all over her after those ants.
“Naerys!” She shouted, attempting to nudge her daughter backward towards the entrance. “Naerys, run!”
alysanne
the devoted
SO MANY SPIDERS
@Naerys
made by the lovely tamme |