A n t h e i a

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! The Edge was being taken over and I couldn't do anything about it! I was hurt and I had no idea how to fight! What was I going to do? Ouch! Head ache, grrr, I have no time to worry about myself, I needed to find help!

The only one I think I could count on was Apollo, or Midas. So, I would try both, but I had known Apollo longer, so he would be the first I would go to. I knew I could trust him, no matter what I said, he would understand, I think.

Traveling was hard on me. I had to limp my way all the way to the Foothills. My body was steaming, the sweaty tears falling from my coat like rain drops. Oh, you could even tell how much pain I was in. It only took you half a second to realize that I was that sick.

My vision was so blurry where I could hardly see, though I knew the way by the sense of smell. It was so sweet and I could barely resist it. A few times while wondering around the Edge I thought I had might've smelled the Foothills, but then again, I must've been right for the grassy terrain wasn't that too far away. Yet, seemed so far.

I made my way to the border and then just seemed like I dropped dead, falling to my knees. "APOLLO!" I pleaded in a scratchy tone. I needed his help, for my family and for me. When we first met, he said he was an Earth Medic, and so he might be able to heal me maybe. I sure do hope so, I don't know how much more I could take of this.

---

"blah blah blah."
wc - 302 words
ooc - Quick short post for ya. xD
tag - @[Apollo]

A P O L L O

And how can you say that your truth is better than ours?
Shoulder to shoulder, now brother, we carry no arms

"Apollo!"

The shrill scream tore through the silence that had previously encompassed his home, knowing that the peacefulness was a stark contrast to the war that was surely being waged in the Edge. The dark stallion had been by himself as of late, fighting with himself by the contract made with the Basin. Archibald, Janus, Phaedra, and others had gone at the call of the northerners. The thought of the Pegasus mare, Phaedra, caused Apollo's lips to tighten into a thin line. He honestly didn't know what to think of her anymore.

Once he had been swayed by her charm and her beauty, her intelligence, her cunning. The way that her eyes shone with mirth and mischief whenever she laughed, smiling that special little smile reserved for only him... Now, however, things were different, and the thought of the earthy mare who had once held his heart brought him nothing but uncertain confusion, and dare he say it... A bit of bitterness. She had changed, and Apollo was uncertain if it was for the better. Where gentleness was once directed at him, sarcasm and coldness had taken it's place. She was a master of deception, he knew, but the words that she had spoken in the herd meeting could not fool him.

Still...

The scream had ripped him from his silent, troubled reverie, and the painted stallion's head snapped upwards at the sound. Ears were flicked forward, nostrils flaring and honeyed eyes wide with fear. Who...? For the briefest of moments Apollo thought that it had been Andreas who had screamed his name, and the idea of his sister being in pain, of suffering caused him to move into action. Immediately he ventured onwards, paced at a trot, but who he discovered collapsed along the borders of the Foothills took him by surprise.

Antheia, of the Edge.

Guilt once more plagued him, but worry danced alongside it. It didn't take someone with a considerable amount of healing knowledge to know that there was something terribly wrong with Antheia. With her sides dripping with sweat, heaving, and the fact that she was collapsed upon the hard ground, well... It was all a dead giveaway.

As he came upon her side, the Chief lowered his head to nudge gently upon her sweaty shoulder. Experienced eyes roamed over her soaked body, worry blossoming in the overo's chest. "Antheia?" He asked after a few tense moments, swallowing thickly, "Why have you come?" It was a terrible idea for her to have come to the Foothills. Didn't she understand that? Things were steadily growing throughout Helovia, Apollo knew, and althought he didn't understand the magnitude of just what was going on, well... There would be repurcussions, he knew.

"You must breathe, Antheia," Apollo instructed, hoping that he could do something to help. Without his magic there was truly little that Apollo could do to help the agonized mare. "Breathe and try and rest. You are ill; terribly ill... Can you tell me why you are here?"

[ooc: Due to the abruptness of this thread, I can't guarantee how fast my replies will be. Just a heads up!]

A n t h e i a

I laid my dome down on the cold ground, waiting for my stallion friend to show up. Oh, I would be so happy to see him! I was sick, I knew that, but I also I would have to find a way to help my only family, World's Edge. They needed my help, but what could I do when I could barely see in front of me? I would be a worthless piece of skin. I didn't want that in front of my own family.

He came to my, nudging at my sobbing shoulder. "Apollooo, my leggg, it hurtssssss." My voice was weak, you could hardly hear it from standing right in front of me. Apollo seemed so worried but then again he just wanted to know why I was here. "Y-your family, and the Basin, is going up against my home, they are trying to take over Apollo." I glanced down, saddened eyes glaring at the ground. "I.. I don't know what to do Apollo." I looked into his eyes with a worried, mixed with confused, look.

Maybe he would know what to do, how I could help my home. But he probably won't tell me, after all, it is his family that is teaming with the Basin and going up against my own. I never thought I would have a friend that would go up against me like this, but after I thought about it, maybe it was for revenge? I had let him down and gone home to the Edge, not the Foothills. Maybe he wanted me to come to the Foothills?

But why? I thought the best thing was to be happy, go where your heart tells you to go? Why him though?

---

"blah blah blah."
wc - 290 words
ooc - Trying to keep short for you. <3
tag - @[Apollo]

A P O L L O

And how can you say that your truth is better than ours?
Shoulder to shoulder, now brother, we carry no arms

Infection.

The moment that Antheia claimed that her leg pained her, Apollo surveyed the wound, cataloging it with every last detail. The injured limb, going untreated as it had, had grown infected and poisoned the dark mare's blood. It was why she was so ill. Unfortunately, there was little that the Chief could do. With his magic ability to heal suddenly stolen with the infernal darkness, he could not heal Antheia like he wanted. Then, due to the unnatural chill of this Birdsong and the lack of the sun to cultivate the plants, medicinal herbs were a rarity. Quite honestly, Apollo didn't know what to do.

Then, Antheia spoke of the Grey members who fought in the Edge alongside those from the Basin, and Apollo's expression grew grim. "I'm well aware of the war, Antheia," he murmured softly, his head still poised down beside her sweating mass, "We have sent our family to aid those of the Basin. I told you before when we met in the Threshold; the Grey allies with no one. We merely make contracts. The Basin asked for a contract, and we, as mercenaries, came to an agreement." But how long would those words hold merit? How long would it last until the Grey was forced to change their ways and convert to the system of alliances? The world was a dangerous, constantly changing place, and in order to adapt, well... You had to change with it.

A soft sigh left the stallion's lips, but his soft, sad, honey-brown orbs remained upon the injured Edge mare. This war hurt him terribly, for he had friends in both sides of the battlefield. So was the price of the neutralists.

"I cannot tell you what you must do, Antheia. That's something that you will have to figure out on your own... And I'm afraid that, even if I was a medic, there is little that I can do to help your wounds given the circumstances that surround Helovia. Perhaps I can help you to the river, where you can soak your leg to help with swelling, but I cannot guarantee the reception you will receive from my herdmates, should they find you." Apollo's lips twitched upwards, thinking particularly of his Dark Lady. Ktulu trusted no outsider.

A n t h e i a

I listened to the Apollo with gentle eyes. How could he do this to me? Go up against the home he had gifted me? I was starting to think he had done this on purpose, but why so? I thought he was my friend, not my enemy! But now there he was, saying that he couldn’t help.

Fine, I could play that game too, maybe I could find one of his herd mates and we could play a little game called Dancing in a Puddle of Blood. I don’t think it would hurt me to fight a bit. For once maybe I could earn some respect by protecting my home, though it might not be so. What if I was the one that was laying in a puddle of death?

This was a life and death situation, but I don’t really care. I had just earned a home and now I was going to lose it! I had to fight back, it was the least I could do for my home. But first, I would go to the Thistle Meadow and let my leg soak. Maybe during the battle it would be numb so I wouldn’t have to worry about feeling so much pain in that one leg.

Right then, a mare showed up with her bear friend. From the looks of how she acted, it seemed as if she was the one that led the Foothills. As the dark female spoke, I suspected she wanted me to leave, right then and there. And I wasn’t going to back-talk her either, she seemed pretty mighty compared to me. So, with that I stood up on my weak legs, looking at the mare then Apollo. I turned, heading back home towards the Edge.

"Goodbye Apollo."

---

"blah blah blah."
wc - 298 words
ooc - Thread finished unless y'all want to post again?
tag - @[Apollo] & @[Ktulu]

A P O L L O

And how can you say that your truth is better than ours?
Shoulder to shoulder, now brother, we carry no arms

Apollo didn't know what Antheia was thinking, but certainly it wasn't something terribly pleasant. Did she hold it against him that he had remained faithful to his family? Did she have a problem that he was doing his duty? The thought both hurt him and angered him.

Indeed, when they had met in the Threshold, Apollo had explained everything to Antheia. He had told her what the Grey was, and what they did; a band of mercenaries that took contracts for the right price. If someone paid them for soldiers, then they would send soldiers. It was simple as that. One of the stallion's ears tipped back, his once sympathetic frown turning into one of slight agitation. What did she want from him?

Then, however, Ktulu arrived. Apollo could not miss the presence of the Constrictor. No one could. Honey-brown orbs turned to linger upon his dark lady, and her disapproving gaze caused the overo to take a step back. It was the first time that her red eyes had looked at him with such an emotion, and Apollo knew he had done wrong. Swallowing thickly, he listened to Ktulu's words, not saying anything to defend Antheia. Ktulu had a point, and Apollo knew it. He had simply been too soft-hearted to say such things to his friend.

Yet, Antheia had some sense after all, for instead of backtalking Ktulu like many idiotic outsiders had done, the painted mare had pulled herself to her feet and carried herself away. Only a bitterly spoken, "Goodbye, Apollo," had been her departing words. They did not bother him, however, for Antheia was acting like a child. She did not understand the workings of the world, and of the Grey in particular, and the Chief watched as his once-friend left the Foothills.

Hesitantly his eyes sought Ktulu's, and an exhausted sigh left his lips. Apollo suddenly felt twice his age. "I am sorry, Ktulu," he murmured, his vocals apologetic and exhausted, "She is, was a friend. But you were right; if she wanted aide, coming here was a poor choice. I am beginning to think that she has a strange... Infatuation with me."

who knows what's right?
the lines keep getting thinner</style>

Ktulu's gaze remained hard and unforgiving as she watched the mare that had crossed her borders and collapsed on the ground. She had half expected the other mare to say something to defend herself, but she just laid there and took the verbal lashing. It was, oddly, disappointing to Ktulu. Why wouldn't she say something to defend herself? "Scared." Eytan's voice echoed in Ktulu's head and she gave a slight dip of her head in response to his suggestion. Fear was probably what she saw in the mare's eyes. Fear and betrayal? The Chieftess stood strong and sturdy as Antheia rose to her feet, her muscles taught should the girl get the sudden, foolish idea to try and run further into the Foothills or, even more foolishly, attack.

"Goodbye, Apollo."

She watched momentarily as the unnamed mare limped her way back toward the Edge, then turned to look at Apollo. Her gaze had softened somewhat as he agreed with her that she should not have come to their home, of all places, to seek aid. "She is an outsider." Ktulu pointed out to the newly appointed Chief. "You are far kinder and more accepting than I, but we must come to an agreement that outsiders cannot be trusted. All it takes is one pretty face and kind smile to fuck us all over in an instant." Her gaze turned in Antheia's direction and one of her ears tipped back. "We've worked too hard for too long to let it go so easily." She then turned her body toward Apollo.

"Sickly outsiders definitely cannot be let across our borders. We cannot afford for our warriors to fall ill and leave us defenseless, especially now when part of our force is in the Edge." While she did not know the complete extent of Antheia's wounds or if she did carry some sort of contagious sickness, she would not chance it. "Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I would rather be paranoid and prepared than trusting and taken for a fool."

@[Apollo] xD