[SRP] Tiny Adventures (Alianora)

[Faithofthefallen]

"Oooff"
Alianora landed in a tangle of hair, limbs, and wings. The breath forcefully expelled from her lungs in a rush leaving her stunned and gasping as she blinked up at the sky. Long strands of green grass waved above her head in a gentle rhythm with the breeze.

She lay there dazed for a few moments, watching the fluffy clouds putter across the sky as her breathing slowly returned to normal and her head stopped spinning. She sat up slowly, gingerly, and winced as the side of her head ached. Of course she had bumped her head, she didn't think she was bleeding but there was a great big bump that she would make sure Rowan got in trouble for... The big oaf. How many times had she told him not to take off until she said she had a good grip, but her older brother had a tendency to act rashly. He had taken off while she was still getting situated and the sudden cyclone of air from his wings had lifted her out of her seat and sent her tumbling towards the ground. Had Nora not been shrunken, the fall wouldn't have phased her a bit, but the whole incident had happened so quickly she hadn't had the time, before she knew it she had landed down here in a heap.

She stood and took stock, a few bruises, a couple scrapes, nothing to be concerned about aside from the bump to her head. She looked around, from Rowan's shoulder she had been able to see the treehouse they called home, but down here the grass occluded all vision. They had been in the meadow that bordered her family's garden until they had seen Ellion arriving home, he had been gone for a few days, and in a rush to get home and greet him, Rowan had left his younger sibling behind.

Alianora glanced back at her wings and sighed, the crisp white petals were undamaged, they were lovely to look at, but essentially useless. They were too small to bear her weight and too soft even to allow her to catch a breeze and drift a ways, she was effectively chained to the ground. The only member of her family who was physically unable to fly, although her mother was woefully inept and almost always kept her company on the ground. Nora had long since gotten used to the idea, especially since she had grown old enough to master her shrinking power, now, although she couldn't fly on her own she was able to catch a ride and see the world with her siblings' wings carrying her aloft. Although being forced to only travel where and when another wanted to was rather irritating. What Nora really wanted was to bond a familiar who could fly, a lifelong friend who she could travel with as partners, instead of a babysitter. She was grown now, by all rights she could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. She could leave home, she could see the world, but home was all she had ever known. She didn't have any special talents or skills, she couldn't fight, she was great with plants like most of her family but she didn't have any particular passion for gardening. She was no hand at healing, she couldn't fly. Nora felt useless, what was she good for besides trailing along on her sibling's coat tails.

The mare sighed and brushed herself off, she was a mess, and feeling more depressed by the minute. She should grow, go home, greet Ellion, and make Rowan feel like the airhead he was. She closed her eyes and felt inside for the power, there, she almost had it-

"Ouch!"

Nora flinched, her brow furrowed in pain as she waited for her headache to fade again.

"Oh no, not good, not good at all."

She was trapped! Lost forever in the meadow, she'd never find her way home, she'd be stuck small forever. Alianora sat down heavily for a few minutes as she fought to calm the panicking voices clamoring in her mind.

Perhaps her head injury was worse than she had originally thought. It would be alright, she just had to calm down and think. Her family would search for her, Rowan would be back any time, she just had to find a clear area to stand so he could see her and not squish her with his big, dumb hooves. "Rowan I am so going to get you back for this!" She grumbled, standing again she tossed her long hair over one shoulder in a huff, winced again, and then slowly spun in a circle. She had no idea where she was, she had no way of finding where she was, so she might as well just start walking and hope she picked the right direction.

Taking a deep breath, Nora started forward...
In the opposite direction of home.  

[Faithofthefallen]

Nora's sides were glistening with sweat when she finally stopped, trying to toss the sticky strands of hair that were plastered to her forehead out of her face without aggravating her injury. She felt disgusting, she was covered in dirt, sweat, and maker knew what other kinds of grime and nothing was changing. She couldn't see the sun to know exactly how much time she had but the sky overhead was darkening slightly, the thought of spending the night outside, alone for the first time in her life was daunting. The thought made her sniffle a little, she would not cry. Her family would find her, she just had to find a good vantage point, she would feel better when she could see where she was. For all she knew she could be only a few hundred yards away from the tree house, she had been walking for a while. Then she could rest in her own bed until her head healed enough so she could grow again.

Her hoof sunk into the ground with a loud sucking noise, making her squeal and jump back, except her front leg didn't jump back with her and she ended up toppling over again. Alianora swore loudly and creatively and then blushed crimson, she had heard those words, but she'd never actually said them before. She laughed a bit self consciously and realized there was no one around to tease her for it, so she swore again, just for fun, before getting to her feet and slowly freeing her front leg. The ground before her was muddy but she could make out water moving between the plants around her. She was suddenly parched, but how to get to it without getting stuck in the mud? She looked around for a branch or something, what she found instead were somewhat evenly spaced rocks sunk into the goop. She tested the closest one gingerly and was relieved when it didn't move. She hopped up lightly, wobbling a little, but she caught her balance and then leapt to the next one. And the next, and the next. But when she took her fifth hop, the stone wobbled under her, it wasn't sunk deep enough to be wedged into the dry earth below, it tilted and started sinking. She screeched and immediately abandoned ship without thinking, leaping in any direction. She landed in the goop and immediately sunk up to her thighs. She groaned and wiggled, fighting back panic in tiny little gasps as she fluttered her wings in vain. She glanced around her and her heart skipped as she saw a long branch, she just had to reach it.

By the time her mouth closed on the end of the twig, Alianora was breathing hard and furiously cataloguing all the things she would like to do to Rowan for getting her into this mess. She didn't think she had any strength left to free herself but she was no sunken up to her shoulders and she was afraid of either sinking farther or the ground hardening around her while she slept. Pure adrenaline and terror got her out of the mud and balanced precariously on the branch. Her legs wobbled, she felt ten pounds heavier with all the mud stuck to her sides. She would have laughed at the thought of how ridiculous she must look if she'd had any energy left to laugh. She wanted to curl up on the branch and sleep for days, but her thirst was making the pounding headache worse. Nora used the branch like a bridge until she was out over the miniature stream, and choked back tears. The water was brown and disgusting looking, she realized she must be standing over runoff from watering the garden that afternoon. Which meant if she could find a way to walk alongside the stream and follow it against the flow, it would lead her to the garden, where she would have a much better chance of catching someone's attention. She sat down where she stood and allowed herself a few minutes to cry in frustration, she was exhausted, hungry, thirsty, scared, and in pain. She'd been walking for hours and she still had no idea where she was or how far she had to go, and she had to follow the stream before it dried up or she might miss her chance to find her way back. For the thousandth time in her life, Alianora wished she could fly.

She sat there feeling sorry for herself as the sun began to throw colors across the sky as it sank behind the horizon. So that way was west, she thought with a thrill of triumph. Nora stood again, determined to get home before morning, and screamed as the branch snapped underneath her, sending her tumbling into the dirty water below.

She landed with a splash, sank a bit, and then broke the surface again with a gasp, flailing around as she coughed and sputtered out a mixture of water and dirt. Tiny pebbles assaulted her as they flowed with her down the stream. Nora had never learned to swim, she could barely keep her head above water as she was swept away, but somehow her legs found a churning rhythm that allowed her to keep breaking the surface to gasp in a breath before she was pulled under by the force of the current again. She was nearly spent, the brief moments she was able to get above the water she saw trees, she had been swept into the forest then, with a sinking heart she realized she had been walking away from home the entire time.

After what seemed like forever the current slowed enough for Nora to get her feet under her and stagger to the shore. Thankfully the ground here was firm, she looked around trying to get her bearings but all she could make out were the dark shapes of trees and far, far above her, stars glittering between the leaves. She was utterly lost. No longer thirsty though, she had gulped down enough of the stream on accident to satisfy that craving at least. Nora grimaced at the thought. She limped over to the nearest towering tree trunk and crept under one of the roots that buckled the earth at its feet, she found an old dead leaf and pulled it over her as both blanket and camouflage and curled up to sleep, hoping that the morning would bring with it a solution to her predicament.