|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:23 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Tizona snarled as she tore at the thorn bush. The little stallion would pay for that. In fact she'd make them both pay. Slowly and painfully for putting her through all this. The thorns tearing into her flesh didn't help matters either and her blood boiled with rage.
She'd nearly cut away at the worst of the mess on the top of the bush and beneath could catch just glimpses of the little stallion hiding inside when she felt something slam into her back leg. She gave a howl as the leg gave out and she stumbled to the side. That little b***h had struck her! She growled and snapped her teeth at the opening in the bush hoping to discourage any movement from the male while she regained her hooves. As she put weight on it her knee sent up a searing pain all through her body. It seemed the mare had scored well with her hit, but there was no time to worry about that now. Salt water and a seaweed wrap would make it well enough, but for now it was time to make these little ones pay, preferably in blood.
It was then she felt the mare score another hit on her bad leg, this time hitting it from a different angle. Tizona felt something give and the world lurched rather sickeningly as her leg made her scream in agony. She saw something white dart from the bush and the two flee from the clearing, as she thrashed in pain on the ground. She couldn't give up though, injured or not she would win this fight. She managed back to her feet, keeping the one elevated off the ground. She watched them flee and then looked up at the sky, the rain was finally slackening and the rumble of thunder and lightening were far off and moving inland.
At least now she'd have the aerial advantage again. She spread her wings and clumsily launched herself into the air, bursting through the thin foliage of the beach trees. She followed after the pair as they made for the woods, and snarled. She'd have to land again in order to stalk them in there and with a bad leg it wouldn't be easy. She saw an opening in the forest and spiraled down into it landing badly in a stream. At least the cold water helped the flaming pain in her leg but it was only a temporary solution. She struggled to get to her hooves again, but found she couldn't, her breath coming in ragged little hisses as the pain lanced up and down her leg. Fine, she'd give them the rest of the night, but once dawn came she'd find them again. .
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 3:08 pm
|
|
|
|
The bush shook violently as the Kalona ripped it apart. It wouldn't be much longer before it's protection was completely torn away and already he could see gaps in the branches above him as she viciously tore at it.
He could hear Ceres calling for him, stubborn mare, but despite his fear he was touched. Their positions reversed, he certainly wouldn't leave her in this situation, and knowing that she wouldn't leave him either meant a lot to him. Of course now wasn't the time to think to much about it, that was for when he wasn't hiding in a bush and bleeding from several cuts, scraps, and bites.
He wanted to do as she begged him, but even moving at full speed, impossible from his starting position, he wasn't sure he'd clear the big female and then they'd both be in even more trouble...if one of them wasn't possibly bleeding out or dead already at that point. He was about to tell her to run again, when he heard the big mare cry out in pain. He peeked out and saw her slumped to one side and favoring a leg. Had Ceres done something? She must have, and whatever it was was probably foolhardy and brash. He still wasn't sure though, the mare could still get up and from the sound of it, she'd fallen close to the opening he'd made, still more likely he'd loose more than just his fur if he tried to run.
He tried to put aside his fear and just make a break for it when the big mare screamed in pain again. Despite his better judgement, he was proud of the mare, standing up for herself, although he only wished it was a smaller and less dangerous target that was the focus of her ire. He heard her call again and without hesitation bolted from the thicket and charged out and next to Ceres.
"Go!" he called and immediately followed her lead out of the small corpse of trees and towards the outskirts of the forest that were just a little ways away from them. His heart hammering he glanced back, he didn't see the big mare yet, but that didn't mean anything. She could fly after all. He gently touched Ceres' rump with his nose and urged her to move faster across the open space.
It felt like an eternity but the two finally made it under the cover of the bigger trees and had to slow as they now had to pick their way over roots. Galious spotted a thicket that would provide some cover and motioned Ceres over to it so they could both take a moment to catch their breath. Once there he looked over at the mare and panted. "Are you alright?"
Faithofthefallen Sorry it took me awhile, muses were fickle and the end of May was a bit rough.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 5:04 pm
|
|
|
|
Ceres' heart pounded in her throat as she waited for Galious, eyeing the Kalona with a fearful satisfaction. When he darted out to her it was all she could do to not tackle him to the ground in her happiness to see him. Her eyes shone with the depth of her emotion, but there was no time for a reunion. Spinning she led the way at a brisk gallop towards the trees, not looking back for fear of what she would see. Although she led she stayed very close to Galious, not wanting to lose him again. She felt him trying to hurry her, but she refused to break out too far ahead, besides, she was near the point of collapse. Her fear driven limbs still churned beneath her, kicking up sand and then soil, but she was sure every step would be her last, that she would simply fall to the earth, incapable of another step before they reached sanctuary.
Then, shade. They had reached the trees ahead of their pursuer. Now, they had a chance. She slowed with Galious, limping along steadily over roots and rocks, her legs heavy, longing for sleep. Bent over with the weight of her exhaustion, Ceres found it hard to concentrate on walking, it seemed they moved with an excruciating slowness after their earlier flight. She gratefully followed Galious over to the small thicket, beyond grateful for a moment's respite. She collapsed slowly to the ground, her eyes were dull with exhaustion and a shadow of pain crossed her face, she was bruised, battered, and scratched from her battle with the ocean and still in shock over what had happened. How had the day gone so wrong, so quickly?
She nodded in response to his question, then, not wanting him to worry she flashed him a trembling smile. "Nothing a long rest won't cure," she grimaced as she suddenly realized how utterly filthy she felt, her long hair was snarled, leaves, twigs, and sand matted into her long tresses. It was difficult to tell her coat was white, she seemed instead a light greying brown. If she wasn't so tired she would have been embarrassed, then, realizing how close both she and Galious had come to death today she choked back a laugh at the absurdity of worrying about something so superficial. The laugh turned into a sob and she leaned into Galious as if he were her only lifeline. "I thought I'd lost you, and then I thought I'd never reach you before she killed you, and then I was sure she'd kill me too!" she shuddered, "I was so afraid, I've never been so terrified, not even when that beast chased me from my home. Then I was only afraid for myself, I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you." She dissolved into silent tears against him, brought on more by exhaustion and shock than anything else. Sniffling she pulled back again to peer at him, "I feel so foolish, you never hear them sing songs or tell stories about people triumphing over evil and then crying about it, I wish I had more courage."
Her forehead creased in concern, "Are you ok?" she worried her lip, running her nose over him lightly, "Some of these cuts look pretty bad."
Lady Argentum Draconis No worries whatsoever! My muses are jumping all over as well, I don't mind <3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 1:46 pm
|
|
|
|
His breath came raggedly as he looked around the area, his body tense and alert for any sign of danger, both known and unknown. His ears flicked back and forth, and once he felt relatively sure that they weren't being pursued he looked over Ceres, nestled as deep in the thicket as they could get.
He nodded in response. A long rest would do them both good, provided they could get it. The first item on the list though was to get out of this Kalona's territory as fast and as quietly as possible. How far would she chase them though, and from the screams she'd issued as they'd fled she was most definitely injured, maybe with any luck she'd give up. They were under the cover of trees and Galious was fairly certain that he'd be able to pick up any nymph or deer made trail and get them safely inland without exposing them to open air anymore than was absolutely necessary.
He gave a sad smile and leaned down slightly and put his forehead against Ceres'. Never before had he tempted this kind of intimacy but comfort was something they both needed more than anything right now, standards of conduct be damned. "I was afraid you'd lost me too." he said honestly.
He let her break down and gave gentle little nuzzles to comfort her, when she pulled back he did as well and gave a wry chuckle. "That's because the story tellers are biased. They only tell what they want, which is never the whole truth." he gave a slight huff and shook his head. "You more more courage than anyone I know. Equal to any heroine in any tale. If you didn't, you'd have given up on your quest by now. You're strong, Ceres. Stronger than you know...it's one of the things I love about you."
He realized what he'd said only after he'd said it, and to him the words seemed to hang heavy in the air, at least to him. Maybe she wouldn't notice he'd said it at all? Only one way to know and he' immediately latched on to her question directed at him. "I'll be alright. Have to do a little hunting for some herbs for some of them, but they should all heal and my hind end will just be a little more interesting because of it." he said trying to lighten the mood a bit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:32 pm
|
|
|
|
Ceres' eyelids were so heavy it felt like it took every ounce of her strength to keep them peeled apart. She didn't know what she could do if the Kalona showed up again, perhaps simply fall down to give Galious time to escape. She knew he wouldn't leave her though, which meant she needed to wake up or risk him becoming injured trying to protect her. She gazed up at him with sleepy eyes full of adoration, she hadn't known how deep a connection between two spirits could go. Her whole life she had lived in a world apart, tending the land and helping the errant traveler who happened to stumble in. She hadn't been part of the world, hadn't wanted to be, but now she realized that the evil that had invaded her home had forced her to wake up and really live her life. The shadows made her appreciate the light so much more. Some part of Ceres still wanted her home back, but she was coming to realize that home didn't have to be a certain place, it could also be created by surrounding yourself with people you cared about. Galious was her closest friend and companion, he was everything to her, with his simple statement, the realization that had washed over her at the beach found words to express itself. Her heart thrummed in her chest but the phrase flowed from her lips without regret or hesitation.
"And I love you too!" She stated firmly, kissing him on the nose. A blush rose to her cheeks and a little sparkle came back to her eyes and she found herself laughing at his lightheartedness. "Without you, I would have never found my courage," she shook her head a little, "But now that I have found it, I'll be grateful to put it away and not need it again for a while. I'm tired of being scared, and dirty." she wrinkled her nose, and half heartedly tried to brush the sand out of her hair. "Its getting dark, we should find somewhere more defendable to spend the night..." She wearily rose to her hooves, groaning as her muscles protested, and gazed around, warily scanning the direction they had fled from. She couldn't hear or see anything that would indicate the Kalona was closing in, for all she knew she had given up, but from what Ceres had heard of the breed that was unlikely. "We could follow this river, if we stay in the shallow part there won't be any hoofprints for her to follow if she tries to track us. Once we're away... I have no idea where we should go, what we should do... Maybe its time to take a break, go somewhere safe to heal and rest? What do you think?"
Lady Argentum Draconis Awww <3 Do we want anything else to happen in this rp or should we wrap this one up? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:25 pm
|
|
|
|
Faithofthefallen I think this one could get wrapped up.
His heart skipped a beat as those words erupted from Ceres. He'd often hoped that the feelings between them were more than just companionship, but to know that she did honestly feel the same as him, made him feel like he could fly. He blushed in response to the kiss and moved a little closer and nuzzled her gently. "And a little lioness you turned out to be." he said. "I will agree with you though, I'm ready for slightly less tearing through thorn bushes and mad dashes, and increase the number of breakfasts and afternoon naps. Just for a little while."
Galious followed her to his feet and winced slightly at the slight burning sensations across his rump. Well soon enough he could tend to that, but Ceres was right, they needed somewhere more secure to spend the night. The water was a good idea, and he absently wondered if he could convince her to roll in the mud. It would help mask their scent further and would be a good way to stop his cuts from reopening and putting more blood into the air. Well if nothing else, he'd do it.
He moved closer to the water and checked the depth of the edges. "This will work fine. Good idea." he said with a smile. He then looked around until he found a particularly muddy section of bank and flopped down in it. As the cool mud coated the scratches and bites he let out a sigh of relief. "Going to be utterly filthy but so worth it." he said getting back to his hooves. His mane was now plastered to his face with the muck but at least it stopped the bleeding. "Stops bleeding and masks my scent a little more. You don't have too, but it wouldn't be a terrible idea if you did." he said to Ceres. "Between the mud and the water it'll make even less chance she'll find us."
He moved out of the way of the mud and scouted up just a little ways, ears listening for any sign of danger while Ceres made her decisions about the mud. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:19 am
|
|
|
|
Ceres chuckled at the comparison, her, a lioness? Well, her hair certainly resembled a lion's mane at the moment. She fluffed it a little, wiggled her eyebrows goofily and gave a halfhearted snarl. It was so pitiful that she dissolved into laughter again. It felt so good to smile again, and she and Galious were in love! It was astounding to the small mare how one of the darkest moments in her life could be so closely followed by one of the brightest.
At his mention of breakfast, she nearly swooned. Suddenly the hollow pit in her stomach was battling for attention, Ceres couldn't decide whether she wanted to sleep or eat first, she would give almost anything to feel safe enough to do either.
She reached the water with Galious, and leaned down to take a long drink. The tips of her mane dipped in the water stripping away the sand and salt from that section. The water soother her parched mouth and filled some of the emptiness in her stomach, by the time she felt she couldn't drink another drop, she felt refreshed. She was still battered and exhausted, but her stomach bulged for the time being, her hunger would return soon enough once her body realized it was water and not food that stretched her belly, but that was future Ceres' problem. She turned around to suggest Galious wash his cuts in the stream to seeing the stallion rolling about in the mud with his legs flailing about. She watched him with eyes as wide as dinner plates, when he was satisfied, he stood up again to suspect himself and she snorted. She tried to hide it with a cough, but it was if a damn had broke inside of her, her laughter burst forth and she collapsed into a giggling heap, tears of mirth streaming down her face. "Oh Galious, you look, you look..." She lay there, her sides heaving for a few minutes before she had sobered enough to stand but her eyes were sparkling, "I love you," she declared again, her voice bubbling. Her gaze sharpened on his muddy face as she drew closer to him. She carefully smoothed his muddy locks away from his eyes and then placed a kiss squarely on his nose. When she pulled away, her muzzle was as muddy as the rest of him, and a flush mantled her cheeks.
Ceres turned away from him slightly, trying to calm her heart, galloping within her breast for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, although this time for a much more pleasant reason. She gazed at the mud and wrinkled her nose, but she supposed Galious was right. "Oh... alright, I suppose I'm already filthy enough..." Her expression was resigned as she lowered herself into the mud and rolled about, plastering her body with the smelly muck. When she judged that she had covered herself entirely she stood up again, and glared at her hair, her mane and tail seemed to be holding pounds of filth, Ceres was fairly sure she would never be clean again.
Moving away from the offending mire, she followed Galious, "How far do you think we need to go?" she huffed tiredly as they walked, the water splashing around their hooves and slowly swirled away the sludge on Ceres' legs and belly. She was so exhausted she was perfectly happy to let Galious take control of their expedition, mechanically, she put one hoof in front of the other, watching the back of his head as it bobbed in front of her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:22 pm
|
|
|
|
Galious chuckled. "I'm an utter disaster, I'm sure." he said with a smile. He colored slightly as she kissed him on the nose and then laughed when she came away as muddy as himself. "I love you too." he said with a sweet smile. He wanted to nuzzle her but until she decided whether or not to coat herself he didn't want to ruin her appearance any further than it already was.
He tried to keep his amusement to himself as she resigned herself to getting her own coating of mud and to keep it from showing too much, he wandered just upstream and peered around the bend, ears flicking for any sound. The wood was quiet, but not unusually so for after a sudden storm, and the birds that sang their evening songs were slowly getting around to it. A good sign that no predator lurked near enough to cause alarm among them.
Standing in the water suddenly reminded Galious that he should drink something and he leaned down snorted several times to get his muzzle cleaner and then took a few sips. He wished they could graze a bit, but it would have to wait until he was sure they were clear.
As Ceres asked him a question he turned his head and looked her over. She was utterly filthy and he swore to himself he'd find her a nice clear pool once this was over that she could splash around into her hearts content until she was as clean and radiant as the first time he saw her. "I...honestly have no idea. She could be anywhere, airborne or under the trees stalking us. The birds are singing at least, a good sign she's no where in the vicinity." he sighed and shook his head. He knew they couldn't go too much longer without food and proper rest, but, he shook his head and started the trudge up the stream. He kept an eye on both of the banks, if nothing else maybe they'd come across an old otter holt, or perhaps a beaver dam, either would offer decent protection for the night.
Neither made themselves apparent though as they followed the meandering waterway. At least it was leading them further into the forest and that was a good thing in Galious' opinion. He was about suggest breaking off from the water and looking for an old deer thicket when they rounded a corner and in the middle of the stream was the Kalona.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:21 am
|
|
|
|
She followed Galious in companionable silence, when he stopped in the middle of the stream, she walked right into him, having been looking behind them to try to sense if they were being pursued.
"Wha-?" She exclaimed, whipping around to peer ahead of them. She quickly smothered a gasp, her eyes widening with horror. This could not be happening, they were supposed to be safe. Tears welled up, how could they get ahead of a creature that could fly?
Her horrified eyes held Galious,' What do we do? she mouthed, very quietly easing herself out of the stream and onto the bank to think, wincing as her hooves sank into the moist earth, the first sign of a trail they had left in ages, right where the Kalona would be likely to see it. Should they go back to the beach, hope she would think they were too scared to return to the scene of the attack, should they try to sneak around her?
Ceres fervently thanked the stars that she and Galious had thought to conceal their scent, had they not, the Kalona would surely have smelled them by now. Her head swept around, scanning the forest as if hoping the leaves would whisper an answer to their dilemma there.
Concealed behind a lazily waving bush was a narrow game trail, very narrow. Had they been regular sized soquili, there would be no way they could squeeze through comfortably, but she could squeeze through with Galious! Creeping as quietly as possible, she strolled over to the bush, gripped a branch with her teeth and held it away from the trail so Galious could see, she tilted her head and rolled her eyes towards it suggestively.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:49 pm
|
|
|
|
Galious barely moved as Ceres bumped into him and luckily she looked around so he didn't have to make any more noise telling her to keep quiet as she saw the bulk of the female. At least she seemed to be asleep and from the awkward way she was positioned it was possible she was injured. Both a plus in his book. He scanned the area looking for the quickest and quietest way to get away from the area and hopefully remain undetected, at least they were giving off a confused scent so she hadn't woken up to the smell of blood, sweat and fear. At least the fear could be coming from anything that lived in the area that had detected the predator.
He was so busy trying to find a way out that he hadn't noticed that Ceres had managed to find one on her own. His eyes lit up as she pulled away the branch and motioned towards the trail. He nodded eagerly and then looked at where she'd stepped from the water frowning slightly at the tracks. That wouldn't do at all...and neither would showing his own, he looked around and his eyes lighted upon some stones that were at least reasonably hoof shaped and took one in his mouth and placed it in Cere's obvious mark. At least there was only a few of them as the ground firmed up rather quickly and he made short work of putting rocks in the spots and then stepping on them himself. It wasn't entirely fool proof but it was at least something.
He took one last glance at the female and then slipped into position so Ceres could slide past him and let the bush fall gently back into place with the barest rustle. He looked down the path as far as he could, not that it really mattered where it went as long as it was away from here. He picked up the pace just slightly and kept his eyes open for branching paths choosing to take one that lead away from the stream for a bit before cutting back towards the water, after the light levels dropped significantly beneath the trees. He let out a sigh and looked back at Ceres feeling it was safe enough to talk now.
"I think we'll be okay now, the trail you found has been pretty well covered so even if she finds our tracks in the morning it's unlikely she'd be able to follow us without making a huge amount of noise either getting through the canopy to look for our trail or risking getting tangled in all the branches and growth under it." he drooped slightly, his reserves of energy completely depleted at this point. His stomach protested at the lack of food and fear had completely dried up his mouth so he was parched as well. He looked around for somewhere safe to curl up at the very least and nearly cried when he noticed the subtle opening into a thicket that the light had obscured the first time he looked around. "At least we'll have somewhere safe to sleep," he said leaving the path and going over towards the opening. "We'll find food and water again as soon as it's light, but I think we'll both fall over if we try to move anymore today." he said with a dry chuckle and let Ceres slip into the opening before following her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:51 am
|
|
|
|
Ceres smiled in approval of Galious' ingenuity, beginning to feel that they may yet escape this adventure with their lives. She sighed inwardly, almost missing the quiet, uneventful existence she had led once upon a time, blissfully oblivious to the troubles and perils of the world.
Ceres thoroughly approved of the pace Galious set, although her breath came in quiet little gasps she worked to smother. She couldn't remember ever being more tired in her life, at the same time, she couldn't remember what it felt like to not be exhausted.
She nodded, "I hope so!" she murmured with feeling, half asleep on her feet. She could see Galious was going down fast as well. She was still antsy about the Kalona behind them, but there was only so much energy a body could expend before it gave out. They were both at that point. She entered the thicket and smiled, it was cute and it felt safe. As the low hanging branch swung shut behind them, it swept away the faint hoof prints leading in and enclosed them completely. She surveyed their campsite, thick woody bushes higher than a full sized soquili's head towered above theirs. She poked one with a hoof and was pleased to see there was no room for anything to squeeze in unless they took down the whole plant, it would be difficult to sneak up on them here. Scanning the ground, she swept some dry leaves and twigs into a rustling pile near the only convenient entry. She didn't think that the Kalona could fit down that trail or that she would find the thicket entrance easily but at least they would be warned, not that there was anywhere left to run should she corner them here.
Ceres sagged, she led Galious over to a little spot where the bushes created a little hollow to cover them from anyone flying overhead, and finally lay down. The packed earth and sparse grass was as welcome as the softest glade, she pillowed her head on one leg and looked at Galious again with bleary eyes.
"Good night Galious," her voice caressed his name sleepily, "Sleep tight."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:49 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
