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 Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 9:18 am
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Hurry. Hurry. Before the sun. Stars were safe. Good. Time...but gotta hurry.
Time, however, wasn't usually on Kassim's side as it took plenty of it to navigate carefully through woodlands, damned be the brush that stuck to him like bees to something sweet. Lavendar eyes peered out into the night, surveying every branch which threatened to ensnare him; it was a living nightmare to try and get things off the tar once they stuck...he'd have to wait till it oozed off him or worse if he managed to get stuck in an area which didn't produce tar like his head or upper back. There was but a few times he was completely tarless, but after a rather unfortunate incident he became more and more fearful of everything which happened to be a trigger for his rather unique defense mechanism.
Thus...the tar suti had learned it was best to move and night, and best to move alone.
His solitude had only doubled after a rather unfortunate run in with a skinwalker, one who had become down right obsessed after he got entangled in his tar and Kassim gave him the slip. He'd been tracked ever since which wasn't a difficult task to accomplish thanks to his sticky tar trail, but spirits were kind to the unfortunate male....his assailant appeared to only travel by day....which was both earth shattering wracking and fortunate as he could only travel by night. So, the stallion was constantly in fear that he didn't get far enough, didn't give a wide enough girth between the sleeping walker by night and when he would wake up and start again while he was confined to a dark cavern or thicket. It made for a rather dicey game of cat and mouse, a tar oozing giant mouse at the very least.
Kassim nearly jumped out of his skin at the shrill cry which cut the mundane sounds of the night world of the forest, turning his head swiftly back to where he'd traveled from. Peering from the skull mask into the dark he wondered what in the green grasses could that have been, when he heard it again. Mama...Papa? The tone of the screech sounded infantile, turning his head to the direction he was heading. He could have sworn he heard 'stuck'.
"...." Lavender eyes slowly dropped to the tar already oozing onto the grass at his hooves before he gave a loud, wracking sigh. It was probably suck in the tar he left behind. No! He had to move....he had to at least get a few more hours of distance between him and that skinwalker. Yet....if whatever it was got stuck....the walker tracking his tar trail....
...would surely get to whatever was stuck before it found him.
Grimacing he turned around, following his own trail as it would lead him back to the screaming thing, several minutes later the flapping and movement caught his attention as sure enough there was a tiny filly. He came out of the shadows cast by the trees into the soft moonlight of the clearing, still a few feet away as he stared down at her; then cast his gaze around the clearing. Didn't these things have parents? Ones which were supposed to watch them? He couldn't smell or see any, clearing his throat "Stop yelling." He said, tones surprisingly smooth for ones usually only used for screeching while he ran away. "Hungry ears listening."
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 10:33 am
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Alone. At least they seemed to be the only ones here.
"SHHHH!" Kassim's heart leap into his throat as the filly began her mad flapping to try and get herself free, he didn't blame the little thing, there was little comfort in his appearance to one so new to life as a whole. He had no choice, he'd have to stop her as she sounded just like a grounded bird...attracting more than just Kalona, Skinwalkers and the like. He took a step forward to put a stop to her flapping when a chill ran down his spine at the cracking sound....looking around before he eyed the filly who looked at her chest and he saw it. Was....she breaking? He'd never seen anything like it....but when those little red eyes turned his way his breath suddenly was no where to be found.
If he hadn't already been inclined to help her, he was sure he would have been won over then and there.
With a bit of a gruff huff he nodded, moving around her in a circular motion as he wanted to make sure she was only stuck on one hoof, curling his tail around to stick the scythe like spike on the end to his side so he wouldn't accidentally sway it and have it stick on her. He would have to be careful of this cracking too....as he noted it wasn't just on her chest. "Quick. We have to be quick." He muttered lowly, coming around to her front again. "The monster is following me....following this..." He looked down to the tar, turning his head to motion to the droplets left behind from where he came from, all the way to where he had gone before turning back for her. "I'll free you, then go home....tell your parents to leave..." They were too close to this trail, he imagined. He could veer the Skinwalker away, but if it got scent of them he was sure the beast had to hunt and eat while chasing him. Yet as time proved every time he thought the skinwalker had given up they had a run in as terrifying as the first time.
Kassim couldn't risk it. Always running, always moving now.
He knew his head was really the only useful thing he had that wasn't covered in tar....he couldn't use his tail least that became attached to her, he didn't have wings or anything of the like. Yet even so with the skull on his face was risky, his back riddled with the bone spine would hurt her more than he was comfortable with. Unlike his 'Suti brethren, he was too mud blooded to use any powers his species had....the tar only seemed to ooze with his emotions, he couldn't summon it back, and couldn't stop it. Lowering his head he moved closer, nearly nose to nose with the filly as he slowly ducked down to put his snout between her front legs forehead resting on her chest as the horns on his mask were on either side of her shoulders. "I'm going to push, you pull...Okay...? ....Go..." He shifted his weight forward, trying not to push too hard all at once to avoid any more cracking; but he had to keep applying pressure. Thanks to his head being down he was able to watch her hoof, seeing the tar begin to give as it stretched with her hoof raising slowly. He could see trace of a large flat rock...so that was why she couldn't get out; it adhered to a rock...usually if it was just dirt she'd be stuck with a clump of soil till she scraped it off.
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 12:28 pm
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An abrupt silence washed over the area as the stallion hushed the excess noise that the filly was creating with her clamoring. Wings stilled, cries calmed, and steady blood colored eyes fixed themselves upon the beast that matched them. After all, she wouldn't dare do anything to cause any sort of ill temper in the stranger. She was fragile after all and it would take no effort on his behalf to shatter her fragile self.
It seemed that her condition was some sort of infection for only parts of her were turned to delicate bits. The filly was soft and otherwise healthy while the edges of her open 'wounds' seemed to be brittle and stiff. As though she were solidifying slowly with each passing day and causing breakage due to her movements. A curse perhaps though the symptoms don't seem to linger in her lineage. She unfortunately was the first and hopefully the only.
As the creature approached it was Abyss' first instinct to flap her wings but as soon as it began her nerves forced themselves into a soft buzzing flutter. Perhaps caused by her involuntary tremors. Even a daft fool could see that the foal was frightened but what else could Kassim do other than try to act and move as cautiously as possible around her. At first Abyss assumed that this creature had large protrusions of bone sticking out of his monster tar but upon closer examination thanks to the shrinking distance between the two, she saw that it was simply covering him like decoration. He was a little less horrifying than before now that she had solved the mystery of his horrific appearance. Well, the goo was pretty creepy though that was mostly due to the fact that it was the sole reason for her distress right now. Being anchored in one place definitely wasn't a favorite in Abyss' list of activities today.
"Yes, I will go home straight away. I will tell mama and papa of the monster and the tar and we will go far away. I promise, mister," she gave her utmost sincere word on the matter in hopes that it would only motivate him to act more swiftly.
There was no time to ask questions. No time to be herself in this moment of life or death.
There was a pause where the forest seemed to be dead and lifeless. Nothing around them moved, or at least the frantic mind of the filly couldn't bring herself to notice. Kassim was thinking and Abyss was mentally begging for a second chance. Never again would she be so careless. Never would she sneak off without telling her mother or father. Never would she underestimate the risks or consequences of her actions. What broke that stillness was Kassim drawing near, finding his way just under her chest. Surely through the bone of his mask he would be able to hear her pounding little heart beating like a hummingbird's. Surprisingly it didn't leap right out of the chasm in her chest.
Pull? Pull as he pushed. Those were some pretty easy directions to follow so she gave a gentle nod before resting her head against the span of his head and down his neck. She wanted to remain as stable as possible. Once pressure began to build she could feel her little leg beginning to ache as muscles were pulled. She whined in discomfort, fearing that her leg would be broken clear off until at last the tar gave and her little hoof was free of the goo. With less balance now she toppled off of the stallion's mask and plummeted down into a small puddle of the stuff only this time she could get up with a bit of struggle. Dirt, leaves, and twigs were glued to her side however, earning a small whine of displeasure before discarding the small annoyance. It was better than being stuck to the ground.
After trotting around to make sure her leg was alright and her chest wasn't too damaged the filly fixed her haunting dark eyes on the stallion before trotting up close. Her back barely met his stomach it seemed.
What a giant.
"Thank you, mister. I am free now," she gave a respectable bow of her little head before glancing this way and that. She was trying to recall which way she came from but what with all the confusion and fear she simply hadn't the slightest clue where her mother and father might be. Oh bother.
"Y-you wouldn't happen to know where my mama and papa are, would you? I called and called and they did not come. Why?" She glanced this way and that yet again only to appear completely and utterly lost. Afraid of what monsters might be trailing the goo and how close they might be she shuffled closer to the stallion. The only shred of hope she had for safety.
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 3:01 pm
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"Good." Was his only response, a little more focused on not breaking her...or stabbing her with his horn, or bowling her over if she got unstuck and he kept moving. There was plenty of worst case scenarios which crossed his mind, as was an abysmal talent of his...while he could not hear her little heart pounding, he could tell by her breathing that she was indeed scared...he knew it because it seemed to be his permanent breathing pattern. A little raspy, sharp, quickened...yeah, it was about right. He winced as she gave a whine, hearing it loud and clear in his ears as her head laid at the back of his neck to balance herself. Yet just....a......little....more....
Success! The tar gave a little snap as the tension broke and he quickly leaned back to not fall onto the filly as she took a bit of a tumble to the ground from the force. Lifting his head up as he looked around to make sure once more that nothing had snuck up on them from the ruckus, his attention turned back to the filly.
"It will come off..." The stallion assured, "It...will take time but it will." Lots of scraping, dusting with dirt later. His ears nearly vanished against his hair as they twisted back, looking unnerved at her closeness as he took a step back. She was so small...
How many found themselves stuck in the tar which he left behind? Surely this couldn't have been some kind of freak accident....Kassim couldn't think about things like this though. Movement, distance. His eyes widened as he looked up at the skies above to see the moon directly over head...so much time had passed; he was only half a sky away from that sun rising out east and he'd be forced into hiding till it once more dipped into the western skies. "Go home. Quickly....then go further. As far away from this tar as you can." He urged, ready to turn and leave when she wasn't moving. Kassim frowned, did she need a push? No...it was worse than that as her next sentence cause a cold chill of realization to travel the length of his spine. No....lavender eyes locked onto her as he looked stunned...afraid. She was...lost? His eyes closed tightly, brows knitted together behind his skull mask as his frustration was as clear as his shuddering sigh.
She was lost. In the dark. With him. And the skinwalker just waiting till daybreak to track him. She shuffled closer as he blinked, his heart dropping as he gave a hiss and quickly stumbled away from her with a panicked shout just above his normal quiet tones.
"Don't touch me!" There was an urgency in his voice...not so much of anger...but that he truly feared any kind of contact for good reason. It was enough to use his head but...he lucked out for once; must have been her luck which prevented them from being stuck together.
Pulling his tail from his side as it once more hung behind him, he looked to the filly before the path he was heading. He was no monster, he couldn't just leave her here or he wouldn't have come back in the first place. Yet....he could not stay, either....the walker would catch up and it wouldn't be just him to worry about. Giving a frustrated groan he knew what he had to do....but he would have to take the filly further from her parents...at least for the day.
"Little one. Walk ahead...follow the trail....we will have to find them tomorrow. No time....hungry monster will rise with the sun." He walked back up to her but stood behind, knowing she would have to walk ahead of him...beside and behind simply too risky. That was right...he didn't answer her question. "You have wandered too far....they can no longer hear you like you can no longer hear birds after they have flown into the skies. Move...before the sun. Then time is gone..." There was a panic in his voice that could not be ignored, feeling the tar become heavier as it began to thicken from his fears; leaning his head down. "I may not be what you wanted, tonight....but I am what you need. Move, little one."
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 8:45 am
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The gunk that had attached itself to Abyss's coat with vengeance. In her innocent little mind she thought perhaps it clung to her as an annoyance. As though it had a mind of it's own and thought poorly of her for stepping on it in the first place. At first the goo had been quite terrifying to the mare as she tried to n** at it only to find her lips sticky and covered in dirt and dried leaves. A rather unpleasant taste indeed. She spat once, twice, and finally rubbed her mouth somewhat clean of these blasted tar on her foreleg. Luckily for her he stuff was already diluted with debris so her lips hadn't become adhered to her side. The way Kassim spoke so calmly of it seemed to calm her nerves a tad bit. After all, it seemed this goo came from him so he must know about it, right? Abyss would leave it be for the time being.
There was a silence, almost as though the world had been paused but the child's mind kept reeling with questions about this giant oddity before her. He certainly didn't look like her father or any other stallion she had come across. Yet, his voice as soft, smooth, and had a strong resemblance to her mother's. Perhaps not based on sound but tone instead. Whatever it be it certainly soothed Abyss and that's why she had shuffled all the more near to the stranger. An instant regret on her part, though. Why had he shied away from her? How could somebody so big behave in such a timid manner? Another go at trying to shuffle closer had only caused the stallion to shriek as if he were in danger. Danger of what? Her?
His fear and desperate shouting had given the little filly quite a fright as she stumbled to replace the distance she had taken between them. Did her cracks frighten him? She was just as different as he was, was she not? Was he perhaps going to leave her here. To be out here alone in the cold with no way of knowing how to track down her parents had instilled a fear in Abyss. A fear so intense that her little filly feet began to fidget and her breathing grew more and more in likeness to Kassim's. Short, raspy, and overall panicked. He could leave her out here. Not with said monster lurking out there in the dark following his gooey trail. Tears bean to stain the whites on her cheeks as they started to tumble from her peculiar eyes.
As much as she was tempted to the young foal did not beg. Her mother had taught her better than that. She accepted things as they were given to her even if those things often upset her. Cracks in her side could not be fixed just as the mind of others could often not be persuaded so easily. Being free from certain death had fixed Abyss' desperate mentality into that of something considerate and understanding. This stallion had been on a journey before and to stop it all for her would be outrageous, right? Abyss expected to be left by her lonesome, but something remarkable took place. He gave her orders.
With the stallion taking his own steps towards her Abyss flattened her ears to her black little locks of hair as deep in color as his tar. Her face held a softness that only a curious child could wield. Yet her hooves found their place, stepping around the goo on the ground she went ahead of him but kept her head turned, always glancing back to make sure he didn't turn tail and run. It was so strange to think about his parents being as far from her as birds could fly high but she took Kassim's word for it. It made sense to her developing little mind. Ahead she walked, one hoof after the other, all while following the trail and making sure not to step in it.
What stuck with her so deeply though was the words that escaped the Stallion's mouth. So firm and yet comforting. Of course Abyss would much rather be nestled down between her parents, curled up and warm, but instead she was now traveling further away from them probably with a stallion who was quite strange in his own ways. She did need him though. She needed him to take her from this frightening monster on his trail and so she stepped onward. Leaving her little hoof prints in her wake while Kassim pushed her forward by steadily keeping that distance between them. She certainly didn't want to fall to closely to the stallion again and have him screech like before.
"Will mama and papa be alright?" she voiced the only question in her mind. She could have asked so many others like where they were going, how long it might take, or why he was trailing behind her, but the only thing that jumped right to the front of her mind was family and their safety. "The monster will not get them, yes? It only likes your goo?" her voice was nearly in a pleading tone. What if they crossed paths while on a search for Abyss? The thought chilled her to the bone as she carried on through the night, trying to keep her pace quick for she did not wish to meet this beast who was now not only following Kassim but following Abyss as well.
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Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 10:02 pm
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Always listening.
Always watching.
Kassim kept turning his head behind him, his heart pounding against his chest as he would toss a glance to the skies...watching the moon as it began to fall to the western mountains. Time was running out, and if he wasn't careful the sunrise would be his last...the filly's last. As much as he didn't want to, his violet eyes shifted to take in her form, moving quickly, quietly around his prior tar prints. His eyes softened behind his skull mask, he could still smell the salt from her prior tears when he had scared her with his shout. It was a reminder than he really was meant to be alone...scaring a child like that over his own issues. He let out a quiet sigh, trying to gather his thoughts.
"Sorry." Kassim muttered, once more, a glance behind him for good measure as his tail swayed gently back and forth to act as a first defense should the bear walker be behind them. "You'll get stuck to me. So...don't touch me." The 'suti tried to explain himself....she seemed like a smart little filly...but he'd never been around youth before so perhaps she wasn't? Really...it had been just him for as long as he could remember, always running...hiding....had he truly lived no other life?
The stallion flinched, her words did not fall on deaf ears.
Oh, he'd only be so lucky if they had.
"I don't know." Blunt...almost painfully so. He'd already yelled at the filly, Kassim figured it would be a good idea not to lie to her. What if they returned the next night to a pair of corpses? How would he go to tell the filly if he said right here and now they would be fine. He didn't know her life, her lineage...they happened to meet due to unfortunate circumstance, her getting caught up in his series of unfortunate events he called his life. Yet....he wouldn't let her get stuck in it, he'd take her back...wherever back was, upon the rise of the next moon. "No. The monster wears skin....bear. It eats anything...everything. Not tar....it wants meat." His eyes befell Abyss once more, keeping his voice firm. "He travels by day....I by night. Waking up every day is a struggle...." His eyes once more shot back behind him, the tremble almost audible in his words. "He could catch up while I sleep."
How many times had he woken up to see evidence that the bearwalker had been nearby, nearly stumbling upon him in his most vulnerable? The feeling of never being safe was maddening, never able to be calm. Calm was danger, danger most certainly was death. He'd escaped, narrowly, twice now...and he wasn't sure he could pull off a third time. Kassim's luck was abysmal at best.
"Adults are fast....the bearwalker is large. They will hopefully run if they get close....all adults know of the monsters." He affirmed, hopeful. As they moved they now passed where he had turned around as evident by the tar puddles doubling and heading where they came. Now, ahead, lay fresh barren ground free of his sticky black goo. "Keep moving....we will need to find a suitable place to hide for the daylight hours. We're running out of time."
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