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 Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 8:58 pm
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 9:03 pm
Seraphiel stood in the entrance of the cave, shaking himself off. Frost still clung to his wings and feet, numbing them with cold, but at least he was done. And at long last. A storm had blown in through the night, quickly overtaking him and rushing over the mountain range. He was very lucky he was still alive. The path had turned treacherous and he had fallen. His wings, still damaged from recent battle, were not fit for flight so soon -- but it would not have mattered, anyway; the winds were so strong and frigid he was better off using them to shield the rest of his body than trying to fly in the storm's gales. Now they ached and burned as sensation slowly returned to them.
Slowly warming up, Seraphiel stared down at the unconscious stallion at his feet. His white and starry coat was marred with scratches, and beneath the short hairs he could see bruises and matted blood. It looked like he had found the other angeni just in time; unconscious, mostly frozen, in a storm and at the verge of death.
Seraphiel leaned down to get a better look at the male's face. He hesitated for a moment, but then decided that he didn't care about appearances -- there wasn't an audience around at the moment, anyway -- and nuzzled the stranger's head as lightly as possible to remain undetected. His head was very warm, too warm; surely he was feverish. As if to confirm this thought, the starry male opened his eyes, looked at Seraphiel with distant eyes, then mumbled something about a brother and fell back into unconsciousness. Seraphiel eyed him worriedly. Was this a sign of delirium? He was not sure. He gently tapped one of the stallion's weakened feet with a hoof, but elicited no response this time around.
Shaking himself off again, Seraphiel headed back to the entrance of the cave and peered out. It was still snowing, but not as heavily now, and it was growing steadily lighter now that the sun had begun to rise. This did little to improve visibility, however, as winds still buffeted the snow, throwing it into the foggy air. "Come back already," Seraphiel growled mostly to himself, slightly frustrated and even a little worried. A well-built stallion, one who had hurriedly introduced himself as Alizarin (not that it mattered to him), had helped him half-drag, half-carry this sorry traveler to safety. Alizarin had insisted he wait until he returned with a healer to look over the both of them, but how long would that be? He turned to walk back inside, and settled down near the stranger -- but not too close, and not too comfortably -- and closed his eyes for just a little rest. At least in here, it was safer and warmer even with the stones digging into his sides.
Seraphiel Word Count: 480
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 9:33 pm
By the time Alizarin had returned to the mountainside, it was midday and the snow had stopped. With great difficulty he had found the sets of tracks he had been searching for, though they had nearly been covered by fresh snowfall, and was both pleased and relieved to find that they led to the cave after all. It looked like the dark angeni had understood and followed his directions during the last leg of their trip. With luck, they had made it safely as well, but a worry still nagged at Alizarin's mind as he rushed up the icy slope. The white stallion they had been leading to safety had looked to be on the frail side -- pampered royalty, perhaps? -- and had suffered many injuries before he had been found, frozen half to death and virtually naked with such a short coat. Alizarin had left the angeni pair immediately when he had noticed the starry stallion was murmuring as he drifted in and out of a half-conscious stupor, supporting his heated neck and head against Alizarin's own. He had looked very sick, maybe even deathly sick. Were those symptoms of a fever, or infection, or poisoning, or some combination of the three? Alizarin certainly didn't have enough medical knowledge to tell. Back into the valley he had gone, leaving the angeni behind with the gamble that they would follow his directions and get to safety on their own, but he had been unable to find Enfys, his herbalist partner. He was returning almost empty-handed, with only a rough cloth and a few potentially useless herbs in his possession. Alizarin felt a heaviness in his chest. Maybe it had been a bad gamble.
Alizarin reached the entrance of the cave and exhaled heavily, willing his heart to still. Both of the males were there, and neither looked too much worse for wear than they had been when he left them. They both looked like they were sleeping. Quietly, Alizarin stepped inside.
Alizarin Word Count: 332
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:07 pm
Something shuffled quietly. In his half-awake, half-dreaming state Seraphiel could hear it; someone was moving. All of Seraphiel's eyes snapped open and he reflexively flared his wings before he even lifted his neck. Standing there in the entrance to the cave was the stallion who had helped him the night before. In the narrow entrance, he -- Alizarin -- looked like a goliath. Before he could speak, Seraphiel lifted himself to his feet and fluttered the rock dust off his wings. "Good morning," he said unceremoniously, glancing out of the cave over the stallion's shoulder, "Where is your healer?"
Seraphiel Word Count: 99
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:10 pm
"I couldn't find her," Alizarin responded grimly, shaking his head. "I'm not even sure she made it into the valley. But unlike you, she's probably safe and well. Enfys overprepares for everything." He glanced from Seraphiel to the unconscious male lying deeper in the cave. "How are you feeling? And how about him?"
Alizarin Word Count: 53
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:19 pm
"I'm fine," Seraphiel replied shortly, still groggy, and slowly stretched out his still-aching wings as he said this. Then he tested his muscles, flexing them. They were sore, but it didn't seem like there would be any lasting damage. "But I don't know about this one. He's alive, at least," Seraphiel continued, shaking his head in the direction of the other angeni laying on the ground. "I heard him talking in his sleep, but he doesn't seem to be all there." Barely pausing, he continued, "It looks like the storm is over, and if your herbalist isn't with you, I can't stay here any longer. I'm sure he's in good hands." Seraphiel brushed past Alizarin, beginning to trot out of the cave and into the snow.
Seraphiel Word Count: 126
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:24 pm
Alizarin watched Seraphiel's retreating back and fought inwardly -- should he stop the other stallion? He might be able to use all the help he could get with the fallen angeni, out of his depth as he was, but by the time Alizarin came to this decision the kalona-angeni was around the bend and out of sight; in the end, he didn't call out for the stallion's help. Maybe it would be better if he were alone and without distractions. But as Alizarin turned to look at the stranger, he whispered a silent prayer under his depth. The feverish male looked bad and he was nearly useless without Enfys to help.
Alizarin Word Count: 111
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:33 pm
Aldebaran quietly moaned in pain, tossing. His head throbbed as though it had been stomped on, and he felt alternating flashes of searing painful heat and cold radiate throughout his body from his head all the way down to his hooves. Aldebaran thought that he had seen his long-gone, night-dark brother looking down at him, but that was not possible. He was not sure if he was dreaming, awake, somewhere in between, or somewhere else entirely; unwanted and long-forgotten memories seemed to well up and rise to the surface, imprisoning his mind within them, for what felt like an eternity. At some point he felt tangled, trapped, and then bound by fabric that held him in hellfire. Red shadows moved in the corners of his eyes. Aldebaran felt sure he was going to die. He could not even coherently curse his journey.
But at long last, as the sky began to darken once again, the fever broke.
Aldebaran Word Count: 157
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:44 pm
Alizarin had kept watch over the regal angeni throughout the entire day. He did not even know his name, had no idea what to do, but faithfully kept at his self-imposed duty. It was what Enfys had taught him. He had covered the stallion with a coarse blanket, dried off his hot and sweating head and neck, and guarded the stallion's weak but thrashing limbs. Many hours passed, and the angeni eventually fell into a calm sleep. By sunset, the stallion had reached some semblance of lucidity and his forehead no longer burned to the touch. Alizarin was so relieved he could laugh.
Alizarin Word Count: 103
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Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:52 pm
Slowly, Aldebaran rose from the depths of peaceful, dreamless sleep. His head still ached, but at least now the pain was bearable -- manageable. He shifted slightly, and winced; the same could not be said for his legs. Were those rocks jutting into his body? Aldebaran vaguely remembered laying on ice, snow, and smoother rocks, not on anything sharp. He slowly opened his eyes and shaped began to take form from the shadows. Clearly he was in a cave, and he was covered. Ah, he thought, comprehension dawning; so that was why he had been unable to move. A male rested close to him, eyes clearly exhausted, and behind that stallion he could see the muted colors of the setting sun on a cloudy evening. How long had he been unconscious? he wondered, but dared not voice the question aloud. Who was this stallion opposite him, and was he a friend or an enemy?
Aldebaran Word Count: 154
[Aaaaand anything past this point should count for November, going by Mountain Time and ignoring the time change. idk how it works with this /o/]
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 6:36 am
"Oh, good, you're awake," Alizarin said, visibly perking up when he noticed the waking male. Good; it looked like the worst was over, and he hadn't needed Enfys' help after all. At some points he had been afraid the angeni would die. He had not even dared to sleep, and this was readily visible in his exhausted face. Alizarin walked over to stirring stranger and touched his head once again; it was still warm, but felt much closer to normal than it had been before.
Alizarin Word Count: 85
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 6:52 am
"What are you doing?" Aldebaran snapped, almost immediately jerking back from the other stallion's touch. Aldebaran would have moved farther if he could stand, but an attempt sent searing pain all the way up his foreleg, so he settled on leaning as far away as possible against the cave wall, figurative hackles raised.
On guard, he stared at the other male, analyzing him. The stallion in front of him was shaggy, strongly-built and somewhat stocky, with a thick mauve coat and long hair to guard him against the cold. His tail was strange; it was similar to a unicorn's or kirins, but much more muscular -- like that of an ulun'suti -- and ruby crystals protruded from the fur. Like himself, the stallion had crystals on his back, but his covered his shoulders and ran down his legs to form a plate-like armor that curled into spires almost as high as the stallion's head. He looked dangerous.
In sudden fear, Aldebaran could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage, struggling to get out.
Aldebaran Word Count: 173
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 6:57 am
Surprised and hurt at the reaction, Alizarin jolted away, and was about to retort when he saw the angeni's expression. Was that fear in the angeni's eyes--? Alizarin took a step back, trying to appear non-threatening.
"I won't hurt you. We found you unconscious in the middle of a snowstorm and brought you here. It's alright; you're safe."
Alizarin took this time to eye the male more closely. His legs didn't look much better, and the bruises had grown even larger than before, but otherwise they were fine if maybe still painful. That was out of his power, though; Enfys would be the one with the numbing salve. He had nuzzled off the blood with melted snow during the angeni's peaceful hours, and at other turns had to dodge the flying hooves. The blanket was still wrapped around the stranger's body, holding most of his limbs in place; it had protected them from further damage while the patient had thrashed around in his fevered state. The angeni wore many flowers and ornate jewelry, but the flowers were wilting and Alizarin winced at himself, feeling a pang of guilt. He had not thought to remove the jewelry during the trip, and it had probably cut into the stallion's skin, maybe even slowed down his recovery from being frozen half to death and possibly ill on top of it. But as the stallion moved, Alizarin became increasingly convinced that this was just as well, and that the soquili in front of him was a frail, pampered royal. If he were well, he might have even looked majestic.
"My name is Alizarin," he added as an afterthought, and gave his patient a warm smile in the hopes of setting him at ease.
Alizarin Word Count: 290
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 8:01 am
Aldebaran shifted uncomfortably under the other's scrutiny, avoiding the stranger's eyes and keeping himself as far away from the stallion as possible, and glanced around quickly at his surroundings. He was in a cave, but it was little more than a niche in the mountainside. It was cramped; six of himself would be a mess of tangled hair and limbs in this tiny space. He was warmer than he remembered, and the cloth wrapped around his body was crude and rough -- it was clearly material used by peasantry. Back home, no one would dare touch him with materials as crude as this. At least he still had his jewelry and someone had treated his wounds, Aldebaran thought critically, risking a quick glance at the stallion standing by, silhouetted against the cave's entrance. The sun was setting behind the mountain peaks, the western sky itself threw a rosy glow into the cave that was so bright it nearly outshone the small fire miraculously burning under the cave's small overhang. It was also much brighter than Aldebaran remembered. How long had he been out?
"Who are you and why have you touched me?" he asked Alizarin warily, cold and silent aggression rolling off him in waves.
Aldebaran Word Count: 205
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 8:10 am
Once again appalled, Alizarin stepped back once more. This time he frowned at the angeni when he spoke.
"I told you my name already. Someone found you unconscious and half-frozen to death. You looked sick and hurt on top of that, so we moved you to this cave -- if you hadn't been found, I'm not sure you'd still be here right now. I took the chance to clean off your wounds; I couldn't do that without touching you. I'm sorry if it's not what you're used to." Alizarin chanced a wry smile and took a step forward again, nearing the angeni's side while watching him to gauge the stallion's reaction. He doubted the angeni would be able to move very well, if at all, but it would be better to keep his distance until the other soquili was calm.
"You spent the rest of the night and most of the day sleeping off a fever." He paused. "You still look very sick. How do you feel?"
Alizarin Word Count:167
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