Ghost Flower stared at the water rushing in front of him. What had started off as a small pool of water had turned into a veritable river overnight, and now the stallion found himself in a bit of a conundrum. There was water in front of him, and water behind him, and the patch of land he had originally staked out as a temporary territory was already an island. Even when he trotted around, hoping to walk parallell to the waters around him, all he found was puddles, ponds, and more streams. The mud was sticking to his hooves, and he was certain the very ground beneath him was more than ready to turn into water and wash itself away.
Had the lands gone mad? What on earth was happening to the Kawani? All his life (albeit it was a rather short life) he'd never in his life seen something like this. Certainly, there were at times warnings of spring floods, and flash floods during the summer, but those were all things he'd only heard about and never, ever experienced. Sure, he'd danced in puddles and swam in ponds, but this? This was something else entirely. Especially as there were no rains! The day was dry and warm, but the waters continued to rise up, and up, and up.
It was as if the spirits had gone mad.
For the first time in his life, the stallion bemoaned the fact he had not inherited his mother's beautiful wings. Oh, how handy it must be to fly high above the earth, to not have to worry about things such as water and rivers and floods. To soar high above the Kawani, none of this would be an issue, none of this would be troublesome! He could escape, and flee, and not have to worry at all about where to go, or how to escape. How easy it would be if only he'd been born so lucky! His foot wings fluttered uselessly, along with the feathers behind his ears, and he heaved a sigh. If wishes were horses..... well..... He forgot how the phrase went, but he was sure he'd have an entire herd!
Flicking his tail behind him, Ghost Flower looked around to sus out his options. The river in front of him was flowing fast, and he couldn't tell how deep the waters might be. Turning around and trotting hurriedly the way he had arrived, he quickly found himself sinking into muddy waters, as the pond that had made a lovely and very convenient watering hole had absolutely flooded.
Never in his life had Ghost Flower seen such a thing!
Were the earth spirits upset and yielding way to the water gods? Were the water spirits enraged? Was it the working of a god or something else? Honestly, Ghost Flower wasn't sure -- he wasn't usually a superstitious creature, nor particularly spirtual, but part of him wondered if he shouldn't start to be. Maybe then his little spot of land wouldn't quickly be turning into a pool!
Retreating from his muddy attempt to hurry through the rising waters, Ghost Flower's ears pinned. He hoped his mothers and brother were all right -- he regret leaving to search for spring flowers and plant bulbs. Now.... Now he hoped they were able to reach higher ground or that the water spirits weren't in absolute uproar! Surely, his mother and brother were at least okay, with their feathered wings -- and most certainly, they wouldn't allow his other mother away.
Ah, but yearning for home and worrying about them wouldn't help his current situation. He needed a plan.
If he remained, there was a high chance he'd simply be swept away by the pooling and roaring flash flood. And yet, if he threw himself into the waters and tried to swim for firmer land, he could well be trapped by the current! But there was no real choice, and he highly doubted the waters would be retreating. He should have paid attention to the rising waters in the area -- he hadn't realized he'd been trotting among some sort of floodplain.
But there was nothing to do about it.
He couldn't stay.
He had to go, had to retreat, had to find some sort of higher ground.
"Spirits, help me," he sighed. He thought he saw some spots of green ahead of him -- but the cold waters were going to be quite a risk. Finding his resolve, the colorful stallion prepared for the worst, and began to trot on ahead. The spring waters were indeed frigid, and his feathered hooves quickly tucked themselves against his ankles, water logged and tattered from the force of the wild water. Unfortunately, the current was indeed strong, and he found the waters deepening as he strode forth.
Ears back, chin up, the stallion had to use all of his muscles to fight to keep his hooves on solid, muddy ground beneath the water. It was terribly slow going, and he even found himself swept further down the stream. He kicked out with his hooves, swimming hard, trying hard not to get pulled under. Of course, Ghost Flower immediately regret his course of action, but it was too late to turn back now.
He had no choice but to carry on, until he reached more solid ground.
It was touch and go for awhile, but he did, thankfully, eventually, find himself touching muddier ground further downstream. Better yet, he was able to pull himself out of the frigid stream and onto higher ground. He gave a shake of his colorful, ableit now muddy coat, and shivered. The air was cold, but he was at least on the other side of the river -- and the land was full of puddles, but still relatively solid.
He needed to find higher ground, and soon -- he didn't dare think this was as high as the waters would roar. And if there were spring rains? He was in even more trouble! Still, Ghost Flower took a moment to say a little prayer of gratitude, hoping the spirits would bless him with warmer weather and dryer land. And if the waters would simply stop that would.... that would be good for everyone in the Kawani.
Giving his coat one last shake, Ghost Flower hurried forth, eager and ready to dry off, and hopefully, never have to cross a raging river again. If he never stumbled upon a pond or a stream again, it would be too soon.
WC:1079
