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 Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:57 am
 Auva looked around the group, she felt like a stranger despite being surrounded by extended family. She was not a member of this herd, she was part of an allied herd known as Miakoda.... she had simply been visiting because her mother believed it would do her some good. Auva knew she was painfully shy sometimes, she had yet to say a single word and knew that most considered her mute and simply overlooked her... after all, holding a one sided conversation wasn't exactly fun. The problem was Auva had never felt the need to speak, and to be honest didn't believe that anything she had to say would be worth saying. That was probably why she found herself wandering in this large family group... she hadn't known if it would be a good or a bad idea, and something told her that if she didn't get home to her Mama and Papa soon they may start to worry.... but Auva didn't like travelling alone, everything was so much bigger than her... scary even. She shivered slightly as her eyes wandered to view the world around her. It was beautiful, but she couldn't help but feel like something was watching her.... She ruffled her feathers before pulling them tight around her for warmth. Head turning back towards the ground as she looked at the colourful hooves 'tap tap'-ing on the ground. Would it take long to get where they were going? Why were they going? When you didn't talk you couldn't exactly ask questions... but Auva didn't want to get in anyone's way. Her mind wandered to thoughts of her sisters, of her parents, of her grandparents.... even of the future. But what could a tiny mare who did not speak do to be helpful? With a soft sad sigh she feared the answer would be nothing.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:29 am
Hayagriva moved in the middle of the herd, lost in thought. He was enveloped in a rare moment of distraction, a time when he let down his guard and let his mind wander. He trusted the watchful eyes of Revyra and Scythe to spot any danger. There was nothing he imagined would attack a herd of their size anyways.
He glanced over at Vyra. They had been spending a lot of time together lately with the training they were putting their herdmates through and he had certainly gained an appreciation for her intelligence and experience. She was an invaluable ally and one that Padmapani had acquired entirely by chance. It was the only good thing to have come out of his feud with his daughter thus far.
What had meant to be a short glance was lingering. He was spending time with her because of her knowledge and skill, but that wasn't the only reason. He genuinely enjoyed her company. In a herd full of optimistic dreamers, she was the one who he felt could really understand him. What he felt for her... it went beyond simple respect or companionship. It was something he hadn't felt in years, an emotion he was reluctant to acknowledge. Maybe... maybe he would try to talk with her after this journey was over. That would give him some time to find the words to say. Yes, there was something he needed to tell her. He wanted to-
A sudden yell of alarm from the rear of the herd brought him whirling around. There was a yellow flutter there, unfamiliar, and obviously terrified.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:30 am
It wasn't hard for Mittrei to feign the fear she was supposed to project to her targets. She only had to think upon Samsara and what the skinwalker would do to her if she failed in her mission. She thought of those feral eyes upon her... and in reality, they very well could be. She didn't know where Samsara was hiding but it could be anywhere in the rocks, or in a tree. She was a flutter, so as far as Mittrei knew, Samsara could have shrunk down to tiny size and be among the Padmapani already. She wasn't aware that the skinwalker curse denied Samsara that power.
"Skinwalkers! Coming!" she yelled as she ran toward the soquili who might all soon be dead. "Skinwalkers!" She had their full attention now, so many eyes wide with confusion or surprise staring. She looked around. She was meant to find either the half-kalona elder or his parents, a golden mare with flowers and clouds upon her or an old blue stallion with horns and massive feathered wings. She spotted the elder first so it was him that she ran to.
"Coming from behind, there is a group of skinwalkers coming for you! They're almost here! You must run!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:33 am
Not now. Please, Bodhisattvas, not now. Haya uttered the mental prayer, a plea he knew would go unanswered. He didn't need to ask the flutter mare what skinwalkers were coming. There was only one skinwalker who pursued the herd so relentlessly.
Samsara was coming.
"How many skinwalkers?" he asked with a dim resignation. She had brought him so much pain already. It was as if his mind was trying to protect his emotions by dulling them all to nothing. It was a recurring nightmare he couldn't awaken from. He was vaguely aware of other soquili crowding in from behind but didn't turn to look.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:34 am
"Three... no... four? I don't know!" Mittrei gasped. Samsara hadn't laid out the nature of what Mittrei would tell them, only that it would be frightening enough to make them run. "I didn't get a good look at them." She rolled her eyes and tossed her head as she'd seen other soquili in the grips of fear do. She flapped her wings and made as if preparing to run again. "We have to go! Now!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:35 am
Vara came from behind her son. She had heard most of what the flutter had said. Though she was just as shocked as her son, she did not let it freeze her as it had him. She did not have the depths of trauma he did for his daughter, anguished as she was. "You're safe now," she assured the flutter. "Thank you for bringing us this information. Come with us and we'll protect you." She had left Scythe guarding the front of the herd and she looked back at him while her mind worked. He was her beautiful, brave lifemate, and she had a decision to make.
"We'll run," she said to both Haya and the flutter. "There are many of the herd that will be of no use in a fight, and foals. Haya, you and Scythe..." It pained her to think of her beloved son and beloved lifemate about to face those teeth and claws. She had faith in them, but Scythe wasn't as strong as he used to be...
"You and Scythe, gather those you've trained and repel the skinwalkers."
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:36 am
"Yes, mother." He was grateful for his mother's solid presence. She was the alpha of the herd and carried herself with the wisdom such a position required. "Go with her," he told the flutter. "We won't let any of the skinwalkers get through." They had fought Samsara and her pack of fiends before. The last time they had been taken by utter surprise and nonfighters had gotten caught up in the mayhem. This time it would be only the trained fighters of Padmapani, the rest of the herd safely away.
They would fight again and they would win. They had families to protect, and mates, foals, friends. Failure was not an option.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:37 am
In her panther form, Samsara crouched in the high rocks bordering the pass. The Padmapani were right below where she hid, close enough that she could smell their scents wafting up on the breeze. There were many that she recognized: Her father, her grandmother, Bodhisattva, the purple wind mare that had thwarted her when she had last attacked her father. There were unfamiliar scents too. The herd had been busy breeding since she had been in their midst.
Mittrei had done her job well. Samsara watched as the herd separated, one obviously staying behind to fight and the other heading off to safety. What they didn't realize is that safety didn't exist. Terror and pain would find them no matter where they ran. Silently, she smiled. If bad karma truly bred bad luck, she wasn't feeling the effects. Everything was going as it was supposed to.
Not too far from her, Zulian was tiger-form and hiding as well. Her servants were stashed and awaiting her signal. Soon now, so soon... the bloodbath would begin.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:38 am
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