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 Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 10:50 am
In truth Oakley had noticed the smoke thickening but in her naivety she thought this would be the best way to lose her hunter. It seemed to be working. The dusky mare's footsteps were slowly stopping. When a voice shattered the air Oakley turned around alarmed. It had sounded nothing like her but the demon was the only one there and it would make sense for her to want Oakley to stop. "You'd like that wouldn't you?" Oakley choked out before pushing on. The mare was a good distance behind her now. Oakley could ignore the burning in her chest until the mare was good and gone. Then she could circle around and head home or find help.
The further down this path she went the harder it became to see and breathe. Her eyes were watering again and her nose was twitching in protest with each breath. She snorted a few times to try and clear the scent but it wasn't doing any good. Oakley turned around, she couldn't see the hunter anymore but she also couldn't see more than 20 feet in any direction. Oakley coughed and pressed on only to find a cluster of trees in her path. The trail she had been following had vanished.
Panic began to set in. She turned so that she was pointed down the mountain and started walking again. The fire had been up high so she needed to get down low. It took less than a minute for Oakley to recognize that she had made a bad call. She had ended up on loose, rocky ground. Every step sent a cascade of pebbles and stones down. She couldn't find a foothold. Oakley was vaguely aware of the world shifting as she slid down what others would recognize as a dry river bed. At first she kept her feet before she toppled onto her side smacking her head against an unyielding bolder.
Everything went very white for a moment before objects began to swim about in her gaze. It felt like there was twice as much smoke here but she couldn't figure out how to get her legs under her body again. Everything ached. Oakley cried, losing hope of escaping, and started whining for her mother.
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 11:03 am
It hadn't been sense that had Liliel following Oakley into dangerous territory again, it was pride. Oakley had failed to kill the mare when she'd had the perfect opportunity and now she risked losing her to smoke poison. It wasn't something Liliel could allow. She had to redeem herself.
It wasn't difficult to trail the mare at a distance, only breathing when she absolutely needed to, the golden mare made a lot of noise. Liliel followed the sounds of her steps, her ragged breathing, her coughs as they climbed higher and higher. The trail that had looked like it would run horizontally along the mountain had ended up turning up. The air was getting so bad that Liliel was considering ignoring her pride just so that it wouldn't get her killed when the sounds of a rock slide reached her.
'That idiot.' Liliel found herself thinking as she wound her way towards the sounds of the whimpering mare. She found her lying in a bone dry bed with tears running down her face barely clinging to consciousness. Liliel could make out a small amount of red poking through in a few places. She approached with a snarl wanting to rip out this mare's throat more than anything. When her claws found the neck of the mare, however, she found herself hesitating. There was no sport in this. The mare was disoriented and choking on smoke. It would be no different than killing a baby rabbit. There was no pleasure in it.
Liliel scowled as she moved away from the mare's head only to wrap her talon's around the mare's hind ankle. "You better appreciate this." She snapped as Liliel began the long process of dragging the mare out of the smoke. When they were both patched up Liliel would hunt the mare again. Until then Liliel would keep her someplace safe where no one would interrupt her plans.
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:35 pm
------------------------------------------------ Oakley felt horrible. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet and she knew the day was bound to be a miserable one. Behind closed lids her eyes burned, air felt rough passing through her nose and into her lungs, and every inch of her felt like it had had a close and intimate encounter with a falling log. For several minutes Oakley lay still trying to remember how she had ended up in this sorry state. She remembered climbing a mountain, seeing fire, getting attacked and chased, escaping, and then falling.
Oakley's eyes opened as utter horror set in. It was a mistake. The brightness of the day stung her eyes and made her head ache. Oakley closed her eyes again and whined quietly. The mare had caught her. She remembered the feel of those talons wrapping around her ankle and the scrape of the earth and rocks of the dried stream as she was pulled along. She had lost consciousness at some point during the trip but she had lost the strength to fight well before that.
Remembering all of this sent a fresh wave of questions through Oakley's mind. If she had been captured by the hunter then why wasn't she dead? Had some mysterious hero come to rescue her? Oakley opened her eyes again, slowly this time, and peered around. The sun was bright but she realized that it wasn't hitting her directly. Carefully Oakley lifted her head, she was in a cave but stranger than that she was laying on some sort of fur and not on cold stone. Oakley blinked a few times at the fur. Who had done this for her?
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 5:15 pm
It had been no easy task dragging the mare out of harm's way, just getting away from the smoke had taken a few hours. Liliel had been covered with a fine coat of sweat and grime at that point. She had thought to just leave the golden haired mare out in the middle of a field and just beat off any attackers. That would have been a good plan if she had not been so tired. It had frustrated Liliel to no end that this mare was being such a hassle. Still, she couldn't bring herself to let anything rob her of her amusement. This mare would eventually be her prey and Liliel had to make certain that she was well kept until that day. So, Liliel had dragged her further until she had come across a safe keeping place, a cave.
She had left the mare lying on the floor, dead asleep, while she went out to feed herself and find water. When she had returned the mare had been shivering on the floor. "Weakling..." She had muttered right before going out to find something to keep her prey warm.
Liliel had returned with a pelt, stolen from a human and his child that she had murdered to get it. She had also taken a rather tasty rabbit that had been cooking over his flame. She had draped it over the mare before taking post at the cave's entrance to rest and keep guard all at once. There would have been no way past her without alerting her and so she had felt safe sleeping.
When the first hints of light had woken Liliel she had immediately looked to inspect the mare she had captured. She still slept though she seemed to have turned at some point during the night for the pelt Liliel had brought was now lying beneath her. Liliel thought her very odd to toss and turn in such a way but she made no comment. Instead Liliel had watched the mare for a while to ensure that she was not faking her slumber. Once certain that the sleep was genuine Liliel chanced to go out in search of food. This time it was not for her, however, it was for her captive. If Liliel wanted to hunt properly her prey needed to be fighting fit, that meant no emaciated targets, the mare needed to be well fed.
When Liliel returned the mare was up, though it seemed just barely. Liliel came to a stop by the entrance with her claws full of long blades of prairie grass. Liliel didn't care that she had been walking on the mare's food for the entire trip back. It had been uncomfortable to do so. The mare could deal with some mud flecked food.
"Eat." Liliel said tossing the plant material in the mare's general direction. "You need it."
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Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 9:11 am
The sound of steps approaching the cave put Oakley on alert. Something was coming. Oakley fixed her eyes on the entrance of the cave and prayed that her body would be quick to respond if she needed it to. She was hurting, yes, but hurting was a lot better for her than dying. Oakley failed to react entirely when the familiar dusky form of the hunter appeared before her.
Oakley swallowed. She'd followed them, her and her rescuer, and now she was here to finish Oakley off. Oakley could feel her body beginning to tremble softly. The hunter moved and Oakley squeezed her eyes shut crying out in fear, she was going to die, but nothing ever touched her. Oakley opened her eyes slowly and looked to see bits of long grass drifting to the ground not far from the hunter mare. Eat. The mare was telling her to eat.
Oakley stared at the food lying on the stone floor of the cave, unmoving. It was covered in dust, dirt, and in some places mud. It was disgusting and unappealing but her stomach growled all the same. Oakley bit her lip. She didn't trust it and didn't trust the mare. This was a trap. Going to get the food would mean putting herself in easy striking range.
"I don't want it." Oakley said turning her head obstinately.
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:08 am
As pathetic as it was for the mare to shriek over nothing like that it was also pleasing to Liliel's ears. She inspired fear in this mare, a fear that would stay with her for the rest of her days. Of course if Liliel got her way there wouldn't be many more of those days but it was still the thought that counted. A brief glory knowing that she was a thing of nightmares.
A very brief glory, as it turned out. The mare was stubbornly refusing to eat what she had been brought. Liliel's blood grew hotter. The nerve of that girl. Her claws clacked against the stone floor of the cave as she surged toward the blonde mare. Liliel seized her by the neck, sharp talons digging in slightly as Liliel forgot her plan in her fury. "I said eat!" She thundered shoving Oakley over roughly. She snarled at the mare as her tail twitched behind her in irritation. If the mare wouldn't eat then Liliel's entire plan was ruined.
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:21 am
Oakley didn't react as the mare bolted towards her. She should have but her mind was not processing anything quite like it should have been. When the hunter seized her throat Oakley wheezed pathetically. She could feel the tips of those claws piercing her flesh and she was all but certain that this was the end. Again. Then, just as quickly as she had been caught, she was released, roughly. Her body was pushed sideways into the floor and Oakley had just enough sense to hold angle her neck and head away to save them from the blow.
Again the hunter was demanding that she eat. Why? Why eat if the mare was just going to kill her anyway? "I don't want to..." Oakley whined laying her head down on the stone. "I'd rather starve than eat some poison from you..." She'd chosen the word for dramatic effect but having said it Oakley had to wonder if it was true. Was the mare trying to poison her? Oakley wouldn't put it past the mare. It was clear she had a devious and devilish nature.
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:07 am
Liliel's tail tensed. How dare she refuse her offering twice! Liliel had worked hard to bring back that disgusting food and now the mare was spitting in her face. Worse she was comparing her to common killers! "Poison! You think I would poison you?!" She lowered her head and pinned her ears back as she bared her teeth at the mare.
Liliel glowered at the mare and lowered her voice. "If I wanted kill you like that I would have left you to the smoke. Now eat."
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 3:56 pm
Oakley didn't turn to look at the mare as she started spitting angry words. Once she quieted for a second Oakley murmured, "Yes." She was acting like a child but if now wasn't a good time to behave childishly there never would be. She would not cooperate with her hunter, who, as it turned out, was also her kidnapper.
"I wish you had left me in the fire." Oakley continued gaining some nerve. "At least then I wouldn't have had to look at your ugly face so much!" She finally turned to look at the mare, her eyes blazed similarly to the fire that she had been saved from.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:37 am
"Ugly?!" Liliel screeched her eyes snapping open revealing a shocking purple color just like her grandfather's. So much for nursing the ungrateful mare back to health to make for a good hunt. Liliel was going to kill the nasty little beast now. No one got to call her ugly, especially not some unfortunate regular mare. She was much more attractive than this dumb, basic horse, and far more dangerous. Liliel swiped at Oakley's haunches with a clawed foot. She wouldn't make this a fast kill, oh no, the little b***h would suffer for what she had said.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:06 am
Oakley realized a little too late that insulting the mare directly had been a big mistake. Her rage vanished all at once as fear took hold. Oakley pushed her weakened legs against the stone floor begging them to let her stand. She managed to get all four hooves beneath her but not before she felt the sharp bite of the hunter's talons in her thigh. A panicked, high-pitched whinny burst from Oakley's mouth as she dashed towards the entrance. Her legs shook from the effort and her head felt faint but still she found the strength in her fear to keep moving.
She blinked as direct sunlight flooded her eyes leaving her running blind for a few seconds. Having her vision clear wasn't much better, Oakley had no idea where they were. They were on some sort of slope made mostly of rocks but also a few grassy tufts poking up. Further out she could see more hills. Oakley ran towards them not daring to check what was behind her. she knew it would be that mare again.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:19 am
 Camilla had been out all night watching the smoke from a forest fire rise into the air to form low hanging clouds. By the time she had woken it seemed as though another of her kind or the spirits themselves had intervened though as the blaze seemed to be dying off even though there was plenty of wood left to be consumed. All night she had watched the smoke and now her eyes stung from exhaustion and the harsh light of day.
Camilla squinted as she slowly plodded along looking for someplace nice and dark to sleep the day away. Her four wings were all tucked to her sides and she could faintly feel the claws of her bat hooked on the bone of one of her wings. Her feathers kept it sheltered from the light of day and at dusk she could open her wings wide to give him enough space to drop down and into flight. The young angeni mare yawned quietly thinking that it would be nice if she had a companion that could shield her from the sun in such a way.
The pleasant thought was interrupted by a fearful sound coming from just ahead. Instinct took over and Camilla found her legs propelling her forward to help before she was fully aware what was going on.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:46 am
Liliel was taken by surprise when the mare stood. She hadn’t realized that the other actually had it in her to stand anymore. The initial shock of it had allowed the blond mare to slip away from her again. Liliel was growing tired of this routine. Whenever she went back to report on how her training went she would be leaving out all of these failures to block the mare’s escape. It was the most basic of basic mistakes.
Determined not to fail entirely Liliel raced out of the cave after the golden-haired mare. Liliel caught sight of her quickly fleeing down the hill. Whether the mare knew it or not she was heading out towards the plains. It would take a day to get there but she was on the right track. Liliel would be sure to stop her from ever reaching the plains where there would certainly be help.
Spreading her small wings Liliel leapt into the air. Her wings caught the wind allowing her to glide. She couldn’t for long but at the angle of the hill it wouldn’t take much to let her get right on top of the mare. She could just see where she needed to land and then she could see nothing but bright light.
Liliel’s wings flared in alarm sending her dropping to the ground short of her target. “What the hell was that?!” She shrieked.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:53 am
Camilla let out a relieved sigh as the clawed monster fell to the ground. She thanked the spirits for her gift of holy light as she moved forward towards the other mares. The one that she had momentarily blinded was furious and judging from the blood on her claws and the marks on the blond mare she was trying to kill the other. Camilla could not stand idly by and let that happen.
"Go back to where you came from." Camilla ordered still squinting in the bright light. She imagined it made her look a bit less threatening but that didn't matter. All Camilla needed was for the attacker to leave, she didn't need to scare them necessarily.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:00 am
Oakley had absolutely no idea what had just happened. There had been a loud thudding noise behind her and cursing from the hunter and now there was yet another mare there. An angeni. Oakley wrinkled her nose. She was descended from winds, sometimes considered lesser angeni. Oakley wanted nothing to do with this mare or the hunter. Her shredded thigh and punctured throat ached worse than the rest of her body though. She didn't want to deal with the "holier than thou" angeni but it was a better alternative than dying at the hands of a psychopath. Slowly she approached the angeni to use her like a shield. She didn't have to say anything and she wouldn't.
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