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 Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 11:50 am
Akkhana had never been so afraid in her life. She was fairly certain that she was living out her last moments alive as they plummeted downwards. There were mares running through the forest and it didn't look like they were going to hit them, but the winds could easily blow them off course, and-
They hit ground.
Akkhana rolled off the back of the green stallion and onto the ground. She turned over several times before stopping, her mane a tangle of branches and leaves and her legs splayed out beside her. Her hurt wing flared up in all new pain, but she was too winded to do anything other than gasp. The world slid in and out of focus. She could hear the hail continuing to fall around her, but her eyes couldn't seem to fix on it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 11:56 am
Diantha stared. The hail had obscured her vision until now, but she finally noticed something. She saw two soquili falling from the sky, looking like they were tangled up somehow. Her heart lurched. They looked out of control, and that sort of landing could easily break a wing... or a leg. She knew they'd need help, but also had to warn Dumah of the coming tornado. Her mind whirled. What could she do? There wasn't any time to think and the dark funnel seemed to be growing closer by the instant. Just as her mind was starting to go blank she saw it, a faint glint of golden armor.
"Dumah!" She immediately dived down, landing beside her half-brother without pause or ceremony. She saw that he was sheltering a number of small animals, but she'd ask about that later. "A tornado is coming! You need to get out of here! I saw two soquili fall and get hurt. I need to help them, but you should run!" She didn't even think to ask Dumah for his help. She was used to working alone, after all. Besides, she wanted to protect Dumah and get him out of harm's way, not put him in the thick of it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:01 pm
A tornado? Dumah was dumbfounded. His sister appeared out of nowhere, and then gave him this information that he didn't know what to do with. For a long moment he stared at her, uncomprehending. Then, awareness hit him like a bullet. "You go!" he told her, fierce and unwavering. "I'll find shelter with the animals!"
His animal companions shied away from Diantha, but they didn't leave his side. He knew he couldn't leave them. They were true innocent souls, and it would blacken his to abandon them. He began to coax them to movement, nudging them with paws and tail. "We will find shelter. The soquili are yours!" He knew it would be dangerous to stay with his animals rather than flying swiftly to safety. He wasn't like Diantha. He wouldn't risk himself for the sake of another soquili, but he would if his animal wards were in danger.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:12 pm
As if the world wasn't already alarming enough, suddenly there was a riotous crashing. Emiko skidded to a stop, turning to see two winged shapes plummeting to the ground. She gasped aloud as she saw them hit the earth, one on his hooves and the mare with her whole body. The hail still came down, but she knew she couldn't leave them behind.
"Sorry," she said to her fleeing companion, then hurrying over to the two downed fliers. "Do you need help?" She looked them over. Nothing looked immediately broken, but it could be hard to tell.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:16 pm
"Wait, wait!" panted Bernadette, struggling to keep up. Then, she too saw the two fall, and she followed Emiko over to look. Unlike Emiko, she didn't know what to say. She saw a standing wind, but the mare was fallen over and in pain. And... was she a kalona? Bernadette squeaked fearfully, but then she noticed the mare's feathered wings. She was some sort of half-breed. Though even if she was a full kalona, she'd probably be too stunned to hurt them now...
"We need to go," whispered Bernadette, but she had the feeling that no one could hear her. What was going to happen now? She didn't want to stay in the path of the storm, but she desperately didn't want to run off on her own either.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:19 pm
The two mares had come running over, and Hermes' sense began returning to him. He took to examining the pink mare more thoroughly. Her wing might be badly damaged, but it clearly wasn't a good idea to fly in this weather anyways. What was important right now was her legs.
"Can you stand?" he asked. There wasn't the time to go about this a more comprehensive way. "If you can stand, you need to right now." She still looked dazed. Worried, he nuzzled at her neck. He couldn't leave her here after all he'd done trying to rescue her.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:22 pm
There were so many voices surrounding her now. "I'm ok," mumbled Akkhana, but even she didn't quite believe herself. She was still in a lot of pain and still having a hard time clearing her head.
Dimly, she recognized the words of the stallion. Stand. She had to stand. Dizzily, she began to gather up her legs underneath her. They hurt, but it was more the dull pain of bruising than the searing pain of a break. She tried to heave herself up, front legs first. Wobbling, she collapsed back down.
"Help," she heard herself saying, though it didn't feel like she was choosing to speak. "I need help..." Her body just wasn't responding the way she needed it to...
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:24 pm
Diantha didn't have the time to argue with Dumah. "All right. You get yours to safety, and we'll..." We'll what? "We'll meet when this is over." She didn't spare time for any other words. She took a running start, then launched herself into the air.
She caught one last glimpse of Dumah hurrying his animals to safety as she flew in the direction of the crashed soquili. She just hoped it wasn't the last time she'd see him...
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:27 pm
"Everyone, go!" Dumah knew that the beasts couldn't understand him. That was, after all, the nature of their purity. Still, even lower beasts had an instinct to find protection and stay with the herd. Most moved along with him, and he placed on his back the ones that were confused or too slow to keep up. He picked up more as they went, and soon his back was cloaked with mice and squirrels.
His mind raced. Where would be the best place to find shelter? There was a very dense strand of pines not too far away, but pines tended to topple over at even the hint of a storm. No, what he wanted were the caves. The caves would protect them from even the strongest winds.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 11:34 am
Emiko didn't hesitate. Though Fuuka yowled with anxiety on her back, she leaned in to help the fallen mare. The mare clearly had kalona blood in her, but Emiko didn't have time to dally in prejudice. She quickly scanned Akkhana for injuries. She didn't see anything obvious, and that was enough for now. They didn't have time to make any sort of thorough examination.
"We're here to help you," she said. Her years of training allowed her to use a soothing voice even as her heart pounded and the wind howled around them. "You'll be fine. We just need to get you under cover and out of the storm. My my, what unfortunate weather we're having today, no?" She let the usual ritual of small talk keep herself calm, and hoped it was doing the same for the mare. Gently, she coiled her tail around Akkhana and used it to help support her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 11:41 am
It was a little surreal for Akkhana. She was still dazed and in pain, but a gentle and lightly accented voice was speaking to her. She focused on the voice, and began to work on standing up again. She stumbled, but there was an oddly long tail wrapped around her that helped her get upright. She finally heaved herself to her hooves with a confused snort. She was up, but still wasn't too sure what was going on.
"Right, let's get out of the storm," she found herself repeating, distantly. Suddenly a bright flash cut through the tempestuous gloom. A roll of thunder followed soon after, and Akkhana felt herself jolt to more awareness with surprise. "Let's go!" she yelped.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 11:57 am
"Yes, let's go," agreed Hermes. The thunder had followed quickly after the lightning. That meant the storm was close, and he knew it was only moving closer. Between that and the ever increasing pitch of the howling wind, he had a real feeling of dread that only grew in intensity.
The dragon mare that had appeared out of nowhere was on one side of Akkhana. Hermes took the other side, and even sheltered her injured wings with one of his own. "We need to go as quickly as possible," he said, though he didn't know if anyone heard him. They all seemed to have that goal in mind anyways. As a group, they started a swift walk as they were pelted with rain, wind, and hail.
Behind them, he knew the tornado approached.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:02 pm
Diantha flew, but it was difficult even with her four wings. The win was brutal and it was harder to keep on track with the gusts blowing fiercely against her. She looked down at the ground with dismay. It was hard to even make out where the mare had fallen. The trees were being tossed one way and the other, and everything was a riot of violent motion.
She squinted at the ground. Where was the mare? She circled over where she thought she had last seen them, but didn't make out any soquili on the ground below. She was flapping in another direction when the lightning arced past her. She felt her hair stand on end and for one terrifying moment her world was consumed by light and deafening sound. She was diving out of the air to land before she even was aware she'd made a decision. It was too dangerous to stay aloft. She wanted to help the soquili... but her desire for preservation had taken control.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:07 pm
Dumah felt a pang of regret as his half-sister flew off. He worried for her and despite himself, wanted to help her stay safe. Unfortunately, he didn't even have a thought of following her. He had responsibilities, and he wouldn't let himself abandon them.
"This way," he spoke to the animals in words, but he also uttered wordless soothing sounds. They didn't speak the tongue of soquili, but he thought they understood the protection he offered. He saw a lone turtle, struggling to keep up a steady pace. He picked it up in his mouth as firmly as he could, and started onward. Every once in a while another small animal would run up his leg to or cling onto his tail, but he was glad to let them.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:10 pm
Bernadette's world was a haze of fear. She was trembling, and every moment she resisted the urge to bolt away from the group. They were going so slow! She knew that they had to wait on the injured half-kalona mare, but she couldn't stand the pace. Her body and senses told her to flee, and each crack of thunder only increased those urges.
She jumped at another boom, and couldn't hold herself back any longer. She surged forward... and then skidded to a stop. In front of her was a horrifying sight. A tree was toppling over, right across their path, branches cracking and snapping, making a sound almost as loud as the thunder itself.
Terrified, Bernadette let out a shriek. Were they going to get killed by the forest falling all around them?
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