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 Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:53 pm
Zoet had had her fill of living under her father's careful protection. She was a grown mare now, and it was time she made her own way in the world! Oh, she didn't actually spend oodles of time with her father, granted, but all the animals knew that that section of the great forest belonged to him.
He had long since run out any dangerous predators, and had even taken to arbitrating for the smaller animals when a wise head was needed. Eloran was good with that kind of thing. But since it was his domain, as long as she was in it, she remained daddy's little filly. So it was that Zoet decided it was high time she make her own way in the world, and find where she fit in it.
She had known enough not to go running off without goodbyes though. She had told her father of her intention, and though she could tell he was immediately driven to warn her of the dangers and worry on her behalf, she had been surprised when he'd steeled himself visibly and said only, "Be careful, dear heart." His parting nuzzle had held all the love that stirred such protective instincts. Oh how she loved him!
So it was that she had chosen to follow not a deer trail, nor a rabbit path, but a much steadier and rougher course. One of her favorite places in the forest was a small glen, pressed hard up against the first juttings of rock that marked the true foot of the mountains. The setting sun often turned the rock palisades above the spot to brilliant orange and red, the color running down the rock in rivulets as if the sunlight itself could trickle down into the tiny waterfall that fell down the rock face.
A small pool plunged deep at the base of the fall, then tumbled out into a merry stream that bounded purposefully west. It was here she began her journey.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:20 pm
Bella had settled within the heart of the plains, wild and free as the days of her youth. It hadn't been so long ago that she'd been ever so small and curious, exploring the world with unabashed delight. Every day had been gloriously new to the girl, and even though she understood the world in which she lived, she couldn't help but wake up smiling every morning.
Each sunrise was painted with colours anew, while every sunset gave way to the sparkling dance of stars above. It was for this reason she adored the openness of the world around her - so she wouldn't miss a single, passing moment!
Yes, the woods harbored its own beauty, the changing of leaves and the tangle of mist that often gathered around the stumps of trees, but it wasn't enough to keep Bella within its grasp for long. A slight fear brought on by silly foal-hood folly had yet to be assuaged and only worsened at night. Perhaps it was because her sight was diminished, or perhaps it was because of whispered tales of danger and an inability to freely run anywhere caused the girl hesitation. . .
Whatever the case, she stayed close to her home, a honey-touched free spirit of the plain.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:01 pm
Her adventure turned out to be just that... more than one, in fact. As the river wound it's way from the mountain, she met others of her kind, as well as others of other species. It all intrigued her, sharpening her interest and vigor for living.
Long into her journey, after some days of travel across the plains, with the spotting of lush trees nearby, marking the progress of the river, she stopped to rest in the sun. The days were progressing past the mid-summer heat. Wile fall was still a ways off, the nights were growing cooler. The strange, flat land sometimes unsettled Zoet, child of the forest glades and glens. So she chose to rest beneath the noon sun.
She lay now in the golden grasses, eyes sliding shut as she slipped into a doze. The wind rustled the grasses in a siblant lullaby, insects hummed tunelessly in a hypnotizing drone. The river was too far away for her to hear it's murmur, which was much less noisy than it had been in the forest. Here it had widened and deepened, flowing faster and more silentl. She couldn't have crossed it now if she had tried, which contrasted sharply with how it began this trek with her, so narrow she could have stepped across without getting her hooves wet.
But all thought of where she was, and how she came to be here, was wiped from her mind by the steady sounds that were lulling her to sleep. She folded her legs and lowered her body to the ground, the warm, sun-drenched scent of crushed grasses adding to the sleep spell. Head nodding beyond her control, she allowed her nose to finally touch the soft earth. Peacefully, she soon was sound asleep.
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