|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 4:55 pm
It was the end of summer, with the air cooling with the onset of fall. Leaves were only just barely beginning to turn in color, and mornings were crisp while the evenings were gently chilling. Zoet was on another long explore today. She hadn't found her place in the world as yet, so she was discovering all she could about it instead.
On this fine early fall day, she was strolling along a pathway that wound through a rocky valley. Huge slabs of stone jutted up from the earth, multicolored against the yellowed grass. Occasionally she'd scramble up the slanting surface of one, just so she could reach the top and bugle a call and hear it echo among the other outcroppings. The arm this afternoon was warm, with a wind that whipped her straight, thick mane back when she turned into the wind. But it wasn't while she was perched atop the rocks that she heard it. Instaed, she was down in a dip in the land, with rock on either side.
It was first only half-heard, hidden by the whistling wind that dove down into the ravine with apparent glee. It was really more felt than heard, a slight vibration in the earth beneath her hooves. She paused and tilted her ears, trying to catch whatever it had been that caused the sensation. Sensing nothing else, she continued her jaunt down the path, which wound even deeper into the earth. Another rumble she couldn't quite hear, but this time she barely flicked an ear, having dismissed it entirely.
A sudden thunderclap above her startled her into a screeching neigh. She looked up in time to see a thick bank of slate grey clounds roll across the sun, shutting off the warmth and good feelings that had dominated the day. Ominously it loomed, letting loose another mighty boom, this time preceeded by a flash of light.
"Oh boy, this is gonna be a fierce one," she muttered to herself, and picked up her pace. It wasn't until the huge raindrops began to smash down that she realized the true nature of her predicament. She was in a trough in the ground... and the sky was about to let loose a flood. She sucked in a breath, glancing the way she'd come, then the way she was going. She'd come a long way in, but she hadn't any idea how far it continued. Could she find a way out ahead?
Making a quick decision, she broke into a swift canter, trying to keep herself on the path and not stumble on the scattered rocks. She was going onwards, foolish as it may have been. Only time could tell if it opened up in time for her to escape the flashflood that was surely going to be gushing down this very gully in a short time.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:40 am
The man cursed impressively as raindrops pelted from the sky like tiny furious fists, the bellow of thunder startling him and the red stallion that seemed to be traveling with him as they picked their way along the upper edge of a ravine. Truth be told, man and horse might have found a quicker way across if they'd gone the oposite way, but...again...truth be told. Jondalar had to admit this curious little man didn't seem to be very good at that sort of thing. Sort of funny really.
He looked sort of like a turtle carrying most of his things on his back. A very wet turtle with straggly, straw colored hair plastered to his head as he held his hat down as though loosing it would be the end of the world.
It was also Jondalar who heard the other horse, or thought he did. At first he put the high pitched neigh off to the wind, plodding after Bat in dogged curiosity, still not being quite sure what it was that horses supposedly gained by being around these rediculous creatures. It was when he faintly heard the thunder of running hooves that he realized that he hadn't mistaken the wind for another horse in distress and looked toward the ravine with a startled -snort- as wind and rain damped down his short bristly mane and plastered his long tail to his legs.
"What the hell are you griping about?" Bat protested, misunderstanding the noise and holding his hat down stubbornly as he glanced back toward the horse. "I'm the one who's carrying every.... Oh."
He likewise thought he might have been imagining it, an dusty brown horse, from this distance he couldn't tell if it was a stallion or a mare, running hell bent for leather down the ravine to escape....
Aw hell. The idea of flash flood hadn't even occured to him until now, not this side of serialized fiction. "Well what do you want ME to do about it?" He demanded, wide eyed at Jondalar, who rammed him with his nose, causing him to stumble. Unfortunately he thought he knew the answer, which probably meant it was a mare, though he didn't have the slightest idea how to get something -that big- out of the ravine.
That damn native boy might have been helpful with that hair raising flying horse, but what he had right now was himself, Jondalar, and an fair sized yellow streak.
"...Damn your hide...." He swore, unshouldering his sodden pack and yanking a rope off, for all the good that would probably do, leaving the pack where it was and running along the side of the ravine after the horse. If there was even a rough slope, maybe they could try and drag her up, but that relied a lot on the cooperation of the horse. "Hey!" He called, trying for the other wild horses attention, which he was half sure would spook them, but then, so far what he'd seen said these horses were creepily smarter than most of the one's he'd seen before.
Jondalar's ears perked, standing over the bag for a moment before trotting after, much to Bat's distress, not wanting to really be so close to the hooves of an moving horse.
((Hope this is alright, Tal. <3))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:30 am
Rivulets of water were now tricling down the floor of the gully, making her footing tricky, and forcing her to slow her pace. As she plunged forward and the ground began to slope back upwards again, she wondered why in the world she was running TOWARDS the source of the flooding? It was now pouring from the sky, turning her light hide a much darker shade, while also running into her eyes from her dripping mane. Irritated, she slowed to a trot and shook her head, flinging her sodden forelock every which way.
It was then, with the din of her own hooves muted, that she heard something above the sound of thunder and torrential raindrops. A voice. And not a soquili voice either. She stopped dead in her tracks and listened, nostrils flaring for a scent, though that was unlikely with all the wet around. Her ears swiveled, then directed her attention upwards.
There, scrambling along the edge, was a two-legger. Zoet wasn't exactly afraid of humans, but they were starkly foreign to her. And this one was carrying something. A long dangly thing that resembled a vine. It also resembled something she'd seen on a few other soquili, ones that were matched with humans.
A sudden revelation shot a cold shiver through her body. He wants to keep me! Shock held her still, eyes wide with incredulous fear at the very idea of such a thing. She stared at the human, not even noticing the stallion trailing him. What was she going to do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:10 pm
"Hey!" Bat called again, holding out his hand for a moment, a gesture he realized was utterly futile, and cursed himself mentaly. Horses couldn't exactly run up and grab your hand. Jondalar approached the edge as well, tossing his head at Bat's rather pointless gesture and whinnying for the mare's attention, leery that the rivulets of water might be forerunners to something worse in this rain.
He knew Bat was pretty harmless for a two legs, but he guess she didn't. Of course she hadn't been following him around, watch him metaphoricly bang his nose.
"C'mon horse!" Bat called, grumpily, soaking wet, nervous and trying to sound coaxing and failing. "Come drown with the rest of us up on high ground!" A poor joke, but he was fishing for anything to improve his own mood in this downpour.
"Are you ok?? This from Jondalar, stomping his foot on the edge, ears flattened. "I thought maybe you were the wind!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:33 pm
The young mare glanced from man to soquili, back and forth, still frozen in place. That human definitely did not sound kindly. What in the world was he trying, anyway? But then the stallion spoke through the roar of the rain, and her ears went from flat against her head to pricked forward.
"Yes, I'm fine, but if this keeps up, this ravine is going to be a river!" she called back in an urgent whinny. "I've got to find a way out, and it's too far to go back the way I came, i'm sure of that!" She snorted, since rain had pooled in her nostrils from looking upwards. She shook her head messily, her mane clinging unbecoingly at random spots.
Turning her attention back upwards, she called again to the helpful stallion. "Do you think you could run along up there as I keep going, and help me find a way up?" She eyed the surly two-legger with trepidation. "Maybe he could help too?" she said more uncertainly, her voice dropping in volume.
There was a crash from further up, and a surge of water carried several large bushes past her. She drew a fast breath. "We'd better hurry!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:17 pm
"My pet idiot? Jondalar joked. "I think he's trying. He's kind of slow I think. I can do that! He offered, starting to trot along the upper edge of the ravine.
Bat for his part had backed away, scowling and was trying another tactic, picking up a large soden branch that had fallen and tying the rope around it, almost dropping it several times and cursing, following Jondalar as the faster horse made his way along. They were getting further from his pack, but it would only slow them down at the moment. He just hoped he wasn't going to come back to find it being used as a tent by something with teeth and claws.
"...See if we got better luck with this than regular fishing, huh?" He offered to the red Stallion, who wasn't particularly paying much attention to Bat's nonsensical ramblings, just looking for someplace where the mare might climb up, though most of the slopes by his reconing looked slick and steep. Which didn't deter Bat from tossing his 'horse fishing line' down over the edge into the ravine, whistling slightly to try and get the horses attention.
"....Excuse my idiot...." Jondalar snorted, glacning back at the clatter of wood, not getting what the hell the man was trying to do. It looked sort of like the time he'd spent half the day sitting by the water until a fish tried to run away with his line. It had turned out to be a pike and had won the argument rather decidedly, and tried to take a finger for a souvenier. "Everything's so steep! How did you get down there?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:48 pm
She shied away every time that branch came crashing down towards her. What was that bizarre creature trying to do, brain her into submission? She shuddered her hide as she trotted upwards, for indeed the floor of the gully was rising, drawing her closer to her would-be rescuer and his odd two-legger.
However, the water was gushing now, deeper and deeper. She already was wading in rushing water up to her fetlocks, and she could feel it's deadly pull. She was nearly holding her breath, searching frantically for a means to scramble up and out of this death-trap. She stepped quicker, now oblivious to whatever obstacles might be in her path. She couldn't see them anyway, hidden beneath the swiftly moving water. She stumbled once, nearly going to her knees as the thunder rolled overhead. Would it never end?
Then just ahead, she saw the ravine split in two! One branch was still quite deep, carrying the rainwater to her. The other only trickled into the main wash sluggishly, and the ground clearly rose swiftly beyond the fork. "There!" she called urgently to the stallion. "There! Up ahead!" And blessedly, it was the fork that led towards the man and horse, rather than the one on the opposite side. Now if only she could get there, and manage to scramble up the sharp incline! Eagerly she surged forward, but with less effect. Time was running out in a different way as well, for she was tiring in her fight against watter and mud.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:10 pm
Bat, cursing, hauled his branch back, fishing working just about as well as it had with....actual fish, running after Jondalar and nearly tripping himself once on the contraption he hadn't given up on yet, though as they came up on the fork he had a different plan for it, trying to wedge it between two saplings and tie it around his waist before plunging down the slope and slogging forward, trying to get close enough to grab a handful of mane and help. Coward as he normaly was, this was becoming as much an issue of pride as anything else, the desire not to be thwarted for a change.
Jondalar whinnied again, surprised and worried, sloshing forward partialy in the surge.
Hey! Whats your name! He didn't even know her name to encourage her onward. Stupid human! He wasn't sure Bat's rediculous rope anchor would hold, but was afraid to go too far forward himself. This is a mess! He protested, scared and afraid of the thunder and storm, moving forward and and stamping his feet nervously in the rocks and muck. "You're both going to drown yourselves!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:27 pm
Zoet threw herself at the slope, which oozed mud and ran with a great many random streams of water, though it wasn't the cataract the other branch of the ravine was. But as she heaved herself up the slope, her forehooves sank into the slush of mud, and she nearly was up to her knees in the muck. She whinnied in fear and jerked her legs loose for another lunge upward, her hind legs sinking deep in their turn. This was nearly impossible!
Then she spotted the crazy two-legger, flinging himself towards her with the rope around himself. It occured to her all in a rush that he had never wanted to capture her at all. He had been trying to save her! With a wordless cry, she renewed her efforts, aiming for the human who was endangering himself in order to rescue her. Just as she reached him, and he her, the stallion, pacing nervously above, called out the most bizarre question. Her name? She flung him an incredulous look and did not answer, rather reaching with her teeth to snag the edge of the human's garment, though whether she was tugging him to her, or her to him, she couldn't have told.
Then he was there, at the end of his rope, tugging on her thick mane, giving her just that tiny bit more of purchase and energy. With a rising squeal, she heaved against the flow of mud and water, dragging the man with her as he kept one hand on the rope, and one hand on her. Agonizingly slowly they managed to make their way until finally her hooves dug through the flow into harder, drier earth. With a gust of exhausted breath, she gathered herself and pulled the both of them out of the mire and up onto the somewhat dry land. Behind them, the jutting earth between the two branched of ravine collapsed in shuddering splash, making the area behind her into one huge muddy lake, rushing downstream.
Weary beyond telling, Zoet staggered a few safe feet from the edge and then collapsed to the ground, heaving like bellows, closing her eyes to the still steadily pouring rain, and laid her nose to the ground. She hoped that she was indeed safe here, because she really couldn't move another inch if her life depended on it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:12 am
Well it had seemed like a good idea at the time... he nosed her gently as she staggered onto dry land with Bat, both soaked with muddy water. He didn't say anything more for the moment, though he moved to stand near them protectively, ears laid back against the thunder and lighting, making a very poor canopy for the both of them.
Bat colapsed next to her, dripping wet and somehow missing his hat, which he'd lost track of in the wind, the rain,and the current. The same mud that had bogged down the mare had helped keep him from being slammed into the stone walls of the ravine, but the battering current was still exhausting.
"....Good....Good horse." He gasped, patting the mare on the neck with one hand as Jondalar stood over them, shivering less because he was cold than at the sight of the colapsed banks behind them. That could have been them. What the devil had he been -thinking-? Better question, had he been thinking?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:27 pm
Zoet laid there, breathing hard, blowing mud and water out of her nostrils messily, though that could hardly be noticed in the downpour. She closed her eyes for a moment, but opened them again when the strange human patted her and spoke to her. It felt odd to be touched by hands, but it also felt good. This man had put himself at risk to save her, and had done just that. Tiredly, she leaned her head against the man in a gesture of trust, and about all she could manage to do to say thank you.
Almost right on cue, the rain suddenly slackened, now pattering instead of pouring. The thunder died away while the gushing gully nearby continued to flow madly, pulling down a bit more of the far bank. Knowing they had to move, she heaved a sigh, then struggled to her hooves. "Is there a safe place to rest nearby?" she wearily asked the other soquili. "I don't think your two-legger or myself can go far without a lot of rest." Her voice was thick with fatigue, and lcaked all the brightness and vigor she normally carried naturally. She also was too exhausted for the polite manners of introducing herself or saying please. All that she could think of at this point was what was needed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:47 am
Bat: gave a dark, exhausted chuckle as the rain slackened, muttering a few curses toward whatever force of nature seemed to be out to have a good belly laugh at his expense, hefting back onto his own feet as Jondalar nosed at him cautiously and curiously.
He looked rather amusing, in Jondalars mind, covered in mud. He just wasn't going to mention that right now in light of the situation.
"...Not sure. There ought to be though, I would imagine. I don't know where exactly he thinks he's going he just kind of...wanders as far as I can tell." He flicked his ears guiltily at the admission, lifting his head to look around and scan for possible cover.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:13 pm
Zoet snorted at the stallion's response. She was feeling cranky after her brush with drowning and being buried beneath a mudslide. Fat lot of good you are, she thought unkindly. However, she had enough sense to hold her tongue. Instead, she nudged the human encouragingly and turned to lead the way. "We might as well head for firmer ground," she said determinedly.
She was not a mare of words only. She was a mare of action, when action was required. It rankled that it had been the odd two-legger that had gone to the furthest length to rescue her, while the stallion had stayed high and dry. It also irritated her that she, soggy, filthy, and now shivering with cold, had to be the one to pick a direction and lead them towards what was a least relative safety.
She cast a look back and her rescuer and his soquili companion. What an unsuual pair, for more than one reason. Ears laid back against what rain still fell, she plodded onwards, heading for the feet of hills from which the torrent of water had come. Higher ground wasn't as good as shelter, but it would do if that was all they had.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:28 am
Jondalar was actually trying to help out, but the truth was, he really wasn't familiar with the area. They were far from where he'd been born, and he was doing as best he could. For the moment however, he seemed largely unaware of her broadscale irritation. "...How about back that way? I thought I saw an overhang further back in the woods. I might have been wrong though in the rain." He offered, gesturing in the suggested direction.
Bat paused long enough in the redused rain to pull his hat off, marveling that he hadn't lost it down river, and wring it out, creating a breif new torent of water from soaked fabric before he irritably put the crumbled hat back on his head. It didn't do anything for his soaked clothing, but it was the spirit of the thing. What a mess this had turned into, he debated, wondering if he could manage to start a fire in all this damp.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 5:52 pm
She might be sweet-natured, but she had had ENOUGH. Stubbornly she kept slogging through the damp and dripping foliage, heading for the hills. Resolutely she ignored the suggestion of the stallion, not even bothering to glance back to see where he motioned towards. Instead, she called back over her shoulder, "You'd best bring the two-legger if you don't want to lose him."
A few more steps, carrying her further from them, before she added, "Unless you'd rather stay here, or go your own way." She snorted water and more mud out of her nostrils, not bothering to shake her head. Her mane was sodden and heavy with a liberal coating of mud. This was going to take forever to get clean of. "Either way doesn't matter to me," she raised her voice so it would carry back. "But I'm going where I am sure we will be safer." Better than the dubious memory of an ineffective stallion, she mentally finished.
Zoet was not a happy mare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
