|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:54 pm
 That day that her "brother" and the other kirin had sought Xiang, she had slipped into the river as the rain fell, unconscious and uncaring of what happened to her, so deep in regret and self-hatred was she. The river had carried her protectively downstream through the forest on its swells. The dreams had been filled with her running from herself and the sorrow in her "brother" Toshiro's eyes. It didn't matter how far or hard she ran, the sad eyes followed her, as well as her knowledge of the sorrow therein.
A fallen log submerged by the waves caught her as the waves bore her downstream. She briefly awoke and coughed river water from her lungs, half-clinging to the log and it's branches out of pure instinct. She shivered and moaned a little before falling asleep again. At least she was where Toshiro and the others wouldn't soon find her. At least she was away from the sorrow and heartbreak she'd surely caused. At least...at least.... Tears came from her eyes as she lost consciousness again, a sorry bedraggled mess clinging to a fallen log in a river all alone in the forest.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:13 pm
 Wyatt glared a moment longer at the pouring rain before stepping into it from the shelter of a tree. He had started out just running, hoping to meet anyone new. Staying at home with his family alone, as much as he loved them, was making him a little stir crazy. He felt the need to find companions other than his sisters. He had found a nice little group to chat with for the day, but the rain had driven them home. Wyatt was furthest from the nest. How was he supposed to meet anyone in this weather?
He soon came upon a rushing river, fat from the rain. Again, he grumbled. The log he had used to cross was submerged, and he didn't want to fight the river. Just as he started to turn, a pale flash where the log had been caught. What? There was someone in there! He could barely see the stranger as the water splashed around the still form. "Hey!" He yelled, kicking the ground. Why was that kirin in the river at a time like this? "Hey!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:37 pm
Xiang didn't move a muscle. She didn't realize that it was raining or that someone was calling her from the bank. She was out cold, though she briefly came to and glimpsed a dark blue and dark brown stallion with silvery markings calling out to her before she slipped back into the shadows where she was free of shame.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:54 pm
Wyatt continued kicking in aggrivation. There was no responce from whoever was stuck there. Either they were unconcious, or... Or it was too late. The male wouldn't risk it if there was still a chance to help the poor soul. He looked side to side along the river, running a little each way. Not many logs occupied this river. He wouldn't reach any in time, if there was any time left.
Taking a breath, he leapt into the river. It instantly pressed against him, pushing him into what had been the missing log. He popped back for air with a gasp, the rain and splashing water making it harder than he had anticipated. He moved slowly despite his strength, pushing off from the log in little movements. He tried to call when he could manage without a mouthful of water.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:59 pm
Xiang felt nothing and heard nothing. Later, she would note that she would never be sure of what she'd done if she'd heard Wyatt's concerned calls to her, at least back then. Her sides were heaving with her breath, despite the lack of consciousness, a positive sign. As her luck would have it, she was too firmly lodged against the log to be swept away by the current. Not for some hours yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:16 pm
Gasping, Wyatt finally reached the unconcious Xiang. Now that he was here, how was he supposed to get her out of there? He grabbed her neck with his mouth, tugging, but she didn't move. It felt like it was more than the water pressure. She was stuck! He kicked the log with his hooves repeatedly until he felt her shift.
Suddenly, panic struck his mind. If she got loose, how could he get her limp body back to the shore? What if she got dragged over or under the log? He would be pulled with her, and who knows where they would end up? He held onto the female's neck as she shifted again, trying to push her toward the shore closest to her, moving even slower than before.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:42 pm
Xiang's limp form came free of the log. There must have been enough debris and water stopped up by the fallen log that the current did not drag her over or under. Instead, she began to sink, her muzzle high in the air. If she survived this, she would have quite a bit of water to cough up from her weakened body, though that thought did not occur to the unconscious mare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:42 am
Breifly wondering what the mare weighed, or if it was mostly from the river, Wyatt paused where he was. He couldn't hold her in his mouth any more as he gasped for air, inhailing mane hair and water at the same time. Taking a breath, he dropped into the water, pushing himself so that th mare would be slung across his back. He could only hope her head would be above the water. He pushed along, half walking along the log like this.
After was seemed like ages, they finally reached the shore. His legs felt weak, but he walked to the largest tree he could find for a close shelter, dropping onto his belly and letting the mare slip off. Shaking from adrenaline and exhertion, too tired to speak, he poked repeatedly at the mare, checking if she was breathing or would wake up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 4:40 pm
Xiang was indeed still breathing, but did not wake up all through that day, or even during the ensuing night as the rain abated. The first birds began to sing in preparation for the dawn when she coughed into consciousness, evicting large quantities of river water. Blinking muzzily, she muttered, "Where am I?" She did not expect a response, and she couldn't really sleep much longer. She shivered and her belly grumbled in protest to the lack of food for the past few days. She was cold, wet, hungry, and still upset at herself, but at least she couldn't hurt Toshiro anymore with the fact that she did not love her "brother."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:17 pm
When the female didn't appear to be in direct harm anymore, Wyatt let his heavy eyelids fall. Waking at the sound of coughing, he didn't remember dreaming. He looked at who had woken him, expecting one of his sisters, but was greated by the sight of that pale mare. Oh yes. Last night...
He watched her a moment before answering, hearing her stomach grumble. "We're on the river, by the walking log." He answered softly, yawning around the word "log" and shaking out his two-tone mane. "How are you feeling miss?" He almost didn't want to ask. They both looked a mess after the trip through the river and sleeping in mud under a tree. Everything in nature except a tree seemed to be stuck in the mare's mane and tail. He noticed leaves and sticks poking around in his own.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:40 am
The response startled Xiang. "On the river?" Then either she'd washed ashore for this stallion to find, or she'd been pulled from the river by this stallion, and she seemed to be too far ashore to have been washed up. Oh yes, his question. "About as well as I can right now." For any other kirin, what she'd just said was a lie, but for her, this was the truth, and it felt a trifle bitter for her. "Why did you save me?" This didn't feel good, she had a headache, and she was painfully hungry and thirsty....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:19 am
Picking at the litter in his tail, Wyatt had to look up at her tone. It sounded like something more than the river experience was weighing her down. He smirked lightly. "It's like the stories adults tell their foals. A damsel in distress is found and saved by a noble stallion." He chuckled, standing and giving his entire body a shake. He felt sore all over. "You looked close to death stuck in that water. I believe in helping anyone who still has a chance. You must be hungry though. Are you able to get around?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:08 am
Xiang was quiet for a few moments. "I never had any parents, but what yours seemed to not mention was that sometimes, the damsel doesn't want to be rescued because she thinks it's not worth it." She looked away. "If you really insist, I can probably--" She tried standing up, but toppled over, too weak to stand. She sighed, wishing this stallion hadn't saved her. "I guess I can't get up." It wasn't that she disliked the stallion, on the contrary, she admired him for being a gallant stallion, it was just...he was too kind to someone like her. That was all that was wrong, really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:05 am
Wyatt was taken back. Not deserving to be saved? Not worth it? What kind of talk was that? "Worth is in the eye of the beholder." He winced when she fell back down, shaking his head. "Here now, you stay there. I'll get the food for you. After eating, you can tell me what's bothering you, if you want to, I won't force it. Then, if I think you're right about your lack of worthiness, I'll just toss you back into the river. Okay?" He nodded and turned, heading over the berry bushes a short run away. He would never actually toss her back into the river, of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:37 am
Xiang just had to give a half-hearted laugh at the stallion's words as he moved toward the berry bushes. "That sounds a fair offer, though I'm sure you'll agree with me once you've heard my story," she muttered to herself. Well, truth be told, Xiang didn't want to tell this story, but if that was what he wanted...well, Xiang would have to tell him. She snuffed out the tiny spark of hope in the voice in the back of her mind that whispered tantalizingly that maybe her crime wasn't so bad, that maybe this stallion would love her, anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
