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 Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:24 pm
Well, she had certainly done it this time. The young Phantomess snorted softly to herself, exhaling as smoke threatened to choke her. She snorted, eyes watering, and took a cautious step back the way she had come, not that she was sure she was moving in the right direction to escape... There was too much heat and light all around to be sure of direction. Yes, it seemed that this time, she really had done it. Not that she made a habit of such scenarios as the one she was currently in. No, most certainly not. If that was the case, there would be some strong doubts as to if she would have made it to adulthood and in one piece. And currently here she stood, though there was debate on how long that fact would remain.
Fire crept closer. A roaring wall of orange ate at trees, shrubs and grass, no regard for the homes or natural beauty it destroyed. As it ate at the plants, black smoke billowed upward, raining down pale yellow sparks.
"Ahh, Angel of Music save me." The mulberry mare hissed as she spun, cantering back along the path she had been ambling down. The fire was moving faster, eating at a rotten trunk until it fell -fully aflame- across her path. Spinning sharply she turned onto a narrow path, whinnying sharply as sparks struck her dark-pattered back and bit at her haunches, urging her faster.
"And just when father was cautioning me about being careful in my wandering..." She muttered, as she ducked under a burning limb and leapt over a low line of fire, snapping her tail so it didn't drag through the blaze. As if it wasn't easy enough to lose herself in the haze of smoke, she kept having to switch directions or bolt down side-paths as the fire continued to surround her, skittering into a field just paces in front of the fire.
She bowed her head and coughed, snorting as she tried to take a few clear breaths and searched for a way away from the fire. Preferably sooner rather then later...
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:37 pm
Already Delacroix's breathing wheezed and he was only on the outskirts of the fire. The ash blowing through the air was enough to color his light coat gray. He needed to get out of there and he needed to do it fast. Luckily the fire hadn't spread far enough to cut him off yet and he was a favorable position in regards to the wind. Wind could change though, and he knew he shouldn't wait until it did.
As he ran he remembered the things he had been told about dealing with wildfires. He remembered the long lessons given to him and the other young warrior unicorns around the shell of a burnt out human campfire. He remembered the way the elder's eyes had seemed to burn as brightly as the fire he described. He also remembered Jacqueline there beside him, listening to those same words.... Jacqueline, beautiful and bright-eyed as she was before the kalonas had taken her...
Delacroix shuddered and faltered in his steps. He couldn't remember that now. He couldn't afford to let the memory choke and drag him down as it did when he awoke in the middle of the night. He couldn't-
He heard something.
His head whipped up and he squinted through the smoke. Had that been the sound of a whinny, or was it a trick of his imagination and the wind? He could see plumes of flames rising altogether too close for comfort. No... nothing could be alive there. Certainly everyone would have gotten out by now and-
He caught a glimpse of purple amidst the flames. A purple coat of a mare. He froze, mind racing. There was a mare out there and trapped amidst the flames. His breath wheezed in and out through narrowed nostrils. Indecision gripped him as the memory of another mare being dragged away flashed through his mind. Did he dare try again?
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 3:51 pm
Panic-driven hooves were slowing, the mare's alternatives for escape becoming less and less. Masque gave a weak whinny as she slid to a stop, haunches tucking under her as blue hooves struck embers before she pirouetted away. A low hedge that stretched between two burning trees offered a momentary break from the circle of solid flame. Without another avenue, Masque took the leap, crying out as a burning branch struck her haunches and made her skitter away from the flame, face smudged with ash and streaked with tears.
'Angels, if there is any kindness in you, you will let me live through this...' She thought pleadingly, standing splay-legged like a new-born foal testing her spindly limbs. 'Let me see my father and sisters again...'
She shuddered, peering around with narrowed golden eyes. There had to be some way to escape this mess... Some way to get away from the fire and heat and smoke... She wasn't the sort to lay down and die, and she certainly didn't want to play the damsel in distress..
"Though I damn well wouldn't mind a knight at this point." She muttered with dry amusement, the weak attempt to cheer herself stifled by a flurry of snorting coughs as her lungs protested this tainted air.
So much fire, so much smoke.
"Ahhh little Phantomess, this might be your last song... This Song of Fire."
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Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:07 pm
He caught a glimpse of dark purple again. The mare was still out there. It didn't look like she'd be able to make it out on her own. Though Delacroix stood still his mind raced. What could he do to help? Could he make it to her in the first place?
A river.
Though Delacroix was a stranger to the area he had been in the vicinity for the past few days. He had been around enough to get a sense of the land, and that included a river that he might be able to use to get the mare out. It was a little ways away though. He didn't think that there would be time to run to the river, find the mare, and bring her back through it. The only way he'd have time to help her before the fire consumed the area was if he charged through the fire himself, hoped he didn't get burned to death, and then guided her to the stream.
Of course, that involved charging through the fire and hoping he didn't get caught or suffocated by the smoke.
What if he failed? Delacroix's entire body tensed at that thought. He didn't know if he could stand to fail another mare. Not that it could get much worse. A combination of two things caused him to act. The first was that thought, bitterly spoken by a mind used to defeat. The second was a burning branch that, caught by the wind, smacked against his flanks and left him jumping to the side in surprised pain. That hurt, and he knew it would hurt a hell of a lot more to be burned to a crisp, like the mare was in danger of.
He charged forward towards the flames.
It was possibly suicide to try to cross through the flames towards her, but he consoled his mind by thinking that it would be no great loss if he burned up anyways. At least I'd die trying to save a pretty mare. Not a bad way to go.
Cinders and larger burning debris fell around him now. He could see the purple mare a little clearer through the smoke. It looked like she was having a bad time of it... but not nearly as bad a time as he'd be having shortly.
"Stay there!" he bellowed as he ran. "I'm coming!"
Then he made his first death-defying leap over a fallen burning tree. It didn't hurt much... it wasn't until the second tree that he started smelling his own burned fur.
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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 6:44 pm
Masque shook herself, steeling her nerves as she searched for a route of escape. There had to be some avenue she hadn't attempted yet, some way to get out... And the day had started so well, too. A nice talk with her sisters and friends, hearing about the new lights in their lives.. Sharing jokes and stories. They had grazed for awhile and then gone their separate ways, Masque choosing to wander the forest for awhile. She hadn't wanted to go back to the small grove she called her own, so instead she'd followed her hooves.
And now where was she? In some distant corner of the forest surrounded by wildfire... Watching tongues of flame hungril lick up tree trunks and engulf branches, raining burning debris down on her. She dodged a falling branch, blinking away tears brought on by the smoke. 'Think it through, and think it through fast, Masque...' She scolded herself as she glanced around at the trees, seeking some escape route. It seemed no matter what she did, she'd have to plow through flames...
The feel of being watched sent a bolt of electricity up her spine, made her worry someone else was caught in the fire. She looked around, a frown on her muzzle and ears flattened to her skull. 'Please, let no one else be suffering this...' She prayed, shifting on her hooves.
A voice calling to her. A stallion telling her to stay. He was coming? That was suicide! If he had a way out of the flames he should just take it.. Should just leave her to this fate, rather than risking his own.
"Don't!" She begged, spinning in place, searching for him. "Please..."
A flash of white and purple made her turn, wincing as she watched him leaping through the fire.. Over fallen trees, without regard to his own safety. It was wonderfully heroic, it was suicidally foolish. 'I couldn't bear for anyone to die for my sake...'
"Please be careful..." She coughed, moving slightly to get a better look at him, eyes narrowed as she watched him race through the fire. If he reached her, then what? How would they get out? 'I hope you have a plan... Stranger... Because I am out of ideas...'
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:28 pm
Once Delacroix had started bounding through the flames there wasn't any way he could have stopped. Any hesitation would mean standing still long enough for his mane to catch fire. With that thought in mind he charged forward. His throat burned with inhaled smoke and ash and the smell of what he suspected was his fetlocks smoldering was almost enough to make him gag. To make matters worse, if such a thing was possible, he could barely see.
He heard the mare's voice calling something out to him. He still couldn't understand quite what she was saying but her voice was enough to orient him. He turned towards where he had heard the sound, gave a few more desperate bounds forward... and there she was.
Delacroix barely managed to stop in time to avoid crashing into the mare. He skidded to a halt and saw her clearly for the first time. Like him she was mainly colored purple, but there the similarities ended. She was a far deeper purple with exotic feathered markings on her back. Her mane was far longer than his too. He imagined it would make quite the beautiful sight blowing in the wind on a clear day. In a place like this he could only think of how easy it would be to catch fire.
This is no time to be admiring a pretty mare, he thought to himself as a tree crashed down nearby and sent up a shower of sparks. "Listen!" he called out loudly amidst the crackle and roar of the flames. "Can you still run? Are you badly hurt? I know a way out! You'll need to follow me!"
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 12:08 pm
Masque skittered sideways to avoid a falling branch, neck arching as she coughed. Fresh tears moved down the tracks over her cheeks, wiping away soot to reveal purple and white under the layer of black. She pinned her ears at the scent of singed hair, jerking to the side when the white and purple stallion appeared out of the smoke and flames.
The horn that sprouted from his head was a surprise, though she had the faint thought that if he made it a habit of rescuing others from wildfires, it probably came in handy. A short mane and leonine tail meant he was less likely to catch fire than she was, though singed hooves and feathering wasn't something either of them could avoid with so many coals and burning branches littering the ground.
His command to listen made her head fly up, ears pitching to catch his words.
"Yes, I can still run..." She did a quick inventory, pawing the ground lightly. "No, no terrible injuries."
She jumped slightly as another branch crashed to the ground, snorting. "Lead the way."
The sooner she was out of this mess, the better.
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Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 11:03 am
(( I switched his cert! Delacroix now officially has scars! biggrin ))
Delacroix barked out a quick cough. The air seemed to burn his throat. That couldn't be a good sign... not that any of this was really going well. He quickly looked around to regain his bearings. He was fairly certain that he knew where he was. He wished he was more than just fairly certain, of course. Being only fairly certain meant that he could still take a wrong direction and get both of them killed.
I'd be no big loss... but it'd be a shame if a pretty mare died too. After all, he had caused the death of one too many-
He wasn't going to think of that now.
"This way!" He stabbed his horn in one direction. Luckily, the flames weren't roaring quite so high in the way toward the stream. They could still get unlucky and get burned to death in the process... but at least they stood a chance. "Stay close!" he shouted as he started off. He'd have to keep one eye on the path ahead and one eye on the mare behind him. He hoped she wasn't so panicked that she'd twist an ankle while fleeing...
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 3:14 pm
((Absolutely awesome looking! <3 ))
Well, she hadn't really ever imagined how things would end. Of course, the world being on fire and her having just enough bad luck to get stuck in the middle of it had never been one of her top choices... Before she had the chance to see her siblings raise families, to find love of her own... She didn't expect to be so young and alone when this happened.
Of course, the appearance of a white and purple unicorn stallion with charming teal eyes and angry scars hadn't been on her agenda either.. Then again, if she had to plan for a fire, she would definitely insist the stallion came along with it. Especially if he managed to get them both out alive.
Dad would have a fit. She winced at the thought of her protective and proud sire finding out she'd been in such a situation. Much less hurt.. Much less with a strange stallion.. Although, if he managed to save her, maybe she could avert some disaster.
The smoke had to be doing something to her mind, if she was afraid of how her father would react to her death. Then again, how he would react to her mere injury was a fairly similar scenario. Perhaps there was no winning this little mental debate after all.
She inched to his side as he coughed, wincing as more of the fiery air entered her lungs. Following his direction, she noted the slightly lower fires and hoped that meant they were closer to an exit rather than death. The order to stay close made her nod as she coughed again, keeping pace with him as she followed his lead. The increasing warmth made her want to bolt, but she wasn't about to do something that idiotic and risk getting even more lost then they already were. If he knew a way out the way he seemed to, there was hope after all.
"Alright!" She coughed back as they moved, golden eyes narrowing against the smoke that made tears bolt down her cheeks. She just wanted to get out of this mess, to see her sisters again, and her parents...
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:46 pm
The mare didn't seem to be completely addled by the smoke yet. That was a good sign. If she couldn't move on her own there wasn't a lot he could do to help her at this point. A soquili who couldn't move on their own was a dead soquili. Whether it was from a broken leg or a lingering cough Delacroix knew that rule to be true.
He threaded his way through the inferno as fast as he dared with the mare still following him. His hooves and lower legs were completely black with ash by now and he had the feeling that the rest of his coat would follow soon. Each breath he drew in stung. Not a good situation. Not good at all.
In the haze of the smoke he even wondered if he was going in the correct direction. "Still with me?" he called back to the mare. When he turned his head to face forward again the curve of the river was suddenly within sight. "There!" he rasped out. "Get to the river and we should be all right!" Or so he hoped. There were still so many ways to die even in the water...
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:27 pm
Masque lowered her head, snorting in displeasure at the taste of the smoke in her mouth. She loved the clean scent of wind and the fresh bite if pine trees, and that was long-gone beneath the heat of the fire and the smoldering ash it left in its wake. Her father had once told her fire was a living thing, it ate the woods and drank of the air, and thrived, running rampant. That was why he had cautioned her if she ventured to the plains in high-summer, when the grass could catch fire from the blazing sun or a quick-moving summer storm.
Well, he certainly had never imagined she'd wind up trapped in the heart of a brush-fire deep in the woods.. Nor that she might cause another Soquili to lose their life as he tried to rescue her. Shaking her head to clear the cruel thoughts away, Masque quickened her stride, quickly threading in the stallion's wake through the woods.
She longed to point out he shouldn't have risked himself for her, but didn't want to insult his courage. She was grateful for it, as long as he did not suffer for her sake. Judging by the bite of branches and fire, and the hiss of coals under their hooves, she was willing to bet he already had.
"Yes..." She answered, the word forcing itself from her throat with more strength then she realized she had. Well, she certainly wasn't going to turn into a coward, they were going to get out of this alive! Somehow. "Right behind you."
The dry rasp of his voice made her fling up her head, following his line of sight to the river. Her heart leapt, then steadied, beating stronger in her chest with elation rather than fear. She was a frequent swimmer, as it was the only way she knew to get close to her sister's description of flying. Unlike her sire and elder half-sister, Masque had no wings. If she had, perhaps she would not be in this situation.
Then again, she would not have met this stallion either. 'Everything happens for a reason...' Kaishara always said.
'I hope we live through this, then...' Masque silently returned, pressing a little closer on the stranger's haunches, skirting another falling branch.
"Almost out of this nightmare..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:05 pm
Delacroix bounded through the smoke-filled air. He didn't dare run at his full speed, both for fear of injury and for fear of losing the mare. Much as his instincts screamed at him to bolt for safety, he forced himself to slow enough to keep pace with her. He winced as the tip of his tail brushed against something hot. They were almost there, almost out of the fire. He kept himself going with these thoughts until suddenly they had arrived, the river stretching out before them.
While he normally considered rivers tranquil, this one did not seem to fit that definition. It wasn't that it was swifter or more treacherous than any other river, but the light from the fire roiled on the surface and made it look almost like a river of flame itself. He balked at this sight, mind disoriented for one dizzying moment. Once that moment was complete, he turned to look back at Masque.
"You can swim, right?" he hoped the answer was yes. If not, things were about to get even more difficult....
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:38 pm
Masque stretched her shorter legs and pushed herself to a quicker speed, difficult with the hiss and spit of the flames all around her. Still, the stallion was risking everything to help her, a total stranger... And she wouldn't slow him down more than was necessary. Another burning branch came down on her right, grazing her hindquarters and leaving a trail of heat in its wake. She didn't dare glance back but let it urge her onward, drawing closer to the unicorn's side and feeling ever-so-grateful at the sight of water ahead.
Painted orange and red by the fire or not, it was better than the woods all around them. His hesitation made her glance up and nod firmly, drawing even with him now.
"Well enough." She coughed. "Can you?"
This section of the river wasn't familiar to her, so she had no idea if he would be able to touch bottom where she could not, or if they were both about to be over-their-ears in water. Still, there was only way out of the heat of this mess, and at that moment she would have leapt into the the Bitter Water, if it would get her out of this mess.
The roar of the fire behind them made her wince and edge closer to the water, gathering herself to leap in. "Come on, it's about to get worse! Upriver, or down?"
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