|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:36 pm
Sakura awoke with a start. Her mind was numb as she blinked through bleary eyes. It was only after the first cough that she realized something was very wrong. Staggering to her hooves, white flashed underneath her eyelids as her blood surged within her veins. All her muscles tensed at exactly the same time. What was happening?
Breathing raggedly and still struggling to see, the mare let out another cough. It was a deep, gravelly sound: a hacking cough that would normally have echoed through the still forest, but was lost in the thick air surrounding her. A familiar flutter of wings brushed against her mane as Tinsel buried into the braid. Her faithful humming bird, clinging to her for security.
Struggling to find the exit to the cave she had spent the night in, she blinked again. If only she could see through all the... smoke? Something clicked within her mind as she linked the acrid smell to her swollen, unseeing eyes. Smoke! Fear shot through her like the lash of a bullwhip as she escaped through the narrow hole in the rock, her shoulders scraping painfully along the walls in her rush. She didn't even notice. The second she saw the bright, glowing beat outside, she froze. Fire. Fire. Fire!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 7:13 pm
 Acacia had been sleeping, it had been a relatively peaceful night...so far. But the nightmares began. Dark, sinister shadows snuck around her and surrounded her. They were teasing her senses, but she was unable to move. The shadows, mocked and shook with laughter, their black forms seeming to elude her. It was...devastating....and vaguely familiar. Something was tugging at the string of her mind making her wonder where had she met these shadows, and just as the shadows were parting...as they flickered, she awoke. Her heart was pulsing loudly in her hear, she wasn't sure what was wrong. Her eyes were wide awake, and looking around she viewed the bright orange sky. It must be about to be daybreak, she thought. But then something struck her, something paralyzed her for a moment, forcing her to feet. Standing there shakily, she sniffed the air...Her eyes still blindly viewing the sky. It wasn't dawn...it wasn't sunset, it was the middle of the night... The one word that terrified her above all others was ringing loudly in her ears. The forest around here was on fire. Which way to run?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:26 pm
The mare stood frozen, rapt as her eyes drew deeper into the flickering flames. Long tongues of orange leached out towards her, coaxing, almost beckoning her. Heat seared her flank, yet her mind was numb to it. She took a step towards the inferno, breath freezing in her throat. Flickers of every color imaginable flashed though the air, mostly drowned out by the reds and yellows, but still there if you looked hard enough. The deadly force had an odd beauty that captivated her. Strange faces formed within the shadows, the image of an eye held for a brief second before being replaced by a hawk, then a wave. Her body took another step towards it. Intricate images danced all around, a deceiving cheerfulness covering up their lustful ways. A long tendril reached out to stroke her as she stumbled forwards to join them, wanting to join this strange dance, this world of nothing but color and joy and warmth. It wanted her. She belonged there.
Perhaps it was the fumes that had affected her brain, or perhaps it was the sheer unexpectedness of such circumstances that made her incapable of normal bodily functions. It overrode her fight or flight instinct, reflexes dulled as her vision began to swim.
And yet something pulled her back from the deathly dance. A short, sharp jab of pain behind her ear. Once, twice, thrice. With each stab she regained a part of her mind until she shook her head clear. What was she doing? Adrenaline flooded into her, all her muscles tensing in that brief second whilst the nervous impulse was carried through her brain. To run or stay? The answer was obvious. She could barely comprehend that her familiar had been the one to stab her with her beak, dragging her back to reality, before the adrenaline swamped her and she took off in the first direction she chose.
And not a moment too soon, for she had barely kicked off when a flaming branch collapsed to the ground with a loud crack, into exactly the space where she had been standing, frozen, mere milliseconds ago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:42 am
Her heart was beating so loudly that her body was pulsing with it. She could hear the loud crackling in her ears, and smell the ashy smoke burning her lungs. She could feel the fire singeing her. The horrifying dreams came back full force, and it was taking everything in her to keep herself running. Her mind kept floating back in time, hearing the screams that had tortured her childhood.
And yet, her body was running mindlessly. She didn't know where she was running to, she was just running...That's all she knew.
She heard noises, and it brought her back to semi-reality. Where there others running to?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:05 am
Though the mare was by far not the fastest being to inhabit the forest, a hidden source of strength fueled her muscles. Her legs churned over the ground beneath her, her wings pressed tightly against her body for ultimate speed. Her mind was blank, unthinking. White terror consumed it, an emotion so powerful no words would form. Muscles stretched and relaxed to their full capacity as her eyes rolled within her skull.
For a brief moment, a waft of burning air drove up under her wings. Should she fly above the inferno? But heat pressed in on all sides, to the left of her, to the right of her, above her. The canopy was on fire. Should she fly, within moments she would be nothing more than another speck of ash flying through the smoke.
Run... run... run... It was all that she could do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:48 pm
The flames licked at her, danced near her skin in fiendish delight. Each fiber in her being was telling her not to think, not to pause but to keep going. Blind luck would get her out of here! Anything, but standing here motionless.
Forcing herself to breathe, she felt the ash to into her lungs and coat her throat. It was so warm, that her throat felt like it would shut rather than take another breathe in. The heat was so extreme, she could barely think.
Think...think....What to do? She looked around here, and the whole world was on fire as if this was the end and the heavens had opened and poured forth torrents of fire instead of water. She glanced around, all there were were flames...Looking to the sky, she saw--to the left, the air was less smoky. It was her best choice.
And once again her body was in motion, fleeing. But for now, she was in control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 7:28 am
Legs pumped frantically beneath her, fear providing all the fuel the mare needed. Her lungs screamed for air as her breathing became ragged, spluttering and gasping for oxygen through the smoky air. Her step faltered, her vision swimming for a moment, yet she still ploughed on. Whence she ran to, she could not say. But she could not stop.
And suddenly a stray root hit her hoof. The pale mare collapsed, knees buckling as the sudden obstacle wrenched her off course. Her eyes rolled, the whites exposed, a vivid image of panic, as her head struck the ground with a thud. Smoke billowed around her: thick, choking smoke that was relentless. It forced its way into her lungs till the mare was sick with dizziness.
Her legs struggled beneath her, trying to force her back up. Her mind was hazy. A spluttering cough racked her frame. Everything was blurred. Time was running out fast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 11:25 pm
She was running. She was going as fast as she could, like there was wind propelling her forward on a sail. But as she ran, as her fear threatened to overtake her, she heard a racking cough.
Skidding to a stop, her heart thumping she was torn. She knew no one in these woods. Someone was there...maybe hurt. Should she risk it...should she run? Acacia didn't know them after all....But...what if someone had done that to her family. Maybe someone had.
She felt the tears sting her eyes, unbidden. She was terrified. Her whole body trembling, her mind racing. The flames were singeing her fur, but she would look. What if...Tears rolled down her cheek, as her trembling legs moved forward to search for the sound.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:17 am
Another cough shoved its way through her lungs as she attempted to take a deep breath of the blistering air. Her whole body trembled with exertion, though she no longer struggled to get up. Her mind flickered in and out of consciousness, things going dark for a moment before snapping back to a hazy reality.
Sounds no longer registered in her ears; flames melted into an orange blur. Yet through that mess of colors, something else was moving. Something white stood out. Was it alive? Had the spirits come to take her? A flash of something vaguely resembling panic momentarily flickered through her mind, yet it was weak. Was she ready to die?
Trying to focus on the shape, rather unsuccessfully, she managed to cough out one word: "Help..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:02 pm
She was shaking when she found her. It was so much more horrible than her memories...this was real and unescapable. She was terrified. This was real again...but it was almost as if she saw her family there....the flames licking at their body, ready to consume them at any moment.
But she was here. Someone had saved her and now she had the chance, despite her fear. It was something she had to do. She had to save her, it was the right thing...it was payment for whoever had saved her. She would come full circle.
Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the mare. She nudged at her to see if there was anymore response. She had thought she had heard a faint response...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:11 am
"Help..." She croaked one last time before darkness swamped her. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her skull as her head fell back, hitting the baking ground with a thump.
The image of a blurry patch of colors, all she had seen of her savior, remained etched on her inner eyelids as she slid into a world of delirious heat. Racking coughs still pulsed through her body.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 12:25 am
She was alive, not conscious but alive. It was like seeing herself laying there all that time ago. Grabbing the mare, the best she could, she tried to drag her away. The heat was licking at her skin, burning it...making her terror run wild. She was scared, terrified. And yet...She was calm.
What if someone had ran like she wanted to when it had been her lying there? Inch by bloody inch, she dragged the body. Pulled at whatever she could grab a hold of to get her further. She was small, but she wouldn't leave her. No, she wouldn't.
Acacia dug her heels in deep, and kept backing away as the fire cackled all around her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:49 am
Sakura was nothing but a dead-weight. Her familiar, Tinsel, peeked out from amongst the folds of her mane in horror. There was a fire raging all around them, and her companion would not move! She trilled a high pitch song, echoing her fear and despair. The hummingbird could probably fly away to safety if she wanted, if she stayed low over the ground, but she could not leave her companion!
The mare bumped across the ground as rock and twig hindered their journey, clinging desperately to her mane as though they were trying to drag her back into the inferno. But she saw none of this. To the world around her, she was gone. Only this stranger could save her now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:54 pm
The flames were licking at her hooves, and she tugged harder. Sweat was cascading down her back and legs, as she pulled. It seemed that there was fresh air gusting at her from somewhere. Looking around, she tried to feel where it was coming from. The cool breeze hit the side of her face and she tugged the still form that way.
The sky began to look clearer, the heat seemed to be fading slightly. Maybe this was it, freedom?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 5:25 am
Tinsel's small mind was whirring frantically. Sakura was unconscious. This stranger was dragging her. Stranger danger? No, the stranger was helping Sakura. She chirped another loud call and dug her small talons into her companion's ash-coated mane. Her small wings flapped frantically, trying to help Acacia to pull the heavy load.
But her tiny wings grew fatigued fast, and she seemed to be hindering more than helping. Panic gripped her, but through it she could just about sense the cooler draft of air that filtered around her. Cold! No fire! "This way!" She trilled, making the effort to speak in the horse language.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
