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 Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:09 pm
Apatite’s sleek body shot through the water with each strong pulse of his tail. The large, flowy fins helped to propel him further and faster than most of his kind, a testament to his mixed blood. He was a powerful male, sinewy muscles flexing with each elegant movement. But he was weakening. Fatigue sapped the strength from his muscles, each movement becoming just that little bit more heavy, just that little bit tougher to complete, than the previous one. Soon he’d need to stop and find a place to rest, or else he’d risk getting caught out in the open during the daytime.
Daytime.
His facial muscles tightened at the thought, mouth setting in a thin line. He couldn’t be caught outside then. He had to avoid others. It was too dangerous. They might know what he was, what he’d done. They’d kill him for it if they knew, of that he was sure. Nostrils flaring, his dark eyes flashed from side to side. He tried to block out the mental images, the bloated bodies of floating corpses, the lingering screams that threatened the following silence, the winding snake of poisonous blood, leeching out from their wounds, dissipating into the water.
No. No one could know what he’d been through. They’d blame him, it would be his fault. His eyes hardened with determination. He would seek shelter; keep swimming by night, futilely trying to rest by day. One day he’d be far enough away to settle again. Maybe a murky cave in a long-off swamp. Maybe the dark depths of some ocean crevice. There he’d be safe. There no one would ever be able to find him again. It was the only hope he could afford of having a future.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:59 pm
Cyllene’s body lay stretched out on the soft seaweed bed. Gentle snores rose from her muzzle, adding to the quiet melody of lapping waves that filled the little cave. It was a small place, although cosy. The floor had been worn smooth from the continuous pressure of the water, and was covered with a fuzzy growth of various small kelps, seaweeds and algae. Thousands of cracks and crevices covered the walls. Some looked natural, others as though they had been chiselled out with some sharp implement. They were full of an assortment of objects. Cups, bracelets, boxes, bits of pottery, gems, coins and hundreds of other trinkets lined every inch of the cave. They hid in the coral, were wedged behind inside that little crack in the corner, lay stacked up in huge piles of treasure. It was Cyllene’s private stash, and she was immensely proud of it.
A crack in the ceiling let in a lone ray of moonlight. It shone down through the water, coming to rest upon her sleeping form. It blanched her soft, sleek fur a pale silver, as though she herself was another of the treasures that surrounded her. A mop of hair, dyed brown by the lighting, sprawled around her head in a halo. Strands of it were everywhere, lying across her nose, tangled in a nest behind her neck, hanging over the edge of the seaweed bed.
Her eyes were closed peacefully, her lithe form stretched out luxuriously. The only movement from her came from the gentle rise and fall of her chest as her body filtered oxygen out from the surrounding water.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:19 pm
Dawn was approaching far too rapidly for the stallion's liking. His eyes flickered nervously to the light appearing above head, filtering through the dark waters and turning them a dreary grey. Apatite's heart began to race, rising to a pounding thud within his chest. Adrenaline curled his fins as he propelled himself towards the only shelter he could see - a dull rock face.
The fur on the back of his neck rose into stiff spines as he cast a careful glance around. Despair filled him as he considered his position. A singular seathi, stuck floundering through the oceans by himself. Forever afraid. Forever on the run. Forever alone. Why? Why him? His heart wrenched within his chest as he hung his head, closing his eyes but refusing to lower his speed as he raced towards the rock. His whole life was centred around this one belief, that he wasn't safe, that he had to keep moving to be alive.
One day, he vowed, one day he would break free. He would travel so far that no one could ever track him down. There he could live his life in peace. Peace. What an alien concept. He squared his shoulders, setting himself with determination. Yes, peace, one day he would achieve it. But for now... for now he had to keep running.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:05 pm
Thoughts rattled through her brain, perpetrating her dreams and tinging them with treasure, stallions and storms. In one she had four legs and stood upon a raft made of palm trees, strapped together with vines. She sailed it, the menace of the seas, the terror of the ocean, pirate queen supreme. The scenario switched. Now she was swimming through a ship-wreck, weaving to and fro, her expert eye on the scout for any glimmers of gold. Again. She was trapped in a swirling vortex, being pulled from her cave by the force of a whirlpool. She was drowning. Drowning? But she could breath. Bubbles were everywhere, raging force threatening to rip her apart. And so on they changed, some blurring into others, some ending suddenly, some just slowly fading into nothingness, a cacophony of half-imagined fantasies, most of which wouldn't make it back into her waking mind.
Back in the cave, her orange body convulsed as each new dream seized her. She flipped first one way, then another, slowly getting closer to the edge of the rock she was snoozing on. The sun's light was getting brighter, heating the water, shining through her eyelids and threatening to wake her up. "Nnnggghhrrrgggg" She mumbled, before her voice was stifled by another snore.
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