Where had it gone? It was here a minute ago.
Ni'awtu moved around the large clumps of bushes, her head close to the ground as she sniffed out a scent only known to her. Her long forelock dragged along the ground unnoticed, the bell tinkling sweetly as it bumped across the rocks and sticks that littered the area. In such a quiet area, the bell was almost eerie. Like a spirit calling to the living from somewhere far away. A demon trying to draw in the unlucky with its innocent call.
If you believed such things, that was.
Ni'awtu did not. She wasn't sure what she believed, but she knew for certain there was no such things as demons luring the unwary. More than likely it was just a bad Soq doing the luring. And from the disappearances of a companion, the stories and legends would spring. About how they hadn't merely gotten lost, but were spirited away by something terrible and/or unworldly. Such nonsense.
Maybe that was why the mare wasn't watching where exactly she was going. Or how the quiet of the place was like a funeral, demanding the attention and respect of the mourners in quiet grief. No, Ni'awtu was more focused on the little mouse she had seen dart in this way. It ran like it was being chased by something and this stirred her curiosity. What was it running from? Was it hurt?
So far, she hadn't caught another glimpse of it. Nor of the cross made from branches in front of her until the ground suddenly gave way below her. With a shriek, she fell a few feet, landing on her knees and back hooves in a narrow pit where the soil had given way. Her wings uncurled from her sides and spread themselves like she expected to use them as extra muscle to get out. Attempts to crawl out only had her falling back to her new height.
She began to dig frantically to make herself a dirt staircase with which she could escape this creepy hole, her wings now raised above her and flapping slightly as if calling out for help on their own.
But it was not creepy enough to make her panic. Mother Nature would have to do better than that short of harming one of her own in front of the mares eyes. Ni'awtu had a distaste for the sight of blood. She could never look at it for more than 30 seconds before either fainting or having to turn away.
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