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 Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:06 am
 It had not been easy getting away. She may not have been spotted during her run through the forest but Lapin had needed to stop several times along the way to avoid the prying eyes of the condors above. Plus she had herd the sound of larger Soquili behind her several times, which told her that the guards had been doing a sweep of the area. At least that's what she hoped it had been, because it would be terrible if they were coming after her. But she had managed to eventually get out of the herds territory and though she remained cautious for the next bit of the journey she had eventually decided that no one had saw her and therefore she was safe to run across open areas.
She had ran into Lightfoot on her way out, explaining what had happened and told him to stay there, keep and eye out and if anything major came up to track her down. She gave him the general way to get to Mercy's training lands, but the mare could likely be found at any point of the journey there.
Lapin had lost track of time as she raced to find her Aunt. Her lungs burned, heart pounded in her chest but other than a quick rest here and a stop for a drink there the small mare refused to stop to rest. She had to find her Aunt quickly and get help to the herd. But Lapin was running out of energy. Her body kept saying no even as she pushed just a little bit more. Being a healer she knew it wasn't a good thing, but what choice did she have? Every moment that the herd was captured they were in danger.
Racing around a curve in the trail Lapin tripped over a root that had been sticking just above the ground. Try as she might she couldn't recover from this and went tumbling to the ground. She tried to get up but her muscles were too overworked, she needed to rest. She had no idea how close or far away Mercy would be. Closing her eyes Lapin decided to give her body a few minutes of rest but she couldn't help calling out in some vain attempt to summon her Aunt to her side. "MERCY!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:43 am
 The trip home had taken a fair bit longer then she had expected, she and Kolli had been distracted along the way with various sights and adventures and while they still had a ways to go Mercy could feel herself getting closer. Closer to home and the family that she hadn't realized just how much she had missed until she had started on her way back to them. So much had changed since then, she was no longer the helpless naive creature who had left them and a part of her worried that they might be taken aback by the changes ... but they were her family and in her heart she knew that changes or not they would always love her.
Resting in the shade Mercy waited patiently for Kolli to return, the stallion had gone to serch for some flower he said grew in these areas and while she had helped him for a time she got the sense that he wanted to do so alone and left to rest. Perhaps he wanted to surprise her with it later on, it was hard to tell really, Kolli had a habit of wandering off now and then by himself - but Mercy rarely minded , he almost always came back with some small token of his affection. It was sweet really.
'Someone is calling your name." Sorin suddenly interrupted the mare's thoughts, the owl's head turning this way and that and startled Mercy strained to hear.
"I don't hear anything.." She told the owl,
"It is very faint..but they are definitely calling you." The owl responded "And it is not Kolli, a mare by the sounds of it."
"I don't know anyone who would be calling me out here..it is to far from the herdland to be one of my family." Mercy responded "Lead me there...but carefully ..just in case." She instructed the owl. Indeed in her younger years the mare would have run straight towards the voice..but she had learned a great deal of caution during her time with Ironforge.
Sorin bobbed his head once and then launched himself from the tree in which he had been roosting, his great bulk making the branch shake as he did so. Quietly the pair made their way towards the calling voice...and once she got close enough to hear it herself, and recognize the voice Mercy picked up her pace.
"Lapin?" She called quietly through the woods. "Lapin!..What are you doing out here?" She demanded once she finally came into view of her niece with no signs of foul play involved. Perhaps the little mare had simply come to meet her and fallen? "Are you alright? What happened to you!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:51 am
She was dreaming. That's what Lapin thought when she heard Aunt Mercy's voice cry out. There was no way the mare was actually there, she had clearly fallen asleep where she fell and dreamed the whole thing up. But then the voice got louder and a shadow fell across her body. The exhausted mini cracked her eyes open and was greeted with the most wonderful site in the world. Her aunt truly was there! "Mercy!" She cried out in joy. Her prayers had been answered! She tried to get up but her legs were still too wobbly from all that running, she lifted her head and looked at the mare.
"Mercy...need help...herd...bad things..." She knew she wasn't making sense but between the exhaustion and the extreme excitement of making it she was struggling to put everything together. Taking a deep breath she continued, trying to be a bit more informative this time. "Their captured...I got away..wasn't there when it happened....scary monsters have them...and a spider mare...she says...she says that if they don't to as they as told....they will feed the foals...to the condors." She paused to catch her breath. "You have to help them!" And then she remembered the last bit of conversation that she caught before running for help. "It's a trap...the spider mare...she's after you! I heard her say it!" Well she hadn't heard the name Mercy, but what she had heard could only have been in reference to her aunt.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:03 am
Mercy had never been patient as a filly and young mare ...but that was just one more thing her lessons with Ironforge had taught her and while she became inwardly worried as Lapin started to mumble some nonsense phrases she remained patient and allowed her niece to get it all out - eventually she was able to make a bit more sense of the situation. When she did she almost wished that she had remained clueless as she felt her heart clench in her chest.
"A..a spider mare you say?" Mercy asked in a slightly breathless tone, though she tried very hard to keep the fear out of it. Sorin confirmed her inner fears however by muttering out the hated name.
"Pirata... it must be." The owl replied, "She will never forgive you for what you did."
Mercy shook her head to shush the owl, worried that anything said further would just upset Lapin. "Go and fetch some water for Lapin." She instructed the owl who bobbed his head and flew off. "And watch out for any of those wretched condors!" She reminded him as he did so. The owl responded with a hoot and Mercy turned her attention back to her niece. "Don't worry." She tried to sooth her "Everything will be okay." Though inwardly her mind was reeling about what to do.
Just follow your training, Mercy reminded herself after a few moments of slight panic. Get the story first - which meant rejuvenating Lapin enough to extract it with more sense..and then make a plan based on the information. First step first. "Sorin will bring water..and you should try to eat something, rest..and then tell me exactly what happened, include everything you can..how many you saw, anything you overheard." It was amazing to Mercy how she could sound so calm and soothing when she was all but freaking out inside.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:16 am
Lapin nodded her head. "I never heard her name, but I heard the term Spider Queen when others spoke to her." Hearing the owls comment Lapin wanted to ask what this was all about and why this so called Pirata would never forgive Mercy. It was clear that the mare had some vendetta against Mercy but the answer may never well be known to Lapin.
Her eyes watched the owl fly off. She didn't know her Aunt had an owl. But now wasn't the time to think about familiars. While she waited for the owl to return with a drink Lapin collected her legs underneath her, getting more comfortable so she could tell Mercy all that she knew.
"I wasn't there when it happened. I was out collecting herbs with Lightfoot and I got distracted by the abundance of plants I found outside of the meadow. When I finally headed home, leaving Lightfoot to play with some of his friends, I found one of the trails was blocked. I thought a tree had fallen down so I went to another one." She paused catching her breath and taking a mouthful of grass from the side of the trail where she lay. After swallowing she continue with the tale. "But that next path was blocked too. I didn't check the others but my guess is they have a lot of them blocked. I knew something had happened then, so I slowly made my way to the meadow but made sure to stay hidden in the trees. They had already captured the herd by then, Grandfather accepted the Spider Queens claim to the herd and told her they would do as she told. Another one said that if they didn't they would feed the foals to the condors."
Her breathing was finally returning to normal and while her muscles her still sore and she felt exhausted Lapin could feel some of her energy coming back. "I stayed as long as I could, so I could tell you everything. But the spider mare told the condors to fly out further, to keep watch for you and she mentioned Ironforge too. I had to get out of there before I was spotted. But I counted a lot of Soquili, all of them scary looking, there was a dozen, maybe more, it was hard to tell them were spread out and I didn't want to let them see me. So I ran...and then I found you."
She paused to make sure she had told her aunt everything and then she remembered something. "Eversong and Jarita tried to get away, to get help, but they had winged soldiers. They ripped out their flight feathers, a mare with golden hair did it and she wasn't gentle either." She paused and then said. "That's all I know."
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:39 am
Mercy's hide all but twitched at further mention of the so called 'spider queen', she swore that the memory of the mare made her old wounds ache and itch and she wanted so badly to scratch them..but the scars were hidden by her wings and she did not want to frighten Lapin by revealing them when she had already been through so much. She winced at the news of Jarita and Eversong's plight - what a terrible thing to experience but she was sure that the golden mare was the same one that Ironforge had fought when they rescued Supreme.
"The golden mares name is She-ra she is cruel and vicious, Ironforge fought her once." She told Lapin "When we rescued a slave named Supreme, I fought Pirata and killed one of her wicked little spiders..that's why she is after me." She told the little mare She supposed that Lapin had a right to know why her herd had been treated so terribly. It was all her fault and her gut twisted in guilt with this knowledge. "I don't know how she figured out where the herd lived..and how she knew I was coming home though.." She pondered, brow furrowing in thought before shaking her head as Sorin returned with some water, cared carefully in a large leaf pouch. "I suppose that doesn't matter for now...there are too many for me to fight alone...it will be faster if you and I hide out here and Sorin goes back with the story." She stated firmly.
They were still far enough out of the herd lands that Mercy doubted Pirata's spies would roam this far.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:47 am
"She was the only nice looking one." Lapin stated as Mercy explained why the golden haired mare was. How unfair was it that a beautiful mare like that was so deeply entrenched in evil. At least the explanation of why Pirata had taken the herd explained it to Lapin. And yet she didn't think a dead spider was good reason to capture an entire herd whose only connection was knowing the mare who did it. Evil made little sense. When the owl returned with water Lapin smiled. "Thank you Sorrin." She drank it all, and licked her lips when she was done. Having slacked her thirst Lapin looked up and nodded her head. "Better send him quick then. And it will give me time to rest."
Her energy was coming back slowly and the water was definitely helping, but having to make the long walk back home meant she needed all the energy she could spare. "I missed you Aunt Mercy." If only their reunion could have ben a more happy one, but she was doing what she could to save her family and Mercy would help with that.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:23 am
Lapin's last remark really wretched Mercy's heart, how unfair that the homecoming they had all been looking forward to for so long had been ruined by the likes of Pirata and her vicious band of miscreants. Unfair and cruel and harsh...all the things her family had no right to be involved with and all because of her...
Shaking her head to chase those thoughts away Mercy leaned down to give Lapin a nuzzle. "I missed you too, I missed everyone so much." She admit to the younger mare before turning away to send Sorin off. The owl was reluctant to leave but after explaining the entire situation realized that there was little choice in the matter and promised to return in force as soon as he could. Watching the owl fly off Mercy wished him a silent good luck before turning back to Lapin.
"When you are well enough we should move off the trail...I don't think anyone will come this far, but better not to take the chance."
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 10:30 am
Lapin relished in aunt Mercy's touch. She had missed her so much and had been the one hardest hit when the mare had left for training. It had taken a long time for Lapin to get over the 'betrayal' of that days events, but before long she had realized that it really wasn't the end of the world and that when time allowed Aunt Mercy would visit them. After that she had thrown herself into training to become the herds healer and now she loved that role. Thinking of that she was saddened to think that she wasn't there to help her family in this time of need. And yet she was helping them, if she hadn't run to find Mercy then they might be in more trouble or Aunt Mercy would also fall into the trap.
After resting for a little while where she had flopped on the trail Lapin got to her feet. She was still exhausted but Mercy's words spurred her into movement. "I do not want them to find us here." She made her way to the trees at the edge of the trail where they would be hidden from prying eyes should the condors or other wretched creatures come looking for them.
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:38 am
Damn the mare..and damn the condor's for being so difficult. Pirata would have his hide if anything went wrong, Kolli knew that very well and the thought made him pick up his pace just a little bit more. "Mercy!" He called out again and was on the verge of turning down a side path when he heard her answer ever so faintly from somewhere in the trees. Confused he turned in that direction, scanning the woods for sign of her until a trace of pink gave her away. Finally. Blasted mare.
Pasting a fake relieved grin on his face the stallion ambled towards her. "I was afraid I'd lost you somewhere!" He told her in the most sincere voice he was able to muster ..but wait Mercy wasn't alone he saw now, Kolli had to work hard to keep a frown from crossing his mouth but he managed to do so - even adding a cheery "Who's your friend?""Mercy's ear pricked forward as she heard Kolli's voice calling for her, he had been gone longer then normal this time and she had been vaguely worried that he might have trouble finding her. She had made sure that he knew where they were going so that they could meet up again further on but the rest of the trip would have been quite dull by herself.
Of course..that was hardly a concern now. In fact it seemed like a fairly petty worry given the current situation the Little meadow herd was in. "Over here!" She called out softly to Kolli when he had approached close enough, giving Lapin a reassuring look before returning her attention to Kolli. "Kolli I'd like you to meet my niece Lapin, she's part of my home herd." She introduced the two "It seems that there has been some trouble back home - Lapin has come to warn me." She explained, though she was a touch uncertain how to explain the entire situation, Kolli knew some of her history with Pirata but not all of it and though he had once been chased by one of the mare's guards the stallion was not a member of the Knights, merely a companion and she didn't want to frighten him...but then she didn't thing she would have a choice really. He was here and so he would have to deal with it eventually.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:46 am
When she faintly heard someone call and Aunt Mercy returned she hoped it was one of the nights. When the stallion came into view Lapin couldn't help but frown, something told her that he was not one of the knights Aunt Mercy trained with. He looked too small and not enough muscles either. Granted Lapin hadn't exactly seen a knight before, but she had a pretty good idea in her head of what they looked like and that stallion did not match the description. Seeing Aunt Mercy give her a reassuring smile Lapin felt only slightly less agitated by the stallions presence. She listened as Mercy told him that she was her niece and the reason why Lapin was here.
Lapin watched the stallion carefully. She didn't like him, but couldn't quite figure out why. "You're not a knight." She finally said. Yes, it was rude of her, but considering what she had just witnessed and gone through she figured it was to be expected that should wouldn't be overly open to strangers. Surely Aunt Mercy would forgive her, for she would understand that Lapin was under stress and obviously not herself at the moment.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 9:07 am
"Lapin!" Mercy chastised as her niece stated such a blunt remark, this was not the way she envisioned her family meeting Kolli and shifted somewhat uncomfortably but before she could say anything else Kolli interrupted.
"No it's alright." Kolli responded, giving the usdia mare and Mercy the warmest look he could muster while he inwardly seethed over her escape. How had this little mare managed to evade Pirata's troops? She might well ruin everything - especially since Mercy had already sent for help.He would need to find that blasted condor and send along this new development as soon as possible - something that might be difficult to do without giving himself away. He would have to tread carefully. "I'm sure that your niece is just under a lot of stress." He soothed Mercy with a soft nuzzle before answering the little mare.
"Your Aunt and I are..friends, she saved me actually, found me while I was wounded and helped nurse me back to health, we've become quite close...but you are right, I'm not a Knight." He acknowledged truthfully
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 11:39 am
Hearing Autn Mercy chastise her made Lapin's ears lay back onto her skull for a moment. She hadn't ever heard Mercy raise her voice like that before, but Lapin didn't apologize for her words either. Her gaze turned to Kolli as he began to explain that he wasn't a knight. See, she was right, he wasn't a knight! The worst thing though was watching that stallion nuzzle her aunts neck. It frustrated Lapin and she stamped her front hoof as he did it. She didn't care that they were friends or that her Aunt Mercy had saved him, she didn't like him one bit and she really didn't like him touching Aunt Mercy. Much as she wanted to say something about that there was a much bigger issue to deal with.
Their family was in trouble and needed saving. "How soon before the knights get here?" She asked Aunt Mercy. That owl had been sent off to go get them and Lapin was anxious to see them, to see real knights who would go and save her family from those evil Soquili who held them captive. "We have to save them Aunt Mercy. You haven't even met Olo and Whispers children yet!" Or Syrrin's for that matter. Those poor foals were probably scared out of their minds with everything that had happened to them. She wished she was there to give them some calming herbs, but if she was with her family then Aunt Mercy would not be warned, the knights would not come and Aunt Mercy would fall to the Spider Queen's trap.
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 6:58 am
Kolli wasn't sure if his little display had worked or not - but the annoying little mare had stopped staring at him and seemed to be refocused on the 'problem' at hand. It was amuse the stallion to no end to see everything play out the way it was supposed to - Pirata would undoubtedly reward him greatly for all the effort and work he had put into this little endeavor and Kolli indulged himself with a few seconds of dreaming about what that reward might be, perhaps she would give him a spider companion, or a higher ranking in her army...
He could go on an on with what he wanted but shook those thoughts away from the time being, there would be time for more dreaming later, at the moment he had to keep up impressions and placed a concerned look on his face as he listened to the two mares talk.
Mercy gave Kolli an appreciative look as he explained himself, she wasn't sure what had come over Lapin - the little mare had never shown such signs of jealousy before, at least not as far as Mercy could recall. Then again it had been a while since they had seen each other and Lapin was under a lot of stress, she supposed it made sense for the mare to be a bit unsure and uncommonly irritable given what had happened. She nuzzled Lapin soothingly.
"Sorin is pretty fast but it will take some time for Ironforge to gather the other's, it won't be long though - they will come as quickly as they can once the find out it is Pirata." She assured the little mare. Pirata was not an enemy to be trifled with, they had learned that the last time they had faced her and she was sure that Ironforge would respond swiftly.
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 7:09 am
Aunt Mercy's touch did help a bit, but she was still so worried about the rest of the herd and what would happen to them if the knights took too long. Would Pirata truly feed the foals to the condors? She practically shuddered at the thought, she would not let harm come to her nieces and nephews, or any family member for that matter, if she could help it. And that was why she had run faster and harder than she had ever run before. At least her muscles didn't ache too badly now and her breathing and heartbeat were back to normal but this waiting around was going to kill her. Each moment they waited was a moment too long in her opinion.
She wanted to say that she hoped the knights kill Pirata and every single one of her soldiers, but she kept that thought to herself. She also didn't want any harm to come to Aunt Mercy, for surely there would be a battle to free the herd from Pirata's grip. "I hope they hurry." She said, but right now all they could do was wait. Her gaze turned back to Kolli for a moment, she wished that the uneasy feeling that settled upon her each time she looked at him would go away...and yet she was glad for the warning, even if she didn't know why she felt so around the stallion. Maybe she just didn't like the idea of sharing her Aunt with anyone. Slowly she looked to Mercy. There was so much she wanted to say, but couldn't, wouldn't in front of Kolli.
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