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 Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:26 pm
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:42 pm
Fate? Well Fate was a fickle mistress. Reaching out to him and giving him hope--hope for a future, hope for companionship, and hope for a family of his own one day--only to yank the rug out from beneath his hooves at the last moment. Every. Single. Time… Van wasn’t one to dwell on the past and he was definitely not a moper…but every now and again, he thought of the various mares he’d fallen foolishly head over heels for. He’d remember their smile, their laughter, the happiness in their eyes. He’d thought it was going great and then…boom. They weren’t ready for a family. They weren’t ready to settle down. Or they just wanted a bit of fun. Maybe they’d found someone else, someone better--except the unicorn stallion truly gave it his all. He was the type to love with all of his heart and when your heart was cast away so many times, people tended to get bitter.
He sighed softly and shifted his weight, listening to the sound of the pouring rain, splattering the ground, turning it to mud just outside the small cave he often called home. A little hideaway near the ocean that he stored his various trinkets and treasures, little things he’d picked up along his journey. He couldn’t help it--shiny things got his attention. He was like a raven, collecting the prettiest items and hoarding them away. Now only if he could find a pretty mare to add to his collection…
That’s when he heard it--a faint cry, muffled by the thunder clapping overhead, but a cry nonetheless. His ears pricked and his tail, ever swaying, stilled as he listened. He didn’t hear another sound, but the sound that he’d heard had squeezed his heart in his chest, making its beat pick up. “Hello?” he barked, voice echoing in the small cave. Someone was in trouble and he wasn’t the sort to just stand by and let it happen. So giving a low huff, he ventured out into the storm to get soaked to the bone. “Hello?”
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:52 pm
Her legs could only carry her so far, her muscles aching with strain and with sorrow and each step weighed down her heart a little bit more. She was running--from the past, from a darkness that spread through her veins like blood. The same darkness that had sired her, a b*****d child of kirin ancestry and these damnable kalona horns. The same darkness that twisted her dreams at night, Danyel’s laughter raspy and soft in the back of her mind. She kept seeing her brother fall, gutted by ruthless fangs. Kept hearing his wet cries of pain as life slowly bled out from him, staining the grass red. And her mother… No, he’d taken everything from her. Taken her family, those she held dear, and he’d given her a request.
No. A demand. To hunt down a mare that shared her blood--her own half-sister by the name of Annushka--and slaughter her in cold blood. To prove herself to her sire, whom she despised. To prove that she was worthy of his blood. And if she didn’t? Everyone around her would die. He’d promised her that and the truth of it had wormed its way down her spine, embedding itself there and it made her sick. Because she knew he would…and it terrified her.
So she ran. She ran as hard and as fast as she could, through forests and fields, keeping to herself, a wraith in the darkness. But even the strongest souls would break eventually and as the rain poured down around her, soaking her to the skin and making her hooves slip and slide in the mud and muck, she broke. With a sharp cry of pain, her hoof caught a root and chucked her forwards. She landed--hard--on her shoulder, snapping the bones in her fetlock with one swift move. Pain blurred her vision as she struggled to breathe through the rainfall and through her panic. No… No no no. This couldn’t be happening.
But she couldn’t get up. She was alone, in the dead center of the forest, soaked to the skin and bleeding. She could smell the blood, her blood. And it scared her. Her entire body began to shake, almost uncontrollably, with pain and with anger and with fear as she cried out into the night, a sound of remorse. Not a cry for help… She was too proud to ask for help. But a cry of desperation as she lay down in the mud, mane plastered to her neck, and accepted this fate.
She wouldn’t have to kill Annushka.
She would have no reason to fear Danyel.
Maybe this, a slow death, was a blessing in disguise…
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:58 pm
His ears keened to the sounds around him, he slid through the shadows, slip-sliding through the mud that clung to his cloven hooves and splashed up around his legs with each foot step. “Hello? Is there anyone out there?” he called, voice pitched low but loud as concern wove through him. He’d heard something. A cry. And it had been filled with such…pain, such longing. The thought of someone out there, maybe injured--or worse--kicked his protective instincts into high drive. He moved as quickly as he could, squinting against the rain as it soaked him, making his entire body cold. Fall was soon upon them. Every night had been colder than the last, even with the sun high in the sky. But tonight it felt almost bitter. Like a taste of winter.
He heard a sound to his left and it made him jump. His breath puffed from his nostrils, hot against the chill, and he spun to the side. “Hello?” Voice softer now, hesitant. Watch it--his luck would have him walking blind into a trap, into the den of a blood-thirsty kalona. He scented the air, but the rain was just so thick. “Hello?” A whisper now.
Then he heard another cry, soft and moaning. Feminine… In pain. His heart rate ratcheted skywards as he moved quicker, only to find himself nearly tripping over the slick wet body of a mare. “Oh hell,” he uttered, backing away. Was she dead? Was he too late? And then the mare swung her head up--ram horns and all with eyes eerie black and red--and she shuddered. “How can I help?” he asked, nosing along her neck even as she breathed deep and shaky breaths. He could smell blood, but everything was so wet and dark. “Where are you hurt?”
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:09 pm
Skyrook lay very still when she heard the voice. Fluting low and masculine…and concerned. For her? Why? He could’ve been walking into a trap for all that he knew, and yet... She pursed her lips against the pain as she tried to move, jagged bone tearing through her skin even more, and she cried out soft. Tried to muffle it. The hoof steps drew nearer. /Please…Just go away. Let me die in peace…/ Her thoughts turned morbid, dark and dim, even though she knew it would take days for infection to set in, to turn her body against her as she withered away from dehydration. It wasn’t worth it… She couldn’t stop the moan that rose up her throat, desperate.
Then he was atop her, a large black stallion with jagged arrows across his pelt--bright and blaring--and his eyes. They glowed, very softly casting a gold tint in front of his face, illuminating worry and a very shaggy silver mane. His voice was a lull to her ears, soft and caring. Why did he care? Nobody else did! She lifted her head despite the weakness drawing her back down, ears pinned flat against her skull as she shot him a look. Go away, she wanted to shout. I don’t need anyone’s help.
But he was so concerned. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to move, only to cry out once more. “I fell… My leg… It’s broken. I can’t get up.” Her breath came out short and ragged. She was so tired. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep, to numb the pain of her wounds and of the scars on her heart. “Please…” She wasn’t asking for help…or so, she didn’t think. Maybe she was? Maybe this was one last act of desperation?
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:24 pm
Van frowned, brows furrowing as he looked her up and down, glancing to her legs when she spoke, her voice tight and pained, and he saw it--the way the bone ripped jagged through her leg, snapped off below the knee, blood seeping out around the wound, wicking away from the rain and the mud. He nosed it gently, the scent of her blood bitter against his nostrils, and he shuddered because he could only imagine the agony she must be in. He paced in a circle around her, tail lashing as he tried to decide what to do. “Hold on… Just let me…” But really? What could he do? He was just as useless as she was…
As the rain spattered down around them, he felt something stir within him, a low thrumming of power, like a light being flicked on dancing through his veins. His spiraled horn began to hum and glow, soft at first before it became brighter than his eyes. He was a unicorn. He’d never been trained at this… At healing anyone and if he ******** it up, he could damage the young mare beyond repair… But he couldn’t leave her here. Not like this. “Close your eyes and take a deep breath,” he said, voice a bit shaky as he dropped his head, to gently but firmly press the bone into place despite her shriek of pain, letting his horn rest against the jagged mess. He didn’t know what to do--but apparently his body did--and with a soft thrum of power, he watched in awe as her bones began to knit back into place, skin stitching over and gluing back together.
With each wave of power that washed into the mare’s wound, he felt himself grow weaker, dizzy and shaky on his feet. Then he was almost shoved back and the magic was over and he was out of breath. “Oh god… Are you… Can you stand? Try and put weight on it…” God what if he’d ******** her up royally.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:36 pm
Skyrook listened to his voice, ear trained on him despite the way he seemed to grow restless. Worried. Confused as he paced a circle around her. And then something changed, the world seemed to hum a soft sound of chimes in her ears and his horn began to glow pale white-gold. She stiffened as he told her to close her eyes, but she’d barely sucked in her breath when pain roared through her, she nearly came up off the ground with a shriek. Ears flat and fangs bared, she damn near took a chomp of the stallion’s neck as the pain slowly ebbed away, a cool relief setting in. Her bones popped and crunched--a weird feeling that made her leg feel almost numb, but numb meant she wasn’t in pain. And the unicorn’s powers did something to her fear too. Slowly making it seep away. As if she was safe…
She slowly got up, carefully gathering her feet under her, wary of the pain that might hit at any time. But she felt none. She looked up at the stallion, who seemed to be dazed, his eyes clouded over. Well crap. “Dude, are you alright?” she asked, slowly rising to her feet despite the way her body ached. Her leg…was okay. She was healed. He’d healed her… How was that possible? “Hey. Hello? Are you… Are you okay?” She asked as he seemed to sway on his feet and then tip a little. She pressed against his side to keep him from falling. “Dude. Come on. I got ya… Where’s your home? I’ll take you back.”
He blinked at her, opening his mouth but unable to find the words. So she grabbed a mouthful of his mane and tugged him forward. He fell into step beside her even though she feared he might just fall off his feet. He paused at the edge of the woods, tossing his head. She looked at him, but he seemed to realize where he was. So she followed him. It was the least she could do. He’d literally just saved her a**…
He ducked into a small cave, shelter from the storm, and she followed him. “What’s your name, man?” she asked, concerned for his well being. He’d healed her, but to what extent? Was he suffering from some sort of kickback, brain damage or something?
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