Welcome to Gaia! ::

Since her mother passed, Sihaya's father had seemed to double down on his campaign to have her follow in her mother's footsteps. The night prior they had gotten into a giant argument. His hopes for her, his fears, just didn't align with what Sihaya wanted for herself. She was sick to death of the ongoing pressure to play it safe, to conform to his idea of what his daughter should do. The night had ended with her leaving the family den and heading off to crash with a good friend of hers. The young doe had no intention of going back until after she had succeeded in pursuing her vision for herself. Her friend, Latoni, was planning on heading to the Grandfather Tree in the morning to really cement her own status as a fully fledged adult and extended the offer to Sihaya.

"After all, it'd make you feel better and it'd show him that you're serious. That you aren't just being rebellious to spite him." Latoni grinned sleepily at her from her place where she had been watching Sihaya pace. "We'll both need to rest though. I plan on leaving in the morning. I can delay for you if you'd like me to?"

Sihaya had stopped her agitated pacing, taking series of slow, deep breaths, stilling herself. "You make good points...And, no, you don't have to change your plan for me. I will come along. I believe I'm ready for what the Tree has in store for me." She had to be. The blue pintaloosa doe settled in next to her drowsy friend and soon found herself drifting off too.

Her extended anger had worn her out more than she had realize, causing her to sleep deeply and dreamlessly. The early light of morning drew her into the waking world first. Her movement to rise and seek out some food stirred Latoni from her sleep. The two does ate their fill, drank until they couldn't anymore, and then headed out across the Barrens. It felt the further she got from Homewood the more excited and nervous Sihaya became. She and Latoni exchanged predictions and encouragement to speed each other on their way.

Their chatter quieted as Grandfather Tree's plateau rose before them. Sihaya couldn't say for certain if it was awe, reverence, or their shared nerves that caused their conversation to die. As they approached, she nudged her friend and offered a smile. "You'll do great. Good luck to you. We'll have to compare experiences afterward."

Latoni chuckled and nuzzled her. "To you as well! I have no doubt that you'll do amazing. See you in a bit?"

Sihaya nodded and the two parted ways, each to find the spot that seemed to speak to them most. It didn't take the pintaloosa long before she found a place below the Tree that seemed to say 'here is where you need to be' and so she entreated the mystic oak. "I'm ready to find my place. Please, let me prove myself."

[WC: 500]

Quote:

You are in the ruins of Erli. Smoke billows out of one of the laboratories. You hear a cry of fear.
What do you do?

Not one to go into things blindly, the blue doe was aware of the mind spinning, breath snatching, earth falling away feeling of being swept up by a dream vision from the Grandfather Tree. As such, she had given herself a wide stance, breathed deeply, and closed her eyes until after the disorientating feeling faded. "Oh..." She uttered softly when she opened her eyes to look around. This was the ruins of Erli. She hadn't gone out to the ruins much at all before, but there was no doubt. No where else around Homewood looked like this. Remnants of the Others everywhere. The buildings were unfamiliar. No sooner than the time it took her to take a few inquisitive steps forward did the winds shift and carried with it the distinct scent of smoke. Something was ablaze! Sihaya hurried along to find the source. It was close at hand apparently! Just rounding a few corners, she soon found herself in front of a building that had smoke billowing out of empty or long shattered windows.

Now that she was closer, a worrying cry met her ears. It was sharp and deeply distressed, coming from within the burning building.

"HELP! Someone, anyone, please!" Sihaya slid in through the open doors, keeping her head low below the majority of the clouds of thick, dark smoke. In the heated gloom, the doe spotted a scuttle scale, frantically skittering from the front room she had entered to some place deeper within the building. She called out to the lizard. It took a few attempts to draw the frantic familiar's attention enough to where she could get a straight, somewhat coherent answer out of the scuttle scale. "My bonded, he's trapped under some debris and the fire is spreading! Please, help! Please!" They dissolved into frantic pacing and anxious babbling.

"Hey! Look. At. Me. I'll get him out. You have to show me where he is. I know you're scared, I know. Walk right in front of me, or between my front hooves, since it's so dark. We have to move quickly! I'm right on your tail. Okay?" She stared earnestly into the lizard's wide eyes and gave a slow nod.

The scuttle scale nodded and moved into position right in front of the pintaloosa doe, hurrying off into the hot, ever increasingly thick smoky interior. She kept close, her head low and on a swivel. A few large rooms in, the sound of coughing and pleading shouts began to echo out. "There! He's there!" A quite young looking, small ivory champagne buck, pinned under knocked over metal shelving unit, smudged black and grey from soot, dirt, grease, and who knows what else.

Okay, it was a pretty straight shot from here to outside. Sihaya looked down to the buck's bonded companion. "Go wait outside for us! It's too dangerous in here! We'll be right out."

"No," The reptile cried desperately. "I can't leave him!"

A frustrated groan was all she could answer. Maybe they had only just recently soul bonded or something. "Fine, okay! But you're doing as I say, am I clear?" With an assent given, Sihaya set to work. "Tell him it'll be okay. Try to call him. Panicking is the last thing someone wants to do in this smoke." While this particular room wasn't burning yet, she could hear the roar and crackle of an active fire nearby. She needed to give herself a little more time to work. The ceiling had partially collapsed, and through the smoke, in what remained, she saw a strange, large, heavy looking swelling in the paint? Fibrous ceiling material? She had no clue what it was, but what struck her as interesting was how it looked mildewed. Maybe rain had filtered through various open windows, broken walls to collect toward the lower floors. Not too much circulation of air deeper in... EH! Worth a shot! "Cover his face, and keep your head down. Hold tight!"

That was all the warning she gave. She leaped up on the slick metallic table in the center of the room, coughing in the hotter, smokier air. The jump was doable. Hopefully it'd work out for her. Sihaya held her breath as she threw herself bodily at the bubbled ceiling, head up so that the sharp point of her horn might aid in breaching the bubble. It was a jarring sensation. Her head ached at connecting, but the remaining ceiling was almost spongy feeling, damp. The body blow was thankfully enough. The swollen ceiling ruptured, dropping a stinking gush of water into the room, along with soggy pieces of ceiling. Thorough soaking everything, Sihaya was satisfied that'd buy a bit more time.

The bonded pair were spluttering when she joined them. "I'm going to lift this." She looked to the scuttle scale. "I'll need you to push something in next to me. It doesn't have to be for long. Just long enough for me to back out after you," She said looking down to the pinned buck. "Scoot out from underneath. Got it in you?" He nodded as did the lizard. Good, they were picking up what she was putting down. Sihaya thanked her genetics for her long legs. She'd be able to give the small buck enough space to crawl out without too much stretching. Nosing under the more elevated side of the shelves, she edged closer to the buck then pushed back against the pinning object. It creaked and clattered under the fractured ceiling, but up it went. She could hear the scuttle scale scramble against the wet tile. At her full height, the doe urged the buck to go. He achingly disentangled himself and staggered unsteadily to his feet behind her. The scuttle scale pressed something forward, wedging it awkwardly into the space next to Sihaya. "Good work!" She dropped down and backed out with a few coughs. The smoke stung her eyes. "Can you walk?" The buck took a few limping steps. "Nnnnot well. Lean on me." She pressed against him. "Head down, noulja. You've been in the smoke enough."

With the scuttle scale scrambling a few paces ahead, the trio emerged coughing and gasping into the fresh air of outside. Once a safe distance from the burning building, Sihaya let the buck catch his breath. He didn't appear to have any open, obvious wounds that she could tell. "Did you two come out here on your own? Did you not have any other backup? It's so dangerous here on your own!" The pair immediately voiced they had gone out together. Sihaya pinned her ears back. "Foolish! Risky! You both could have been killed! No doubt you are capable together, but the ruins eat up those who don't take them seriously! You're lucky I was here to literally pull your butts out of the fire. Please, be more careful going forward! Bring at least one other with you next time, okay? Let me help get you back to Homewood. You ready? If you are, lean on me and we can get going."

[WC: 1176]