Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun beat down on the filthy dust coated pelt of the once shiny golden doe as she plodded across the baked earth. Stress, anxiety, and days without food or water were all taking a terrible toll on her both physically and emotionally. Not to mention the terrifying bone crusher beast that literally hounded her every move. Sunday looked up, feebly trying to determine how far they had come. Not that it would help, she was uncertain how much further the ruins were, or the Grandfather at this point.

Rend's own coat was dusty and unkempt as well. Following the meat bag deer was a pain, watching her every moment in case she tried to bolt. Neither of them had trusted the other to catch sleep and there had been precious little to eat or drink since they had left the woods behind. Her guts turned and howled in protest. They needed to get there, or close enough she could find her way, so she could feast on the stupid morsel leading her across this wasteland.

Sunday's mind was losing a struggle to stay coherent. The heat played tricks and provided mirages to sway her and the constant turmoil of her thoughts was driving her mad. The only thing that was keeping her moving was the glimmer of a plan that she had formed. The creature she was escorting to the ruins definitely planned to eat her as soon as it thought it would get there safely. But it was unfamiliar with their lands and did not know of Grandfather tree. This was her last ditch hope for survival. She had never made the treck to the tree, and had not really ever thought of it. But now as a forced prisoner of the bone crusher, she thought just maybe, she could escape her if the Grandfather had heard her prayers.

The doe stumbled, nearly falling to her knees. Rend snarled and snapped at her hock irritably, missing biting into her by mere inches.
"MOVE you stupid snack!" She growled impatiently. She was also weary and thirsty but was not going to show any weakness. The doe's plaintive whimper as she kept moving disgusted the bone crusher.

Sunday knew her body was faltering. She continued onward, eyes to the horizon, desperate for a sign of anything. More desperate to see it before the monster did. Please, Grandfather, let there be other nouls with you. Please help me find you. And then, as if hearing her pleas, a glimmer of white was there. Blinking hard to clear the grit from her eyes, she stared, terrified it may only be a mirage again.

There ahead, growing up on a great plateau was a magnificent white oak like nothing Sunday had ever seen. Her heart raced. This was it, there had to be a way to make her escape here.

"What is that? Are we there?" The harsh voice from behind her reminded her this was a delicate point. If the beast thought they were at the ruins she was done for.
"No... no but soon. This is a resting point." She said timidly through her parched throat."We can get water, it's only another few days." Sunday saw the gleam in the creature's eye. It was thinking about eating her, and it was the most chilling thing to witness.
"It's very tricky though from here!" She hurried on to explain, although she was making it all up. Who even knew how far the ruins were from here. "That's why there is a rest area ... everyone knows to rest here before going on." She ended rather lamely, hoping it was matter of fact enough to be convincing.

Rend's eyes narrowed. She sensed the doe was growing agitated. Why? Something was strange, but she had just about pounced on her right there on the spot, maybe she knew it and was getting flighty. "Well... lead on little treat." She would watch her extra closely.

Sunday moved forward, and they soon approached the great towering tree and it blocked the beating sun. The shade was so welcoming they both paused in momentary bliss under its great bows.

And Sunday saw this was her only chance. Summoning whatever she had left in her, she launched herself across the plateau. Pleading and praying there were other nouls visiting the great tree, she let out a terrified scream and bolted headlong at the gnarled roots of the ancient tree.

Rend had let her guard down, and that one moment was all it took. The doe was off at top speed she would never have guessed she had left in her. Snarling in anger, she tore off after her in full hunter mode, ready to rip her to pieces. Just as she was closing on the prey, another noulicorn leapt over a root and rammed into her with surprising force. This one was a heavy buck, and he managed to stagger her before she could turn on him. There were more here? HAd it been a trap? She reeled back as another buck joined the fray.

The last thing Sunday heard was the roaring snarls of the beast and a red blur as another noulicorn appeared, followed by more. She darted between great gnarled roots, crying in terror, and stumbled to her knees at the base of the tree. And then the world felt like it was rolling over as everything went dark.

Sunday blinked, looking around herself. The Grandfather was gone and there was no sign of the beast that had been chasing her, or the nouls that had leaped to her aid. What was happening? Quivering, she gathered her legs and stood up unsteadily. Then the realization she was no longer weak limbed and starving occurred to her. How was she suddenly in perfect health, she had been in bad shape after the beast had herded her through the barrens? Her heart dropped to her hooves as she let out a horrified gasp - she must have DIED! This was the after life then? Or...some other place all together? No, she told herself, that was not right. The beast had not gotten her, she had touched the roots of the Grandfather tree. This must be a dream then? It sure felt real.

The sun shone on lush green overgrowth, and strangely shaped rock formations. Beneath her hooves the ground was dark and hard, cracked and torn with the upheaval of roots. She had never seen this strange material before and had only heard stories about the ruins from other nouls. On closer inspection, the forms she saw were Other made buildings, she was sure. Vines and plants were overtaking them, softening all the strange angles and hard edges. She thought it was actually kind of beautiful. But why was the Grandfather showing her this?

A thunderous crash and a howl of agony startled her from her thoughts, and the doe bolted into the nearest tangle of bushes on pure instinct. Once in the tangle she came up against a wall and hunkered down. Heart pounding, she tried to still her breathing to hear better. There were struggling, scraping sounds, and what sounded like rocks tumbled somewhere very close. Then more yowls. Why had she so naively thought she was alone? Had she not overheard that the ruins were one of the most dangerous places in Vykeli? But it seemed as though nothing was immediately going to pounce on her.

A moment went by and the panicked doe inched forward and peered out between the leaves, alert for movement or danger. Deeply timid and fearful by nature, Sunday would have happily have stayed in the bushes for the rest of the day. Perhaps the rest of forever, or until she thought it was safe. But there was a moan nearby; a deep, guttural growling. It sent a shiver down her spine.

A huge beam had fallen, and a bone crusher lay pinned beneath it, obviously injured and barely able to move. She could just barely make out the scene from her vantage, and cringingly looked above herself in fear something else may fall. There was nothing above but tangled vines draping off a building. From her bushes the beast looked a lot like the one that had been herding her and tormenting her for days, but she could not be sure. Shuddering, she scooted farther back in the bushes again.

Paralyzed by indecision, Sunday sat knelt in the brush fretting as thoughts, doubts, and what-ifs argued in her terrified mind. Would the Grandfather show her the future? They had been headed to the ruins after all. Maybe this would have happened? Could happen? Or was it showing her a way to escape the creature... or showing her the crusher had already been crushed and she was free? Her eyes were wet with tears, her anxiety was out of control. Trembling, she berated herself for not taking advantage and running away, or running to help, or doing anything but sitting there like a stunned fawn.

The shadows had lengthened as she was lost in her turmoil. Looking again, there was no movement from the creature or the beam. Her heart thumped. Had she sat for so long worrying herself in circles the creature had passed on? Equal amounts of shame and relief flooded through her to add to the fear spurred adrenaline. She felt ill but willed herself to stand. There were no other noises of falling things in the ruins. The doe hesitated, ears perked, conflict warring within her. No, she was too scared to go near the creature and see if it was alive or not. Lowering her head, she quietly slunk away with her new burden of guilt into the cool dark solace of the overgrown plant life. At least she was alive, and apparently free of the beast that had planned to eat her one way or another. Suddenly she realized she was stumbling over large roots and looked up to see she was at the base of Grandfather tree once more.