Since her return from Grandfather Tree Ember had mostly been hanging around other young bucks and does who'd aged out the nannies care right around the same time as her. They were a carefree lot, and while Ember was enjoying having some fun, she could already feel a bit of a pull to be doing more. She had a gift now, and she needed to figure out what her place in Vykeli was. ... But first it was okay to have just a little more fun. Ember had been busy sun bathing, soaking in the warm rays of the sun when one of her friends ran up, giggling, hardly able to hold herself together. "Ember!! Have you heard?" Ember had clearly not heard. She shook her head, waiting for the rest of the explanation. "Oh, Scoria and the scuttles have come up with a new stone. For your true love!" The little doe tittered, and cast her big brown eyes over at another sunbathing doe. "But you have to go all the way to the Bog to earn it! Bring back water from a magical stream. But doesn't that sound sooooo romantic, Ember?"
Ember's ears perked. She didn't exactly have her eye on anyone, but that did sound like an adventure. Maybe she was meant to be an adventurer? Or a wanderer? Or a navigator? This would be a good way to test those positions out, after all. She sprung to her feet, grinning. "Sounds like an adventure to me."
---
It had taken Ember a few days of preparations, and even more days of trekking across the Barrens, but at long last she was at the liminal place that the Barrens blended into Blackbriar Bog. Neither was a particularly nice place, the Barrens were only too happy to scorch the skin off you, and Ember was now getting a nosefull of the rotting reek of the bog. The stories she'd heard had not overestimated the scent, as she hoped. "This is, decidedly, not romantic." What on earth could be romantic about this rotting heap? She shook her head, and plunged forward. The ground squelched around her and sucked at her hooves. "You know, I think I liked the Barrens better after all ... " She glanced wistfully behind her, but her task lay ahead. Mentally she crossed off anything to do with the Bog on her list of future professions. If this was her only trip to this gross mucky place, that would be a true blessing from Grandfather Tree.
Each and every step threatened to pull Ember under. She gritted her teeth and fought against the sucking slime. She shuffled her feet along the bottom, looking for firm purchase. As she worked her way deeper into the bog she noticed it was growing more and more humid. Beads of water mixed with the sweat on her flank, creating an uncomfortable feeling. Every inch of Ember felt dirty and griming. "Nope, this is the first and the last trip to this forsaken place." Her voice was firm, even if she wasn't speaking to anyone out here.
She spied a peat island and angled towards it, taking her time with each footstep. She'd heard enough stories about getting sucked under the murky water here. She didn't intend to be a casualty of not paying enough attention. She let out a long sigh as she reached the peat island. It still stank and it was oppressively humid, but at least she was out of the water and mud. Ember tried to orient herself based on where the sun was, compared to where this romantic spring was supposed to be. "Not sure love it worth this sort of effort. Pretty sure most noulicorns find a good enough love without trekking through this forsaken place ..." Ember grumbled. But she continued on.
Navigating the maze of the bog was tricky, as best. She took her time, and didn't rush the process. Every successful step forward was one closer to getting to leave, she just kept on reminder herself. The sun has crossed over the midday point a good while ago, leaving Ember to wonder if she'd need to overnight in the Bog. She let out a long groan. She just wanted to be out of here. But she had to be getting close to the spring ...
A little sound caught her attention. A splashing of water? She perked up. She couldn't imagine too many things out here splashing merrily like that. It was a very different sound than the common burbling and bubbling she'd grown used to. She kept her pace cautious, but the sound got louder and louder, and finally a happy sight greeted her. It was, in fact, a little spring.
The little trickle bubbled up from the ground, and looked clean. It ran right back into the bog, of course, but the bit on the peat island certainly looked pure. Ember grinned. This had to be it! She shifted her shoulder, bringing the empty water gourd she'd brought forward, and pulling out the stopper. With much maneuvering, she dipped it into the source of the spring, and filled it. She stared at the spring for a long moment. She'd come all this way, why not have a sip for herself? She leaned forward and drank of the water.
The taste was different than what she had expected. Mineraly. She blinked. No huge revelation hit her. She shook her head, not entirely surprised. Perhaps this spring wouldn't show her the path to her true love, but it certainly had shown her that her life path didn't involve this place. And that was one step closer to whatever her true path was, so it wasn't an experience wasted at all. Now, she just had to trace her steps back, and return to Homewood. She was confident she was up to the challenge.
