The damp, cloying scent of wet, dark earth was all Aisling could smell. She blinked a few times, hadn't she just been in the Barrens, looking up at Grandfather Tree? Her hooves sunk slightly into the loamy soil. That must have just been a dream, because this felt awfully real. Light, cool raindrops splattered on her back. She glanced around, and all around her strange trees twisted upwards, obscuring the light. Perhaps that drops of water were't falling from the sky itself, but were being shed by the trees. Aisling felt oddly at peace in this strange place. She was utterly alone, but that was alright. She had grown so used to being constantly surrounded by all the dwellers of Homewood, with all their questions. They always made her feel like she didn't quite fit in ... She didn't have any answers about where she came from, and it always made her feel so set apart. The nouls in Homewood could often recite generations of ancestors, while she was just plain Aisling, a foal who'd been found in the Barrens. She inhaled deeply, savouring the soft, damp scent. But then she caught a sound, and it caused her ear to swivel. What was that?
A strange howl echoed off of the trees, bouncing its way up to her ears. She sucked her breath in. Were these the Bone Crushers Indira had told her about? Her ears flattened against the side of her head. She spun, trying to locate the source of the sound as the cry of the predators echoed once more. It was so hard to pin point it, with the trees everywhere ... She closed her eyes for a second, in order to focus. Then she heard a scraping sound, in the distance. Hooves? Claws? Both? Grating against rock. Her eyes popped open. Whatever was coming for her, there was more than one. And she was no fighter. That she was sure of. Perhaps Indira would have been able to stand and face down a pack of whatever these were, but she couldn't. Her heart pounded, and her eyes smarted. She spun away from the scraping noises and ran, as fast as her legs would carry her away from the sound. Wisdom was knowing what battle you couldn't win.
As Aisling ran the howling chased after her, and seemed to be getting closer with each frenzied heartbeat. Droplets of water splashed off of her flanks as she ran, and the ground slowly changed from loam to stone. She had to be careful of each step, lest she slip. Wide eyed, she looked for some sort of out, some promise of safety. As the trees started to give way Aisling could hear a rush of water. She galloped hard towards the sound, hoping beyond hope that whatever was after her was hunting by scent. Perhaps the water could throw them ... It was all that she could think of, for the moment.
Her throat burned from the exertion of running, her legs were beginning to feel week. As she hit the water, she immediately realized it was deeper than she'd imaged. In a blink she was up to her chest, and then her feet were no longer on the bottom. Fat rain drops struck the surface of the water, and were pulled into the eddies. The water had a swift current, and she was well and truly in it. It swept her far from the banks. Had the water been this wide when she waded into it?
Far on the shore, strange shadowy creatures seemed to emerge from the towering trees, and they howled, but none ventured towards the water. The water pulled Aisling further and further from them, and kept her afloat. She closed her eyes again, wondering if this was simply the path she was supposed to take, turbulent water and all ...
