SOQ: A World Falling Apart

[Talencia]

Life had not been kind to the blood bay stallion. Not kind at all.

Life had been good, sunny and cheerful. A beautiful mare at his side, and a new life ahead with his human friend in the Kawani village. But all too soon, things began to go terribly wrong.

While Shaitani was pregnant with their foals, Camarin had become very ill. It grieved his soul as she waned, because she was fading due to loneliness of the deepest kind. She had come to these people to find where she belonged, but had only discovered all the things about her that made her different.

He had been right there beside her as she strove to belong, even going to the lengths of burying herself in the ground, putting an end to her old self, and rising from the earth with a new name, a new identity. It had helped for a time, returning the glow of happiness to her sweet brown eyes. But alas, the euphoria had not lasted.

So she began to waste away, dying on the inside first, with her body slowly following suit. No matter how hard she had tried, she had not fit in with the native tribe, and it broke a vital part of her. What had made it worse was that the villagers, used to her previous reclusive nature, had thought nothing of her absence. So she had not recieved the support and assistance she had desperately needed, especially as her body failed.

Horrified, Eloran had watched her waste away. He had remained by her side, attempting to tend to her needs as he could. Perhaps he had become too dedicated to the woman, neglecting his too-new relationship with the pretty blue-maned mare. A gap between the two horses widened to a vast chasm while he fretted at Camarin's side. Even when the foals were born, he spent more time with the human than with the mother of his children. His blindness to this lapse in his judgment cost him dearly, though.

It wasn't long after Shaitani had disappeared with two of the baskets that the fateful day came. With a last soft sigh of sadness, his dearest human friend had laid a gentle hand on his muzzle, a look of apology in her eyes. In a moment, the light left those eyes, and she breathed no more.

Agony ripped through Eloran's soul. In a short span of time, he had lost so very much. Now he was left alone to struggle with the pain that would not leave his heart, while looking after a basket that only had him to care for it. It was a bright moment when a filly emerged from the basket, all bright eyes and gangly legs. She became his life from that moment on, his focus and reason for living.

He had led her away from the village that very same day, guiding her along trails and paths. No longer could he bear to call that teepee home, where he had spent so much time with Camarin... where she had spent her last lingerly pain-wracked days. The village itself was filled with haunting echoes of her, and he could stand it no longer.

So he had led his young daughter into the wild, to a new life, a new existence. He wasn't the best at living a rough life, but he was able to care for them both nonetheless. A secluded, sheltered glade became their home, bounded by thick berry bushes that buzzed with life. Zoet grew by the day, growing strong and confident. He was so proud of her, and taught her everything he could.

But despite his strong exterior and his ability to move on to provide for them both, an aching hollow filled with throbbing sadness had settled deep within him. He took care that Zoey did not see the pain he felt, protecting her from such hurtful things. Her life was light and happiness, he made sure of that.



Thus it was, as they grazed at the forest's edge one glorious warm evening, that he stared into the darkness that began to envelop the trees, despite the warm golden honey of the setting sun's rays, that the red bay stallion heard echoes of the past and felt the sinking in his chest at the memories. He needed to find a way to balance his life again, to find peace with the past so he could look to the future with cleary eyes and a ready heart. He struggled inwardly, knowing he had to find a way to achieve that, but lost as to how he could do it.

Zoey's laughter nearby brought him out of his reverie, and the again turned to grazing, after a good look around to be sure all was well and that the filly was safe. For now, they survived together just fine. Or so he hoped.  

[Cajmera]

So much had happened in the last few weeks; at times, it was dowright impossible to believe that she'd only come as far as she had. But Elizabeth only had to look at the reflection that stared back at her in every single body of water to know that it wasn't a dream, that it was all real.

The face that stared back at her was alert; wary; there was a haunted look in the eyes as though their owner had been through a trying time. And really, that was the truth of the matter. Since starting out on this journey all those weeks ago, she had gotten lost, been attacked, been insulted, and had numerous other unpleasantries occur. Considering all of that...well, she was amazed she still looked this normal!

But she wasn't sure how much more she'd be able to take of this 'wilderness experience'. She wasn't meant for this sort of life, and it was starting to tell in both her looks and her attitude...

Deep in meditation as she was, it was surprising how small a trigger it took to draw her attention back to her surroundings: the laugh of a child.

Wait, the laugh of a child?

Frowning, Elizabeth rose to her feet from her reclining position, one ear swiveling to id the sound she had just heard. That couldn't really be a kid, could it? She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen a kid, after all...  

[Talencia]

Zoey was in a fine mood. She loved the feel of sunshine on her back. For some reason, her daddy seemed determined to stay beneath the shadows of the forest. Her young mind couldn't fathom the need to be protected, much less the deeper, darker emotions that her father was feeling that made him so very protective of her.

To her, it simply was a treat to be at the forest edge, running in circles in the long grasses that flourished a distance from the trees. She leapt into the air in what she was sure was a very greaceful jump, and tried to land just as gracefully. But those long legs of hers tangled up just as she touched ground, and the interwoven grass blades also contrived to trip her up. So within a few stumbling steps of her landing, she tumbled muzzle first to the embrace of the warm earth.

Eloran's attention was wandering again, but his focus sharpened swiftly when he realized he couldn't see his daughter anywhere. Where had she gone? He trumpeted a deep and urgent call, bidding her come immediately. His heart was in his mouth. How could the past so cloud his mind that he let his filly wandering in the here and now? When she didn't immediately appear, he trumpeted his call again, the call now a command.

Zoey lay for a moment, huffing her breath out indignantly. That wasn't how a lead mare was supposed to land after bravely leaping a wide ravine after defending her herd from wolves and then escaping their snapping jaws! Why, she'd be eaten by the wolves at this rate! But just then her daddy's call came. She gave another whuffle of a sigh. Time to go home, she was sure. she attempted to untangle her legs and st upright, but they seemed caught. She managed to get her hind legs under her and finally tug free her left foreleg. Her father's call came again, insistent with that note of something that he always had when he couldn't see her.

She knew if she didn't get to him soon, she'd be in deep trouble. She rose to her hooved and pulled back, trying to free her last leg. But the knot of tough grass only tightened further, gripping her leg between her knee and fetlock joint. Another hard tug backwards, and it began to dawn on her that she might be stuck. Frightened by this inability to move when she wanted to, she gave a shrill whinny of fear, redoubling her efforts to free herself.