Aten had meant to start his search many suns ago, but the day that Taiga sank into the ocean and the wolves of water and fire appeared, everything had basically gone to hell. The stallion, as he hoped for his friends, had successfully made it out with his life, but not without injury. It could've been much worse, considering there had been wolves on his heels on the way out, but at most, he got away with a few burns. Of course, that wasn't saying they weren't painful. The ones on his pasterns from the forest fire sometime ago were painful enough.
The golden stallion now had freshly healing burn marks on the lower half of his legs, as well as some on the upper half and on the underside of his barrel from when he was splashing in the boiling hot water in an effort to change his course of travel after he got distracted. The pain was still fresh in his mind to this day, along with what he endured during his swim across the River in order to escape Taiga's destruction.
Now, with his beautiful home a part of the ocean, and none of his friends anywhere to be seen, Aten finally shook off the pain best he could and began searching for anyone that had managed to escape Taiga's destruction. During his search, he heard tales of the stallion, Gryffen, who had been the one that took over during the day Ruan was away. To this day, Aten still didn't know why. He truthfully wanted to be mad at the stallion for abandoning his post, but there were a few problems. One, Aten didn't know the whole story as to why Ruan had disappeared the way he did while the golden stallion was off at the gladiator fight. And two, being mad at Ruan would not help bring the Taiga back to its former glory. The only thing that could do that was time, patience, and the grace and generosity of Beqanna to heal the land and make it habitable again for her residents.
In the meantime, Aten would continue searching for his friends. During these past few moons, Aten saw nor heard any sign of them. Ruan, Jinju, Circinae, Ander, Polaris, he trulls feared the worst. He doubted that any of them had perished in the destruction, but it would not put his mind at ease until he saw them with his own eyes. And that was saying something, considering he had not even met Ander. He'd seen the colt in passing, but since Jinju seemed absorbed in letting the other stallion be a part of her son's life, more than likely because he was the sire, Aten saw no reason to intrude on family business and so kept to himself. Plus, perhaps, if Jinju wanted Aten to meet Ander, she might have taken the initiative and brought him along.
The golden stallion had been searching through the Forest for a good part of the morning, his muscles tired from how long he had been walking. The scars on his legs had been burning since the early morning hours, and Aten now actually considered putting them in the water again just to cool them off. Eventually, and now unable to deal with it, the stallion changed course and made his way to the River not far off, gritting his teeth as he knew this would be an unpleasant experience.
When Aten reached the river, the stallion, still heavily on edge, looked each and every direction to ensure that there were no signs of approaching trouble. Once he felt it was safe enough, Aten lowered his head for a drink before getting to the main event. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flared and teeth tightly clenched to avoid letting out a pained cry. Lifting a hoof, he, step by step, entered the river until all four hooves were soaked. It was a painstaking process, since this was where the worst of his burns were, but eventually, the pain slowly began to subside to a dull ache.
Not wanting to press his chances, Aten waited a few more minutes before going any deeper. He forced himself on, deeper into the river, until he was up to his breastbone. At this time, all the scars and burns were now submerged in frigid water, the stallion tucking his head in and forcing himself to breath calmly and try to forget the pain.
Instead, he thought of his friends, and their fate following Taiga's destruction. What had become of them over these moons since their home had been wrecked? Had Ruan managed to escape with Jinju, Circinae, and the two foals? Was Circinae's unborn foal okay, still growing healthy in her belly? Were Ander and Polaris both fine and well? Though Aten didn't know her well, he recalled that the filly was literally made of glass, so if there was a reason to worry for her above the others, that was it.
The golden stallion stood in the water for some time before the pain of the burn scars finally began to subside until he no longer felt them. A dull throbbing was the only sign that they had caused him pain earlier. Aten didn't know a lot about medical things or how to treat cuts and burns, but if this pain was anything to go by, he knew this would be his routine for a couple more suns until the scars were completely covered by new skin to protect the burns from the forest environment.
Stepping back out onto the bank, Aten made his way to the shade of a tree, wanting a few moments of peace and quiet. However, when he stood still, the burning came back, which, of course, angered him. Taking a breath and reminding himself it would not help, the stallion gave up the shade and resumed his trek through the forest, every so often letting out a whinny to see if any of his friends, should they be nearby, would respond to let him know they were okay.
@[Ruan] @[Jinju] @[Ander] @[Circinae]
The golden stallion now had freshly healing burn marks on the lower half of his legs, as well as some on the upper half and on the underside of his barrel from when he was splashing in the boiling hot water in an effort to change his course of travel after he got distracted. The pain was still fresh in his mind to this day, along with what he endured during his swim across the River in order to escape Taiga's destruction.
Now, with his beautiful home a part of the ocean, and none of his friends anywhere to be seen, Aten finally shook off the pain best he could and began searching for anyone that had managed to escape Taiga's destruction. During his search, he heard tales of the stallion, Gryffen, who had been the one that took over during the day Ruan was away. To this day, Aten still didn't know why. He truthfully wanted to be mad at the stallion for abandoning his post, but there were a few problems. One, Aten didn't know the whole story as to why Ruan had disappeared the way he did while the golden stallion was off at the gladiator fight. And two, being mad at Ruan would not help bring the Taiga back to its former glory. The only thing that could do that was time, patience, and the grace and generosity of Beqanna to heal the land and make it habitable again for her residents.
In the meantime, Aten would continue searching for his friends. During these past few moons, Aten saw nor heard any sign of them. Ruan, Jinju, Circinae, Ander, Polaris, he trulls feared the worst. He doubted that any of them had perished in the destruction, but it would not put his mind at ease until he saw them with his own eyes. And that was saying something, considering he had not even met Ander. He'd seen the colt in passing, but since Jinju seemed absorbed in letting the other stallion be a part of her son's life, more than likely because he was the sire, Aten saw no reason to intrude on family business and so kept to himself. Plus, perhaps, if Jinju wanted Aten to meet Ander, she might have taken the initiative and brought him along.
The golden stallion had been searching through the Forest for a good part of the morning, his muscles tired from how long he had been walking. The scars on his legs had been burning since the early morning hours, and Aten now actually considered putting them in the water again just to cool them off. Eventually, and now unable to deal with it, the stallion changed course and made his way to the River not far off, gritting his teeth as he knew this would be an unpleasant experience.
When Aten reached the river, the stallion, still heavily on edge, looked each and every direction to ensure that there were no signs of approaching trouble. Once he felt it was safe enough, Aten lowered his head for a drink before getting to the main event. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flared and teeth tightly clenched to avoid letting out a pained cry. Lifting a hoof, he, step by step, entered the river until all four hooves were soaked. It was a painstaking process, since this was where the worst of his burns were, but eventually, the pain slowly began to subside to a dull ache.
Not wanting to press his chances, Aten waited a few more minutes before going any deeper. He forced himself on, deeper into the river, until he was up to his breastbone. At this time, all the scars and burns were now submerged in frigid water, the stallion tucking his head in and forcing himself to breath calmly and try to forget the pain.
Instead, he thought of his friends, and their fate following Taiga's destruction. What had become of them over these moons since their home had been wrecked? Had Ruan managed to escape with Jinju, Circinae, and the two foals? Was Circinae's unborn foal okay, still growing healthy in her belly? Were Ander and Polaris both fine and well? Though Aten didn't know her well, he recalled that the filly was literally made of glass, so if there was a reason to worry for her above the others, that was it.
The golden stallion stood in the water for some time before the pain of the burn scars finally began to subside until he no longer felt them. A dull throbbing was the only sign that they had caused him pain earlier. Aten didn't know a lot about medical things or how to treat cuts and burns, but if this pain was anything to go by, he knew this would be his routine for a couple more suns until the scars were completely covered by new skin to protect the burns from the forest environment.
Stepping back out onto the bank, Aten made his way to the shade of a tree, wanting a few moments of peace and quiet. However, when he stood still, the burning came back, which, of course, angered him. Taking a breath and reminding himself it would not help, the stallion gave up the shade and resumed his trek through the forest, every so often letting out a whinny to see if any of his friends, should they be nearby, would respond to let him know they were okay.
@[Ruan] @[Jinju] @[Ander] @[Circinae]
