Snow and Crows(any)

[Susquehanna Sunshine]

 Leaves crunching rhythmically under the brown and white draft's large hooves, she took in the groups of mares and roaming stallions. She flared her nostrils, heaving in a breath of the cold air.
 Finally this coat will come in handy Susquehanna thought with a grin. Her eyes gleamed with amusement as she remembered her first winter. How amazed I was! How could something as beautiful as snow be made so absentmindedly?
 She was snapped back to reality by some squabbling crows.
 Lowering her head to the grass, Susquehanna's long white mane dragged on the ground. She wasted no time searching out the greenest blades of grass.
 Her thoughts were drawn absentmindedly to the crows.
 They were really actually quite beautiful with their glossy black feathers. Perhaps I could search for some of their feathers to decorate my mane. Later.
 She snorted, knowing she probably wouldn't.
 Ah, well, black isn't really my color... the herdless mare thought disappointedly.

[Eld]

Just throw it back, for one more night On a starlit and moon-struck night. The Falls was a delightful place; a myriad of colourful wildflowers crawling the vast trunks of towering trees, the rolling green plains as viridian as spring's first fallen rain. It was a flourished land, beautiful, serene. And very much had become home to me. I owed a lot to Shatter Me, to the Falls and the few residents there. I suppose that was why I headed to the field, in search of equally lost souls as I had once been. Offering them a home, a beautiful place to rest your head at night and wander the colossal woods, finding many hidden gems. I'd spent a little too long doing that, one could simply see the evidence strewn in my mane. Clumps of leaves, tethered bit of bark and the occasional flower that had become knotted in my mass of red mane. I left them there, as always, it was somewhat becoming. Perhaps. I was after all a tentative wallflower, a weed amongst the beautiful bed of roses. I had to be noticed, somehow. A noticeable that silver lady certainly was in the distance. I clocked her as soon as I enter the field. I watched, gathering myself, assuring myself that I wouldn't trip, I wouldn't allow my lips to part and a multitude of nonsense slip out. I kept my mouth tightly shut, watching with acute green eyes as I placed each feathered hoof down, one after the other. I did this until I met the mare. I gave a low greeting, a husky whicker. My roman nose dipped when I was but a few paced away, fluffy crimson ears turning to perk forward. A smile twisting my lips. 'Hello. I'm Eld of the Falls, a beautiful little slice of paradise.' I say, words lingering on my lips for a brief moment before my mind turned, try not to overdo it, try not to overdo it. 'Have you travelled far? Because you know, those here often have, or are simply revisiting an old home or... Ah. It's a beautiful day!' isn't it? Awkward. I shake my head a touch, flower mixed mane falling across my thickset neck. 'Don't you always think it would be amazing to fly?' I turn my gaze upward to the squabble of feathers and beaks. I watch them with a gleam in my green eye, before turning back to the mare and the task at hand. 'Flying through the sky, not a care in the world. Feeling weightless.' The ground did fold and eat us both But all my love, I did devote. - resident of the falls -

[Reuen]

Is it just me, Or do you wonder if we're put here just to see, Dreams were dark, tainted. Shadowy figures wove their hands around me, tried to keep me there, lost within the empty space of my mind. They whispered terrible things. Lied, cheated me into staying there, wide-eyed and silent. They had sewn my mouth with stitches, took my tongue from me, my eyes. I could not talk, I could not see, but I could hear their whispering. Darkness, darkness with the thump, thump of my heart. The told me things, things that made no sense, things that froze me to my core. I awoke in a foray of limbs, entangled with tree bark and decaying leaves. Somewhere on the outskirts of the Gates, where the enchanted little forests open up and extend to the field. Pine cones leave indentations on my neck and swelling barrel. I lay there for a moment, watching the birds above. Inky quills flapping beside them, dark, dark eyes meeting mine. They knew things, they knew the secrets inside of my mind. I whickered up at them but with a loud, obnoxious caw, they flew away; a mess of falling black feathers that fell to my feet. I lowered my muzzle, inhaled the scent of the earth, the cold, late autumn ground was soft in places, deepening mud in others. My teeth picked up the feathers and placed each, carefully in my mane. It was a delicate procedure, one which my hollowed eyes concentrated solely on. Knotted in with the dead leaves and broken twigs, my silvery mane was a mass of dreadlocks, now befitting the deathly chorus of a murder of crows. I looked up, craned my delicate head. My frame was still out of proportion. A swelling barrel, with something, with something that Wichita had had when I found her. And my bones still jutted out, chocolate skin curving over each china white bone, stark shoulders, a protruding hipbone. And my mass array of scars, thick, raised salmon skin that was still slowly healing. A tad weepy in places as I've been waking up in the strangest of places, with no recollection of getting there. Like today, I awoke to the caw of the birds, and followed them into the field, where they find another perch and sing their dark delightful song, this time to another. I follow them, every step a delicate producer. I stop, I continue, I stop, I continue. It takes me a while to find them once more, and when I do I notice a stranger, and a scarlet mare approaching. My cocoa dipped ears twiddle atop my crown, listening. I capture their words like tentative butterflies, before wicking, husky and low. 'The birds. They hide secrets. They store them under their wings.' I say, my voice hauntingly eerie as I bring up my gaze to reach them, a strange sound falls from my lips, mimicking the caw of a crow. I turn my hollow, empty eyes to both Eld and the stranger. A strangled smile twists my dry, cracked lips. 'I followed them. Reuen, Reuen followed them to you.' My silvery tresses fall across my face as a large gust of wind took hold. 'The Gates. The Gates have birds... lots.' How much heartache we can take, Without hanging from the tallest tree? - resident of the gates -

[Susquehanna Sunshine]

 

The large mare lifted her head to take in the other horse's reddish coat and tangled mane.
 She somehow managed to make it look beautiful.
 I could never be that pretty, her mind told her but she pushed it away. She had no business thinking herself ugly.
 The roan started to talk.
 Hello, I'm Eld of the Falls,a beautiful little slice of paradise. No sooner had she said that she started asking if I had traveled far.
 The poor girl, must be nervous Susquehanna thought.
 "I'm Susquehanna, and I suppose I have" she answered to Eld's question.
 She had lived with her beloved Dam, the lead mare of her herd, but she was old. The wise old mare had passed not long ago. Of course everyone grieved, but no one as much as her daughter. It became too much to bear when they selected a new leader, so she left.
 Don't you always think it would be amazing to fly? the female asked, gazing up at the black birds.
 "Who hasn't?" The gypsy replied, following her gaze longingly.
 Flying through the sky, not a care in the world. Feeling weightless.
 I like this red mare. Perhaps we can be friends.
 The birds, they hide secrets. They store them under their wings. I followed them. Reuen, Reuen followed them to you.
 Susquehanna looked to the newcomer.
 This mare... she must have been through something recently. She resisted the urge to shiver.
 The Gates, the Gates have birds... lots, the horse's hollow stare, pinned her, but she refused the fear.
 This stranger cannot and will not hurt me. Fear is irrational, she thinks, giving the new mare a calm but not unfriendly look.

[Eld]

Just throw it back, for one more night On a starlit and moon-struck night. Heavily feathered feet unsteadily shift, from one to the other. Readjusting my vast weight against the soft ground. The squelches of wet mud draw my attention to a newcomer. As always there is someone else out there, wandering, roaming. At first my green eyes catch the chocolate mare's wounds and my proverbial brow furrows. She has been through the mill; her eyes as hollow and empty as the caverns of old. I whicker softly, steadily, my eyes drift from the stranger to the new arrival. She talks in tongue almost, her words as lost as she looks. 'Are you quite alright? You look a little lost, a little in need of some... rest? Yes, rest works wonders. Are you sure you're alright?' My tone is a genuine whisper, and my eyes roam her body, shaking my head, as Reuen steps closer. I know not what she intends, but her eyes are as dazed, and her legs as uncoordinated as mine normally. But she, she is worrying me so. The red stranger brightens up and my ears turn towards her, capturing her words. The smile is back upon my lips, curling at the ashen edges. 'Susquehanna. It is lovely to meet you.' I say, as genuine as the wisps of cloud on a bright blue sky. I nod carefully, it is nice to see another thickset maiden, one with wisps of beauty, and large at heart. 'The Falls is a beautiful place. The birds flock there andI often spend my afternoons just watching them, admiring. It is a truly beautiful place. Have you ever just stood for hours in peace and watched them?' I ramble on, again I scold myself, shaking my head. 'Forgive me, this sort of thing, it's new to me.' I admit, before adjusting my eye to make certain that Reuen hasn't collapsed or something much more dire. 'Are you looking for a home, Susquehanna? Somewhere to rest, to play, to love. The Falls is a beautiful place, and I must admit, I have fallen in love with it oh so very much.' The ground did fold and eat us both But all my love, I did devote. - resident of the falls -

[Susquehanna Sunshine]

 Susquehanna gave a small smile.
 "I must admit, your Falls sound like a lovely place. I would be grateful for the chance to go there. Perhaps I could fall in love with it myself" she said tentatively, the wary voice in her head keeping her from getting too excited.
 Was she truly asking me to come live there?  she gave a flick of her mane, letting her forelock fall over her warm brown eyes.
 

[Reuen]

Is it just me, Or do you wonder if we're put here just to see, 'Lovely. Lovely to meet. To meet Susquehanna.' my tone is hauntingly soft, as broken as the pieces of me flip flopping at my feet. I listen to the red mare. Eld. Eld. Her whisper-soft voice is like the call of little birds, chirp, chirping. I hazard a few steps forward, closer, closer and stretch out my nose to breath them both in. 'The Gates saved me. The Gates help, the Gates, they are safe. Safe.' I say, trying to match Eld's enthusiasm, my smile no where near as soft and gentle, more teeth and less curled lips. My knotted mane falls over my scarred face as I talk, trying to match the same genteel voice as Eld, trying to mimic her pose. but sadly, it fails and I feel crumpled to the ground. The feathers in my mane sashaying in the wind. 'Home. Home. Home is the Gates. The Gates are safe.' safety is key, safe trees, safe grass and safe water. But the shadows, the shadows still creep along the skyline and threaten me with their dark, dark fingers and their dark, dark eyes. 'The Gates would love Susquehanna. Susquehanna. Susque. Hanna.' How much heartache we can take, Without hanging from the tallest tree? - resident of the gates -

[Eld]

Just throw it back, for one more night On a starlit and moon-struck night. 'Our Queen is a gentle soul. She welcomes all with open arms. I'm sure she will welcome you too, Susquehanna.' I say, the smile merging into my eyes, a bright beam. A sense of accomplishment, it washes over me. Something strange, indeed. Normally I am the awkward, the clumsy oaf. Now, now I feel slithers of pride, of just, like golden flecks embedding into my heart. My eyes peel from the red mare to the chocolate one, and I nod slowly. She is a dear, twisted little soul. She needed time to mend, time to heal. I turn my attention back to the Gypsy. 'The Falls is a fairytale, like mothers tell us when we are younger. A perfect painted picture indeed. Perhaps their are knights, and we are damsels?' the faraway tone in my voice frays slightly, as I remember the stories my own dam used to weave. To calm my nerves, to send me to sleep. Ah, but those are historic memories. 'The Falls would gladly welcome you, Susquehanna. Perhaps come and see for yourself, and if it isn't to your liking, then as Reuen has offered, the Gates are open to you aswell.' The ground did fold and eat us both But all my love, I did devote. - resident of the falls -

[Susquehanna Sunshine]

 Susquehanna took a step towards the collapsed mare.
 "You just rest dear" she said softly, softly touching her neck. This strange horse no longer scared her.
 She looked back to Eld.
 "I would be honored" she said, accepting the invitation.
 Perhaps. Perhaps, this is what is meant for me. I will soon find out if this is my place.
 Susquehanna moved closer to the older horse, ready to follow where she led.