"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
09-02-2016, 12:18 PM (This post was last modified: 09-04-2016, 08:12 AM by Njenyi.)
He had fallen asleep in the comfort of his herd land, content in the knowledge that there was at least one other set of eyes and ears keeping guard. That is why he had gathered such a large harm – there is always someone to keep a lookout, always someone awake.
But when he wakes, he wakes alone.
The air in his lungs is thin and he can feel his heart beating too quickly. There is danger, even if he cannot name it. Around him are stones and boulders rather than the sleeping backs of his herd mares.
He must find them.
With only his senses and the thin dawn light to guide him, the red and white stallion sets out to find his herd. Some of them are due to foal any day, and he cannot risk them being alone in this strange place.
The ebony mare doesn't remember falling asleep, she doesn't remember ending the conversation with her new 'stallion' all she knows is she is awake, and Beqanna is not the same. She is not in Gemstone Ridge, she is not in the Dale she is by a mountain? What is this place! Its to weird to understand, she had so many questions but she couldn't find anyone familiar.
She frantically ran through the empty mountain, she could hear the chatter of others. The equines were starting to gather! Why did the Faeries do this? Was this punishment? Zaravich was so confused but she pressed forward, until she ran into him. The stallion who she now 'belonged' to. She gave a snort, she did not want to trust him but.....she had no one else to trust.
She slowly moved towards him, still filled with anger but she was relieved to see a familiar face. Where are the others? she asked as she approached, it was surely a stupid question but she was only good at small talk for the time being.
Beqanna was angry... probably still, even after all it had done. It had happened so fast, Sirana couldn't even recall most of it. She was worried about what had happened, who had been caught in the mess. The lands had changed, that much was certain. She'd awoken from sleep some time ago, realizing that she was on a mountain of sorts. Wondering where it could've come from made her realize the connection.
The lands were anew... Beqanna had, for lack of a better word, 'reset' everything. The horses who lived here were, for now, homeless. They were more than likely all dropped off on this mountain, at least by what Sirana figured. She'd seen a couple others around her when she woke, but what worried her the most was that it wasn't the familiar forms of her dam, sire, sister, brother, or her dam's newest foal, whom she had yet to meet.
None of the horses she'd run into so far seemed familiar to her. Beqanna, what had the lands done? Why had they changed everything in the blink of an eye, catching so many off guard?
As Sirana passed a couple more horses, her fears grew. What could've happened to her dam? Her family? What if they weren't here? What if the lands had taken them before the changes? What if-
Two familiar forms reached Sirana's brown eyes. One of them was Zaravich, the black mare and one of her friends from Phaedrus' former herd. The other was easy pickens to identify; it was Njenyi, the stallion that had taken the mares from the Dale before Beqanna took it all away.
Despite her hatred for the stallion, Sirana wanted to check on her friend. The amber champagne filly galloped toward the mare and the stallion, skidding to a stop once she'd reached their sides.
"Are you guys okay? Have you seen anyone else from the herd?" she asked frantically, wanting some replies quickly so that she could go out and search for her dam and family.
"Don't know," he replies, clearly speaking to the black mare but looking out beyond her for the rest of the missing herd. He is glad to have found at least one; now he will know that she is safe and protected. He doesn't step forward, doesn't reassure her with the gentle nudge that he'd give Furrow or Cryil. He wants to, but something tell him that she would pull away, and he cannot risk widening the distance between them in this strange new world.
He's distracted from such thoughts as the amber roan Sirana approaches, and he heaves a sigh of relief. That is two at least, and six eyes to watch for danger. "Only seen you." He replies, wondering if this new world will require him to become truly verbal at last. "You are not hurt?" Njenyi asks them both, looking from the bright mare to the black with genuine concern on his striped face.
Sirana shook her head in response to the stallion's question, "No, I'm fine. I'm worried for my family though. They lived in a different kingdom before all this... I'm scared that something happened to them..."
The filly kept turning her head, hoping that someone else she recognized would appear. Despite the growing number of horses, none of them resembled her dam or siblings. This only served to increase her worry. She could only hope that her family was okay, but she desperately wished for the chance to go out and look for them.
She doubted Njenyi would allow that though. Knowing the stallion's mind, he'd want to keep both Sirana and Zaravich within eyesight while they were in this new land. He no doubt didn't want to lose them after recently taking them away from Phaedrus. He'd feel the same about the other mares too, if they were here.
Then, Sirana had an idea. She would ask anyways, just to see what the stallion's reaction would be, because if he approved the plan, she would use that chance to go look for her dam and siblings. She looked at Njenyi, "Should we split up? Go look around and see if we can find the other herd mares?"
It was not long until Sirana gathered, it was a relief to see a familiar face, she gave a gentle smile towards her. She was going to ask if she had seen the others, but Sirana already blurted the question out. At least everyone was just as confused as Zara was, she turned to look back at the white and chestnut stallion. She wanted to see Phaedrus, she wanted to be tucked beneath his wing and comforted, but instead he left them, all of them. Why did she still think about Phaedrus? He was a bastard who abandoned her and the herd, he did not deserve her sympathy. She really should try and get on the good side of this stallion but she just didn’t know if she could trust another stallion after Phaedrus.
She gave a long breath and relaxed her body as the stallion asked if she and Sirana were okay. She gave a dip of her head No of course not, are you? it was almost painful asking if he was okay, but then again why did she have anger with him? He didn’t abandon her, in fact he is here willing to offer protection and comfort. She stepped closer to the stallion, closing the gap between them but still remained a few paces away. How many mares did you have before us? she knew how many to look for from Phaedrus’ herd, but she didn’t meet any of his previous mares, so she wasn’t sure how many more to expect.
Njenyi understands her worry - his family has gone too. His family is the herd of the Gemstone Ridge though, not the horses she is worried for, and he wants to find them as desperately as she wants to find her won. He cannot keep them safe if he does not know where they are, and the idea of them alone and helpless is not one that he enjoys.
Sirana is right in that he wants to keep them within eyesight, but it is not possessiveness that drives him, but protectiveness. He cannot keep them safe if he cannot see them.
"No..." he says hesitantly, the difficulty of the decision apparent in his face. What if something were to happen to them if they split up? How would he know? He is distracted by Zaravich's question. "Nine," he replies, "Three having foals." Those are the ones he is most worried for. Alone? Heavily pregnant or with a new foal? What might befall them?
"What kingdom?" He asks Sirana suddenly, his dark eyes focused. "My father had kingdom here. Falls."
Sirana took in a headcount; a total of twelve horses in the herd, counting herself, Zaravich, and Njenyi. Three of the mares they had to find were pregnant, or worse, after this disaster, already accompanied by a newborn foal. And in the wake of what had happened, how could they take care of those foals? They would have to find a safe place for them, to feed them and provide their dams with grass so they could give milk to the little ones.
God, what mess had the residents of Beqanna gotten themselves into this time, with concern only for their pride and personal gains?
Sirana noticed the tone of voice that Njenyi questioned her with. It made her feel reluctant to tell him anything, but she would. She'd just keep the details to a minimum.
"I used to live in the Falls, in the Cobblestone Creek territory, with my mother and siblings. Our herd's leader, and my sire, was Archam. He was a member of the army, which Kreios led," she explained, standing up a bit taller since she exceeded the stallion in terms of height.
Trechery woke as she sensed something was different around her, looking around she saw she was on a mountain and she wasn't to happy or sure she wanted to be on it, rearing she let out a scared whinny landing on her front legs again she heard her stallion calling flicking her tail she pushed off and galloped towards him.
Reaching where he and a few other horses were gathered she slid to a stop sides heaving in and out as she stood close to him. "What has happened?" She looked towards the other females of the herd there were a few missing she noticed which she hoped they would make it to the gathering soon so not to worry the rest of the herd and their leaded. "Are you ok?" She looked at Njenyi and reached out to touch his shoulder with her muzzle to make sure he was actually standing in front of her.
The mention of his sire's name causes a curious prick in the stallion's chestnut ears. She says that he had led the army, so perhaps he had not held the title of king for long. His position is not what interests Njenyi though, mostly it is that fact that he has stayed in Beqanna. The herd he had left behind on the savanna had expected as much, but Njenyi is glad that he finally has an answer.
Sirana stands tall, but Njenyi keeps his head low, the way he is most comfortable. He does not need to rise to his full height to impress her (though he is taller, and the spike of his mane would make him appear even more so). Even if he were shorter, he is the progeny of a stocky zebra mare and a draft stallion - he is thick of bone and build.
The sound of galloping hooves distracts him, and he looks up to see Trechery coming towards them. She asks what has happened and he shrugs. "Don't know." He doesn't know, but there are more important things, like finding where his herd has been scattered to. "I am fine. You?"
With three of them gathered, he is less reluctant to let them wander - perhaps they can pair up.
"Go find family." He tells Sirana. "Go with." He adds to Zaravich. "Find yours too." He is sure she has children that did not come with her to the Ridge, or at least is concerned with the whereabouts of her former herd stallion. He can find both of them later, and he doubts they will run off. With the mists pinning them in, there are few places to hide anymore.
"We find herd." He tells Trechery, returning her questioning nudge with a friendly tap of his own nose to the side of her neck.
