03-20-2021, 10:09 PM
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He watched silently as a fraction of those gathered stepped up to join the distraction effort. The majority had joined the rescue and he couldn’t blame them. It appeared to be the safest option. One of the children who had appeared and the walking corpse even volunteered, much to Kaenros’ disappointment. He wished the colt had gone with the rescue and the husk had stayed home. He couldn’t blame them for trying but it was still hard for him to watch them step up to the plate for the more dangerous of the missions. Thankfully, the bold brute who was the third to arrive came with. His tense form eased slightly knowing he’d have him with the group.
Watching the rescue group tread further up the mountain, he breathed a shaky sigh of resignation and shifted his weight uncomfortably. The fairy’s weary voice returned his attention as it explained what must be done. One at a time, his new comrades crossed a once imperceptible barrier and he watched them disappear. Taking his chance, he slipped into their ranks and steeled himself for the Afterlife.
He closed his iridescent eyes the moment the first black capped limb punctured the veil. When the rest of his lithe form crossed and he had reopened them, his heart dropped. It was much the same as it had been no more than a second ago. The similarity wasn’t what had chilled him to his bones; it was the lack of anyone besides the creature that had demanded their sacrifice. The very air had shifted in permanence, raising his burnished hairs. Even the way it filled his lungs was just <I>wrong</I>. And yet here he was. Alone. Afraid. Staring wall-eyed at this thing that had once brought some semblance of peace, his body screamed at him to turn back to the real world.
And that is when the ground lit up under the fairy’s raised hoof and his next set of directions came. Directions. He could follow directions. Quickly. He could do that. Definitely do that. These last few months had been a crash course on stealth. He wanted to get started immediately and get out of this place that wasn’t quite a place. Hopefully find the others. Hopefully get this over with quickly.
Dipping his head in acknowledgment but keeping his focus now on the ground, Kaenros picked up into a rocking lope. He wasn’t sure how long this path would be and so wanted to only put as much pressure on his rear as necessary on the journey. He was mindful as he placed his steps, keeping his hooves on the softest terrain possible to minimize noise. With steady, even breath, he kept his ears pricked for the slightest disturbance as the scenery shifted from the rocky base of the mountain to long stemmed fields to empty, broad-leaf forests. Every now and then a rustle or deep-chested groan could be heard which lead him to abandon his path. Deeper into the forest, or around a large, rocky outcrop, he would wind around the hidden beasts. The <I>monsters</I>. Even though Kaenros knew them now as fractured souls and harbored less fear and repulsion, he still didn’t not want an entanglement. Especially with the mission he had been given.
But one such groan was a little more equine. A little more familiar. It caught his attention rather than drove it away as he passed across a vast sandy expanse. He turned his gaze to cast it in the direction it had come from, searching the darkness for any sign of its maker. The fairy had spoke about beings they had known once as living, however he had no connections to this land. It was easier to avoid the strange ghosts just as he avoided the monsters but this was different. He left the path again, this time in pursuit of the creature making the noise. His black capped hooves soon slowed to a halt before a painted stallion, red and white with mismatched blue and brown eyes.
<b>”Mirin?”</b> Kaenros’ could barely breathe out his name. Mirin was supposed to head this last expedition accompanied by his sister and his partner. The only one crazy enough to join the knowledge hungry Kaenros and drag his small family along with. The only one he’d fight through a 20 day desert storm with. The only one who’s sister he wouldn’t touch. He hadn’t thought about him since... the storm that knocked him off course and cast him onto Beqanna’s shores. If he had more time to dwell, he might’ve pondered just how much he lost from before.
“I-we couldn’t find you.” Came the pained response. Mirin had stopped his listless stumbling to stare through Kaenros with an empty expression. “We thought we lost you to those things.”
<b>“The monsters,”</b> the dappled bay searched through his friend’s once bright eyes, trying to find even the smallest sliver of light or understanding in them. Mirin took a step forward, forcing Kaenros back. Blue and brown eyes burrowed into his, oppressively blank. Behind him he could make out the sound of hoof beats in the shifting sands, causing him to snap around. Slowly one, then two, then four, then seven forms moved from the darkness to his limited field of vision lead by Anni, Mirin’s sister. They whispered quietly amongst each other with their voices steadily growing louder as they circled around the rooted Kaenros. They spoke of washing up, of washing out, of drowning, of monsters, of saving them, and saving them, and saving them. If he had hands, he would have clamped them over his ears.
No wonder such things could turn into the hellish creatures that plagued this world.
He drove himself through their midst with head tucked tight to his chest like a curved battering ram. They didn’t try to follow, instead returning to their soft groans and aimless pacing as if Kaenros had never been there. The shell of the stallion he had once traveled with, would’ve given his life to, quickly faded from his field of view as his now galloping steps whisked him back to the glowing path. And he slowed only enough to become wary towards his surroundings once more despite the fire now raging through his haunch until his path split.
And when it split, he let his beaten spirit split in two from the very depths of his chest. The sound of water turned him away, low ground would give him the advantage of running away but he was already set on his mission. The fairy had asked him to make the most noise he possibly could and, by Rajir, he would. The high ground with its scattering rocks beneath his now purposefully thundering hooves was where his voice would carry best. The searing pain from his rear was no match for his lungs as he screamed them raw within the first minute of his ascent. On top of the cliff, he continued to dance about the stone surface and cry out until something, anything happened. His thoughts nearly drowned out by his own voice, he prayed with eyes squeezed shut that the rescue team was successful and timely, that the rest of his group was safe, and that this was the last thing needed of him before he got to go home.
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He watched silently as a fraction of those gathered stepped up to join the distraction effort. The majority had joined the rescue and he couldn’t blame them. It appeared to be the safest option. One of the children who had appeared and the walking corpse even volunteered, much to Kaenros’ disappointment. He wished the colt had gone with the rescue and the husk had stayed home. He couldn’t blame them for trying but it was still hard for him to watch them step up to the plate for the more dangerous of the missions. Thankfully, the bold brute who was the third to arrive came with. His tense form eased slightly knowing he’d have him with the group.
Watching the rescue group tread further up the mountain, he breathed a shaky sigh of resignation and shifted his weight uncomfortably. The fairy’s weary voice returned his attention as it explained what must be done. One at a time, his new comrades crossed a once imperceptible barrier and he watched them disappear. Taking his chance, he slipped into their ranks and steeled himself for the Afterlife.
He closed his iridescent eyes the moment the first black capped limb punctured the veil. When the rest of his lithe form crossed and he had reopened them, his heart dropped. It was much the same as it had been no more than a second ago. The similarity wasn’t what had chilled him to his bones; it was the lack of anyone besides the creature that had demanded their sacrifice. The very air had shifted in permanence, raising his burnished hairs. Even the way it filled his lungs was just <I>wrong</I>. And yet here he was. Alone. Afraid. Staring wall-eyed at this thing that had once brought some semblance of peace, his body screamed at him to turn back to the real world.
And that is when the ground lit up under the fairy’s raised hoof and his next set of directions came. Directions. He could follow directions. Quickly. He could do that. Definitely do that. These last few months had been a crash course on stealth. He wanted to get started immediately and get out of this place that wasn’t quite a place. Hopefully find the others. Hopefully get this over with quickly.
Dipping his head in acknowledgment but keeping his focus now on the ground, Kaenros picked up into a rocking lope. He wasn’t sure how long this path would be and so wanted to only put as much pressure on his rear as necessary on the journey. He was mindful as he placed his steps, keeping his hooves on the softest terrain possible to minimize noise. With steady, even breath, he kept his ears pricked for the slightest disturbance as the scenery shifted from the rocky base of the mountain to long stemmed fields to empty, broad-leaf forests. Every now and then a rustle or deep-chested groan could be heard which lead him to abandon his path. Deeper into the forest, or around a large, rocky outcrop, he would wind around the hidden beasts. The <I>monsters</I>. Even though Kaenros knew them now as fractured souls and harbored less fear and repulsion, he still didn’t not want an entanglement. Especially with the mission he had been given.
But one such groan was a little more equine. A little more familiar. It caught his attention rather than drove it away as he passed across a vast sandy expanse. He turned his gaze to cast it in the direction it had come from, searching the darkness for any sign of its maker. The fairy had spoke about beings they had known once as living, however he had no connections to this land. It was easier to avoid the strange ghosts just as he avoided the monsters but this was different. He left the path again, this time in pursuit of the creature making the noise. His black capped hooves soon slowed to a halt before a painted stallion, red and white with mismatched blue and brown eyes.
<b>”Mirin?”</b> Kaenros’ could barely breathe out his name. Mirin was supposed to head this last expedition accompanied by his sister and his partner. The only one crazy enough to join the knowledge hungry Kaenros and drag his small family along with. The only one he’d fight through a 20 day desert storm with. The only one who’s sister he wouldn’t touch. He hadn’t thought about him since... the storm that knocked him off course and cast him onto Beqanna’s shores. If he had more time to dwell, he might’ve pondered just how much he lost from before.
“I-we couldn’t find you.” Came the pained response. Mirin had stopped his listless stumbling to stare through Kaenros with an empty expression. “We thought we lost you to those things.”
<b>“The monsters,”</b> the dappled bay searched through his friend’s once bright eyes, trying to find even the smallest sliver of light or understanding in them. Mirin took a step forward, forcing Kaenros back. Blue and brown eyes burrowed into his, oppressively blank. Behind him he could make out the sound of hoof beats in the shifting sands, causing him to snap around. Slowly one, then two, then four, then seven forms moved from the darkness to his limited field of vision lead by Anni, Mirin’s sister. They whispered quietly amongst each other with their voices steadily growing louder as they circled around the rooted Kaenros. They spoke of washing up, of washing out, of drowning, of monsters, of saving them, and saving them, and saving them. If he had hands, he would have clamped them over his ears.
No wonder such things could turn into the hellish creatures that plagued this world.
He drove himself through their midst with head tucked tight to his chest like a curved battering ram. They didn’t try to follow, instead returning to their soft groans and aimless pacing as if Kaenros had never been there. The shell of the stallion he had once traveled with, would’ve given his life to, quickly faded from his field of view as his now galloping steps whisked him back to the glowing path. And he slowed only enough to become wary towards his surroundings once more despite the fire now raging through his haunch until his path split.
And when it split, he let his beaten spirit split in two from the very depths of his chest. The sound of water turned him away, low ground would give him the advantage of running away but he was already set on his mission. The fairy had asked him to make the most noise he possibly could and, by Rajir, he would. The high ground with its scattering rocks beneath his now purposefully thundering hooves was where his voice would carry best. The searing pain from his rear was no match for his lungs as he screamed them raw within the first minute of his ascent. On top of the cliff, he continued to dance about the stone surface and cry out until something, anything happened. His thoughts nearly drowned out by his own voice, he prayed with eyes squeezed shut that the rescue team was successful and timely, that the rest of his group was safe, and that this was the last thing needed of him before he got to go home.
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