[open] Walking the linе between panic and losing my mind

[Derelict]

Derelict’s curiosity about the changes in Beqanna has been strong, a drive that brings her to the Ruins and the new beaches almost every day. Their new neighbours live in the ocean, she’s been told, but though she’ll stalk the changed landscapes she does not try to enter the water and investigate below the surface. Once, her twin had teased Derelict about how she’d die if the flames on her horns were ever extinguished and now she takes special care of them in the rain and when wading through water. It is easy enough to do - though it prevents her from exploring and leaves her despondent as a result. When the rain comes, she’ll follow her instincts back into the forest where the thick branches prevent most of the rain from reaching the ground. Derelict feels more comfortable in the woods anyway - some hereditary instinct reminding her she is supposed to be a hunter. These instincts aren’t smart enough to realize she’s got flaming horns curving out the sides of her head that make it impossible for her to blend in and a lot of pointy edges that like to get tangled up in shrubs and vines. There’s still some shrivelling remains of some foliage caught around some of her spines in a hard-to-reach spot - remnants of when she had been hunting on a dreary day recently. Even her snake companion couldn’t dislodge it so now it rustles against the hard plates of her body as she walks through the stones, and they both pretend that the sound doesn’t grate on them after days of hearing it. Family instincts for hunting in dark spaces aside, Derelict enjoys open air and sunlight. Today she came here hoping to catch sight of someone fishy but instead she watches with surprise as a portal of darkness opens up a little ways away and a golden mare and dark foal step out of it - and then the shadows dissipate. Starry markings are not exactly uncommon but there’s something familial about the galaxy markings that mark both of the ones she watches - they aren’t unlike the red and orange galaxy that twists across her neck and chest. More cousins? That antlered little girl certainly wouldn’t be out of place among Derelict and her siblings. Drawn by curiosity, but unsure of what to say, this armoured mare drifts after them - a bit of light stalking, if you will, until she thinks of something to say.

@Beryl