06-27-2016, 07:22 PM
A glimpse. A small tiny piece of his world.
Chaol was almost a two year old. His legs were in a much better proportion to his body than they had been months ago. His muscles were toned and actually rather well defined. Most of it probably came from the fact that he was so young still and he used them every day. Whether it was flying or running or simply just trotting along the beach, the young purple and magenta boy was constantly on the go.
Well, okay, not quite flying. But he would one of these days. His mother said he wasn't quite ready to propel himself up into the clouds. That gliding was all he needed to work on now. Wasn't that some crap? He was ready to feel the sun on his face and the wind in his feathers for longer than the few seconds it seemed like it was when he gliding.
The urge to fly was practically an itch below his skin.
It was hard for him to shake.
But he continued to, because he would like to think that his mother would one day tell him that he was okay to fly...even if he felt like it was forever from now.
So this particular day he was trotting lazily along the beach. And by trotting, he means walking really fast. His head bobs with his stride and he is fantasizing about (surprise) the day when he finally gets to fly. He stretches his wings out and pretends like the wind under his feathers is the cold wind high above the ground. His hooves leave little indents in the sand, the only marking of his passing.
His eyes close briefly.
---
When I awake, I am only subconsciously aware of the cold stone against my belly. I think I must have fallen asleep outside again on that favorite rock of mine, although I don't really remember going to it. Sleepily my eyes open, groggily even and it takes a couple blinks for my eyes to clear and focus. I was in a box. A big box. With an opening not big enough for me to jump through or out of. Panic takes like copper in my mouth and I get to my feet. I stumble, I almost fall, banging one knee roughly against the stone before I manage to get to my hooves. I press my side against that cold stone, out of it all, it's the one thing that comforts me.
Even when it shouldn't, but it reminds me home.
I want to run, to fly away and get out of this place and back to my home, back to my mom and the rest of the Covelings. I want to be there, not here in this place...where ever it was.
My body trembles not only from fear but from the damp. I was used to the sun, to the humidity of the ocean and the cold breezes that someones caught me off guard. There was no sun here, nothing to warm me even when it was cool out. I shiver a little even as my wide eyes continue to take in this place. Near the front, by that little window I could smell water and something else. The salty grass of the Cove was often enough for me, but this smelled the same...yet different.
Sight.
Smell.
I could smell a coppery smell, something that made me think of blood and pain. Fear? Was that smell fear? And underneath it....was that other horses? This sends my heart racing harder, thumping against my chest until I think it is going to burst out and send my blood and bones every where. Mother. Was Mother here? Only this makes me go to the front of this box, this place I was being held captured. I force myself to calm enough so that I can walk normally and not dance up to the door. I take my time even though I want to rush and bang against the wall and do SOMETHING. I stretch my nose out the opening and then pull it back in.
There was a wealth of information out there in the smells but I was afraid. I was afraid that something out there was going to hurt me. So I am careful, very careful. I didn't smell mom, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. I needed to peer out that window to see if I could see her. Odds were if nothing snatched my nose when it had been out there I was okay to poke an eye out to do a quick glance around.
So I did and then I forced myself to do it a minute longer than I would have liked. I seemed to take my time, even if my stomach was a tight mess of emotions and my muscles were trembling still. No, not trembling, I was shaking. My wings were tight against my sides, the same purple that I was born with magenta tips.
Sound.
That's pretty much when the sound all comes bellowing to the surface. I had managed to limit my sense for the few first minutes of being here, thinking of only one or the other and adding them slowly. But now, the screams of pain and anguish and fear had me cowering against the back wall again. There were other sounds, the rustle of their movement, the sound of their hooves on the stone, even some heavy breathing....
Oh no, that was me. I force myself to calm back down, to settle back into the now. Sure I was trapped and it was very well going to suck and bad things were going to happen....
"I don't want to die here." I say, very softly, to myself.
Taste.
It is after hours of being still against that cold stone wall that my stomach finally growls. I haven't completely conquered my fears and every now and again a terrified scream rips through the quiet and makes my heart thump wildly and a band tighten itself around my middle. When it grumbles it's lack of food I eye the green stuff near the water. It's got to be food, it smells like it and almost looks like it. I felt brave stepping closer to it, until I sniff it. It smells good and when I chomp down on a large bite I almost groan to myself. It was excellent and it was all right here. I could eat all day on this stuff and not have to forage around for it. A drink of the water and then I am going back to the back of the wall.
Touch
I slide down to the ground, curling my legs against me and hope that when I wake this will be nothing more than a dream. It is still cool to the touch and I still shiver now and again....
Somehow, I had fallen asleep last night. Unfortunately I was in some horrible nightmare still. My legs were stiff when I got to them. I walked my small box, loosening my limbs and my stiff knee. Even stretching out my wings a little. Not the whole way, as this small place wouldn't let me but it did alleviate some of the tightness in my muscles. I made my way back over to the refilled hay and almost smile in surprise. I take my fill, eating a little quickly as I still don't know what it going on and what might happen, but I want to be strong and have my energy. So I take another drink from the water bucket and my ears flicker when I hear the opening of a door.
I stick my head out the window briefly, only to see some shadow heading down the aisle way towards the stalls. My heart is thundering in my chest against and I go back to the back of the stall. Here was my chance, I knew it. To attack blindly with my hindquarters or too attack and be able to see? That was the question. Quickly I backed my haunches up to the place I had been laying and I faced my fears. Grandfather would disown me if I were to close my eyes and just attack blindly. He would want me to face my fears.
So I did and my ears were pinned back against my skull and my body tense and ready for the fight. And then I couldn't move at all.
And the stall door swung open.
Chaol was almost a two year old. His legs were in a much better proportion to his body than they had been months ago. His muscles were toned and actually rather well defined. Most of it probably came from the fact that he was so young still and he used them every day. Whether it was flying or running or simply just trotting along the beach, the young purple and magenta boy was constantly on the go.
Well, okay, not quite flying. But he would one of these days. His mother said he wasn't quite ready to propel himself up into the clouds. That gliding was all he needed to work on now. Wasn't that some crap? He was ready to feel the sun on his face and the wind in his feathers for longer than the few seconds it seemed like it was when he gliding.
The urge to fly was practically an itch below his skin.
It was hard for him to shake.
But he continued to, because he would like to think that his mother would one day tell him that he was okay to fly...even if he felt like it was forever from now.
So this particular day he was trotting lazily along the beach. And by trotting, he means walking really fast. His head bobs with his stride and he is fantasizing about (surprise) the day when he finally gets to fly. He stretches his wings out and pretends like the wind under his feathers is the cold wind high above the ground. His hooves leave little indents in the sand, the only marking of his passing.
His eyes close briefly.
---
When I awake, I am only subconsciously aware of the cold stone against my belly. I think I must have fallen asleep outside again on that favorite rock of mine, although I don't really remember going to it. Sleepily my eyes open, groggily even and it takes a couple blinks for my eyes to clear and focus. I was in a box. A big box. With an opening not big enough for me to jump through or out of. Panic takes like copper in my mouth and I get to my feet. I stumble, I almost fall, banging one knee roughly against the stone before I manage to get to my hooves. I press my side against that cold stone, out of it all, it's the one thing that comforts me.
Even when it shouldn't, but it reminds me home.
I want to run, to fly away and get out of this place and back to my home, back to my mom and the rest of the Covelings. I want to be there, not here in this place...where ever it was.
My body trembles not only from fear but from the damp. I was used to the sun, to the humidity of the ocean and the cold breezes that someones caught me off guard. There was no sun here, nothing to warm me even when it was cool out. I shiver a little even as my wide eyes continue to take in this place. Near the front, by that little window I could smell water and something else. The salty grass of the Cove was often enough for me, but this smelled the same...yet different.
Sight.
Smell.
I could smell a coppery smell, something that made me think of blood and pain. Fear? Was that smell fear? And underneath it....was that other horses? This sends my heart racing harder, thumping against my chest until I think it is going to burst out and send my blood and bones every where. Mother. Was Mother here? Only this makes me go to the front of this box, this place I was being held captured. I force myself to calm enough so that I can walk normally and not dance up to the door. I take my time even though I want to rush and bang against the wall and do SOMETHING. I stretch my nose out the opening and then pull it back in.
There was a wealth of information out there in the smells but I was afraid. I was afraid that something out there was going to hurt me. So I am careful, very careful. I didn't smell mom, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. I needed to peer out that window to see if I could see her. Odds were if nothing snatched my nose when it had been out there I was okay to poke an eye out to do a quick glance around.
So I did and then I forced myself to do it a minute longer than I would have liked. I seemed to take my time, even if my stomach was a tight mess of emotions and my muscles were trembling still. No, not trembling, I was shaking. My wings were tight against my sides, the same purple that I was born with magenta tips.
Sound.
That's pretty much when the sound all comes bellowing to the surface. I had managed to limit my sense for the few first minutes of being here, thinking of only one or the other and adding them slowly. But now, the screams of pain and anguish and fear had me cowering against the back wall again. There were other sounds, the rustle of their movement, the sound of their hooves on the stone, even some heavy breathing....
Oh no, that was me. I force myself to calm back down, to settle back into the now. Sure I was trapped and it was very well going to suck and bad things were going to happen....
"I don't want to die here." I say, very softly, to myself.
Taste.
It is after hours of being still against that cold stone wall that my stomach finally growls. I haven't completely conquered my fears and every now and again a terrified scream rips through the quiet and makes my heart thump wildly and a band tighten itself around my middle. When it grumbles it's lack of food I eye the green stuff near the water. It's got to be food, it smells like it and almost looks like it. I felt brave stepping closer to it, until I sniff it. It smells good and when I chomp down on a large bite I almost groan to myself. It was excellent and it was all right here. I could eat all day on this stuff and not have to forage around for it. A drink of the water and then I am going back to the back of the wall.
Touch
I slide down to the ground, curling my legs against me and hope that when I wake this will be nothing more than a dream. It is still cool to the touch and I still shiver now and again....
Somehow, I had fallen asleep last night. Unfortunately I was in some horrible nightmare still. My legs were stiff when I got to them. I walked my small box, loosening my limbs and my stiff knee. Even stretching out my wings a little. Not the whole way, as this small place wouldn't let me but it did alleviate some of the tightness in my muscles. I made my way back over to the refilled hay and almost smile in surprise. I take my fill, eating a little quickly as I still don't know what it going on and what might happen, but I want to be strong and have my energy. So I take another drink from the water bucket and my ears flicker when I hear the opening of a door.
I stick my head out the window briefly, only to see some shadow heading down the aisle way towards the stalls. My heart is thundering in my chest against and I go back to the back of the stall. Here was my chance, I knew it. To attack blindly with my hindquarters or too attack and be able to see? That was the question. Quickly I backed my haunches up to the place I had been laying and I faced my fears. Grandfather would disown me if I were to close my eyes and just attack blindly. He would want me to face my fears.
So I did and my ears were pinned back against my skull and my body tense and ready for the fight. And then I couldn't move at all.
And the stall door swung open.
c h a o l