<center><style> .nevermadeitasawiseman {background-image:url('https://s8.postimg.org/3ylmahiol/fornikolinetexture.png'); border: 1px solid black; width: 600px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 40px black;} .couldntcutitasapoormanstealin {background-image:url('https://s8.postimg.org/6retum679/fornikoline.png'); width: 600px; height: 400px;} .tiredoflivinlikeablindman {margin-top: -110px; color: #c8dace; text-shadow: -1px -1px black, -1px -1px black; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family georgia, serif; font-size: 1.2em; font-style: italic;} .imsickofsightwithoutasenseoffeelin {width: 520px; padding: 20px; background-color: rgba(147, 154, 130, 0.8); border: 1px solid black; border-bottom: 0px; font-family: times, serif; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.2em; text-align: justify; box-shadow: 0px 0px 10px black inset; color: black;} </style><div class="nevermadeitasawiseman"><div class="couldntcutitasapoormanstealin"></div><div class="tiredoflivinlikeablindman">Amidst the mists and coldest frosts
he thrusts his fists against the posts
and still insists he sees the ghosts</div><div class="imsickofsightwithoutasenseoffeelin">She has been frantic in her efforts to find Jack. He is very best friend and her first to ever make on the island. The others are her friends well but not like Jack. Not the way he looked at her, brought her fruits, or how they lay at night laughing and looking at the stars on a clear night's sky. Nikoline can feel a tension in the air but she tries to shove it all away and keep her mind clear of the dark thoughts that threaten to cloud her focus and creep along the edges of her slow realization that this was not a game.
Three days pass with no sign of Jack as they push deeper into the jungle. Nikoline leads from the front as she tries to remain positive and cheerful despite the slow rumbles of doubt and side comments. Conversations are springing up quietly amongst select horses that seem to hush when the painted mare walks by. her sea glass eyes notice the way their backs are turning and the looks given over shoulders in her direction. There is undoubtedly an unease about the group but she tries to rally them nonetheless.
The first day, they are relatively okay. They talk, chat, speculate where Jack could be Was it all a silly game? A test of their friendship? They cannot say and but Niko and the rest search for clues to where he could be before nightfall is upon them and they huddle together for warmth and security. On the second day, they are tired, hungry and worn but they continue on. The jungle opens up in various pockets to expose vegetation to eat and a few markings here and there. Niko can almost feel Jack's eyes watching her and she too, wonders if it is all a trick. Day three, they are hungry, desperate and hope is beginning to slip. Should some have stayed behind in case Jack came back? Why was he doing this?! Niko begins to feel the slow rise of panic clawing at her edges and beginning to disturb the little sleep she got...
The others are becoming restless.
----------
Day 4
But on the fourth day there is a collapse amongst them. Niko wakes from a feverish sleep to the voice of Lola calling out loudly for Esme and Abigail. <b>"Esme?! Abigail?! Where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?!"</B> She is loud and wild as her eyes roll. Niko finds her feet, <b>"Lola, what's going on?"</b> The pale pearl colored mare ignores Niko as she continues to call for the mares, stumbling almost blindly over the forest floor, bumping against the jungle vines and tangling easily. Niko witnesses the pale mare thrash and bite like a caged animal at the thick vines before shrieking in rage. Niko freezes and watches as she is not sure if she should go help but, she was her friend right? Not hurtful or harmful. She is sweet Lola and she is just upset, right? Niko hurries to free her friend from the ropey mess.
The others are looking as well. They search, call, dig. Anything to alleviate the fear. Niko notices that Peter seems to be in a daze. His actions do not speak of a desperate animal looking for something valuable. instead, the onyx stallion calls meekly while peering behind a few bushes here and there. He seems occupied by gathering a snack or taking a drink of water. He does not seem as frantic as the others and Niko knows this is strange...she figures she should talk to him privately later so she does not rile the other horses up.
She can feel the hours ticking away.
They look for Esme and Abigail but now they are missing without any trace or direction. The group are weary and they are hungry and they are becoming unhinged. Everyone has startled to huddle away to make their own place. Only a few of them remain together but the others all chose separate areas against rocks and trees so they may watch towards their fronts for any suspicious activities. Nikoline is among the distant as the jewel colored horses have begun to shift their voices and bodies away from her. She no longer feels welcomed but she cannot leave Jack. Darkness falls on them without any sound. They times before they had stayed close, talked loud to keep themselves motivated, reassured one another but now night blankets them in silence.
----------
DAY 5
<i>It is all wrong. Everything is wrong. The others...tjhey are angry. Their eyes are empty. Their heads rolls and their tongues wag. I can hear my name in their whispers but they are hardly speaking to me anymore as I try to help find Jack. Jack? Why? Why did you leave? Why did are they turning on me? Why Jack?</i>
There is no relief. Abigail and Esme are gone. Peter. Lana. Leo. Lola. George. Penny. Veruca. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and Niko makes 8.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
She count and counts and counts
She counts over and over to herself quietly as her eyes shift from one face to another. Even Peter is beginning to look bothers but not nearly like the others. Damn, Niko should have talked to him but then-
As she walks, the smell of burnt hair stinks up her nose. Niko shakes her head in disbelief as she nearly stumbles upon the carcass. It takes nearly all her strength to keep from screaming when her feels her hoof sink into the melted flesh. The painted woman stumbles, trips, gasps as she inhales the stench of the body.
Niko wants to scream but her throat traps it.
The evening is settling in and she tries to call for help. She is frozen by the sight of the burned body and she cannot look away. The seared flesh poisons her skin and her hair. Why why why...Oh my FUCKING GOD WHY?!
The scream is blood curdling. Niko is ripped from her counting, her stepping, her monotony as she attempts to keep control. The screams continue and the group suddenly comes together to find Penny frozen in an ugly scream. Her eyes seem to have glazed over and George and Veruca have rushed to her side to try and calm her down but her face is frozen to the sky, her hair thrown back and her eyes wide, wide, wide.
Niko wants to close the space between them and to ask what is wrong but then she see it...she sees <i>her</i>. Esme, the sweet little blue mare, is watching her with a dead grin. Actual it is only her <i>head</i> that tilts up with a dead smile as if mocking them all, her face sports a rotted grin forced by small twigs and rocks to keep the sagging skin at unnatural edges. Niko will never forget that dead mare's face. Blood has made the edges of her skin purple and the rock stained where it sits pointing towards them. Her head is gnarled at the edges (it was a slow death) and ragged. All of them begin to scream in fear almost in unison.
Niko manages to help George and Veruca drag Penny away. She never clear snaps out of her daze but becomes deathly silent once thy have managed to get away from the corpse. It does not take long before they have forcibly segregated Niko and she must sleep alone and cold. She is scared, dirty, and hungry. Niko wonders how much longer they all can go on.
----------
DAY 6
She sleeps without dreams for the first time since she can remember. She is void of the hope she had once had and just as sunlight is rousing her something hard hits her head. <b>"What-"</b> Niko opens her eyes to see them all around, watching, angry, eyes wide and accusing. <b>"Get up Nikoline, get the fuck up right now!"</b> It's Penny (looking very much undazed) shrieking at her. The others have rocks and judging by the one near her it is what woke her. <b>"How did you know, Niko?? You lead us all to her! To Esme! Peter saw you with her body, you fucking bitch! WHY?!"</b> Penny is screaming at her. Niko can only flinch away and look to their faces in the desperate attempt to find a friendly, sympathetic look but there are none. <b>"Penny, I-"</b> The amber mare hits her -hard- in the face. <b>"Penny!"</b> Niko stumbles to her feet but falls to a tree before the amber mare is charging. The sounds of the others cheering and their delight is unmistakable. <b>"Where did you come from, Nikoline? WHY DID YOU DO THIS, LITTLE BITCH?!"</B> Her words seem so familiar that it makes her skin break out in goosebumps. Penny gears up and swings the thickness of her skull against Niko's in a direct head butt that sends her reeling and dizzy. <b>"Penny...everyone...'</b> her voice is weak as she struggles and strains to get away, to explain herself but there is bloodlust in their eyes as Penny rears and smashes her body into Niko's to pin her against a tree. The air is stolen from her lings as Niko gasps and wheezes, working to herself free from the hold. An opportunity only comes when Penny backs to rear once more with the intention of crushing her skull.
Niko is frenzied in her savage flight. She manages to steady her legs as she narrowly escapes the orange mare's hooves, gasping for air. Niko only knows parts of the island but she can hear the way Penny screams for her blood, the other chanting. Niko is quicker despite the way she sucks air into her bruised ribcage. The jungle is a mess of turns and there are no paths. She would have a chance to survive is she could only get to the cave. The beach would be too easy for that was their home. Niko knows they would go there first to search. The grove would be easy to hide in but her painted coat would make it far too easy for her to stand out. She was the only one on the island after all so the cave was most logical.
Niko scrambles through the jungle, making sure to weave her trail. She can ehar the rush of the waterfall and see the mist of it's steady fall. The painted form must surpress the squal of excitment that threatens to give away her location as she carefully begins to pick her way down the loose rocks to the base of the waterfall.
Once.
Twice.
She slips and stumbles, cutting her knees and bruising her bones but she must hurry! They would not be far behind! The cave was not far now and she could easily hide in it's depths and away from the mob. The mouth stands hidden by the veil of water, hungry and gaping but she has no choice. Hopefully the rocks, with a lack of impression, will hide her hoof falls and the mist will coat her scent to confuse them but she must hurry!
Her skin is torn and bleeding and her breathing is ragged when she finally makes it to the cave. It is damp and cool inside and smells of nothing more. Niko can be at least happy that there was nothing dwelling in the throat of the darkness. The painted woman allows herself to be swallowed up by the earth to hide, the smell of moisture and the feel of smooth stone against her skin almost reassured her of her choice as it brought a bit of comfort. Niko prays quietly to all the gods (or any who are listening) to keep her safe and hidden from the ravenous group.<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 1.2em; color: black; text-shadow: -1px -1px #c8dace, -1px -1px #c8dace; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia, serif; margin-top: 20px;">nikoline</div><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">barret x syntyche</div></div></div></center>
he thrusts his fists against the posts
and still insists he sees the ghosts</div><div class="imsickofsightwithoutasenseoffeelin">She has been frantic in her efforts to find Jack. He is very best friend and her first to ever make on the island. The others are her friends well but not like Jack. Not the way he looked at her, brought her fruits, or how they lay at night laughing and looking at the stars on a clear night's sky. Nikoline can feel a tension in the air but she tries to shove it all away and keep her mind clear of the dark thoughts that threaten to cloud her focus and creep along the edges of her slow realization that this was not a game.
Three days pass with no sign of Jack as they push deeper into the jungle. Nikoline leads from the front as she tries to remain positive and cheerful despite the slow rumbles of doubt and side comments. Conversations are springing up quietly amongst select horses that seem to hush when the painted mare walks by. her sea glass eyes notice the way their backs are turning and the looks given over shoulders in her direction. There is undoubtedly an unease about the group but she tries to rally them nonetheless.
The first day, they are relatively okay. They talk, chat, speculate where Jack could be Was it all a silly game? A test of their friendship? They cannot say and but Niko and the rest search for clues to where he could be before nightfall is upon them and they huddle together for warmth and security. On the second day, they are tired, hungry and worn but they continue on. The jungle opens up in various pockets to expose vegetation to eat and a few markings here and there. Niko can almost feel Jack's eyes watching her and she too, wonders if it is all a trick. Day three, they are hungry, desperate and hope is beginning to slip. Should some have stayed behind in case Jack came back? Why was he doing this?! Niko begins to feel the slow rise of panic clawing at her edges and beginning to disturb the little sleep she got...
The others are becoming restless.
----------
Day 4
But on the fourth day there is a collapse amongst them. Niko wakes from a feverish sleep to the voice of Lola calling out loudly for Esme and Abigail. <b>"Esme?! Abigail?! Where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?!"</B> She is loud and wild as her eyes roll. Niko finds her feet, <b>"Lola, what's going on?"</b> The pale pearl colored mare ignores Niko as she continues to call for the mares, stumbling almost blindly over the forest floor, bumping against the jungle vines and tangling easily. Niko witnesses the pale mare thrash and bite like a caged animal at the thick vines before shrieking in rage. Niko freezes and watches as she is not sure if she should go help but, she was her friend right? Not hurtful or harmful. She is sweet Lola and she is just upset, right? Niko hurries to free her friend from the ropey mess.
The others are looking as well. They search, call, dig. Anything to alleviate the fear. Niko notices that Peter seems to be in a daze. His actions do not speak of a desperate animal looking for something valuable. instead, the onyx stallion calls meekly while peering behind a few bushes here and there. He seems occupied by gathering a snack or taking a drink of water. He does not seem as frantic as the others and Niko knows this is strange...she figures she should talk to him privately later so she does not rile the other horses up.
She can feel the hours ticking away.
They look for Esme and Abigail but now they are missing without any trace or direction. The group are weary and they are hungry and they are becoming unhinged. Everyone has startled to huddle away to make their own place. Only a few of them remain together but the others all chose separate areas against rocks and trees so they may watch towards their fronts for any suspicious activities. Nikoline is among the distant as the jewel colored horses have begun to shift their voices and bodies away from her. She no longer feels welcomed but she cannot leave Jack. Darkness falls on them without any sound. They times before they had stayed close, talked loud to keep themselves motivated, reassured one another but now night blankets them in silence.
----------
DAY 5
<i>It is all wrong. Everything is wrong. The others...tjhey are angry. Their eyes are empty. Their heads rolls and their tongues wag. I can hear my name in their whispers but they are hardly speaking to me anymore as I try to help find Jack. Jack? Why? Why did you leave? Why did are they turning on me? Why Jack?</i>
There is no relief. Abigail and Esme are gone. Peter. Lana. Leo. Lola. George. Penny. Veruca. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and Niko makes 8.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
She count and counts and counts
She counts over and over to herself quietly as her eyes shift from one face to another. Even Peter is beginning to look bothers but not nearly like the others. Damn, Niko should have talked to him but then-
As she walks, the smell of burnt hair stinks up her nose. Niko shakes her head in disbelief as she nearly stumbles upon the carcass. It takes nearly all her strength to keep from screaming when her feels her hoof sink into the melted flesh. The painted woman stumbles, trips, gasps as she inhales the stench of the body.
Niko wants to scream but her throat traps it.
The evening is settling in and she tries to call for help. She is frozen by the sight of the burned body and she cannot look away. The seared flesh poisons her skin and her hair. Why why why...Oh my FUCKING GOD WHY?!
The scream is blood curdling. Niko is ripped from her counting, her stepping, her monotony as she attempts to keep control. The screams continue and the group suddenly comes together to find Penny frozen in an ugly scream. Her eyes seem to have glazed over and George and Veruca have rushed to her side to try and calm her down but her face is frozen to the sky, her hair thrown back and her eyes wide, wide, wide.
Niko wants to close the space between them and to ask what is wrong but then she see it...she sees <i>her</i>. Esme, the sweet little blue mare, is watching her with a dead grin. Actual it is only her <i>head</i> that tilts up with a dead smile as if mocking them all, her face sports a rotted grin forced by small twigs and rocks to keep the sagging skin at unnatural edges. Niko will never forget that dead mare's face. Blood has made the edges of her skin purple and the rock stained where it sits pointing towards them. Her head is gnarled at the edges (it was a slow death) and ragged. All of them begin to scream in fear almost in unison.
Niko manages to help George and Veruca drag Penny away. She never clear snaps out of her daze but becomes deathly silent once thy have managed to get away from the corpse. It does not take long before they have forcibly segregated Niko and she must sleep alone and cold. She is scared, dirty, and hungry. Niko wonders how much longer they all can go on.
----------
DAY 6
She sleeps without dreams for the first time since she can remember. She is void of the hope she had once had and just as sunlight is rousing her something hard hits her head. <b>"What-"</b> Niko opens her eyes to see them all around, watching, angry, eyes wide and accusing. <b>"Get up Nikoline, get the fuck up right now!"</b> It's Penny (looking very much undazed) shrieking at her. The others have rocks and judging by the one near her it is what woke her. <b>"How did you know, Niko?? You lead us all to her! To Esme! Peter saw you with her body, you fucking bitch! WHY?!"</b> Penny is screaming at her. Niko can only flinch away and look to their faces in the desperate attempt to find a friendly, sympathetic look but there are none. <b>"Penny, I-"</b> The amber mare hits her -hard- in the face. <b>"Penny!"</b> Niko stumbles to her feet but falls to a tree before the amber mare is charging. The sounds of the others cheering and their delight is unmistakable. <b>"Where did you come from, Nikoline? WHY DID YOU DO THIS, LITTLE BITCH?!"</B> Her words seem so familiar that it makes her skin break out in goosebumps. Penny gears up and swings the thickness of her skull against Niko's in a direct head butt that sends her reeling and dizzy. <b>"Penny...everyone...'</b> her voice is weak as she struggles and strains to get away, to explain herself but there is bloodlust in their eyes as Penny rears and smashes her body into Niko's to pin her against a tree. The air is stolen from her lings as Niko gasps and wheezes, working to herself free from the hold. An opportunity only comes when Penny backs to rear once more with the intention of crushing her skull.
Niko is frenzied in her savage flight. She manages to steady her legs as she narrowly escapes the orange mare's hooves, gasping for air. Niko only knows parts of the island but she can hear the way Penny screams for her blood, the other chanting. Niko is quicker despite the way she sucks air into her bruised ribcage. The jungle is a mess of turns and there are no paths. She would have a chance to survive is she could only get to the cave. The beach would be too easy for that was their home. Niko knows they would go there first to search. The grove would be easy to hide in but her painted coat would make it far too easy for her to stand out. She was the only one on the island after all so the cave was most logical.
Niko scrambles through the jungle, making sure to weave her trail. She can ehar the rush of the waterfall and see the mist of it's steady fall. The painted form must surpress the squal of excitment that threatens to give away her location as she carefully begins to pick her way down the loose rocks to the base of the waterfall.
Once.
Twice.
She slips and stumbles, cutting her knees and bruising her bones but she must hurry! They would not be far behind! The cave was not far now and she could easily hide in it's depths and away from the mob. The mouth stands hidden by the veil of water, hungry and gaping but she has no choice. Hopefully the rocks, with a lack of impression, will hide her hoof falls and the mist will coat her scent to confuse them but she must hurry!
Her skin is torn and bleeding and her breathing is ragged when she finally makes it to the cave. It is damp and cool inside and smells of nothing more. Niko can be at least happy that there was nothing dwelling in the throat of the darkness. The painted woman allows herself to be swallowed up by the earth to hide, the smell of moisture and the feel of smooth stone against her skin almost reassured her of her choice as it brought a bit of comfort. Niko prays quietly to all the gods (or any who are listening) to keep her safe and hidden from the ravenous group.<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 1.2em; color: black; text-shadow: -1px -1px #c8dace, -1px -1px #c8dace; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia, serif; margin-top: 20px;">nikoline</div><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">barret x syntyche</div></div></div></center>