07-31-2018, 07:16 PM
There was a great rushing rise in the wind, grabbing and taking everything with it. Screams ripped the air like hungry teeth, and it felt as though her body and spirit were at war. Fiery lashes peppered her skin. At last, merciful blackness. Memory returned too late, only just soon enough to tell her that she lay in inches of icy water that was tinted pink with her blood as it whirled to touch her. Voices debated indistinctly overhead, growing louder and louder until they were once again screams of panic and rage. That godless wind was back, tearing at her violently enough to lift her listless form, unknowingly following the voices into a black void.
For a moment there was peace. No pain, no sickness. Simply existence, and even that she wasn't too sure of. How long she drifted in impenetrable darkness was uncertain. When it was over, however, it waa painfully clear. The serene nothingness had been wonderful, until it was harshly interrupted by searing white light, a stomach plummeting drop, and the sharp smack of her hip dropping into more cold water and her forehalf jarring against hot sand. There was no rhyme or reason to the sensations. For several minutes she could only lay there stunned in the brightness, breath coming in fast, shallow gasps. Gritty sand coated her tongue, leaving it somehow drier than before. Masculine voices began to filter through her brain fog, sounding as shocked as she felt.
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"What the hell?" Raul flicked his head towards the weirdly twisting sands on the shore. It looked almost like a miniature water spout forming, not out of lint l line with the increasingly warm weather they were getting. It was strange to see one so close to shore, however. The fiery buckskin glanced to his brother where he had been grazing nearby, but the web winged twin was already approaching the water's edge. The ever present look of curiosity was etched into the paler brother's features, a fact that gave Raul no shortage of anxiety. Really, it was amazing the idiot hadn't gotten one or both of them killed already.
Santana paid no mind to his brother's sighs and grumbles of doom as he trotted cautiously toward the twisting column of water and sand that had appeared on the beach moments ago. He knew his twin would follow him, albeit with an attitude and some tedious lecture once his curiosity had been satisfied. It had been like that basically their whole year of life. Their mother had vanished only couple months after there'd been born, and the only father they'd known was the gruff but kind Ivar, who had brought them here as young colts when they had been afraid and on their own.
They had both grown quite a bit since then, lanky yearlings who favored separate parents. Santana had grown into a dreamer with a quick temper, while Raul was the more logical of the pair, and minded his careless brother as well as he knew how. Like now, for instance. Typical Tana, waltzing right into certain danger like a kakapo with a death wish. He couldn't just let the dork get himself killed, so he set out on his brothers tail, as usual. The beach opened up in front of them, grey clouds building overhead at an alarming rate. Was a typhoon brewing?
A sudden roll of thunder made the twins flinch as it boomed over the water. The dervish on the beach exploded, and a strange, unnatural blackness appeared where it had been. It was as though the air itself had torn, revealing a heart of pure darkness superimposed over the backdrop of the ocean. It last just long enough to be registered before ejecting a pale mass and winking shut. The brothers looked at each other in trepidition. Raul knew strange things were commonplace in their homeland, his own twin claimed draconian wings and other traits, for fucks sake. But this felt different. Magic was not typically something good or evil, not any better or worse than the one who wielded it. This event had brought with it a distinctive sense of malevolence.
They didn't recognize her at first. It would be difficult for anyone to reconcile the damaged creature on the beach with the vibrant mare who had been taken almost a year ago. Weeping red welts latticed her face, neck and shoulders, dozens of thin lacerations each one accompanied by its matching bruise. The pale pink of her primary feathers was almost nonexistent, smooth curves clipped into harsh, flightless angles. She was thin and ragged, a shell of herself. Some things could not be disguised however, and the uneven lengths of her mane and tail still claimed the fiery hues that matched her buckskin son's son well. The faded blue of her coat was also reflected in the glossy sheen found in his brother.
"Mom...?" Tana spoke first, boyish concern in his voice. Raul could only stand and stare, watching for longer than he felt he should have for a rise. Some sign that she was still breathing.
Her ribcage shifted at last, a harsh breath expanding her barrel painfully. "Ok, ok, she's breathing, she's alive, right? What do we do? Raul, what do we do now?" The slim palamino colt looked to his brother for any kind of answer. Raul saved that day, that was always how it went. The bulkier brother dropped his nose to their battered dam's shoulder, feeling every bone beneath the canvas of her skin. "Where's Ivar? Maybe he'll know what to do..." a groan pulled from deep within the recumbent mare's chest, and for a moment Raul just knew that it was her death rattle. The next moment though her forelegs struck out, neck arching weakly in an attempt at gaining her feet. "Shhh momma, lay still. We're getting you help." Raul knelt at her head, tossing his head at his brother insistently. The winged boy looked at them for a moment before nodding in understanding, spreading his wings to take to the sky in search of Ivar. He desperately hoped the sea stallion would know what to do.
@[Ivar]
For a moment there was peace. No pain, no sickness. Simply existence, and even that she wasn't too sure of. How long she drifted in impenetrable darkness was uncertain. When it was over, however, it waa painfully clear. The serene nothingness had been wonderful, until it was harshly interrupted by searing white light, a stomach plummeting drop, and the sharp smack of her hip dropping into more cold water and her forehalf jarring against hot sand. There was no rhyme or reason to the sensations. For several minutes she could only lay there stunned in the brightness, breath coming in fast, shallow gasps. Gritty sand coated her tongue, leaving it somehow drier than before. Masculine voices began to filter through her brain fog, sounding as shocked as she felt.
▪■▪■▪■▪
"What the hell?" Raul flicked his head towards the weirdly twisting sands on the shore. It looked almost like a miniature water spout forming, not out of lint l line with the increasingly warm weather they were getting. It was strange to see one so close to shore, however. The fiery buckskin glanced to his brother where he had been grazing nearby, but the web winged twin was already approaching the water's edge. The ever present look of curiosity was etched into the paler brother's features, a fact that gave Raul no shortage of anxiety. Really, it was amazing the idiot hadn't gotten one or both of them killed already.
Santana paid no mind to his brother's sighs and grumbles of doom as he trotted cautiously toward the twisting column of water and sand that had appeared on the beach moments ago. He knew his twin would follow him, albeit with an attitude and some tedious lecture once his curiosity had been satisfied. It had been like that basically their whole year of life. Their mother had vanished only couple months after there'd been born, and the only father they'd known was the gruff but kind Ivar, who had brought them here as young colts when they had been afraid and on their own.
They had both grown quite a bit since then, lanky yearlings who favored separate parents. Santana had grown into a dreamer with a quick temper, while Raul was the more logical of the pair, and minded his careless brother as well as he knew how. Like now, for instance. Typical Tana, waltzing right into certain danger like a kakapo with a death wish. He couldn't just let the dork get himself killed, so he set out on his brothers tail, as usual. The beach opened up in front of them, grey clouds building overhead at an alarming rate. Was a typhoon brewing?
A sudden roll of thunder made the twins flinch as it boomed over the water. The dervish on the beach exploded, and a strange, unnatural blackness appeared where it had been. It was as though the air itself had torn, revealing a heart of pure darkness superimposed over the backdrop of the ocean. It last just long enough to be registered before ejecting a pale mass and winking shut. The brothers looked at each other in trepidition. Raul knew strange things were commonplace in their homeland, his own twin claimed draconian wings and other traits, for fucks sake. But this felt different. Magic was not typically something good or evil, not any better or worse than the one who wielded it. This event had brought with it a distinctive sense of malevolence.
They didn't recognize her at first. It would be difficult for anyone to reconcile the damaged creature on the beach with the vibrant mare who had been taken almost a year ago. Weeping red welts latticed her face, neck and shoulders, dozens of thin lacerations each one accompanied by its matching bruise. The pale pink of her primary feathers was almost nonexistent, smooth curves clipped into harsh, flightless angles. She was thin and ragged, a shell of herself. Some things could not be disguised however, and the uneven lengths of her mane and tail still claimed the fiery hues that matched her buckskin son's son well. The faded blue of her coat was also reflected in the glossy sheen found in his brother.
"Mom...?" Tana spoke first, boyish concern in his voice. Raul could only stand and stare, watching for longer than he felt he should have for a rise. Some sign that she was still breathing.
Her ribcage shifted at last, a harsh breath expanding her barrel painfully. "Ok, ok, she's breathing, she's alive, right? What do we do? Raul, what do we do now?" The slim palamino colt looked to his brother for any kind of answer. Raul saved that day, that was always how it went. The bulkier brother dropped his nose to their battered dam's shoulder, feeling every bone beneath the canvas of her skin. "Where's Ivar? Maybe he'll know what to do..." a groan pulled from deep within the recumbent mare's chest, and for a moment Raul just knew that it was her death rattle. The next moment though her forelegs struck out, neck arching weakly in an attempt at gaining her feet. "Shhh momma, lay still. We're getting you help." Raul knelt at her head, tossing his head at his brother insistently. The winged boy looked at them for a moment before nodding in understanding, spreading his wings to take to the sky in search of Ivar. He desperately hoped the sea stallion would know what to do.
@[Ivar]