12-20-2020, 06:24 PM
The light that meets the dark
In Cheri’s safe little world in Taiga, she had never come across predators. There were only the little creatures of the forest that skittered or fluttered by, the occasional buck, and even once she’d seen an elk herd moving north. Papa Yan had been doing his rounds of the redwoods for years, keeping the darkest of enemies at bay and, in Cheri’s mind at least, dispelling them with his golden light and bone-hard horns. Her sire was the guardian of those woods, but here? His light couldn’t reach the pair of younger horses by the river’s edge, and the protection of his horns seemed far away.
Cheri knew better than to stay, though. Her pale hooves had already twisted and raised themselves to flee, her head turned away from the dark lump of horseflesh down by the quiet banks, and then to her surprise she heard a noise. Targaryen’s soft groaning made her pause; a thrill of terror rooted her to the spot when she should’ve darted off into the Forest. Go, go! She felt her heart thudding in her dark chest, but the stranger... Whatever was lying by the river hadn’t moved.
She set her hoof down and wished (not for the first time) that she had her twin’s ability to sort-of read emotions. Reynard or Papa Yan would know if the stranger was good or evil.
Cheri had to go by instinct alone. She thought for a second: perhaps she could get back to Papa quick enough, bring him back here? But the creature by the riverbank hadn’t said or done anything aside from groaning. They were awfully silent and still, as a matter of fact. Awfully silent and still. Cheri turned back and looked closer until the darkness at the edge of her eyes smarted and twisted her vision into blurry shapes, and then with a gulp of confidence she moved forward one stride at a time.
The closer she came, the more the outline of the other horse became clear until she could see the strange pattern on his coat. Her blanket marking glowed softly, the high socks on all her legs giving off a soft white light that illuminated the mixture of blood flowing from his leg into the river water. Cheri gasped, quietly. He looked mangled and half-alive, whoever he was - soaked through and probably freezing by now. “Oh you... you poor thing, you!” The filly whined, lowering her ears.
“Please hold on, I’ll go get help.” She whispered, reaching out to comfort him with the gentle touch of her nose against his tree-clouded shoulder. She had intended to go and retrieve Papa Yan, but Cheri never made it a single step. Instead, her markings beamed intensely and then flared out to near-nothingness the moment their skin made contact, and all at once her power awoke with a mighty roar. The little filly went rigid, unable to control or stop the flow of her healing as it poured white-hot into @[Targaryen]’s body, knitting together his flesh and burning out any possible infection. To her surprise she sighed, as if a dam had suddenly broken inside of her, and then she backed away to see the stars spinning and the river tilting up and over her head.
Cheri stumbled, knelt into the pebbled shore, then blinked against a wave of heavy nodding that shook her head.
“Wha… wow.” She mumbled dizzily.
Cheri knew better than to stay, though. Her pale hooves had already twisted and raised themselves to flee, her head turned away from the dark lump of horseflesh down by the quiet banks, and then to her surprise she heard a noise. Targaryen’s soft groaning made her pause; a thrill of terror rooted her to the spot when she should’ve darted off into the Forest. Go, go! She felt her heart thudding in her dark chest, but the stranger... Whatever was lying by the river hadn’t moved.
She set her hoof down and wished (not for the first time) that she had her twin’s ability to sort-of read emotions. Reynard or Papa Yan would know if the stranger was good or evil.
Cheri had to go by instinct alone. She thought for a second: perhaps she could get back to Papa quick enough, bring him back here? But the creature by the riverbank hadn’t said or done anything aside from groaning. They were awfully silent and still, as a matter of fact. Awfully silent and still. Cheri turned back and looked closer until the darkness at the edge of her eyes smarted and twisted her vision into blurry shapes, and then with a gulp of confidence she moved forward one stride at a time.
The closer she came, the more the outline of the other horse became clear until she could see the strange pattern on his coat. Her blanket marking glowed softly, the high socks on all her legs giving off a soft white light that illuminated the mixture of blood flowing from his leg into the river water. Cheri gasped, quietly. He looked mangled and half-alive, whoever he was - soaked through and probably freezing by now. “Oh you... you poor thing, you!” The filly whined, lowering her ears.
“Please hold on, I’ll go get help.” She whispered, reaching out to comfort him with the gentle touch of her nose against his tree-clouded shoulder. She had intended to go and retrieve Papa Yan, but Cheri never made it a single step. Instead, her markings beamed intensely and then flared out to near-nothingness the moment their skin made contact, and all at once her power awoke with a mighty roar. The little filly went rigid, unable to control or stop the flow of her healing as it poured white-hot into @[Targaryen]’s body, knitting together his flesh and burning out any possible infection. To her surprise she sighed, as if a dam had suddenly broken inside of her, and then she backed away to see the stars spinning and the river tilting up and over her head.
Cheri stumbled, knelt into the pebbled shore, then blinked against a wave of heavy nodding that shook her head.
“Wha… wow.” She mumbled dizzily.