“Yes, squirrels.” The God of the Morning lets out a sigh, looking slowly from face to face. “As you said, Sloane. When they are frightened, or otherwise startled, the fire ignites. I do not know how they are capable of this.” A frown crosses his face, as he sinks into a deep, contemplative silence.
“They are too numerous, we cannot get rid of them without razing the entire forest first.”
After all, the squirrels were everywhere - how could they possibly find them all? Either they would miss some of the fire would finish off destroying the forest during their search. No, there had to be another way. ’Perhaps…’
“For now, we can do nothing. The fire line is stable, we’re gaining more ground than we are losing. We’ll meet at dawn at the forest’s edge; sleep until then, if you can.”
With any luck, they would arrive with fresh minds and fresh ideas. As for the god, Oriens turns away from the group of gathered equines, prepared to spend another night keeping watch on the forest and its squirrels.
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She sees the foal and she wonders why children are allowed in such a meeting. It was clear that this was a little distressing to the child. But then again, perhaps this young soul needed to be exposed to the evils of this world, much how she had been exposed. At six months, she was left to fend completely on herself with no outside help. She learned very quickly that this world was a cruel place. “I’m sure that you won’t be asked to kill them.” Despite the killing being her idea, Sloane had no intention of hunting them down either. That required actual effort, which Sloane did not want to put forth.
Her attention in brought to another. He is clearly agitated and Sloane cannot help the way her lips curl into a grin. Seeing others so flustered over something so small was entertaining. But she says nothing, preferring to keep her amusement to herself as he tries to ask how they can be stopped. She has already suggested killing them, though it seems like this Court is not very strong in the brute strength category. That was unfortunate because Sloane needed someone to protect her…and she was not about to fight her own battles.
It was a good thing the God answered when he had, because Sloane was getting rather irritated with the gathering of pansies. For so many stallions and colts, none of them had a lick of balls on them. They were afraid of squirrels? Of killing? It didn’t make sense at all. But, if there’s anything good to come of this, it is that the God believes her. She likes taking the credit for giving out her information. It made her seem like she might be of some importance to the group, if really she had nothing beneficial to offer them.
She settles, listening to the God’s suggestion on how they are to get rid of the squirrels. Again, he does not agree to the killing. In fact, he thinks they cannot be stopped at all. So what were they supposed to do if the squirrels cannot be stopped or killed? She is about to voice her question when the God cuts her off. He says they shall meet at the forest’s edge at dawn. She wonders briefly what will happen at dawn. While she’s not sure she will help unless it’s beneficial to her in some way, she will at least make an appearance. After all, she’s curious about this God…she’s never seen a god before and she wants to know how he intends on correcting their little squirrel problem.
The promise of a stable fire line was almost too good to be true, as was the promise of rest. However, as Ulric raised his tired eyes to look out across the devastation of their home, where thousands of mighty trees had once stood against luscious green, was now tarnished by the black marks of fire. It would take years for it all to grow back as it once had been, perhaps longer than the number of years the Warden had left on this earth.
Duty and obligation to assure his family and friends were safe urged him to stay put and keep an eye out for the remainder of the evening and the length of night, but oh, was he so very exhausted. His muscles ached, his eyes burned, his feet throbbed and wounds cried out to be tended to. He needed to seize the opportunity to finally rest if they were to put an end to this once and for all come morning, whether or not that ended with them squandering the squirrels permanently. For Delumine, Ulric would do anything.
“Very well,” the words finally come after a moment of contemplation, and though he lingered for a second longer, the Warden then turned back towards the citadel. As he passed them by, Ulric paused momentarily to acknowledge Ipomoea, even going so far as to bump his muzzle against the Regent’s neck in reassuring fashion if he so allowed him to, a silent gesture of camaraderie, a promise that this would all soon be over and a wish for him to get some res as well.
He offered the same to Somnus and little Regis, and cast a brief look and gentle smile to Pavetta and the newcomer referred to as Sloane before slipping away for the evening.
"Speaking."
HISTORY HAS ITS EYES ON YOU ➳ allcontact is permitted and encouraged
"I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable, I am an original."
His dual-colored eyes snapped to Ipomoea at his shared sentiment, and that in itself seemed to calm the boy considerably. Then, the dark woman who stood taller of any of them offered her own piece of reassurance and the stress wrought across his face began to ebb away ever so slowly, ignorant to the possibility of different meanings behind her words.
The young Prince shifted a little closer to his father however, pressing his small frame up against Somnus’ strong legs in a mindless act of self-comfort. So long as they all stuck together, everything would be alright and soon be back to normal, right? Especially with a God like Oriens there to aide them.
When Ulric passed them by, that familiar smile made its appearance back across his face as he returned his Uncle’s affection by pressing his velvety nose against the roan’s. Once he had departed with a few soft words of good night, Regis returned his attention to his father. “We should go tell momma and sissy,” he insisted, and only once Somnus had finished any and all business here did the dun cast one last parting smile to Oriens and head back home, never straying from his sire’s side.
As everyone clamors to get their voices in, Po suddenly finds himself falling quiet. All the god has to offer is a proposal to wait; but isn’t now, when the fire is stable (or relatively so) the time to take action?
His brows furrow, but he finds himself nodding along anyway. It’s not in his nature to question a god - and besides, he could use some sleep. Shadows have made a home across his face, particularly in the bags beneath his eyes; looking around, he sees similar afflictions on the faces of his company.
“That’s that, then,” he says quietly, as the others begin to disperse. “I’ll see you all on the ‘morrow.”
The fires still cast their light into the fading sky, turning the horizon orange. It’s glaringly bright against the darkness of the night; but perhaps it will help keep the nightmares away.
hearts are breaking
wars are raging on
you’ve got me nervous
i’m right at the end of my rope
hey, man, we can’t all be like you
i wish we were all rose-colored too
my rose-colored boy
@everyone yes i pulled this thread out of archives specifically so i could complete it
”here am i!“
His dual-colored eyes snapped to Ipomoea at his shared sentiment, and that in itself seemed to calm the boy considerably. Then, the dark woman who stood taller of any of them offered her own piece of reassurance and the stress wrought across his face began to ebb away ever so slowly, ignorant to the possibility of different meanings behind her words.
