Already her attention has turned away from the collapsed mare and onto following the light at the back of the small cave. She cannot see any benefit trying to help the mare. Anything she does for the mare is only an advantage for the other female, but not to herself. There’s no good that can come from helping her. It’s not like she’ll be rewarded for her efforts. And so, the mare walks on, completely forgetting that there was ever anyone else in this cave with her.
That is until she hears the small simper, that small cry for help.
Her ears pin backwards, slowly taking in the soft whisper. So the mare is alive. What a travesty. Now she will simply have to die a much slower death. Sloane is hardly bothered by the mare, but something causes her to pause in her journey. Slowly, she turns her head to look back at the heap of flesh only to hear that almost desperate plea for help.
Sloane turns her body to fully look at the heap of mare. She’s still contemplating if she should help the female. There’s no benefit to her. She doesn’t get anything special and it certainly doesn’t advance her goals to help. If anything, she would be nothing but a burden. Trying to exit the cave while ushering forth a dying female will do nothing but hinder her speed. She should leave her to die. Yes, she probably should.
And yet, she doesn’t move. She watches as the mare tries to stand, pleading for Sloane to bring her some water. Sloane is no servant and she takes no orders from anyone. “There’s water back here…” Her voice finally breaks the silence as he offers the mare help. While it wasn’t the help she was originally asking for, it was something. She should be quite grateful that Sloane even offered her directions to where the small spring was. She can hear the steady dripping of the water into a puddle, a puddle that might be life-saving to her.
She turns away from the struggling mare and begins to take a step towards the light. “Come, follow me.” Her words are deceptive, her intent not exactly pure. She wants to appear as though she is helping the stranger but in reality, she is simply wanting to move towards the light. Surely something good will come of it.
She finally reaches the small puddle of fresh water and she takes a moment to sip it. She should probably have let the other drink first, but Sloane is not very gracious in that way. She never has put others before herself and it is a character trait that she has never developed. She’s selfish but she doesn’t care. “Come now, it’s cool and will quench your thirst.” If she were being honest with herself, the water was refreshing and it did cool the burning in the back of her throat from the smoke. Briefly she wonders just why there is no smoke in this cave. One would think that the small draft would draw it in. And yet, it is relatively smoke free.
Only when the mare is close enough to engage in conversation once more does Sloane step forward. There is a small light from above, the light she had been following. Moonlight shines down into the small cave and Sloane wonders how long it’s been since the fires have started. She wonders why the air is not smoky. She wonders why the light has brought her here but not towards and exit. “Is there a way out of here?” She does not really want to go back the way she came. The fires had engulfed the path and left no where to go but into the cave. Surely there was another way out. Perhaps a hidden passageway that this stranger knows about. After all, Sloane is new here…she does not know her way.
@pavetta
