[AW] down the rabbit hole we go

[Coraline]

Coraline heard his words, and nodded, even if she didn’t understand. If he was old enough to be away from his mother and had the ability to fly…why didn’t he go fast and far? But then again, she could have left her own mother at any time, and did not, either. She did not judge…she was simply curious to know how others thought and why they did the things they did. But she would not continue pressing him for information, as it was in the past, and she didn’t much like to have the past brought up continually. She remained silent for a moment and then perked up when she heard something interesting. Averin had been purchased. In the Rift. By Only. Her Only! She couldn’t help an excited bounce or two at the mention of his name. That meant he was here, and that he had survived whatever the craziness was that brought them all here. ”You know Only? Oh, I miss him so! How is he? Where is he?” She remembered the secrets they shared, the stories they told each other, and how she whispered that she thought she liked him. She missed his friendship, his strange tales and being able to just be herself around someone again without fear that they would judge her, or hate her. Only didn’t care one way or the other about much – he was just himself, and that’s what he expected everyone else to be. It was refreshing, to be sure. ”I haven’t seen him since the world went all crazy, and everyone found themselves showing up in this place. He was a friend of mine for a long time.” Well…a long time to her anyway. But then, she didn’t have much reference for how long a friend should last. She imagined they should last for forever, but who was to know? Eagerly, she awaited anything more the stallion may tell her. ”Speech”

| Silver chain from the pirate siren | Blue Macaw feather in mane | Image © Firenze Design @ Deviant Art

@Averin

[Averin]

averin ILLUSION NEVER CHANGED INTO SOMETHING REAL Averin supposed that it would be nice to learn how to fly better, to be able to go up and up and just go and hang out with the birds in the sky. He'd been labeled 'Wing' in the caravan and yet he wasn't sure he had earned that title for what it meant he should be able to do. Flightless bird would have been more realistic, maybe. Still, flying was too much of a freedom for the enforcers to give him, and Averin had understood that and all of the risks they would think they were taking to let him fly. He still wouldn't have known where to go or even which direction his old home had been in. So even if he were able to get out and go back, there was no knowing where 'back' even was. So he stayed. Survived. When Averin mentioned Only, he hadn't expected the way she bounced or that she knew the male at all. It made him stand very still, accessing the situation. Coraline was talking, telling him that she missed Only, asking how he was or where he was, and Averin gulped a little. If she knew Only that well, the name slip might be a problem. "He's around somewhere, and he seems to be alright. He likes the river." A pause, hesitation, worry; "And if you see him, and speak of me, to him my name is 'Trouble'." There, that should cover it, he thinks. Maybe. Because Averin wasn't sure that he should be telling anyone his real name if Only wanted to call him Trouble instead. It had slipped, though. He had missed his name. Coraline was telling him that she hadn't seen Only since the world went all crazy, and Averin understood this, since that was something he had endured far too soon after being purchased by the other stallion. It had been too brief, but now things felt a little better. Averin wasn't sure he liked the idea of everyone showing up in this area, though. Namely the caravan enforcers, though. Still, Coraline was saying that Only had been her friend for a long time, so he nodded at her. "I can tell him you are asking about him, next time I see him, if you don't see him first." He responded with a small smile; he thought that might be a part of his tasks, too. Getting Only this sort of information as well as the other kind. I'M WIDE AWAKE AND I CAN SEE THE PERFECT SKY IS TORN

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@Coraline