JAXIS
HANDS STEEPED IN BLOOD
The task was.. simple, at least in terms of what she needed to get. Wings (freshly plucked), flowers, things of the sort that she could find easy. Jaxis was cocky, as she would always be, and as she stepped away from the Elder, she began to make her way deeper and deeper in to the swamp. It was tricky to navigate the more wilder parts of the swamp, her hooves being sucked down in to mud and vines growing rampant to block her path. Clusters of ferns and other flora bunched up in her way more than once, but there was a pull at her chest, a vague sensation that she was following without realizing as she navigated. The items to fetch were in the back of her mind, but she was more keenly focused on shouldering past naked trees that were gnarled and covered in thick vines that tangled in her horns. Once or twice she shook her head, ripping through them with her horns as they were snagged and caught, her titanic form halting here and there.
Mud grew thicker, insects buzzed around her head, and she snapped her teeth at them in response with aggravation, once or twice swatting them with her head and horns, knocking the buzzing creatures to the waters underhoof. They buzzed and floundered, and her hooves pressed down on them, but the insects grew larger the deeper she went, until they were great beasts in the air with buzzing that made her teeth vibrate in her head. Jaxis pinned her ears back even as she shoved past the last of the ferns that blocked her path. The clearing was so sudden that she nearly stumbled, staggering and pushing upright and ---- silence. Her ears lifted, violet eyes narrowing in uncertainty as she gazed around.
The insects were gone, having fled elsewhere, it seemed. Something had spooked them, hadn't it?
The colossal mare couldn't ponder it for too long, considering that the pull in her chest felt like a warm glow now more than anything. It was a wave of heat that radiated outward, and her head turned to take in the sight of a nest. Old, ancient perhaps, with bones that were strewn about. Some held teeth, others were simply stripped of flesh, and her eyes fell on a certain skull that was shattered, except for a large portion of its upper jaw. Something for her to take, then.
Jaxis' attention snapped from the toothy skull toward the egg as it cracked, and as if by an invisible string, she stepped forward. Her hooves came near the edge of the nest, where mud dried and cracked, bits of old prey nothing but dust and shards of bone. The egg was moving, rocking, even falling to its side, and she was entranced by the motions, by the peeking out of a pale snout and crocodilian teeth that clamped shut unevenly. A baby, and even so, one with sharp teeth and claws as it broke out of the egg, revealing itself. Large, for a baby, wasn't it?
The heat of the day was forgotten (even as it seeped in to her skin, buried in to her bones and her body, clogged her throat with moisture), in lieu of lowering her head slowly, to focus on the miniature creature that was beginning to stand. Such a strange creature, but the pull in her chest seemed to guide her as she stood, a towering equine over a nest of an unknown creature. But the pulse in her body (so unlike her own heart) was telling her to stay, to watch, to wait.
There was a sound as they locked gazes, and finally, her head lowered slightly. It wasn't until the creature was closer to her, letting out a bellow (sounding like a small pathetic thing really), that her head lowered even more, legs shifting so she could reach and press her muzzle to the small thing. "..Enyo..." The name flickered in her mind, and she blew out a soft breath, nose against small claws that pressed against her flesh. Ducking her head more, she tucked her muzzle under those legs and lifted, bringing the small creature up so it could climb up on her head and cling between horns
"You're coming with me." The words were soft, but very much determined. This one was hers, whatever she was. Something told her that Enyo would be hers through life, and beyond.
Mud grew thicker, insects buzzed around her head, and she snapped her teeth at them in response with aggravation, once or twice swatting them with her head and horns, knocking the buzzing creatures to the waters underhoof. They buzzed and floundered, and her hooves pressed down on them, but the insects grew larger the deeper she went, until they were great beasts in the air with buzzing that made her teeth vibrate in her head. Jaxis pinned her ears back even as she shoved past the last of the ferns that blocked her path. The clearing was so sudden that she nearly stumbled, staggering and pushing upright and ---- silence. Her ears lifted, violet eyes narrowing in uncertainty as she gazed around.
The insects were gone, having fled elsewhere, it seemed. Something had spooked them, hadn't it?
The colossal mare couldn't ponder it for too long, considering that the pull in her chest felt like a warm glow now more than anything. It was a wave of heat that radiated outward, and her head turned to take in the sight of a nest. Old, ancient perhaps, with bones that were strewn about. Some held teeth, others were simply stripped of flesh, and her eyes fell on a certain skull that was shattered, except for a large portion of its upper jaw. Something for her to take, then.
Jaxis' attention snapped from the toothy skull toward the egg as it cracked, and as if by an invisible string, she stepped forward. Her hooves came near the edge of the nest, where mud dried and cracked, bits of old prey nothing but dust and shards of bone. The egg was moving, rocking, even falling to its side, and she was entranced by the motions, by the peeking out of a pale snout and crocodilian teeth that clamped shut unevenly. A baby, and even so, one with sharp teeth and claws as it broke out of the egg, revealing itself. Large, for a baby, wasn't it?
The heat of the day was forgotten (even as it seeped in to her skin, buried in to her bones and her body, clogged her throat with moisture), in lieu of lowering her head slowly, to focus on the miniature creature that was beginning to stand. Such a strange creature, but the pull in her chest seemed to guide her as she stood, a towering equine over a nest of an unknown creature. But the pulse in her body (so unlike her own heart) was telling her to stay, to watch, to wait.
There was a sound as they locked gazes, and finally, her head lowered slightly. It wasn't until the creature was closer to her, letting out a bellow (sounding like a small pathetic thing really), that her head lowered even more, legs shifting so she could reach and press her muzzle to the small thing. "..Enyo..." The name flickered in her mind, and she blew out a soft breath, nose against small claws that pressed against her flesh. Ducking her head more, she tucked her muzzle under those legs and lifted, bringing the small creature up so it could climb up on her head and cling between horns
"You're coming with me." The words were soft, but very much determined. This one was hers, whatever she was. Something told her that Enyo would be hers through life, and beyond.
