It was somewhat unnerving, the feeling of being alone in a strange forest that seemed more alive than inanimate. The rustling of leaves filled the air all around him, dappled light streaming unevenly through the canopy to light the path before him. And yet it was muted somehow, dark in a way that made the world feel stuck in some strange period of twilight -
- But it had been noon when Ipomoea had first entered the forest. He doubted more than an hour could have passed since the trees first overtook him, yet time worked differently here.
It was odd, for lack of a better word. He had witnessed the last relic hunt, when the whole of Novus had gone out in a frenzy to find the mysterious item. More horses had been more pious then, he supposed, himself included; the talk had been everywhere, and he rarely met a person that had not heard of it and, rarer yet, one who did not care. Strange things had happened then, too; the most notable of which being the maze that had grown into existence over night, and the strange beasts that lurked within.
It reminded him a bit of the island - time speeding up, growing mile-high hedges over night or an island in a week. He had read of volcanic eruptions, how they destroyed the earth and covered it in a thick layer of ash and rock. It took years for the land to recover, decades for a new island to be habitable. And yet, and yet, he had seen the eruption with his own eyes, had felt the heat singing his cheeks when he walked into the ocean. Reason told him that this island was impossible, that it should not be here.
If there was anything the gods had taught him, however, it was that magic made all things possible. Even the terrible things.
Odet disappeared into the shadows, and it was like a shade being pulled over a lantern. Their bond felt muted in a way it never had before - Ipomoea could sense that his bonded was alive and well, but he could not sense where he was, or feel his mind or thoughts. He continued uneasily through the forest, for without the songbird’s extra set of eyes and ears, he felt strangely vulnerable.
When the forest seemed to erupt into life around him, he nearly fainted from the surprise.
The animals came first, strange birds of every color and stranger rodents swarming the path around him. He barely had time to stumble backwards, watching in awe as they appeared seemingly from thin air on one side of the path, only to disappear back into the darkness on the other. And only when it finally registered in his mind, they must be running from someone, from something, was he proven right near instantaneously.
The dark colored mare stumbled into the earth before him, her white mane and tail flying about her like a wisp of smoke. She fell and rolled, sliding down a small embankment where the tree roots seemed to raise suspiciously for the sole purpose of stopping her. And as her mane settled into a heap beside her, as petals and leaves and dust floated gently through the stale air, Ipomoea got his first look at her.
For a moment he stood there in shock, blinking dumbly at the girl with galaxies painted upon her hips.
Oh. Hullo.
It was like a spell suddenly breaking, and he rushed forward at once. “Are you okay?” worry was evident in his voice, his telekinesis pulling vines and clumps of mud from her coat. “That was quite the fall-“ He looked uneasily into the forest around them, as if expecting to see something else emerge in pursuit. But the branches only waved slyly back at him, and the dappled light seemed to wink and him and laugh in jest.
But he was not expecting a voice to come out of the hazy forest from behind him, one that was equal parts drawl and laughter. Ipomoea turned in time to see a brightly-marked stallion sauntering their way, blue eyes piercing through the darkness.
He huffed uneasily, wishing his bonded were back.
“And who are you?” he asked softly, standing up straighter as the stranger approached them.
yesterday i
was clever,
so i wanted
to change
the world
today i am wise
so i am changing
myself
@kassandra @Huehuecoyotl !
”here am i!“
