B e l o w Z e r o
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
The mare looked to the sky, accepting the odd male's silence for the time being, glad to have someone to merely weather out the storm with. She stayed against his side, her cool skin pressed against the dryness of his own, but she's relieved to see the thunder rolling less, the lightning strikes slowly decreasing in their frequency. She stayed close however, her eyes never leaving the sky as the storm started to roll out. These thunderstorms held no fondness in her heart, and as long as the thunder rolled, even at a distance she felt unnerved by it. She still knew little about the male, however, her gaze once more turning to him as the rain seemed to slow to a gentle fall that was far more welcoming in dampening her skin, her own vapors now hanging lower as their temperature shifted to the cooler degrees she preferred.
Her gaze swept over the unique horse - near as unique as she, and a faintly amused smile touched her slightly scaled muzzle at his words as he murmured about forgetting the term of their species being called horse. For a moment she is surprised he grouped himself with her in the 'we;' having expected he to try to identify elsewhere with his behaviors. His gaze moves out however, not responding otherwise and she starts to grow used to the momentary silence between them, accepting it and quietly enjoying the peacefulness that company brought along with the lessening of the storm above. He speaks suddenly - and she blinks briefly in confusion at the beginning of his sentence - climb his limbs? For a brief second her eyes were widened, as if reading more into that then he might be familiar with. Had he just . . . no, likely it was a miscommunication - what beast would be so . . . forthright with . . . such an offer.
She quickly wrote the entire sentence out of her memory focusing on the Follow me, her gaze drifting up as she nodded to his assessment of the storm leaving, "Yes," She agreed softly, watching the clouds continue to draw the darker hues further from their location, "I believe you're right." She turned towards him, allowing him to lead her through the woods he knew like she might know the waters. Her steps were cautious as she carefully flattened her fins down, working hard to keep herself from getting caught on any of the branches around them, even if the male had less concerns. Fins tear easily, and by his reaction to the tangling of foliage it cause him less pain to snap a branch then for her to rip a fin.
His words bring her out of her thoughts, and she pauses at his question. Why leave such a please. Her mind flashes to the horror in the eyes of the elder as they whispered stories of what the green glow meant, of the virus that would consume and kill all in it's path - that nothing had been spared. Those left behind, already tainted by it's deadly grasp. She turns her attention instead onto his story: a story of reaching to a star that was theirs, that touching it would welcome them to become part of the universe. She listened quietly, having to agree that it sounded like a lovely thing to reach towards, though when he spoke of touching such a star, she glanced at him in surprise - that it had been the night of his uprooting. So he was a tree? She didn't have a response right away from him, instead thinking his words over, as he led her deeper into the forest - trusting him for the moment not to lead the water-inclined mare astray.
"So you are a tree, then? Or . . . where? You'll have to excuse my confusion, that revelation has me feeling a touch out of water. How . . . did you . . . become a horse then?" She asked, her voice slightly halting as if she weren't sure what way to ask the question, "You'll have to excuse my confusion, this is a little out of my depth, like I'm trying to make polar caps out of ice cubes." She apologized, offering the unique male a smile - still not speaking of why the Treaders had left their world behind - and instead allowed herself to listen to his stories. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and delight at each tale he spun, the cyan orbs sparkling like sunlight upon the clear ocean, being told of so many birds she'd never imagined, much less seen.
The Apostlebirds seemed to be his pride though, as he mentioned the nest in his branches. She paused in their walking, trying to peer up at the limbs atop his crown, "Nest? In your branches? You'll have to excuse me for asking, but you're a touch taller than I am . . . well more than a touch really - would you be willing to lower your head so I can actually see the . . . branches? Are they really branches, or do they just look like it? If they are, how do you keep them alive? They would have to be alive - right?" He speaks again, of rain bringing him mud, and as she glances up, she does see such mud straying down his hair, and she reaches out to it curiously, her nose touching against the mud, snorting slightly at it. What an odd horse . . . tree . . . . what an odd male.
They kept walking though, deeper into the forest, into areas the aquatic mare never imagined seeing. The trees seemed to grow larger than life around her, towering above her like giants, limbs as long as the kraken's tentacles. They seemed so full of life. She watched the different patterns of parks, of leaves as they passed by the silent giants. She touches her muzzle against the bark of a tree, and glances back at the stallion, reminded of the odd texture of his skin, "I've never seen so many trees in one place!" She admitted in awe, before smiling at the stallion, "They remind me of fish schooling together, in tight clusters that can lean on one another when necessary." She stated, thinking of the way the schooling fish could join together to chase off the predators or confuse them. Did trees work together to withstand storms in a similar way?
His next words had her turning towards him sharply eyes wide as her breath caught in her throat. Died? He takes her through another path which soon opens up, and she follows quietly as he brought her to a place, stopping and telling her here. She doesn't know what she's looking for as she searches the ground, not seeing much beyond large rocks, sticks and pieces of trees taken down. De-rooted, died. This was where he was felled. Her gaze turned up towards him when he spoke of having never left the forest, and she tilted her head quietly to look at him. He seemed so sad at that moment, sobered and distant - more so than what she'd seen so far.
Her gaze moves over the area before he spoke of the forest being sick, of it rotting and her gaze turns sharply towards him, watching him for a moment before speaking softly, "And you? Do you share the sickness?" She asked quietly. Her gaze shifts, first in the direction of the ocean before up to the heavens above, "You asked, why my people left the stars, the planet we came from . . . " She glanced at him briefly, "A virus claimed our planet. Every plant, animal, tree and fish were treated the same - all eager prey by the glowing death. I only know the stories from the elders, We were lucky - we had escaped before the virus could reach us - we had been helping with a project, we hadn't been in the water for a while, where the virus spread. Not all of our Pod made it off the planet . . . And we can never return. The virus has destroyed our home . . . ." It was the first time she'd admitted it as real, the first time she'd done more then ponder on the stories she grew up with.
Her gaze turned towards the stallion, "My people had no choice but to abandon a dying planet . . . perhaps you are braver than they were for staying among the trees." She told him after a moment, before stepping away to look at some of the damage her eyes were now noticing. "What is wrong with the forest, Cernunnos? Can it be saved?"
"Speech"
Thoughts
@Cernunnos
Notes:: Not too many puns this time, this has gotten oddly serious - but I can't help but love it!
Her gaze swept over the unique horse - near as unique as she, and a faintly amused smile touched her slightly scaled muzzle at his words as he murmured about forgetting the term of their species being called horse. For a moment she is surprised he grouped himself with her in the 'we;' having expected he to try to identify elsewhere with his behaviors. His gaze moves out however, not responding otherwise and she starts to grow used to the momentary silence between them, accepting it and quietly enjoying the peacefulness that company brought along with the lessening of the storm above. He speaks suddenly - and she blinks briefly in confusion at the beginning of his sentence - climb his limbs? For a brief second her eyes were widened, as if reading more into that then he might be familiar with. Had he just . . . no, likely it was a miscommunication - what beast would be so . . . forthright with . . . such an offer.
She quickly wrote the entire sentence out of her memory focusing on the Follow me, her gaze drifting up as she nodded to his assessment of the storm leaving, "Yes," She agreed softly, watching the clouds continue to draw the darker hues further from their location, "I believe you're right." She turned towards him, allowing him to lead her through the woods he knew like she might know the waters. Her steps were cautious as she carefully flattened her fins down, working hard to keep herself from getting caught on any of the branches around them, even if the male had less concerns. Fins tear easily, and by his reaction to the tangling of foliage it cause him less pain to snap a branch then for her to rip a fin.
His words bring her out of her thoughts, and she pauses at his question. Why leave such a please. Her mind flashes to the horror in the eyes of the elder as they whispered stories of what the green glow meant, of the virus that would consume and kill all in it's path - that nothing had been spared. Those left behind, already tainted by it's deadly grasp. She turns her attention instead onto his story: a story of reaching to a star that was theirs, that touching it would welcome them to become part of the universe. She listened quietly, having to agree that it sounded like a lovely thing to reach towards, though when he spoke of touching such a star, she glanced at him in surprise - that it had been the night of his uprooting. So he was a tree? She didn't have a response right away from him, instead thinking his words over, as he led her deeper into the forest - trusting him for the moment not to lead the water-inclined mare astray.
"So you are a tree, then? Or . . . where? You'll have to excuse my confusion, that revelation has me feeling a touch out of water. How . . . did you . . . become a horse then?" She asked, her voice slightly halting as if she weren't sure what way to ask the question, "You'll have to excuse my confusion, this is a little out of my depth, like I'm trying to make polar caps out of ice cubes." She apologized, offering the unique male a smile - still not speaking of why the Treaders had left their world behind - and instead allowed herself to listen to his stories. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and delight at each tale he spun, the cyan orbs sparkling like sunlight upon the clear ocean, being told of so many birds she'd never imagined, much less seen.
The Apostlebirds seemed to be his pride though, as he mentioned the nest in his branches. She paused in their walking, trying to peer up at the limbs atop his crown, "Nest? In your branches? You'll have to excuse me for asking, but you're a touch taller than I am . . . well more than a touch really - would you be willing to lower your head so I can actually see the . . . branches? Are they really branches, or do they just look like it? If they are, how do you keep them alive? They would have to be alive - right?" He speaks again, of rain bringing him mud, and as she glances up, she does see such mud straying down his hair, and she reaches out to it curiously, her nose touching against the mud, snorting slightly at it. What an odd horse . . . tree . . . . what an odd male.
They kept walking though, deeper into the forest, into areas the aquatic mare never imagined seeing. The trees seemed to grow larger than life around her, towering above her like giants, limbs as long as the kraken's tentacles. They seemed so full of life. She watched the different patterns of parks, of leaves as they passed by the silent giants. She touches her muzzle against the bark of a tree, and glances back at the stallion, reminded of the odd texture of his skin, "I've never seen so many trees in one place!" She admitted in awe, before smiling at the stallion, "They remind me of fish schooling together, in tight clusters that can lean on one another when necessary." She stated, thinking of the way the schooling fish could join together to chase off the predators or confuse them. Did trees work together to withstand storms in a similar way?
His next words had her turning towards him sharply eyes wide as her breath caught in her throat. Died? He takes her through another path which soon opens up, and she follows quietly as he brought her to a place, stopping and telling her here. She doesn't know what she's looking for as she searches the ground, not seeing much beyond large rocks, sticks and pieces of trees taken down. De-rooted, died. This was where he was felled. Her gaze turned up towards him when he spoke of having never left the forest, and she tilted her head quietly to look at him. He seemed so sad at that moment, sobered and distant - more so than what she'd seen so far.
Her gaze moves over the area before he spoke of the forest being sick, of it rotting and her gaze turns sharply towards him, watching him for a moment before speaking softly, "And you? Do you share the sickness?" She asked quietly. Her gaze shifts, first in the direction of the ocean before up to the heavens above, "You asked, why my people left the stars, the planet we came from . . . " She glanced at him briefly, "A virus claimed our planet. Every plant, animal, tree and fish were treated the same - all eager prey by the glowing death. I only know the stories from the elders, We were lucky - we had escaped before the virus could reach us - we had been helping with a project, we hadn't been in the water for a while, where the virus spread. Not all of our Pod made it off the planet . . . And we can never return. The virus has destroyed our home . . . ." It was the first time she'd admitted it as real, the first time she'd done more then ponder on the stories she grew up with.
Her gaze turned towards the stallion, "My people had no choice but to abandon a dying planet . . . perhaps you are braver than they were for staying among the trees." She told him after a moment, before stepping away to look at some of the damage her eyes were now noticing. "What is wrong with the forest, Cernunnos? Can it be saved?"
"Speech"
Thoughts
@Cernunnos
Notes:: Not too many puns this time, this has gotten oddly serious - but I can't help but love it!
![[Image: i-jTNwWx8.png]](https://photos.smugmug.com/BelowZeroNovus/n-X9d9fZ/i-jTNwWx8/1/e09fb6c3/O/i-jTNwWx8.png)
