Willfur
At first the glow of light and color seems to engulf him, like stepping into a hazy, rose tinted cloud, but as he continues forward the glimmer starts to solidify and shrink away, tightening in on itself until it implodes, shattering into clusters of glaring red sparks - no, pairs of them - that glint like otherworldly eyes peering out of the darkness at him. It's unnerving, to say the least, and the mule makes no attempt to hide his apprehension. Slowing, he swings his head from side to side and swivels his long ears to confirm that they are eyes - eyes that stare and blink and follow him as he moves - disembodied as far as he can tell, and all focused squarely on him.
"Hello?" He calls, but the gazes following his progress remain unchanged, their intensity pushing back against him like a physical force, slowing his steps until he breaks to a reluctant trot, neck bowed low, trying unsuccessfully to meet any one pair of eyes for more than a second or two at a time. "What do you want?" He asks, "What am I meant to do?" But there's no reply.
Halting, eyes all around him now and stacked in front like a wall, challenging, blocking his way, Willfur stares back as best he can, from the corners of his own eyes and with slightly unfocused regard. The red eyes stare back, unrelenting. He waits for something to happen, for forms to materialize from behind the eyes, for sound or sensation, but again there's no response and the lingering silence begins to bolster the stallion rather than shake him, confirming a hunch he's had since the announcement of the 'race.' He thinks he has an idea of what's going on here and with the barest hint of a smile shaping the corners of his lips, he posits, "I think you're only meant to frighten me."
He begins to move again as he speaks, gently pressing forward and against the perceived boundary of the red eyes. "Had I chosen differently, I would have had to leap through fire, or plunge myself into darkness." The mule closes his eyes now, squeezing his eyelids tightly together to block out as much of the red glow as he can and deliberately placing one hoof in front of the other, muzzle stretching blindly out in front of him, whiskers puckered. "I think the point is that we can't know what's on the other side, to see if we balk or push forward anyway, accepting what comes, but -" Confidence building with each word, each step, he picks up a canter, letting the natural pattern of 1-2-3, 1-2-3, lift and carry him on his way. "I don't think there's any obstacle at all. It's only psychological."
"talk talk talk"
OOC: Willfur goes through the glowing eyes
@Official Dawn Account
