May the flowers remind us why the rain was necessary
As she paces she looks, gaze tracing the graceful slopes of the prairie’s hills. It wasn’t until the distinct sound of an explosion draws her attention, and her heart races. Had the devastation followed her here? Over the crest of the hill appears a form, and as the body pauses, so does Akeli. So many possibilities rush through her mind. Friend or foe? Was she in danger, or was this sprawling expanse free land? Should she run, attempt to take flight, flee across the land until her hooves carried her home? Or should she stay, wait to see how the interaction would play out? She turns carefully, letting her body face the stranger, and as he begins moving purposefully towards her, she knows that her already limited options had just decreased to one. Certainly she could run, but where would she go? Besides, no horns crown his brow, and no wings gifted him with flight. She had both, and sure, she has no idea how to fight, and should she need to it would probably be a comical sight to watch her flounder and flap around, but at least it was something to give her comfort. Maybe Tootaloo could teach her how to defend herself. She had always been around to protect the growing girl.
Life is different now, little sparrow. You are alone.
The filly is doing a good job keeping the intrusive thoughts at bay, but quickly she acknowledges that she is no longer beneath the watchful shadow of Ktulu. She may never know that kind of sanctuary again. But regardless of whether or not her pseudo-mother was transported here or on an alternate timeline all together, right now Akeli is no painfully alone and vulnerable. She lifts her head, tossing her forelock to the side, and a smile plays upon her lips. But as the stallion approaches, she feels a certain weakness in her knees. Her wings shuffle nervously, and she takes a single step back as she leans onto her haunches. The stallion, marked at birth with pale smoke and brilliant gold, is suddenly soooo close, and her nostrils flare and ears twist for just a moment before he drops into a sweeping bow. She rights herself, head tipped to the side, and tries to figure out what’s happening. Never before has she been greeted in such a way. Perhaps that was customary here?
Well, when in Rome…
Her features soften, and she herself mimics the grandiose salutation. A slim leg bends, and she is bowing too, her wings opening with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. She looks up, catching his golden eyes with her own honey gaze, and slowly she stands. ”You smell weird.” Her face remains stoic, but she can’t help to notice how a certain acrid smell rises away from him. No, little sparrow, I agree, you don’t smell that bad in comparison. Perhaps all who travel these lands emit a sulphuric aroma? Her nose scrunches as she tries to prevent inhaling more of the foul smell burning the inside of her nostrils. Something about it makes her uneasy. “I don’t think I smell that weird. But maybe it’s where I’m from that’s different? I’m not from around here.”
“Headed somewhere particular?” Now, wasn’t that a loaded question. Sure, she doesn’t have an exact target in mind, but her search isn’t so much for a where, but for a whom. It takes her a pregnant moment to formulate an answer. “I don’t think so. Honestly, I was just kind of dropped here. From somewhere else.” Was that something that happened here? Did people frequently fall out of the sky? “I’m not even sure where I am, so I guess that could mean I don’t know where to head.” She casually shrugs her shoulders, dismissing her odd arrival flippantly. Should he inquire further, she would tell him more, about how her home was no more, how she had watched so many people blown to bits in fire and brimstone, how the air had smelled remarkably like him.
As the realization hits her, she takes another small step back. No tears spring to her eyes, nor does her demeanor shift in any drastic way. But she feels her stomach clench, and a certain nausea fills her gut. “A lot has happened today, before getting here. I actually was separated from my… from my mother.” For the first time, she calls Ktu as such. Her mother. A woman who had taken her in, had cared for her, had been sure to keep her from being eaten by something bigger than her right out of the gates. Had Ktulu made it through? Had she made it here, or somewhere else? Or in those final dying moments as Helovia had been consumed, had she, too, been consumed by the glaring teal light?
“What is this place? Where are we?” Questions, questions, so many questions. That much hadn’t changed about the young girl. “Oh, and my name is Akeli. It’s nice to meet you, sir.” With that she falls silent, hoping he may provide any answer. Though, any answers may prove to create new questions. Still, there was so much to learn, so much to know, and he had been the one to find her.
Maybe he would be her first friend in this extravagant new world.
Life is different now, little sparrow. You are alone.
The filly is doing a good job keeping the intrusive thoughts at bay, but quickly she acknowledges that she is no longer beneath the watchful shadow of Ktulu. She may never know that kind of sanctuary again. But regardless of whether or not her pseudo-mother was transported here or on an alternate timeline all together, right now Akeli is no painfully alone and vulnerable. She lifts her head, tossing her forelock to the side, and a smile plays upon her lips. But as the stallion approaches, she feels a certain weakness in her knees. Her wings shuffle nervously, and she takes a single step back as she leans onto her haunches. The stallion, marked at birth with pale smoke and brilliant gold, is suddenly soooo close, and her nostrils flare and ears twist for just a moment before he drops into a sweeping bow. She rights herself, head tipped to the side, and tries to figure out what’s happening. Never before has she been greeted in such a way. Perhaps that was customary here?
Well, when in Rome…
Her features soften, and she herself mimics the grandiose salutation. A slim leg bends, and she is bowing too, her wings opening with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. She looks up, catching his golden eyes with her own honey gaze, and slowly she stands. ”You smell weird.” Her face remains stoic, but she can’t help to notice how a certain acrid smell rises away from him. No, little sparrow, I agree, you don’t smell that bad in comparison. Perhaps all who travel these lands emit a sulphuric aroma? Her nose scrunches as she tries to prevent inhaling more of the foul smell burning the inside of her nostrils. Something about it makes her uneasy. “I don’t think I smell that weird. But maybe it’s where I’m from that’s different? I’m not from around here.”
“Headed somewhere particular?” Now, wasn’t that a loaded question. Sure, she doesn’t have an exact target in mind, but her search isn’t so much for a where, but for a whom. It takes her a pregnant moment to formulate an answer. “I don’t think so. Honestly, I was just kind of dropped here. From somewhere else.” Was that something that happened here? Did people frequently fall out of the sky? “I’m not even sure where I am, so I guess that could mean I don’t know where to head.” She casually shrugs her shoulders, dismissing her odd arrival flippantly. Should he inquire further, she would tell him more, about how her home was no more, how she had watched so many people blown to bits in fire and brimstone, how the air had smelled remarkably like him.
As the realization hits her, she takes another small step back. No tears spring to her eyes, nor does her demeanor shift in any drastic way. But she feels her stomach clench, and a certain nausea fills her gut. “A lot has happened today, before getting here. I actually was separated from my… from my mother.” For the first time, she calls Ktu as such. Her mother. A woman who had taken her in, had cared for her, had been sure to keep her from being eaten by something bigger than her right out of the gates. Had Ktulu made it through? Had she made it here, or somewhere else? Or in those final dying moments as Helovia had been consumed, had she, too, been consumed by the glaring teal light?
“What is this place? Where are we?” Questions, questions, so many questions. That much hadn’t changed about the young girl. “Oh, and my name is Akeli. It’s nice to meet you, sir.” With that she falls silent, hoping he may provide any answer. Though, any answers may prove to create new questions. Still, there was so much to learn, so much to know, and he had been the one to find her.
Maybe he would be her first friend in this extravagant new world.
@Acton ^^ I'm so excited! looks like their meeting is a bit explosive
