F I N N I A N
Several days after his near fatal brush with the ocean and the subsequent rescue by the locals, Finnian had finally been allowed to move about freely again. 'No foolishness, and don't leave the citadel for a few days' were the orders the mender had left him with, and truth be told the young stallion was not in a hurry to disobey. His head still hurt, a white-hot stab of pain that crackled through the inside of his skull whenever he turned his head too quickly, and beneath the golden hide his skin was still black and blue from the close encounter with the cliffs.
But long convalescence was not something he was used to and it grated on his nerves to stare up at the same ceiling day after day. He had nagged the caretakers until they finally relented, like as not to escape his whining rather than because he was really fit to move about. Finnian didn't care; with boyish delight he ignored the complaints of his body and set out to explore the keep, this grand stone citadel that stood at the center of what he had come to understand to be the main gathering place of the people who lived here.
Wherever 'here' was. There had been no time to ask questions yet. Speaking was still as painful as anything else, the conversations of the past few days limited to 'yes' and 'no' with a voice torn half asunder from salt water and whatever screaming he must have been doing during his time at sea. Finnian recalled little of it. Only the sensation of being tossed about for hours, the helplessness in the face of the merciless power and ferocity of the elements. The sensation of water rushing in through his mouth and nose, and the choking, panicked realization that he was drowning...
It was a relief then to find himself alive, even if it was in a strange place filled with unfamiliar people. That part didn't bother him nearly as much as the memories, because it had been his intention from the start to get away, to start over somewhere new. Aside from nearly drowning, he thought it had worked out fairly well!
As he roamed the hallways and peered into empty rooms, the raven-haired youth eventually found his way out onto a terrace. He blinked and looked out over the banister, awed at the warmth of the sun that shone down upon the capitol below. The stones seemed almost to glow in the brilliant light, and for as far as he could see there was only green and blue, vast grasslands that stretched on endlessly beneath a cloudless sky, interrupted only by the looming cliffs and the sea beyond. Breathlessly Finnian looked, twisting and reaching dangerously far out into the void to try and see more; greedily he absorbed the beauty of the land and felt a hunger wake within him, a deep desire to see it all up close, to explore it and find out all there was to know about them. His impatience at being stuck behind stone walls increased a thousandfold, and as he settled back and rested his chin upon the balustrade he couldn't help but heave a deep sigh.
It was so hard to fathom that the wide horizon was the only home he had now. To never go back... he could never truly have comprehended what that meant until he was not there anymore, and now that he understood, Finnian almost regretted his decisions.
Almost.
@Israfel and anyone who wants to meet him! :D
IT'S ALL UPHILL FROM HERE
Several days after his near fatal brush with the ocean and the subsequent rescue by the locals, Finnian had finally been allowed to move about freely again. 'No foolishness, and don't leave the citadel for a few days' were the orders the mender had left him with, and truth be told the young stallion was not in a hurry to disobey. His head still hurt, a white-hot stab of pain that crackled through the inside of his skull whenever he turned his head too quickly, and beneath the golden hide his skin was still black and blue from the close encounter with the cliffs.
But long convalescence was not something he was used to and it grated on his nerves to stare up at the same ceiling day after day. He had nagged the caretakers until they finally relented, like as not to escape his whining rather than because he was really fit to move about. Finnian didn't care; with boyish delight he ignored the complaints of his body and set out to explore the keep, this grand stone citadel that stood at the center of what he had come to understand to be the main gathering place of the people who lived here.
Wherever 'here' was. There had been no time to ask questions yet. Speaking was still as painful as anything else, the conversations of the past few days limited to 'yes' and 'no' with a voice torn half asunder from salt water and whatever screaming he must have been doing during his time at sea. Finnian recalled little of it. Only the sensation of being tossed about for hours, the helplessness in the face of the merciless power and ferocity of the elements. The sensation of water rushing in through his mouth and nose, and the choking, panicked realization that he was drowning...
It was a relief then to find himself alive, even if it was in a strange place filled with unfamiliar people. That part didn't bother him nearly as much as the memories, because it had been his intention from the start to get away, to start over somewhere new. Aside from nearly drowning, he thought it had worked out fairly well!
As he roamed the hallways and peered into empty rooms, the raven-haired youth eventually found his way out onto a terrace. He blinked and looked out over the banister, awed at the warmth of the sun that shone down upon the capitol below. The stones seemed almost to glow in the brilliant light, and for as far as he could see there was only green and blue, vast grasslands that stretched on endlessly beneath a cloudless sky, interrupted only by the looming cliffs and the sea beyond. Breathlessly Finnian looked, twisting and reaching dangerously far out into the void to try and see more; greedily he absorbed the beauty of the land and felt a hunger wake within him, a deep desire to see it all up close, to explore it and find out all there was to know about them. His impatience at being stuck behind stone walls increased a thousandfold, and as he settled back and rested his chin upon the balustrade he couldn't help but heave a deep sigh.
It was so hard to fathom that the wide horizon was the only home he had now. To never go back... he could never truly have comprehended what that meant until he was not there anymore, and now that he understood, Finnian almost regretted his decisions.
Almost.
@Israfel and anyone who wants to meet him! :D
