[AW] SCARED of HEIGHTS?! [relic contest]

[Rostislav]

"Old Noah was there to answer the call,
He finished up making the Ark just as the rain started fallin',
He marched in the animals two by two
And he called out as they went through,
"Hey, Lord: I've got yer....

Green alligators and long-necked geese,
Some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees,
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I'm so forlorn,
I just can't see no Unicorn.""

Hooves step soundly but cautiously along the terrain. The canyons that I've stumbled upon, having left the oasis, are wonderful, impressive monuments, statues of the Gods. But in the cool darkness (for of course it is night time when I happen to be traversing some place I could stumble and kill myself), I must take care. Nothing has stuck out to me as a relic here besides the rocks that are all over the canyon, just like the cliffs in Terrastella. The chill of the night (still somewhat like the desert I'd just come from) makes me shiver as I pick my way along. I think that perhaps it would be better to rest here tonight before trying to make my way down the steep and treacherous canyon ledges. I see more mountains to the south and know that it will be difficult to move that direction. If I had wings perhaps, it might be easier.

I glance around, wondering if perhaps there will be a good place to shelter for the night. That canyon's only offering is an outcrop - down a ledge to an overhang. Luckily the path down seems traveled and I find it easier to get a grip as I descend. Heavy body settles onto the ground with a groan as I shelter myself for the evening (though from what?). A big yawn, and I lie there on my side, wondering what will become of me, of Damaris... my past as it relates to my future. A sadness falls over me like a heavy cloak, but I don't move to free myself. What can be done but to forge ahead, beg forgiveness for my sins, and pray (if I can bother myself to do so) that it will get better. Someday I'll find Damaris, I just don't know when....

WC: 371
Tag:

Rostislav

more than a drunken fool

x - x

[Maxence]

M A X E N C E AN IRIDESCENT SOUL   Night had set in quickly and as the eagle-like equine stood lamenting the sun from his windy perch above the canyon's heights, he could recall what he and his comrades would be doing at this hour back at camp. If it was a crime to miss war surely Maxence would hang, because he truly thrived when he was plotting among his blood-stained brethren - and, now that he stood alone watching a desert rather than a mud and carcass filled battlefield, he felt an ache within his warm heart for his men, his comrades, the fire they would gather around and the stories they would share. It was in these vespertine hours that the falcons would be set forth across the fields, their wings carrying messages home to King and country while their ever keen eyes watched for any additional information to report at their destination.  How he wished his falcon Fjord was here now; that silly old bird would find the relic in no time. Just a sweep of the rocks, one glint, and Tempus's blasted pocket watch would be found. Fjord was long gone though, and Maxence had to promptly remind himself that wishing was counter-productive. The commander was here on a mission, a task he'd set for himself - find that relic. It was as his wings flared at the ready for takeoff that a peculiar fellow crept into the canyon's shadow, moonlight nor shadow able to hide the creature for long - he breathed so loud Maxence could possibly have swooped and hit him in the dark. The creature seemed to have settle in to the rock face across the gorge, and so out of pur curiosity Maxence lowered his wings and tucked his body closer to the earth in an attempt to keep hidden. Was this man really intending to rest there? Surely there were safer places to shelter for the night.

☀︎ ☾

[Rostislav]

The tune I hum changes from the upbeat song of The Unicorn to a more languid, morose one. I stay in the shadows, the moonlight the only source of illumination. Even with its gaze, the rock overhang that shelters me prevents much of it from shining in, and I'm more or less in the dark. I think I see movement out in the night, something big and winged. But at second glance I decide I must have been imagining it. Who would be crazy enough to be traversing this canyon at night as I had? I'm sure there are those crazy fools, but I still think that my eyes were playing tricks on me. I rest my head on the ground, silver orbs still open as I hum the sad tune. Of loss, grief, and miserable times. Death and dying, disease and injury. The passing of those we love and cherish. I can't imagine being shaken from my reverie, for there is nothing in the night to take my attention away from it. Or at least that's what I think -- until I see a mouse scurry out from behind a small rock, searching for its midnight snack. It stops and glances at me, evaluating whether I'm a threat to it or not. I lift my head enough to see clearly with both eyes, and blow softly. It dances away, but deems me harmless, and continues its search for food. I lay my head back down, my one eye lazily watching the mouse scurry to and fro.

Oh that I could be a small creature, free from the burdens I carry. But then, do not the mice as well feel sorrow? Joy? Anger? It would be naive of me and selfish to assume that I am one of the only privileged ones to feel such variety of emotions. They, too, have their struggles and triumphs. As the mouse finds.. something, I can't be sure.. I smile. His success in that moment is a sign of something good in the world. I have to believe that such good fortune can shine on all of us, and that in this moment I am just in a slump, a rough patch of life, and somehow I will find my way to the other side. Light at the end of the tunnel, they say. The little brown creature hurries away back to his home, and I close my eyes. Sorrow still fills me, but I can breathe easier than I had a moment ago.

WC: 419
Tag: @Maxence

Rostislav

more than a drunken fool

x - x