|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 8:19 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 8:20 am
It happened at night when the moon was at its fullest. The cerynei twins, Fletcher and Thatcher, that accompanied the flutter mare Lorenna on her travels has suggested an idea for her network. It was simple in thought but complex in execution. They were en route to some healers that lived deep in the woods. They would be delayed.
Lorenna’s pale pink eyes opened and she lifted her head of colorful curls. Somewhere in the distance she heard a crow cry. It sounded insistent and Lorenna knew that she needed to be somewhere else. She didn’t wake the boys for they would follow and deep within her Lorenna understood that she alone was needed. The twins could not come.
As silently as fallen snow Lorenna drifted past the tangled pile of limbs that belonged to Fletcher and Thatcher’s sleeping forms and out into the woods. Then, like a passing rain storm in the high mounts, she was gone.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:00 am
It had been a full day since Lorenna had vanished without a trace. At first Fletcher had insisted that Lorenna had simply gone on to do some business with her birds without them. It wasn’t unusual. She often took her birds aside when the twins were sleeping so that the chatter didn’t disturb them. As the day wore on they grew less certain about the matter. And finally, when the sun had just begun to descend from its rightful place in the heavens to sleep beneath the earth the first bird arrived. It asked the twins where Lorenna was.
“I’m telling you, she took the stream!” Thatcher shouted at the back of his brother’s head. The twins had spent the remainder of the day following what little trail Lorenna had left for them to follow. At a shallow stream they found the strongest impressions right before the hoof prints vanished altogether.
“Thatcher, she has wings.” Fletcher stressed proceeding forward through the trees. The argument had come and gone every so often when they couldn’t find any traces of anything passing through before them. “And she wouldn’t get her feet muddy unless she had to. You know that.”
Thatcher scowled. “Yeah, I know that, and she knows we know that. That’s exactly why she would take the river if she was trying to lose us!”
Fletcher rolled his eyes and came to a stop. “If she was trying to get rid of us she would have brought her birds with her! I’m telling you, there’s something else going on!” Fletcher was starting to lose his cool. None of it made sense. It wasn’t like Lorenna to abandon her duties like this. That pointed to some sort of plot against her but there had only been one set of tracks. “Look, it’s dark. We’re probably just missing things. We can start looking again in the morning… Lorenna’s smart, she can handle being alone for the night…” At least Fletcher hoped she would be.
Thatcher sighed. He didn’t want to stop but he knew his brother was right. Not wanting to admit that while they were fighting, however, Thatcher huffed and stomped his way over to a tree to sleep for the night. Fletcher, picking up on his brother’s less than welcoming attitude, selected a spot a short distance away from his twin.
Just as Fletcher was beginning to doze off Thatcher’s voice stirred the air. “You don’t think she went to get a drink and she got snatched by spirits do you?”
Fletcher lifted his head alarmed by the wild idea. “Why would the spirits want Lorenna? They’re good.”
Thatcher shifted and mumbled, “Not all of them…” before turning away to sleep.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 4:33 pm
The morning brought no change to their situation. Lorenna didn’t magically turn up overnight to ask them where they had gone; no birds arrived saying that she’d been spotted; and Fletcher and Thatcher were still alone. The only real change that daylight brought was the twins were suddenly very aware that they had no idea where they were.
“We should have followed the stream.” Thatcher groaned after the third hour of searching not just for Lorenna but for any signs of life. This part of the woods seemed unusually dead. It was the kind of quiet experienced right after a forest fire dies off but there were no signs of fire here. The trees seemed well enough. Their branches were bare but most were at this time of winter. Even Fletcher and Thatcher’s own heads were bare. Their new antlers would start growing in within the next month but for the time being they looked remarkably like the females of their breed.
Fletcher made no comment on his brother’s griping. The quiet was putting him on edge. They should have seen something by now or at least heard something. Did the silence come from some danger about? “Thatcher…I think we should keep our voices down.” Thatcher looked at his brother quizzically for a moment before the thought of a potential threat dawned on him. He was just opening his mouth to suggest heading in a different direction a flash of motion caught Thatcher’s eye.
“Over there!” He whispered urgently his tail lifting up straight to the sky. Fletcher’s own tail raised as he spun about to see what Thatcher was looking at. He couldn’t see anything.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.” Thatcher retorted taking a cautious step forward. “It was moving too fast.”
“Away from us?” Fletcher prompted not sure why they would still be standing there if that wasn’t the case. Thatcher nodded his head before taking another step forward. He stared into the trees with all the focus he could muster and then, off in the distance he caught sight of their phantom again. It was fleeing deeper into the woods.
”Come on! They might know where Lorenna is!” Thatcher shouted taking off after the creature.
”Wait! It might be a trap!” Fletcher called after his brother. It was no use. Thatcher wouldn’t be stopping. Feeling more anxious than he had prior to this strange sighting, Fletcher bounded into the trees after what only the spirits knew the identity of.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 4:59 pm
Cordelia’s heart beat rapidly in her chest as she ran down the familiar paths of the woods. There were creatures in the trees again. Actual living creatures. The mare tried to swallow but her throat and mouth had dried from her harsh breathing. What were they doing there? Nothing had ventured into these parts since the creeping sickness had taken root in the trees. It had been strangling the life out of them one by one. Most animals had fled to healthier areas where food was plentiful. Cordelia, meanwhile, had come here because it was empty. In the warm season rot loving insects would come out in droves but until then this was a good quiet place for her.
Or it would have been if not for the untimely intrusion.
The mare came to a stop in the center of a circle of trees. Their thick trunks reeked of decay and thick vines wrapped around their boughs and roots, stealing nutrients and bringing nothing but death. This was her temporary residence. In her initial panic she had made a mistake. Cordelia sighed heavily and turned to face the path that she had come from. She could hear the approach of the pair that had entered the dying land.
She was not scared of them. She has nothing to be scared of. After all, most everything had always been afraid of her. Cordelia shook her head so that her bangs settled in front of her eyes and over the tear like staining on her cheeks. If they meant her trouble she could send them running for their mothers just as they had encouraged her flight away from them just moments ago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:07 pm
Thatcher arrived in the clearing first and stopped faster than a lightning strike. Everything was dead. Not dead like things often were in winter but dead in the sense that when spring came nothing here would be coming back to life. In the center of it all a mare stood staring at him. At least, he thought she was staring at him. It was hard to tell with her hair covering her face. She was a pale blue color, like the sky just before dawn, and wore cloth around her legs and neck. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun that looked absolutely painful to Thatcher but her tail was of average length and flowing freely behind her.
“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. We’re looking for someone and got lost.” Thatcher said feeling remarkably relieved that she seemed to be rather normal for being in such a strange place. In hindsight chasing after her had not been the brightest idea.
“There’s no one here.” Cordelia replied studying the stallion, and she knew by his voice and scent that that was what he was. He had a pale coat not unlike her own bit his leaned closer to dusky purples that were nearly grey, silver or white, rather than blue. He had a short, furred tail like that of a deer, and cloven hooves. He bore no rack of antlers, though considering the season that might be normal. He was no deer though, not a true one. He was some sort of strange cross of stag and stallion. A cerynei.
“There hasn’t been anyone here for a long time.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:01 pm
On second thought normal didn't seem to be the best word to describe the mare. The smile that was usually fixed to Thatcher's face became strained. There was something hollow and cold about the way she replied. "That's...probably because everything's dead." Thatcher said eying the rotting wood. He didn't doubt the truth of the mare's words, no one in their right mind would come to this place. Whatever Lorenna was doing she wasn't doing it here. Which did leave the question of what the mare was doing in such a place.
Thatcher didn't get the chance to ask before his brother burst onto the scene. Fletcher stopped just as suddenly as his brother had and his jaw dropped. That certainly explained why everything had been quiet. There was no predator, there just wasn't anything habitable out here. Nothing lived here. Except for some mare that his brother was talking too.
"Thatcher...who is this?" Fletcher asked eying the mare with some suspicion. What kind of person would live in a place that no one else wanted to? The answer was one of two things. One: a creature that wanted to be alone. Two: a creature that had been driven away. Fletcher was close to begging the spirits to let it just be the first one.
Cordelia flinched as a second soquili appeared, then she blinked. He looked almost exactly like the first save for the shape of the silver crown on his head. Twins. That was the word for the phenomenon. They were identical twin brothers. It was an extremely uncommon event for them to look exactly the same and they even seemed to share a gender which was even more unusual. Cordelia tilted her head slightly intrigued by the pair but as her hair shifted she quickly straightened. No matter how fascinating they were it didn't change the simple fact that she didn't actually want them around.
"You are looking for someone but there is no one here aside from myself. No one passes by this way. They take the paths around. If you truly wish to find the one who is missing you should go to the northern spring. In these parts everyone ends up there eventually." Cordelia spoke quickly with little to no inflection in her words. These were simply facts, whether they would help the cerynei or not was largely up for debate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:17 pm
Fletcher immediately noticed that the mare had failed to answer the one question he had actually asked but that didn't matter because she had also answered something important that had never left his lips. He assumed Thatcher had mentioned something about looking for Lorenna so the sudden assault of information didn't worry him.
"Everyone ends up at the northern spring?" Fletcher asked urgently. He didn't care about the reason for it but if everyone meant everyone then that might mean they would have a lead.
Cordelia nodded her head slowly. “That is what I said.” She replied shortly.
Thatcher looked at his brother, "You think Lorenna-?"
Fletcher nodded, "It's worth a shot." Together the twins turned to look at the mare. "Could you show us the way to the spring? Please, it's urgent."
The request gave Cordelia pause. She only wanted them to leave her alone to the dead and decaying forest around her. Alone was the best place for her whereas they actively sought out the company of another. Twins. What a peculiarity. They never had to be lonely. There would always be one just like them. They never had to fear being turned away by the other because of outward appearances.
"I will help you if you promise never to return once I show you the way." Cordelia said with finality. This was her bargain. They could find the spring on their own, no one seemed to be able to avoid it once they got into these parts. They were clearly only insisting that she show them because they wanted company that did not share their face. Helping them was likely the only way to be rid of them in a roundabout way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:46 pm
Thatcher looked offended that she was trying to get rid of them but Fletcher was grateful. He didn't really want to prolong the encounter with this mare more than necessary. It was clear she didn't want any company and Fletcher was more than happy to leave.
"Consider it a deal." Fletcher said.
Coredlia considered the twin for a moment before nodding her head. There didn't seem to be any lie in his words. "This way." She turned and began walking north down a thin trail that smelled like rotting flesh and pond scum. It would clear up a little ways down once they got past the the old pond. It had once contained fish but they had all died recently. Something had made the water toxic to them and with nowhere to go without flood waters they had perished.
Thatcher gagged from the smell. "It's worse than kalona breath." He wheezed giving their guide dirty looks as though she had lead them this way just to make his life a misery. Fletcher would have rolled his eyes if he hadn't been so busy trying not to breathe. How could anyone live out here? Fletcher didn't think for a second that this was the only pit of death in the area. He never thought the smell of rotting wood would feel appealing to him.
The smell slowly cleared up the further away they got but that didn't mean they were free of horrid scents. It seemed every step north brought them further and further into the dead wood. The air felt empty and thick all at the same time. It made Thatcher's hair stand on end. For the forest loving cerynei it felt entirely unnatural even though it was clear this had happened thanks to natural causes. Plants killed other plants and then died themselves. Everything fled from the dead zone only letting things get worse. It made Fletcher sad to think of it. With the proper care this forest may have survived but it was too late for it now.
The day dragged on and every step only seemed to bring sadder sites. A nest with the bones of chicks lay on the floor here. A fox den with the ends caved in stood there. A bush that would never again yield berries stood by a tree covered in choking vines. "How can she stand it?" Thatcher asked sounding pained. Fletcher had no answer, he only hoped they really were drawing closer to Lorenna. Then they could leave this place and never look back.
When the first sound of a bird, a crow, reached the twins' ears they both perked up. If there were birds, even carrion birds, then that meant they were coming out of the sickened forest. The two picked up the pace and encouraged their guide to do the same.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:58 pm
Cordelia was not pleased to be rushed but at the same time she was eager to be rid of the twins. They had been almost bearable as they crossed through the dead wood even if they did act like they were the ones that had died. Now that they were acting energetic again she only wanted to get away, so she hastened their pace. They were close anyway, barely an hour to reach the spring now. They faster they got there the sooner she would be alone again.------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:25 pm
A spring was a body of fresh water that was usually clean and good to drink. The water Fletcher and Thatcher were staring at was nothing like a spring. There was water, that was certain, but it was murky from mud that had been pushed into it. The edges of the spring were covered in hoof prints and more than one set hinted that a horse had rushed directly into the water at a full gallop.
"Everyone comes to see this?" Thatcher asked wrinkling his nose. He was thirsty from all the walking but he didn't feel thirsty enough for this.
"There is no other water." Cordelia said approaching the spring. She brought her lips to the cloudy water and drank. It was cold and tasted like dirt but it was always worth it. "They all come here because there is nowhere else to go. They follow the birds and the green of the trees even if they don't know that they are. In the end they all end up here but no one ever stays."
The statement gave both of the twins chills. There was nothing magical about it. It was just a matter of life and death with a perfect example of what awaited if you chose not to drink just to the south.
"We should have followed the stream..." Thatcher muttered as he tentatively approached the water.
"If we find Lorenna does it matter?" Fletcher countered. Thatcher stopped with his mouth just an inch above the water. Lorenna. He pulled his head up with a snap and started bounding around to check every inch of space around the spring. The trees. The bushes. The rocks. Everywhere.
"Lorenna! Lorenna!" He shouted. Fletcher didn't really agree with how Thatcher was going about things but still he found himself joining his brother and calling out Lorenna's name frantically.
Cordelia hadn't moved. She had been struck dumb by the outlandish actions of the twins. She had no idea what on earth were they hoping to accomplish but she couldn't seem to look away.----------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:52 pm
Fog. Lorenna's mind felt like it was suspended in fog like she was stuck in a permanent state between sleeping and waking. She was vaguely aware of the sound of a crow cawing in the distance. It felt familiar to her and yet she knew this was not one of her messenger birds calling to her. This was something else. Lorenna struggled to open her eyes. The bird called again, a mournful sound that was somehow soothing. Her eyes slid shut, not yet. It wasn't time for her to wake yet. She still needed to be here for something.
Lorenna sighed and settled back into sleep. She vaguely wondered how the boys were doing without her...--------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 3:06 pm
The sun had set. Fletcher and Thatcher stood at the edge of the muddy pond drinking sullenly. Lorenna hadn't been anywhere in the area.
Cordelia watched them sadly. "I am sorry." She said, surprised to find that she truly meant it. If there was one thing Cordelia understood it was sadness. Perhaps not the kind that the were feeling but the emotion read clearly across many scenarios. That did not change their bargain though. She was still leaving to return to her solitude. "I hope you are able to find them." Cordelia did not await an answer. She turned and headed back into the dead woods. They would keep to their word. She had been no real help to them and she knew that would recognize that. There was nothing more Cordelia could do to help the twins. They were on their own.
Fletcher nodded at Cordelia and thanked her quietly as she left. It had been a failure. What did they do now though? They were so far from where they had started and didn't know where to go. It felt like in chasing after Lorenna they had only managed to get further away from her.
"Let's just get some sleep..." Fletcher suggested moving away from the water. "We can figure out what to do in the morning..." Thatcher didn't move at first but he eventually conceded and went to join his brother. In this strange part of the world the last thing either of them would want would be to be alone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 3:27 pm
Fletcher awoke in the morning to the sharp sensation of Thatcher's hoof in his side. Fletcher grunted and groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He expected to see Thatcher turned about in his sleep, dreaming. Instead he only saw his brother's legs. Thatcher was awake...and kicking him.
"What?" Fletcher asked groggily and angrily. He didn't much care for being woken up or kicked.
"It's Khaa!" Thatcher shouted turning to look at something.
Fletcher wrinkled his brow, "What?"
"Khaa! It's Lorenna's crow!" Thatcher shouted more urgently looking about ready to kick his brother again.
"What?!" Fletcher got to his feet so fast that his head spun. As his vision cleared Fletcher was able to make out what his brother was seeing. Perched atop the tree just to the side of them was a black crow with a crest of white feathers at the top of its head. It was too far to get a good look but Fletcher was as certain as Thatcher was. It was Khaa.
"Where's Lorenna?" Thatcher asked eagerly, almost anxiously. The bird cawed then took off heading east. Thatcher took off after it. "Come on! He's taking us to her!" If it was odd that the familiar chose not to speak as he could then neither of the twins noticed. So far as they knew this was just their friend. Their friend that would take them to Lorenna.
For hours the twins chased after the bird paying little to know attention to their surroundings. The bounded easily over every obstacle in their path and never once did they lose the bird. Somehow it always managed to stay just ahead of them. Not so close that they could get a good look at it but not so far away that they would ever lose it. It was definitely trying to lead them and that gave the two hope.
They ran and ran until their shaking legs were threatening to collapse beneath them. Finally the bird came to a stop perched on a rock near a cave made out of earth rather than stone. The bird called at the cave a few times before flying off into the woods much faster than it had moved earlier.
Thatcher took a slow step forward. "Lorenna?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 3:44 pm
The crow was calling again. She could hear it. It wanted Lorenna to wake up. She was done here, it was time for her to go. Lorenna groaned. She didn't want to wake up now. Her entire body felt strange. It felt both heavier and lighter. It felt stiff like she hadn't moved in days and even though she had been sleeping she felt exhausted. Lorenna wanted to ignore the bird like a child and go back to sleep but she couldn't do that. She had a duty to perform. She had known what sort of responsibilities she was taking on when she had started the network. It was time to get back to work.
Slowly Lorenna got onto her feet and shook off the sleep and stiffness. If her wings were larger she didn't notice it. Neither did she notice that her hair was longer nor had she realized that her fetlocks had lengthened and grown softer. All she really new was that her birds were waiting for her. The voice of Thatcher called out to her. Lorenna shook her head. She must have slept for a lot longer than she had meant to.
"I'm coming, just tell them to wait a few moments." Lorenna said as she trotted to the doorway heedless of the scar in the shape of a crows talons on her hind leg. As she left the cave she noticed something was immediately wrong. This was not where she had fallen asleep. There had been no cave. There had been a forest of trees. She could almost recall wandering off in the night but had no recollection as to why. Her eyes drifted out to where Fletcher and Thatcher stood, completely out of breath.
"What...happened?" Lorenna asked unable to find anything else to say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
