Salvation

[Hazel]

The whole desert was void of moisture. The sand, the sky, the scarce foliage. Everything. Why was it so dry? Why did her mouth feel so rough, like sandpaper was being forced between her lips? And the heat; the heart was unbearable. Why was it so?

It was obvious, once her mind managed to think through the suns rays. It was a desert. Of course it was hot and dry, thats what deserts were supposed to be. Otherwise it wouldn't be a desert at all. Her legs moved feebly over the sand, hooves shifting through the yellow grains, eyes half closed under the evening sun. The sky danced with pink and blue shadows, the bright hues somewhat alien to the mare who was raised in sleet and rain. The heat was something she was not accustomed to. No matter, she would pass through soon enough, right? Right? She hoped so. If not, she was certain she would join the countless skulls and carcasses she had thus far come across half buried in the golden ocean.

Yet it was been days. She had run until her legs felt weak and her body ceased to run no more, and now was walking, dawdling through the desert towards where she hoped the lands would shift and change into something more hospitable. Her mother had once made this journey pregnant - if she could do it, surely her daughter could. Just the thought of that cheered the mare a little, her head raising and ears pricking forwards. As she did, her eyes caught a glimpse of something green - something distant yet so very much closer than she remembered it had been before. As oasis? Or the herd lands she knew existed beyond the vast desert terrain? It mattered not - she spirit leaped with joy and she picked up pace - a gallop on eager feet. She struggled at first, her exhaustion evident and the sand hard to move swiftly on, yet she soon adapted to the shifting earth. The wind whistled about her face, her mane whipping her neck with the same energy and vigor of her legs upon the sand. Nearly there, nearly at salvation!

So close, yet unable to go the distance. Her legs collapsed, tripping on the sands as it sloped away from her. Skidding down the side of a dune, she rolled to the base, her eyes filled with grit and her legs shaking. In the distance she could see the green colour of life, yet here she was in a heap in the middle of a desert. Her eyes closed as she sighed, resting in the warmth of the sand. It was so very dry, so very warm - but she had no energy to stand. Maybe she would rest a little while. Just close her eyes for a moment...


Status | Open to all! <3
Word Count | 471

[[ Caity ]]

Gin

[/color]
You tried to be honest;
But "honesty" blew it this time[/i][/font][/color]
♦[/color][/center]

Her hooves carried her across the land, as she approched this new area. Mixed scents hit her nose. They were the scents of other horses; passer-bys perhaps. Her chocolatey brown eyes observed the area. She leveled her gaze to stare around it. Truly remarkable, she had to admit. She hadn't seen land like this since...

She hung her head low, deep into thought. Gin hadn't been through as much as some others, but still enough to traumatize her. She didn't really know where she was going, or what she was hoping to find. She just allowed the wind to take her. She was almost willing to let it take her whereever it wanted to go.

With the thoughts of her past surrounding her head, she continued to walk; slower now. Her past. Why was it she couldn't let go of it? It'd been almost a year. Gin had to let out a low chuckle to herself. It would probably take her more than a year to let it go. Nonetheless, she remained caucious of her surroundings.

Somehow the foreign sand treading below her hooves felt extremely familiar. Even though she'd never been here before. Perhaps the vast beauty of the land had taken her back home. Before the fire, before the humans had destroyed her herd.

Ginstopped as she came across a dune. She looked,noticing some hoof prints along it. She followed them until she came to a pair which looked quite abnormal; almost as if someone fell. Following them, she came to a slumbering mare. "Hey," was the single word which left Gin's throat.[/blockquote]

[Hazel]

Her eyes closed briefly. She snorted, sand brushing gently away from her nose and glittering away into the wind. Trust her to fall when she was so every close. A stallion wouldn't fall, right? Only a stupid, pathetic mare. That was why they were seen only as property - they were not strong enough. Yet could a stallion bear a child? Could he hell.

Hey. Her eyes opened and she gazed up at the figure. The sun was directly behind the mare, casting dark shadows on her body. Squinting, unable to match a face with the voice, Whistler grunted and sat up, then struggled to her feet. She stumbled for a moment before settling herself on all fours. "Hey." She mumbled, shaking the sand from her pelt, her tail whipping her legs to clear the grit away from her pelt. Her body ached a little from the fall, but it was nothing serious besides embarrassment and maybe a little dehydration.

Now that she was upright, she could see that the voice had come from a grey mare. Her pelt was very white, much whiter than a normal grey, yet her muzzle and socks were the classic colouring. She was thin and pretty, yet there was no glimmer in her eyes. Whistler wasn't bad at reading other horses, but she couldn't tell what the mare was thinking. Bored, maybe? Or depressed? She wasn't sure - it didn't matter, anyway. "Umm, you couldn't tell me where I am, could you? And that green, over there -" She pointed her muzzle at the green area she had been running towards; "-Is that an oasis, or fields? I kind of feel like getting out of this bloody desert." She smiled, hoping the mare was kind enough to say if she knew. She seemed friendly enough, if she had approached the fallen mare in the first place.

[[ Caity ]]

Gin

[/color]
You tried to be honest;
But "honesty" blew it this time[/i][/font][/color]
♦[/color][/center]

"Hey."

Gin observed the mare as she stood up. A deep brown pelt; black in some places. She had a white sort of stripe running down the bridge of her nose to her muzzle. Not at all uncommon. Gin had seen many of her types of colourations within her own herd. Though she had none of the sort in her family. This mare seemed friendly enough to her. "I'm Gin," she said, not much of a tone in her voice at all, but enough to at least sound good-natured.

"Umm, you couldn't tell me where I am, could you?"

"Well, I'm realitively new to the area myself," Gin said. She seemed to chuckle to herself. "I do know that this desert hardly gets anybody coming through". Who would come through here anyway? It was so... dry, sandy and boring. Gin just passed throug here on her regular route.

"And that green, over there? Is that an oasis, or fields? I kind of feel like getting out of this bloody desert."

"Hmm, that's the field, yes," Gin said, "I just came from over there myself". She seemed to chuckle at the mare's last words. "Mmm, I agree with you, this desert doesn't really hav much to offer".[/blockquote]

[Hazel]

Whistler smiled quietly; the mare seemed friendly enough, though her voice sounded rather dull, lifeless almost. No matter, maybe that was just her voice in general. She said her name was Gin. It was nice to put a name to the face - she was certain she would recognize the unusual coloured mare anywhere. She was no boring bay like Whistler. She was almost jealous of the females beauty, but she didn't let it get to her. The mare had told her what she wanted to know, after all. She was glad to hear that it was fields; she was starving, and tired of the dry heat. "Call me Whistler." She told Gin, with a flick of the tail. I wasn't her birth name, but it suited her better. She was the whistling in the wind, not the shores besides the sea. She could run wherever she wanted to go.

"I don't know about you, but im heading that way." Her muzzle pointed towards the green, her body attracted towards it like a magnet to the poles. "So if you arn't from around here, where are you from?" Tales from afar were interesting, and maybe the mare was from her old home lands. That was be nice; to meet someone like herself. But if not, well stories fascinated her. She began to walk in the direction of the greenlands, staring at its vast area. From there, it looked like an ocean amongst the scarce, dead desert.

[[ Caity ]]

Gin

[/color]
You tried to be honest;
But "honesty" blew it this time[/i][/font][/color]
♦[/color][/center]

"Call me Whistler."

Whistler. Such a gorgeous ring to the mare's name. It certainly rolled off the tongue, no doubt. Better than her short, simple name. "Ah," Gin finally said, "a pretty name it is".

"I don't know about you, but Im heading that way."

"You're in for quite the treat then. It's a beautiful place". Gin spoke words of truth as she spoke to Whistler. The fields were so vast, so lush and green. It was the most peaceful, beautiful place Gin had ever visited, besides Sunfall, that is.

"So if you arn't from around here, where are you from?"

Gin didn't feel like going into too much detail about this, but she figured she wouldn't have to, since the mare was rearing to go. "I'm from the land of man. My herd lived in a field not too far from their camp. I didn't really respect our leader much for placing us there, but no matter". Gin cleared her throat, as she'd had a tickle there. "And yourself?"[/blockquote]

[Hazel]

Whistler moved slowly as they talked, though her body itched to run again despite knowing the earth was unsteady and shifting, making it easy for a worn out horse such as herself to fall. Her tail twitched excitedly, her ears flickered from pointing towards the other mare, to towards the green lands, often. Distracted by the prospect of a full stomach and water, yet trying to listen to the mare, Whistler almost missed the word 'humans', yet when her brain processed it, her full attention was forced to the mare. Humans? Whistler had only heard about them.

"Oh? What a strange place to live. Can't say I've ever met a human before." She admitted, wondering to herself what they might look like. They were said to walk on two legs and lacked fur, so wore the skins of other animals and fed upon their flesh like a wolf. In her head, the naked wolves howled, standing upon hind legs; greedy faces peering from under the flesh of dead horses. She shuddered. Not a nice image at all. No matter, if she ever met the wolf demons, she would simply run.

The mare mentioned her leader, and her distaste at living so close to humans. Whistler smirked; she understood in a way. "Can't say I was keen on my old leader either. Its best not to follow anybody. Live alone and all that jazz. Its great, no one to boss you around, no one trying to decide things for you. I love it." She whinnied, her walk changing into a little dance like trot for a stride before returning to a normal gait. She glanced side ways at the mare. "So thats why you left? I assume you did leave; why else would you be here?" She grinned, she was pointing out the obvious, it seemed.

[[ Caity ]]

Gin

[/color]
You tried to be honest;
But "honesty" blew it this time[/i][/font][/color]
♦[/color][/center]

"Oh? What a strange place to live. Can't say I've ever met a human before."

"A strange place it was, indeed," Gin said. She had to say, it was. Everywhere she looked she saw horses pulling things, carrying things, even humans rode them. It was downright ridiculous. It's like horses had become a tool for humans. Just an object soon to be thrown away, and eventually; forgotten about.

"Can't say I was keen on my old leader either. Its best not to follow anybody. Live alone and all that jazz. Its great, no one to boss you around, no one trying to decide things for you. I love it."

Gin had to say she agreed. Sometimes though; it got lonely. Being alone for a long period of time got annoying, even depressing. Gin regretted leaving her herd in a way, but in another perspective, like Whistler's, she was right. Being alone was great; in the sense of having no leadership bestowed upon yourself, and nobody to tell you how to live.

"So thats why you left? I assume you did leave; why else would you be here?"

"Well, yes, that's the reason I left," she answered. She didn't feel like going into too much detail about her past, considering she may never see this mare again. Well, Gin couldn't say that. Afterall; they were in the same basic place, so maybe someday they would cross paths again.[/blockquote]

[Hazel]

Whistler noted that the are wasn't very talkative; probably the quiet type, or the stop-asking-me-damn-questions type. Oh well, though it made her curious, she had to hold her tongue. In the long run, it didn't matter if she knew a strangers past or not. It was deemed pointless information. She didn't need to know about anyone but herself - and no one needed to know about her. Not about her lead stallions attitude problem, his 'wide beating' tendencies and his scary weird love for the baby filly born to a stallion from the distant lands of 'the sandy shores'. Who that stallion was, neither the stag or the filly knew, and the mother never told her before her daughter uprooted and left. Whistler stared ahead, walking slower than usual towards the green, thinking. She hadn't chosen to leave, she was forced to. Either that or forced to be mated at such a young age. What a ba--ard.

Oh well, it worked out for the best. Her tail flicked and her mood picked back up - no time to feel sorry for herself, huh? She was sure her mother would come find her, and meanwhile she would search for the 'shores' she was named after, before she went and changed her name to something more suitable. She was no wave on the oceans edge, helplessly floating back and forth, back and forth...

No, she was the wind. The whistling of the wind in ones ear as they ran. She would ever stop moving, never stop running. Never settle down and never be burdened with foals or a mate. Love and herds were for morons. She was living the good life. "So you said you weren't from around here? What are you planning to do? Join a herd, or what?" She asked, curious despite the mare seeing the type not to talk about such things. The green was getting closer - she could smell the grass and almost taste the water on her dry, parched tongue.

[[ Caity ]]

Retribution

[/color]
You tried to be honest;
But "honesty" blew it this time[/i][/font][/color]
♦[/color]

"So you said you weren't from around here? What are you planning to do? Join a herd, or what?"

"Well, I don't really know. I guess I'll just have to meet the leaders of the herds before I decide to join. After all, I don't want an ignorant, sexist pig for a leader, now do I?"

Perhaps that seemed a little bit harsh. After all, not all stallions were like that. Her father certainly wasn't like that. Though, Gin didn't understand why he was so submissive to their herd's leader. Sure, he was moronic for placing them so close to humans, but he wasn't that bad.

Ah, her leader. He was quite the stud, though he was much too old for Gin. Eight years of age; pure black with a white mask. Her thoughts drifted from those days though. She had to stop living in the past. It would only bring her more greif than she'd already bore. "So, what about you, Whistler?"[/blockquote][/center]

[Hazel]

Whistler grinned, tail flicking with satisfaction at the other mares words. This was her kind of girl - the type that didn't take any crap from stallions, apparently. Maybe she disliked stallions as much as Whistler did? Apparently not, if she would check out the herds and maybe join, they were not on the same wave length. Whistler would not even consider nor look at herds - there was no point. They were all probably the same right? She wasn't sure since she had only been apart of one, but she knew she much prefered her lonesome life with no responsability other than for her own life. No mating, no stallions, no family, no friends. No inconveniances. "Me? Nah, I won't bother. Its much more fulfilling to live alone. I like talking to new horses - a herd would mean I am stuck with the same old faces and same old routine, right? I don't want that." Why bother explaining her hate of males? She kept it to herself, making an excuse that was only partly true. To be honest, she wouldn't mind a friend, someone whom she recognised and could tell anything too, but why bother if she would have to put up with the hassle of a leader? Maybe she could start an all female herd, a wandering herd with no real home. She snorted to herself - stupid idea.

The ground changed. Sand shifted away to reveal grass. Only a little bit poking from beneath the golden dunes, but grass all the same. She grinned and whinnied in delight. " Green! Its green!" She reared with excitement like a filly - she was not much older than one and still behaved like one on occasion - and burst into a gallop, forgetting her thoughts as she burst forth into the grass lands.

ooc - sorry this is so late, been hectic what with moving and work <3