blueunicornj13
Exile Herd 
We don't have a choice to stay. We'd rather die than do it your way.
Posts: 265 
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Post by blueunicornj13 on Jan 5, 2015 20:37:50 GMT -5
'I Bet My Life'
blueunicornj13 's Little Bird and queerly 's Eden
Timing: 6 years ago
There was a large crash as a roan mare bumped into one of the metal tins that lined the alley ways. Her heart hammered in her chest as she galloped through the streets, weaving through the small alleys to try and evade her attacker. The cougar let out a yowl on anger as it leaped over the bin, chasing after her. Little Bird let out a small squeal when the large cat's claws raked her back leg. The loner mare kicked out with her back legs, missing by a fraction of a inch. Her hooves clicked wildly on the hard pavement, skittering through each corner. Her breath came out in short pants as panic and adrenaline coursed through her, pushing her legs faster and faster. Bird turned a sharp corner, colliding with the wall for a split second. The mare came to an abrupt halt and let out a small gasp as she stared at the wall in front of her. She was trapped. The young mare whirled around to face the cougar who slowly stalked down the alley. The expression on its face looked almost as though it was smirking at her mistake. Its tail lashed back and forth, and it barred its teeth in a wicked grin. Bird looked around the alley in a panic. It felt like her heart would beat out of her chest at any moment. If she didn't find some way to get herself out of this, she wouldn't have a heart to beat at all. Her brown eyes widened in fear as she stared at what would inevitably be her doom. 'I'm going to die by getting eaten by a cougar. Very fitting since it's my father's namesake,' Bird thought, shaking her head in disbelief. Her father would never even know what happened to his daughter. He was much too old to go anywhere, and he probably wouldn't even be able to take care of himself. Tears threatened to stream down her cheeks at the very thought of failing her father, leaving him to die because she didn't know how to defend herself or rather didn't want to fight. She had spent her entire life training for this very moment, and she couldn't bring herself to do anything. It was as if all of the moves her father had taught her were escaping as the cougar crept closer. "Help!!!" Bird called out. Her voice cracked as tears fell down her face. The cougar let out a low growl at her attempts to call for help. The roan mare backed against the wall, and blood ran down her leg where the cougar had scratched her. "Please! Help me!"
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Post by queerly on Jan 6, 2015 0:47:14 GMT -5
A block of devastated city away, Eden's head shot up.
The ruins were not exactly his favorite place, but it was the only location of several important herbs that the Olde herd was running tragically low on. A riveting game of 'I'm not going, YOU go' with the other healers had seen Eden caving to pressure (most of which was the headache their squabbling had caused) and agreeing to take up the task himself. Thus he'd found himself wandering the war torn city, head low and ears ever so slightly pinned. He disliked the way the concrete felt under his hooves, offering no give. It made the little rocks and pebbles he encountered painful, and in turn he became hyper aware of his hoofsteps, dancing around every potential stone bruise and keeping his eyes on the path when he should have been keeping them up, keeping watch for potential dangers. Nature was persistence in this place, creeping her way out of the cracks and crannies, creating little shocks of green that brought life to drab gray. It also brought cougars, and while he'd managed to survive an encounter with one in the past, he doubted he'd get so lucky a second time.
The damn cats claim such large territories that there's essentially no chance of even catching a glimpse of one, he'd told himself. And because the unicorns had an absolute shit sense of humor, Little Bird had screamed not but a few seconds after the thought. Oh, fuck my life.
It absolutely wasn't his problem. The voice didn't belong to anyone he recognized, and out here in the city, it was most likely a Loner. He owed no loyalty to wanderers, and certainly he did not owe his life. Whatever danger had the stranger cornered could very well turn on him, and he had no illusions about his ability to fight. Which was to say, absolutely none.
So why did he find himself galloping towards the cry, every ounce of his quarter horse heritage thrown into the sprint?
When he reached the mouth of the alley his haunches dipped, throwing him into a sliding stop that quickly grew out of control as he skidded forward several feet, clipping his shoulder on the alley's decrepit wall. The rough stone scraped across his fur like sandpaper, taking hair and a bit of skin. It was nothing serious that he could afford to worry about. His gaze was on the other horse and the deadly cat between them, evaluating the situation and making a split decision on how best to handle it. There was an a dumpster directly in front of him. He didn't know what it was, but by god he knew it was loud when you ran into it, and he judged it would be even louder when kicked. "Hold on, I'm coming," He called to the mare, knowing the words were cold comfort even as he said them. He charged forward the sparse few feet it took to reach the metal monstrosity and swung his hips around, braced his front hooves, and kicked the metal monstrosity as hard as he could. The resulting sound was a furious rumble, a startling bang that made his ears pin. The impact shivered up his hind legs and deep into his spine, protesting his heroics with a profound feeling of ow shit, but if it managed to scare the cougar off, he supposed his teeth rattling in his skull was worth it.
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blueunicornj13
Exile Herd
We don't have a choice to stay. We'd rather die than do it your way.
Posts: 265
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Post by blueunicornj13 on Jan 6, 2015 10:49:20 GMT -5
Her ears pinned to her skull as the large cat stalked closer. It felt like the predator was drawing out the kill, taking in every aspect of the moment before it would finally end her. Bird let out a small whimper, hugging the rough wall. The blood that dripped down her leg was hot, sticking to her pelt as it slid down her leg. If she made it out of this, it would probably scar, though at the moment, she didn't really have any hopes of her survival. There was nothing she could do except watch the cougar walked closer toward her. Its eyes studying her as it tried to think of the best way to finish her. 'Yep, I guess this is the way it's going to end. I guess my father was right about one thing. The cougars aren't to be messed with,' she thought.
Her eyes widened in a desperate search for something to defend herself with. Maybe if she could find one of those metal lids that were sometimes with the cans, she could use it as a sort of shield. There was a group of trash cans a few feet away, just past the cougar. "Damn it. Of course, I didn't see that before I got cornered by a cougar. Fantastic, Bird, you're the best Ranger out there," she said to herself as her mind whirled. She didn't want to die. She wasn't ready. There were still so many things she wanted to do, and her father needed her to take care of him.
As her cries echoed off of the crumbling buildings' walls, Little Bird waited in anticipation. Her eyes never left the predator in front of her as tears blurred her vision. 'Great, now if someone came, they'd think she was a total weakling.' Bird sighed at the thought just as a horse came sliding around the corner. A small snort escaped her at the stallion's words. "No problem. I'm not going anywhere," she said in a strained tone. The cougar had whirled around to face the spotted stallion. A low snarl emanated from the cat as its tail lashed defensively. Bird opened her mouth to speak, just as the stallion slammed his hooves into one of the large metal bins. The loud clanging sound made her shrink away, pinning her ears further against her skull as the sound echoed around them. The large predator yowled, backing away from the sound for a minute before it stalked toward the other horse. Bird snorted quietly, seeing her chance to do something, anything. The roan mare charged past the cat, limping slightly on her back leg. Bird tried her hardest to stand tall, making herself tower over the cougar. "Get out of here! Get lost you damn cat," she shouted. Tears created streams down her cheeks as she kicked the metal bin as the stallion has before. The metal reverberated through her and up her leg, and she winced slightly at the feeling. The cougar glanced between the two of them before darting off down the cracked road. It hadn't anticipated a fight with two horses, and it would much rather catch easier prey.
Little Bird let out a ragged sigh, and she lowered herself to the ground. Bird made sure she didn't bend her wounded leg, fearing it would bleed more if she opened it up any further. Her legs shook like crazy as the adrenaline left her. Her breath still came out in short pants, but she tried her hardest to control it as she turned her brown eyes on the spotted stallion in front of her. "Thanks for helping me," Bird said with a small nod of gratitude toward the horse who had saved her. She turned her attention onto her wound, licking some of the blood off to reveal the ragged scratches the cougar had left her with. Bird sucked in a breath as it stung with every touch. Maybe she should just leave it alone so her father could take care of it later. She held back a sob, shaking her head at herself. "Sorry, I'm not usually like this," she said in a shaky voice, wiping her face on her legs.
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Post by queerly on Jan 7, 2015 21:45:04 GMT -5
Oh, balls. Eden thought as the cougar's attention shifted upon himself, and for every step the predator took forward, Eden took one backwards, backpedaling until his spotted rump collided with the alley wall. His head whipped, peering back the way he'd came. He could make a run for it. Cats instinctively chased running prey, didn't they? If he could just lead it away from the mare, and then managed to stay one step ahead of it... but no, that wouldn't work. He wasn't an Arabian, he couldn't just keep going and going. He could probably outrun the cougar for a quarter mile before he ran out of steam, and then the beast would be upon him. The appaloosa could almost see it in his mind's eye: the cat leaping, landing upon his back, digging in with its claws as it went for the kill. Unicorns above, I don't want to die like that.
Suddenly, the clang of the dumpster being struck made he flinch, ears all but plastered to his head. The sound was worse when it wasn't his own doing. Like nails on a chalkboard, it made his teeth hurt and his eyes snap shut in a grimace. When he opened them again, he turned his head to realize the Loner was at his side, drawn up to her full warmblood height and making an impressive racket. And it worked. Maybe it was because she was bigger, maybe because it was two of them. It didn't matter. For whatever reason, their desperate bid to intimidate the beast was successful. Eden watched, ears pricked forward and his breath shuddering out of him, as the cougar fled. He listened intently for its footfalls to fade...
... and then he promptly collasped like a ton of bricks, knocking his chin on the cracked concrete. "Great shittin' Compromiser, I'm still alive."
The weight of his actions hit him all at once. Eden began to shake like a reed in the wind, blinking back his own tears at the full realization of what he'd just done, and almost been, which was cougar food. He turned his head towards the mare as he heard her shuffle, watching her collapse at his side. What a pair they made. "Yeah, sure." He replied, barking out a laugh that was all nerves and nothing else. "No sweat."
His eyes went to her wound, flinching when she scraped her tongue across it. He imagined it hurt. It looked like it hurt. Gods. "S'fine. I mean. We almost got eaten. That kind of sucks, right?" He laughed again, and then told himself to shut up.
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blueunicornj13
Exile Herd
We don't have a choice to stay. We'd rather die than do it your way.
Posts: 265
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Post by blueunicornj13 on Jan 7, 2015 22:26:49 GMT -5
Little Bird flicked an ear in the direction of the horse beside her as he collapsed on the ground. His jaw clicked as his chin hit the hard ground. She winced slightly at the sound. It definitely didn't sound like that had felt very good. As the spotted horse let out a short laugh, Bird couldn't help but shake her head. A small, shaky chuckle escaped her as she wiped the rest of the tears off of her face. Her mind whirled at what had just happened, and her heart still felt as though it would pound right out of her chest. 'I'm so useless. I had to be saved by this horse. I'm the one who is supposed to be saving him," Bird thought, shaking her head to get her mane out of her eyes. "Maybe a little sweat, and some blood obviously," she said with a small smirk.
Her nose wrinkled at the stinging sensation in her leg. If she didn't do something for it soon, infection or something would set in, right? Her brown eyes glanced over at the horse beside her. His legs were trembling just as bad as hers were. "It sucks a little bit. We could have died though, so I guess it could have been worse," Bird said, laughing quietly. As the adrenaline left her body, the shock set in. That had really just happened. She had almost been eaten alive by a cougar. The roan mare shook her head, chuckling at her luck or rather the lack thereof.
She gasped at the stinging pain in her leg. The blood seemed to be slowing down, but it hadn't stopped yet. "I should put something on this. Some herbs and cloth? Right?" Bird looked over at the horse who had saved her. Maybe he knew something about herbs and wounds, though by the grimace on his face, she would guess he was more of the squeamish type. "My name is Little Bird by the way." Bird said with a small dip of her head as she stood on shaky legs. The loner mare was careful not to put any weight on her still-bleeding leg, but where would she even go? She couldn't go anywhere like this by herself. That cougar would pick her off like a lone foal. 'Spectacular. I still might die after all of this,' Bird thought, looking out at the surrounding area to make sure the cougar wasn't nearby.
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Post by queerly on Jan 9, 2015 20:49:33 GMT -5
Eden rubbed his stinging chin across his leg, and was a little shocked to see blood smeared across his fur. He hadn't thought he'd broken the skin. Adrenaline could do that sort of thing, make you unaware of just how badly you'd hurt yourself... or in his case, go trying to save unlucky mares from cougar attacks. "Ahh, balls." He murmured, and pressed the scrape to his knee hard, allowing pressure to work its magic. The cut wasn't deep by any means, but a head wound was still a head wound, and thus it was going to bleed. It was going to bleed a lot.
He flicked a black-tipped ear as he sensed his new companion standing up, her shaking legs visible on the edge of his vision. There was a tremble of nerves in her voice, but her tone was growing stronger, more self-assured as she moved on to what needed to be done. Eden supposed he could respect that. A horse that had to wallow in the afterglow of andrenaline rush was the horse that got eaten when the cougar came back. "Aye, yeah, a topical herb and some bandages. No idea where you'd find the latter in this place, but I can point you to some herbs." He replied, pushing himself up on to all fours. His own legs were shaking as badly as saplings in a blizzard. Truth be told, it made him feel a wee bit self-conscious. He was the knight in shining armor, here, he wasn't supposed to be trembling. Trembling was for foals who had just heard the legend of Baba'yagu. Bah.
He gave his legs a little stomp, trying to steady them. "I'm Eden. Healer Mage of the Herd of Olde, at your very fortunately timed assistance, if I may say so myself." He paused to appraise her, one dark brow cocked so high it nearly reached his forelock. "The Olde Herd's a dumb lot that get themselves into trouble constantly, so I know every face. You, then, must be a Loner." He squinted, lips pursing. "You might have guessed, but the City isn't a great place to go alone. For future reference. Now let's find something to stuff down your throat that'll help with the inflammation you're already starting to sport, yeah?"
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blueunicornj13
Exile Herd
We don't have a choice to stay. We'd rather die than do it your way.
Posts: 265
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Post by blueunicornj13 on Jan 9, 2015 21:18:29 GMT -5
Her brown eyes watched the spotted stallion carefully as he cursed under his breath, holding his bleeding chin to his knee to help stop the bleeding. The roan mare bit her lip in an attempt not to chuckle at the horse's misfortune or rather his clumsiness.
Little Bird nodded at his words, taking a glance at her leg. "I have some bandages that I've collected. Well, they're blankets, but I don't mind ripping some of them up for bandages," she said with a small sigh. She liked to collect things around the city, and she had a small room in which she stored all of her little treasures. She didn't have a lot since all of the training her father put her through took up a lot of her time, but things she did have were amazing. To her anyways. "I'd appreciate that though," Bird said with a small nod of gratitude.
Bird flicked her ears toward Eden. She flipped her mane out of her eyes as he spoke. 'Oh unicorns. Another one of those uppity Olde horses,' she thought, nodding her head as his voice droned on. "I am a Loner, and a Ranger at that which also means I know how to take care of myself... most of the time... some of the time," Bird said, looking down at the smaller horse before glancing around them as if she were looking for someone. "Do you have some sort of secret army with you that's hiding? Because, to me anyways, it looks like you are quite alone." Little Bird joked with a small smirk before she began limping out of the alley way. Her leg felt red hot, and she had a feeling that Eden was right about the inflammation. "I really appreciate you stopping that cougar from eating me. I know a lot of horses would have just kept walking. So which way toward these herbs you were talking about?"
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Post by queerly on Jan 22, 2015 0:24:38 GMT -5
"I know what I'm doing." The stallion protested as he pushed himself to his hooves. Lingering adrenaline made his legs shaky, and for a moment he was worried they'd collapse like twigs under his stock horse bulk, but somehow they held. Thank the shittin' unicorns, he thought, shaking out his short mane. He'd already embarrassed himself enough for one day.
"So, a Ranger, huh? I've heard of them. Marching across the isles of Chevalin, righting wrongs, saving lives and helping kittens out of trees." He smirked, falling into step beside the tall warmblood. He was accustomed to cantering alongside his giant friends, monstrous horses like Arturo or Evalynn, matching their steps with two of his own. In his current state... well, he wasn't necessarily glad that she was injured, but her limping gait did make it easier to keep up without aggravating the wound on his shoulder. "Sounds intense."
He cut his eyes to her wounded leg, teal eyes slitting with concern. The crumbling City was a bad place to have an open wound; rust or the presence of rat colonies could easily infect it, turning a simple scrape into a serious problem. With that in mind, he glanced back at his own cut and grimaced. Just great.
"The herbs tend to grow around the prayer pool. Know the way?" He asked, striped hooves clicking on the cracked concrete.
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blueunicornj13
Exile Herd
We don't have a choice to stay. We'd rather die than do it your way.
Posts: 265
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Post by blueunicornj13 on Jan 24, 2015 13:45:34 GMT -5
Little Bird couldn't help but chuckle slightly as Eden spoke. "Don't get your tail in a knot, Eden. I was only playing with you." She teased, tossing her head to get her long mane out of her face. His legs trembled beneath him as he rose to his hooves, though Bird took little notice of it. They had just been attacked by a cougar after all, and she was sure that she was shaking just as bad.
The roan mare limped forward and out of the dark alley, making sure to not put too much weight on her injured leg. She took a deep breath of the fresh breeze as it blew through the city streets, rustling the weeds that grew in the cracks of the hard pavement. Her ear swiveled toward the stallion beside her as he spoke. A giggle escaped her when Eden mentioned helping kittens out of trees. "Yeah, being a Ranger is pretty cool. Kind of dangerous at times, but I really like saving those kittens from danger." Bird said with a grin. She'd never been in any real sort of danger on the job besides the occasional cougar, but she didn't count those. She mostly just lent a hoof if someone needed it or helped a stray foal find their parents. She supposed she had lucked out with fairly easy tasks though, especially since she, quite obviously, wasn't much of a fighter. Her father would certainly freak out when she returned home with this new wound. 'Fantastic. He'll have to practicing fighting moves for a moon. Oh wait! I've already been training since I could walk.' She thought with a snort.
Bird returned her attention to the present when Eden spoke again. "Yep, I know the way." She gave him a single nod before heading toward the mysterious pool. "What's up with you Olde horses and that pool anyways? Every time I go near there, there's always horses gathered around it." Little Bird looked over at Eden with a curious expression. Herd life generally interested her, though she'd probably never join one herself. She enjoyed her freedom far too much for that, but learning what made each herd unique was fun to know.
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Post by queerly on Feb 3, 2015 4:07:37 GMT -5
Eden met her gaze with a wry smirk that was almost convincing enough to make one think he was over his near death experience. The feigned nonchalance would have been sold were it not for the tight edges at the corner of his black-spotted lips. "You want to know about the pool? Well, it's only the most sacred place in Chevalin. We pray to the unicorns there, baptize our nubile mares in the waters, and once a year we sacrifice a firstborn foal in a ceremony honoring the Great Compromiser."
The buckskin paused, looked away as though he was considering something, and then returned his gaze to the tall roan. "Just kidding. About the baptizing part, I mean. We absolutely drown our young."
He grinned at her again, and there was a little less adrenaline clouding the expression. "Seriously, though, it's just the spot where we pray. I'm sure there's several layers of spiritual mumbo-jumbo concerning it, but I slept through the majority of my religion lessons, so I wouldn't know."
Not that Eden wasn't religious. He was. He just didn't think knowing every piece of religious history or praying at the pool mattered all that much. What did all-powerful unicorns care about such things? They were bloody all powerful unicorns, and Eden highly doubted they cared where you were when you paid lip service.
"Your turn. What do Loners believe in? And if the answer is 'nothing', that's boring, so make something up."
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blueunicornj13
Exile Herd
We don't have a choice to stay. We'd rather die than do it your way.
Posts: 265
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Post by blueunicornj13 on Feb 5, 2015 12:19:44 GMT -5
Little Bird listened intently as the stallion spoke. Her eyes grew wider and wider with each passing moment of his tale of the praying pool. "R-really?" She asked in disbelief. Surely she would have known if the herd she was sharing an island with was sacrificing foals. It seemed a bit... extreme, but so were some of the other herd's belief. But sacrificing foals in the name of someone who might not even exist?
Her brows narrowed when Eden said that he was kidding. "Very funny. I was beginning to think I was on an island full of crazy horses," she said with a smirk. Oh wait! She still was. At least this horse seemed kind of normal. "You slept through your classes? That doesn't seem like a very studious thing to do." Bird said in a joking tone. The very thought of having to sit through some sort of class on religion made her want to close her eyes and drift off into whatever place her dreams took her. She'd much rather learn things from the experience of doing it than having someone tell her about it.
The roan mare limped onward, heading toward the pool. Hopefully none of the Olde horses were there praying. She couldn't exactly run if there were any sort of problem, and some of the Olde horses were less than friendly about loners being on 'their' island. Her ears swiveled back toward Eden when he questioned her in return. A small chuckled escaped her as she tried to think of something that the loners believed in. Truthfully, the loners believed in whatever they wanted to. They didn't have a set religion like the other herds. Being a loner was about the freedom after all. "Well, we loners believe in whatever we please. Some of us believe in the unicorns, others hunt down horses and use them in ritual sacrifices." Her brown eyes glanced over at Eden, trying to spot what sort of reaction he would have. "But you don't have to worry. I only hunt on nights of the full moon." Little Bird gave him a smirk before returning her attention to the area around her. The pool wasn't too much further away. Thank goodness. Her leg felt as though it were on fire with inflammation.
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