Loner Plot 002 | The Witch's Cry

With a strong sigh, the stallion glanced up at the clear morning sky. Luckily, he was a patient soul because it seemed it would be a while until all the loners the Orioles had recruited would arrive. His protege, Magdalene, had already departed with those who had shown up quickly and he was left to wait for anyone who was still to come. The witch's message had seemed urgent and there was no use in Magdalene and the rest waiting for others to arrive when there was a dire situation that needed their help. He would take whoever arrived now with him and hopefully be able to catch up to the rest. Although...

Jones looked down at his heavily scarred leg and furrowed his brows. He had attempted to hide the severity of his injury and in turn worsened the strain on it during Magdalene's training. He hoped he wouldn't be the one to hold this group back from reaching those traveling with the new protector. Jones was determined to make sure that didn't happen. His cousin was on her own now, but there was an unsettling feeling in his stomach that they hadn't done nearly enough training for whatever plagued the witch. No, he had to trust her just as much as he had told her to trust her own judgement. There was nothing more the old run down stallion could do now. Squinting his Amber eyes a little, he began to see figures forming in the distance. He hoped they were loners sent by the Orioles as he was in no mood to face war hungry Bachelors here in the Outland marsh.

Upon leaving her herd and joining up with Q as a loner, Nivinara had expected life to be easy. Well, not easy per-say but less-- traumatic. She thought that by leaving the herd and thus evading the warring horses, the two mates and their child would live a relatively safe life. It seemed she had been wrong. As the family had just departed from the safety of the forest they had taken shelter in after the wars end, they were greeted by two birds shouting nonsense at them before flying away once more.

Their words had confused Nivinara, but it seemed Q knew what they spoke of and it was then that she seen how torn he was. The birds had spoken of the Witch and the loners she had taken to seek refuge from the war somewhere past the marsh, and now it seemed she was seeking help. The small mare had not heard the whole story, having stayed back while Q heard the message for himself, but she only knew that trouble was coming once more. Why the world couldn't just leave them alone she would never understand, but it seemed Q played a part in a lot of the loners troubles and she supposed that was what being a Ranger was all about, and with that it made her proud to have a husband like him, but it also made her worry. And worry she did.

Q had left, but not without much debate over the matter. He had to help the Witch and the other loners, as much as he wanted to stay he needed to go. And so he did. It had been only a couple hours and Nivinara was already worried something had happened. The small foal prancing about around her had only distracted her for mere moments before she was back to worrying. They had both made the promise that they wouldn't leave eachothers side after what had happened with the Bachelors, and now in a way they were breaking that promise.

Nivinara watched her daughter inspect a patch of wild flowers, the foal still sickly, but otherwise growing stronger. She could run now, not far, but enough to get away should danger come looking for them and with that knowledge the first time mother was starting to wonder if she should follow her love, after all she could help those in need as well. She knew enough about herbs to do so. And with that the mare had started off towards the marshes, with a small bundle of joy following behind, babbling cheerful nonsense that made the small trip enjoyable. And by the time they got there both were splattered with mud from the marsh, not because the mother purposely walked through it, but because Nadia decided to jump in the puddles along the path they took. When she had seen the horses gathered she had expected to see Q, but much to her dismay the stallion was gone and now she was concerned. Did Q go ahead of these horses? Were these horses friendly?

Despite her fearful and irrational thinking, the mare walked towards them, "Hello...?" She called cautiously, worried that she had happened upon Bachelors rather than loners. And in fear of that she made sure to keep herself between them and Nadia, "Are you here because of the birds? To help the Witch?"

( Word count: 567 )

Thankfully, the figures in the distance quickly began to take form. The first to reach him was a young mare, and he nodded his head to her in greeting. She seemed rather shaken and even admitted her confusion as she approached. "Greetings, young mare. Yes, the Oriole brothers were sent by our venerable BaYagu because she is in need of help." he replied, attempting to ease her puzzled mind but yet another individual approached before he could continue. This time, it was a mare and her foal. For a moment Jones' heart seemed to sink beneath the ground, this mission was much to dangerous for a child to partake or even witness. Then he froze, he was sure he recognized the mother and there was a breeze of familiarity from the filly too. It only took a small flashback before it clicked, these were the family of one of his trusted Rangers- No, they were Magdalene's rangers now and he had become one of them. It was going to take a while to get rid of old habits, ingrained in his mind for a long time. "Yes, I am here on behalf of the new Protector of all loners. She has already taken a group of loners on the path to the witch and I thought it would be best to wait for any others who had received the call." he nodded, eyes flicking to the little filly again as his eyes filled with worry. "Ma'am, I am afraid this is a rescue mission and therefore I fear for the safety of your child. However, I saw your Q leave with Magdalene's group a few hours ago and I understand you have no one to keep her safe without him. Of course, your bravery for responding to the call is greatly appreciated but if you wish to stay behind for her sake we would understand." he looked up into her eyes, with a warm and supportive expression.

The moment that followed, it became apparent that those who would accompany him were mostly mares as another one arrived. A very light coated individual with an abundance of mane and tail. "Good morning, were you perchance sent by the Oriole brothers?" he asked, curious if she had purposely arrived here or just stumbled upon the group by chance. Jones' thoughts were interrupted by yet another arrival who was also a mare. Luckily, he was not someone to think a female weak and welcomed their brave arrival. However, she spoke in a strange language that surely the other's wouldn't understand. Jones had met so many individuals in his life that he had picked up a few foreign tongues along the way. "Buenas," he greeted warmly "Si, pero porfavor... Puedes hablar en Ingles? Si no, creo que va a ser bastante dificil communicar con nuestro grupo." he chuckled a little, hoping she was capable of making the switch in languages.

An all too relieved sigh left the young mare when the stallion spoke of the witch as well. She was more relieved that he was a friend rather than another bachelor stallion she'd have to avoid. Nivinara glanced down at her daughter and nodded in understanding. Of course she knew it was dangerous for her, but it was either travel with a herd of horses who could offer more protection or hide in the bachelor's land and hope not to be seen. She didn't know if any of these horses would bother to help her if she needed it, but she had faith they were just as kind as Q was. "I understand the dangers. I will take full responsibility, and she wont be of any trouble i swear it." Of course she also didn't expect them to bother with Nadia in anyway, it was understandable if they just ignored the filly all together and if anything, Nivinara would cease and let the others continue on without them.

The young mother stood by, watching the horses slowly gather around them, all coming to heed the witches call for help, and it was nice to see that there were some horses out there that cared for the safety of their fellows. A very slender and pretty mare was first to come after Nivinara, followed by another mare, whom obviously had made quite a journey here. The mare wanted to greet her, but then she spouted strange words and then Nivinara wasn't so certain she could even speak to the mare, thankfully it seemed the kind stallion knew it well and spoke with her. Now she decided it was best to let the Rangers speak in peace while she tended to her daughter and kept the filly from getting into trouble with the others as Nadia was practically bouncing on her weak legs at seeing so many new horses around.

( Wourd Count: 320 )

Amber eyes looked down curiously as an older mare laid down and got back up again, he wondered if she would be alright to make the journey. "While I am not entirely sure how many loners received the brother's message and how many may still come, I believe it would be safe to start moving" he replied to something many seemed to question. He had been keeping them waiting to see if any more would attend, but it didn't seem that way and they had to catch up to the other group before things went south too quickly. Jones smiled at the mare and her young filly, thinking to himself that family was such a beautiful thing. He took a step forward slowly, attempting not to startle the poor little thing as he reached his muzzle out to offer a reassuring nudge. "Children are never any trouble" he said in a warm voice to the mother "I will do my best to protect her with everything I have". It was the simple truth, though he did momentarily glance at his heavily scarred leg and he knew that his capabilities had been diminished greatly. He would try his best not to limp in the group's presence, as he needed to be the one to guide them to safety through all this but... No, he had to try his utter best. Surely they wouldn't dream to follow an old, beat up cripple if they knew the truth. "Gracias" he smiled to the Spanish Mustang mare before turning to look at the new arrival. His instincts had been right after all, to wait a little longer until others arrived. This young Akhal-Teke mare was the very proof of it. "Welcome," he smiled and nodded his head before turning towards the landbridge many had set off for a few hours ago "Let us get going then". He hoped they would be brave on this journey, for it was a destination they had never been before in their life. Mist clouded their path to this unknown pass that most horses had been blind to so he hoped they had enough faith in him to follow. "Stay close together everyone, the mist is thick ahead... Do you have any notion of where we are headed?" he asked, knowing fully well that no loner would be capable of knowing this secret island by any means. Even so, it opened up a new gap for him to inform them of what he knew at least.