A WARRIOR AT HEART (closed - victoriousequine)

The small, bright mare tread gently on the ground of the grove, she hated the fact that she had to come to the Silver Wood to find more palatable food. The grass of the forbidden forest was long and tough, good enough to keep you alive, but not quite the range of forage necessary for adequate nourishment, that and Finch was used to the fine cuisine of the city.

(Pre-info, just so you know where Finch is at!)
Her self-imposed exile had come about through her and a band of others having left with the King to meet the impending and unknown threat due at the coast, after Eiru, an advisor like Finch had been, had a vision at the pool by the city. Every time Finch closed her eyes she could still see the glowing red of the water and her heart leapt involuntarily into her throat. They had left in such a hurry, she had little to no time to weigh the decision, and while they had galloped over the seemingly endless land toward this unknown fate she had broken down. What would they find? What would she do? What were her duties? Nothing they had taught her in her preparation for becoming an advisor had prepared her for it, and as she was always daydreaming of other lands and wishing that she was free to roam, her sudden realisation of her dependence on the routine and the rules, her NEED to be told what to do, simply broke her.

She had split from the band and fled to the outskirts of the forbidden forest, and there she had remained. They probably had not really noticed her absence, it was not alien for advisors, especially those as young as herself, to be absent for a time, after all, they gained their knowledge and aptitude for advice in various ways, but deserting her King in an hour of need where she was trusted and depended on? She was under no illusions that her position was still available when or if she returned to the city, she had through her inactivity at a crucial time, forgone something that made up a great deal of her being. Her post had made up most of her life, and now, she was just a follower, she had a piece of what she had always wanted, a small bit of freedom. Or did she? She was ashamed of feeling the fear and loss that she did and thus had vowed not to return until she figured out the turmoil in her heart. She did not follow Vasska's beliefs, how could she advise him well if she could not understand him.

It had been months since she had interacted with another horse, she saw them, her herd members, now and again, as she frequented the outskirts of the forbidden forest trees, too scared to venture deeper for the dangers that lay within. She always avoided these herd mates, staying still or moving into deeper brush to avoid detection, she was not ready to go back.

Every few weeks however, she had been forced to break from her solitude and cover to cross the plains to the silver wood. She needed a varied diet to stay healthy and to be able to think, and boy did she need to think. She was picking up pine cones and crunching on them at the edge of the training clearing when the hard steps of a larger horse reflexively made her neck shoot up as she darted her ears around, pinpointing the point of entry. She backed up quietly into the trees, not entirely obscured, as the trees were too far spaced, unlike those in the forbidden forest. Who in the great compromiser's name was out here at this time of night? She frowned with irritation as he body became motionless, waiting to ride out the stay of the other horse. She smelt stallion on the low breeze as her great nostrils flared and her breathing slowed and she watched the large horse enter the clearing, seemingly contemplative, her heart started to beat faster as she stood, wishing will all her might that he would not notice her.