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Post by paperwingsranch on Jun 24, 2015 20:48:46 GMT -5
Kayden did little other than nod at the instructions dished out to them, and didn't speak at all as everyone went running towards the bears. The only noise he made through the whole process were several ragged coughs wracking his body from the dust he and the others kicked up. 'Great idea there Kayden,' He thought to himself, 'now if the bear doesn't kill us, we still get to die from ash inhalation.' He skidded to a halt beside Ryder after they managed to put out the bear's flame, turning his head to look at Kaiser when he spoke but saying nothing. After the brown paint spoke though he replied, "Where exactly-" he cut off to cough a couple of times, "are we going to chase her off to? I can't see worth shit."
When the bear barreled into Ryder Kayden leaped back --taking several more startled steps backwards and away from the danger, and nearly tripping over his tail in the process. "What the fu-" he was cut off by Ryder's words, and a couple of confused blinks later forced his confused mind into understanding. The bear had Ryder. Kayden didn't think any further than that before that stupid, idiotic, mildly self destructive part of him pushed his limbs into action. Kayden didn't really mean to, and he wished more than once that he wasn't like that, but the truth was when it came down to it he'd never really been one to sit back and let someone else get hurt; no matter how much he may dislike them. It was some instinct of his that he'd had since he was little, maybe because he had never had anyone to stick up for him when he was hurt; maybe it came from having so many younger siblings. Kayden really didn't know, all he knew was now he was charging full-speed at a god damn ash bear.
"Hey asshole!" He shouted at it before he pushed off the ground as hard as he could with his hind legs. He was in the air for maybe half a second before he crashed into something very large and very solid. The bear stumbled sideways, away from Ryder, but didn't fall. Kayden on the other hand rolled over its back, flopping ungracefully --and painfully-- onto the ground on its other side. He shook his head, dazed from both the collision and the dark surroundings which only made it harder for him to get his bearings straight.
The bear roared loudly beside him, so close he could feel its breath, "Shit!" he yelled, lashing out with all four limbs in panic. He managed to catch its face with a front hoof, but before he could scramble to his hooves the bear decided to retaliate. Its claws caught him on the shoulder, and he let out a short yelp of surprise as he rolled away and shot to his feet; only to immediately stumble as the pain hit him. All he could do now was hope someone else would be dumb enough to attack the now thoroughly pissed off ash bear. Yeah. Like that was gonna happen.
words: 522
post 7: +1 tier
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swaggalatte
Newcomer
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Posts: 39
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Post by swaggalatte on Jun 25, 2015 2:35:51 GMT -5
As the ash rose in the air, Varien could feel the oxygen being forced out of him, only to be replaced by sediment. His breath caught in his throat, and he began to cough heavily. Shaking his head, he tried to search for the bears, unable to see through the newly formed dust storm. As it settled, Varien took in every face near him. Everyone seemed to be there, unscathed. Except for the ash bear family.
At the sound of Ryder's plea for help, a minute of panic shot through the dapple grey's heart. The bears had captured their first victim. When he looked, the stallion Kayden was throwing himself at the bear in order to defend his group leader. A smile crossed Varien's face at the sight. Taking a deep breath, the large draft charged at the bear now attacking the Exile. Hoping that the beast would be distracted by the smaller prey, the Bachelor turned on a dime and thrust his hind legs back into the animal's shoulder. Feeling direct contact, he quickly leapt forward in order to escape any backlash. Apparently his move had worked, and now the mother bear was limping. He had at least done some damage.
Unfortunately, the bear was now focused on him, although she seemed a little hesitant. She let loose a tremendous roar, which the dapple replied in kind. She would not back off though. They could most likely defeat her if they all grouped together to try and chase her off. The younger ones may follow, but there was no telling what the beasts would do, especially now that their mother was injured.
Word Count: 273
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Post by maplethemutt on Jun 25, 2015 14:02:05 GMT -5
the group had quickly fallen apart as dust and ash clogged their lungs and made it impossible to see their target very well at all. Each horse in turn spun in the dry land and kicked up dust and ash degree to fling at the mother bear. Tough, dust seemed like it would literally do nothing to an angry, raging as bear, if they got enough of the thick stuff onto her back it would block some oxygen from fuelling her flames. Fay was wearing now and could barley keep herself from running to try and find clean air. But she had to stay, she was determined to. Fay spun around to see a low glow of fire through the dust storm that surrounded her. But suddenly, it went out like candle and the noise died down slightly as a few horses triads to see where she had gone. The air cleared slightly and the tall, muscular mother bear was now standing over Ryder! he whinnied for help and before she could jump in Kayden dashed past her and struck her with all he could muster. But instead of striking her down, it backfired and the stallion lay winded on his back. Irt surprised Fay to see the rude, short tempered stallion be the first to dash in to help. He was the last horse she suspected to risk their life for Ryder. Ryder was free, but now Kayden was trapped 'we are so screwed!' she though before seeing the large grey draft launch a powerful kick to her shoulder. It obviously hurt as the bear lightly limped towards the draft, hoping to get him back for that nasty kick. Fay jumped forward and snapped her jaw around the bears ear, feeling flesh between her teeth she ripped her head backwards, hoping this would do some damage to her. A bloody ear was all she gave her but for the little filly she felt proud. The now cocky little appaloosa reared to avoid a slashing and scurried out of rang from the bear. "if we can all get a few good hits in, maybe she'll run off!' she thought hopefully. She prayed no one would get stuck under her claws again. and with that thought, she turned to look at the shimmering crimson liquid that dripped from Kaydens shoulder. She couldn't turn her attention to him now, she needed to focus on the bears next target or she would end up with a slashed throat.
word count: 417
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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 Jun 25, 2015 19:42:43 GMT -5
Ryder winced as the bear's claws dug into his skin. He could feel her hot, stinking breath on him, drifting over his face when she bellowed at the other horses around him. The Exile's heart beat rapidly in his chest, searching frantically for some way out of this situation he had stumped upon, or rather had been trampled into. There had to be a way to get out of this. He had to live, to see his family again and get his group safely back to the herd. It felt like the weight of the bear on him was suffocating him, preventing him from taking any breaths of the dusty air.
Suddenly, the weight was gone, and Ryder looked up to see Kayden barreling into the bear's side, causing it to growl and grunt in frustration. When her sharp claws and heavy paws lifted off of him, Ryder scrambled up, gasping for air in deep ragged breaths. Kayden had saved him? To be honest, Ryder had thought that Kayden would have been the last one to put his life on the line for anyone else. Not that he wasn't thankful, he was just a little surprised by the heroic deed. The surprise was soon distinguished when Ryder heard a pained yelp and saw the blood already forming on Kayden's fresh wounds from the bear's razor-sharp claws.
The High Guard fought to move, but his back leg crumbled beneath him, preventing him from moving to help his fallen comrade. Blood dripped slightly from the claw marks she had left behind before anyone could help him, and pain shot through his leg. Struggling to stand once more, a flash of movement caught his attention as one of the large, burly Bachelors, Varien, charged at the beast, hitting it with all his might and kicking it in the shoulder with one of his heavy hooves when he trotted out of her reach. The ash bear roared in anger, holding its paw up slightly from the pain of Varien's kick. His blue eyes widened when he turned his head to see a familiar spotted pelt galloping toward the injured bear, and Ryder finally felt his legs gain strength beneath him. Ryder couldn't let anyone else get hurt, especially if there was something that he could do about it.
"Jack! Make sure Kayden stays safe and try to tend to his wound the best you can. As for everyone else, we have to charge her at once. She's injured and more likely to flee. Give her your all!" Ryder grunted, taking a deep breath before galloping forward. His slender, Thoroughbred legs carried him forward at a rapid pace, and he got closer and closer to the mother bear. "CHARGE!"
Word Count: 454
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Post by hypnocampus on Jun 27, 2015 12:44:51 GMT -5
The plan had worked, for the most part. Ru had skidded to a halt as planned, sending a torrent of dust into the atmosphere, his rump dangerously close to the snapping jaws of one of the younger cubs. He'd practically skated on the spot before he managed to scramble a foot hold, and spring away. He glanced left, and right, eyes wide and ears flattened to his skull as he took stock of the situation. The others appeared unscathed, but the tables were about to turn rather violently. The dust cleared, and the beasts had disappeared from view for all intents and purposes.
Pacing backwards and forwards, Ru caught movement through the swirling dust, and he narrowed his gaze. Ryder exploded from the thick debris, hotly pursued by the she-bear. Without a second thought Ru circled around, throwing his weight into a flat out gallop, but was relieved to see that Kayden had managed to free Ryder of his razor clawed burden. As the bear tumbled through the air, and landed she skidded a few feet before managing to get up. Holding a leg up, she whined, before grimmacing. She had been weakened, but it wouldn't be the last of it, surely. Ru's mind trip fell over itself as he headed to Ryder's side. His voice barely reached over the sound of chaos.
Every step was effortless, and he was about to voice his concern to Ryder and Kayden, about their condition, when he was blind-sided quite brutally. "Are you alr-" The words that formed were extinguished, and exhaled in a grunt.
Everything slowed down, and suddenly the heavy musk that hung in the air was unbearable. The larger of the young barreled towards him, and impacted his shoulder with its full momentum. Ru grunted, stumbled and very almost lost his footing just as the young bear made an attempt at knocking his hind legs from under him with a large meat-hook paw. This really had taken him by surprise, underestimating the power and determination of the young ones was a mistake that he would pay for, it seemed. Ru whinnied in shock, his haunch slashed almost to ribbons, and he scrambled to regain his balance. He swiped out with his hind leg, catching the creature on the brow, audibly fracturing its cheekbone- which only seemed to anger it more. He swallowed hard, eyes wide and expression rendering nothing but confusion and panic.
Ru winced notably, grimacing with discomfort as he lunged towards the creature with a lung-busting bellow, teeth snapping and ears pasted hard against his skull. He reared, aiming his full weight down onto the creature as he fell, dismayed that the fight didn't continue longer. The beast scrambled backwards, and fleed back to its mother. Ru pulled himself into an awkward gallop, and chased the creature back to its mother just in time to catch Ryder's announcement of 'Charge!'.
//words: 480
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Post by paperwingsranch on Jun 27, 2015 19:58:40 GMT -5
Kayden blinked in surprise as not only did someone run up to take the bear's attention from him, but that someone was none other than one of the bachelors. The chimera's ears pinned for a moment as he regained control over his front limbs which were doing everything in their power to give out. A quick glance to his right shoulder had him grimacing at the sight. Three deep gashes were dripping crimson down his shoulder and leg, large drops of blood hitting the ground with grotesque plopping sounds. The pain was hitting him in waves that left him nearly gasping for breath as he tried to force his legs back into action; he'd been hurt worse before --memories of the day he was brutally run from his birth herd flashing behind eyelids shut tight. After a couple of moments of clenching his teeth and breathing deeply Kayden straightened himself out just in time to catch Ryder ordering Jack to take care of him. 'oh no. oh hell no, I'm not done yet.' He thought, turning to glare at Ryder,
"I'm not out for the count just yet, don't try to stop me!" he called out, preparing to charge after the bear as well but pulled up short when he noticed the cub running to its mother. He had completely forgotten she had a cub...no wait, she had two...and he was a sitting duck here with three gaping holes in his shoulder. 'Predators go for the weak members of the herd...' He recalled being taught once, 'and here I am, tiny compared to these brutes and reeking of my own blood...shit.'
He repeated the curse out loud as he swung his head around just in time to see the second cub charging for him. A well-aimed kick to its chest knocked it back, but the strain on his shoulder forced him to fall to his knees with a much stronger word from his extensive vocabulary. The cub was not deterred for long, rising to its feet with a roar that paled in comparison to its mother's, but still filled Kayden with enough urgency to force himself to his hooves and round on the small bear. He reared this time, straightening his left leg and then bringing the blunt part of his hoof down --aiming for the cub's skull. He missed as it lunged at him, his hoof colliding with its shoulder instead though it still seamed to stun it a bit.
Deciding to take this opportunity to turn and run Kayden moved to do just that, but was halted by what was undoubtedly the cub latching onto his tail with every tooth and claw it possessed. With a deep growl of frustration he completely disregarded the fact that his shoulder now felt as though it were on fire to kick out as hard as he could at the beast that seemed to be hell bent on ruining his day-night-whatever time it was now.
The good news? He hit the cub square in the chest, felt more than he heard something crack, and the little demon spawn limped back towards its mother as fast as it could. The bad news? It took half his tail with it when it fell off. Not to mention Kayden's front legs collapsed from underneath him and he fell to his knees. The chimera let his head fall down to rest against the ground as he panted to catch his breath. "I-" He broke off to cough a couple of times as his heavy breaths stirred the dust by his muzzle, "did not sign up for this shit..." He remained where he was; not expecting anyone to come help him, nor protect him should bears come back for him, but he needed a damn break.
words: 632
post 8: +1 tier
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Post by captainkatastrophe on Jun 27, 2015 20:54:38 GMT -5
Everything was too fast, and Jack found himself jumping away from the fight, looking around and barely catching Ryder's words. He nodded, and looked for Kaydem, eyes widening as he saw the foolish stallion charging at the bear "What are you doin-" he managed to sputter out before Kayden was already being slashed by the bear. Jack bared his teeth and charged at the cub, knocking it in it's side before dashing away, running to where Kayden was "You idiot! you could have been killed" he said in a stern tone, as if a mother was talking to a child. He had hoped that there would be little to no injuries on this trip, but now it seemed he would be tending to two horses, possibly more since he had not seen anyone else among the dust. He gritted his teeth, looking back at the bear and cubs. It seemed that they were heavily injured, and were trying to limp away now, the dust finally settling. Jack felt a little guilty that he hadn't actively engaged in the fight, as he had been coughing up his lungs. He looked as the others charged once again towards the family, but turned his attention to Kayden.
He quickly got in the stallions path so he would not jump up and join the others, and went to work gathering anything he could to stop the bleeding, finding a very large spiders web hanging between to boulders, the stands thick and long. He made sure that there were no spiders in it, before he began to apply it to the seeping marks. He began to look around for more materials to cover stop the flow of blood. "Stay still" he ordered, gathering anything that wouldn't crumble under someones touch.
Word count: 297
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Post by ponybones on Jun 29, 2015 10:30:35 GMT -5
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Post by maplethemutt on Jun 29, 2015 10:59:21 GMT -5
'This might just work!' fay thought, as the bears where slowly taking hits from the group of horses. As prey animals, it was hard to ignore their instinct to run as fast as they could and instead, stand and fight. Each horses eyes where wide with fear and the crystal white rims of their eyes displayed. As the cub tried to reach out to one of the bachelors he whinnied in fright but let out a kick just grazed by the bear cubs face. The mother was standing protectively over the other, smaller cub. Across from her, Kayden was resisting the help from Jack. But the large buckskin stallion wasn't taking any of his attitude.
Suddenly, the larger male cub made an ear splitting roar and she gasped as his large flames began to spread onto the dry, awaiting ground. "NO!" she screamed. it was the fire all over again! How would they survive this? how would the land heal again? Their attempt to take back their home wasn't helping at all and made Fay shake with frustration. The flame was already climbing towards her and the memories of the crippling pain of her burning legs made her whinny a shrill cry. "stamp it out!" she screamed. it was all she could think of. If they dust they created took out the mother bears flame, then maybe they could do it again and take out the fire that was spreading towards them rapidly. Fay looked around for anything she could try and do to help 'come on, come on' she thought. How could this be happening to them! All she could try to do was kick the sand and ash over the flames that where closest to her. She looked up to see Kayden struggling to get up 'oh no… oh someone please help us!' she thought. Would she even be able to survive another burn?
word count: 318
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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 Jun 29, 2015 13:51:02 GMT -5
Ryder charged forward, toward the injured ash bear and her cubs. They stood in a huddled ball of dark fur and musky scent, waiting and growling as the group of horses charged toward them. His heart hammered in his chest, and nervousness was making his stomach do cartwheels inside of him. Others had gotten hurt from these bears: himself, Kayden, and Ruaridh. They had decided together what to do to conquer these beasts, but he could have come up with something else, something that would have kept them all safe. 'This is my fault. I have to fix it.' His guilty conscience pushed away all sensations of pain that shot through him from the wounds on his hindquarters, and his hooves thundered on the dusty ground toward the bears until a glint of something sparking caught his eye.
Ryder put on the brakes, skidding to a halt as quickly as he could. "Stop! Everyone stop!" He whinnied in surprise, watching in horror as the bears' flames ignited on their back. One of the sparks from the smaller cub's flame lit the dried land beneath it, and flames danced across the ashy plains in front of them as it quickly grew in strength and intensity. 'Oh unicorns....' The brown paint thought to himself. It was like a vision of the past from when the fires had rampaged through the magnificent forests that had once filled the Southern island. If another fire broke out now, the Exiles might never be able to return to their home.
His mind raced at what felt like a mile a second, spiraling dangerously close to out of control at the sight of the fires burning in front of them. They had to put it out. Ryder couldn't let his mate and son be homeless once more, and he didn't want his herd to return to the Eastern island only to be brought back into that ridiculous war. Ryder closed his eyes for a moment, letting his mind wander toward where he had felt the stream earlier. It was a short distance away, but would there be enough water for him to help put out the fire? Ryder reopened his blue eyes to see Fay dangerously close to the flames, and he leaped forward to corral her to a safer distance. "Fay, it's too late the stamp the flames out. You'll end up burning yourself now." He said to the young mare, pinning his ears in frustration and worry at the situation they had found themselves in.
Turning to the rest of the horses around him, the High Guard cleared his throat. "We need to put the fire out. There's a stream not too far from here, and I should be able to travel back and forth to bring water to weaken the flames. While I get water, everyone who is able should kick dust and whatever else you can at the flames to suffocate it like we did the ash bears', but be careful and watch out for the bears. They probably left because of the fires, but stay vigilant... just in case." Ryder said, fighting to keep his voice even and controlled even though his thoughts were filled with chaotic ramblings of possibilities and doubts. "We can't let this fire take our home from us again." He added in a quieter tone, flicking his tail as he galloped around the fire and toward where he thought the stream was. Determination left a deep frown and creased brow on his face, and he forced his slender legs to carry him as quickly toward the source of water as he could. Ryder couldn't... no, wouldn't let this fire destroy his hope of returning back home.
Word Count: 617
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Post by hypnocampus on Jun 29, 2015 15:44:54 GMT -5
"...In the name of-" Ru's eyes widened, his canter slowed substantially and his head shot up.
"Stop!" He bellowed.
Fire. The one true purifier of a land. The dwindling flames from the back of the recumbent form ignited the tinder around it, and soon enough the flames spread their hyphae out over the terrain. Ruaridh skidded to a halt, wincing in pain as his muscles tensed, his skin parting and oozing generously. He shifted his weight uneasily, clearly in a huge amount of discomfort despite his attempts at focusing on the matter in hand. He narrowed his eyes, quietly in awe of the dancing flames that hissed and crackled with promise. Ryder's somewhat incoherent words and phrasings bathed his thoughts, and he quirked a brow-
"Moss." He uttered plainly- "...Or similar. There must be something growing near the stream. Enough moisture in a blanket would suffocate the flame. In the meantime, dust." Again? Really? God, there must be something easier and less lung destroying, but as it was the flames were becoming increasingly bigger, and all the more voracious in their appetite. Fay stamping the flames out as much as possible, was a good start at least.
"Are we close enough for you to use your power from this distance?" He queried gently, his attention swinging back and forth in explorative sweeps.
"Ryder is right, keep alert. They won't have gone far, but now we must focus on putting out this blaze."
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Post by crazywhitearabian on Jun 30, 2015 12:18:59 GMT -5
Ears pinned he stepped back in suprise. Fire! The ash bears had caught the land on fire.Crap, this was bad, really bad. How was he going to explain this to his mate? Oh hey Rae remember that island where you live and love so much? Yeah well guess what I just burned it down.
Yep he was screwed, totally utterly ridiculously screwed. Pawing in frustatraion as the two commanding officers frantically came up with a plan he began to kick dust on the fire. Red tongues flickered like snakes toward his hooves. The mule had never really experienced fire before. Did it usually move this rapidly? He hoped not.
Ryder was going to get water, Ru was barking orders, Fay was anxiously kicking dust everywhere, and the others looked just as confused as the large mule felt.
Chaos. That was the word for it. It was chaos.
If it hadn't been an emergency, Ace might have found the situation funny. Everyone confused and the Bachelors working with the exiles.
Not quite funny, more like amusing, or ironic. Yes, ironic was the word he was looking for.
Word count: 189
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swaggalatte
Newcomer
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Posts: 39
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Post by swaggalatte on Jul 1, 2015 0:33:00 GMT -5
Varien's muscles flexed as he prepared to charge the cubs again, only for them to immediately freeze as the ground went up in flames. His eyes widened and all he could do was stare at the orange mass spreading across the brittle, dried grasses. The bears had scurried away in the equines' panic, leaving the Exiles and Bachelors to solve their next large problem. How were they going to douse these flames?
As the two leaders shared their plans, Varien felt like an absolute idiot. He could have been using his gift this entire time to try and at least prevent the fires from spreading any further. "I can freeze the ground to try and keep the flames from spreading," he offered, awaiting the criticisms from the other members of their large group. Before awaiting their response, the dapple grey draft approached the flames, trying to absorb any shred, any drop, of moisture from the ground and the air to at least frost the ground. Please work, please work, please work... He mentally pleaded, and he felt the grasses and soil harden and chill. As he performed this, Varien felt his energy waning. It was taking a lot out of him to perform such a task. Do not focus on your exhaustion. Focus on the result. His father's words resounded in the back of his mind, and he could not help but follow them.
Word Count: 234
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Post by maplethemutt on Jul 1, 2015 12:37:01 GMT -5
Fay watched in awe as the large, dappled draft stepped forward and with un-godly powers, began to slowly but steadily freeze the ground and surround the fire in a crystal ring. Watching him struggle was hard for her, knowing she couldn't help and this was his task alone. She dared to step forward and pressed her side against his. maybe this would offer mental support or keep his balance, she didn't care. right now, the fact that the whole land could be chard in flames and ash again made her shake. She watched the ice slowly creep along the ground and cover all in its path. it was a strange sight and made her heart skip a beat. She assumed this was all a dream and she would wake up and realize how silly it was to think a horse could actually make ice appear! she had never herd of powers before she came to the herds and it was still hard for her to wrap her head around the possibilities. He shook and grunted with strain and he looked as if he was about to collapse. Fay was just grateful he could find any moisture in this land at all. 'oh please, let this work' she thought to herself.
word count: 212
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Post by themoon122 on Jul 1, 2015 14:49:40 GMT -5
As the group raced at the fire bear and her cubs, Clyde had seen the flames go out a large grin moved across his face at the sight. The dust was now everywhere and getting into his mouth and up into his nose which caused the large stallion to cough and sneeze almost every single time he took a breath. Shaking as much dust from him as he could Clyde's eyes grew wide as he seen Ryder being attached by the mother bear, his shoulder looked awful and the group all raced and attacked the mother and her cubs. Clyde seemed to be frozen in all the chaos as many members were being hurt and others doing a great deal of damage back "come on Clyde!! Snap out of it! Help them!" She yelled at himself within his thoughts and with a shake of his head the stallion rose on his hind legs and began to make his way to aid his fellow bachelors and exiles.
Suddenly again something the stallion was not expecting, a fire.
Just what they all needed, something that would make this an even worse event and harder task to finish. He looked to the two leaders talking it over and giving commands, he pulled his ears back. Would they be close enough to the stream for Ryder to get water? Clyde found himself wondering as they all tried their best to gather more dust. Yes this dust seemed to be the only thing that was going to save their lives and yet it was the worst thing Clyde could ever want to be around, other than the Bears. Helping the group after once again snapping back to reality he used his large hooves to stir the dust underneath him and his eye soon fall upon the dopple stallion with his ice magic. It was shocking to him to see such a thing happen to around him, he had never seen anything like it before.
Word count: 329
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