03-16-2018, 10:03 AM
It’s the final challenge and, though Wound has enjoyed the contest, she is glad it will be over soon. Her heart already aches for the shivering girl. Wound has soothed the weeping only a handful of times, but she considers it one of her positive attributes.
She steps forward, coffee-brown eyes searching the girl’s face. After hearing their host tell the story of the girl’s life, Wound wonders if she will even have the right words to say. It always seems to go that way — she becomes at a loss for words within herself only to find them again at the exact moment she needs them. So she initially merely steps close to the girl, pressing a gentle kiss to the other’s shoulder.
Wound is silent for a moment, standing beside the girl with an ache in her heart and a sorrow on her lips. She begins to softly groom the girl’s mane, just as she had done with Warrick in his time of grief. Her teeth tug soothingly at the tangled knots until they are free and then she waits a moment longer still, watching the sun go down slowly.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.” Her voice is not pitying (there is no way any of them will be able to escape the threats of danger and evil) but it is tender, almost with a warm motherly tone to it. Her mind thinks of Warrick and Wishbone, of Longclaw and Femur, even of Tephra. If she were to lose everything she’s ever held close to her heart, she would be just as distraught as this girl.
The silvery mare takes in a shaky breath. “I have a daughter. Her name is Wishbone and she’s the fiercest little shooting star I’ve ever met. If something were to happen to her…” She almost chokes on the thickness in her throat, but manages to compose herself. “I don’t know what I would do.” Wound turns her face, using her muzzle to wipe the tears from the girl’s wet face. “We have sadness because we have love.” Her lips are salty with the taste of the physical sorrow. “But even when everything is ripped from us, we will still have love. Because that is who we are. That is how we have been made.”
The sun is nearly gone now and the stars are flickering into sight above their heads. Wound glances upwards, remembering Warrick’s philosophy on the passage of his family. “Whenever you feel alone or scared or lonely, look to the stars. Your family and friends and all your loved ones who have passed on — they are up there, watching and loving you.” She realizes with a cold tendril in her stomach that this girl is gone as well, lost amid constellations and stardust. But Wound falls silent regardless, merely sitting beside the girl until the Goddess might call her back. Otherwise, she would stay the night at the weeping girl’s side.
Words: 495
Answer: Heartstrings
She steps forward, coffee-brown eyes searching the girl’s face. After hearing their host tell the story of the girl’s life, Wound wonders if she will even have the right words to say. It always seems to go that way — she becomes at a loss for words within herself only to find them again at the exact moment she needs them. So she initially merely steps close to the girl, pressing a gentle kiss to the other’s shoulder.
Wound is silent for a moment, standing beside the girl with an ache in her heart and a sorrow on her lips. She begins to softly groom the girl’s mane, just as she had done with Warrick in his time of grief. Her teeth tug soothingly at the tangled knots until they are free and then she waits a moment longer still, watching the sun go down slowly.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.” Her voice is not pitying (there is no way any of them will be able to escape the threats of danger and evil) but it is tender, almost with a warm motherly tone to it. Her mind thinks of Warrick and Wishbone, of Longclaw and Femur, even of Tephra. If she were to lose everything she’s ever held close to her heart, she would be just as distraught as this girl.
The silvery mare takes in a shaky breath. “I have a daughter. Her name is Wishbone and she’s the fiercest little shooting star I’ve ever met. If something were to happen to her…” She almost chokes on the thickness in her throat, but manages to compose herself. “I don’t know what I would do.” Wound turns her face, using her muzzle to wipe the tears from the girl’s wet face. “We have sadness because we have love.” Her lips are salty with the taste of the physical sorrow. “But even when everything is ripped from us, we will still have love. Because that is who we are. That is how we have been made.”
The sun is nearly gone now and the stars are flickering into sight above their heads. Wound glances upwards, remembering Warrick’s philosophy on the passage of his family. “Whenever you feel alone or scared or lonely, look to the stars. Your family and friends and all your loved ones who have passed on — they are up there, watching and loving you.” She realizes with a cold tendril in her stomach that this girl is gone as well, lost amid constellations and stardust. But Wound falls silent regardless, merely sitting beside the girl until the Goddess might call her back. Otherwise, she would stay the night at the weeping girl’s side.
Words: 495
Answer: Heartstrings