After what seemed like an eternity of wandering in search of his friends, he heard a voice. It was only one, indicating the owner was alone, but it was a welcome factor in the face of what Aten had gone through in the Taiga. The tired stallion turned his head, seeing the emerald green mare, Circinae, appearing from the trees and making her way over to him. Her call was soft, alerting him with a simple call of 'I'm here'. From a distance he sees the frown on her lips, wondering what that was about.
Was she disappointed that he was alone? That he'd not yet found anyone else that had escaped the Taiga's wrath? For a moment, considering that when she came up to him and lowered her head a little to look at the burn marks on his belly and legs, he thought her sadness might be from concern over his own health, but Aten doubted it. She had more important things to worry about, namely Jinju along with her own foals if any had been in Taiga when it went to hell.
Aten stopped walking to let Circinae assess the damage to his body, somewhat relieved that he did not have to continue on for now. The burning sensation did return, but at a less severe level, indicating that moving around a little eased the pain. It wasn't really like the fire was still lapping at his hooves; it was more of a powerful itch, a persistent one that wouldn't let go unless Aten moved around for a while. He could put up with the itch to a degree but eventually refused to deal with it anymore and so walked around until it went away.
Circinae asked Aten what happened to him, and he was ready to respond when he felt her breath ghost over some of the burn scars on his leg. He gritted his teeth as the burn returned, but subsided quicker than it usually did. For some reason, that cold breath had felt good, and he secretly wished she'd down it again to try and eliminate the rest of the pain.
He answered her question in a tired voice, his once proud tone now defeated since he was upset at Taiga's loss and the fact that, besides Circinae of course, he had yet to find any of his other friends. "I was... close to the ocean... when it happened... The boiling water, it came after me... the wolves chased me, and I got around, but... I ran straight into the water... burned myself, before I got out." He hissed again as he lifted a leg to show Circinae that most of the damage was around the bottom of his hooves where they'd gone in the water, immediately regretting the action.
He was surprised when Circinae suddenly started apologizing, not only for what happened to him but everyone else in the Taiga. She made a vow to fix things, and though Aten had to admire her determination, he knew she couldn't do anything rash.
The golden stallion looked down at the emerald mare, her eyes already locked on his from when she made her vow, "You have nothing... to apologize for..." he huffed out in a breath, still a bit under the weather from inhaling smoke from the burning trees that the lava wolves set on fire. No doubt he'd be seeing them in his nightmares for some time.
"You... can't do... it alone... you shouldn't... and you mustn't... do anything... rash... I will help," he told her in a soft tone, not really scolding her for such an idea. He had no right to. Instead, Aten's gaze briefly drifted to her belly, remembering a piece of news Ruan told him a long while back, and something he'd confirmed when he visited her den shortly after his return from the gladiator fight.
His brown eyes locked on hers again, noticing the fire in those blue jewels, "Circinae... your young one... is it all right?" he questioned. Circinae making it out of the Taiga was great news, but considering she was carrying a young one in her belly, he was worried that the poor thing may have suffered some... unseen consequences, during it's mother's escape.
@[Circinae]
Was she disappointed that he was alone? That he'd not yet found anyone else that had escaped the Taiga's wrath? For a moment, considering that when she came up to him and lowered her head a little to look at the burn marks on his belly and legs, he thought her sadness might be from concern over his own health, but Aten doubted it. She had more important things to worry about, namely Jinju along with her own foals if any had been in Taiga when it went to hell.
Aten stopped walking to let Circinae assess the damage to his body, somewhat relieved that he did not have to continue on for now. The burning sensation did return, but at a less severe level, indicating that moving around a little eased the pain. It wasn't really like the fire was still lapping at his hooves; it was more of a powerful itch, a persistent one that wouldn't let go unless Aten moved around for a while. He could put up with the itch to a degree but eventually refused to deal with it anymore and so walked around until it went away.
Circinae asked Aten what happened to him, and he was ready to respond when he felt her breath ghost over some of the burn scars on his leg. He gritted his teeth as the burn returned, but subsided quicker than it usually did. For some reason, that cold breath had felt good, and he secretly wished she'd down it again to try and eliminate the rest of the pain.
He answered her question in a tired voice, his once proud tone now defeated since he was upset at Taiga's loss and the fact that, besides Circinae of course, he had yet to find any of his other friends. "I was... close to the ocean... when it happened... The boiling water, it came after me... the wolves chased me, and I got around, but... I ran straight into the water... burned myself, before I got out." He hissed again as he lifted a leg to show Circinae that most of the damage was around the bottom of his hooves where they'd gone in the water, immediately regretting the action.
He was surprised when Circinae suddenly started apologizing, not only for what happened to him but everyone else in the Taiga. She made a vow to fix things, and though Aten had to admire her determination, he knew she couldn't do anything rash.
The golden stallion looked down at the emerald mare, her eyes already locked on his from when she made her vow, "You have nothing... to apologize for..." he huffed out in a breath, still a bit under the weather from inhaling smoke from the burning trees that the lava wolves set on fire. No doubt he'd be seeing them in his nightmares for some time.
"You... can't do... it alone... you shouldn't... and you mustn't... do anything... rash... I will help," he told her in a soft tone, not really scolding her for such an idea. He had no right to. Instead, Aten's gaze briefly drifted to her belly, remembering a piece of news Ruan told him a long while back, and something he'd confirmed when he visited her den shortly after his return from the gladiator fight.
His brown eyes locked on hers again, noticing the fire in those blue jewels, "Circinae... your young one... is it all right?" he questioned. Circinae making it out of the Taiga was great news, but considering she was carrying a young one in her belly, he was worried that the poor thing may have suffered some... unseen consequences, during it's mother's escape.
@[Circinae]