12-11-2018, 03:19 AM
Despite the sweltering heat the summer hours usually brought into the day, many of the forest animals were out and about, gathering food and supplies for their homes, or out hunting for the smaller predators that lingered on the ground. On that particular day, a small squirrel was busy chipping some loose bark off his tree, preparing to climb a bit higher when a powerful gust of wind came by and nearly knocked him off his perch.
Had the cause of the wind stuck around, it would've seen the squirrel angrily chirping at it's indignance and willingness to potentially cause bodily harm to other creatures in it's haste. But Nalia was simply having too much fun right now, working on a new flying maneuver here in Nerine's forest. Although the filly had been flying for a good majority of her life, never before had she found herself in an environment that had the number of trees that Nerine did. Of course, other lands in the kingdom had a greater number, but her home provided a good enough number to use in this latest drill she was putting herself though.
Unless the trees had space to match her wingspan between them, Nalia would have great trouble flying through the forest. So, instead, she was teaching herself a different way to utilize the trees; as a sort of camoflauge, even though she still couldn't go very far beneath the top of the trees yet. Nalia performed this drill by flying above the trees to gain some momentum, then diving down, opening her wings and turning onto her side so that her wings were perpendicular to the ground and she could navigate in between the tall trees.
In some spaces, she had no room to flap her wings, so she could do nothing but tuck in her legs and let her body carry her until she could tilt herself up and try to head for the tops of the trees again. This was proving to be a difficult maneuver for her to learn, and more than once she had finished with some cuts and bruises that, when she met up with her friend, Ardashir would question her about. Then they'd have a good laugh and shake it off until Nalia went out again to work some more, thankful every time she came away with nothing more than what she had accumulated so far.
Her most recent injury was to her left front leg, a small gash from when she'd nicked the top of a tree in one of her dive attempts. It had healed well over the last two days, the skin already scabbing over to allow her fur to grow. It didn't look deep enough to leave a scar, but Nalia didn't care either way.
Still gliding at a fast pace in between the trees, Nalia saw another narrowing between the trunks coming up ahead. Preparing herself, the filly tucked her legs and got ready to throw her weight over. Within a few feet of the trees, Nalia thrust her weight to the side and opened her wings to their full size, easily cutting through the thin space between the trees and coming out clean on the other side. Pleased with her maneuver, the filly whinnied in excitement before she turned rightside again and flapped her wings to gain some height, bursting through the top of the trees and knocking some leaves and branches loose in the process.
Performing a flip in the air, Nalia let out another happy squeal before heading higher into the sky, opening her wings and allowing herself to calmly glide on the winds and look down at the expanse of Nerine below. After all the snow melted, it had taken some time for the grass to return to it's lush emerald green shading, but in time, the beauty of the lands had returned and in addition to all the new faces of the little ones, friendships were formed and restored.
The Plague was still present in the infected and those that carried it, but Nalia could still only consider herself lucky. Feeling a slight chill on her neck, Nalia became aware of the ice crystals in her mane and tail. She was sorely disappointed that she had failed in her quest at the Isicle Isle, still heavily blaming herself for her failure. She had so wanted to play more of a part in trying to find a cure for the Plague and help those that were affected, but her time was expired and she had to return home. She prayed every day for those who succeeded past the point where she failed, that they found some sort of solution, but that wouldn't become clear until the Plague disappeared.
Not noticing how she lost her momentum, the filly came back and noticed how she'd been dipping lower until she nearly hit the trees again. Tucking in her legs so she wouldn't hit the tops, she flapped her wings a little so she could comfortably stretch out her limbs and not worry about hitting the trees anymore.
Another small draft came and caught her wings, but in a different direction than the normal wind. She knew it couldn't have come from the breeze, so she looked around to see if she could figure out what did. Sure enough, she caught a small glimpse of another winged animal as it dipped below the trees, not too far from where she was, which explained why she caught the wind.
Turning, Nalia headed to investigate, circling above where the winged creature had disappeared to assess the situation. 4 horses were there, one of whom she recognized from afar as Scorch, a Nerine resident and one of her friends. The other three, she did not know them by sight, and Nalia wondered if perhaps they migrated here from Loess in the onset of the Plague. She'd heard of that happening recently, perhaps they came here for sanctuary?
Tucking her wings, Nalia headed for the group, slowing her fall a few feet away to avoid causing a large gust around the others. Once she was safely on the ground, shaking out her body and wings from the long flight, Nalia called to the others as she approached.
"Hey everyone. What're we talking about? Hi Scorch," she greeted the older mare. Nalia glanced over the others; two stallions, and a filly. One had a bright palomino coat with wings and blue markings, while the other had an appaloosa pattern and large, feathered wings like Nalia. The filly looked to be the youngest of the group, with a strawberry roan appaloosa coloring and a golden mane and tail. A brightly, uniquely colored group, but not the strangest thing Nalia had seen in these lands.
@[Wolfbane] @[Titus] @[Scorch] @[Eurwen]
Had the cause of the wind stuck around, it would've seen the squirrel angrily chirping at it's indignance and willingness to potentially cause bodily harm to other creatures in it's haste. But Nalia was simply having too much fun right now, working on a new flying maneuver here in Nerine's forest. Although the filly had been flying for a good majority of her life, never before had she found herself in an environment that had the number of trees that Nerine did. Of course, other lands in the kingdom had a greater number, but her home provided a good enough number to use in this latest drill she was putting herself though.
Unless the trees had space to match her wingspan between them, Nalia would have great trouble flying through the forest. So, instead, she was teaching herself a different way to utilize the trees; as a sort of camoflauge, even though she still couldn't go very far beneath the top of the trees yet. Nalia performed this drill by flying above the trees to gain some momentum, then diving down, opening her wings and turning onto her side so that her wings were perpendicular to the ground and she could navigate in between the tall trees.
In some spaces, she had no room to flap her wings, so she could do nothing but tuck in her legs and let her body carry her until she could tilt herself up and try to head for the tops of the trees again. This was proving to be a difficult maneuver for her to learn, and more than once she had finished with some cuts and bruises that, when she met up with her friend, Ardashir would question her about. Then they'd have a good laugh and shake it off until Nalia went out again to work some more, thankful every time she came away with nothing more than what she had accumulated so far.
Her most recent injury was to her left front leg, a small gash from when she'd nicked the top of a tree in one of her dive attempts. It had healed well over the last two days, the skin already scabbing over to allow her fur to grow. It didn't look deep enough to leave a scar, but Nalia didn't care either way.
Still gliding at a fast pace in between the trees, Nalia saw another narrowing between the trunks coming up ahead. Preparing herself, the filly tucked her legs and got ready to throw her weight over. Within a few feet of the trees, Nalia thrust her weight to the side and opened her wings to their full size, easily cutting through the thin space between the trees and coming out clean on the other side. Pleased with her maneuver, the filly whinnied in excitement before she turned rightside again and flapped her wings to gain some height, bursting through the top of the trees and knocking some leaves and branches loose in the process.
Performing a flip in the air, Nalia let out another happy squeal before heading higher into the sky, opening her wings and allowing herself to calmly glide on the winds and look down at the expanse of Nerine below. After all the snow melted, it had taken some time for the grass to return to it's lush emerald green shading, but in time, the beauty of the lands had returned and in addition to all the new faces of the little ones, friendships were formed and restored.
The Plague was still present in the infected and those that carried it, but Nalia could still only consider herself lucky. Feeling a slight chill on her neck, Nalia became aware of the ice crystals in her mane and tail. She was sorely disappointed that she had failed in her quest at the Isicle Isle, still heavily blaming herself for her failure. She had so wanted to play more of a part in trying to find a cure for the Plague and help those that were affected, but her time was expired and she had to return home. She prayed every day for those who succeeded past the point where she failed, that they found some sort of solution, but that wouldn't become clear until the Plague disappeared.
Not noticing how she lost her momentum, the filly came back and noticed how she'd been dipping lower until she nearly hit the trees again. Tucking in her legs so she wouldn't hit the tops, she flapped her wings a little so she could comfortably stretch out her limbs and not worry about hitting the trees anymore.
Another small draft came and caught her wings, but in a different direction than the normal wind. She knew it couldn't have come from the breeze, so she looked around to see if she could figure out what did. Sure enough, she caught a small glimpse of another winged animal as it dipped below the trees, not too far from where she was, which explained why she caught the wind.
Turning, Nalia headed to investigate, circling above where the winged creature had disappeared to assess the situation. 4 horses were there, one of whom she recognized from afar as Scorch, a Nerine resident and one of her friends. The other three, she did not know them by sight, and Nalia wondered if perhaps they migrated here from Loess in the onset of the Plague. She'd heard of that happening recently, perhaps they came here for sanctuary?
Tucking her wings, Nalia headed for the group, slowing her fall a few feet away to avoid causing a large gust around the others. Once she was safely on the ground, shaking out her body and wings from the long flight, Nalia called to the others as she approached.
"Hey everyone. What're we talking about? Hi Scorch," she greeted the older mare. Nalia glanced over the others; two stallions, and a filly. One had a bright palomino coat with wings and blue markings, while the other had an appaloosa pattern and large, feathered wings like Nalia. The filly looked to be the youngest of the group, with a strawberry roan appaloosa coloring and a golden mane and tail. A brightly, uniquely colored group, but not the strangest thing Nalia had seen in these lands.
@[Wolfbane] @[Titus] @[Scorch] @[Eurwen]