01-20-2021, 12:45 PM
The light that meets the dark
Change, like the seasons, comes without warning or purpose.
Like the sun disappearing, hiding behind brother moon and leaving them in a state of confused wonder, so has Cheri’s once-happy life been eclipsed by dour moods and worry. Taiga had never been a sunny place, but it had been filled with sunny dispositions and so she’d never felt fear of the woods and their secrets, never been privy to their ghosts or been choked up by the fog. Now she’s not allowed to wander very far. She can’t explore or go for a drink of water without companionship or being asked a million questions.
It took some time but both she and her twin had made their way home from the Playground without their parents' help. Cheri had more or less stumbled into good luck and good graces, following a colt close to her age toward the northern Riverbend. From there, getting home had been easy, but not fun. Reynard (the smarter twin, the braver twin, the handsome fox of these redwoods) had managed just as well on his own and returned home with little stars to orbit and guide his path. Just his luck! Cheri had thought the occurrence unusual and strange, but also secretly unfair. Her twin and Memorie got all the cool stuff.
Or so she thought.
Until Spring came without warning or purpose, and Cheri knew it because her fur began to shed out. Her skin had itched terribly; the entire pelt started to feel discomfort and irritation, alleviated only by vigorous scratching against rough tree bark. Then during a rub she’d felt it - something hard scraping against the redwood roots. Something that left faint gouges in the tree skin when she looked close enough.
Horns! Cheri was excited and convinced she was growing horns, but after running to her parents for closer inspection mother Ama had laughed her lovely, high laugh and told her no, they were not horns but something much better.
Crystals.
Little budding rocks jutted out from Cheri’s skin just behind her eyes. Mother Ama had run her nose over the growing yearling and done a full inspection, proud to announce that she had a cluster gathering on her rump. Cheri had felt the rocky buds on her own legs with her soft nose. She really was her mother’s child, through-and-through. And Pappa Yan had said something that made the wheels in Cheri’s mind churn: that before they knew it, Cheri would be a mare grown.
A mare grown? She wondered, finally alone for once. She wouldn’t go far, she promised, but she needed peace and quiet which her parents reluctantly agreed to. Pappa Yan had been healed with her gift and was intending on going north to see if he could find the ruler there. Borderline and Memorie basically lived with them now. Reynard, Reave, Roselin and Oren were all able to venture out into the black woods, so it seemed only fair that Cheri should be able to as well.
As she walked, Cheri contemplated what it would mean to grow in a time of darkness. Then, sensing all at once that her careful tread had doubled in sound, her head lifted and her ears flicked forward. From the fog she could barely discern a shape hovering at the very edge of the evergreen forest, slightly shifting and alive where everything else seemed still and quiet. The wind shifted; Targaryen’s scent washed over her and she knew it well, though it’d been some time since they’d last met. Cheri smiled, elated at the thought of him being nearby, and her coat’s faint light grew brighter as she turned and made her way through the tangled maze towards him.
“Targaryen!?” She beamed, midway to where he was. Her legs lifted buoyantly, her mouth pursed to ask him what he was doing here, how he was, when all of a sudden a creature sprang from the shadows to land atop the winged girl and drag her down, snarling as she screamed.
Like the sun disappearing, hiding behind brother moon and leaving them in a state of confused wonder, so has Cheri’s once-happy life been eclipsed by dour moods and worry. Taiga had never been a sunny place, but it had been filled with sunny dispositions and so she’d never felt fear of the woods and their secrets, never been privy to their ghosts or been choked up by the fog. Now she’s not allowed to wander very far. She can’t explore or go for a drink of water without companionship or being asked a million questions.
It took some time but both she and her twin had made their way home from the Playground without their parents' help. Cheri had more or less stumbled into good luck and good graces, following a colt close to her age toward the northern Riverbend. From there, getting home had been easy, but not fun. Reynard (the smarter twin, the braver twin, the handsome fox of these redwoods) had managed just as well on his own and returned home with little stars to orbit and guide his path. Just his luck! Cheri had thought the occurrence unusual and strange, but also secretly unfair. Her twin and Memorie got all the cool stuff.
Or so she thought.
Until Spring came without warning or purpose, and Cheri knew it because her fur began to shed out. Her skin had itched terribly; the entire pelt started to feel discomfort and irritation, alleviated only by vigorous scratching against rough tree bark. Then during a rub she’d felt it - something hard scraping against the redwood roots. Something that left faint gouges in the tree skin when she looked close enough.
Horns! Cheri was excited and convinced she was growing horns, but after running to her parents for closer inspection mother Ama had laughed her lovely, high laugh and told her no, they were not horns but something much better.
Crystals.
Little budding rocks jutted out from Cheri’s skin just behind her eyes. Mother Ama had run her nose over the growing yearling and done a full inspection, proud to announce that she had a cluster gathering on her rump. Cheri had felt the rocky buds on her own legs with her soft nose. She really was her mother’s child, through-and-through. And Pappa Yan had said something that made the wheels in Cheri’s mind churn: that before they knew it, Cheri would be a mare grown.
A mare grown? She wondered, finally alone for once. She wouldn’t go far, she promised, but she needed peace and quiet which her parents reluctantly agreed to. Pappa Yan had been healed with her gift and was intending on going north to see if he could find the ruler there. Borderline and Memorie basically lived with them now. Reynard, Reave, Roselin and Oren were all able to venture out into the black woods, so it seemed only fair that Cheri should be able to as well.
As she walked, Cheri contemplated what it would mean to grow in a time of darkness. Then, sensing all at once that her careful tread had doubled in sound, her head lifted and her ears flicked forward. From the fog she could barely discern a shape hovering at the very edge of the evergreen forest, slightly shifting and alive where everything else seemed still and quiet. The wind shifted; Targaryen’s scent washed over her and she knew it well, though it’d been some time since they’d last met. Cheri smiled, elated at the thought of him being nearby, and her coat’s faint light grew brighter as she turned and made her way through the tangled maze towards him.
“Targaryen!?” She beamed, midway to where he was. Her legs lifted buoyantly, her mouth pursed to ask him what he was doing here, how he was, when all of a sudden a creature sprang from the shadows to land atop the winged girl and drag her down, snarling as she screamed.
@[Targaryen] and Anyone who wants to join, I thought it would be super fun to throw a random monster attack into this reunion
