[PRP] Once There Was the Sun... (Jericho x Rhys Shay)

[xo maho]

 

[xo maho]

The paint with vibrant plumage shivered as he strode through what had once been sunny countryside. He had been following the last traces of warmth he could find as winter set in, but whatever was left seemed to have dissipated. Now, he watched as the sun, weakly shining through the clouds, began to disappear behind the nearby mountain peaks. His journey had apparently brought him into the foothills far from his desert home.

Jericho had grown up not too long after the cataclysmic reckoning between the hippogryph and the ulun'suti peoples. With his basket left in the chaos and his heritage still the subject of some ire between the breeds, he had never really attached himself to any group. He had made some friends in his travels, but mostly, he followed the sun. He had become familiar with many oases and had his favorites, but he never stayed at any one for too long; he was a nomad at heart.

And so his feet had led him here - a place out of the usual path, where the temperature dropped far more quickly than he anticipated. The weather changed unexpectedly, too, and soon, the grayish sky began to release something he had never seen before... Crystalline, lightweight fluff that fell from the heavens. He would have described it as "cloud down," or maybe even "cloud dander," if there was such a thing. Looking up at the sky, Jericho blinked; he felt the flakes land on his face, in his eyes - remarkably cold. Almost painfully so, in fact.

Shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of the coating of white flakes on his mane, Jericho head for the tree line. If he could, he would find shelter from whatever this was.



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291 words.  

[magnadearel]

Rhys Shay stepped lightly and spritely through the freshly fallen snow. At her side pranced a fluffy wolf named Boreas. The pair resembled the aurora that often graced the skies above their home as if it had come to the ground. Rhys tended to stick to the colder areas up north year round; when winter finally spread its wings across the further southern lands, she would venture into new places to explore. They never stayed too long that the cold would trap them in the warmer areas when it left.

The winter had suddenly expanded across the land, leaving the pair new territory to explore. Rhys and Boreas had been traveling in the wake of a violent storm for days now. For the most part, it was silent. The only noises were the ones they themselves made or the sound of falling snow. It seemed most animals were hunkered down in whatever shelter they could find. Some had faired better than others.

"Where do you think we should go today?" The mare asked as she observed the white landscape around them. She'd been mostly picking their directions and decided to give the wolf a chance.


Boreas gave a stretch as he climbed from his sleeping place. He loved these times when they went beyond their normal boarders. It was a chance to get out and see something new in the world. To see what was out there. "How about over there?" The wolf pointed with his nose towards a small mountain still surrounded by thick clouds. That part of the storm didn't seem to be moving very fast, and would probably stick around for hours.
WC: 275  

[xo maho]

As he made for the tree line, Jericho noticed that the flakes were beginning to fall more quickly. He picked up his own pace, now worried about his comfort. The flakes melted where they touched him, wetting feathers and fur; his scales did not do much to keep the heat in, though they did a decent job of keeping moisture out. Where the crystals melted, they seemed to turn into water - it soaked into his fur, cooling the warmth he had worked up. His feathers were weighed down with moisture. His tail dragged behind him, and the feathers in his mane were heavy and limp.

Was this the ice he had heard about? He had seen crafty merchants taking measures to carefully store it for sale, once upon a time. It was more expensive than he would ever care to try. While Jericho enjoyed a luxury on occasion, one that was so easily consumed seemed to be worth little to him. He couldn't imagine how annoying it must be to gather it up into blocks to sell... The amount of it falling from the sky seemed like that would take forever to accomplish.

As he pushed on toward the trees, though, the flakes begin to rain down in greater numbers. Jericho clenched his leathery wings to his sides; they stung where the flakes touched them, numbing and tingling as they melted. The skin beneath the fur on his flanks, legs, neck, and nose was beginning to experience the same sensation. The colder he became, the more flakes seemed to stick to him, unmelting.

Desperate, he did a full body shake, his coat rumbling - and then he bolted for cover.


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279 words  

[magnadearel]

Pleased by the choice the mare nodded and headed out, wolf following at her heels. The pair chatted comfortably while the traveled for several hours. The weather started to get cloudier and then started with gentle flakes of snow. It didn't bother either of them. The snow coated her back and wings, helping keep her a tiny bit warmer. Not that the cold bothered her much anyhow.

Rhys pranced and danced among the snow. It was different here among the trees than it was back in their tundra home. For one she had to watch where she was going. She laughed as she managed to walk into one. Boreas laughed too, but that was to be expected. For him she waited until he was under a tree and then gave it a good hard bump with her body. They both laughed as the snow dropped down onto them both.

She was suddenly distracted from their play by a dark shape running through the forest. Where most of the world was white, this wasn't. "What was that?" Rhys asked the wolf.


Boreas laughed and gave himself a good shake to rid his fur of most of the snow. He cocked his head as his friend asked what had run by them. The wolf went over to the trail and gave a few good sniffs. "I think its a pony? Should we follow them?"


She perked her ears as he said he thought it was another pony. They hadn't seen anyone in so long. "Let's follow them!" She didn't wait for a reply and went bounded after her dark phantom. It didn't occur to her that perhaps she might seem like a snow spirit to the other.

WC: 285  

[xo maho]

The trees filled Jericho's world with a scent he could only describe as "green." It was a variation of the aroma he had not met before - it was deep with a little bit of a bite to it, a woodsy spice. The leaves on these trees were different, too - dark enough green to be almost black, laced delicately with the same stuff that fell from the sky.

As he loped through the woods, Jericho heard bell-like laughter, echoing off the tree trunks. Spooked, he put on a little more speed - and out of the corner of his eye, spotted something white that seemed to almost float off the ground. Two somethings, actually.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the pace. The breeze blew a chill through his coat that he might not have felt if he weren't soaked through. He needed shelter more substantial than these trees... Picking his way through the forest, he headed into its depths, following a rocky path and hoping to find a cave.


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169 words.  

[magnadearel]

Mahogany Sunset

Rhys bounded through the snow trying to catch up with the fleeing dark form. Occassionally she would use her wings to gain a little more ground or to get over a big mound of snow before resuming her run. Whoever it was was surprisingly fast.

"Hey! Hey Wait up!" Rhys called. If anyone had asked why suddenly she wanted to talk to this pony, she wouldn't have known why. For now she was simply enjoying the run through the forest and snow. Thankfully the dark form was fairly easy to track among the white snow.


Boreas however was having a slightly harder time. He had to take detours, sometimes long ones around obstacles that the mare just floated over. How sometimes he wish he'd had wings too. The wolf let out a howl as one detour allowed him to catch back up relatively close to Rhys.

WC: 146  

[xo maho]

Jericho's ears flicked back and he paused as he distinctly heard a voice call out - but it was followed quickly by a howl that made his bones quiver. He set off again, redoubling his effort and speeding up his pace as much as he could.

These woods felt dangerous.

Finally, following the rockiness in the path paid off. The right side of what had been forest became a stone wall. He picked his way through the trees alongside it, frequently turning his gaze to the rocks, hoping to find a gap. He found one, at last, just as he thought the ice would freeze his lungs - gods, they were in so much agony from breathing in the frigid air and running as fast as he could without tripping.

He entered the cave, which was thankfully large enough for him. Much to his surprise, the air inside was warm, though a bit smelly. He breathed in, hoping it would comfort his aching lungs. Carefully, he leaned up against a smooth, damp wall and closed his eyes.


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175 words.  

[magnadearel]

Rhys couldn't figure out why the other pony wasn't going to stop. She cast a baffled look at the wolf beside her before continuing the chase. The other pony put on a burst of speed and eventually got out of sight.

"Ugh!" She snorted in disgust. They had been so close. "Can you track them?" Rhys eyed the trail and felt like she could follow the tracks herself. The other didn't make an effort to hide their trail, and there were odd marks on the snow.


Boreas let his tongue lool out when Rhys looked at him. He was having a fine time today! He could totally keep going. The wolf laughed. "These? No problem. Don't even need my nose." He trotted along confidently following the trail. It wasn't long before the tracks led to the entrance of a cave. "After you?"


Rhys grinned and walked into the cave. Immediately she regretted it. "Peee- eeeeeew! What stinks in here? Why is it so warm?" She was very confused.
WC: 168  

[xo maho]

The cave suddenly echoed with the ringing voice of another, bright and loud. Jericho's eyes shot open and he leaped from his place of relaxation, turning on the spot - and doing his best to avoid falling over as he reoriented himself to his surroundings.

Before him stood what appeared to be two spirits - they were bright white, and their lower legs seemed to almost vanish into the air! Agape, Jericho could not make heads nor tails of the situation, aside from the fact that these two did, in fact, have those.

"UHm," he stammered, his feet stomping on the stone floor as he backed up a bit in his panic. "I couldn't tell you, but it's a welcome change from whatever is going on out there!"

He did a quick study of the larger spirit's features, his scattered mind taking in as much as it could manage. He realized, after a moment, that she was a soquili - and one not too unlike him, with some feathers on her wings and cloven hooves. But that was just about where the similarities ended. She had a doe tail, a bright silver horn, and and prismatic butterfly wings, along with her transparent legs.

Her friend, on the other hand, was a fluffy wonder. Jericho had never seen anything like him. Something about him screamed predator!, though, which put Jericho on high alert.


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229 words.  

[magnadearel]

The sudden movement of the other pony brought her attention to the dark stallion. He was mostly a handsome dark blue, with feathers for most of his mane and tail, broad leathery wings, and scales on his body, and a tiny horn on his nose. She wondered if the horn got in the way of his vision.

"Uh. I've never felt a cave this warm before. Something must be causing it. C'mon! Let's check it out!" Rhys headed further into the cave. The stallion was now included in her adventure whether he liked it or not.

Boreas gave his wolfish grin and wagged his fluffy tail, fanning the fluff. His eyes studied the stallion as if judging him. His pony might be a bit naive sometimes, and he watched out for her. If this stallion had ill intentions, he wouldn't let him linger long.
WC: 144  

[xo maho]

With wide eyes, Jericho watched her walk past him, his head turning as she continued by. When the fluff wagged its long tail, his eyes snapped back to it. "What are you?" he asked loudly, slowly turning from the ball of floof. "And what are your names?"

He followed behind the mare as she walked into the depths of the cave. While the white light of day outside lit the cave with a decent amount of ambient light, it only went so far. The rest of the cave had a blue-green glow to it; upon closer inspection, Jericho spotted what must be either algae or tiny mushrooms of some kind giving off the light.

Their hoof beats echoed off the ceiling; much to his surprise, he heard her hooves, too, despite how near-transparent they were. As he rounded a corner behind her, he realized they found what must be the source of the stench: oddly turquoise, opaque water in a rocky pool... which steamed against the cool air.

Jericho lifted an eyebrow. While he was still pretty suspicious of this whole situation, this looked like a damn promising development.


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189 words.  

[magnadearel]

"Names?" She called back distractedly over her shoulder. "I'm Rhys and he's Boreas. I'm a soquili of course. And he's a wolf," she added as a bit of an after thought. "Hey, I think it's getting warmer and wetter down here."

Rhys peered curiously at the glowing plants. "What about yours?" She wasn't brave enough to try one though. The mare wrinkled her nose as a frest waft of smell hit her. "Ugh I think the stink is getting worst too."

"Oooooh! Those pools are pretty." She fluttered her wings a tiny bit. "What is this place?"

Boreas followed behind the ponies and poking his nose into different cracks and crevases. "I've never seen anything like this before either."
WC: 119  

[xo maho]

"Nice to meet you both. My name is Jericho." Wolf. Jericho peered at the fluff, wondering if there were any predatory impulses between his cute ears. The sharp teeth had been warning enough.

Gazing at the bright pools, Jericho did his best to tamp down his reaction to the stronger... aromas. Gods, that's a stench. He had seen oases that looked like these, but they didn't smell the same. "It looks like a spring," he said, "but the steam makes me think it might be warm."

Edging up to the side of the pool to stand next to Rhys, Jericho looked down at the water. He lowered his head a little too sniff it and gently recoiled. "I think the pool is the culprit for the smell."


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127 words.  

[magnadearel]

"Jericho. That's an interesting name. I've never heard that one before." She explored around the caves some more. It wasn't often when she encountered a place as warm as this while it was a normal temperature outside. Well normal for her at least.

"Really?" Warm water? It was certainly a concept of novelty to the mare. What did warm water feel like? She eyed the pool and then eyed her wolf. She absolutely had to try it.

As if sensing her intention, the wolf wisely backed up and well clear of then shaningains that were undoubtably about to happen. If he tested the waters, it would be under his own terms. Boreas however couldn't help but laugh silently as the poor unsuspecting stallion went right up to the edge of the pool. For a split second he thought about saying something, but then really it was too late.


Smell or no. This had to be done. "Cannon BALL!" Her voice echoed through the cave system as she launched herself forward and right into the water. Unfortunately for Jericho, it happened to be right next to him and where he was standing.
WC: 191