Kahlil sighed to himself as he slowly crept his way through the endless rows of trees before him. Most would most likely be frustrated at the notion of being lost in the woods for what seemed like hours on end, but Kahlil, who might as well have been born lost, was used to the situation. If he wasn't getting his antlers stuck in the lower branches of trees, or fighting to not trip over himself, then he was most likely trying to navigate around his own bad sense of direction. How he has survived as long as he has is a miracle that he thanks his family and mate for. The worldly Gods knew they had an endless amount of patience and humor for him, which he was endlessly thankful for.
However, today Kahlil did not feel comfortable in his situation. Hesitantly, the stallion came to a stop, ears twitching in all directions as his eyes scanned his surroundings. His heart refused to slow and his mind raced with anxiety as a million "what ifs" were thrown around by his imagination. The woods were just too eerily quiet to be ignored, and in his mind there could only be one reason for it: disaster. Either something had happened without his notice, or something was about to happen and he had just been blissfully unaware until now. Or worse, something was going to happen and it was too late for him. What this disaster was, or is, Kahlil could not say, but he prayed he would be spared from nature and predator alike.
"It's going to be okay. Just keep moving forward."
Kahlil took a deep breath and forced his legs forward. Not even 5 steps in, he was forced to stop when the sound of rustling underbrush caught his attention. His mind didn't even grace him with a moment to investigate or think the situation through. Instead, he bolted as flight and fright took over his instincts.
He couldn't die. He couldn't be injured. He needed to return to his mate in one piece or-
The thought would remain incomplete as as scream caused his hooves to dig into the ground in an attempt at a quick stop. And stop he did as the stallion toppled over himself and landed face to the ground.
"Oh no! Are you okay, sir?"
A ground escaped the cerynei in reply. It took a passing few seconds, but he eventually lifted his head just to rest it back on the cool ground. It was then that his blinking eyes caught the sight of a yellow rabbit who wore a look of both confusion and worry. For the quickest moment, Kahlil's body froze with panic. Memories he would rather keep repressed did their best to claw through the depths of his mind as flashes of white and red leaked out.
Shaking his head, he quickly rose to his feet and stumbled to the side in an awkward attempt to create distance. This all had to be some sick twisted joke. Sure, the rabbit looked innocent enough, but so did the one that shall remain nameless in the stallion's world. Maybe this one was just a pawn in the others game, meant to lure him back to the killer at some point.
Or, and this was logic speaking now, he was just paranoid. But isn't paranoia just a means of survival? The way the mind keeps the host alive by instilling fear to keep away from dangers? Was this "rabbit" not a danger according to lessons learned?
"Um, excuse me, sir? Are you okay? You've been awfully still and quiet. I'm sorry I scared you. Please believe that I didn't mean it! I was just so caught up in trying to find a friend of mine. It seems I lost him as we got separated, and, well, embarrassingly I got lost myself in my attempt to find him."
"A good of a lie as any I say..."
No. No. This wasn't like him. Who was he to judge someone he didn't even know?
"I'm fine." He said while smiling and shuffling a little closer though his mind screamed at him not to. "I hope I didn't scare you in return or hurt you. It's kind of sad, but I'm lost myself, so why don't we be lost together, hm? Maybe I can help you find his friend of yours, and along the way I can finally find my way out of this forest so I can go home, yeah?"
The rabbit looked up at him, head tilted in though. With a giggle and a smile, the little creature nodded in agreement.
"Sounds fine to me, sir!"
Before either could say another word the sound of distance yelling caught their attention. Squinting, Kahlil could make out a yellow silhouette in the distance.
"Who-" "MY FRIEND!" The rabbit screamed as she bounced up and down.
With a laugh, the familiar quickly scamper over to the new stranger in glee. So, she was telling the truth. Oh, he felt so awful for his thoughts now. True, they couldn't be helped, but the thought that he almost abandoned the innocent rabbit out of fear...
"Thank you for keeping Asphodel company."
"Hm?" Kahlil looked up with surprised eyes at the other stallion.
"She said you're lost too, so why don't you tag along with us for now? Better to be lost in company, yes?"
Kahlil stared at the buckskin stranger for a second, then down at the rabbit. His heart and mind tugged him in different directions. After all, this could still be a trap. Maybe that thing has a hoard of rabbit minions meant to get close to then betray targets. No. No. He shouldn't think this way...
Kahlil nodded with a smile. What's the worst that could happen?
WC: 992
