The tyranny of the spring sun as it melted away the winter's frost struck Huang as uniquely cruel. When the world had been cold and lifeless it had allowed her wounded heart to feel somewhat less alone. Now, with so much on her slender shoulders, Huang was alone to her thoughts as cheerful birdsong rang in cacophony throughout the valley. Hidden though it might be, it could not shelter her from the truth, which was that she now owned this duty solely. Bereft of the wise parents who had once given her succor and solace, she would need to lead the Phoenix herd on her own.
A pang filled her heart as she looked back on the denizens of the valley; it was time to leave and find her own destined one. The valley would await her return. It was tradition to bring in outsiders, and in view of the current scarcity of prospective mates, she would certainly need to venture forth into the wide world. Although she knew little to nothing about the Kawani lands or its breeds, she would have to learn and learn quickly. Her parents had fallen defending the valley, as had many of the more formidable warriors among her herd.
Though her parents had had many children between them, very few had remained in the hidden valley, and Huang was the oldest of those. Some might say the wisest, but with so few rivals, that meant little enough. The young mare flicked her tail, its long trailing feathers flaring up and out for a moment, like a peacock's plumes, before listing back onto the ground. She might not feel prepared, and indeed she did not, but she knew her duty. How could she be considered a good and diligent daughter if she did not see it through?
It was not only Huang who needed a mate. As she turned to glance back for a final time at the valley, she could see the young mares and stallions of her herd in the distance. There were more alone than there were paired, and given their close relations... it was perhaps for the best. There was no stigma against such things among her herd, but one did prefer an outsider. It was believed, and probably was true, that stronger stock could be achieved with one such Soquili, and Huang had every intention of finding the right sort of partner.
Someone who did not mind her ways. Someone who was practiced himself or herself in the healing arts, perhaps. If not that, then a warrior or a scholar whose strength and wisdom would be a credit to the herd. She began to make her way out from between the two mountains that had sheltered her for her entire life, her hoof falls at first hesitant and unsure, but as she drew a bit further her stride lengthened too.
The young alpha was determined to find her way through the wilderness without incident. Before her the unknown vistas sprawled out seemingly unendingly. Wave after wave of tall grass greeted her, and she hastened to find a route that ran parallel to a water source. There was no telling how long her journey might be, for she suspected she would not know whom she was searching for until she found them. Along the way the birds had gone silent, and Huang came to a sudden halt.
Although she was a winged creature, she often walked when she needed to travel, which afforded her the opportunity to observe her surroundings and enjoy her journey. Yet now her wings opened instinctively, her body frozen with tension. A hush had fallen over the forest, and the sound of her own breathing was all she could hear. It was as if the world stood still. As the silence drew on, the young phoenix shifted her weight to her hindquarters, preparing to flee if need be.
Taking wing now would require effort, but there was no one to help her nearby. Her left ear swiveled first, catching the faint yet audible sound of a snapping twig. Then she turned her head to stare at... something. Something very strange indeed. Huang hardly knew what she was looking at, but then it was leaping at her. She gave a startled cry when the great cat pounced, and pushed off from the ground. A snarl lit down below her, and she felt a flash of pain.
From her vantage point above the creature, she could make out a long tail feather grasped within its maw. Shaken, the young mare realized that she had come that close to being devoured by the animal... whose feline form melted away into that of a Soquili. It was the stuff of nightmares, her own blood tipped feather telling the tale of what would have befallen her, had she not wings of her own, and a means of escape. Her blood rang in her ears, adrenaline thrumming through her.
Although she had come so far with her legs alone, she could not bring herself to land. Not anywhere close to that strange beast that was Soquili and yet not Soquili. Even its form was warped, and its hooves were not hooves at all, but rather paws like the cat it had been before. A cat whom she would not soon forget, that much was certain! Her tail ached, the single stolen plume's loss more than felt. It did not cause her any great difficulty navigating as she flew away, but she knew how close she had come to being that monster's next meal.
As she flew further away from the danger, it dawned on Huang that she had scarcely had the time to notice which direction she'd fled in... and she suddenly realized that she wasn't sure that she would be able to find her way back home. The valley had remained hidden for a reason, and she cursed herself silently for failing to take note of her surroundings on her journey. Perhaps if she had flown the entire way she might have had a better sense for the path she'd taken, but as it was... she felt a deep writhing uncertainty in the pit of her stomach.
With every passing moment, her feeling of panic rose, until at last she could do nothing but find a place to land. If she was lost... if she had gotten lost within such a brief span of time, how could her herd count on her to lead new blood back to them? And they needed new companions, needed to bring in mates and fellows from outside of their small herd. She'd bungled this, and bungled it so thoroughly there might very well be no recovery at all! Oh, if only she had not been so hesitant to use her wings! Why had she thought herself wise in conserving her strength? There had never been a reason to challenge her endurance, and now she found herself out of breath and... alone.
Utterly and truly alone, now more than ever. For the first time in her short life, she didn't know what to do. There was no one to turn to, and no easy way out of the disaster she'd wrought with her own claws. Oh, what a fool she'd been! She landed on a rocky outcropping, panting with exertion. Paralyzed with trepidation, the mare hung her head, her expression rigid as the miasma of doubt frothed within her very being. In this moment, she felt dizzy with the sense of enormity, of the very real and terrible consequences this might have upon not only her own future but that of her entire herd. They had counted on her, and she had failed them. Whether she could move past that failure and find some modicum of success remained yet to be seen.
Yet no matter how she might turn that about, she could not escape the clutches of terror as it opened its yawning maw. Much, indeed, like the specter from before. She personified the folly of youth, and in her aching soul she knew that if she had just been a bit more seasoned, a bit more experienced, she would have guarded against this possibility instead of fleeing from its reality. Hadn't there been whisperings of strange monstrosities outside of their lands? Like others among her herd, she had dismissed them as mere fabrications, as the imaginings of a fanciful few. But if they were fantasies, then certainly they were nightmares. The creature had not filled a liminal space; its harrowing corporeal presence was unmistakable. She could not pretend it was anything but shockingly real.
All the more shocking, however, was her complete lack of foresight. Oh, how it smarted. To have already lost her way at such a juncture was completely unsupportable! Huang fought against the self-loathing that threatened to creep up, knowing all too well her tendency to castigate herself. The weight upon her slender frame was tremendous, the perceived task Herculean in nature. No matter how small it might be, it loomed large to her. Without her wise parents to guide her she truly felt... terrified. Folding her legs beneath her, she lay down on that outcropping, curling up as well as she could. For now she'd breath a moment, and take a rest. The way forward could wait.
[Count: 1,556 words]
A pang filled her heart as she looked back on the denizens of the valley; it was time to leave and find her own destined one. The valley would await her return. It was tradition to bring in outsiders, and in view of the current scarcity of prospective mates, she would certainly need to venture forth into the wide world. Although she knew little to nothing about the Kawani lands or its breeds, she would have to learn and learn quickly. Her parents had fallen defending the valley, as had many of the more formidable warriors among her herd.
Though her parents had had many children between them, very few had remained in the hidden valley, and Huang was the oldest of those. Some might say the wisest, but with so few rivals, that meant little enough. The young mare flicked her tail, its long trailing feathers flaring up and out for a moment, like a peacock's plumes, before listing back onto the ground. She might not feel prepared, and indeed she did not, but she knew her duty. How could she be considered a good and diligent daughter if she did not see it through?
It was not only Huang who needed a mate. As she turned to glance back for a final time at the valley, she could see the young mares and stallions of her herd in the distance. There were more alone than there were paired, and given their close relations... it was perhaps for the best. There was no stigma against such things among her herd, but one did prefer an outsider. It was believed, and probably was true, that stronger stock could be achieved with one such Soquili, and Huang had every intention of finding the right sort of partner.
Someone who did not mind her ways. Someone who was practiced himself or herself in the healing arts, perhaps. If not that, then a warrior or a scholar whose strength and wisdom would be a credit to the herd. She began to make her way out from between the two mountains that had sheltered her for her entire life, her hoof falls at first hesitant and unsure, but as she drew a bit further her stride lengthened too.
The young alpha was determined to find her way through the wilderness without incident. Before her the unknown vistas sprawled out seemingly unendingly. Wave after wave of tall grass greeted her, and she hastened to find a route that ran parallel to a water source. There was no telling how long her journey might be, for she suspected she would not know whom she was searching for until she found them. Along the way the birds had gone silent, and Huang came to a sudden halt.
Although she was a winged creature, she often walked when she needed to travel, which afforded her the opportunity to observe her surroundings and enjoy her journey. Yet now her wings opened instinctively, her body frozen with tension. A hush had fallen over the forest, and the sound of her own breathing was all she could hear. It was as if the world stood still. As the silence drew on, the young phoenix shifted her weight to her hindquarters, preparing to flee if need be.
Taking wing now would require effort, but there was no one to help her nearby. Her left ear swiveled first, catching the faint yet audible sound of a snapping twig. Then she turned her head to stare at... something. Something very strange indeed. Huang hardly knew what she was looking at, but then it was leaping at her. She gave a startled cry when the great cat pounced, and pushed off from the ground. A snarl lit down below her, and she felt a flash of pain.
From her vantage point above the creature, she could make out a long tail feather grasped within its maw. Shaken, the young mare realized that she had come that close to being devoured by the animal... whose feline form melted away into that of a Soquili. It was the stuff of nightmares, her own blood tipped feather telling the tale of what would have befallen her, had she not wings of her own, and a means of escape. Her blood rang in her ears, adrenaline thrumming through her.
Although she had come so far with her legs alone, she could not bring herself to land. Not anywhere close to that strange beast that was Soquili and yet not Soquili. Even its form was warped, and its hooves were not hooves at all, but rather paws like the cat it had been before. A cat whom she would not soon forget, that much was certain! Her tail ached, the single stolen plume's loss more than felt. It did not cause her any great difficulty navigating as she flew away, but she knew how close she had come to being that monster's next meal.
As she flew further away from the danger, it dawned on Huang that she had scarcely had the time to notice which direction she'd fled in... and she suddenly realized that she wasn't sure that she would be able to find her way back home. The valley had remained hidden for a reason, and she cursed herself silently for failing to take note of her surroundings on her journey. Perhaps if she had flown the entire way she might have had a better sense for the path she'd taken, but as it was... she felt a deep writhing uncertainty in the pit of her stomach.
With every passing moment, her feeling of panic rose, until at last she could do nothing but find a place to land. If she was lost... if she had gotten lost within such a brief span of time, how could her herd count on her to lead new blood back to them? And they needed new companions, needed to bring in mates and fellows from outside of their small herd. She'd bungled this, and bungled it so thoroughly there might very well be no recovery at all! Oh, if only she had not been so hesitant to use her wings! Why had she thought herself wise in conserving her strength? There had never been a reason to challenge her endurance, and now she found herself out of breath and... alone.
Utterly and truly alone, now more than ever. For the first time in her short life, she didn't know what to do. There was no one to turn to, and no easy way out of the disaster she'd wrought with her own claws. Oh, what a fool she'd been! She landed on a rocky outcropping, panting with exertion. Paralyzed with trepidation, the mare hung her head, her expression rigid as the miasma of doubt frothed within her very being. In this moment, she felt dizzy with the sense of enormity, of the very real and terrible consequences this might have upon not only her own future but that of her entire herd. They had counted on her, and she had failed them. Whether she could move past that failure and find some modicum of success remained yet to be seen.
Yet no matter how she might turn that about, she could not escape the clutches of terror as it opened its yawning maw. Much, indeed, like the specter from before. She personified the folly of youth, and in her aching soul she knew that if she had just been a bit more seasoned, a bit more experienced, she would have guarded against this possibility instead of fleeing from its reality. Hadn't there been whisperings of strange monstrosities outside of their lands? Like others among her herd, she had dismissed them as mere fabrications, as the imaginings of a fanciful few. But if they were fantasies, then certainly they were nightmares. The creature had not filled a liminal space; its harrowing corporeal presence was unmistakable. She could not pretend it was anything but shockingly real.
All the more shocking, however, was her complete lack of foresight. Oh, how it smarted. To have already lost her way at such a juncture was completely unsupportable! Huang fought against the self-loathing that threatened to creep up, knowing all too well her tendency to castigate herself. The weight upon her slender frame was tremendous, the perceived task Herculean in nature. No matter how small it might be, it loomed large to her. Without her wise parents to guide her she truly felt... terrified. Folding her legs beneath her, she lay down on that outcropping, curling up as well as she could. For now she'd breath a moment, and take a rest. The way forward could wait.
[Count: 1,556 words]
