Darkia
After the big war alot of them seem to of just dispearsed or worse died. She did not know where her mother was or sister were but she was a lone. The black throughbred paint mare wandered along pikes lake.
She had plenty of food and water by remaining here. She lacked a herd a family and as the days and nights went on she began to feel it. She tended to eat less and just gaze off into the distance. She was a bit skinny but not horribly so. She would call out in hopes that a familiar call would come back but she got none.
At some point a human had gotten a hold of her and tried to tame her but she had escaped. She still had a blasted halter on her face that she did not seem to be able to remove. Would humans find her?
Cloudbreaker
The years had been marginally kinder to Cloudbreaker, if not just as lonely as the herd-less mare. She too had become separated from the fragmented remains of the Haunters after the last fight, and adamantly refused to join or associate with the Nuova Alba after what they had done to her father. Unfortunately, the zorse had little luck tracking her father down, or any of the other few equines that had been in the pack for that matter. Thus she wandered the Valley on her own, slowly loosing hope as the weeks shifted to months, and then finally years.
It was on this brisk morning, close to the eve of a new spring, that Cloudbreaker stopped dead in her tracks as a particular odor struck her wide nares. Her alabaster head came up and she tested the wind again. Could it be? Throwing caution to the wind, the striped mare pushed through the frozen underbrush until she made it to the shore of the lake. And sure enough, there was an ebony mare standing no more than twenty yards away, the same one she had last seen nearly five years ago.
"Darkia!" Cloud whinnied and tossed her head up before trotting forward. Upon moving closer, she caught sight of the halter and hesitated slightly. "...what's happened to you?"
Darkia
Darkia was a mess of nerves. Any noise caused her to jump. She keep expecting humans to show up. So when her name was spoken her head shot up and she snorted loudly as her muscles prepared top run. But then the zorse came into view. "Two leggers" was all she said as it summed it all up. She watched her warily even though she knew her.
Cloudbreaker
The wariness Cloudbreaker was met with slowed her approach even further, until she outright stopped a few feet shy of her form herdmate, rather than approaching for a welcoming nuzzle. "Two-leggers?" She murmured carefully, "Darkia... it's okay. It's me, Cloudbreaker. Remember?" The mare swished her cream-colored tail and let her eyes rove past the halter and on towards the other's sides, which were a touch too thin. Concern began to grew, "You've not been taking care of yourself, friend. Why don't you join me - I'm on my own right now, and two pairs of eyes are always better than one."
Darkia
Cloudbreaker
Cloudbreaker began to move closer with slow, careful steps as Darkia's wariness eased away. The smell of humans on her friend was strong, a fact that had been missed on the zorse until she got nearer to the source. "I won't let them lay a grubby paw on you again." She murmured sincerely, and now bent her neck forward so that she could press her forehead comfortingly against Darkia's, in a show of unity.
One alabaster ear was turned away from her friend, listening just in case those two-leggers were nearby. The other ear was swiveled towards Darkia, "I don't know much about humans, but if they come for you, they will get a face full of my hooves." Cloudbreaker drew her head back at this point, so that she could look the other mare in the eyes. "I think you and I need to find a safe place to stay, and a good meal to eat."
Darkia
Darkia snorted in response as she stood there and she let her place her forehead against hers. You don't want to know them they are cruel, I was sedated when they must of put this thing on my face when I awoke some man was holding a rope attached to it. And had some other thing in his other hand and started cracking it at me and he wouldn't stop till I practically collapsed and started doing what he wanted. She said and she snorted and agreed.Somewhere away from here this is where they captured meShe said.
Cloudbreaker
What Darkia was describing sounded horrid. Cloud shuddered involuntarily at the thought, even if she didn't understand half of what the other mare was trying to describe, having never been close enough to humans to know what cruelties they were capable of, and the various tools they used to commit them. Whatever had happened, she could see the trauma in Darkia's eyes and hear it in her tones.
"Do you know in which direction they kept you?" Cloudbreaker asked carefully, "We should travel in the opposite direction, and maybe..." The zorze even hesitated to suggest it, but she wanted to do something to help her former friend, "If I can track down Cavan or the others, maybe they can help get rid of those two-leggers. Then you wont have to worry about them again."
Darkia
She looks in the direction she came. that way she said. Her hooves then began moving in the opposite direction. perhaps but I think we need to find away to get this thing off my face show said
Cloudbreaker
Cloudbreaker's dark eyes swept in the same direction as Darkia's. She made a mental note of it as she resisted another shudder than wanted to run through her. The zorse couldn't imagine being held captive by such creatures, and she was eager to put this place behind them, just in case the humans were on Darkia's trail. "You're right, first things first." Cloud began to trail behind Darkia, letting the mare lead the while the zorse ensured no one snuck up behind them. "We're going to need to find something sharp." One ear remained back, listening to the path behind them. "A canine might be the solution, if we can find a friendly enough one."
Darkia
Darkia walked. One ear always back the other twitching to Cloud and around.Or maybe a feline they have clawsShe said. She was afraid other humans might see her with it and assume she one of their slaves. She paused to look around. where should we go?She said.
Cloudbreaker
"A feline, that would work better." Cloudbreaker considered, and wished again that she knew where some of the former Haunter cats were. Outside of her former packmates, the zorse was leery of approaching unknown felines, simply because of the threat they could pose to her. Canines were one thing, she wasn't afraid of a stray wolf or three, but a cougar or tiger was a bit of a different story. If it could rid her friend of that horrid bit of human-made trash on her face though, Cloud was willing to try.
"I think for starters, we need to get away from the Lake. Ideally, we need a territory." She moved her hooves carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible by placing each heavy step with care. Every now and then she'd pause and listen to their surroundings. "I know of some open ground further out by the southern mountains. Out in the Eskers. There's a few small lakes hidden that way, and should be some decent grazing patches."
Darkia
Darkia was still very nervous and probably would be for a while. She listened toe cloud as they moved further a way from the lake. Sounds good to meShe said .lead the wayMaybe they would find some remenant of their old pack/herd around there.
Cloudbreaker
With the thought of two-leggers on the mind, Cloudbreaker was more than happy to put the Lake behind her for now, and get Darkia somewhere safer. "Stick close." The zorse murmured as she pressed past the other mare and took lead. Her steps were a bit louder now as she moved more quickly, though she tossed her head back frequently to ensure her friend was near at hoof.