pay heed the squall Posted on December 10, 2022 at 02:14:30 PM by charybdis
Charybdis had been tucked away in the heights of the jagged spine of her Ridge, watching the storm roll in. After sweeping the rumbling heavens with her half-sight one last time, gauging how long it would be before the rain and wind would reach her shores. Most of those who resided here were well aware of the devastation the forces of nature could wreak, and knew what shelter the Ridge offered to those that belonged to her.
This was no deluge to carve away part of the sea cliffs, nor monstrous wave to swallow up a swathe of the jungle to the southwest.
But still, Charybdis would seek her own out, and make sure all those who could be found were tucked away safely into the dark jungle heart of Atlantis. Who she found however, when she scrambled away from the rocky trails and cut her own paths through the dense vegetation, where not faces she’d been expecting. Already, the wind was howling through the canopy above, and the sky had darkened such that Charybdis twisted her head around to squint her seeing eye to focus on the mare.
“You been ‘iding from me,” she rasped, though it was not an accusation, nor was there disapproval in her voice. A crooked smile flashed across her lips, quick as lightning. “Almost as well as de Rivers of mine.” A streak of light illuminated the treetops overhead. Thunder rumbled, deafeningly loud. When it abated, the red-mantled mare snapped her attention to the stranger, and despite the inclement weather, decided to settle her weight and take stock of him, before leading him to a sheltered area where he could slake his thirst.
“What are you called, interloper?” The mainland was a long way, and no doubt he was tired, yet still, he seemed to have his wits about him, and the way he held himself told Charybdis what little else she needed to know. There was a sense about him, he didn’t appear at all uneasy, with the verdant jungle growth looming close on every side, cut off from the sky above.
And, in return for his name, the augur gave her own.
“I am Charybdis,” she said, voice raised to be heard above the gale. The white mare glanced to the red roan mare standing with them, but said nothing more, leaving it up to Matoaka as to whether she wanted to give her own name. Another bolt of lightning split the sky above the leafy veil, chased seconds later by a roar of thunder. The storm was almost upon them, and it would be wise to try and stay ahead of the worst of it.
With an inclination of her head, she beckoned Nahual and Matoaka to follow her, and she slipped through the monstera leaves, her pale coat glowing with each flicker of lightning that snaked across the clouded sky above them. There was a small cave system nearby where they could shelter until the raging winds and rains had abated.