Force-claiming is allowed here once a week per character, as is blocking force-claims by the Peak/Lagoon (as a whole) once a week. Rollover is on Sundays.
give me darkness when I'm dreaming; Posted on April 2, 2023 at 08:06:55 AM by Arroyo
Standing in the tree-line, Arroyo watches the gray fog drift low, combing through the trees then sweeping across the open meadow. The clouds seem to fill from ground to sky, and all there is is gray. The first few snowflakes to fall are gentle, tentative, melting against his warmth before they have the chance to land. A few breaths, and then the sky lets loose and the winds break free in howling gusts that sends the snow sideways.
He squints against the stinging snow, head low and red mane billowing about his face and neck. His winter coat has not yet grown in fully - usually the coldest depths of winter occur closer to Spring - and for once he wishes for that thick, cumbersome fur. The wind is biting.
As a child he had experienced loud winds and stinging rain, blizzarding snow, and even dire heat, but he had been in the protection of the herd then. He'd been able to huddle against his dam or his sisters for shelter and warmth. He'd had the wisdom of the herd to guide him. He was never afraid of getting lost when their skin touched and their breath warmed his poll in reassurance. This, this is different. He is alone and the world is completely white.
He thinks of Aventuras as the winds rage and the treetops rattle above him like many fighting stags. "Please be safe," he whispers.
He finds some respite on the downwind side of a sturdy, old tree. There is a narrow strip just wide enough for his body to fit with his rump to the tree. The branches overhead are strong - the survivors of many storms. Arroyo considers this as he shelters here. "Have you ever seen one this bad?" he asks the tree of the storm that has enveloped them.
The tree answers in his memory - his sister's voice, "No, but they all pass." Replies: