(CW - Voyager and Cromer are seen as deceased.)
(Permission granted from Bab OOC about Cromer passing.)
The sound of something small hitting leaf litter echos in the silent Forest. There are no sounds from the wild life and its almost as if the wind itself stays silent. The only rattling sound that can be heard is choked sobs as a broken hearted, defected, red dun stares at her mother and father on the forest floor. Her heart aches in her breast as the last lines of what she counted on fell away into a sea of darkness. No longer did she have a guiding hand, her parents both resting on the forest floor in eternal slumber. Roamer thought it had all been a dream, but standing there with it right in her face… the mare felt herself crumbling as the wobbly legs of her brother stumble as he tries to nurse from her without any luck. No one in the forest was having a foal this season, that she knew, which left her broken in ways she never expected. With no milk to feed this small child… she was lost.
Shaking her head as tears line her eyes and drip down her face. Roamer chokes on the lump in her throat before she turns to the boy that she named as her parents were not alive for her to see. They both lay there, as if time had stopped. Voyager was skin and bones, Cromer having passed away in childbirth. Something she had not expected, but she knew in the final weeks she saw her father. He had grown ill, very ill. She watched him wither away into nothing but skin and bones and then just vanish. She had not expected it, but Roamer knew deep in her heart then even if she did not wish to voice it, that her father was dying.
Heaving a shaky breath, Roamer lays a soft touch of her lips to both of her parents heads, her tail wiggling with the weight of her sobs. She was struggling to pull out of this, but as she is butted again by her little brother, the mare realizes she needs to move. Eyeing the young colt, she lets out a shaky whisper to him that has the youngling tilting his head, not knowing what she said. Shaking her own head, the mare moves across the territory, her hooves stumbling before she looks about the forest. Heaving a broken breath, Roamer calls her departure to Toland before she dives into the sea, her hooves struggling with the movements as her body tries to keep the youngling boyant enough to head towards Atlantis.
The swim had been hard, but Roamer ands herself upon the beach with a broken cry towards the rulers here. Her hooves stumbled before she hit the ground, unable to hold herself up any longer with her brother tucking to her side. Her eyes closed as darkness pulled at the edges of her vision, but she dared not fall asleep. Instead, her consciousness was brought back to a better place as two sets of hooves filled her ears. Blinking her eyes, the soft colored mare looked to the eyes of who she hoped was her best friends father and another pale horse beside him. Her teeth chattered, but she nudged her brother to the scent of milk, knowing the one horse was a mare from the signatures of milk and most likely a newly born child, just like Rover.
As her brother wobbled to move, Roamer let her voice crack out her voice, begging to these horses to take him in. She hoped they would, but her head hit the sands not long after as she gritted her teeth. She had over done it, but obviously by the sign of her and her brother, she knew something registered as the red dun looked at her with pained eyes. “Don’t… don’t tell me he is gone.” She heard the stallion speak, her head just faintly nodding against the sand after his voice. Her long mane draped against the damp ground before she heard her brother latching on. He had not managed to suckle from Cromer, which made this a touch easier. He was not imprinted on anyone so with the pale mare allowing him to nurse, she knew he would be in safe hands. As his noises filled her ears, Roamer finally passed out in the sands.
”We cant just leave….
”We have to help.”
Voices came in and out of her ears, begging to be heard but unable to fully register. Roamer felt her heart pounding in her chest, but nothing pulled her from where she was sleeping. Her head fell to the side as her frame just rolled with a groan. She was not awake, but she was still breathing and very much alive.
”Nahawi… you have to take her back.”
”I know Snap… but how when she is passed out from exertion?”
”Voyager would not want her left here.”
”I am not leaving her Snapdragon. At the moment, we have to left her rest.”
Again with the voices. Time slipped by and instead of it being daylight when Roamer crawled back to the state of the living, its night time. Her blue eyes blink and cringe against the moon's light against her face. Her head lifts as she turns her head to look over at the horses that she could hear. Still there, even though hours passed. Their steady frames made her heave a sigh of relief before she shuddered against the now cold sands. “I am so sorry.” She mumbled, her ears tucking in shame as she looked to the two horses before her. ”No need to be sorry Roamer. You did the right thing.” Came the stallion's voice, his tone gentle as he gave her a smile. Nodding his head, he motioned for her to get up, which she did on shaky legs. Huffing out a breath, she goes to move forward when her body stumbles again. Feeling warmth radiate against her side, the mare lifts her gaze as the stallion's body holds her up. ”For now, we will help you regain strength. My name is Nahawi and I was a friend of your fathers.” His words registered before a sad laugh escaped her lips with a tentative smile touching her lips. “I figured.” She whispered before their bodies headed towards the jungle where others lived.
A week or two passed by, allowing Roamer to gain her strength while watching Rover grow more comfortable with Snapdragon. She was unsure of what this would mean for her younger brother, but she just gave a breath before she walked with Nahawi towards the ocean. She had heard him speak and they both shared parts of their lives. She was unsure of what had truly happened with the red dun, but she never pulled to hard at him either. Instead, as they stood at the beach, both horses were silent before the red stallion nudged her with his nose. ”Go home Roamer. Let Toland know that if he ever wishes to speak on an alliance, that is on the table.” It was not pushy, but Roamer knew this stallion wanted alliances. Her eyes still held their sorrow, but a soft nod took her before she hit the ocean and began to swim home.
Rising from the waters on the beach of her home, Roamer looked about her before she let out a sigh. Shaking out her whole body, she listened to the water splash back into the ocean and then hit the ground with little thuds. Her ears perked before a soft call left her lips, once more calling out to her beloved. She never should have left like that before, but now she was back and she prayed that he was not entirely mad with her.
ROAMER
Mare | 15.1hhs | red dun | dsld defect | of the forest
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