[and so] the wind blows

[katiekitten]

Aisad

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Regret and fear [he knows] the sands that still pour-[/center][/color][/font]

Chipped hooves scrambling desperately for purchase on the crumbling verge, droplets of icefire spitting from the snarling river below and searing his legs, slicing into his straining muscles, freezing his bones and then he fell, screaming-

-hewasgoingtodiehewasgoingtodie-

-writhing in the air before- impact.

The flick of an ashen tail over the high rise of the western river bank was the last thing he saw before water flooded his nose and his throat and his starved lungs.

He was drowning.

He flailed out his four feet madly as the river bellowed triumphantly around him, smothering him, dragging him deeper into its heart as it raced down its course, carrying him farther from his target. His back arched desperately, lunging his head towards the distant, wavering image of the sky, his last strangled gasps of air slipping mercilessly in panicked bubbles from his nostrils.

Darkness.

---

The stench of death and stagnant water permeated the marshy plains, sinking, almost impossibly, into the every pore of any animal that dared creep through it, and as such the area was filled with a sullen silence, the birds and other such sane creatures having fled long ago. Through its western corner, a river roared its jagged path, cresting shallowly over a wide expanse of mouths that fed the marshes before leaping once more into its canyons. It was here that it deposited its spoils from the higher ground, rotting tree branches and leaves catching on the jagged stones and tainting the water that passed it.

It was here, as well, that Aisad came to rest.

Partially rotting water reeds gently nudged his prone form, his sodden mane swaying with the water that pushed slowly past it. His eyes were clenched shut, mud covering the skin surrounding them, and he remained unconscious, his own vomit slopping around his muzzle. He shivered instinctively as a breeze trembled through the darkening plains, the sun setting into a noxious haze.



it had been inevitable, he knew, but-

he'd loved him

[/right]

He is more than slightly beaten up right now, but he is a decent fighter, and despite his pride would love to be a warrior. xD; He was quite lucky, actually, that he was near the edge of the river when it passed the marshes, otherwise he'd most certainly be dead, or at least fatally maimed. As it is, he will be deaf in one ear after an infection caused by this trip down the river, and he will take about two/three months to recover from his bruises and his sprained forefoot, and will always harbor a slight limp, although it won't overall hamper his speed.

He probably won't be a permanent fixture here. He has a bone to pick with someone, and after that- well, there won't be an after that. :x He has left quite a few people behind when he left on this vendetta, and he believes that he will eventually return to them.

[rayvencullen.]

chestnut bodice was strolling quietly through the lands he had managed to claim, his silver whipcords held high above his spine to avoid getting the tips of his tail dirty. the water that was rushing around the lands was deafening to his ears but it soon became calm with the passing thunderstorm. body swayed towards the bank as he lowered his muzzle to dip into the water, taking long gulps while watching trees and animals float down the river. quietly he rose himself from his drinking session when his attention was caught by a limp bodice. blue eyes gleamed wildly and micheviously when the small rise and fall of the animal's chest was obvious, so warily he moved towards the thing while sniffing blankly at it. poor thing. flicking his ears back in concentration he took a step forward and nudged the animal under the chin, giving his muzzle a clean spot to rest. spike sighed to himself, licking the ashen lips of the stallion to try and coax him back into reality, all the while running his warm tongue over the matted coat of the brute, washing him and also warming his chilled body.

[katiekitten]

xD Thank you for putting up with my temperamental characters, Rayven. :3

Aisad

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I'll build a bridge to your window ledge because I know that you're as good as your ideals[/center][/size]

He couldn't move- the water was roaring, screaming, his lungs tearing themselves apart in his chest-

A gentle nudge against his cheek.

Mud filling his eyes, his nose- couldn't breath, couldn't see, blind and dying-

Something rough rubbing along his mouth, his neck, warming him,

Aisad woke slowly. Darkness clung stubbornly to his thoughts, claiming his left eye, and although his hearing was gradually returning he could still hear water running over his ears. He stiffened, fighting his eyes open in his panic, straining to lift his neck despite the strange deadness in his muscles. He was still in the river-he was- he-

Managing to force his eyes open, he struggled to raise himself on his forefeet and stared around himself in bewilderment.

He was ankle-deep in the shallows of the river, which meandered on to set a set of canyons from his feet. As it was, it spread out over a quarter of a mile over the shoals before dissipating into leagues of stinking mires and bogs that surrounded him as far as his blurred eyes could see. His front legs shook from the strain and he slipped to his knees, the filthy water splashing at his flanks. He had no idea where he was, but he was sure of one thing - Baroque was long gone. He cursed and dropped his head, trailing his muzzle in the water, too exhausted to hold it up anymore, vision wavering.

It was only then that he realised that he wasn't alone.

Ears flattening instinctively, he weakly swung his head towards a chestnut stallion standing in the shallows just feet away, able only to lift his gaze enough to face off its ankles, panting from the exertion.

"Wh... Wher... am I?"[/blockquote]