I Need a Hero (open)

[Hud]

Antonella had been wandering for seasons.

She wasn't kidding herself anymore - she was lost. What was a mare to do in the hot desert sun but lose herself? She was not a "desert child" as the few horses she'd met kept insisting that she be in order to obtain advice or help... In truth she resented them by now. They weren't welcoming as she had expected, and now she truly just wanted to leave this place. It was as unforgiving as the other hotbloods here.

Antonella struggled to scale a dune today as she searched for a sign that would lead her out of the godforsaken desert. She was tired and she was thirsty... She had to be going the right way, right? The thin mare coughed, blowing sand here and there as her nose was very low to the ground. Her muscles ached as they pushed her up, up, up to the top of the moving mountain. Sand wasn't like dirt. It was not supportive and fell at the slightest touch. It was beyond Antonella why any creature would choose to live in such a biome when much more comfortable ones were plentiful. Her eyes were caked with sand as they squeezed together. She traveled by nose alone these days, having lost her sight days ago.


OOC: Figured someone saving her would be a nice plot. xD

image by Hud Table by Seele Studio AKA Angel

[Silver]

Angelus

The lone stallion stood at the top of the dune, his mane and tail flying back from his face in the desert wind. He was a black spot on the horizon, a patch of shadow, of the void in an otherwise red and blue landscape. Sand particles danced around his fetlocks, and clung to the sweat that dripped down his legs. It was a particularly hot spring day, and even the King of the Sands was feeling the heat. He flicked his tail in mild irritation, but otherwise kept his eye on his surroundings. So in tune with his home was this black stallion that he stood easily on the shifting ground, using well developed reflexes to keep motionless. Others were not so blessed, and as such were easy targets for predators and for pursuers alike.

It was from this height that he spotted her, a weak thing, traipsing along clumsily through the miles of sand. She was pitiful, her ribs showing more than a horse’s should when it was nourished. The black king watched from his perch as she struggled, almost painfully. His brain calculated the distance and he knew that he could reach her, but he wanted to stay still a moment longer. Her misery was the fate of many who wandered too far into the desert. Because of the shifting of the landscape, there was rarely a newcomer who could find their way anywhere. He wondered if she had managed to find a small cup of water in one of the few smaller oasis that speckled the Baahir. There were tricks to finding these places, but most of the technique lay in the simple memorization of geography, and the ability to pinpoint the location where you were at by some developed homing system. Somehow, living in the desert forced an equine to develop certain specialties in order to survive. Angelus knew that this mare had none of those mechanisms, and he also knew that without him she would not survive much longer. Decision made, the shadow danced down the dune, each hoof placed so expertly that balance was no problem. Angelus breathed in this air each day, he knew the ways of the sun so well that he could go for days without water and yet continue on. His stomach had barely eaten enough for any larger horse, but with years of playing amongst the palm trees and wandering the canyons, he supposed he was a rare creature; he must be an anomaly amongst other equines. Which was why he was perfect for her - he was the savior that she needed.

As he drew closer, he noticed that her eyes were shut tight, and that there was crusted sand and tears closing them tightly. Pity filled his heart and he moved to match her strides as she mounted the tower of sand. He snorted gently, just softly. “How long have you been without water?” he queried. He was sure that the answer was one that he wouldn’t like.

ooc: ---
word count: 503
tag: antonella
muse: deliver us from the prince of egypt

[Hud]

Antonella didn't know how lucky she was to have been spotted by the desert king.

Surely her body wouldn't have been able to push on much longer in the heat that tore through her coat like fire. Her frame was that of a desert-dweller, but not her mind. Antonella longed for comfort through all of her misery. She wanted food, water, a place to sleep - all of the essentials she'd found scarce since her initial ascent out of the canyon seasons before.

The stallion found her at her weakest, her bones obvious throughout her body. She stopped her ascent, her ears perking toward him as her head turned. The other horse approached her; she did not move. His words almost registered in her brain, but mostly they simply sounded like blurry vibrations in the air... It took her almost an entire minute to calculate their meaning. She did not open her eyes initially, learning his voice as she thought of how to respond. How long had it been? Antonella could not recall.

Deciding her immediate response was not necessary, the mare dared open her encrusted eyes for the first time in hours. The blackness of the stallion almost made her jump as her brown pupils followed his distinct shape. What little white showed in her eyes was now pink, irritated by sand. Her dark grey lips opened, her brain having decided on words.

"I can't recall, sir..." The weak words were released cautiously, hoping that maybe he could help her in her moment of need.

OOC: Maybe went a little far with this one xD

image by Hud Table by Seele Studio AKA Angel

[Silver]

Angelus

Really, his heart ached for the poor mare. She was clearly not having a good spot of luck with the demanding mistress that was the desert. She was thinner than she should be, in any case, and he could see that her steps were shaky and weak. The sun beat down upon the pair, and he sighed with sympathy at seeing someone so abused by the difficult terrain. They were slowly but steadily making their way up to the top of the dune, but they were still a ways away from the nearest water hole. The desert king knew that he could make the journey, but he worried about the mare. She didn’t know when she last drank water, and that was a dangerous thing. She looked close to collapsing, and he was the last horse to let someone fade away under his care, especially in his kingdom.

When she opened her eyes at last he caught a hint of warm brown, but most of all he caught the tiredness and irritation that was causing her eyes to be surrounded with pink rather than white. A gust of wind buffeted the pair and he was forced to turn his head even more completely towards her to avoid getting sand in his eyes. Angelus planted his hooves in the sand and waited for a moment to make sure that the ground would not move beneath him. His muscles constantly fighting for balance, the King of the Sands maneuvered so that he took the brunt of the wind. “There is not much that we can do at this height, I’m afraid,” he said loudly over the gust of wind. His mane flew backwards at an almost horizontal angle, testifying to the power of the gale. “I know of a water hole that is nearby here, but we still must make it to the bottom of this dune, and then a short while further.” He didn’t give her the chance to say that she wouldn’t go, that she was too weak. If she stayed here she wouldn’t live through the night.

ooc: god sorry this is so dire. D:
word count: 350+
tag: antonella
muse: itunes library

[Hud]

Antonella recoiled at the sandy wind burst, instinctively burying her head closer to the stallion, touching his chest. She didn't care if it was improper, this was a matter of life and death. Surely he would see it that way too. The mare did not speak but only nodded, hoping he would catch her gesture. Antonella had no choice but to follow the stranger. She certainly wasn't going to make it without him.

The thought of having not been found hadn't even crossed her mind at this point. Her needs were many and she couldn't bear to think of anything but water. If he knew a place, she would follow him wherever he went. Antonella hoped this stallion wasn't of the group she had met seasons ago who were exclusive and wanted nothing to do with anyone who did not fit their criteria. Hopefully by now they had disassembled. Perhaps she'd even been found by a herd stallion who could lead her out of the desert. That or teach her how to avoid the situation she currently found herself in.

image by Hud Table by Seele Studio AKA Angel

[Silver]

Angelus

The situation was quickly turning into an emergency. She was so weak that she didn’t even have the strength to be frightened. Angelus knew what a horse looked like when it was afraid for its life. This mare didn’t even have that much to claim. It was as if her entire instinct for survival had left, and he was escorting a shell of a horse out of danger. The black King gritted his teeth and said no more as the winds continued to buffet the pair with angry howls and showers of sand. He bowed his head and squinted his eyes, looking for the shallowest slope descending the dune. Stay with me, he silently ordered, nudging her neck with his muzzle. There was hardly an easy way out of the situation, but they could waste no more time. His hooves shifted in the changing sands, and the dune was starting to change around their feet. Alarm shot through Angelus like a bullet. They needed to hurry, or risk being caught in a sandstorm that would scrape the skin from their nostrils and wreak havoc on the rest of their bodies. “Quickly now,” he urged in her ear. Walking was not an option, and so Angelus urged the mare to trot, by starting a brisk pace of his own. The wind was dying down for a minute, and they needed to take advantage of whatever time they had until the next gale.

ooc: ---
word count: 240+
tag: antonella
muse: itunes library

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Hud]

Antonella blinked her sand-crusted eyes as she held her head close to the black stallion's gleaming hide. His body's resilience to the elements astounded her. Her own lithe form was still not enough against the desert's wrath, and yet here this male lived, thriving. Antonella heard his words and followed suit as well as she could, following his movements with as much speed and calculation as possible. "Thank you, sir," she managed quietly.

The mare caught herself here and there as she moved across and down the dune, her hooves sinking with every step. She didn't even know his name, but she could say with complete certainty that she owed him her entire life. Even in her dire straits, she'd never felt so protected - so safe.

OOC: I SAY WE CALL THIS ONE QUITS AND HAVE A BABY.