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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 6:51 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 7:03 pm
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Blake stepped over the threshold of the forest, eyes widening and swallowing as loudly and solidly as he dared. He had made a stupid bet with his friends - in the interest of public good, of course, but it was silly all the same. There was a rumor going around that this particular patch of the woods had recently become inhabited by the ghost of a unicorn, ethereal but worrying to the residents nearby. This rumor had made its way to Blake's friends, and Blake, a staunch believer in just about nothing otherworldly, had vocally opposed the existence of such a thing.
Boy, was he feeling like an idiot now.
Taking in a deep breath, Blake took another step into the woods. This place was dim with the dense tree cover, and an unseasonal mist lingered amidst the lower branches of the trees. Perhaps it was a weather phenomenon because not much sun reached this place? He couldn't be sure. He may not believe in the supernatural, but that didn't mean was a scientist by any stretch of the imagination.
As he meandered farther into the forest, Blake's eyes began to adjust to the low light and he began to feel more comfortable raising his head to get a better look at the higher surroundings. Though this place was dark, it held warmth; tiny sparks of sunlight peeped through breaks in the canopy, casting golden light to the forest floor. This wasn't such a bad locale, he supposed.
His warming thoughts didn't stop him from jumping a mile high when a branch snapped underfoot, though - but when he looked down, he realized there weren't any branches under his feet to snap. His ears swiveled in high-alert and he lifted his head, looking for any sign of danger. His nostrils flared to search for any foreign scents, but all he got was the strong scent of fir and pine. Still, the hair along his spine tingled... He felt someone was watching him.
WC: 330
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 7:18 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 7:49 pm
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Seeing nothing immediately before him, Blake gingerly turned his head to the side, looking for something behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something ghostly pale - something roughly the size of a soquili, with some distinctly darker patches. All at once, his mind wiped blank, and the rest of his fur seemed to stand on end; his breath went shallow and his heart rate sped up.
Well, he supposed, he'd gotten what he asked for. There was a being of supernatural origin here... Of course, he still had time to be mistaken. Soquili came in all kinds of colors; he had a sister that pale, after all. Blake bit the inside of his cheek; yep, he was still on this plane of reality. Time to face the truth.
Turning about slowly, so as not to startle and provoke the creature, Blake pivoted to look at it. It wasn't wholly in plain sight, but enough pale pelt showed through the trees for him to recognize that it was, indeed, a soquili - or at least, had been one once. Lowering his head timidly, Blake carefully bowed. "Excuse my forwardness," he said shakily, "but I have been sent here on a quest to determine whether there is a ghost in these woods." Raising his head, he met the being's soft blue eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have seen one?"
WC: 230
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:41 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:54 pm
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Gazing at the soquili that gazed back at him, he realized that she hadn't blinked, and neither had he. His eyes began to water, and he felt like snapped back into himself. Blinking and shaking his head - she had begun to waver and sparkle before his eyes, which could only be the result of the staring contest they had seemed to be having - Blake tilted his head. He took one step closer.
Though he was at a disadvantage, only being able to see half her face... and what looked like a spike on her head... and maybe a skull... Blake took a chance. "You appear to be a soquili like any other, though perhaps misjudged by the passersby," he mused to himself, hoping to put the both of them more at ease. "Though you are so quiet, one could see why some might call you an apparition and judge you before they know you." Furrowing his brow, he took one more small step, giving her plenty of time to disengage and flee if she saw fit. "Why are you here, so deep in these dark woods?"
WC: 186
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:10 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:26 pm
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As he watched, the mare emerged from the bushes in which she had been mostly hidden. He was right - she was a soquili, and a unicorn at that. Her markings were a little spooky, but she didn't appear to have any mutations or anything about her that was scary, strictly speaking.
Until she started wiggling and screeching.
She contorted in odd ways and opened her mouth wide, hollering an uncanny cry - and then she took off, whirling around so fast that he barely had time to register which direction she was going. Of course, her practically-glowing pelt helped him track her, as before he knew what he was doing, he was following her. He kept his pace slower, so as not to spook her more than she already was, but quick enough to keep sight of her.
Suddenly, a thud echoed off the tree trunks, and a sinking feeling resonated through Blake's stomach. That couldn't have been good. He had also lost sight of her coat flashing through the brush.
Following her hoofprints, Blake came upon the unfortunate scene of her accident: she lay on the ground near the base of a tree, eyes rolling about in her head. Craning his neck as he looked over a bush, Blake stepped just to the other side of it, giving her plenty of space. "Well, clearly you're solid," he said, doing his best not to snort. "Are you all right?"
WC: 238
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 8:21 am
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 4:30 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 7:28 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 7:48 pm
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When the mare looked him in the eyes and spilled more unrecognizable sounds from her mouth, Blake furrowed his brow and steeled himself. It seemed she did not speak the common tongue, after all. Not knowing anything about what meaning hid behind the sounds she made, Blake nodded to her and made a high-pitched sound of his own, attempting to indicate he was questioning if she was okay.
He foresaw a long day ahead of him, but a few things were certain: this mare was no ghost or beast, and she might need help. And he appeared to be the only one who had gotten close enough to her to possibly provide it, given that it seemed most people in this area were terrified of her for (as he had surmised) pretty much invalid reasons.
Determination bloomed like warmth in his chest. Well, he decided, if she didn't have any friends, he would be her friend. And he would make sure she hadn't injured herself before he did anything else.
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:04 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:12 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:19 pm
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