Burgiethewriter

Arabica did not like to hunt. It wasn’t because he loved the animals too much, that was more Jaik’s thing. He did like animals well enough, but he knew that hunting was beneficial to survival in some cases, and it was the way of the world that some must die so that others may live. Death was just a part of the cycle of life. He had come to terms with that, no matter how much the thought of death scared him. He also didn’t like hunting because he would prefer not to, that was Maelstrom’s excuse. The lazy old Asiatic who had first found Arabica wandering lost in the desert had taught his adopted son how to hunt under extreme sufferance. No, the reason that Arabica disliked hunting stemmed from his deep anxiety over ‘just about everything’, as the other Ballators on Hannah’s property often said. But really, Jaik often argued in his friend’s defence, who wouldn’t be scared of everything, especially after the recent events with the Red Star? Arabica had stayed at home through all of that

“Daddy, tell me a story!” Maelstrom looked up as Trouble galloped across the paddock, eventually coming to a skidding stop at his father’s hooves. Maelstrom’s eyes widened as he grinned with glee upon this request, his face not even falling as Hyacinth made her slow progress towards him. “Go on,” said Hyacinth. She looked bedraggled, her opalescent horn décor sagging against her face. There were a few leaves and twigs stuck in it, more snagged in her curly manes and tail. “Oh, did you have a good hunting session with him?” Maelstrom asked, knowing that the mare had taken her son on a hunting lesson. Hyacinth snorted, while Trouble opened his mouth to tell his father all about it. “I do not want to talk about it,” said Hyacinth, and turned to walk away, no doubt headed for a long, hot soak in a bath that smelled like a flower garden (Maelstrom had once tried to do the same, but for some reason, Josephine took extreme offense to him trying to rest in the fountain). “Well, son, how

Eris couldn’t sleep. Oh, she had tried, she really had. She’d tried everything from Hyacinth’s suggestion of a sleepmask and earmuffs (even going so far as to borrow the other Asiatic mare’s silky purple eye mask), to Hannah’s sleepytime brew, even listening in on a bedtime story that Perdita told to the foals. Nothing seemed to be working, though, and this was hardly the first time that this had happened. Right now, Eris was trying the meditation suggested to her by Moth. Deep breath in, deep breath out, count to ten… Her hoof gave a sharp stab of pain, making Eris’ eyes fly open as a hissed curse escaped her lips. She shifted her position, trying to take weight off of the old injury. That whole adventure in the forest had been months ago now, so why in Ares’ name did her hoof still hurt so much? It looked fine, really, though the fur had taken some time to grow back around the bite mark. Hannah had said something about infection the last time, and that had worried Eris enough that

One would think that, especially after the events of the Red Star and her son and his friend going missing in a forest, Tatiana would be rather more hesitant about setting hoof there again. Not so, as she once again left her family behind, ensuring her son that he would be fine and that his little baby brother would protect him. Haurchefant had grown up quite a bit since Jaik had come home, now standing almost to her son’s withers. At the head, anyway. His little nubby green horns were starting to grow more little nubs, too, branching out into the antlers that they would someday become. “That’s right, Jaik, I’ll protect you!” Haurchefant crowed, rearing up onto his hind legs. Jaik laughed, leaning forward to touch his nose to his mother’s. “Alright, fine,” said Jaik. “Just be careful, okay, mum?” “I always am,” said Tatiana, giving him a reassuring grin. Her hare, Concentration, hopped up to her side, though, butting in. “More like, you somehow luck into and out of dangerous

While the red star cast its hellish glow over all the land and brought many Ballators together to fight the unknown threat, there were a few places that were free of its influence. Or, at least, free of the fighting. One of these places Tatiana knew well, no matter how far she wandered or how long she’d been away. It was not the place of her birth, not really. But it reminded her fondly of her younger days, when she’d travelled with her brother, coming back to this place again and again to be taught how to hunt and how to live by this friendly Mountain/Forest stallion. Even now, all this time later, he still had the same colourful rump, the same horns like antlers, the same palomino coat. Tatiana couldn’t help but beam as she came through the bushes, seeing the stallion who had partially raised her. And had been there for her ever since, no matter what happened. It had been him, after all, who she had gone to when she’d first fallen pregnant with Jaik. But this time, Tatiana did not

Jaik had never been so glad to see the Oasis, nor had he really expected to find it, but he’d know those slopes anywhere. The sound of that waterfall. Though it did look significantly different now, without the sights and sounds of sparring Ballators. It was so dark, too, that any blood that had been spilled could not be seen on the ground. It was almost peaceful. And yet, there was something in the air that prevented true peace from settling. A sense of foreboding, or maybe that was just from the fact that the strange deer creature that Jaik had seen before had disappeared. He wasn’t sure. But whatever it was, it made his manes stand on end. Now, Jaik could understand why Boo was so afraid. The leopard in question was still able to move, but slowly. It was also entirely possible that concern for his Ballator was overriding the fear that had frozen Boo almost completely solid. “We’ve made it,” Regale spoke up from behind them, Jaik turning at last to find the rest of the group coming

A little distance away from Jaik’s small herd, two Ballators stood together. Their dark coats blended in with the darkness around them, and though the lack of thick fur on them should have made them cold, they did not so much as shiver as the cold air whirled around them. “Well, brother, it looks like you’ve made a fine mess of things,” said Betelgeuse. Antares snapped at his sister, manes rattling, teeth bared. “I was not the one who got us kicked out of Orodrune, sister,” Antares sneered. Betelgeuse huffed. “Regardless, we can do something about this now,” said Betelgeuse. “And what do you suggest?” Antares asked, his tail flicking idly in the night air. “Open a ravine in front of them so they fall in? Send the denizens of the Deadwoods after them? Light the world on fire?” Betelgeuse snorted. “Well, that last one is out, though that stallion did make a nice lunch,” said Betelgeuse. “And we have not the strength yet to do anything major. I do have an idea, though, if you’ll stop

The landscape around Jaik seemed dark and desolate and endless. But, with his companions around him, he found it hard to feel truly alone. They were making slow progress, Jaik ever taking into consideration Nael’s weak back legs and stopping whenever the stallion needed to. Mercifully, Eris knew better than to complain. Or maybe she was happy to rest her injured hoof, too. A shape suddenly appeared out of the gloom, and Jaik stopped, Star prancing back a little with a nicker of concern. But the shape resolved itself to be Owl, staggering towards them, her eyes dark with pain and her blue horns crusted with the red Star Touched growths. She was in her usual form, now, no doubt too tired and weak to maintain her true form. Or perhaps the corruption had stolen that ability from her. That was a chilling thought. “Owl?” Eris asked, stepping towards the mare. But Owl did not hear her, or at least, she acted like she didn’t. Instead, she swung her head upwards, blinking at the red star, the

The red star woke Jaik. His eyes snapped open as he sucked in air, surging to his feet and sending something beside him rolling away with an annoyed nicker and the tiny bird within his mane fluttering away, chirping loud alarm calls. Jaik’s sides heaved as he looked around, trying to make sense of his dark surroundings. It was as dark as his coat out here, which was the strangest thing yet- where was the red star? “What the hell, Jaik?” a voice snapped, effectively snapping Jaik out of his thoughts. He turned around, surprised and too relieved to feel guilty as he beheld the form of Eris standing before him. Her tail flicked in agitation, though Jaik was pretty sure that it was directed towards him and not the black leopard crouched beneath her in fear. “You didn’t have to send us halfway across the bloody Lowrealm.” “I-I didn’t- what?” Jaik asked, ears flicking in confusion. But then he stepped forward and nuzzled Eris, who stepped back in annoyance and disgust, just barely missing

Natheir had seen many things in his travels. Many different landscapes, different beasts, even different dragons. He’d also seen plenty of different humans in addition to the one who had decided to accompany him on his travels. She often rode on his back, as she did now, clinging to a makeshift saddle that she’d created after one too many complaints about how uncomfortable it was to sit on him for extended periods of time. Now, Victoria let out a shout as Natheir suddenly dived down into a clearing, pulling up short before he could dive into the clear waters of the lake. “What are you doing?” Victoria demanded, scrambling from his saddle and onto the ground once Natheir had landed. Natheir shook his head, shaking out his wings as well, and then gave a growl of annoyance at the saddle still sitting on his back. “Get this thing off me,” said Natheir. “Fine,” said Victoria with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. She came around to his side, carefully unbuckling the straps. The saddle fell