Herds of Thalija - The Story

[NeriHyuga]

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Summary

This story will be discovered with your help, to find out more you can go to the main page or take part in the Game
- There can be very short sessions because of the outcomes or decisions made by players :3

Prolog
Chapter 1

[NeriHyuga]

The Story:

Prolog: In search for the wild horses

We have made it, we finally reached the hidden Plains from Thalija. It had been a hard and weary way through the mountains, especially with our trusty horses that needed to carry all our gear. The path down was narrow and rocky, but we trained our horses well and they got us down on the safer plains. Vast they stretched out before us, in a bright, healthy green that was kissed by the sun.
Trees stretched out their shadows in the distance, but we decided to set up our little camp at the base of the mountains.
It wasn't easy to get to work right after we had made the journey, but this was the wilderness and we couldn't rest before we had a little shelter build up. Agreeing upon who had what task to do, we started to finally let the horses rest a bit with taking the equipment off them. They seemed joyful and glad, giving some tired snorts, before lowering their heads to feed on some grass. They looked at each other in between and it was as if they were talking. But we let them have their break and started to set up the tents.
It took us quite some time and the sun was high set in the sky, we wouldn't have much time to go on the first search for the wild horses that roamed this area. Still, we had some tasks left to do and that was a little fire. We couldn't stay out here without a camp fire to keep us warm when the night came in, so we started to dig a little pit and placed rocks around it. After that we took some of the fire wood that was left from our journey and started litting it up with a grill lighter.
Now we had finally done the basics before going out and searching for tracks.

Sadly one of us needed to be left behind to watch the horses and not let the fire without any watch, but the others could go out in search for some tracks. We couldn't split up because of the various danger in these wild lands, so our chance to find a herd was pretty low. But we got lucky and we could at least find some rather new tracks to follow. They lead us over the plains and into a little rocky formation. Wandering between the rocks, we came around a pretty large one and almost screamed in glee when we could see our first Horse. It was a beautiful chestnut colored stallion with white markings over his body, face and one leg. He seemed a little nervous, snorting and looking around, so we tried not to get detected and spook him. We needed to know more about this foreign horse, so it was time to use our technology. It would allow us to listen to his thoughts, getting to know him better from far away.

After finishing the calibration of our little wonder machine, we could adjust it to the foreign stallion. We were all nervous, because if he noticed us an run away, we wouldn't be able to track him down fast enough to get the data. But he lowered his head to the ground and sniffed at the earth, before looking around again and letting out a loud neigh. It seemed like he searched for something, we would soon know more. And finally the light on the machine turned from a blue blinking one into green and we could finally listen to the horses thoughts:
"Where is she? She must be close, somewhere around here. Smell, everything smells, where?"
His thoughts seemed to be pretty chaotic, but we were right, he really did search for another horse. But now it was time for us to get out of here to not startle him any further. The machine would keep track of him and every horse that came close. This was the first step, soon we would be able to track him with our equpiment back in the camp. So we decided to head back.

It took us a little time to make our way back, but we managed without getting noticed by the horse or other wildlife that was around here. We still tried to look around a bit to find the Mare he was searching for, but so far away from him we couldn't listen so well anymore. For that we needed to get back and set up everything, so we could watch from far away the stories that would unfold before us. After learning that animals could think and talk like we did, it was just a matter of time until humanity created a tool that was able to translate their voices, since than we had developed it further and further and now, we were at a point where we could observe wildlife from far away with monitors and headphones, watching them living their life without us interfering in it. This was our goal here too. We wanted to observe the wild and untouched Horse herds that lived in this foreign part of our land.
After we got back, everyone was incredible happy and nervous. We couldn't wait to finally get everything up and running to be able to enter the mind of that chestnut colored Stallion we saw earlier. It still took us a little time, but eventually we had set everything up and started the monitors, before putting our headphones on and watching with rising curiosity the progress bar filling up.

[NeriHyuga]

Chapter 1: Castur and Cleo

Castur

Castur was a young, 4 year old stallion that was casted out of his former herd by his father. After being forced to leave the silver forest herd together with his sister Cleo, he had wandered off in search for a new home or a herd to join. They had made their way through the forests and avoided other herds for the time being. Checking on markings and while in search for a new home to stay, they had left the forests and where now in a foreign part of the land they had never been before. The vast plains where strange to look at and it made him nervous.
Both of them had no experience in the plains and after getting surprised by a cougar, he had lost his sister in the rocky formation he was no stranded in. He could still smell traces of the dangerous cat nearby, but he didn't want to leave without his sister or at least knowing her fate. Castur let out another loud neigh and this time he finally got an answer, a soft whine coming from the north. It was the sound of his sister! He didn't hesitate much longer and sprinted into a gallop to run around the rock formations to reach the location he had heard his sisters voice. But before he could find her, another sound made him take a hard stop, when the roaring sound of a cat came from above him. He looked up and saw the Cougar, ready to jump on his back from the rock right above his head.

He was still pretty nervous and scared, when his eyes met those of this dangerous cat. But... this monster propably hurt his sister and if he succumbed to his instincts to flee, Cleo could be in even more danger. No, he needed to find and protect her and he wouldn't let this stupid cat win again. When she jumped off the rock and showed his fangs and claws to dig into his fur, he reared on his hind legs and spun around. The cat didn't expect him to actually fight, and her eyes grew big when she was met with dangerous, slashing hooves instead of a delicious back. Castur could feel a sharp, stinging pain when the cat got him with one paw at his neck, but in the same time his hooves hit her chest and her right cheek. She let out a painful, high-pitched sound, before ripping her claws from his neck and landing on her paws on the ground. He was ready to stomp his feet into her body, but the cougar managed to quickly roll to the side. She let out a stressed and fearful hiss, before turning around and quickly running for her life. Castur watched after her with a agitated snort, still feeling the pain in his neck, but there were only scratches, they would heal. Now he definitely needed to find his sister, especially if she was hurt!

He was in a hurry now to find his sister. He could hear some more noises that propably belonged to her. But this was a damn maze and after taking many different turns around the rocks, he finally was getting closer. He called for her and she answered him again, this time he could hear her words even: "Brother! I am here!".
He followed her voice and when he came around the rocks he could finally see his sister lying on the ground.
"There you are? Are you alright?", he quickly scanned her over. She had a dark bay body and tobiano markings covering most of her shoulder, legs and head. She looked alright, but when she tried to stand up, he saw her lifting her hind leg a little bit.
"I am fine... but my leg hurts, the cat got it, before I could shook her off", she looked at her own leg and snorted in worry, but the wound didn't seem too deep and just bleed a little bit.
"We need to get out of here and... find someone to rest and get you back to health", Castur too snorted at her wound, before starting to nudge her up on her feet and helping her to walk along. After some steps she could walk alone again, getting used to the pain. She didn't want to look weak and get even more attention from predators.
"I think you know your way a little better around here to get us out of this rocky formation", she nudged her nostrils against her brother's neck and both of them tried to leave the rocks.

It took a little more time, but eventually they found a way out of the labyrinth they got caught in. Both of them let out a soft, happy snort when they saw the grassfields in front of them. It was still foreign terrain for the two, but at least they couldn't get surprised easily anymore. Castur held his head high and flexed his neck in a typical stallion like posture, his sister only let out a little laugh and rubbed her head against his neck, before giving him some soft nibbles at his mane.
"We made it out. I am so glad", she still had a little limb from her injury, but it had gotten better and she would heal over night after getting some herbs in her system."I feel strange not being in the forest anymore... it scares me a bit. Can we try and find some shelter?", she looked up at her brother, wo gave her a nudge with his muzzle.
"You will be fine, I fought that damn cat and won, so we won't be attacked so easily anymore. I can just slash at it again with my hooves", he tried to sooth Cleo, while almost dancing aside her with his legs. "But you got an idea, we really should search for some shelter and maybe we will find a new forest, that we can take for ourselves, so long we need to manage like this", normally the lead mare would lead the way, but Cleo wasn't made for this job. So Castur put one hoove before the other and both of them started to slowly make their way through the open fields. Nibbling at the grass under their feet and trying to find some herbs they knew to tread Cleo's wounds.

They slowly walked through the grass fields, getting a little mouth full to eat. They always took turns when eating, so one of them would watch for danger, while the other could graze a little bit.
"We should go to the trees back there, maybe we can find some herbs in the shade", Cleo looked at her brother, before showing him the tree section I little further to the north.
"That looks good, alright", he accepted her decision and they went over to the trees, it just took them a little trot, until they reached their destination to look around. Between the little patches of grass, they could find some mushrooms and:
"Yes!", Cleo called out and plucked some herbs with her muzzle, showing it to Castur. "That are the ones!", she mumbled with her full mouth, before starting to chew on it. Then she lifted her hind leg up and put the chewed herbs on the wound. Giving it a short flinch of the burning pain, but her mother had shown her it would help to heal small wounds.
"You okay?", Castur seemed a little bit nervous, smelling at the herb mash, before snorting and lifting his head again.
"Yes, these will definitely help in healing it... and you should use some too!", without giving him a chance to evade, she used the rest of the paste and put it on his neck wound.
"Urg... okay, okay. If there is no other way", her brother murred a bit, but let her do.

After treating their wound, it was time to find some shelter and rest there, especially after everything they went through, it was better to take a little nap for the night. The sun was already setting and they where here at the trees. "Maybe we should stay here", Cleo muttered, after laying down in the shade to rest her leg a bit. But Castur seemed restless, he was looking around, watching for any danger or predator that might come. They were still too close to the mountain cat that attacked them earlier.
"I think it would be better to keep going. The night will be dangerous when we linger around this place. That cat could try again to attack us and if she gets us in a distracted moment, I don't know if I can protect us well", the stallion claimed and he had made up his mind. So he went over to his darker colored sister and nudged her, to get her up again. She murred in an answer, because her leg was still hurting, but in the end she gave in: "Alright, maybe you are right". She got up from her feet and let her brother lead the way.
"We will find something better", he reassured her and the siblings started to wander further. After some time, Castur could smell the marks of another horse. Oh damn... did they enter the territory of another stallion? He was too tired and noticed too late that the faint smell from earlier had gotten stronger and his sister got nervous too.
"I- I think we went too far, it smells stronger here", she gave out with a nervous snort. And as if to affirm the truth, suddenly a foreign voice called out to them.
"Hey! what are you doing here?!"