a world without light - cupido entry

[potato.PHD]

my tryout form for cupido draft horse #288, please do not post

[potato.PHD]

it's been almost a week since the sun disappeared, and to be completely honest, i would've thought it'd be a lot more chaotic than it actually is. the riots stopped two days ago - whether it was due to people getting hit in the face with common sense and realizing that the government had no control over this or if something else entirely stopped them, i'll never know. the only thing i know for certain? we have to keep moving.

the news anchors tried covering it up - sugarcoating the truth so people wouldn't panic as much - but you'd have to be an idiot not to have figured it out by now. it's quite simple, really - if the sun really had vanished, then two things would be made known fairly quickly:
1. the earth would begin to freeze over.
2. seeing as there's a power outage of a global scale, there's no light pollution; therefore, the stars would be visible, clear as day. and they're not.

i don't understand how people are so blind. the sun hasn't vanished; it's been blotted out. there's something blocking the sun from our vision - and i intend to find out what exactly that something is.

i went outside today. it's pitch black out - as to be expected, when there's no light whatsoever. i made sure to grab an oil lantern and a lighter before i left home, so i was well-prepared for the expedition.

i walked around my block - mainly to see if anyone was still alive, but partially to see if there was anyone in need of help. i didn't go out expecting to find anything of interest, but of course, it hits when you least expect it.
there was a figure, standing in the street. it was a miracle i'd managed to see him in the first place - after all, my lantern was the only light source around for miles. i slowly began to approach, one hand holding the lantern's handle tight, the other fingering my dagger cautiously. "friend or foe?" i called out to the figure.

no response. it was as if he was frozen in place - his back was to me, so i couldn't tell if his eyes were open or anything. maybe he was deaf? i approached, calling out again - "friend or foe?"
still no response.
i was about five feet away from him when i saw it - in the distance, a flashing red light. i blinked before shading my eyes - it was awfully bright for something so far away, and it made a shuttering noise, almost like that of a camera.

it was around that time that my frozen friend regained movement in his legs, and he sprinted towards the crimson lights bathing us both.
i opened my mouth to yell after him, but no words could escape my lips; something inside me was telling me to stay quiet. i closed my mouth, watching as the man quickly approached the flashing red lights. and then... something strange happened.

the flashing red lights tilted downwards slightly, almost as if they were a pair of eyes looking down at him from overhead. i stood my ground, but watched in increasing horror as the man paused in front of the lights - no, they weren't lights. i could tell now - i could see it clearly. it was a giant, mechanical creature.

and it did not appear happy.

i don't remember much of what happened after that creature spotted the man, but i do know that as it loomed over him, a sense of heat washed over me and i fell to the ground, unconscious. when i woke up, i was in a home - not my own, obviously enough.

i stood quickly, feeling dizzy as i heard a voice - not my own - call out to me quietly.
"calm yourself, girly - easy now, no need to panic. you're safe now."
i looked over to see a young man, probably not much older than me, reach out to steady my shaking hands. wait. i was shaking? how long had i been shaking? never mind that now - there were more pressing matters to be tended to. like-

"who are you?" the words left my lips faster than i could process them, and i backed away from the man quickly. he frowned - a simple gesture, but i didn't understand why he cared about my well-being. "where are we? what... what happened?"
he stepped forward - a cautious motion, as he tried to show me he meant no harm. "my name's gerard," he began. "i found you out on the street - thank the stars i found you before one of those mechs did. and-"
"mechs?"

he nodded. "one of those weird mech things - i'm sure you've seen 'em if you've been walking around any. they have flashing lights for eyes, and they turn red when they sense motion - i don't know what they do to people once they catch them, but i do know that you should never, ever, look one of those things in its eyes. i've seen what happens to people after that, and trust me - it's not pretty." he shuddered violently, and i paled considerably at that.

"anyway, i brought you back here - this is my house. as you can see, it's boarded up quite nicely - but i doubt it'll be this way for long," he sighed. "we should be safe for the next couple nights, but it's probably in our best interests to keep moving."
"how will we get around?" i asked. "i mean... those mechs are huge, from what i saw... if they catch one of us while we're on foot-"
"don't think about that," he snapped quickly, and i shut my mouth. "...sorry, i... i don't like thinking about that," gerard apologized. "...i have a way we can get around faster-"

"you have a car?"
gerard laughed. "not exactly. there's a stable out back. from what i've seen, the mechs don't pay much mind to horses - or any animals, for that matter. as long as we ride them, we should be in the clear for long distances."

Iris Finch - Female - 22 years old
the main character of our story, iris tells the tale of an apocalyptic world in which the sun has disappeared, and strange mechanical creatures are now roaming the earth.



























Gerard ???? - 25 years old - Male
the happy go lucky sidekick. gerard owns withered days' stables, his pride and joy for the last seven years. he is piccolo's current owner, but gives off handling rights to iris in these desperate times.

[potato.PHD]

show name: WD's A Dreamer's Conclusion
barn name: Piccolo
gender: Stallion

personality: Despite his massive, warhorse-like demeanor, Piccolo is actually quite the meek little thing. Timid and tentative, this stallion hesitates at even the slightest touch of danger, and typically doesn't enjoy charging headfirst into said danger. However, due to his currently unsavory circumstances (what with the world ending and all), it seems he has very little choice but to do so. And so, the shy stallion does his best in this new world to help his companions survive. He may startle very easily, and he may not want to do certain things (like run past one of those incredibly dangerous mechs recklessly), but by golly, if he doesn't try his best to overcome his fears. Hopefully he gets rewarded for all of this.

introduction:

he swung his head over as voices carried over from outside - gerard, and some other person he couldn't identify by voice alone.
"...it's been a while since anybody's ridden any of my horses, so they might be a bit antsy at first, but i'm sure they'll get used to you quick," gerard was explaining.
"mm," the new voice said. "how many horses do you have?"
"just the two," he laughed at that. "i've been keeping 'em here while this all plays out so they'd at least be safe, but now that i've found another rider, i'm sure that things will work out in the long run." at this, the barn doors opened and piccolo shuddered at the overwhelming darkness before him; the only source of light was coming from an oil lantern that the new person - a brown-haired woman - was holding, and it really accentuated just how dark everything had become since the sun disappeared.

gerard walked over to his stall, placing a gentle, loving hand on piccolo's nose, and he snorted appreciatively at that. gerard was always patient, always so nice and friendly... he now eyed the woman warily as she approached, able to get a better look at her now that there was a concentrated light source. her hair was tied up into a bun, and her eyes - they were dark. almost darker than the eternal night they'd been plagued with.

piccolo didn't really trust that.

the woman walked up to him and allowed piccolo to sniff at her hand, though he backed away slightly. however, gerard (damn his niceness) grabbed onto his halter, gently guiding him back over. "easy big guy," he cooed softly, "iris here ain't gonna hurt you none. she's our friend now, yeah?"
if gerard kept deciding that he was going to "make friends" for piccolo, then the stallion might very well have a heart attack one of these days, thank you very much.

the woman - iris, as gerard referred to her - looked piccolo up and down, almost as if sizing him up. on second thought, she almost definitely was sizing him up - given their current situation, piccolo couldn't really blame her for that, but still - it was nerve-wracking.
finally, with voice dripping like honey, she spoke: "so this guy's gonna help us get from point a to...where, exactly?"
gerard smiled, though a bit hesitantly. "i... i don't actually know. this town's already ridden with the mechs and all, so we should probably head to the next town over - see how they're doing. we need to get somewhere safe."

"and leave the barn behind?" iris quipped, and piccolo was surprised to find he was thinking the exact same thing. all he'd known for most of his life was this barn! why would they just leave it behind?
"well, i don't think we have much of a choice at this point," gerard sighed. "we should just keep on keeping on, and hope for the best. i think that's the best chance we have for survival."

piccolo snorted abruptly, glancing over to his companion in the next stall over and whipping his tail as though saying, "can you believe this?" but the other horse was more fascinated by the possibility of treats - of course, piccolo sighed. he was, as per usual, the only one taking things seriously. he glanced back towards iris and was surprised (and a little unnerved) to find that she was staring directly at him. gerard seemed to notice this and patted piccolo's back firmly. "don't worry 'bout a thing, big guy," he said. "we're gonna get out of here and head somewhere safer, alright? that sound good?"

that, in fact, did not sound good, but when did piccolo's opinions ever matter?
"attaboy!" exactly.