Lunaria Borealis

by EquestrianKirin

Ch.2: The Snow Moon

As time went on, Vinrod and the Changeling continued off towards Appaloosa. The number of bright night continued to rise and fall, the land still cold from the high time of late winter. In fact, snow was getting to be a major problem for the hybrid and Changling, starting to become softer and thicker. Normally that wouldn't be too much of an issue, but, walking through soft snow reaching up to a pony's underbelly can be an energy-drainer. It didn't really help that the path - although going through a pine forest - wasn't covered up, allowing snow to fully cover it. Vinrod didn't have too much trouble going through the thick snow, being taller than an average pony would be, but it didn't mean he didn't have any trouble. Speaking of trouble, the Changeling was still going through quite a bit of trouble. With it's holed legs, and insect nature, winter was a deep sin to it. Even if its hoof had grown back, it still couldn't fly safely in this kind of weather. At least snow wasn't adding more to what was already there, and the moon was giving plenty of light to see thanks to the white snow reflecting off it. Vinrod stopped for a brief moment, letting the Changeling catch up.

"Dang it snow, it's hard enough as it is," the Changeling growled, continuing to keep its pace. Vinrod steadily stood in the snow as the Changeling caught up with him, panting heavily with dry breath. Vinrod would ask it if it needed a lift, but again, his concern for it being a creature that feeds on high levels of emotion. Besides, the last 5 times he asked, the Changeling always refused, so he didn't bother that time. While going down the trail lined ahead of them, the Changeling finally took a rest, extremely tired from the draining march, making Vinrod stop as well. The horned Sphinx walked back to the Changeling as it tried to regain what energy it had left. Vinrod finally had enough with his worries and its stubbornness, so he kneel down, and readied himself.

"I told you, I don't need any help," the Changeling snapped, despite being weak enough.

"Please, you're going to die if you keep this up," Vinrod insisted, his voice even weaker than usual.

"And your point?"

"You want to get back, don't you?" Vinrod asked, more firm than concern. The Changeling did want to return to the horde, and to Queen Mantis. It looked to its hooves, the holes completely filled and weighed down by ice and snow that had compacted within them. It didn't have a choice. Slowly, the Changeling managed to drag itself onto Vinrod's back, settling itself on comfortable as Vinrod raised him back up. Vinrod kept the worry of the Changeling's appetite for emotion out of mind as Vinrod started to continue. Only after a minute of carrying, Vinrod and the Changeling suddenly stopped as they heard an ominous set of howls coming from all directions...

"Oh buck, Timber Wolves," the Changeling stated, not in any mood nor condition to fight off any wooden canines. Vinrod was worried too, and began to pick up the pace, trotting through the snow as best he could. Even with 3 toes rather than a single hoof, it was still hard to keep footing as he tried to find somewhere to rest up. Timber Wolves were one of the threats that were able to easily survive the colder conditions and purely night hours without too much trouble, so being caught by a pack of Timberwolves would be death sentence on the spot for both Vinrod and his passenger. The Sphinx continued off for a little bit, trying to keep an eye out for any signs of Timber Wolves around them, when he too was starting to get winded. However, after heading down the road a bit, Vinrod and the Changeling both noticed a smaller path, leading off to an abandoned wooden home. These sort of abandoned homes had become a more common sight within previous years, due to the moonlight hours becoming dominant. Taking the opportunity, Vinrod and the Changeling both headed right for it. Probably their only chance they could get.

After trailing through the snow for a bit, they both just managed to get the wooden door open, and head inside. The wooden home was surrounded by snow, and it showed just how much snow there was soon as they both got in. The home looked similar to what Vinrod's home was, with a few exceptions such as an extra room to go to. The floor was cold, and light almost none, but at least it was warmer than outside in the wind. The Changeling got off Vinrod's back, and started to shake out the snow in the holes of its legs until they all were free from any icy chill on the inside of its hooves. Meanwhile, Vinrod took the time to look around for some sort of manual light to work with so they could see a bit better. After looking around for a while, the Sphinx had found another thick candle around the place, and quickly lit it up after some searching. Now they could see where they were, and get a better insight on the situation.

"You better?" Vinrod asked, turning to the Changling after it was finished getting the snow out.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine," the Changeling said, walking around the place. It also suddenly flapped its wings at rapid speed to get the frost off of them before settling down. While looking around, they both found a fire place, with some old logs nearby. Ignoring the fact it was odd seeing cut up logs in an abandoned home, Vinrod and the Changeling both got the logs in the fireplace, and lit them up with the candle, soon getting a warm fire going for them both so they could warm up. At first, there wasn't very much talk among them both, but eventually, Vinrod spoke up. Something was nagging in his head about this Queen Mantis, and he would like to know a bit more about her.

"Excuse me. Can you tell me about Queen Mantis?" Vinrod asked.

"Why should I tell you about her?" The Changeling said, looking away.

"I'm just curious. Besides, what else is there to do?" Vinrod pointed out. As a point as that was, the Changeling still tried not to let details slip about Queen Mantis.

"...Well...can you tell me who you are?..."

Still not much of a reply at first, but eventually the Changeling sighed, and turned to Vinrod.

"Changelings don't have names. Not much need for them aside from number and gender. I'm just a male Changeling...no matter how annoying it is when the queen calls on a particular Changeling..."

"Then what does Queen Mantis call you by?"

The Changeling remained quiet, giving Vinrod enough of an indication. This Changeling never had a particular name, and also, never had a particular identity for Queen Mantis to call it by, or rather, call him by. At least Vinrod knew that the Changeling was a boy, as Changeling voices are hard to distinguish between male and female. Vinrod got to thinking a little bit, his mind working on something. After a while, Vinrod turned to the Changeling.

"How about Seven?"

The Changeling looked at Vinrod with a confused expression.

"Seven?"

"Yeah. You said Changelings are called by number right? Seven seemed a name to fit," Vinrod said, taking a moment to relax his voice. He thought over the name Vinrod suggested to him, finding it not too foreign to Changling number call. After looking to the warm flames, he looked to Vinrod.

"Yeah. Seven sounds like a good name for me...But, why are you?"

"I can't just call you 'Changling' forever. If I'm gonna be with you, I need to know you a bit."

"Right right...by the way, what's wrong with your voice? Sounded like you swallowed sand or something," Seven asked, not caring too much for sensitivity when it came to that. It was Vinrod's turn to be quiet, looking to the fire again as it flickered and cracked. He placed his 3 toed foot onto his neck before answering Seven.

"It was kind of a birth defect. Sometimes when you're born a hybrid, a defect can happen to you... In my case, my voice weakened...It's not too bad though, I just can't yell without straining myself..." Vinrod explained, letting his toed warm up in the warm flames. Seven thought over what he said, and was satisfied with the answer, as he let his insect body warm up. The fire felt nice on them both, something different then the cold winter outside. However, they both knew it was only temporary before they had to go again, so, they didn't settle down too much...It also didn't help that they could still hear the howling of the Timber Wolves just outside, so until they leave, they're stuck in the cabin for the time being...

A few hours passed, as the full moon started to set, Vinrod and Seven still in the cabin together. They could hear that the snow was starting to come down again - much to their dismay -. More snow equalled more trouble, and Vinrod and Seven weren't sure to just go and risk getting attacked by the Wolves, or stay and risk getting snowed in. Since it was close to the moonless hours, Vinrod and Seven had to stay regardless... Then another sound filled the room, a sound that made Vinrod on edge...

The Changling's stomach growled.

Vinrod kept an eye on Seven for a while, for he knew enough that a Changeling's appetite is rather dangerous to deal with, especially in a secluded cabin like this. Seven wasn't doing much better, he hated when his stomach hurt from lack of food, and feeding off emotion was Seven's main food source. He technically had a full meal right next to him, but if he did that, how could he go through the snow without help? But still, his hunger was the driving force of him, and the longer they waited, the more risky the danger was. Vinrod eventually got up, looking outside from what window they had in the cabin, watching as the snow fell to the ground slowly like feathers. As he stood there looking away, Seven got back to his feet, looking towards Vinrod for a bit, his hungry stomach getting the better of him...

"H-hey, Vinrod," Seven said with some small drool going down his face. Vinrod glanced back, and saw Seven in a look of hunger directly at him. The trickle of drool from Seven's open mouth was enough of an indication to the Sphinx to keep his distance.

"Seven?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

Vinrod started to back away, as Seven stepped closer to him, eyes fixated on him.

"S-seven, control yourself."

"B-but I'm so...so hungry...Just, hold still for just a second," Seven advised, baring his vampony-like teeth. Vinrod knew Changelings aren't carnivorous, but what they do feed off was enough of a danger to one's health. In a situation like this, that was a death sentence! Vinrod bent his head down, ram horns at the ready as if expecting a charge.

"Stay back!" Vinrod demanded, though his yell was weakened to just a raised voice rather than a full yell. It wasn't enough to give the message clear to Seven, as he moved in closer, licking his muzzle like a hungry dog. His hunger was driving Seven by that point, and Vinrod was his target. But just as the Changeling was about to sink his teeth into him, suddenly the howling of the Timberwolves had returned, dangerously close that time. Then they both heard something claw at the door, the noise horrid to listen to... The Timberwolves had discovered them... Vinrod rushed out of the way of Seven while he was distracted, as the door was being rammed into by some beast outside. Since it was a weak door, it didn't take too long until the door had been busted wide open, revealing a large, Pinewood Timberwolf! Seven kept his distance, but the Timberwolf had its eyes set on Vinrod, as it charged for him! Vinrod got out of the way as the beast slammed into the wall, it's head scattering into chunks of wood. While it's head was being put back together, Vinrod and Seven took the moment to get out of there!

Both Vinrod and Seven tried to run as fast as they could, but the Timberwolf was moving much faster, despite the snow. Despite threatening to eat him, Vinrod tried to help Seven from becoming Timberwolf food. No one deserved that kind of fate, not even a Changeling. The Timberwolf gave another howl after a bit, as 2 other Timberwolves suddenly appeared alongside Vinrod, nearly killing him on sight if Vinrod didn't dodge them. Vinrod did managed to cripple them a number of time, but the regeneration powers of the Timberwolves made the attempts useless, as he and Seven navigated through the winter forest, trying to avoid the beasts at all costs. The Timberwolves kept a surprisingly good pace with Vinrod and Seven as they kept running as fast as they could. However, their dash ended them up back on the road where they came from, the opening giving the Timberwolves more room to surround them! Soon, Vinrod and Seven were suddenly surrounded by a pack of six Timberwolves!

"What do we do, what do we do?" Vinrod wondered in worry, the Timberwolves savagely growling at them, waiting for one of them to make a run for it. Vinrod tried to think of something to do, but Seven was still hungry, and his ravenousness began to take over, as he eyed the Timberwolves around him. Even creatures made of wood hold some sort of emotion in them, and the Changeling could sense that in front of him.

"YOU'RE MINE!"

It happened so fast, it was too hard to comprehend: Seven charged forward full force, wings rapid flight, as he tackled a Timberwolf to the ground, his teeth in the creature's back. At first, the Timberwolf bucked around, trying to shake the Changeling off, but Seven had already started to suck away the creature's force. Vinrod could only watch as the Timberwolf's strength quickly drained out of its body, eventually stopping cold. The glow in the wolf's eyes diminished as Seven finished off what emotion was left, as the creature collapsed into a pile of wood. Seven was satisfied, and no longer hungry, but the horrid fact presented itself. Normally, a Timberwolf would begin to regenerate by that point, and form back to it's original shape...

That didn't happen with this Timberwolf...

The other members of the pack looked at the silent pile of wood, and suddenly looked at Seven with fear rather than anger or hunger. Realizing what he'd done, Seven took the opportunity, and screeched right at them, causing the pack to run away in fear. Seven traced his tongue over his teeth, still having the odd taste of bark in his mouth. But, at least his hunger was satisfied for the moment.

"Ah~ that was good," Seven said, as Vinrod walked over.

"What happened there? You basically killed a Timberwolf," Vinrod asked, more intrigued than worried. Sure, Timberwolves weren't the strongest predators, but to stop one from regenerating after one attack was something else entirely. Seven turned to Vinrod, no longer looking at him like food.

"I had to feed somehow. It's a monthly deal a Changeling has to deal with," Seven said, looking down to the pile of wood in the snow. Speaking of snow, Seven was having trouble getting the snow out of his hooves again. Such a bother snow getting stuck inside a Changeling's leg from all those holes. After knowing that Seven wasn't gonna attack him, Vinrod walked over alongside him, and settled down again next to him. An invitation to ride on his back again. Unlike before, Seven just got on and Vinrod got back up, letting Seven shake off the snow in his hooves again.

"It's too dangerous here. We should keep moving," Vinrod suggested.

"What?! We can't continue after moonless hours, especially in weather like this! Let's just get back to that cabin!" Seven snapped.

"And deal with more Timberwolves? Besides, you want to get back, right?"

"Argh, you keep on bringing that up...fine," Seven sighed. He did desperately want to get home, but however, he still had common sense too. However, he might as well continue on anyway. Who knows what could happen if they'd stay?...

~~

The moonless hours finally came around. Without the light of the moon to guide them, nor any light from any star, it was almost pitch black. To make matters worse, the small snowfall had turned to a windy night of deep downpour of snowflakes. It was extremely difficult to keep moving through the tough snow. While going through, Seven decided that it might be safer to trail him rather than stay on his back, mercy of the cold. It wasn't as better behind Vinrod, but at least the wind wasn't that much of an issue. Vinrod however was getting the full blast of it, his feet cold in the snow as the rest of him was being blasted at by snow and wind. Something told him that it was a good idea not to stay at the cabin; they would easily get snowed in if they'd stay. That didn't mean the walk was any good on both of them. Eventually, Vinrod stopped, Seven accidentally walking into him.

"I got an idea. Seven just stand there," Vinrod instructed. Seven wasn't used to being told what to do by someone other than the queen, but with his life on the line, he might at well comply. Then, Vinrod started to dig deep in the snow, his 3 toed feet trying there hardest to dig down. Seven could only watch, head down, as Vinrod dug in deeper and deeper until he was done. Seven looked in shock, as it appeared to be a grave.

"What's wrong with you?! I don't want to die here!"

"What? No no, this'll block off the wind and snow until the moon comes back," Vinrod explained, going down into it and laying down inside. The removal of Vinrod in front of him made the wind a bit dreadful to stand in, so, Seven complied and went down inside. Vinrod was correct: the wind wasn't as dangerous within the trench. Seven settled down next to Vinrod, Vinrod's tail moving over so it covered the Changeling's body to keep him warm. Seven was a bit surprised about that, and looked to Vinrod, who already was asleep. Why was he acting so kind to him, especially after Seven nearly drained him? However, Seven could only settle down within the make-shift barrier to the elements...

It was gonna be a long night...