//------------------------------// // Wildlife - (2) // Story: To Lands Unknown // by Latch //------------------------------// With us still dealing with a situation of our own back on the Bastion, Kid was still busy exploring the woods below.  He didn’t have far too much to say about it when he eventually got back to us, said it was rather serene for the most part. Peckers, Lunkheads, Wallflowers; said there was none of that down there too, just him and the local wildlife. The Kid stopped in his tracks for the moment beside a tree, feeling a bit tired from his trek. He was certain he had been walking for quite a time now, likely an hour or so. He didn't encounter much during that time, just a bunch of animals that were more afraid of him than he was of them. Still, there were no similarities between this forest and the Wild Unknowns; It lacked that certain hostile nature about it, replacing it with a more welcoming feeling overall. The animals were wary of his approach though. When either he or they would come close, while eyeing him with curiosity, some maintained a skittish nature about them and either flew deeper into the forest, or scampered into the brush. The rest remained careful and stayed well clear of his path, but still continued to follow him. He felt good walking here though. It was quiet, serene, and most importantly, it was safe. He didn't feel much of a need to keep his guard up here as he did back around Caelondia, not once either did he have to even bring his hand near the machete. Still, he remained cautious of the area due to the forest's surprising density.   With a deep sigh, he swung his quiver of arrows and Breaker's Bow off his back and out in front of him. He dropped the two items to the earth with a small clatter, startling some of the more closer animals. He then twisted himself around and rested his back up against the bark of the tree, sliding down against it until he met with the earth. His walk left his legs feeling a bit tired, along with some exhaustion setting in. He may not have felt entirely famished, but he knew it couldn't hurt to have a small snack during his break just to recover what strength he may have lost in his venture through the woods. Grabbing the sack that was attached to his waist, he untied it from his belt and set it on his lap, unraveling the string to reveal its contents. A small loaf, no larger than twice the size of his hand was within. Surprisingly, it was completely intact, not flattened in the slightest from his prior fall. He didn't know whether to thank a higher power for not spoiling him of his meal, or to thank Zia for making such a tough loaf of bread. Still, a snack was a snack. He tore into the loaf, breaking roughly a quarter of it off and letting the rest sit out in the open. Some of the local wildlife seemed to take notice of him and his meal though. He noticed them watching him from the edge of the brush and trees with some looking on with more hunger than curiosity.. He didn't think much of it, but maybe he was just an oddity to them. Perhaps he was the first of his kind to ever set foot in this land, if the wildlife taking an interest in him were any indication, it was probable, but at the same time not certain either. He would have to ask either Zulf, or Rucks later on to see if there was ever any mention of a land such as this in those old world books they once dug their heads into. A short time later once he was almost finished his snack, he felt a slight couple of sight tugs on the leg of his pants. Being a bit puzzled at the strange occurrence, he directed his attention to the source where he was immediately met with small pleading eyes. A small brown rodent with a brush-like tail, along with a similar looking companion were exchanging looks between him and what remained of his snack in his hands. The look the two critters gave him reminded him of the same one the Squirt would give back on the Bastion when it sought attention, except they weren't seeking his attention but a meal directly from his hands. Knowing well enough he had about three quarters of the loaf left, more than enough for himself in the times ahead, he broke the small piece of bread in his hands into two near minuscule halves and offered them to the critters. Both of them reeled back slightly in response to his outstretching hand, keeping a wary distance from him for a time. Eventually, they made a move, slowly inching closer and closer to his hand. They gave a couple of light sniffs of his fingers as they got close, then the bread itself for a time. After a moment, they both gently plucked the pieces from his hand, sniffing it again for a second time before they both took a small bite of the bread. He heard them both exchange a few small chitters with one another before they scampered off to the edge of the clearing with the bread in tow, happy with their newly found meal. He couldn't help but to let off a small smile at the sight of the critters. A small warmth in his chest made itself known as he let the deed sink in. Even though it was a small deed done for the benefit of them, it felt nice to be good even if it was in the smallest of ways. Knowing that enough of his time was spent eating, he quickly wrapped up what was left of his bread and tied it back to his belt. He then pushed himself up from the dirt, using the tree behind him as support, and stood back up from the dirt, outstretching his arms in a wide arc and straightening his legs beneath him. After his limbs felt more loosened up than they did before, he picked up his bow and arrows beside him and swung them across his back once more. With his gear all accounted for and him ready to move on he proceeded back on the path he had chosen before, moving deeper into the forest. It was some time later when a peculiar noise woke him from the musings of his thoughts. The distant sound of many strong wings beating against the winds met his ears when he happened to emerge into a small clearing for but a brief moment. The sound itself was almost unnoticeable over the many small beating wings that surrounded him, but he only happened to hear it by chance. Looking up to trace the source of the noise, he spotted many faint silhouettes of what looked like large birds flying just above the clouds. Wanting to get a better look at them he squinted his eyes until they were half shut, relying on his slightly sharpened vision to get a more clear look. With what clouds that were dotting the sky, they provided some necessary cover for the birds, making them hard to distinguish. The only trait he managed to see when they appeared was that they all were a variety of colors from the spectrum and that their form was unusual to say the least. Their bodies looked a bit longer in comparison to a bird and from what he could glimpse of their wingspan from down below, they were quite small for a bird. Twisting his body around to take a look at the Bastion behind him, he realized that the birds were plotting a course towards it. It was possible that they were looking for either a place to rest or roost, and the Bastion fit just that. He just hoped that Zulf would be able to scare them off with the musket before they'd leave their mark on everything. He absolutely did not want to clean the Bastion again. Despite a popular belief from the old world, bird droppings don't wash out away as easily as one would think. As he watched the birds along their flight path, another sound met his ears. Something familiar, reminding him of the busier days in Caelondia before the Calamity. Directing his attention to the path ahead, he heard the faint clattering of a cart's wooden frame rattling against itself. He deduced it was likely having a rough ride over some form of a bumpy road, possibly a traveler or merchant on their way. This was perhaps a land that was settled after all by the initial looks of things, but he couldn't get his hopes too high. There was still a chance the people of the land might be underdeveloped, and their extended interaction with them might complicate things for their future. Spying one last glance to the birds high above, he seen that they were much closer to their destination but seemed to slow down on their approach. He passed off the observation as them just getting ready to land in some of the more complicated spots in the Bastion. He let out a sigh as he looked at the path ahead. So it seemed he would have to be cleaning out a bunch of nests when he got back. He let the thought slip into the recesses of his mind, letting it remain well clear of the front of his thoughts as right now there was something more important up ahead. Without much occupying his thoughts now, aside from going back to the occasional thought of the future in store for his group, he continued on the path he set for himself. The idea of coming across someone as solitary as this person was a bit of a godsend for him, he likely would've ended up wandering in the forest for hours on end before anything would come up. Perhaps this person knew the lay of the land better than he, hopefully letting him hitch a ride to town too if there was one either nearby or some ways away. The clattering gradually increased in volume and intensity as he neared the source. He pondered the thought of what could be done to offer assistance to the individual ahead traveling in the woods. As it was, he likely wouldn't be getting a free ride. A short moment later, his train of thought was derailed as the sharp noise of what sounded like wood snapping met his ears. This was immediately followed by the sound of the cart rumbling fiercely against the terrain it was facing, the noise causing some of the wildlife to flee in his direction. Then came the sound of a woman screaming. The sheer volume at which the woman was screaming at caused a great disturbance in both the woods ahead and behind him. More animals emerged from the brush and began running away from the source of the scream; taking a look back, his entourage had left him too to flee in the opposite direction as well. Realizing that there was trouble and possibly a life at stake, he set off on the path once more, sprinting through the forest this time instead. He darted, weaved, and leapt through and over the many obstacles that came across his path, running in between trees and the brush, and jumping over the many roots that he managed to catch a glimpse of. He stopped suddenly in his tracks as he heard the scream fill the forest even louder this time, fear and terror evident behind it this time. He then realized that the sound of the cart rumbling had disappeared, leaving the scream by itself to fill in the gap. Within a few short seconds, the scream quickly cut out and was overwhelmed by the sound of wood smashing against the earth. With a life now at stake, he sprinted through the forest for the second time that day, repeating the same process of weaving through the forest. Soon enough, he emerged into a sunlit, grassy clearing. A cliff face was dead ahead of him upon his entry to the area, plateauing at the top by the looks of it. Along the center of the cliff was a path jutting out and along the cliff, leading up along the face and bending with it as it curved inward towards the top, and going down it along the left until it met with the earth. He then brought his attention to its base, scanning for the wreckage of the cart and hoped that the woman wasn't in far too much trouble. Further along his right, towards where the path climbed higher along the cliff, he saw the wreckage. Dozens of strange and familiar looking flowers were scattered throughout the area, creating a trail that increased in amount the closer they came to the mangled wreck of the cart. With the him being unable to see the woman who was screaming, it was likely that she was on the other side of the wreck, remaining relatively hidden from his view. With a short sprint, he rapidly cleared the distance between him and the cart, his footsteps remaining relatively quiet against the grass. As he neared the wreck, he heard the faint whimpers of the woman crying to herself on the other side of the cart. He took a step towards the cart. There was a noticeable snap that filled the air as he applied the weight onto his right foot, crushing a flower beneath it. The noise was just enough noise to cut through the silence and alert the woman to his presence. "I-is somepony there? P-please, help me. I can't...I can't move my legs." A voice spoke from the other side, pained and near the point of cracking. There was silence for a brief moment. "H-hello?" With careful steps, he circled around the left side of the cart, following the woman's voice beyond it...only to see something he never would've expected, not in this lifetime, not ever. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. He held the air in for a brief moment and slowly let it out, hoping that his eyes weren't deceiving him and that he was indeed seeing something that was not a hallucination. Opening his eyes, he began watching in silent awe at the horse lying against the earth before him. In comparison, it was noticeably smaller than any average sized horse he had seen back in Caelondia, even if they were few in the streets and outlying roads when he saw them, this one was definitely smaller. It did have some of the similarities of a horse however, albeit this one had smoother and less pronounced features. Its fur was colored something abnormal too, a slightly dark colored olive, and atop its head and jutting out from behind was its mane and tail. Both of which were rather disheveled and visibly messy bits of grass fitting it with its semi-light brown hair. There were a few tell tale signs that at one point or another that its mane was actually somewhat stylized as there were a couple of bobby pins visible in its mane. Though most of its body was covered by a dark brown cloak, darker patches of brown were visible on the parts that weren't torn open. Blood was slowly pooling out on the rims of the sections where the cloak was torn open. It was a good thing that it was wearing the cloak too otherwise the extent of what bleeding there was would've been a lot worse, it was hard to tell though whether the fabric on it was thick enough to prevent bleeding for much longer. The small horse seemed to be examining him too, sharing that same amount of awe he was expressing towards it. It looked like it completely forgot the situation it was currently in and looked at him with a wide variety of emotions detailed on its face, primarily bewilderment, shock, and surprise. The three were most evident thanks to its jaw which hung agape and the widened eyes which were transfixed on his every move. "Wha...what are you?"