//------------------------------// // What IS this place?! // Story: The Witcher In Equestria // by Ormus Von Orbulon //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Lyra landed sprawled amidst a shower of small rocks. She expected to feel pain, the bite of stone into her flesh, the burn of smashing into the ground and skidding like she had. She didn’t - she was entirely unharmed. As she slowly picked herself up, the golden globe around her flickered and faded into nothingness. Her brain idly wondered how many more shocks she could take today. She heard the crunch of gravel underfoot, and glanced over to the tall, frightening...fascinating creature striding towards her. “Thanks”, she called, shakily. She shook her head as It intoned something completely unintelligible in response. She was starting to get tired of calling it an ‘It’. She decided to make an executive decision and call it a ‘he’ instead. If she was wrong, hopefully no-one would ever know. It was incredible really - she had no idea what was going on. She was still reeling from her near-death experience. ‘He’ had appeared out of nowhere, saved her life against ridiculous odds, and freed her from the clutch of that stupid hill. That stupid hill... Suddenly filled with terror once more, she started violently -- and looked frantically around, starting with the hillside. Nothing. “zwierzę jest nieobecne teraz.”, came the flat voice of her rescuer. She looked back, as he came to a halt, some paces away. looking up, she met piercing golden eyes. “To będzie zwracać wkrótce”, he gestured back to the hill. - “my musi pozostawiać.” he gestured back to the forest. The Towering, white-maned biped seemed to wait for a moment, to see if she understood. She didn’t really, but when it...he turned away and started walking off, gesturing for her to follow, she did. If the manticore wasn’t on the hill, and the dangerous two-legger wasn’t worried, than... well. She just hoped wherever they were heading wasn’t towards a cooking pot. As she caught up with him, and glanced up, He was fiddling with a strange amulet around his neck. The looming figure spoke again, not looking at her: “Geralt z Rivii. Wiedźmin.” He jerks one of his wiggly appendages at himself, and looked down at her once more as they passed into the shadow of the forest; his irises seemed to glow eerily in the reduced light. “Wy?” It dawned on her that he was trying to ask her name. Or something. Welp, just in case -- “L-Lyra”, she stuttered. That would never do - and it was just embarrassing. She cleared her throat and said it again, firmly this time, jerking a forehoof at her chest. With only 3 legs walking, and not watching her footing she nearly fell headlong into some bushes. Well that was even more embarrassing! The.....Geralt. She’d call him that. She had no idea what a ‘vhy'd-zee-man’ was supposed to be. Geralt was at her side in a blur, and steadied her with one of his arms-plus wiggly things. Fascinating things, those. She couldn’t help but glare as she saw he Smirked slightly. She huffed, and pulled in front, trying to discern where they were headed. In fact, she could hardly see in this dense underbrush at all! The light of the sun barely poked through the leaves overhead. She’d run blindly while the timberwolves were chasing her, and hadn’t noticed, but the forest was quite murky once you left the path. The path... Where was the path?! Damn it! She looked around groaning. She was lost; she’d survived, and was lost. She twitched as Geralt tapped her withers lightly with one of his wiggly-things, and pointed down. She looked down, following the pointing...thing; squinting - she could just make out the shape of a hoofprint in the half-light... She jerks her head back up to goggle at him, startled - he was twice her height, and he’d seen that?! She just stops, staring after him as he continues to follow her track...back to the path. she’d get to see Zecora after all! And Bon-Bon! She Squeed. She might not take her adventure seriously, but who cared?! She quickly cantered after him, as he continued to calmly follow the signs of her panicked dash back to familiar territory.