Vagabond Plot 306: Order out of Chaos

Peregrine | Freedom's Flight | Post 2

Smoke, choking, thick and black wreathed around Peregrine, and it was all the small gray stallion could do to keep from falling into a coughing fit. It wouldn't seem proper for the attacking force to be brought down by their own weapons, despite how badly his eyes were watering and lungs were burning. He had a mission to complete. Inside his chest, Peregrine's heart thumped wildly, and he felt as though his equilibrium had been stolen from him as he stabilized himself with hawk-like wings. Touching down, the pegasus felt some relief as he fell below the worst of the smoke. What wreathed around him was batted away with the flapping of his wings.

Golden eyes turning left and right, Peregrine searched for shapes he did not recognize. Luckily, he had been spared the heat of battle, and his task today was simply to get the Talorian pegasi to safety, away from this wretched place. Any horse he did not recognize would be brought along for their own safety, but hopefully without injury.

Suddenly, his eyes landed on a bright chestnut appaloosa. His attention was drawn by her brightly colored wings, but quickly fell to the braces on her front and hind legs. Damn! She would be hard to move. Deciding that he would have to start with her if he wanted to have time to round up the others, Peregrine dashed forward. Luckily, his gray coat mixed with the smoke, making him almost invisible as he brushed wingtips with the stumbling mare. Even if he could have spoken, Peregrine would have kept his trap shut, as the mare seemed to think he was the one she was calling out for, one named "Farsight." If she were willing to trust that he would lead her to safety, even if he wasn't this Farsight, then lead her to safety he would.

Narrowing his eyes against the sting of smoke, Peregrine galloped forward.

WC: 326

Othala | Freedom's Flight | Medic



Inaria burned. The most beautiful city in Aquore, with it’s vibrant colors and the incredibly diversity of people, was buried under a thick cloud of grey smoke. She had been here so many times, helping her mother at the shop or simple stroll the streets with her little brother.

Her family was probably down there too, right in the middle of the fight. The Flight members wouldn’t attack another Pegasus on purpose, but it was so easy to get hurt in a panicking crowd…

Focus, she reprimanded herself and scanned the environment for wings. The other members of the little group she was part of, had already split off to fulfill the task that was given to them, while she was still flying irresolutely high in the air, above the smoke. For one more moment she stayed there, one last peaceful moment before she folded her wings straight against her body, going into a nosedive. As soon as she entered the lower air layers her eyes and nostrils started to burn, smoke surrounded her and she almost missed the right moment to spread her wings again so her landing was a little bit rough.

The moment Othala found her balance again, she started to flap her wings to lighten the smoke around her at least slightly. From above she had noticed a storage barn nearby. They would lead all Pegasi there. Hopefully no one would be hurt too badly...but she already knew that she would see terrible things today. Every now and then the earth shaked a little bit when another grenade exploded on the ground and the detonation never drowned all the screams. Everyone was afraid, running for their lives and it was hard to not let this panic overwhelm her too.

Suddenly another pair of wings appeared in front of her, it was the silhouette of a big, draft stallion. (Aslan). Immediately she started to follow him until she was close enough so he could hear her.

“Wait!” she called out and came even closer when the stallion turned around to her. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice sounded a little pressed as she tried to suppress to cough because of the bad air that burned down her throat, making her lungs ache.

Post #2
Wordcount 380

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    Aslan was already in the air when most of the smoke covered the crowds. His eyes were steadily trained on the culprits and their hectic movements. No order was apparent to the stallion. No order besides the uniform dropping of bombs and grenades that were reeking havoc on the innocent. The Flight had it's appeal to his already torn soul, but this violence turned him off from their ways. Diplomacy, sanctuary, something other than pure violence. 
    The stallion was lost in his thought and anger when a dropped bomb came down. A faulty one at that. It exploded prematurely over his right wing. The wing itself already had its issues. Though it was long healed, after the night he landed in Kelphis- though maybe the correct word was crashed, his wing was sore more often, leaving him less adept at flying. 
    Just they same, the bomb exploded just short of his wing's wrist. The sudden gush of smoke filled his lungs and the force of the blast unbalanced him. Aslan fell back into the sea of smoke and chaos, only just catching himself before he hit the ground. The stallion stumbled and brought himself up just as quickly. He decided to get his fellow citizens to safety. Using his good wing, the stallion pushed smoke away to clear an area. Aslan scanned the area.
        Unknown to him, his right wing had fallen and was dragging on the floor. A mare called to him. Aslan's head shot up and has ear scanned for her just as his eyes did. As she came up on his flank, she asked if he was okay. He glanced to it briefly and shook his head. 
    "Yes, I'm fine. We need to get you to safety." he replied, not even think of whether she was one of them.

300

Peregrine | Freedom's Flight | Post 3

As much as he desired to hightail it the hell out of Dodge, Peregrine was unsure how long the orange pegasus would stay beside him should the smoke clear and she realize he wasn't her beloved. If he wanted the mare to trust him, maybe he hadn't started off on the right track, but there was nothing he could do to go back and fix his actions, so he would have to settle for rectifying the situation from now on out. Around him, the other Flock members were trying to quiet the Talorians, assuring them that they must, somehow, find safety.

"Don't be frightened," Peregrine called out, choking on the words as they rasped their way up his smoke-filled trachea. "Your mate will be fine," Was it a mate? Husband? He wasn't sure what the Talorians called each other...it really didn't matter, but it gave his scrambled mind something to focus on, trivial or not. "We have to get you all to safety," he added, raising his head high as he attempted to relocate the abandoned barn he'd seen from the air as his squad made their landing.

Another bomb shook the earth, and Peregrine struggled not to jump with fear. It would do little good to appear frightened and weak before the Talorians if they wished to earn any trust. But still...the sound of it made his flesh crawl. He wondered who it might have hit, and what damage it might have done. Flashes of past battles rushed through his head, and he shuddered at the thought. Despite his deep seated desire to be one of the masculine ones, the fighters, the real 'men', he just couldn't stomach the idea of useless violence. Did the perpetrators of the Talorian misdeeds need punished? Absolutely, with all the power Alya and Kaia could reign down upon them. But the innocents...they were just that, innocent, undeserving of this treatment. But, he realized, he couldn't help those where the bombs were falling; all he could do was keep this appaloosa mare from becoming a victim of the same treatment.

WC: 354
Notes: I will have to drop back and wait for Zenith to post now. ^^

Othala | Freedom's Flight | Medic


The dark mare opened her eyes again when she heard the silent rustle of feathers and only a moment later she was tucked under a large, red bay wing. She herself blended rather well into the environment right now with her dark grey and white coat and wings, but the stallion was easier to see through all this smoke.
From time to time she corrected the direction he was heading for until he was able to see the barn and not needed any assistance from her anymore.

So far so good. They were almost there. Now she had to convince him to stay here. And she suspected that this wouldn’t be easy. Othala took a look into the barn and was surprised by how many horses already found shelter here. Most of them appeared shocked, they looked around with disbelief in their wide-open eyes. Others seemed just angry or sad. Many of them were hurt, but there was already a mare which took care of them, probably a Cleric.
"Please, stay here. Help the others but do not leave." The draft stallion already turned around while he said that and for a moment Othala hesitated. Yes she could stay here and aid the injured - but she had clear orders. And what was even more important for her...in that crowd of feathers a really special pair of wing was missing. Her brother and rest of the family was still out there. She had to try and find them.

With this decision made, she galloped outside the barn again and stopped in front of the large stallion. “No wait! You are already injured. If you go out there again you risk your life!” she said urgently and lowered her mask of fear and insecurity. Her plan didn’t worked, but she still had to convince him to stay. “Your wing needs medical care, now. Also the horses inside the barn could need someone like you, someone to give them a feeling of safety. I can still fly, so I will search for other horses and guide them here. But you have to stay here, please!”

Wordcount 359
Post #4

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    Almost as swiftly as he left, Aslan heard hooves following him. The mare appeared before him, looking frantic. She's going to plea he thought to himself, silently folding in his wings. Aslan watched her very closely as she spoke. 
    “No wait! You are already injured. If you go out there again you risk your life!” she bargained.
    A laugh escaped his mouth. Risk his life? "Miss, I'm a guardian." he stated, pressing forward his right shoulder. On it- covered in soot, mind you- was the crest that shown so familiarly on the flag of Talori. "It is my job to risk my life for you. Please, help the others, I promise I am fine." He said as she walked around her and nudged her back to the barn. 
    “Your wing needs medical care, now. Also the horses inside the barn could need someone like you, someone to give them a feeling of safety. I can still fly, so I will search for other horses and guide them here. But you have to stay here, please!”
    She was right, he was hurt, but others were even more so than he. The other guardians certainly were hidden in the smoke doing just the same as he was attempting to. Doing their job. He couldn't stay.
    "Please, go. I do not want to find your body among the others." Aslan said rather forcefully. "You're so young..." Aslan added, studying her. 
    Another voice came to them, seeming to call not to him, but the mare. Good, he thought, the cleric to take her back. The mare was covered in a pelt, which was weird for a cleric, but to each their own. She said the Pegasus's name, Othala, again and turned to him. 
    "Yes please listen to her, I'm a Cleric. I can help you, come back to the barn!" the newcomer pleaded. They sided together. 
    "You may do your job and I will do mine." Aslan said very forcefully. Mares will be mares he thought silently. The stallion finally turned. He shook his head and left, trotting this time. He would take excuses no longer.

Peregrine | Freedom's Flight | Post 4

It had been harrowing, to say the very least, to round up the pegasi and herd them towards the barn, where their safety could be expected. At least, he hoped they would be safe here. Even though the horses were sheltered from prying eyes currently, there was no guarantee that they could not be caught off guard by a fighting force of Talorians, or even injured accidentally by those in their own group. It was just so impossible to tell what might come of this strange, upside-down world that the Vagabonds and their charges had entered.

As horses streamed into the barn, Peregrine's attention was snatched from one coat to the next, seeing a fluffy of unfamiliar wings, hearing voices he knew not, and trying to generally stop his head from swimming thanks to the confusion and smoke inhalation. Vaguely, he was aware of Tansy and Othala begging one of the Talorians to stay, and the Talorian ignoring their warnings to trounce off, like the idiot he must be. For a moment, Peregrine wondered if his intention was to rat out the group, but that thought slipped from his mind as he watched Othala bound forward, clearing the heads of two stallions before exiting the barn to search for more survivors.

Sonya had not yet made it to the barn, and Othala had left again, leaving Tansy behind to fend for the injured. Glancing back and forth between the collected horses and the barn door, Peregrine struggled to decide where to go. He wanted to rush out after Othala, to find others they could rescue, but his throat burned from the smoke, and he could see that some of the Talorians would need medical attention. He wasn't trained like the Medic, but perhaps he could help.

"Do you need help until Othala returns, or shall I aid her?" Peregrine called, glancing at Tansy for affirmation.

WC: 315

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    The stallion attempted to put distance between him and the mares. A burning sensation sat just under the surface of his skin. It was at the point of his right should, just far enough under his armor that he couldn't reach it. Discomfort showed on his face, but he dud't have time to be bothered. As he left, Aslan passed a younger horse who looked so completely concentrated on him. Aslan flicked his tail in complete anger this was not a time to have an unbearable itch. When he was home and could beckon Hasan or Peyton to help him, sure, but this was impeding his ability to work.
    Still angry, Aslan waded through the smoke. He heard crying and, thankful for a distraction, made way to it. As it's volume grew, two figures appeared in the smoke. Upon reaching them, Aslan used his good wing to clear the area. Two turned to three. A colt was standing over a filly who was crying. The third was a mare much older than the others. the resemblance between the filly and the mare was uncanny- they were mother and daughter. The colt standing over the filly was black and held a strong expression.
     "You are the flock! Stay away from my friends!" he commanded Aslan. The stallion lowered his head, but before he could speak, another voice corrected him.
     "Cornelius... look at his shoulder. He's a guardian... Look..." The mare was talking, well, barely. Her hind legs were lodged under rubble moved from explosion and bleeding quite profusely."Leave me," she pleaded him,"take them to safety." She was dying.
    Aslan lifted his head again. A clearing in the smoke opened the view of the alter. A white horse with midnight's wings was there with their army. The Flock. Asaln watched as the familiar body of the defender went to do his job. He was consumed. Aslan felt all the air leave his body as the group left and Thaumas's body lay completely still. His eyes stung, from the smoke of course, and his throat was dry for the same reason, I assure you. 
    With a weighted breath Aslan said a firm "No. We are all getting to safety." That's what Thaumas would do. That's what he would do. This fight was not over. 
    The rubble on the mare was no weight to Aslan. He uncovered her and saw the damage. She'd never walk, but her children wouldn't loose her. He threaded her body over his and she was dead weight. He bid her not to give up yet. "Children," Aslan started, once again leaning his head down to barely get out the words,"Please stay under me. I'm taking you to a safe place."
    With much trouble, Aslan came again on the barn. much time had passed and those who were previously there were gone. Aslan did not stop. He went directly into the barn. It was more crowded than when he left it, but he found a clearing just the same and placed the mare's body down, nicking his own damaged wing in the process. "Cleric!" He called, drowning out all others. "Help this mother and her children." he ordered the mare with the lion pelt. 
    Aslan once again turned to leave, more needed help, but the filly who was crying before stopped him with her wing. It was so small, only the size of his forearm, but more powerful than the flock itself. It was she who finally got him to stay. 

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