A Trios Journey (private rp with wingfeather and tenebria)

[wingfeather]

Artemis saw the situation immediately. From Sugar's fearful tears to Galmúr's nervous restlessness. She nodded towards Galmúr to let him know that she had everything under control with Sugar. She trotted over to Sugar and began to try to comfort her by nuzzling and soothing speech, though it was not easy, with every thunder clap the frightened horse would begin trembling all the more, she just hoped the storm would end soon, and that Galmúr would find water.

[Abbster]

Sugar felt slightly more safe with Artemis next to her. She would open her eyes and listen to her talk to her, until another clap of thunder hit and she would begin shaking all over again. Finally, after what felt like ages, the thunder stopped, and so did Sugar's trembling. She poked her head out from behind the tree and looked around. "where did Galmúr go?" she asked, as she sniffled a little bit and gazed at the surroundings.

[tenebria]

Galmúr watched with gratefulness as Artemis lay down with Sugar, beginning to gently soothe her. With a light nicker to let her know he was leaving, he ducked his head and leapt over the bushes. The copse of trees was not too large, but it was sizeable, and he was sure that for so much vegetation to grow, there had to be a water source somewhere. The most difficult part about finding it, was the fact that with the rain falling, he could neither smell nor listen for the more gentle source of water. Keeping his head low, he scanned the area for any sign of a creek, stray river rocks picked up by animals, or the croaking of frogs. The minutes slid by, and he soon realized that his method of randomly searching was not going to lead to success. Finding the edge of the copse, he began circling the entire area, spiraling inwards as the thunder continued to roll above him. He was getting more and more tired, and quite soaked to the bone as he blinked the rain drops out of his eyes. Until finally, on the far end of the grove, the young buckskin heard a frog let out a large croak. Never before had he been so glad to hear the amphibian, and he quickly surged towards it, crashing through several bushes, and then emerging beside a small brook. The startled frog gave him an expressionless stare, then hopped into the creek and swam away. With a sigh of relief, Galmúr dipped his nose to the water, taking long slow slurps of the crystal liquid. Once he had quenched his thirst, he lifted his head and began slowly following the small stream of water, attempting to find the source. And soon he did. A small pool of water lay in a natural ditch. The source of the water was the actual rain itself as it ran down the slope, collecting in the pool and streaming down the rivulet, creating the creek. But even as he was staring with triumph at the life giving pool of water, the rain began to slow as suddenly the thunder ceased, and the collected water began quickly draining from the pool. With a look of alarm at the idea of their only known water source disappearing, Galmúr quickly cantered along the slowing stream of water, reaching another dip where more water had collected. quickly he pushed the wet mud to create a wall, stopping the water's flow. Hopefully he watched, and as he had devised, it began to fill the dip until there was quite a good volume. With a delighted nicker he turned, quickly trotting into the trees to find his friends, memorizing the path as he went.

[wingfeather]

''He went in search of water, dear,'' Artemis answered the small filly. Suddenly the rain began slowing and the thunder lowered its voice to a low mumble. ''It really is a beautiful forest'' she said trying to distract Sugar's attention, and lift her spirits. But beautiful it was the  trees swayed in the slowing wind above them and a low mist began settling itself around them. Though suddenly her thirst hit her with redoubled strength, she hoped Galmúr would return soon with news of water

[Abbster]

"I hope he comes back soon." Sugar said. "I'm quite thirsty myself" she said, as she could feel her mouth drying. She sighed as she looked in the direction Artemis was looking, when she saw Galmúr walking towards them "Galmúr" Sugar said happily. She trotted up to him and nuzzled him. "did you find water?" she asked. "I'm so thirsty"

[tenebria]

Galmúr smiled as he heard his friend's voices through the misty forest, walking through the brush towards them. The mist cleared slightly as he stepped up to them, and he smiled, giving Sugar a hug, although he was still drenched, as he glanced over to Artemis. "I did manage to find some water, but it won't last very long, since it's only rainwater" he replied. "It's not very far, just a few minutes walk, and there should be enough for you two" he added as a breeze suddenly swept by, making him shiver as it hit his wet coat.

[wingfeather]

''Good she answered to Galmúr's statement she herself shivering slightly as her wet hair fell over her face, ''let's go before it dries, I'm extremely thirsty.'' Pressing her body close to Sugar to ensure the younger filly's warmth, they followed Galmúr as he led them slowly through the damp wood.

[Abbster]

Sugar smiled happily and trotted after Galmúr. When the little pond was in sight, Sugar raced forward and bent her head to drink the water. It didn't taste like lake water, but that was ok. "I..hope...we...find....water where we stay tonight" she said through sips of water. She lifted her muzzle out of the little pond and trotted over to Galmúr so Artemis could have a turn

[tenebria]

Galmúr smiled and nodded, quickly turning and heading through the wet brush, looking back to make sure the two fillies were following. As they traveled for a few minutes he became worried for a moment that he had forgotten the way, until the trees cleared and the little pond was in sight, still mostly full. He chuckled as Sugar raced forward, standing to the side as the little filly drank. At her mention of where they would stay for the night he glanced to Artemis. He was unsure if they should move onwards or not, although there was no running water source, at least they knew where they were and they had shelter. If they continued traveling when it was already this late... his thoughts trailed off as Sugar trotted up to him, and he smiled at her. "Let's wait for Artemis to get a drink and then decide our next move" he suggested, glancing over to the Friesian again.

[wingfeather]

Artemis quickly trotted to the small collection of slightly murky water. She dipped her mouth in gratefully and drank deeply. After taking her fill she walked back over to where her the friends were standing waiting for her. ''That feels so much better,'' she said contentedly. She turned her head towards Galmúr addressing his last statement, ''As much as I want to find a more secure and comfortable place to stay, I would vote to stay here at least overnight, after all it is getting late and we do not know what is out there. I would not want to be caught out in the open in the middle of the night. What do you two say?''

[Abbster]

Sugar nodded in agreement. "I think I saw a cave on the way over here" she said. "I didn't smell any fresh scents coming from it, so I think its safe for us to stay in it for the night" Sugar said. "Come on, follow me" Sugar nickered to her friends and led the way over to the cave she had seen. When they got there, Sugar poked her head inside. "Its perfect in here" she said, pulling her head back out.

[tenebria]

Galmúr gave a nod as well "Good, we stay here then" he said, then glanced over to Sugar. "Oh I saw that as well, but as it didn't have water we didn't stop there." he said. As the little filly suddenly moved forwards, the buckskin yearling glanced to Artemis, then gave a shrug. He trusted his friend, even if she was younger than him, and besides, she was already moving off into the trees. Trotting after her he caught up quickly and slowed to her pace. As they approached he scented deeply, making sure no predators were in the area. Swiftly he moved to the front as Sugar peeked inside, moving in front of her. "Let me check it out first anyway, you never know if it could be a dangerous place or not, even if we don't scent anything." he said warningly stepping into the dark cave, his hoof beats echoing. Galmúr walked a few feet in, squinting in the dark. A couple seconds later he came to a wall, and walked back along the other side, checking for any holes or passages before emerging once again. "It's safe, quite inhabited." he paused, glancing to Aretmis again. "But it also doesn't have another way out. In case any predator decides to come visiting during the night, i'll sleep out here at the entrance. It's sheltered enough so I won't get too cold, and besides, I never would be able to handle sleeping in a cave" he added.

[wingfeather]

Artemis looked briefly inside the cave she did not relish the idea of sleeping in such a closed in space, but she would never dream of admitting her fear of tight spaces to either of her friends. Instead she took a deep breath and took a tentative step inside, lowering her head so not to hit it against the low ceiling she very deliberately and slowly entered the cave.

[Abbster]

Sugar pinned her ears. Why couldn't Galmúr have trusted her? Sugar wondered. She had told both her friends that the cave was safe, and yet...Galmúr said it would be best if he checked it first. With a sigh, Sugar waited until both her friends were inside before she looked around. "Why couldn't Galmúr just trust me that it was safe?" She asked herself out loud as she made her way into the cave. "Galmúr?" Sugar asked. "why didn't you believe me that this cave was safe?" she asked him

[tenebria]

Galmúr moved aside so the two could enter the cave, following them further in. He would stay with them until night fell, and then stand guard outside. As he stood closest to the entrance, her heard Sugar call over to him. Pricking his ears he turned to her in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry Sugar, It's not that I didn't believe you, I just wanted to be totally sure it would be safe. There could have been a dangerous hole, or snakes or something" he said with a slightly apologetic look. "It was definitely nothing against you, I just had to be sure" he added, glancing over to Artemis to see if she understood what he was saying.