A Trios Journey (private rp with wingfeather and tenebria)

[Abbster]

Sugar stirred a little while later and rose her head. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes just as Cinnamon was trotting down towards her. Sugar stood up instantly, and realized Artemis was gone. Sugar sighed a little, but then nuzzled Galmur lovingly before she trotted over to her mentor. "good morning Sugar" Cinnamon said. Sugar smiled bright. "good morning" she said. "what are we doing today?" she asked. "the first thing we're doing, is breakfast, lets do some grazing and then we need to check up on Hazel this morning" Cinnamon said. Sugar nodded and began her breakfast grazing.

[tenebria]

Galmúr shifted slightly as he felt Sugar nuzzle him, and a few minutes later his eyes slowly opened and he yawned automatically, glancing around in slight confusion. He was alone, and in the midst of a herd.... OH. Swiftly he pulled himself to his hooves, shaking his mane out then glancing swiftly to the east. The sun was already rising... but at least it wasn't too far over the horizon. He took a quick moment to look around one more time, but his friends had all left already. But of course they had, Artemis always woke up early, and from the hoofprints in the dewy grass, he could see that another had come close to their sleeping spot recently, so that was most likely Sugar's mentor. Shaking himself again, he rejected the idea of a quick morning snack, knowing he was already late. And he did not want to be late for the stern gray stallion who was now his mentor. Swiftly he cantered into the herd, speeding his pace as the sun's rays glinted over the trees. A few moments later he slid to an abrupt stop on the path, where Lorcán stood stone still. His mentor gave him a hard stare, obviously waiting for him to say something. "I'm sorry Si... Lorcán" he said a bit breathlessly. "I know there is no excuse for my tardiness, I will aspire to be on time tomorrow" he said anxiously as the stallion simply raised an eye slightly. "Well, at least you know how to apologize. My time is not here just for you to play with" he said with another stern look.

[wingfeather]

Artemis cantered quickly to where the scouts met, the half which were not on duty last night were gone on patrol, which meant that that Gus and Myth were out on patrol with their mentors, Raider was on later on in the day. Treth stepped toward her smiling, ''I am glad you are an early riser,'' Treth spoke in greeting, ''well are you ready for today.'' Artemis grinned and nodded, ''yes I am,'' she responded. ''Good,'' Treth said, ''I always love an enthusiastic horse. Today, for your lesson, I will be taking you to the Path of Points, by the herd known as the South East Branch, as it branches from the main path to the south east,'' Treth explained.

[Abbster]

Sugar finished her grazing and looked up at Cinnamon. "alright, for today, I want you to look over Hazel, can you do that?" Cinnamon asked. Sugar nodded as she and Cinnamon began making their way over to Oreo and Hazel, on the way, the passed the group of scouts, she wanted to dash over and say hi to Artemis, but she was on the job. Her head held high, and ears forward as they arrived to Oreo and Hazel. "Good morning Cinnamon and Sugar" Oreo said, as she nuzzled Hazel. Hazel looked up, and a bright smile came across her face. "hi!" she said in a happy tone. "hi" Sugar said. "Now, Oreo, I am having Sugar check over Hazel today, is that alright?" Cinnamon asked. Oreo nodded her approval. "of course, she needs to learn" Oreo said. Cinnamon nodded. "alright Sugar, you remember what I did yesterday?" Cinnamon asked. Sugar nodded boldly and trotted over to Hazel, who stood very still. "well, she's starting to grow more skin, so I can't see her ribs, which is a good sign" she said. "And why is that?" Cinnamon asked. "Because it means that her eating is improving" Sugar said. Cinnamon nodded her approval and watched as Sugar continued. "How has it been to eat?" She asked Hazel. "Does it hurt at all, or is it uncomfortable?" she asked. Hazel shook her head. "no" she said. Sugar nodded. "alright" Sugar said, trotting back to her mentor. "Well, for today I think Hazel is improving quite well, she's growing more skin, and I can't see any sign of her ribs poking out" Sugar said. "She's doing great!" Sugar said. Oreo smiled and thanked Sugar and Cinnamon, as they trotted back. "well done" She said. Sugar smiled. "what else are we doing?" she asked. "well the morning scout patrol should be returning soon, so we will need to check on them to make sure they don't have any scratches in a little while" She said. "and then while the warriors are resting for lunch, we will check on them" she added. Sugar nodded, smiling a little. Her friends would get to see her work!

[tenebria]

Galmúr's ears flattened slightly in apology "I know Lorcán, it won't happen again" he said more steadily this time. The gray stallion snorted slightly at this promise, then turned his gaze to the path. "I expect you to remember the path as clearly as if you just traveled on it. We must be back by high sun" he said abruptly. The young buckskin gave a slight sigh of relief that he was not being punished for his lateness, and swiftly he nodded, trotting ahead of his mentor "I remember" he said firmly, speeding up to a canter as he reached the trail, heading as quickly as he could for the forest. The sun rose higher in the sky, lighting their path as they ran, it's fingers of light stretching into the dark forest ahead.

[wingfeather]

Artemis stomped her hoof excitedly at what was the beginning of the path of points. A wide open space that swiftly led straight into the forest. ''Now this trail is very short, your goal is to get to its end as fast as you can, I will cut across and meet you at the end. OK go.'' Artemis was slightly bewildered but immediately took off when she heard the word go. Finally a chance to run free, at least until she reached the forest, her hooves tore the ground as she thundered toward the wood. Swiftly she entered hardly checking her pace, but soon she found out the reason for the trail of points for just in front of her was a narrow opening sided on both sides with thorns. But it was too late to slow down, instead she held her body straight and did a strange sort of prancing run. She knew it was only minutes but it felt as if hours went by while she tensely past the briers. Finally she emerged and entered a clearing with Treth standing at its center. ''That was actually pretty good, Artemis, but next time don't let your mane fly so loose,'' he said helping her remove some of the thorns from her mane, ''the path actually continues that way but this is where most of the thorns are. Come on let's get back to the other scouts,'' he said extracting the last thorn. ''Ok, do you think Myth will be back yet?'' ''I expect that she will,'' Treth answered, ''actually I was planning on sending the both of you on a patrol together.'' ''That would be awesome,'' Artemis said as they began walking back to the other scouts.

[Abbster]

Sugar organized some more herbs, as the morning scout patrol was coming back. "Alright Sugar" Cinnamon said. "The morning scout patrol is just returning, its time to go make sure they don't have any scratches on them" She said. Sugar nodded, and grabbed some cobweb just in case. "ah ah" Cinnamon said. Sugar dropped the cobweb. "did I do something wrong?" she asked. Cinnamon shook her head. "you are going to do the checking, if there is any wounds, I will put the cobweb on" She said. Sugar nodded as Cinnamon picked up the cobweb and they trotted over to the scouts. The first few scouts Sugar saw, were Gus and his mentor, Applejack. "Applejack and Gus have just returned, lets check them first" Cinnamon said. Sugar nodded, trying not to blush as she made her way over to her crust. "Hi" Gus said. "Hi" Sugar replied. "Gus, Applejack, we're here to see if you have any wounds from scouting" Cinnamon said. Applejack nodded, as Sugar started looking him over. "Cinnamon" she called. "Applejack has a scratch on his right back leg" She said. Cinnamon nodded and trotted forward, plastering some cobweb onto his scratch.

[tenebria]

Galmúr cantered down the beaten path, his gaze narrowing as the forest loomed up. The first marked tree flashed by, and he altered his course slightly, his memory leading him to the next marker between two large trees. Lorcán followed him silently, his steady hoofbeats thundering along the path behind his apprentice, his gaze carefully watching his apprentice's movements, evaluating for hesitance and quick thinking. A few times, the young buckskin did hesitate, but only for the slightest moment before he would continue forward confidently. An hour later the trees began thinning, large rocks taking their place. Now... now the real test began. As he reached the edge, Galmúr slowed considerably, placing the rocks he had chosen in order in his mind. "Do you know where you are going?" the testing voice of his mentor sounded from behind him. He swiftly turned to look at the gray stallion with a nod "Definitely" He responded confidently, leaping into a gallop, his hooves clattering slightly on the slabs of stone.

[wingfeather]

Artemis nearly rushed up to Sugar when she saw her checking over Applejack, but she remembered her place just in time. Treth turned toward her knowing exactly what she was thinking, but she needed to learn self control. ''You will see her soon,'' Treth said gently, ''come I need to talk with you and Myth of the upcoming patrol,'' he began trotting toward the young palomino and her mentor.

[Abbster]

Sugar walked over to Gus. “He’s good” she said. Cinnamon nodded. Sugar checked over the rest of the morning scouts before heading back with Cinnamon. “When are we checking the warriors?” She asked. Cinnamon looked down at Sugar. “At high sun” she said. “Which is when they will be having a break.” She said. Sugar nodded and headed over to sort the herbs that had been messed up a bit. Cinnamon smiled. “You’re really good at sorting herbs” Cinnamon said. Sugar blushed a little. “Thanks” she said. Cinnamon nodded with a smile.

[tenebria]

Galmúr was more focused than he had ever been as he cantered swiftly through the rocks, his mentor following surefootedly in his hoofsteps. "The Snake Fang... Eagle Talon... Wolf ears..." he murmured to himself as he flashed past the rocks, weaving around a large rock that pointed sharply into the sky, heading himself towards the tall prairie grass that glimmered ahead. Turning his head to the side for a moment he could just make out the herd beginning to move and graze, and he momentarily wondered if one of them was Sugar or Artemis. But his mentor's hoofbeats thundering behind him brought his thoughts back to the task at hoof, just in time for him to catch sight of the two rocks leaning against each other that formed an arch way, swiftly speeding through... but he had forgotten that his mentor was taller and wider than him. "Galmúr!" thundered the stallions voice as he swerved around the large rocks. The young buckskin stiffened his legs in a sliding halt, his hooves scraping against a slab of rock, his ears flattening slightly at his mentor's tone. "When choosing your path, you must take into consideration your partner's dimensions" he said a bit coldly, his gaze disapproving. "Apologies Lorcán, I wasn't thinking" the young buckskin admitted truthfully. The stallion snorted. "I should say you weren't. I hope your next landmarks do not pose such an obstacle" he said, still slightly disapproving. Galmúr dipped his head swiftly "I won't make the same mistake twice" he said quietly. "We shall see" snorted Lorcán, then motioning impatiently for the apprentice to move forwards as he stood still. "We don't have all day, in fact we only have a few hours left to my calculations" he said in a slightly grating tone. Swiftly the young stallion nodded, raising his head, a flash of determination sparking in his eyes. He would not disappoint his mentor again. Spinning, he reared slightly and plunged down the path, his mind working faster, more precisely as he narrowed in on his landmarks, swerving and dodging, his hooves finding their rhythm again.

[wingfeather]

Artemis trotted after Treth nearly passing him in her eagerness, he gave her a gentle warning glance as she swiftly stepped back a step. She smiled at Myth who was beside Danger, her mentor, Myth grinned back at her. Treth spoke, ''Artemis, Myth, you both are to take the Sagebrush trail today for patrol today.'' Myth bowed, Artemis followed her example. As the two left Artemis heard Danger speaking to Treth, ''Head Scout Treth on my patrol I saw something, will you come with me to see Lorcán?'' Artemis was too far to hear any more.

[Abbster]

Sugar looked over at Cinnamon. “We’re running low on ginger. We should get some more.” She said. Cinnamon looked down. “Oh, you’re right. Yes, let’s go.” She said, as she padded into the forest with Sugar behind her. When they reached the woods, Sugar looked around. “Uh…Cinnamon” sugar said. Cinnamon stopped. “Yea?” She asked. Sugar looked at the claw marks with blood on the tree. “I don’t think this is supposed to be here.” She said. Cinnamon trotted up to it. “You’re right, I’ll get the ginger, go to lead mare Swan at once” she said. Sugar nodded, and spun around galloping back for the herd, making a beeline for the lead mare. “LEAD MARE SWAN!” Sugar called.

[tenebria]

Galmúr dodged through the last row of rocks and plunged into the prairie, picking his hooves up carefully as he did a slow hopping canter through the grasses, keeping an eye and ear out for the slithering sound of snakes. Behind him, Lorcán crashed along, his stride longer and more rhythmic than his apprentices.

Swan was speaking with Equinox, Stormflash grazing nearby and obviously listening into their conversation, when the frantic voice of the one of the new yearlings cut through the air. The young silver roan lifted his head and glared at the dappled filly as she raced towards them. What was she all riled up about? he wondered disdainfully. Swan swung her head around, frowning slightly at the frantic filly. "Calm yourself Sugar, take a few breaths, then tell me what you wish to say" she said in a calm commanding tone.

[wingfeather]

Treth and Danger went off in search of Lorcán, as the cantered Danger explained, ''Myth and I were out on patrol when we saw wolf prints, large ones, littering the ground. It is most definitely a large pack.'' Soon they found Lorcán and explained Danger's find.

''What do you think is going on,'' Artemis asked Myth. Myth explained, ''when Danger and I were out on patrol we found a lot of large wolf prints.'' Artemis gulped and involuntarily began trotting faster. ''Hey, slow down Artemis,'' Myth called, ''we have to keep a careful lookout.'' Artemis nodded and slowed her pace, her entire body alert. ''That's right,'' Myth said, ''anyway this trail is opposite where the wolves were found.''