Wake early, take more!

Zahra & Ilham

It was pride that turned angels into devils

With Eleos occupied somewhere nearby, Zahra found herself gifted a recently rare moment of aloneness. Determined to make use of it, the young draper found a generous glade within which to position herself and while the rain thinned and nearly ceased, she lowered her wings to rest; without the constant hammer of water against her skin, the young draper assumed her saturated skin might begin to dry. Wishful thinking really…

A cavernous yawn fought reluctant jaws apart and she let the spear, her father’s originally, fall to the ground with a soft thump. Briefly yellow eyes ventured heavenward, scoping the time of day and the position of the sun—should it by some miracle appear to warm her. Angling her painted frame suitably, optimistically, Zahra  let her neck stoop and her ears settle back; the woodland surrounding the old tree, Utwaritace seemed comfortably tranquil and so the weary mare allowed herself to fall into slumber.

It seemed her fatigue was far greater than she’d anticipated—months of emotional turmoil and the same of aimless wandering had actually taken its toll.

Descending beneath the numbing blanket of memories and dreams, the daughter of the Gallant and the Starry-Eyed failed to notice the muffled approach of the stranger’s considered footsteps. In fact, so lost in sleep was she, that the thief swept forward to take her laying prize, without even causing a flinch. Zahra was oblivious and by the time she eventually woke to the sound of Eleos’s soft call, the intruders (for there were two), had long ago vanished without trace into the wilds.

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