We Fall.

Zahra & Ilham

It was pride that turned angels into devils

The concept of travelling by foot - of the unnatural slowness therein - was a less awful ordeal than first imagined. Though the terrain covered by flight was vast, and the view from on high was really all-encompassing, the winged girl was beginning to recognise that this new sort of journey seemed to have its own merits. They, she and Eleos, had ventured further south even than before, skirting the ravenous shadows of the labyrinth with the prospect of discovering the source of a lonely mountain spire, as the end gain for their labour. Through the darkness of night (presumably), and each dull-lit day, their ambling gait carried the pair through an uncanny wilderness of inexplicable oddity and beauty. 

When at last they fell beneath the dank cover of an unexpectedly young pine forest (the familiar woody scent spurred a feeling of emotional relief), Zahra bid her father rest and recover - for their legs were unused to hiking - before sliding off through the timber to explore a little deeper. The soil each soft tread found along the way felt supple and moist, with a rich fertile scent that reminded her quickly of mould; decomposition and decay. So too did it spur visions of their old home in Helovia, where Ilham had strung through the canopy, between the murky old trunks, a stunning web tent with an ulterior motive. 

"Wouldn’t it be perfect?" she asked the tiny spider, pausing stride to behold the wooded region and presume its potential. "Aye, t’would."

Drawing a long breath, still humid and sour, young Zahra savoured the thought. "I really like it," she added, gliding her soft whiskered maw along the rough face of one shaggy tree. Continuing thereafter, she found herself drawn the sly wink of water in the distance, and to her surprise (and delight), the generous body of water held no sign of the haunting mists or aggravated rift wildlife - in fact, at first glance, the entire region seemed rather normal!

"Oh Ilham!" She could hardly contain her relief and stumbling forward to inspect the perfectly round waterbody. The spider too was enthused, though it seemed strange to her that, amid the turmoils of this unpredictable land, there seemed to be one place that appeared to be so untouched. "Mind yourself," she warned gravely, several eyes darting through the motionless treeline. 

Before the water, the earth grew quite wet, boggy and though it hardly deterred the ambitious nature of her quest forward, the changing terrain did slow her down. Clambering and leaping, sucked down by the vile, sticky stew, Zahra eventually found the glittering surface of the lake, and dipped down her trembling nose to dare a taste. It was wonderfully sweet, and fittingly so, for all around the perimeter of the water were poised a perfect rainbow of flower buds; sleeping, as though waiting for the sun to beckon them to bloom. 

"Well… they will be waiting an eternity, here…" she joked quietly, shrugging her sloping black shoulders and returning again to drink; yet as she did, there was a sudden flash of light and startled, the young mare’s face leapt forth to see another pegasus plunging from the sky. Before her lungs could gather air enough to cry out, the stranger’s wonderfully golden wings had unfurled, however, and rescued her from an inevitable - and rather unceremonious - ending. The taken air rushed from between the spreading smile, as it crawled (with some caution), across her lips.   

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@Nüwa