She Ran Calling Wildfire

In the darkness, she hadn't noticed the dark-feathered owl perched on the mare's back until it hooted softly, fixing the grulla mare with a sagelike gaze. Her ears pricked in interest, a brief nicker of greeting given in response. Since meeting Java, she had become much more appreciative of the animals that deigned to become companions to horses, and even if they were not able to speak directly to eachother, Aryel hoped to give the owl the same respect as her bondmate. The mare's response, however, elicited a quiet huff of dismay, her head drooping. Nevertheless, she gave her a weary smile. "Thank you. I just hope he's okay, wherever he is." She couldn't bear the idea of him being hurt or trapped somewhere.

The stranger introduced herself as Otem, and her companion as "Pan"--a nickname, maybe? "Aryel," she replied with a dip of her horned head. "You know, I--"

She was cut off as the ground shuddered underfoot, and her eyes immediately darted up to scour their surroundings. Out of habit, she took a step closer to Otem, putting herself between the other mare and the direction the rumbling seemed to be coming from. Despite the fact that Otem towered over her, the blue dun was seemingly prepared to defend her, her wings half-flared in a threatening display towards whatever was out there. The flames at her hooves, which had begun to die down, now sprung up again in readiness.

When the indescribable presence engulfed her, she startled, only to retaliate with a vicious snap at the air around her. Her teeth clicked together on nothing, but she was suddenly aware of something pressing on her from all sides, not just on her body, but within her very mind. Despite the bizarrely-gentle sensation, a wave of relieving coolness from the muggy night air, the mare refused to be placated, even as her flames suddenly flickered and died. "Oh no you don't," she snarled, bucking out at the intangible presence, to no avail. She felt something shift deep within her, causing a brief wave of nausea, and then the feeling as gone as quickly as it had come, leaving them alone once more.

Breathing hard, she looked about, as if daring it to return, but as the hum in the air faded, she was forced to concede that it had escaped her. She snorted loudly, shaking herself out and ruffling her feathers as if to dispel the lingering feeling tracing across her skin. "Son of a bitch." She felt different, in a way that she couldn't put to words. Had it taken her magic, as Otem had warned? Concerned, she struck her hoof several times against the ground, as one might strike a flint against steel. On the third stroke, blue embers leaped from the hoof, growing into small flames. Aryel blinked, then grinned, unaware that the Rift had stolen her bloodline's dormant magic from her. "Hah! Whatever that was, I don't think it was able to take very much of anything." The peculiar smell that her flames seemed to put off wasn't missed, however, and she wrinkled her nose at the sulfuric odor. Still, pungent fire was infinitely preferable to no fire at all.

Now that she had encountered the strange Rift force and survived, she realized she wasn't sure what her next move would be. She didn't know where in the world she was in relation to her birthplace or her mother's land, and it hadn't yet dawned on her that she wasn't even on the same plane anymore. Getting home wasn't a pressing goal, seeing as she didn't really have a home at the moment, but if this land was "sick", as Otem put it, perhaps staying here wasn't a wise choice. "You seem to have a bit more idea about what's going on here than I do," she said, looking back to the other. "Maybe you can point me towards a better place to be than this shadowy hollow."

@Otem