Rolling Thunder [Kire & Stare]

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semper
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Rolling Thunder [Kire & Stare] Aug 28, 2012 14:38:28 GMT -5

Post by semper on Aug 28, 2012 14:38:28 GMT -5

The thunder is unnerving. Deep rumbles sound with loud beats, like a collision. Like when I hit two stones together. Occasional flashes of white explode in front of me and I can feel a prickling in the air. It makes the hairs on my arms stand up and I feel a tingling in the back of my neck. Another guttural rumble sounds, this time much louder than the others. I almost feel like the ground beneath my feet is shaking, or maybe it’s just my heart racing. I’m scared, no doubt; my breathing is quickening and my blind gaze quickly looks around. Where am I? Red had led me along the road – that I know of because I felt the gravel and dirt beneath my feet – but where am I now? I don’t see any familiar shades of brown – instead, I only see a shifting green mass below at my feet and an almost black above my head. I must be in a field.

Isn’t it bad to be in a field during a storm, though? I remember someone mentioning that back at home, telling it to my brother. Home. That’s where I should be right now, but I…. I can’t get back. I don’t know my way back. I don’t even know where I am. I feel Red’s soft fur brush against my leg and I quickly bend down, sitting beside her. Her wet nose presses against my face and I stroke her fur. There’s the soft “plop” as she sits down at my side and my hand searches her neck for the rope collar, holding tightly onto it. A loud boom of thunder sounds and I instantly flinch toward Red’s grey fur as if she could protect me from the storm. I shouldn’t be here. All my life I’ve been sheltered despite my height (which I’ve been told is abnormally high) and age, but it’s all been for a good reason. I’m blind, I can’t really do anything, especially if Red isn’t around. She’s the best dog ever; she never leaves my side unless Odette takes her (Odette was the one that gave me Red so it’s only right and fair that she should get to take her when she wants) and she’s basically my eyes. She helps me find my way around, but right now I think she’s scared of the storm too. I feel her body shivering beneath my hand and I gently stroke her, just as another flash of lightning shows up, quickly followed by a booming thunder. Red jumps at the sound but doesn’t leave me. She tenses, though, no doubt. I feel the muscles on her back harden as she sits up taller, neck twisting as her head moves around.

”I guess we’re stuck here, Red.” I mutter, settling down onto the grass of what I’m sure is a pasture. I don’t want to be walking around when there’s a storm and be a “human lightning rod” as my mother put it once. I can only hope though that it blows over quick.

The air is thick and sticky; a few rain drops even fall onto my skin. It’s pretty cold, and the wind that’s picking up only makes it colder. I can hear the tall grass swaying, the little whistle it makes. The rain starts falling harder and faster, lightning flashing off in the distance, and I just pull Red into my lap, holding onto her to wait out the storm.

((I have to break him in again D: ))

[/size][/justify]

i hear the mountains calling me home

Kire
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thinking about thonking

Rolling Thunder [Kire & Stare] Aug 28, 2012 22:01:57 GMT -5

Post by Kire on Aug 28, 2012 22:01:57 GMT -5

Does, Says, Thinks, Sunny

The pounding on the door startled Oscar out of his concentration. He spun to face his bedroom door, standing as he did so. When a brilliant flash of light pierced through his curtains, he instantly knew what the commotion was about. Quickly, he crossed his room in a couple strides, pulling open the door to reveal the man had already left, as though knowing that he would realize there was a storm sooner or later. Oscar grabbed his raincoat and rubber boots as he reached the front door, pulling them on in a rush to get outside and move the horses. With a storm this bad, he didn't want the horses being drenched, let alone the chance that they could be struck by lightning.

He didn't bother to do up his coat, instead taking long, fast, strides out to the field. His hair was dripping within minutes, and water began to seep under his jacket. Frustrated, he pushed away his own discomfort, more concerned about the horses. He could always dry off inside, but the horses didn't have such luxury. He heard the man shouting over the sound of the storm, calling to the other ranch hands to hurry and bring in the horses. A loud yell sounded from one of them as they tried to catch Sunny and Rohsa. The two horses balked, rearing away from the boy who was about Oscar's age. His attention caught by his horses, Oscar called out to the stallion and ran over.

Turning to look at the boy, Oscar was glad to see he was alright, if a little scared. Shouting to him that he would be fine here, Oscar turned towards the two horses. For all that they had fussed, neither of them appeared scared. The whites of their eyes weren't showing, and they weren't prancing or spooking. However, whenever he got near, they would run from his grasp. He eventually noticed that they always ran toward the same direction, rather than in any random direction as if they were merely trying to avoid being caught. Curious now, Oscar called to Sunny to lead on. His whinny loud even in against the thunder, Sunny trotted away, breaking into a canter when lightning flashed before circling around to canter back. Rohsa shielded Oscar from the worst of the wind, moving by his side and guiding him with her movements. Before he could ask where they were taking him, a flash of lightning lit up a shape, huddled on the ground.

He broke into a run, and Rohsa ran beside him, her hoofbeats more a vibration in the ground than audible sound. Eventually, they drew close enough to see what the shape was, and Oscar had to force himself to keep moving as he stared. There was a boy, sitting in the field, and in his lap was dark coloured dog, too wet to tell what colour it actually was. He whistled to the two horses, who he was glad to see had heard him and come over. Sunny trotted forward and nosed the boy, Rohsa came up on the boy's other side and sniffed the dog. Oscar, himself, walked up to stand in front of the boy, then thought better of it an kneeled. "Hey," he had to shout over the rumble of thunder, "are you alright?" He nudged Sunny's nose away with his shoulder, gentle enough that the stallion wouldn't take offense, trying to take in what he could of the boy.

He didn't see any injuries on him, but then again, it wouldn't be hard for the rain and the mud to hide any. Slowly, as though dealing with a timid horse, he moved to crouch be side the boy, where Sunny had been standing. Quieter, since he only had the rain to talk over, he said "C'mon, we gotta get inside. We'll sort everything out when we're more comfortable." He scanned the boy again, grimacing to himself at how drenched he was. Yanking off his rain coat, he'll probably be as wet with it on as not, he placed it on the boy's shoulders. It wouldn't be surprising if either of them caught a cold from this rain, but Oscar would rather it was him. Slowly, he stood, glancing at the two horses who stood by them. One more look at the boy as he said, "The horses will shield us from the wind, we should go before we get hit by lightning."

He stretched out a hand to the boy, taking a quick glance at the sky and trying not to get too much water in his eyes. His sigh was barely audible in the torrential downpour. Sometimes, rain was nice. It would water the grass that the horses ate, fill up water buckets with fresh water and clean everything that was not indoors. However, there were also times when rain was hard to deal with. Like now, for instance, when it would turn the ground to mud, and create lakes in the middle of the field, or when it would spoil hay because it began to rot from the wet. Torn as he was about labelling rain, right now Oscar had no trouble calling this thunderstorm a nuisance. I would call this a far cry from singing or dancing in the rain, especially because either of those activities might get you zapped. The thought amused him as much as it pained him. Lightning was not a pleasant thing to be struck by, and they had lost a horse last year to a lightning strike.

The memory of poor Winter's charred skin and wide eyes tore at Oscar, but now was not the time for that. They had to get inside before any of them ended up like that, horse, person or dog.

Tags: Stare/Semper | Words: 958
Other: Wow, I don't even know where that all came from. Apparently, thunderstorms give me muse. XD

Template by Bryya

On hills and waves on stormy days.

Stare
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and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

Rolling Thunder [Kire & Stare] Sept 9, 2012 0:14:33 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Sept 9, 2012 0:14:33 GMT -5

Wild were the winds that came
In the thunder and the rain
Nothing ever could contain
The rising of the storm

The streaks of white that crack against the sky remind me of whips. Whips like the ones Barbwire used on the horses and, more often than not, on me. As I stare up through the deluge, blinking rain out of my eyes like tears, another blinding arch stretches across the onyx spill of storm clouds and illuminates the angles of my face. The crack that succeeds it pulls me back through the years to when my own screams of agony would accompany such a sound and echo in almost perfect harmony, back tingling lightly at the memory. Penny whinnies anxiously beneath me and I bend over her, tendrils of dripping black whipped into my face while I run a hand soothingly against her slick copper coat. The wind howls in my ears and whips the warmth right off my skin so I am left with slightly chattering teeth and regret at not bringing a jacket to wear over my short sleeved top. Although, to be quite honest, I hardly believe it would have made any difference - the rain is so heavy that it would have soaked through anyway. Another icy sheet strikes me and I raise my head up, exposing my face to the sky once more just to feel the rage of the storm wash over me.

If this were any other horse I would dismount immediately, creating a lower target for lightning. However, this horse is Penny, a newer one who just happened to cost quite a bit of money, and I haven't worked with her enough. If I get off her back now, she'll run off before I could blink three times. I give a huff of frustration that escapes my lips as a silver cloud before urging Penny forward, panic striking in me every time her hooves hit a patch of mud and glide slightly across the slippery ground. I can feel her trembling beneath me and occasionally spread my palm over her neck and her remind her that I'm here, we're okay, just keep going even though the memories that the lightning strikes into me have left me slightly unnerved as well. I close my eyes for a moment and see all those fearful moments like a broken movie (Barbwire's twisted rage, the bright red stripes woven across my back, the broken bottles littering faded wooden floors as he ranted on and on about senseless things in that horrible slur while I memorized every nick and crack in our kitchen table, not daring to meet his eyes.) There aren't many things that scare me these days, but Ripred knows I am terrified of Barbwire.

Everything looks the same through the blur of the downpour, and I'm starting to fear that I've gotten myself lost when I hear a shout in the distance. I pull Penny up to a sliding halt and tilt my head to listen, trying to pick out the voice through the thunder that sounds through the land like distant war drums. And then there it is, something human in nature's great torrent. "- you alright?" I turn Penny in the general direction of the sound but suddenly everything is all wrong - she's pulling around to sharply and everything is too wet and then I'm slipping, sliding, trying desperately to grab something to keep me on top of my horse but finding only air. Luckily, I don't take the fall on my back. Instead, my foot strikes first, twisting painfully beneath me as I collapse on the ground with a sharp cry. Penny tosses her head up, recognizing the loss of weight on her back, but I grab onto her reigns before she can flee.

My hair snaps taut in the wind and I try desperately to tame it, staring down at my ankle uncertainly. It aches in a way that makes me fear that I've perhaps injured myself beyond just a simple bruise, and the sharp pain that stabs through it when I gingerly attempt to put weight on it confirms my suspicions. Twisted, maybe even sprained. There's no way I can even get back up onto Penny, much less all the way home. I suppose all I can do is continue toward whoever shouted moments before and hope that they can provide me with some kind of transportation or shelter in which I can wait out the storm. Leaning against Penny's firm frame, I give a little hop on my good foot and awkwardly lead her along at a quick pace. I probably would look comical if this were any other situation, but the deafening storm and twisted expression of pain on my face makes everything all too serious. The rain is a nuisance, but it's the lightning that I'm truly afraid of. At this altitude, getting struck is a terrifyingly likely possibility.

After a few moments of rushing forward as quickly as I can, lightning highlights two horses and three other silhouettes, one a good deal smaller than the other two, and I raise a hand to cup around my mouth and shout. "Hey!" I'd like to think that I can be rather loud when it suits me, but in this wind even my loud cry is carried away. I grunt in frustration and try to move toward them at a faster rate, hopping along with a very confused Penny by my side and pleading to Ripred that they don't move away before I can catch up to them. Finally, when I'm only a few yards from their back, I hear a warning bark given from the smaller one, which I now recognize to be a dog. "Hey!" I repeat myself just as loudly, though I'm satisfied now that they are aware of my presence. I slowly approach them until Penny is nearly side by side from the horses, hiding the pain as best as I can. The water dripping down my face blurs my faces so I can't recognize individual features much beyond them both being male, at which I feel something inside of me protest loudly. Asking them for help? Pathetic.

Unbending my knee and leaning heavily on Penny, I stretch out my leg in front of me. "I was out riding when the storm struck, and I slipped off my horse when she made a turn. I think I twisted it," I shout over the winds, placing my foot back on the ground but putting absolutely no weight on it. "Could you help me out? There's no way I'm getting home like this, and I'd be more than happy to pay you for your troubles." It's a blow to my pride to be asking two people, much less two guys, for help when I have gone years without it from anyone. But I must admit to myself that at the moment, I am weak, and if I don't give up my high and mighty act I could very easily get myself killed out here.

Not even Panem's fastest horse can outrun Mother Nature.

In the wing of ebony
Darkened waves fill the trees
Wild winds of warning
Echo through the air

[/justify]

semper
Retired Staff

2,354 POSTS
last seen Jan 1, 2014 0:57:11 GMT -5

Rolling Thunder [Kire & Stare] Sept 21, 2012 14:25:33 GMT -5

Post by semper on Sept 21, 2012 14:25:33 GMT -5

The rain just keeps coming down relentlessly, pelting my skin and making me cold and numb. Eventually I can feel Red start to shiver within my embrace, but she’s tough, she can get through it. Her thick fur starts to become slick with the rain and I find it harder and harder to simply hold onto her, but she doesn’t move; she remains seated on my lap, her head twisting around and stopping every so often, probably because of a sound or something. Over the rain and thunder, I can’t hear anything. It’s just a constant pelting noise accompanied by the occasional boom and flash, and sometimes it’d even startle me so that I’d jump and scare poor Red. She stayed with me, though, settling down in my lap to wait it out together.

Though the shivering doesn’t stop, Red suddenly goes stiff. I don’t need to see to be able to know that she saw something. Her entire body, dripping wet, stands rigid against my slumped frame; I can feel her shifting as she twists her head and the vibrating of her chest as a low growl is emitted. Is someone here? The thought scares me. I can only hear the storm and feel Red’s body movements – how am I supposed to tell if there’s another person nearby? How can I tell if they’re friendly or not?

She stiffens up more and the growl deepens – I can only imagine that the person is getting closer. Then suddenly I hear a voice, asking if someone was alright. I lift my gaze up and see dark brown blurs right in front of me, and even above the rain I can catch the faint aroma of horse. They’re horses. If this was someone who meant me harm, I doubt they would have horses with them and the concern was quite evident in the stranger’s voice. Even Red seems to have relaxed, and if she trusts them then I trust them. The guy continues to talk and even places something heavy around my shoulders. I jump at the sudden pressure, startled, but once again my sense of smell pulls through. It’s of a rubber-like material, that I’m sure of, and doesn’t appear to be of any harm. Just a weight on my shoulders. I try to see what exactly it is but I can’t figure it out, so I return my attention back to the stranger. He wants to help me? I stare blankly at where I think he is, trying to figure out where he’s going to take me. I let go of Red and she steps off my lap, allowing me to get up. I already know I tower over the stranger – Ma always told me I was the tallest boy in Ten – but I still hunch over a little.

He confirms my suspicions about there being horses and also gives me something else to worry about: lightning. I’d seen the great white flashes explode in spontaneous spots of my vision, though I’ve never really ever heard of someone being hit by it. But how can you be hit by a light? Light is harmless and can only do temporary things to you, so what is the deal with these big, bright, bursts of white?

Then there’s another voice, this time from behind me and quite feminine. I feel Red’s presence right beside my legs as she trots around to probably look at the new person. My head slowly turns around and this time I see a lighter brown blur, quite a stark contrast against the unnervingly dark sky. The female voice goes on to tell about how she slipped off her horse and twisted something and how she can’t get home. Twisted what? Tack? A joint? I squint through the rain to try to tell what she’s talking about and I think I see her holding her leg up. A joint. I’ve twisted my ankles many, many times in my life, but all of them were because I couldn’t see where I was going. This girl happened to take a hard fall, and in this weather it could have been because of many reasons.

I extend my arm to the blur of a girl beside the bright horse, silently offering to use my body to lean against. ”I’m sure the mud ain’t doin’ y’ too much good, then.” I say, waiting to see if she’d accept my assistance or not.