AberrantKapro | Gerard

The dungeons felt extra treacherous this early morning. The air was thick and humid, and a smell of wet moss combined with some unknown murky smell overwhelmed the party of coursers. The walls were full of condensed water and an assortment of moss and fungi, and the floor was full of water puddles and little critters all over. If they didn't tread carefully, a lot of bugs could be squished under the weight of their hooves but that was most likely the least of their concerns. 

Gerard, the chestnut splash courser, really was not too sure about this group of other coursers. He had a feeling that they wouldn't be a forever fit for him, but he did appreciate that they were here for this quest, as Gerard didn't feel like embarking on this mission alone. Regardless of if they were a good fit for an established party in the future or not, Gerard had sworn to protect the group.

His pale blue eyes looked back at Söl real quick, to make sure he was still present, before looking forward to Öte and the member he was the most skeptical about, Solas. That puck had no idea what safety was, even if it would've been instructions glued to the inside of his eyelids he would have no clue. And his so-called pet of a goose seemingly wasn't any better, if anything he was probably worse. Gerard really wasn't sure why he let that pesky puck talk him into this adventure.

The chestnut sighed as he saw the puck almost bounce with every step, so carefree and without a thought of danger in sight. Though he did stop for a moment, which in turn Öte also did. In front of the group, a narrow passage had appeared. Gerard had a bad feeling about this, but without even stopping to discuss with the group, Solas started to head into the tunnel. 

“Hey! You can't just-” Gerard barely had time to say before Solas was inside, and the chestnut just had to look into the eyes of his goose as a goodbye. At this point, they'd all just have to follow to make sure he didn't do anything too stupid. 

367 words

Dillyweed | Söl / Öte

When Solas had asked him to join the Campaign he had been a bit skeptical. He didn’t know the other two horses, and he wouldn’t say that it was a problem. But it felt like it was all a bit quick. However Solas was excited and it was unsure if the Campaign would continue if they didn’t get four members in total so the Black Tobiano had accepted. It turned out that both Söl and Gerard, the other two coursers. One of them a bay dun that seemed to be more interested in bugs than quests, and the other one, a splashed chestnut that was supposed to be the leader of the campaign but Solas had, not entirely intentionally, taken on the leader role by sheer excitement. Öte smiled to himself when no one was watching. He was happy that Solas had taken the lead, he would rather follow Solas then he would like to follow behind either of the other two Coursers.

Söl had been approached to join the quest early on. And he had been unsure at first. He had been to the caves many times, especially with his dad, since his young age. But he lacked motivation and confidence to do anything harder than the easier caves. At the same time he had also felt a need to try. He would never get past the easy caves unless he actually did something that he was scared of. He had to expand past his comfort zone, so he accepted the offer and joined in on the campaign. He and Gerard had talked a lot before the quest. Gerard had said that due to the sheer size of the caves he would prefer to only venture if they could be four. Söl had agreed that it felt like the right move. But it was more out of fright. He hoped that four courses would make him feel more at ease. It didn’t. But they were inside now. Exploring.
Söl made sure he kept close to Gerard. But occasionally he would stop to inspect some of the fungi that stood out compared to some of the other fungi or one of the insects that looked new. Ever since that glowing cave he met by himself he had never met that particular glowing fungi again.

Öte stopped when Solas stopped. They glanced at each other for a moment. The passage had suddenly gotten much smaller but based on Solas body language he was excited to continue. There was a moment where he almost thought they would discuss it with the rest of the group. But Solas forgot that  the other two didn’t know him like Öte did. They didn’t understand the silence. They might want to talk and make up a plan. For a moment Öte forgot it as well. Solas happiness was his happiness. They ventured into the passage. For a moment he could see a disgruntled Gerard behind them. He hadn’t passed by the opening of the passage yet, Söl looked over his shoulder. But how bad could it be? It was just a passage. Nothing they hadn’t passed by before. Suddenly Solas seemed to disappear from him in the darkness. And for a moment he was frightened as he took a step forward. But in that step Öte realized why Solas had seemingly disappeared. Suddenly they were both speeding down a muck-filled slide, dripping of moist and water from the cave walls trying to avoid getting hit by anything that might stick out from the walls. 

588 words

AberrantKapro | Solas

Solas was probably the last courser anyone should trust their life with, so finding two other coursers besides his loving partner stupid enough to join for a campaign would perhaps be a challenge, but Solas had always enjoyed challenges so he wasn't worried. 

He did manage to convince two others, Gerard and Söl. Those poor equines had no idea what was coming. No one knew Solas like Öte did, so they could probably never even imagine what a wild ride they had signed up for. 

The weld puck was happily skipping along next to his partner, with his inconspicuous goose, Robert, bouncing on his butt as always. The white goose occasionally let out a little honk, almost as if to say that he was still there, though Solas could of course feel that he was. 

After venturing for quite some time, they could barely see anything at all anymore and the cave walls seemed to narrow, making the passage only broad enough for a single courser to press on at a time. Excitement washed over the puck and his golden eyes briefly met the brown eyes of his lover, before he without hesitation squeezed into the passage. 

He quickly lost sight as the thick, moist air almost seemingly ate up the flame’s light, and he did his very best to duck away from the disgusting goop dangling from the ceiling. Robert, on the other hand, tried his very best to catch and eat the sticky slime droplets, with little success. 

Suddenly, the ground slipped away from underneath Solas’ hooves, and before he could even react to attempting to get back up, he quietly started sliding down a mucky, slimy ramp. 

Both Solas’ and Robert’s eyes widened in initial shock, before Solas let out an almost maniacal laughter out of joy. Oh, what an adventure this was! 

306 words