AberrantKapro | Strohmeier / Senbonzakura

One problem after another, Senbonzakura grunted as the ground started to shake and move, they could never catch a break, could they? 

He made sure Söl was safe, at least as safe as the situation allowed for, and then frantically started looking for a way out of there. Before he could even ask them to, Kinka and Micke had jumped up on his back for safety, though the madder champagne knew that right now, there was no such thing as guaranteed safety no matter what they did. He looked down, the cold winds threatening them from the deep abyss beneath them, what an awful way to go, he thought as a shiver went down his spine and fear started to wash over and weigh him down. 

Before any of the coursers really had time to react, the floor started angling itself, prompting them to fall down. There was nothing they could do no matter how much they tried, no matter how much they fought. Would this be the end? 

The four coursers fell, fell for what felt like an eternity. Cold and darkness surrounded them. 

Strohmeier's lungs felt tight, the frigid air made it so much harder to breathe. Every breath stung. He couldn't see anyone, couldn't hear anyone. Was this what death felt like? He closed his eyes, accepting his inevitable fate. Except for his heart beating so hard and fast that it felt like his chest was about to explode, it felt rather peaceful. The cold air aside, painless. Free. Never before had he felt this kind of calmness and freedom, he had accepted his fate at this point, he just wished none of the others had to suffer a painful fate, that they too felt this welcoming calm embrace from the cold abyss. 

Suddenly, Strohmeier opened his icey blue eyes in terror. He frantically looked around, disoriented, shocked. Underneath him was solid ground and he was welcomed with a familiar scent. He could effortlessly stand up on the cold stone floor and move around, no pain in his body from the impact of falling, nothing to prove that it had ever even happened.

Next to him were the rest of the party, as well as their pets, lying peacefully. With a lump in his chest from anxiety, he carefully looked over, fearing that they might be dead, but then Micke moved in his sleep and he could see Senbonzakura take a deep breath. Thank goodness. He ran up to check on everyone, and somehow, they were all unharmed. But how..? The dark courser looked up in the ceiling, there was nothing suspicious at all, not even a hint of a crack. What was going on? Had it all been a dream? An illusion? Did the dungeon play tricks on them or did it save them from inevitable death? Strohmeier had so many questions, but no answer. He felt uneasy but was so thankful everyone was alive that it overshadowed his anxiety. 

Once everyone had gotten back up on their feet and gotten over the initial shock of what had just transpired, they started moving along through the rocky corridors, and that familiar scent got closer and closer. Their.. Camp? No way. 

Once again, they found their camp intruded, this time by some new faces. Curious. But both Strohmeier and Senbonzakura were happy to see that they had some new opponents to beef with, and as always, they took on their offensive roles and quickly lashed out against the invaders with swift coordination. This was basically routine by now. So many dishonourable coursers trying to steal down here. Despicable behaviour. 

602 words

Dillyweed | Köl / Söl

It all happened so quickly. The ground shaking. The monster. The cold. He couldn’t even remember the order. He was dizzy. Maybe even upside down. The cold was pressing in on him as he looked into the abyss. It enthralled him. He couldn’t look at it but he couldn’t look away from it either. Everything in his head was messed up. Drowned in thoughts but also completely empty.  He was alone yet he felt he could hear all of the others. He was falling, laying down and standing at the same time. Spinning. The abyss had him.

Söl opened his eyes. It took a moment to focus as he stood with his hooves wide apart and sweating as he took deep breaths. What was that? What happened to them? He threw his head around. He could see the other three. He breathed heavily. Eagerly. Greedily. Everyone was concentrating on getting back on their feet. Getting back to reality. Söl’s eyes stopped at Köl. The only one not gasping for air.

Köl did not understand what happened to the other. He had not seen the abyss. He had not felt its presence. He had seen the way the ground moved and twirled underneath them but he had not seen anything they’d seen. He had felt the cold but it had been nothing more than a nibble. Nothing that forced the air out of his lungs or bit the inside of his throat. Now he had to pretend that he had been at least some affected. His eyes met Söls eyes and he squinted before taking heavy breaths.

Luckily for Köl everyone's attention was taken by the fact that there were invaders in their camp. His first thought was to tell them to leave but maybe it was the others recently fighting with the abyss, they all seemed overly angry. They seemed to be ready to fight the thieves immediately. Köl didn’t fully understand the anger they felt but he wasn’t complaining. A fight would be good for him now. 

338 words