Soft hoof falls echoed across the silence of the Moor. It was unsettling to listen to. The emptiness was enough to make any veteran dungeoneer on edge. The floors above them were so often filled with chaos and life that the vast lack of it on the Moor was a stark contrast.
The pair of Coursers had traveled to the lower levels to further explore the vines, flowers, and gourds that had begun sprouting through the walls of the dungeon. From what they could see, the Moor looked like it had even more compared to the higher levels.
“This place is creepy,” Cupcake commented to the golden mare beside her. The pair had taken a moment upon entering the Moor to acknowledge the quiet and let it sink into them. Even The General seemed to be unsettled by the eerie quiet, letting out a soft coo to convey it. Phoebe gave a nod in agreement with Cupcake.
“It hits me every time I come down here,” the gold-flecked mar replied. The pair made their way further into the dungeon level.
They walked lightly, doing what they could to not disturb what remained of a long-ago battle. Cupcake was looking around, taking in the truly massive amount of golden and yellow flowers that had sprouted. She flicked an ear in thought. It was hard to tell, but they almost seemed like a pattern.
“Phoebe,” she called to the mare who had gotten slightly ahead of her. “Is there anywhere we can get up high?”
Phoebe tilted her head at the question, thinking.
“Yeah, follow me,” she offered, changing the direction of her path. General decided that would be the best moment to get out of his basket and fly above the pair's heads as they walked. Cupcake picked up her pace to follow Phoebe closely, keeping an ear on The General to make sure he didn’t get too far from her.
They approached a tower, there were fewer flowers and vines in this area. It also seemed less of the broken armor and flag posts from whatever war had happened here.
The pair of them carefully scaled the steps of the tower, neither wanting to trip and slide down the precarious steps. Upon reaching the top, The General greeted them with a coo and soft honk.
Cupcake giggled and nuzzled him a bit, pulling away quickly as he tried to nip at her. Phoebe gave Cupcake an odd look but brushed it off. Every Courser had a unique relationship with the pets that followed them.
Cupcake and Phoebe looked over the edge of the tower, hit with the sheer amount of flowers they could now see.
“It didn’ look like this much from da groun’,” Cupcake said, eyes wide at the patterning of the flowers on the ground. She had been right about the flowers growing in a pattern, but she could have never thought about what that pattern was.
“It didn’t,” Phoebe remarked.
The height also gave them a chance to properly view the Moors and how scarred the landscape was.
They took in the landscape in silence for a moment, a soft breeze blowing through and picking up just enough to ruffle their manes.
“Shall we head back?” Phoebe asked, looking at Cupcake. She paused at the site of the pangare mare. Cupcake was enjoying the breeze, eyes closed as it passed over them. The General seemed to be enjoying it just that same.
She chuckled to herself, making her way down the tower, figuring that the other two would follow in their own time. Just as her hooves touched the grass, she could hear the hoof steps of Cupcake coming down the tower.
“Was the breeze nice?” Phoebe asked. Cupcake had a somewhat dopey grin on her face.
“Lovely!” She agreed, grinning even wider. General gave a honk, either to agree or just to mimic his owner’s excitement, making Phoebe chuckle.
“Let’s head back up,” Phoebe said, beginning to make the trip back up to the surface.