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Post by Admin on Mar 20, 2016 20:45:17 GMT -5
Personality
Valefor tries her best to be that strong, trusted figure that everyone can rely on. Honesty and trustworthiness are two things she takes very seriously and she would not actively try to lie to someone. That being said, if an unpleasant topic comes up, she may try to get away from the topic and won't hesitate to flat out say she doesn't want to hear it. While being very open with her opinions, Valefor is not quite as open with her feelings. She will discuss all sorts of matters, as long as it doesn't have to do with how she feels about it. She doesn't half-ass things and is incredibly determined to finish whatever she starts, as long as it is still relevant. Upon meeting new horses, she is typically friendly, boisterous and pleasant. If it happens to be a mare, she's been known to treat them a little more sweetly while the stallions she accepts more as her brothers. She lived with a purpose and so in death, she tries to always have a purpose and reason for doing something. Life was not a waste of time to her and she tries to enjoy every second of the afterlife now.
History Valefor was born to a particular herd, where the focus was more on finding the proper way of living than just surviving together. There were significantly more mares than stallions, though their numbers were large and they lived in relative peace away from the rest of the world. Many years before, the horses had been on a search for a place that would protect them and be easy to defend from others. They found a wide chasm in a mountainside, with each side opening to grassy hillside and plenty of ledges to provide shelter. A river ran cut through the hills nearby, providing the herd with what they needed to thrive. They would stay in the chasm for most of the year, with most rainfall draining out quickly since the chasm was sloped. However, when it came summer and was the rainy season, they would have to move out of their home and down the mountain to a forest with thick enough canopy to shelter them.
When she was born, Valefor's mother adored her and spent days fawning over her, while her father gave his approval and moved onto his next child. She had several half-siblings all born around the same time, as well as a few cousins since they were all related to some extent. Her mother usually kept them under close watch, seeing as she was one of the largest horses around and her daughter seemed to take after her. As they all grew to yearlings, she remained the biggest filly and rivaled the colts for size as well. Her size came into play when her and her relatives played, she was always given either the leader of the villain position. Being given such important roles gave her a bit of an ego and the growing filly decided that she should start acting out these roles every moment, not just during the games. She began playing rougher with the colts and doing more to "protect" the fillies from insects or the occasional bobcat to wander through. The other youth began to fall into their roles as well while they grew up, with the boys either becoming more brave and independent or falling into the supporting, guidance role. The girls usually followed whatever their mothers had done, whether it be taking watch over their home or searching out good, safe areas to graze. There wasn't very much pressure to follow any set path, so Valefor found herself shoulder to shoulder with the young stallions designated to keep predators away. Daily, she would strive to train and strengthen herself so she would be able to react in the proper manner to an emergency. Her sparring matches with the stallions were often difficult, due to their strength, but she was able to keep up due to her size. By the time she was a full grown mare, she had earned full respect for her ability and will to keep the herd safe.
It seemed as if the batch of foals she had grown up with had become some of the most vigilant lookouts and guards yet. She had complete faith that for as long as they stood by, the herd would always be safe. Of course her blind faith and naiveté were not put to waste. The days leading up to her demise had been typical, blissful even. She had been cycled through to take the lookout much farther down from the herd's home in the forest. It was a position given to those that could be trusted to prevent danger from advancing, or get a warning out in time. Though the job was very important on that day, as the herd was beginning to move down the mountain as the hot, humid weather promised one hell of a storm. The younger colts were sent up the side of the mountain to watch for any rainclouds and send the alert of what direction and how fast it was coming. However, they did not take it very seriously as the sky had been cloudless for days. Instead of keeping watch, the young lookouts dozed off under the hot sun, allowing the storm to approach unseen. By the time they awoke, the dark clouds already loomed overhead and droplets were starting to fall. The hot wind cooled down immediately to a chill, spurring the colts into even more of a panic. They raced back along the ridge to the proper side of the mountain to try and warn their herdmates, only to find several older members racing up to come retrieve them. They were scolded, though quickly shooed down along the mountain. The chasm had already been evacuated and almost all of the herd was down in the forest. By the time they regrouped, the rain was coming down hard and the river seemed to be building up it's strength. The herd moved further inland, away from it as it'd be before nightfall when the water would come rushing through. As they began to settle in, it became apparent that one of the young stallions who had been on the original watch on the mountain, had not returned. It seemed that a young mare known to be fond of him was missing as well and had let her plans to meet up with him in the chasm slip to her friends. There was an almost immediate uproar amongst the herd members, with most of them agreeing it was too late to save the two. Still, some of the younger members argued that there was still time. There were no active volunteers to go retrieve the two and this only caused further unrest as the youth tried to guilt the adults into trekking back up the mountain. The argument only seemed to be escalating with no clear solution, though some of the horses who had chosen to stay out of it were beginning to fear for the entire herd's safety. Distractions were dangerous when they had to keep moving to avoid the imminent flooding, so the stallions and mares that Valefor had come to be friends with decided for one of them to go. They figured that if one of them decided to just go without asking, it'd shut everyone up. Choosing who would go wasn't so hard, as they decided the strongest and most surefooted should be the one. Valefor, being the largest and pretty good with climbing the paths in the chasm, agreed to make the trip back up. Like planned, she took off without warning to the herd, effectively surprising them into enough quiet for control to be taken by her friends.
The ground was incredibly muddy and became slippery as she climbed the thin trails along the chasm. The rain thundered down around her, making it very difficult to hear if any other horses were around, let alone to even see. It was becoming treacherous fast and the mare knew she only had a short while before she had to get out. Still, she was determined to find the two stragglers before they would be washed away. She figured that they would have met up and become either too distracted to notice the amount of rain or too scared to come back out again. The best place she could think of to search for them would be the more private, sleeping areas. It was located a little higher up, but still very in danger of the flood zone. Even so, she began to descend along the thin trails. She only made it three quarters of the way before she could hear the thunder of the river. She knew that meant it was swelling up and ready to pour over the banks into the chasm itself. She grit her teeth and simply hurried her pace, going as fast as she dared to until she stumbled into the opening of the sleeping areas. She called out, her voice dull and quiet against the sound of the rain and the river outside. Her nerves began to fail her, though she hurried through each of the rooms, seeking out the two youth. There was no sign of them and the storm was only growing angrier. More desperately, she returned to the chasm and began to climb up the path again, hoping to find the two seeking shelter up high and perhaps seek her own place to hide. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest and the stress so much in her head that she missed the sound of the water bursting forth. Luck wasn't exactly on Valefor's side, she hardly managed to clear the brunt of the wave while the splash from it was forceful enough to knock her legs out from under her. She scrambled to stand back up, only to get caught in the rush of froth and water from the second wave. It threw her off balance and into the raging flood below. It was only a matter of seconds before the waters carried her out of the chasm, however those few crucial moments underwater had left her far worse for wear. Branches that had been caught in the river became debris that bashed against her head. A nasty gash extended from behind her right ear to the middle of her forehead and it bled profusely. However, with the sudden flush of water onto the hill that lay beyond her enclosed home, she managed to regain her footing. She staggered forward, swaying a bit as the water swirled around her legs. The mud still sucked at her hooves with each attempted step, but she managed to pick up a shambling walk. The hit to her her head left her confused, unsure of where she was or even where she had to go. There was no hurry to her step, only the want to get out of the wet and muddy terrain.
The water had dropped her in the opposite direction of where her beloved herd stood in waiting, so she continued in the wrong direction. Eventually the landscape flattened out and the girl decided to take a rest. She had been walking for long enough that her legs hurt, but the aching feeling that she was needed somewhere drove her onward. Still, just a short rest sounded like it'd be nice. She dropped to the ground, lacking the energy for a graceful movement down. Sleep came right away. The daze from the knock to her head made it nearly impossible for her to pull herself together and wake up from her foggy sleep when her body became aware that she needed to stand. Her conscience was barely able to pull through as she felt her lungs burning and scented heavy blood. By then it was too late for her to save herself, her last aware moment a haze of confusion, alarm and pain.
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