Whym first noticed her inability to move. She loved to move: to toss and turn her covers, to fidget while eating, to laugh and laugh at her cousin’s hilarious dancing.
Well, she used to for the latter. Whym wasn’t sure if they would even consider her a family member after what had happened. None of them believed her, not even after months of begging. She supposed that this was normal. Quirlicorns enjoyed her for laughter, for her neverending jokes even in the most dismal situations.
None of them truly understood her hidden ambition to explore the unknown. They wanted her to stay and become a gardener, like her mother and her grandmother and her great-grandmother and her great-great-grandmother and- well, Whym had a feeling that the length of this line was exaggerated, but nothing could be proven. Besides, who would even want to play with plants all day when there are five other regions to explore? There had to be a drop of traveler’s blood running inside of her veins.
She hoped, anyway. And if not, she wanted to prove them wrong. All of them.
Maybe she would be un-disowned, if that was possible. She missed her little sisters who looked up to her with stars in their eyes.
This anger had driven her to her current predicament. She had run into the Swamp Region, where… Well, she might have offended a deity with her harsh, infuriated tongue and burning anger below her hooves.
She struggled, the bonds starting to loosen around her. Finally cracking open her eyes, which took more effort than she would admit, Whym noticed that she was in some sort of an entrance to a giant maze. A quirlicorn hung on the other side, limbs tied similarly to Whym’s.
The other’s galaxy-like hair hung down, and the mare seemed to also be stirring awake.
“Hi!” Whym chirped, keeping her voice light, “My name is Whym!” She finally shook herself from the ropes and landed on her rump. “Ouch. This grass is made of paper cut-outs.” She wrinkled her nose. “Bleh, not even nice enough to give us real grass, are you?”
Whym turned around slowly, taking in her surroundings. Most of it was filled with green hedges, forcing them inside a box. At least it isn’t claustrophobic. Yet. “What’s this?” she muttered to herself, trotting to a paper that hung on the wall.
She read:
“Welcome to the Trials. If you are here, this means that you have offended THE MIGHTY KEIR OF THE SWAMP REGION. Hopefully, you survive and are traumatized for the rest of your life. If not, you wouldn’t be the first ones to fall.
Here’s a hint for the first trial, as I do feel a tad sorry for you: [redacted]”
The rest of the page was missing, torn right after that colon. “Figures,” she complained before turning to the other one. “You still haven’t introduced yourself! What’s your name? How in the Six Regions did you manage to get your mane hair like that? I’m so jealous. I’ve always wanted cool mane and tail hair like that.” Okay, so what if those weren’t the most relevant questions? “By the way, do you like food? I like food. I should’ve eaten before this, but I didn’t know that I would be kidnapped by a deity.”
Whym stepped forwards, humming an off-beat melody and taking the ropes off. “Is that better? I hope it is. Geez, those were not fun to be in. Hmm… I guess we gotta explore this ultra-fun maze, don’t we? You can give me mane tips along the way! It’ll be much more fun with that.” She pointed at the paper. “That’s the note if you wanna eye it over. I wasn’t exactly known for reading.”
Total Word Count: 627
Whym: 627 // +2
Antares: 346 // +1
Well, she used to for the latter. Whym wasn’t sure if they would even consider her a family member after what had happened. None of them believed her, not even after months of begging. She supposed that this was normal. Quirlicorns enjoyed her for laughter, for her neverending jokes even in the most dismal situations.
None of them truly understood her hidden ambition to explore the unknown. They wanted her to stay and become a gardener, like her mother and her grandmother and her great-grandmother and her great-great-grandmother and- well, Whym had a feeling that the length of this line was exaggerated, but nothing could be proven. Besides, who would even want to play with plants all day when there are five other regions to explore? There had to be a drop of traveler’s blood running inside of her veins.
She hoped, anyway. And if not, she wanted to prove them wrong. All of them.
Maybe she would be un-disowned, if that was possible. She missed her little sisters who looked up to her with stars in their eyes.
This anger had driven her to her current predicament. She had run into the Swamp Region, where… Well, she might have offended a deity with her harsh, infuriated tongue and burning anger below her hooves.
She struggled, the bonds starting to loosen around her. Finally cracking open her eyes, which took more effort than she would admit, Whym noticed that she was in some sort of an entrance to a giant maze. A quirlicorn hung on the other side, limbs tied similarly to Whym’s.
The other’s galaxy-like hair hung down, and the mare seemed to also be stirring awake.
“Hi!” Whym chirped, keeping her voice light, “My name is Whym!” She finally shook herself from the ropes and landed on her rump. “Ouch. This grass is made of paper cut-outs.” She wrinkled her nose. “Bleh, not even nice enough to give us real grass, are you?”
Whym turned around slowly, taking in her surroundings. Most of it was filled with green hedges, forcing them inside a box. At least it isn’t claustrophobic. Yet. “What’s this?” she muttered to herself, trotting to a paper that hung on the wall.
She read:
“Welcome to the Trials. If you are here, this means that you have offended THE MIGHTY KEIR OF THE SWAMP REGION. Hopefully, you survive and are traumatized for the rest of your life. If not, you wouldn’t be the first ones to fall.
Here’s a hint for the first trial, as I do feel a tad sorry for you: [redacted]”
The rest of the page was missing, torn right after that colon. “Figures,” she complained before turning to the other one. “You still haven’t introduced yourself! What’s your name? How in the Six Regions did you manage to get your mane hair like that? I’m so jealous. I’ve always wanted cool mane and tail hair like that.” Okay, so what if those weren’t the most relevant questions? “By the way, do you like food? I like food. I should’ve eaten before this, but I didn’t know that I would be kidnapped by a deity.”
Whym stepped forwards, humming an off-beat melody and taking the ropes off. “Is that better? I hope it is. Geez, those were not fun to be in. Hmm… I guess we gotta explore this ultra-fun maze, don’t we? You can give me mane tips along the way! It’ll be much more fun with that.” She pointed at the paper. “That’s the note if you wanna eye it over. I wasn’t exactly known for reading.”
Total Word Count: 627
Whym: 627 // +2
Antares: 346 // +1
shall we dance?
