Disclaimer: Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to their author.
Notes: This is something that just popped up in my head out of nowhere, and the whole story pretty much manifested itself just as fast. This is very uncommon for me—usually I have to brainstorm quite a bit. Not complaining, though! Haha. :)
WHIPSTITCH
Prologue: Wake
By Senashenta
Crystal eyes blinked open suddenly, pupils dilating sharply as they attempted to focus through the blackness of midnight.
A split second later, a white body attempted to heave to its feet—wobbled, knees buckling, and fell down once more, only to try once again. And again. And again. The fourth time his legs stayed under him. He rested a moment then, until his legs stopped threatening to give out on him again. And once he felt sure of himself, he took a few tentative steps forward, hooves soft and nearly silent on the forest floor.
It was more than simply dark out—it was black as pitch, the sky, moon and stars obscured by the canopy of trees above him.
The darkness wasn't that much of a worry, though, as he was sure that even if it was daytime he would not have been able to tell where he was—only that he was in a forest somewhere, lost and alone—and, he realized with a start, no clue whatsoever who he was.
The worrying fact was that he simply didn't remember anything before a few moment prior when he had woken up.
He shifted uneasily, restlessly, ears swivelling back and forth to take in all the sounds around him: the rustle of leaves in the easy breeze, the far-off hoot of an owl, the soft, fluttering sounds of a bat flying overhead. He could recognize them all, but none of them were of any particular familiarity.
Then there were the soft, barely audible footfalls, muffled in the grass behind him. White ears snapped back and he whirled quickly, sapphire eyes wide but unable to see who—or what—was coming up on him.
Calm.
Something small and soft rubbed along the lower part of his front left leg. He froze at the feeling—but then carefully lowered his head until his nose touched lightly against whatever-it-was. Oh. A cat. The tiny creature continued rubbing against him, and after a moment he could hear a soft, rumbling purr. Somehow it was comforting. He relaxed a little, lipping at the nape of the cat's neck lightly before straightening again to survey his surroundings.
As before, he could see nothing beyond the night.
:Well,: He told the cat, and blew a breath out of his nose quietly. :I guess we're both lost, aren't we?: