Solo Here Buggie, Buggie

[Mihiya Darkmane]

Timestamp: 60 Spring AV 502

Brinlin had dared her to do it. Go out of Endrykas, catch a bug, bring it back and thene at it. Being the girl she was, she had immediately summoned her three year old mare and had hopped on her back and set off, deciding that she would catch a bug as soon as possible. Bugs were, after all, fairly rampant in the Grasslands outside of Endrykas...and inside of Endrykas. Bugs were a fact of life.

She was not worried about the monsters that lurked. She would stay close to the city and Komali was the fastest of fast. With a child's naive certainty, she rode the mare toward the outskirts of the city of tents. Briseni was busy, helping with other people's problems and besides, she had left Brinlin in charge of his five year old "sister."

"Nice day for bug hunting," she murmured conversationally to her mare, as she urged her to trot a bit faster. She wasn't quite comfortable going any faster than a trot, though Brinlin often challenged her to ride faster. He rode his own demon Strider like the wind. Regardless, Mihiya was not about to make Komali run. If she did, she would fall and then she would have to explain what she'd been doing...better to trot.

She stopped Komali and slid off, landing lightly on her feet as if she'd done it a hundred times...well...that was accurate enough. She'd slid off of Komali, both intentionally and unintentionally too many time to count.

"Stay here." she signaled to the mare, who of course followed her the moment the girl pressed through the tall grasses in search of a bug...

[Mihiya Darkmane]

She was lost in a few chimes. She could see the fires of Endrykas, but she wasn't quite sure how to get back. Komali was staring at her with a look that bordered on rebuke. Mihiya frowned back at her. She still hadn't found a bug to eat--wait? Was that a grasshopper? The bug had hopped up in front of her and she gave a delighted squeal. Grasshoppers were large bugs, she could probably catch one without hurting it and bring it back to Brinlin and eat it to win the bet. She smirked to herself. This would be so easy.

"Stay here! I'm serious Komali or you'll scare off the grasshopper!" With a childish giggle she set off after the grasshopper, getting on her hands and knees and creeping forward toward grasshopper. She eyed it, following the bugs movement as it poised to spring. With a jump, she leapt at it, cupping her hands to capture it. With a shout of glee she opened her hands.

Empty?

She stared at them as if trying to figure out where the bug had disappeared to. She was certain she had caught it. She squinted and saw the grasshopper, unharmed and uncaptured a bit in front of her. She narrowed her dark eyes and dropped into a crouch. She would catch that grasshopper if it was the last thing she did.

[Mihiya Darkmane]

As far as grasshopper hunting went, Mihiya had to admit that it was far harder than she had ever envisioned. She would stalk the darn thing, get so close, and then it would hop up out of the way. She gritted her teeth in determination. She would catch the hopper if it was the last thing she did. She crouched down again, her eyes pinned on her prey as she slowly, slowly, stalked forward...and then accidentally stepped on a piece of brittle grass. The crack made the grasshopper jolt and fly-hop away. Mihiya snarled in frustration, or snarled inasmuch as a five year is capable of, and glared at the thing. It had settled down a few steps away from where it had previously been, daring her to catch it.

She crouched down again, wincing as a particularly sharp piece of grass dug into the meaty flesh of her palm. She shook it off, however, and continued forward, her dark eyes flashing as her anger rose in her. It was just a stupid insect, why was it so difficult for her to catch it. This was verging on ridiculous and she was NOT okay with it. Brinlin couldn't win the bet, he simply couldn't. She knew the only reason he had posed the bet in the first place was because he was jealous of Komali, but that didn't mean she didn't want to win it and earn eternal fame.

With a tremendous leap, she launched herself at the grasshopper, hands closing around where she was certain she was. As she rolled to the ground she smiled. She could feel the beating of tiny feet on her hands, she could feel the movement of the creature against her palms. She had captured the grasshopper. In the same moment, her stomach gave a vicious rumble and she transferred the insect to one hand and placed her hand on her stomach. She was hungry indeed, and not quite certain how long it would take to get back to Endrykas. She opened her palm and eyed the large bug. It was not terribly bad looking. It probably wouldn't taste that bad....

[Mihiya Darkmane]

Brinlin would probably say that she had cheated if she didn't eat the bug in front of him. But she was ever so hungry and she was uncertain as to which direction she needed to turn in order to get back to camp. She turned to Komali and looked at her, the dun mare nuzzled her kindly as she did so.

"I'm starving," Mihiya complained, "And this is a big grasshopper. I wish I could eat grass like you, but I can't. Maybe I should just eat the bug. Except then...then Brinlin wins and we can't have that..." Decisions, decisions. Finally, she settled on a solution. Eat the bug. She was hungry and she could always hunt down another bug or something else that would satisfy Brinlin. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Would it hop in her throat? She hoped not. Putting that thought out of her mind, she tossed the bug in her open mouth, chewed twice, and then swallowed.

"Blerg," she muttered as she spat out a leg. It had been terrible. She hated the way the legs had felt crunching in her mouth. What was worse was that she was still terribly hungry. She needed real food. Perhaps Komali would be able to get them back...home...

"We're lost," Mihiya informed Komali point blank. She stared at all the grass and sighed. This was not promising. She could possibly follow a trail...if she knew anything about doing such things. Or perhaps she could...she didn't know what she could do. Everything seemed fairly hopeless at this point.

She mounted her mare quickly and looked around her. Nothing seemed familiar. To make matters worse, the sun was definitely lower in the sky than it had been. Night would be setting in a few hours and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be out all night. That seemed...risky. She muttered to herself as she rode along...thinking about how utterly stupid this idea had been.

[Mihiya Darkmane]

The sun had set and Mihiya was exhausted. This was terrible. She slid off of Komali's back and looked around. She knew nothing of finding shelter and how to find someplace comfortable to sleep. Finally, she just looked around until she found a place that looked decently sheltered. The grass was high there and it seemed fairly protected from the wind. She curled up, shivering for the night was fairly cold. She stared around, searching for something that would cover her and help keep her warm, but came up with nothing.

And so she shivered, and she tried to sleep until she heard footsteps in the distance. With a jolt she sat up and blinked several times as Chastral came into view, his long blond hair a mess and his face haggard. He sat astride his Palomino Strider and when he saw her, his face relaxed.

"You are safe," he sighed and signaled to her that she was to mount Komali. "We are taking you home. Brinlin will not dare you to do such a thing ever again, and you will not listen if he does. This was unwise child, even for a young one like yourself." She winced at Chastral's hard glare and mounted Komali quickly.

"I ate a bug," she informed Chastral as they rode and his harsh expression morphed into one that was amused.

"Somehow, this does not surprise me," he responded with a short chuckle, "You will be as wild as your mother someday. I fear that trying to prevent that will be nearly impossible. I just hope that this spirit doesn't get you killed."

[Praetorian]

Mihiya has not been active since early in July. With such in mind, she has been classified as inactive and will thereby be put on hold for any grading. If she becomes active once again and messages me or another Cyphrus mod, this thread will be graded. Have a nice day!