all welcome, early awakening -- for alukhai - warrior 1/5

Ochir! Ochir!

With a gasp, the ruddy head snapped up away from the charred-looking legs, and amethyst eyes snapped open. The last he could remember was the scent of iron and hatred, and the brutal scramble for dominance. War defined them all, ruled them all - but it did not touch the sacred soft spaces of his heart where only she lived. Erdene! The name was screamed at the top of his lungs, the first thought he had in his head. It was guttural and without thought, and the man probably knew better too. Give no information, show no weaknesses, reveal nothing - and yet she had been his first and last thought, and his heart betrayed him.

The absolute need to know where she was, how she was, sent him into a panicked sort of gallop - one with no header and with no direction.

The red flowers brushed his hocks and he was only vaguely aware of the scent of them before it became something else entirely. It was only her. Only his treasure, jewel - his Шалтгаан (reason). The life before her mattered little in the end, it was the life they were building beneath the endless skies. More than anything else, he had found that worth risking, even giving his life.

warrior 2/5

The adrenaline coursing through him took him further - faster - and the tickle of the petals along his hocks had him thinking the worst. They looked like blurs of blood, drops dashed against the plains. He could feel the hurts in her, and he knew what she felt, as he had felt them too. All of their hopes, all of what they had fought tooth and nail for, it did not scare Ochir to sacrifice himself for. Maral was strong enough, though she would surely hurt. But without her? He would not be strong enough to live.

Hoi!

It was enough of a distraction to cause his head to turn and whip to face the source of the sound. That voice - he knew that voice. And there he was - and he heard his name from familiar lips. Blood of my blood, He had come to a skidded halt, bits of grass and dirt flying behind him as he pivoted. Batu should not be here, if this was forever, he knew that Batu should not be here. What happened?

warrior 3/5

There is an instant comfort, though he was still panting, and all he really could think of was where was his bride?

It felt like the last second he could remember before waking here was being overrun. He did not remember dying; death was an honorable thing, especially when it might ensure the peace of the others. He could not remember the feeling of bites or tears into his flesh - he remembered the taste of their blood, and he knew he would not have been an easy death for them to claim. He leaned briefly into the touch when Batu's flank was against his, and he let out a soft sigh. There was peace in the feeling of having his cousin next to him. The familiar was a lifeline that he could cling to; it was grounding in its own right.

Just a moment later, though, he felt his stomach churn and the brief feeling of relief became a spiral of darkness. Gone? Batu - all? The question was bigger and in the silence after all of the other questions were rapid-fire shot. Their family? Their band? Maral? The news that anyone lived was soothing, but, it was not enough. And....and my bride? He needed to know of her safety. It was paramount to him.

He knew her damned horse would take care of her and keep her safe - the beast was stubborn, but he would put Maral first at least. If somehow she had been taken, Ochir would not rest until he had recovered her. Who else is here? He asked after a moment, and his normally confident voice was so small.