Under The Full Moon

The Capture

Gale looked up to the sky, the stars overhead shimmering with all the glow of a diamond against the black silk of the evening. Smiling, she leaned back against the sturdy side of her mount, a massive Friesian as dark as the night itself. The horse sighed, seeming to enjoy the young woman's company. Gale's gaze was drawn from above, however, when she noticed something off in the distance. It almost looked as though a star had fallen, the soft shimmer just at the edge of the treeline making her grow more curious by the second. She remained where she had seated herself in the soft grass for a few moments longer, a gentle breeze brushing her snow white and soft pink hair back from her shoulders before she was unable to quell the curious nature that had been eating away at her. 

Rising from where she was seated, Gale began to move, her bare feet making not a sound in the tall blades of grass as she started walking. A nicker behind her made Gale turn, her pale purple-blue eyes resting on her equine friend. He snorted, his ears back as he moved to place himself between the young woman and the shimmering light in the distance. "Relax, Valor. It's probably just a crystal catching moonlight," She hummed. She had always had an eye for things of that nature. As she stepped around the horse, he let out a neigh, startling Gale. It wasn't like the normally gentle giant to act as he was. Furrowing her brow, Gale defiantly moved around his side and started to jog toward the source of the light, her slender hands moving to grab the front of her dress so as not to trip on the fabric. She could hear Valor behind her, the horse snorting and grunting as he tried to get her attention, tried to keep his friend from running toward the light. Something felt off about it, the horse wasn't sure what, but he could feel it. Reaching out, he tried to grab her dress in his teeth but he missed. 

Gale was always stubborn, there wasn't much anyone could really do about it. It was in her nature to try to see what something was, regardless of the consequences, and for that, she had been demanded to take Valor with her. She had always managed to slip away from the human guards that were sent to watch over her. However, she wasn't going to allow him to stop her either. Her attention focused on the light, Gale failed to see the incline in the ground before her. As she moved to step forward again, she missed her footing, the ground sweeping out from under her feet. Letting out a screech, she pitched forward, toppling head over foot down the incline and landing heavily at the bottom. The breath had been knocked from her lungs as she made contact with the ground, the intense pain in her ankle becoming more apparent as she lay in the mixed dirt and grass on her stomach trying to breathe.

Laying where she was, Gale tried to take a breath, the ragged intake making her throat burn for a moment before she was finally able to breathe. With a soft whimper of pain, she shifted herself, righting herself from where she lay prone on the ground with her palms against the dirt. Gingerly, she rested her hand over her injured ankle, her skin hot beneath her palm. It was then she noticed the sound... and the lack of the little shimmering light that had lead her here.

It wasn't the sounds of her fear-filled companion racing back and forth at the top of the incline, his ears back and his snorts and neighs of concern echoing over the sound of his heavy hooves against the dirt. It wasn't the sudden stillness in the air, the blades of grass that stuck up from the patchy earth beneath her standing still like the guards that protected the outside of her family's home... it was something else. It was heavy, and when she heard it again, Gale could feel the vibration of the air in her chest. It was a growl! For the moment, Gale's thoughts left the pain in her ankle as she forced herself to her feet and scrambled to try to get up the incline, grabbing at whatever she could to try to pull herself forward. Before she could get very far, she was stopped.

There was a rushing sound behind her, like the sound of a giant snake slithering against the dirt, before something grabbed the back of her dress and pulled the fabric taught as it stopped her ascent to the top of the incline. She felt a wash of heat as whatever it was grabbed her clothing, followed by an explosion of pain as it gave one solid jerk, pulling her back off the incline and to the ground. Through the stars that blurred her vision from the contact her head made with the dirt as well as the wind being knocked once more from her lungs, she could see a dark shape covered in dark scales, glowing red eyes burning down at her before the beast looked up to Valor where he pawed angrily at the earth. Letting out a bellowing roar, it rushed forward, chasing Valor away from the incline. Trying to take the moment as her chance to escape, Gale tried to get up, only to find herself pinned beneath one of the creature's large paws. 

Hissing, the scaled beast turned its focus back onto the young woman that squirmed beneath its paw, its teeth shimmering in the faint light from overhead as it bared them at her while lowering its face to just mere inches from her own. She could smell the sulfurous stink of its breath, a growl once more rumbling from deep within its chest. Just when Gale thought she was about to meet her fate, the beast let go of her and backed off, its head lowering to the ground as someone spoke. "You've done well..." Gale fought to keep her vision steady, trying to regain her breath for the second time that night. Her sight swam in front of her as the creature stopped a few feet away, making both it and the male figure's forms dance. She watched as the man moved to rest a palm on the scaled muzzle of the beast before turning to her. 

As he approached, Gale struggled once more to get to her feet, tripping over the hem of her dress as she moved. Reaching out, he grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and forced her back down into the grass before she could get very far. Moving the staff in his free hand, he brought the end to her chin, lifting her face to look up at him. She could see his lips curl into a wicked grin as he studied her with an intent that was beyond her knowledge. "Very well indeed," He whispered before he moved the staff away from Gale's chin. His hand moved off her shoulder and buried into the white and pink of her hair, forcing her up off the ground as he lifted his arm. Gale let out a pained scream, both the agony of her hair being pulled and her ankle seeming to mix together at this point and bring tears to her eyes. The beast moved to follow behind them as Gale was lead toward the treeline, and when Gale began to struggle, it gave a low growl of warning. When her fighting didn't stop, the man let go of her. However, it wasn't to release her. Before Gale could react, she felt an explosive pain in the back of her head before everything went dark.