Fleet Foot gazed up at the smooth surface. She couldn’t understand the symbols, but add the glow and she had a hard time tearing away her gaze. However, the part of her that wanted to know more allowed her to rip her eyes from the obelisk and glance around. The world she found herself in was like nothing she had ever seen before. Rarely did she have dreams that gave her true meaning or might lead to something more. Mostly, her dreams were merely reflections of what she heard or experienced and she used them to look at situations from other points of view. This was obviously something new. So, what did in mean? She lowered her nose and nudged a pebble out of place. The offending material tumbled twice before coming to a stock and blending in with everything else. Fleet Foot couldn’t help but think about how each pebble might represent each life. So little when looked at individually, but when added together, the possibilities were endless.
So, then, what might the obelisk represent? The mare leaned forward to repeat the movement from the pebble. When her soft nose came in to contact with the surface her vision exploded in pain. Fleet Foot stumbled to the ground, disturbing the pebbles once more before she fell beyond…and continued to fall until….
The soft moss and stringy vines stuck out from underneath her. After the pain receded, she blinked to clear her mind. The heat and stickiness of the Swamp returned to her first, and slow the bright light in her mind became the soft glow of the moon. Fleet Foot could see the night sky perfectly via a rare unobstructed view. The mare continued to blink, trying to clear away the large moving stars – until she realized they were really fireflies. But ever so slowly, they started to disappear as the edge of her vision now darkened as she struggled to her feet to look around.
Not possible. There it was. The kiokote’s heart started to beat faster and faster. Her ears twitched with all the sounds she could still hear, but Fleet Foot once again found herself eyes-locked on the obelisk once again.
If she didn’t know any better, she could feel the Ache taking over again. It was all-consuming in her thoughts of the obelisk. She could see the plains again and a sad longing as she saw her family and herd racing across the fields. It felt so long ago, since she had last seen them all. However, the Ache could not be ignored, and now that she had found the Swamp she could not imagine trying to leave again. Her body had dwindled in the obsession trek to the Swamp once the Ache overtook her and she did not know if she might survive a reverse-journey.
Was this the source? Was it a manifestation of everything that kept the kin tied to the Swamp once they got here? Her eyes danced along the symbols, as if staring at them would make them divulge their secrets. Fleet Foot just couldn’t take her gaze away. Every time she thought she might be able to, her heart would race more and her feeling of unease grew regardless. If she looked away, she might miss something! And despite the overwhelming emotion, it was so good to see the fields of grass again. Fleet Foot continued to stare as she swayed in time to the breeze over the plains. Home.
As her eyes started to water in feeling, another vision overtook her. A handsome face looked back at her with sad eyes.
“Hightail…” Fleet cried out before waking abruptly.