BoBeewings

Once his wounds were closed as best as possible and he had the chance to rest, Lunaro was on his legs again. He just couldn’t rest. Something that hadn’t been a problem before. Not even when Weevil had been a small kid. But now. The faint rumbling of the earth when the giant moved was a constant reminder. They weren’t safe. No one was. And nowhere. This was even worse than when he and Sol lost their home and their parents. At least that nightmare had ended as soon as it had begun. Rubbing his one eye, and then fixing the cloth that covered the scarred up side of his face, he stepped out into the homestead. He visited everyone who remained here. Checking up on everyone, of course starting with his children first. But after them he checked for Ilta. He hadn’t seen much of her since this all started. So he walked over to her home and knocked on the door. “Ilta? Are you there?”, he asked through the wood. “It’s me, Lunaro. I wanted to see if you’re okay.” - Despite the nagging feeling

It started with missing fish from her drying rack and with The Giants emergence Sulwyn might have never noticed with how busy she stayed storing food and gathering wood for fires to keep the monster at bay. But it kept happening. Every day there was at least one fish missing, sometimes more, and the equine took issue the third day she noticed the stolen food. At first she could excuse it as a wild animal feeling brave but this was getting ridiculous. The proud fisherwoman wouldn’t stand for this thieving any longer. First she set up traps, just simple snares that would catch a foot and keep the delinquent from escaping before she could deal with them properly. Then she made sure to take everything in by the time the sun started to set, that way her hard work could be kept safe inside where the thief couldn’t get. Unless of course they were bold enough to risk breaking in. When that yielded nothing she began to stay up part of the night to watch for anyone sneaking around her shack.

It happened during an excursion she’d made to gather more resources, or more just to get away from the heavy atmosphere at the homestead. The dread was suffocating Ilta. Her own despair was already too much for the gray and white doe to handle. Even though being far out in the wilds made her tremble with fear, the thought of being around anyone made her feel as if she would shatter into hundreds of pieces. So Ilta was nervously searching for something, anything really, that she could use as an excuse for her absence when still so much preparation needed to be done. Alone in the forest was when the earth shook so violently she was knocked from her hooves. Mighty trees groaned and threatened to fall from the force of it. A horrible sound echoed from the north that was deafening even with how far away she was. Unknown to her at the time, that was the moment the giant emerged and started its rampage. Scared beyond any logical thought Ilta could only hold her ears and cower in the dirt

It was hard to miss. Panic spread in the town quickly as each resident hurried to stockpile for ‘it’. What ‘it’ was exactly was unknown but the isles historians made it clear that it would be big and more than likely, very dangerous. On the outside no one saw how it affected Sulwyn, she made sure to wear her usual expression of a scowl and a raised eyebrow at any eye contact. The equine continued life as normally as she could, but everyone had to make adjustments for the new state of the isle. She still came to sell freshly caught fish at the marketplace although she’d started coming two to three days instead of just once a week. A crisis was good for business when everyone began storing food and resources she insisted to anyone who asked about her new schedule. The stoic equine wasn’t growing soft despite what the lowered prices for her fish might imply. Though back at her lonely shack it was clear she was not as unbothered as she might seem. Safely hidden from unwanted eyes the

Night was becoming a troubling time for Ilta. It wasn’t just the nightmares tormenting her in her sleep, now insomnia kept her from any hope of resting at all. The stress from the current state of the isle was a constant cause of anxiety for everyone, not just her. She could see it affecting everyone at her new home, The Traveler’s Friend. Tempers flared and patience ran unfortunately thin as everyone scrambled to prepare for the worst that might come for them all. Everyone was exhausted. Yet Ilta couldn’t sleep despite all the work she’d been doing to help. Looking out the window to the stars the doe sighed. There was still so much to do but she knew she had to get some rest too or she’d end up hurting herself and turn into dead weight for everyone else, but lying awake with her thoughts was painful. Pushing herself to her hooves she left the guesthouse as quietly as she could to avoid waking anyone. The others needed rest more than her right now. Maybe a walk will help ease my mind.

With hardly any time to settle into her new home news of something horrible coming to the isle spread to the Lunaro and Sol’s homestead. Terrible storms and stories of the ground opening up from some unseen force among other disasters were coming from the north part of the isle. Ilta felt the change in everyone's mood and it made her just as restless. Not long after, a call for warriors and strong individuals was sent from Rukbat City to begin preparing to protect the isle. She couldn’t be a fighter and she knew it, hell she didn’t even have the heart to hunt to keep herself alive. Hopelessness crept into her heart. What could she do? Would her newfound home be destroyed? What about her family back home, she was so far away and unable to protect them. She let the thoughts consume her for only a day. Then she pushed herself to focus on what she could do. Maybe she couldn’t fight or risk venturing back home to help her family, but she could help the homestead. So she started to work

Gulls screamed in the overcast sky along the coast of a small, secluded hut. Sulwyn plodded along the sand with eyes cast down. This early in the morning the tide was out and it was an ideal time to comb the shoreline for a decent harvest of clams, scallops and various crustaceans. With a shovel in hand and baskets strapped over her back she searched the vast expanse of sand. Much to her displeasure, there seemed to be nothing but empty shells or things far too small to take and eat. The equine grimaced at her bad luck. She stopped and shook the salty dew off of her fur. The baskets were pitifully empty with nothing more than a couple clams and a small oyster. Stomping her hoof in frustration she came to accept the fact this morning would not be as productive as she was hoping for. Instead she switched her focus for any trinkets or interesting items she could sell to make up for the lack of shellfish. It wasn’t as guaranteed to get her coins as a bounty of shellfish were but it would

An early morning in the market. No different than the many, many others she’d spent over the years. Though it was not early enough to be free of the crowds of milling centaurs browsing the many stalls. The cart she pulled didn’t help to navigate the business. Her size and sour expression, on the other hand, did aid in parting the crowd. Along with the goods she carried to her designated stall. Even though it was a fresh catch from this morning the fish still stank slightly. Sulwyn didn’t mind the smell anymore after enduring it all her life. As soon as she made it to her stall she unhooked herself from the cart and began arranging her wares. It was her routine, regulars came to buy fish for dinner and newcomers sometimes tried to bargain for a better deal. Sulwyn did not haggle. Most taurus caught on quickly and either paid her asking price or scuttled away under her heavy glare. Though it started well there was one visitor who had not given up. Staring down at a particularly cocky

Roaming the streets of Hreindýrálogo Ilta browsed different shops and stalls of food, trinkets and everything in between. The gray doe was in awe of the variety this place had to offer. Vendors with dazzling jewelry using colorful gems, displays of wood carvings, shops with the most amazingly sweet smelling pastries she had ever known to exist; it went on and on! So many luxuries she’d never seen before. It was dizzying so she found a shady spot to sit, with a handful of fruit pastries, to just watch the crowds. Back in her home village they never got such a variety of things. Jewelry wasn’t common as they mostly worked and sold wood. The times traveling merchants had shown up they had a very small selection to offer, a few necklaces and rings. It was usually too expensive to buy because of its rarity. Plus the village never had much interest in such things, they only bought and traded things they couldn’t collect themselves like metal tools and salt. Any desired accessories for