#brightwindsbarony

"What I want to know" Her mother says Strong. I feel strong Rose thinks

"I think.. I think we're..centaurs. At least, that's what I'm seeing" Ross declares "IS that what every one else sees?"

She sloowly steps over, getting the hang of how her legs work, left right, left right, and lightly touches her mom's back... then her other, lower back. "Is that a bow?" Her own mane, twined through with sweetly fragrant flowers.

"I see it too, Da."

"Of course, I need it to fight when I.." her mother blushes "I.. I think I'm ... I remember fighting in the past with... it's all very hazy"

"Okay, we're all seeing ourselves as Centaurs.. then.. how are we sharing a hallucination? It's got to be more than that" Ross says

"You've always been our fighter.... just not, like, with weapons." She nods to her dad, and lifts and smells the flask where she had brewed the tea. The scents flow into her nose, more pungeant and familiar than even before, clear and familiar. "These are... I know what I used. And... I remember more... Sassafras for cleansing, persimmons for sweetness and to help blood flow..."

"The land gives us a lot of gifts" Her father says sagely, "And you've.. this is..odd."

"Odd, Ross? We're .. people can't see us like this, they'll put us in a lab and disect us" Rose declares

"They couldn't... they wouldn't." She sounds more afraid then sure though. "We're not... creatures. Are we? We're still PEOPLE."

"I'm not taking that chance" Her mother says seeming even more assertive than before, and perhaps more openly protective.

"Darling, you're scaring our daughter" Ross says to his wife, his mate. And feels very odd. His wife has always stirred him, yet here they are both half horse, and he finds that.. not unnattractive at all. Far from it. "I do think avoiding folks is..cautious until we know more."

Then he looks to his daughter, and says "We're still people, whatever is going on or been done to us. Okay? Your mom and I will protect you"

She seeks out their hands again - that still is human, and familiar, even as she lifts a foot - hoof! And sets it back down. "We'll be okay as long as we stay together." She repeats from earlier, now doubly-so.

Her parents take her handss and for a moment, they have a group hug. Her mind is filled with ..well, more like day dreams she can't remember.

But she knows how natural this feels. the hooves, working with the herd

Her mother says "Yes. We need to make excuses on our. oh damn. I can't go into work like this"

"Yeah that's a conundrum" He says

During the group hug that's forming, Ross looks over "What on, folks, have you looked at the star NOW?"

In the distance, they see the star now seems to be a great golden spoke.... and falling from it, a ship of the sort that only exists in steam punk fantasy

She looks up and gasps! "Is that a boat falling out of the sky?" Incredulous, though it's the least of what she's seen tonight. "Are there people on there?"

It crashes in the distance... but one figure flies loose before then...

using some sort of makeshift chute

"I heard screams from the ship. " Rose says then grabs her bow "It's a distance. You two go see if that person in the chute made it. "

"Chute, chute..." She scans the sky and catches a glimpse. "Dad, there!" Pointing. Picnic forgotten... ready to run to aid.

And she moves like the wind, without even thinking about it, she moves faster than she's ever dreamed of running towards the figure going that way. The 'chute' is indeed make shift. The fellow must be using a torn sail and ... he slams down into the ground

Vanessa gallops at a top speed she's never imagined under her own power, her hair flowing back as she rushes - only to see him hit the ground before she gets there. The last yards she flings herself forward, and scrambles to a stop, hooves clattering on the rocks and kicking up sand as she navigates how to stop. "Oh no, oh no...." She takes a breath and kneels carefully, her equine knees folding awkwardly like a new foal just trying out their legs, and she leans in to look at the one who fell.

She's.. never seen anything like him.. the man has a mix of red and white skin, the white more in swirls, his eyes dark, lmost lacking whites... the knuckles on his long fingers are bulbous, yet the digits themselves seem almost delicate, nimble appearing. He's wearing overalls and what looks like a star fleet engineering badge. And.. he's bleeding from the fall... had he had not slowed his fall, he'd be crushed like an egg. But he's not looking good

"Oh, you poor, strange little space man..." She gasps, reaching over to check his pulse. Nessa knows basic first aid, and enough to know that first aid won't be enough. She wrings her hands and throws her head back to look up at the star still glimmering bright in the sky. A deep breath, and she calls up into the heavens!

"Yule star, I don't know what you did to me, or what I've become, but you've got some strange and mystical power. And this person fell from your sky... help me, someone. Help me to help him!"

She pleads with the star, with the strange feeling of familiar-otherness within herself, and with the unconscious clownish-looking man himself, as she lightly strokes his hair. "I don't know you, but you've got something to do with this... all this... and I feel that there might be a... a connection. So please, don't die on me..."

Leaning forward, she kisses his forehead lightly, and WILLS for him to survive.

The kiss trails a bit of light, and the light dances over him, and his eyes find focus , the star twinkling in the orbs just a bit. Most amazingly, the wounds... heal, and the man (if it is a man) groans and says "Furk, that hurt"

"Baby are you okay?" Her father asks "And is he... what is he?" He was close on her heels.. hooves but now that he is closer, he's as surprised by the appearance of the guy as she is

She looks up at her father. "He's hurt." As if that is explanation enough.

"Yes, of course. It's amazing he's alive though"

"Shhh..." She lightly checks his pulse again, and is glad to see it more stable. Seeing the wounds healing under the golden light is amazing... but what isn't amazing tonight?

"Are you okay, um. Mister?" Looking at his badge. "...Sir, uh. Captain?" Damn, she should have watched more of those old space shows...

"He might be magic... like the star?" She says up at her father. "And... us?"

"He's got something similar" Ross nods "The same..spark"

The figure seems still weak and groggy "uggh.. hard to focus but yeah... okay" He mumbles

She looks around for any other strange beings who may have fallen from the sky.... "Are you okay now? The light seemed to have helped you..." She asks, tentatively. A whisper up at Dad. "Do you think he's an alien?" Weirder things have happened!

"Right now, I'm not sure what I think. You were right though, he was hurt. So we help him. You think he's safe to move? I could carry him" Her father says "There's..something about him. I look at him and I think..noisy. Is that weird?"

"Loud." She agrees, with a small smile, and reaches down to see if she can help the dazed man up, or even help him to mount or be carefully slung over her dad's broad back.. Seeing how heavy he might be.

Huh, he feels lighter than she expected, or..wait, does she have a bicep? Well.. at least a bicurious cep, like it her arm wonders about experimenting with being more muscular

"I think maybe he's on... moon gravity." She blushes a bit even as she says it, it sounds silly. "He's so light..." And carefully helps him onto the back of the elder Centaur where he can be carefully leaned against the man's broad back and rest fairly securely. "We need to take him to his people... and hope they are friendly..."

Ross raises a brow "Want to ask him to take us to his leader or shall I?"

She blinks up at him, and can't help a laugh! "That's terrible!" Even strange magical centaur dads are still DADs, she sees.

A grin on his face "So.. my stand up dreams are cancelled. Shame.. the 'horse walks into the bar' jokes ttake new meaning"

"I think your mother went that way" he gestures. Her dad's guesses are gold. He could find true north in a hailstorm.

She gives another peal of laughter. "Come on, I'll help sturdy our friend... I hope he's a friend and not an invader that was hijacking that space-ship. Air ship?" Stepping alongside her father and holding the dazed fellow in place so he won't go slumping back onto the ground for a second fall.

"I'm dreaming" the odd fellow says "GGotta be. Could swear you guys weren't chimera"

"Chimera?" She thinks for a moment. "Like on that episode of House... where the patient had two sets of DNA in him?" She gives a worried look to her dad, again wondering about that "lab and dissection" comment from earlier.

They ride towards... a battlefield! Figures fighting in the distance... monsters and demons fighting...