[❅ Icy Dragon ✩]

Introduction

This thread is going to be a collection of random tidbits from when Naberus was trapped in a cave for 6 months by Aislinn! Fair warning ahead of time, this will probably have quite a few trigger warnings. Naberus goes through a lot of issues while stuck in this cave system and a lot of mental stuff. I'll make a list here of the triggers for this whole thread, so just heed those if reading. Anyway, onto his little adventure!

T/W: Violence, gore, despair, depression, anxiety, death, dire situations

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Day Zero

A different pain enveloped every step, threatening to suffocate the ruined stallion. Streaks of crimson marred his pristine onyx and ivory hide. Nearly every inch of body held some sort of injury, yet it wasn't enough to take him down. During the struggle, Naberus had been forced into a nearby cave where the roof hardly let him even raise his head. It was at that point he'd fallen prone and sufficiently lost against his assailant. The psychotic mare landed blow after blow on him before fleeing the cave. Before he'd even been given a chance to climb to his hooves, a tremendous thundering came from above as boulders fell over the entrance. The young stallion hadn't even realized what had happened until the last bit of daylight became obscured by thousands of pounds of stone. It was when the dark, stillness settled in that Naberus truly began to panic. He threw his battered body against the rockslide in hopes that just anything would budge. A few smaller stones tumbled down from above, but nothing gave. It was terrifying to use his full strength and it have absolutely no effect on the blockade. He refused to acknowledge that meant the outside was probably impossible to access as well. He would not accept that he'd been sentenced to rot to death in a pitch black cave.

Despite dripping pools of blood with each step, the stallion's adrenaline was still flowing and allowed him to continue searching. He pressed his muzzle against the cold, rough cave wall and began to walk, following it back. Being thrown into the cave hadn't given him a chance to look around, but he was sure there was more to it than just a little front area to die in. As the complete darkness overwhelmed his vision, his other senses began to kick in. There was the scent of water lingering in the air. Being in the jungle, Naberus wasn't surprised by the damp air. However, his harks twitched as he heard a gentle babbling that could very well be an actual form of running water. There was a sweet scent of moss mixed in with some other sort of flora he wasn't used to. The stallion decided to find the source while he could still walk. Running water very well might've meant a way out. Keeping his muzzle against the wall and scraping the delicate, velvety flesh as he walked, Naberus found his way through the inky darkness. Fortunately, the cave's ceiling lifted the further into the ground he ventured. Soon he was again able to raise to his full height and continued towards the scent of fresh water.

A slippery incline was the first sign of the stream. Mud gave way beneath the stallion's hooves and threatened to make him fall, but Naberus managed to catch himself. It was with great caution that he picked his way down the incline, stumbling over rocks and divots as he did. Eventually, his hooves struck water with a shockingly loud splash as one of the few noises in the cave. Naberus lowered his maw and was greeted with a slowly moving stream. Despite ignoring the seriousness of the situation, the stallion knew he'd need to get some water in him. He drank his fill from the stream and used it to wash the blood from his face and legs. Now that some time had passed, his injuries were beginning to ache as the adrenaline faded. Naberus began to debate if he ought to rest there when a slight gleam caught his eye from the cave wall. His emerald orbs widened as he took in the faint light - but it was light. Hope sparked in his chest as he considered there might be some other sort of exit to the cave. Without hesitation, he headed towards the glistening cave wall and turned to peer down another tunnel where the dim light was coming from. All he could make out were the faint highlights along the damp rocks, but there certainly seemed to be some sort of sunlight coming from somewhere. Determined, the stallion headed down the faintly lit tunnel.

The confusing, maze like structure took some time to navigate, but Naberus finally found the source of light. A cavern opened up before him and perhaps dozens of feet overhead - a gaping hole that allowed in sunlight. Different forms of sturdy plants that required shade grew around the circle of light and hung on the cavern walls. Mosses dripping with water lined the rocks all the way up to the surface. Far overhead, Naberus had to squint to make out the ferns and broad leaves that edged the skylight. A canopy of green from the trees above caused the dappling of the sunlight that reached him now. However, the gaping skylight that offered such promising light was impossible to reach. The cavern widened out beneath it, making it impossible to climb to unless Naberus could hang upside down by some magic. It offered such a mix of hope and yet crumbling despair that it was then the stallion fell to his knees. His breathes came rapidly and without rhythm. Everything inside him felt like it was being ripped to shreds and it made him so nauseous... and yet, he still couldn't bring himself to form the thought that he might be trapped for good. His body insisted upon panic and his brain tried to simply shut down. The disconnect left him helpless on the cavern floor. Alone. Far below the surface in a cave meant to be his tomb.


Naberus
Timeline: Winter/December - A few days after Coreion vanishes.
Notes: First part of the Naberus-being-trapped-for-six-months saga!

[❅ Icy Dragon ✩]

Week Four

Streams of dim, gray light shone down from the skylight that offered the only solace Naberus had. The stallion didn't need to look up to know it was overcast and likely to rain soon. As the days passed, he grew to figure out fairly quickly what the color of his meager light meant for the weather and time of day. If it was going to rain hard, he had to escape to a little cove off the 'main room' - as he called it now. The tunnel lead to higher ground with a run off that allowed him to avoid drowning. The rest of the cave flooded during the rains and he had to wait it out. Over time, he'd learned to spend just as much time hoarding plants to his cove as he did grazing. Thankfully, the moisture of the cave had spurred on quite the floral life. What he'd assumed to be a desolate hellhole was actually bursting with life. During the initial first few days, he'd spent all his time trying to break down the cave in that'd sealed him inside. Since then, Naberus had decided to explore as far as he could and map out the cave system he was stuck in.

Adventuring in the dark wasn't the most fun. The young stallion discovered that during the brightest time of the day (a little after noon), the main room filled up completely with light. Then after any particularly sunny days, a strange sort of growth on the walls would glow when the sun went down. If he scraped some of it off during the day and lined what he could see as the walls, it made mapping things out much easier. Over time, Naberus had created a rather detailed mental map of the system and drew shoddy versions of each tunnel on the wall closest to sunlight that he could. The entire system wasn't too large. Other than the main room, there was the entrance tunnel where he could hardly stand, the lifted cove for hiding from flash floods, a short back tunnel to a mossy room that never saw light, a series of short tunnels where the stream cut through but had such uneven ground it was dangerous to explore, and finally a small offshoot of the main room where a smaller skylight fed more grass. All in all, it was enough of an area to survive in - which would have been fine and well if survive was the only thing Naberus wanted. Escape was his second priority.

During daylight hours the stallion would call out to the skylights far overhead and try to get someone's attention. He knew it was extremely unlikely that anyone would hear him, though. During his fight with that wench, they'd ended up deep within the jungle in an area difficult to reach. It seemed extremely unlikely that anyone would wander by unless they had intentionally sought it out. Even then, anyone walking would probably avoid the obvious holes in the ground. However, Naberus wasn't willing to give up quite yet. He grazed the best he could to keep his strength up, kept his wounds clean until they'd finally healed, sparred lightly against the rocks as to not lose all his muscle mass and did his best to explore the uneven tunnels with the limited glowing algae he had. As days turned to weeks, it became obvious that wasn't enough.


Naberus
Timeline: Winter/January - A month in the cave. Coreion is home, Avinash is crowned King.
Notes: It's almost like he's gonna be okay!

[❅ Icy Dragon ✩]

Week Ten

Something terrible had happened.

A nearly black daytime had promised a torrential downpour and Naberus had spent as much time as possible gathering plants to hoard in his cove. It was likely the caves would be flooded for some time and he didn't want to die of starvation. All of the preparation had gone well and the stallion holed up in the cove when the waters began to rise. It didn't take long for the flow of water to block off his cove from the rest of the cave. It rose until it fell into the knee-high tunnel that lead down and out, effectively keeping Naberus dry. The stallion waited in the dark for the waters to stop raging. He rationed his food as it became clear the next day that he would not be leaving. Only a glistening of light off the waves of the water even told him the sun had risen. No matter, he was prepared. Another night passed and the waters began to rise again, overwhelming the small escape tunnel. Naberus got nervous then and fled to the highest point of the cove where the water could only lap at his hooves. He rested each one by keeping one hoof above the water level at a time. It was exhausting and he barely managed to doze off, but he persisted. It was just about when the first gleam of light struck the surface of the water when a thunderous roar woke the stallion from his daze. He jolted and nearly slammed his head into the rough ceiling. At once, the water level dropped and proceeded to drop lower than it usually did during a flood. Naberus wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but at least he wasn't drowning, so he was content. The stallion was curious about the noise, but he knew better than to venture into the cave while the water still flowed. Naberus finally laid down and fell asleep on his now flood-free mossy floor.

It was when Naberus awoke later that he realized the water had finally stopped flowing and the cave had become safe again. Relief washed over him as he realized he'd survived the storm. Now there was only countless storms more to go. Naberus returned to the main area and heaved a sigh when he saw the mud that'd washed over his grasses. There was still enough left to eat, but he'd need to try and clean the mess up. However, there was something he wanted to do before dealing with that. Curiosity lead the stallion to inspect the other rooms that he could with the dim sunlight. The secondary grass room seemed alright and his wall markings were high enough they hadn't been washed away. It was only when Naberus entered the short, entryway that he realized what'd happened. A bright ray of light peeked in from among the rubble that'd blocked his only exit. It froze him in place as he was unwilling to believe what he was seeing. Only after thoroughly staring at the rocks did he finally realize that they'd tumbled down again and now there was a small gap near the top. A rush of adrenaline flooded through the stallion and he lunged towards the rock pile. The gap was much too small for him to fit through, but large enough to maybe shove his head out and yell or scream or anything that might get attention on the lower level. First, he tried slamming his shoulder against the newly placed rocks. They gave a little, though still refused to budge. Naberus groaned in frustration and turned to kick at them. His hooves struck square, but the rocks held fast. Irritated, but not defeated, Naberus stuck his head through the hole the best he could and began to call out. "Help! Please, help! Is any-" he began to call, but a gut wrenching growl from behind him forced him to pull back and spin around to face the dark again. It took a moment for his eyes to readjust, but when they did, his heart nearly stopped.

A jaguar had gotten into the cave.

Panic filled every inch of Naberus as he stared down the massive cat. Its pale hazel eyes gleamed in the darkness and served as one of the only parts of the beast Naberus could see. Most of the jaguar's fur was black, though lighter dapples covered its body and only with movement he could see them in the dark. His heart hammered in his chest and ears, even though he begged it not to. It felt as though the cat could hear it too. The pulse of its prey. It felt like hours that they stood there. The stallion's emerald gaze locked with the jaguar's slitted, hazel eyes. Finally, the cat lunged.

Naberus let out a shrill bellow that he was unaware he was even capable of making as he leapt to the side of the jaguar's massive paws. His back scraped up against the roof of the cave, but he hadn't lost any limbs. In a panic, he threw himself deeper into the cave and raced into the main area where he could actually stand up and have a chance to fight the predator off. The thunder of his hooves against the rock and then into the river drowned out any noise coming from the cat. It was only when he finally spun around to face the jaguar that he realized it hadn't actually followed him. The sudden dread made him almost feel as bad as if he did have the cat staring him down again. Why hadn't it followed? His wary jade gaze bore holes into the darkness of the entryway. For a very long time he stood there and waited for the jaguar. When the sun began to lower, his ability to watch the entryway faded fast. A new sort of panic set in. Whereas his hide was half dipped in ivory, the jaguar was nearly entirely black. He'd never be able to see such a beast at night. The dread made Naberus feel sick as he tried to figure out what to do. There really was nowhere to hide that the jaguar couldn't fit too. The cat could likely see better than him in the dark and he couldn't just stay up forever to try and fight it off. Exhaustion already weighed down his limbs from dealing with the flood. Irritation began to grow in his chest and he glared hard into the darkness. He'd have to do something or he wouldn't last till dawn.

The faltering sun still offered some light and for where it lacked, the soft glow from the algae began. It only took Naberus a second after noticing it to figure out what he'd have to do. Without breaking his line of sight with the entry, the stallion began to smear the florescent algae over the ground and he created lines on the walls. Around each cave entryway, he smeared glowing lines that he would be able to see if anything broke them - like a paw. Whenever the jaguar decided to enter, it'd no longer be hidden in the shadows. Naberus took extra care when smearing over the entry where he'd last seen the cat, but it did not emerge as he completed his task. Then, he settled near the back wall of the cave and waited.

For a long time the only sound to be heard was the persistent dripping of water. Naberus had almost even dozed off when a slight scuffling noise caught his attention. Instantly, the stallion's muscles tensed and his gaze fixated on the softly glowing lines he'd placed. No later had he done so when a solid black shape broke the line barring the entryway. The stallion's breath caught as he watched the shadow move along the glowing lines across the walls - rising and falling with each stride. It was skirting the edge of the cavern silently and steadily edging closer. Only when it again passed the solid lines around the cove's entry that Naberus realized he had to get moving and fast. He figured the jaguar had to be used to hunting unsuspecting prey at night. It likely assumed that he couldn't see it stalking him. Well, he was about to change that.

Before the jaguar could get within striking distance, Naberus prepared himself. All of his muscles seemed taunt and ready to be released in what would become the fight of his life. He stood perfectly still as the beast set paw after paw onto the dimly florescent floor. It was impossible to see the whole cat, but at least he could judge its placement by its legs alone. As soon as the jaguar paused, Naberus charged towards it with a fearsome cry. The cat nearly jumped in surprise and flailed to get out of the way of the stallion's hooves. It was just slow enough to where his hooves caught on its paw before clashing down against rock. The thunderous sound echoed through the cave and the jaguar roared back in defiance. The sound chilled Naberus to the bone, yet he refused to cease the attack. It was far more difficult to keep track of the moving shadow as it bounded back a few strides and turned to lash out at him. Naberus felt the claws slice his forelegs and that was his cue to strike out again - one hoof connecting harshly with something soft. The jaguar gave a shrill, haunting cry of pain and lashed out again with a blow that left a gash across Naberus's chest. Before he could sink his hooves into the cat again, it turned and fled back towards the entry tunnel. Even in the dim light, he could see the dark globs of what must've been blood trail behind the jaguar's path. He must have made a good hit, then.

Still tense, the stallion let out a bellow of warning for the jaguar to heed. Unless it wanted to be met with another blow - to the face, he'd guessed - it would stay away. The cave fell silent after the echoes of his call died out. Only the dripping of water could be heard. Naberus remained still for some time before he noticed that the first rays of light were appearing. Annoyed that he'd ended up staying up all night anyway, the stallion decided to clean his wounds in the river before retreating to his cove to try and get some rest. He hoped that the sound of paws in running water would alert him again, but as the stallion finally slept, nothing did come for him.


Naberus
Timeline: Winter/March - Two and a half months in the cave. His brothers are running a race under the Northern Lights.
Notes: This hope is really getting out of hand.