(That's what I love to hear hehe))

-

Riptide flicked his tail, swatting a fly away from his side, observing the immediate area. In his opinion, he would be on the side of risking it, but with Noda here... it made him a little more hesitant. Not saying she couldn't defend herself, in any manner, but rather what it would do to his own pride and well being if she got hurt. He would feel terrible because he couldn't protect her, and that was his job. However, she had said it would probably be okay for tonight, so he decided to push his worries away for now and cross those bridges when they came to them. Her next words had his audits flicking back with displeasure, and her tone just made him want to argue more. It was true that she couldn't sleep, but she shouldn't have to stay awake the entire night. It wasn't fair of him to just stand there and let her suffer. "The whole reason I came along was to aid you- you shouldn't have to turn the tables on me." He protested, but mere seconds later a wave of exhaustion poured over his mind, and truthfully, he just wanted to collapse and never move again. As she seemed like she had already decided, he paused a second longer before letting out a long, low, reluctant sigh, knowing he was going to lose this argument anyway. He reminded himself that if he wasn't strong enough to ward off predators, he was no help anyway, so him sleeping would end up helping her more than her sleeping. "Okay, fine. But we should get a move on early in the morning." He caved, his words quiet as he ducked under the wall like moss, lowering himself to his stomach with a wince of pain. He didn't feel like standing the entire night. Everything hurt, and he was thankful to be alive, so he was going to accept defeat and just sleep. Not even a minute later he was out cold, the world now black.

The sooty grey stallion was lost in a deep sleep, yet somewhere in the darkness there was still sound. Then... light. He felt his heart fall as he realized what was happening, then he was dragged into another world.

He was once again a young colt, bounding in the field with his mother. Everything was perfect today- it was sunny, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. He was joyous, as he had planned out his whole evening, gallivanting around to different places. As he was running for the forest, he heard a screech of terror and pain. There, his dam, the horse he cared about the most in this life, was being attacked by a pack of wolves. Scared, he looked around for the herd to protect her, but they were all... gone. Instinctively, he raced forward to help, but was attacked by one single scrawny small wolf. He was defeated by that runt, and had to watch his mother get viciously ripped apart. Piece. By. Piece.

"Ripp! Save me! Ripp! Run! Ripp. It's morning." Voices filtered into his head, first sounding like his mother, but as he jerked to consciousness, he realized it was just Noda. His eyes flew open as he awoke quickly, his breath the slightest bit quickened. He glanced around, as if expecting there to be predators surrounding them, but it was just peaceful green. Letting out a slow breath, he calmed himself, although he couldn't help the feeling... the horrible feeling that he wasn't doing to find his dam in this adventure. He knew his dam and Liona were best friends, so they wouldn't have separated unless... he refused to think about that. Ripp started to push himself to his feet, only to freeze as agony ripped across his sore, wounded muscles, causing his face to twist with pain. That definitely hadn't felt good. He paused for a moment longer before standing in a quick, shaky motion, his legs stiff, everything hurting. Holding his breath for a second, he let it out slowly, along with a quiet, "Oww...." After he was fully standing and stable, he lowered his cranium slightly and shook his neck, then stretched a back leg with a wince. Why did everything feel like it was incased in painful stone? "Thanks for waking me. I probably would've slept till.. eternity." He mumbled lowly, still a bit drowsy, though he revived himself quickly, not wanting to get caught off guard again.

Ripp closed his eyes for a couple moments before sucking in a deep breath. He then lifted his cranium, opening his chocolaty brown orbs and slowly limping over towards the river, his gait rather stiff, as he was sore. He lowered his muzzle to drink deeply, the cold, clear water soothing his throat and lightening his heavy head. Lifting his dripping face from the water, he shook his mane, then turned his attention to the blood red mare. "Not very well. However, it was rest, and I am quite grateful I attained it." He answered, his nostrils flaring as he scented the air for any sign of intruders. As no foreign scent hit his nostrils, he relaxed slightly, taking the time to stretch his aching muscles. This action did end up causing a couple of his wounds to break open again and start oozing blood, but it wasn't badly bleeding, and it would be treated soon. He stood still as she began reapplying the bandages, instead focusing on her question. After some quick calculation and a glance around, he let out a small breath. "I'd say only another half day of traveling till we reach the place the herd was originally stationed in..." He commented quietly, pausing to gather his thoughts. "However, as you must know, it has been quite some time since I've been here, so there is a likely possibility they have moved. In that case, it may take another day to travel to all the places I would guess they would go. After that..." Ripp trailed off with a small frown, racking his brain at the best way to go at this. He knew Noda was excited to hopefully see her dam, so he wasn't going to let her down if he could help it. Which meant he'd try his hardest, even when it seemed there was no hope left. He just hoped it didn't come to that. Glancing up at her as she turned away, he wondered if it could be that she was discouraged by the likelihood of it working out, so he decided to speak up. "I'll do all I can to find your dam. There is a likely chance the herd didn't move far- the stallion that had it at the time liked to stay nearby one spot." He stated with a small smile, though it did fade the slightest bit as pain shot through the wound, causing him to wince. Everything was so stuck. He definitely had hope that if he started walking everything would start to feel better after a while, and for that reason, upon many others, he wanted to get going as quickly as possible.

"Thank you, Rip. For everything." She softened her features as he declared his intentions. She couldn't help but smile at the prospect of finding her dam and the herd. She could only imagine the memories she could trigger if only she could just see the face of her dam in person. It sounded like a perfect thing, until the wincing and soft groans from the stallion reminded her that not everything of her past would be so great to remember. She sighed quietly to herself as she wished there was a vault that she could simply pick and choose those memories from. if it were that easy. His discomfort also reminded her of the flowers she had neglected to give to him before changing his bandages. "Oh, I'm so sorry, here." She quickly paused her nursing and brought the flowers she had just plucked this morning over to him. "It probably would have been best to give you these before we started." Her voice was remorseful as she guiltily set them in front of Riptide. How could she have forgotten? She moved towards the river to offer herself a drink while the stallion took the flowers and gave them a few minutes to kick in before she would resume. "Is there anyone from our birth herd that you're anxious to see?" She asked, breaking the silence between them.

Riptide glanced at Noda, watching her with a small smile for a second. He had to do everything he could to get her and her dam back together. She seemed so happy at just the prospect. It might be the only time he had ever actually seen her look happy. He knew that she hated this amnesia, and he understood... but it was better for her, in a way. That didn't matter, though. Finding her dam did. He tried to keep his mind off of the pain throbbing through his wounds, and was confused when she said she was sorry. "For... what?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head, though he quickly understood after she brought the flowers. "Oh- it's fine. It doesn't hurt too bad." He offered a reassuring smile, but took the flowers anyway, willing to try and get the pain to go away any way he could. He stayed in his place as the flowers kicked in, watching the trees, always alert. As Noda resumed and asked the question, he tilted his head. "Ummm... well, my dam, but..." He trailed off. "I'm not quite sure if she'd still alive." Ripp finished in a slightly lower tone, glancing away.

+++

(Sorry it is so short, gotta run!)

Ripp flicked his tail, his audits swiveling slightly, so one faced Noda. "I'm not sure. I don't know, really. That's what doesn't feel good." He answered, then frowned slightly. "No, you can't. Your dam will be fine." He huffed quietly, not wanting to let his answer bring her down. He should've just kept his mouth shut. Why was he always so intent on speaking all the time? With a small sigh, he shook the feeling of slight dread off, lifting his cranium as she walked over. "Yep. Alive and safe." He repeated, not really believing the words but speaking them anyway to resolve the issue. He couldn't ever promise to believe it, but he would try to not think about it. He stayed still as she finished bandaging, glad when it was finally over, as he was ready to move on. At her question, he gave her a sort of side glance, as he knew that she knew what his answer would be. "It'd be best to get a move on as quickly as possible." Ripp answered with a flick of his audit, his dark orbs falling on the path ahead. He waited for her to dress her own wounds, feeling slightly guilty for not offering to help, before moving forward, his eyes focused on the mountain range looming ahead. They were close, only a couple of hours away. He could feel hope blossoming that he would find and reconnect with at least some of the members of his herd, but he didn't dare let it get too big.

They walked and trotted for a couple hours, until the landscape around got frighteningly familiar for Riptide. These woods were where he went to play as a young colt, where he made memories and fostered some friendships. His audits perked, he slowed to a walk, limping just slightly but not paying attention to it. As they drew closer, the landscape became even more familiar, until they emerged onto the grassy field that the herd usually wandered around in. His home. He stopped and lifted his muzzle, his nostrils Flaring as he tried to scent horses.