[i]Soft, rolling fields, green and sparkling in the warm spring...wet air rushing across her skin, through her hair.

"Epona."[/i]

She stirred, the rough mixture of gravel and broken glass pebbles scratching her sensitive skin. Something soft snuffled against her cheek. "Eghh...not yyyeeet. The sun is [i]so[/i] warm." The ginger batted at the inquisitive creature. There was a shuffling sound and something heavy was dumped abruptly on her stomach with a small [i]whump[/i]. She sat up reflexively, as the sudden weight had knocked the wind from her lungs. As she did so, what had landed on her rolled into her lap and she examined it inquisitively, rubbing her now sore ribs. [i]"A backpack? Where did that come from? Whatever's in there must be really dense to make it weigh that much."[/i]

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sensation of her hair being pulled on. Turning slowly as though afraid of what horrible person/creature could be behind her, she almost laughed as she came face to face with a long muzzle. "Hey there." she crooned, stroking the animal's nose. "You sure are a friendly -" she ducked around its long neck for a moment. "girl." From what she could tell of the mare, it was a good-sized grey and white paint...draft horse, maybe? The equine certainly looked fit for difficult pulling, if just a little thin.

Standing and gently disentangling her long, curly hair from the mare's mouth, the young woman brushed herself off. She blushed. Her current attire consisted only of a short, rather plain dark green dress with a hood attached, sepia leggings, and dark brown hiking boots.  "It seems whatever brought me here forgot to give me pants." To be fair, it could be argued that she didn't need them seeing as how she was wearing leggings, but did the dress really have to be so short - and split up to her hips on the sides too? Well, she'd just have to make do. Unless...she dug around in the backpack, muttering absentmindedly to the mare as she pushed past the rather generous amount of food provided. "Nope, nope, more food, sword, oh, what a surprise, more food." she narrowed her eyes. "Hold on, sword?" 

Suddenly, she was aware of just how tense the atmosphere was. Looking around for the first time, her jaw dropped. "Where am I?" she whispered dazedly. She was in the middle of what had once been something thriving and functional-the name came to her in an instant:[i]"New York City"[/i]- but it was just so wrong, so dead. [i]"I have to change this, but I can't do it alone."[/i] Her pale green eyes hardened in resolve. She closed the backpack and swung it over her shoulders.

"Come here, G-host." she named the mare at the last moment. Just like a phantom, it had appeared to her from nowhere. She twisted her fingers into the equine's mane and pulled herself onto her back, using an old display case from a nearby collapsed jewelry store as a makeshift mounting block. [i]"One last thing before I go. I need a name."[/i] Just then, a golden flash from inside the display case caught her eye. Leaning over and reaching through the jagged remains of glass panels carefully, she produced a small golden ring with a gift tag of sorts tied on. As intentionally generic as it was, she couldn't help but smile at the sentiment written on the tag: [i]Congratulations, Thorne! May success find you in your new career![/i]

"New career, huh?" she grinned. "I guess you could call surviving the apocalypse a 'career'" she turned Ghost and sped her into a gallop, appreciating her new name, the commotion in the distance she was heading to, and, for the first time, her freedom of leg movement.