[PRP] Playing with Fire [Branwen, Amur, Edan}

[Celestial Requiem]

So far, they'd gotten themselves lost in a thick forest, been approached by a very insistent mare trying to learn to fly, and now stood at the foot of the mountains wondering where to go next. As far as either of them were concerned, they weren't any closer to their destination than when they had started this journey. But if you asked them each how things were going, you'd get very different answers. Gethen, as always, saw the glass as half empty. The woods were maddening and that persistent mare was incredibly rude. Now their path was blocked towering mountains that he was not going over. That had been a long argument, which he was thankful for winning in the end.

Branwen, on the other hand, thought this was going quite well, all things considered. While they had gotten lost in the woods, there was a very sweet mare who was also lost. Between the three of them they had been able to find their way out eventually. And the other mare, while a bit brash, really wasn't so bad. She'd obviously had a lot of troubles on her mind and Branwen was more than happy to help with her flying woes. The mountains were a bit of a problem, but not a big one. At least with the mountains in the way their options for which way to go now were reduced. Though she still wanted to see what was on the other side of those high peaks one day. For now, she would let Gethen have his way and decide on a different direction to take their travels.

"Well, we can't go forward. And going back in the direction we came would be pointless. So, we really only have two options." There was a 'hoo' of disgruntled disagreement from the ground where her familiar sat. She took a deep breath, preparing for her counter-argument.

"There are a lot more than two. Do we follow the mountains? This way? That way? Do we head back down the plains in that direction? Or perhaps that one? We could always go back and turn at the forest instead of going in this time. Our options are countless, actually." He was right, of course. Though she hated to admit it. And as she looked around at the wide, intimidating lands before her, her high spirits dimmed a little. It would be quite convenient if they came across other Soquili to help them with their dilemma at this moment.

Phail Ninja

 

[Phail Ninja]

Edan

Edan stopped and craned his neck upwards, trying to peer through the thick foliage overhead. The evening was cool, a chilly wind blowing in from the direction of the mountains. He knew they were right near the base, another good twenty meters and there’d be a break in the leaves you could see the peaks towering through. He narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge how much sunlight was left. They’d been in the forest for a while, so time was hard to judge. He suspected it was still quite early in the day though, and that the wind was just serving to dupe his senses into thinking nightfall was imminent. His brow furrowed together as he tried to think, were it just him he’d have kept walking on without a care in the world, happy to go all night if he couldn’t find a good sheltered spot to rest in…. but it was wasn’t just him, not anymore.

Amur

Amur trotted along happily behind his father, admiring the sparks of lightning that sometimes danced across his side. The foal pouted, wishing he could make lightning too. Wouldn’t it be fun to zap people? Any enemies would go ZAP ZAP ZAP and BAM you’re DEAD. Well, not really dead. But in pain! He scuffed his hoof against the earth, casting his gaze to the side. He hadn’t inherited any of his father’s traits. No Imp features adorned him. No cool butt wings, no horns and worst of all… no lightning zaps! Something big and red caught his eye.

Those were berries! Mmmmm, he remembered his mum had once fed him some berries called raspberries, and they’d been delicious. Well, before she’d given him away. But he didn’t care about that, dad was waaaaay cooler than she’d been. They got to adventure all the time together! Mum just wanted to look pretty and have him fawn all over her instead. He wondered if these berries were delicious too. They didn’t look like raspberries. Only one way to find out! He opened his mouth wide, ready to take a giant bite.

Edan

Edan cast his gaze downwards, mind still whirling about the dilemma of where to stop and when, when he spotted his son, mouth wide open, about to munch down on some giant, bright red berries. Fear jolted through the stallion as he barrelled forwards, knocking into the side of his foal. “NO NO NO NO NO!” he spluttered out, sticking a hoof into Amur’s mouth to check if any berry mush was still in there. His heart pounded with terror, adrenaline coursing through his veins. His breath was shaky as he turned to his son, still sprawling in the undergrowth. “Look, look at these berries. Remember their shape, this is important! They are highly poisonous, they’re called yew berries. If you eat even one, it could kill you. Dead. Don’t let them touch your mouth ever!”

Amur

Oof! He felt a giant weight cannon into his flank as he was unceremoniously pushed to the ground. A frustrated yelp escaped his lips as he struggled back towards the berries, determined to get a good taste of them, before a hoof was shoved into his mouth. “Mphhhpphpphh!” he protested, undignified at the taste of feet instead of tasty, tasty raspberries. The hoof then left his mouth, and he spluttered at the bits of dirt left between his teeth. “Ewww, dad!” But his dad was already off, talking about… poison? Death? Amur opened his eyes in horror. He guessed those berries really weren’t so tasty after all then. “I’m sorry! I thought they were raspberries!” That wasn’t entirely true, he knew they looked different, but so what! “You don’t need to shout quiiite so loud. Everyone’ll hear you!”

Celestial Requiem

Mega sorry the giant delay! I haven't really been RPing for the past few months >_<

 

[Celestial Requiem]

And hear them someone did. Branwen's ears perked up, her head flicking in the direction of this unexpected shouting. Through the brush and foliage she could catch glimpses of orange that didn't quite match the fall colors. Naturally, her first instinct was to go nearer. It sounded as if someone was in distress, and if someone was in distress she wanted to help. And by this time she'd gotten much better at tuning out the adamant protests of her familiar. You could only be screeched at so many times before your ears became deadened to the sound.

As she drew closer, the scene unfolding became a little clearer. Clear enough for her to watch possibly the tiniest foal she had ever seen hit the ground with a thud. Panic struck and Branwen picked up the pace, joining in on the shouting party, "Oh! Are you alright?!" She may have been too far away, or simply didn't shout loud enough, because the little foal didn't seem to notice her voice. And neither did the somewhat larger- but still quite small- Soquili that she suddenly caught sight of. As if a flying foal who had no wings to speak of wasn't strange enough, seeing the other shoving a hoof into the colt's mouth made Branwen slow her trot. This was becoming a somewhat confusing situation. Even so, she continued to approach the pair. Even if she really had no clue what was going on just yet, she still felt she could help somehow. Maybe...

Before she could make her presence known to the two, though Gethen swooped in between the two smaller Soquili. He demanded attention and authority- as always- sitting on a branch as if he were some important figure. "What's going on here? What are you doing to that foal? Did you hurt it? Did you attack it?" The owl glared at the older stallion with accusing eyes, as if they could see through any lies he might try to spout.

Branwen tried a slightly less aggressive approach. "Is everything alright here?" She looked to both foal and stallion, making sure to give an expression that- in spite of her familiar's harsh words- she did not accuse anyone of anything. She wasn't going to make any assumptions. And besides, the foal didn't seem to be hurt. Not in any way that Branwen could see, anyways. Best not to come to a hasty, and probably incorrect, conclusion. That's what she had Gethen for.

Phail Ninja

No worries. I've been really on and off with RP myself, so I understand.

 

[Phail Ninja]

Edan

The appearance of strangers caught Edan off guard, who almost jumped out of his pelt, lightning zaps flaring across his skin in panic. But he refused to finish his examination, moving his hoof carefully around the foal’s mouth to try and see if any traces of the berries remained. It appeared to be a false alarm, he couldn’t see anything. Then the accusations reached his ears, his mind slowly processing the words. “Hurt him?!?” He spluttered, stepping backwards. “I just saved the goofball’s life!” Though his words were strict, his eyes were concerned and he gently reached down to nuzzle the foal with his nose, encouraging him back to his feet. “He just tried to eat yew berries! Yew berries. I turn away for one second and he’s trying to poison himself!”

Amur

Amur felt embarrassment burn through his entire body. No. No no no. These people could not see him being told off. The colt leaped up to his feet the second he could, glad the hoof was finally removed from his mouth. He grimaced, tasting soil in his mouth. Ewwww. He mashed his mouth open and closed a few times, his tongue peeking out of his lips as he tried to work the bad flavour out. His entire face scrunched up in concentration before he noticed the strangers staring at him. “O-oh. Hiiii.” He opened his eyes wide, puffing out his chest to look as big and innocent as possible. He wormed closer to his dad for a moment, giving him a sharp nudge with his hoof before hissing at him in what he intended to be a sneaky and subtle way, but which actually came out as a very loud whisper. “Pssssst… Dad. Stop it!”

Celestial Requiem

 

[Celestial Requiem]

For a brief moment, both mare and familiar were mesmerized by the strange sparks zipping across the stallion's sides. Neither of them had seen anything quite like it. Branwen wanted to ask how he was capable of such a thing, but there was another matter to deal with first. "Oh goodness. That's not good. You should be more careful, little one." She gave the foal a soft smile, chuckling quietly at his embarrassment.

"And perhaps you should watch this child more closely." Branwen shot a disapproving look at her familiar's harsh comment. Even if his intentions were good, Gethen could be so unpleasant some times. It was frustrating. But Branwen seemed to have an endless supply of patience as she hadn't run him off yet. It was just a matter of taking a deep breath and moving on.

"Well, we're glad you're alright. But maybe ask if it's safe before eating something next time, hmm?" She winked playfully at the little foal. "My name's Branwen. And that's Gethen. What about you?" Though she kept her attention on Amur, the question was directed at both of them.

It was a strange feeling, being around a foal. Not in a bad way- they had only just met but Branwen was already feeling her spirits lifting. What was strange was knowing that she had probably been around foals before but not being able to remember any of it. This was the first time she'd been near a young Soquili since losing her memory. Encounters like this always raised questions in the back of her mind. What was her own foalhood like? Had she actually encountered other foals in the past? Did she have any of her own running around somewhere....? All questions she pushed aside for now. There would be time for potentially mood-dampening thoughts later.

Phail Ninja

 

[Phail Ninja]

Amur

Amur pressed an ear back as his embarrassment deepened further. “I didn’t meeeaaaaaan it.” He whined gently, pressing his flank up against his dad’s for a second. “I said I’m sorry! It’s not a big deal.” Well, it kinda was, but the strangers were staring at him and he definitely did NOT want to get his dad into any more trouble. He was out of parents who would put up with him, there’d be nowhere else to go if he decided to get rid of him too! “See, I’m fine! Perfectly alive!” He wiggled his legs each in turn, scrunching up his nose to show that it still worked just fine.

Edan

Edan nodded politely at the mare, feeling himself relax. She sounded relieved, and from how calm she was towards Amur she seemed to have had some experience with foals herself. Though he glared at Gethen, who he presumed was her familiar. “Well, when I grow eyes in the back of my head I’ll be sure to watch him every second of every day, but sometimes you have to stop and think about where you need to be going!” He cleared his throat, shrugging off the frustration. He’d normally be far more calm, but a near-death incident was sure to shake you up somewhat. Being sure to keep one eye on his son, he noticed that the foal had slowly started to inch around himself to get a better look at the strangers. He couldn’t help but smile slightly, nothing ever got Amur down. He kept quiet, letting Amur build up the confidence on his own. He was sure that the little guy would start prattling on towards them in just in a second…

Amur

While his dad had started speaking, Amur kept his eyes on the strange pair. He stared at the owl, watching its big beak and sharp talons. He sounded mean. But the little foal was fearless, and decided that he didn’t care about how big his beak was, or how sharp his talons looked. Besides, his dad was there to keep an eye on him! No one could touch him. He wormed out from behind his dad, only to suddenly be faced by the great big mare talking to him. Well, she seemed to be talking to his dad, but she was watching him. Amur raised his head curiously, staring right back at her. “I’ll be more careful.” He said with a hint of a pout, shamefully touching the tip of hoof to the ground and doing a sad wiggle. And then he saw her spaded tail. Now that was cool! He bounced straight back up, eyes tracing over Branwen – she’d said that was her name. “M’name’s Amur! Like a leopard GRRRRRRR. And this here’s m’dad, Edan.” He trotted over towards her, eyes wide at her wings. “You have wings! That’s so cool. Are they fluffy? They look like Gethen’s wings! I’ve never seen someone with wings before. Well, apart from Adenah, she’s a bat though so it’s a biiiiiit different. But you have a tail like my dad. And horns too. And cloven feet. Are you an Imp? Can you do the zappy lightning thing? Wait. You’re too tall to be an Imp, you’re not an Usdia are you?” All his previous thoughts were forgotten, his mind suddenly fully captivated by this strange new person.

 

[Celestial Requiem]

Branwen chuckled at the impression of a leopard-though she had no idea what a leopard was or what it even sounded like. It was cute nonetheless and she was sure there was some hint of accuracy in it. "Amur and Edan... It's very nice-" And suddenly the foal's attention was elsewhere. Branwen didn't mind. It certainly help cut out some of those awkward silences that often happened during a first meeting.

Each part of her body moved as Amur pointed them out. Her wings stretched slightly, her tail flicked, her ears wiggled around the curved horns, a hoof lifted off the ground. It was curious how she hadn't noticed before but the father was definitely not something she was familiar with. Small Soquili seemed normal. It didn't strike her as too unusual when she first saw the pair, so she must have encountered them at some point in her forgotten past. But a tiny Soquili with horns and a spaded tail? And the little rump wings! That definitely felt like something new. An Imp. She tried to commit the word to memory.

"Well, I don't think I'm an Usdia. And I'm pretty sure I can't do any kind of...zappy lightning thing. So, I guess I'm not an Imp either. I, ah..." She hoped what she was about to say wouldn't be a cause for concern for either of them. "I'm what they call a Kalona. Or, partly anyways."

She smiled and offered a wing to the foal. "They're very soft, if you want to feel. Just try not to pull any feathers out, okay?" Gethen had settled down for now, content to believe that such small Soquili couldn't cause much damage. But he still kept a skeptical eye on them. Especially Edan.

Phail Ninja

Hi I'm going to take five years to respond to everything I'm sorry

 

[Phail Ninja]

Amur

Amur tilted his head curiously, listening intently. She certainly seemed big, bigger than his dad! And his dad wasn’t a small usdia, he thought. Actually, his dad was a big usdia! Tall and brave! But nothing compared to some of the Soquili out there. At the mare’s invitation, the foal moved forwards, his eyes wide. He gently nuzzled her wing, surprised at how soft it was. He let out a giggle, “It’s so fluffy! I thought it would be all rough, like how dad’s are, but they’re nooooooot!” Momentarily enraptured by the texture of the wing, the foal only then managed to slowly process the rest of what Branwen had said. Amur let out a very loud, sudden, and extremely dramatic intake of breath. “WAIT WAIT WAIT.” he spluttered out, his eyes wide. “You know about the lightning zappy thing, right? Riiiight?” His eyes turned to his dad, silently imploring. “You have to show them! Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaase!”

Edan

Edan kept one eye on the owl, feeling his hostile gaze burn into his fur. He didn’t think the owl would actually harm him, he just appeared to be suspicious of the usdia’s intentions. Which wasn’t fair by any means! He hadn’t asked for the responsibilities of looking after a foal. But Edan wasn’t one to hold a grudge, and he dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind. He loved his son, crazy adventures and all. He was sure Gethen was only looking out for Amur, but still. He had a strong protective instinct over the little one, and anything hostile immediately set him somewhat on edge. But Branwen seemed nice, and very interested in his son.

Suddenly his foal’s eyes were back on him, begging him to summon his lightning zaps. He let out a laugh, his voice deep and booming. It took only a moment of concentration and there they went, dancing across his back like little pricks of light. “Just don’t get too near!” he cautioned, not wanting to spark anyone by accident. “They won’t do anything bad, but it’s still not very pleasant to get zapped! Like a bad static shock, in my experience.”

Amur

The foal giggled at the bolts of white light streaking across his father’s flank. They were so beautiful, though they definitely hurt if you stuck your nose in them. Not that that had really deterred him in the past, sometimes he just really wanted to know what lightning felt like. “The lightning thing is the cooooolest thing ever. But I can’t do it.” He pouted, his expression tragic. “I took after m’mum! She doesn’t do any cool things. No zappy things, no flying, no levitating. I wish I could move things with my brain. Did you know minicorns can do that? I’m soooo jealous. But all I have are hooves, nothing special.”

Edan

At the foal’s words Edan wrinkled his nose. “Now that’s not true at all, son.” he gently nuzzled Amur’s mane. “Having powers doesn’t make you special. What counts is what’s inside, be a great person and that’s all you need. Anyone who spends more than five minutes around you will know how special you are!”

Celestial Requiem

If you took 5 years I just took 10 xD Sorry for delay! And don't worry about taking ages, I'm... ridiculous slow. <3