[Battle of the Tribes] Daily Drabbles

[Vesperiie]

Rises Again | [ 1 / 5 ] | Walls | 109 words

He saw them and saw through them, he talked of them and sometimes even to them, and yet he was far from one of them. The Kimeti, the Kiokote, the Acha, the Totoma, even the newfound Zikwa. All different yet all the same and all not of his own kind. How did he know? It started with the obvious differences -- the plates obscuring his face, the horns sprouting from his head, the scales running down his back and his tail, sinuous and strong-- and ran deep into the flesh his father had dreamed was made from fire.

Needless to say, there were walls between him and the Kin.  

[grayseasons]

Timorous 2/5 - 7. Dancing
Words: 161


Dancing was not something she indulged in, always finding it to be something she was not apt to. She felt clumsy and knew she looked bad and there was always some work to do, some tree to check on, some flower bed to weed, that she never had time to. Dancing alone was not something she was interested in either and she rarely had a partner.

But one warm summer day, she and Dauntless and By the Roots were all in the same grove by some chance. He was looking for seeds to replant and her daughter was already done with her scouting mission and Timorous had needed to check on a flowerbed and it was comfortable, the quiet chatter between the work they were doing.
It was so spontaneous too, when Dauntless simply started dancing and in the moment Timorous had joined in and then By the Roots, all playing in the whimsy of a summer's day.
It had been wonderful.
 

[theCorniest]

Double Vision 03 - Forgiveness

Forgiveness, for Double Vision, was easy come, easy go. It was almost entirely the former of the two, but the latter did bear some consideration.

For the former, he was an easy person to forgive, always willing to make apologies and restitution. He was also easy to forgive others' transgressions against himself, especially since he tended to forget all but the most egregious of offenses... Which is a useful transition to discussing the latter.

Precipitation put a damper on his perception, tinting everything in the mild color of the summer rain, but this close to he could still easily see the kin crouched before him, head lowered, hackles raised. What she had been about to do to these eggs, possibly her own, was unthinkable, and - his inner narration punctuated by the hollow thump of Unafraid's headplate intercepting her torso as she lunged again at the eggs and their saviors - unforgivable.  

[Amizade]

Forgiveness
Expecting to Fly | 3 of 5 | 166 words

She didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident, but now everything was ruined. Fly had been searching the whole day for the right plants – she couldn’t apologise to her mother with flowers from her own garden. Some (like the harebell and the bramble) were easy to find. A specifically white tulip? Not so much. But… there it was! As carefully as she could manage, Fly plucked one at the stalk and made her way back home.

*****

She laid the bouquet in front of Flowerpod. To anyone else, it would seem a strange combination, but this is the way her mother communicated and she knew she would understand. A currant branch – thy frown will kill me, raspberry – remorse, harebell – grief (thinking about it now, grief was probably a bit too dramatic) and of course, the white tulip – forgiveness.

Flowerpod’s eyes drifted over the bouquet. Then, she walked not towards her garden, but towards a few rocks, returning to scatter moss over the bouquet...

Maternal love.  

[Blinded By My Silence]

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as the sun burns | 1 / 5 | 105 words


l o n e l i n e s s


The night echoed around him. Hooves falling slowly, the rustling of leaves, the rain lightly falling around him. It was a choir of nighttime sounds and it was beautiful, but yet... Watch gave a heavy sigh, his voice was the only melody in this song. Here he was, just another chapter in the story of his life, thinking of the past, pondering the future. Alone.

He wasn't entirely alone, of course. He had his memories. Thoughts of his daughters, of Rain, of his parents. But they were just that, memories. And out here in the cold and the rain, memories could not keep you warm.  

[Tiarana]

6/18 - Happiness - Dogrot I - 112 words (Wasp II)

Rolling in weird smells. Scaring birds out of their nests and sucking the juices out of their eggs. Swimming in the foulest, murkiest pools of the swamp. Catching catfish with its hooves. Rolling in more weird smells. Sleeping in the middle of the day, sleeping in the middle of the night. Startling squirrels into running back up their trees. Harassing crocodiles. Eating things found under old dead logs. Knocking all the fruit off trees. Stomping on mushrooms and creating clouds of spores. More weird smells.

Any other kin might look at Dogrot and say it was content, but Dogrot had no words for emotion. It only did what it wanted to do.  

[Nuclearity]

Darling; 3/5: "Over the Rainbow" [168]

It had just rained; A light sun-shower. Young Kin could be seen running around, splashing in the shallow puddles and playing all sorts of games while enjoying the beauty of the sun's reflection on everything.

Perfect picture, right? Wrong. Darling was one rude awakening too close to a shaky start, and now she had to listen to the annoying shrieks and chortles of untrained voices. Seeking escape, the doe stood from her resting position and, after a momentary grooming session, set off to find tranquility elsewhere.

It didn't take her very long to stumble upon a quiet clearing. It was very desolate, not a chirp to be heard, and the scenery was nothing to appraise. Save for the rainbow: a glimmering arc of color, streaming into the sky and off to forever. (At least that's how it was described in the snippets of stories Darling had heard.) She imagined it to be a pathway for lost souls of young foals to wander home to the Motherfather; To safety.
 

[SilverShieldwolf]

Wings Sleep (3/5) Forgiveness
It was with a heavy heart that she looked around. Her family wasn't coming for the holiday that she spent so much time on. It hurt that they couldn't show up. Wings Sleep understood though. They had their own lives and she respected that. Stepping away from the blooming flowers and foods she brought, to think about her past.

It was time to forgive those who seemed to be rude towards her. The grudges held from the past did no good for her now. "Maybe I should...No that wouldn't work. They might have already forgotten about it." Sighing, she shuffled her hooves. Taking another deep breath, she released it slowly, along with allowing the grudges she held to be expelled as forgiveness was given to all, including herself.  

[fluorescein]

2/5: Glossbones- The Path Less Travelled

Snailshell forged her own path filling the swamp with her line, further propagating the pink and green. The antlers were a popular throwback. Many of the line became great hunters or those who grew to have intimate knowledge of plants. And then there was Glossbones and his sister in blood and heart twin, River-Swollen. And my oh my were they awful hunters. Glossbones dragged his fathered tail along a recently clean ribcage for further emphasis. More interesting in pursuing softer, creative pursuits, they were starving artists. By the grace of their large family and certain Mares' eerie favoritism, they were kept fed, sane and business with booming with their considerate patronage and neverending supply of bones, skulls and joints. They were the Skull Collectors and here to stay. They fused bones and honored the dead while beautifying harsh lines with soft colors and focused textures. Life was good though their life choices were still surprising to him.  

[Ruriska]

Peep: 3 of 5.

While she wouldn’t call looking after children working, it certainly could be hard work.

Especially before she’d had all the help from her tribe, when her first clutch had been scampering every which way, calling for her attention and always, always hungry. There wasn’t enough time or energy in one day and she was always exhausted.

‘Careful love,’ she’d call in warning as one nearly fell into a puddle and they would all turn and run her way and she’d step back only to stumble over Lost Kitten who was always just a step away.

Oh how she loved them. She’d never imagined this level of happiness.

But keeping five mouths fed, four of which were quickly growing Totoma, was a nightmare. Many nights she starved in order to keep their bellies full and without the generosity of the kin she came across, there might have been a lot more tears.

It was hard work but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Words: 163  

[grayseasons]

Timorous 3/5 - 17. Innocence
Words: 198


There was not much innocence in the swamp. The swamp was vast, and old, and it held many secrets and crimes and things Timorous knew were not meant to be known by anyone but the swamp lest they corrupt the kin who found out.
But while there was not much innocence in the swamp, that did not mean it was entirely gone.
There was innocence in the groves By the Roots made, in the pure idyllic areas where trees and flowers bloomed and there were few troubles to be found. There was innocence in her children, watching them grow and discover and then leave, with her hopes and dreams that they would be okay and happy. There was innocence in the flowers that she tended, the ones that first led her into this life and the many that came after, to be nursed and picked and enjoyed.
There was innocence even in her, she mused one night, as fragrant flowers opened their blooms and her makeshift family slept together, in a quiet peace in the space of a grove.
There was a purity and kindness that she had come to find when she had thought it was lost.
 

[Minsuil]

5. Loneliness | 3/5

Lightbringer awoke to rain in the night. Overhead the moon shone brightly, almost full in her entirety. It was not raining very hard, but the pitter patter on leaves and her own skin were enough to prevent her from sleeping. She got up and looked for a tree or taro plant to shelter under. Her leg still stung, but noticeably less than the previous day. Lightbringer had packed the wound with wet mud and it had gone a long ways towards soothing her pain. She found a larger taro plant and curled up beneath it. The rain continued to fall and she fell asleep to the song of the swamp.

If ever, in the darkness of night the thought Are you lonley? crossed her mind, then her answer was always a resolute, yet quiet "No".
 

[Nuclearity]

Darling; 4/5: "Vacation" [170]

It was at one point during the warm season that Darling decided she needed a vacation. After all, it took a lot of work to look this good. Her brain started plotting a dreamy getaway from the Swamp and the Kin it held. She wanted new, she wanted exciting.

Darling had heard stories from her peers of lands much different than that of their home: extravagant beaches and mountains that stretched to kiss the clouds. Whether these were true, she was doubtful, but when so many Kin vouch for something it has to have some validity to it, right?

She could see it now: herself on a beach, with many Kin tending to her every wish, munching on exotic fruits. Too bad that she couldn't navigate to save her own life, and it wasn't likely that she could find someone who liked her enough to act as a guide. A heavy sigh built up in her chest and she released it, gloomily weighing the worth of her decisions in life.