[PRP] Bright Eyes Bright Minds (Killian&Ichika)

[sbuggy166]

Ichika Walked. Babbling brooks bubbled past her bumbling knees. It had been hot in the plains and the Babbling Brooks offered her much needed sustenance. Her travels had taken her far, but still she could go farther. She took a sip from the brook and then sat down for a spell. The water played with the light that filtered through the thin trees.

She mumbled something about the light being so carefree. It had been a habit of hers to talk to herself, and the things around her. In one of her many contemplative rants she had decided that everything could listen, even if it could not respond, so she always addressed supposedly inanimate objects.

"Babbling brook you bumble along. Rumbling a soft raging song. Do you ever think of the places youve been? What of the trees, the rain and the ice, is it your kin? The fish in your intestines swim and the foal float on your skin. You see all and all see you. Forever floating fast, framing furrows for future fish, like a fine faille you flash."

She continued to stare at the river, entranced by the movement of the plants beneath and the patterns of light reflects on the surface.  

[Thalea]

He was finally done. So many months and years of hard work finally paid off, he was a knight and quite skilled as one. Killian would prefer never to have to use his knowledge in the art of fighting, but sometimes there are situations where it cannot be helped. The deep ocean colored stallion walked slowly through the thin patch of woods, he continued to follow the river. It gave off a soothing sound that calmed him to his bones, he had not been this relaxed in moon turns. A small smile played across his countenance as memories flickered through his mind. Images of him learning to fight under the Tutelage of Sir Callan, long talks with his father, and fun with friends. The latter did not have too many memories, so the little he had were quite precious to him.

Spoken words made him pause. In the beginning each sentence rhymed and then it finished off with a sentence filled with words that began with the letter f. Never before had he heard someone talk in such a way, it was quite fascinating. He had to see the soquili who belonged to the voice. There she was, a mare with a body white as snow and feathers all the colors of the rainbow for a mane and tail. She had claws upon her front legs and hooves in the back. He had seen one other like her, except the one he encountered had four claws and a wolf’s tail.

“Hello there,” he smiled at the mare, watching her reaction as he did so. What would she think when she saw his tail? He was used to the looks of disgust, terror, and loathing. He never blamed the soquili for having those expressions, but he was always curious how others reacted to his appearance, for it was a great way to judge a soquili’s character. “I’m Killian.”
 

[sbuggy166]

Ichika stopped her babbling to the babbling brook once she heard the voice of another. A stallion looked at her and she looked at him. His eyes mainly caught her attention. They held a brightness to them, a light, like the light that danced on the waters surface. Ichika continued to stare into his eyes, thinking about the color of the water.

"In some parts of this brook the water shines in the light and is a bit deeper than that of others. When the light hits the water just right on a warmer day the color matches your eyes. Down by the sea there are fish people who do not ever make it up here, they have told me about colors and how water holds many different colors. Your coat is not like your eyes, your coat is more like water without light, yet your stripes are like the color of this brook here. The light dances across the brook surface just as your stripes dance along your coat."

She nodded at him and then turned back to look at the brook. Ichika had felt a moment of clarity while talking to the stallion, but it was gone now, her thought babbled back into their riddles and rhyms as she again gazed into the dancing waters of the brook.

"Beasts brought by bowels bloated bathe by bright brooks bay."  

[Thalea]

Killian had not expected that reaction out of the mare, she was different than the others and definitely quite interesting. It seemed her words were always well thought out, but yet came naturally. He did not think that he could hold a speech pattern that way for long. As she stared at his eyes, he did the same to hers. They were a cool silver that reminded him of freshly fallen snow upon a cold winter’s day. They held a depth to them and knowledge but also riddles. It was fascinating what he saw there and what she saw in return shocked him.

He bowed his head to the mare signaling the beginning of his thanks, but not sure if she saw or not for at that moment she turned her gaze away from his eyes to look at the brook. “Your words have made good hearing to these ears, only a few have seen what you have seen here today and they do not put it so elegantly. It would please me to know the name of the mare who can see through the outside to look upon the inside.”

Now she had him talking differently, it was a much more formal way of talking but he gave a mental shrug, the words were already out of his mouth and there was no harm in being formal and polite. The world would be a better place if everyone was such.  

[sbuggy166]

The green stallion had spoken as if she had said something profound. She did not think that anything she had said was profound. She was simply stating what she saw.

"Everyone sees things that has things to see in everyone. I see what I saw and I saw what I see. You have a green coat, and your coat is green. To me the colors relate to other things that I have seen. You say I have seen through the outside to look upon the inside. My eyes cannot see what is inside but my heart can feel what is in your eyes which is your outside. The outside and the inside are the same and the same is the inside to the outside. If they are seperate then one being is two people, of body and mind, but the mind is part of the body. I cannot be Ichika of body and not be Ichika of mind. I am Ichika both inside and outside that is what I am."

She smiled at him and bobbed her head in greeting and waited to hear his name in return.

Thalea

Tag ;D

 

[Thalea]

He just stared at the mare. He knew it was rude of him, but he could not help himself, she was so fascinating. Her view of the world was unlike any he had encountered before and it was much different than his own. He tried not to judge others because of how he knew others judged him, he was empathetic to their moods and selves. But this mare, this Ichika, seemed to have it innately. Her ability to see a person for who they were by their eyes and never judging, was something entirely new to the stallion. Killian noticed that she finally greeted him and he looked at her expectantly. Oh! She must have not heard his name the first time he had said it, for she was most likely consumed by her thoughts at that time. He bowed his head, “It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Ichika. I am Killian, the stallion who you humble by your very words.”  

[sbuggy166]

Once again the stallion, Killian, spoke as if she was saying something profound. Ichika got to her feet, shook herself off and then gave the stallion a better looking at. She did not bother with any sort of formalities, and simply let her eyes wander as they pleased. There was something more to this stallion that she was not grasping. It was as he said. He said that she was seeing on the inside by looking on the outside. Ichika was quite puzzled by this. She had simply stated what she had seen on the outside. It was the stallion that was connecting it to what he felt was on his inside. He further pushed his point by saying her words were humbling. That and he called her by a culturally proper name of "Lady" which put himself at a low position than her because he did not give himself a title. This stallion had something more on his inside that Ichika was not seeing. She looked and looked, but all she saw was his outside, and the more she looked the more she wanted to see his mind.

Finally she came to the conclusion that in order to see more of his inside she would have to try the same method as before. She gave one last quick look over his body and picked a trait that stood out to her. She had already mentioned his eyes, coat, mane...not his tail. She had not mentioned his tail.

"Killian, even your name sounds like it belongs to you. The K is harsh and bites as it leaves the mouth. It speaks of you heritage, your physical heritage." She gave a nod towards his tail. "I am new to these lands but, are you Kalona?" She shook her head, her feathers ruffling a bit. "it does not matter though. The K is only the first part of your name, the first thing that others notice. It is the rest of your name that holds the importance. Without the K you are Illian. In many languages those sounds are formed like stripes on a page. The form of the letters match the stripes on your back. Your back which looks like the light that dances on the stream. You are light, the light that dances on water."

Ichika bobbed her head pleased with herself and smiled at him. "I like your name a lot."  

[Thalea]

He had meant his words to show respect to the mare, instead they made it seem that he held himself lower than her. That was not his intention, but what was done was done. In a sense he could be called Sir, for he did train as a knight, but it just seemed too formal. He was a knight, but did not wish the title. He wanted to be just Killian. His bright eyes watched as the mare took more interest in him and this time looked all over his body, seeing the spikes of his tail and the rainbows of his pelt. Under her stare he tried not to flick his tail, he actually really liked his tail, it made him feel as if he was a dragon and all he needed now was his wings.

Killian gave a slight wince, he was not sure if it showed or not, when she asked if he was part kalona. Even though he had forgiven the kalona that had almost killed him when he was young, it was still a sore subject that he needed to get over, but it was a slow process. “Lady, I am not a Kalona. I actually believe that this tail is a form of a unicorn tail that had been twisted due to the blessings of the Halloween spirits that smiled upon my Mother and Father coupling.” He did not really need to explain that since she had just said that it did not matter, but he felt he had to explain. “Your interpretation of my name is correct, you say that it reminds you of light dancing across the water. My name means Bright. I had always believed it to be bright as in mind, for my coat is as dark as the ocean’s depths, but now that I see that it can mean bright in a different way.” He smiled at the mare, “Thank you, I am quite fond of it as well.”  

[sbuggy166]

His slight flinch had seemed like an avalanche of movement to her. Nothing escaped Ichika's ever watching eyes. She has been called observant, but its more than that. Part of her great knowledge and intensity comes from her ability to observe everything. That slight flinch at her mentioning of Kalona was all she needed. She was hooked. This stallion had caught her attention and she wanted to know more. She wanted to see that mind that he called bright.

"Killian, Killian the Bright, King Killian the Bright. Although you hardly seem like a king, but then again what do I know. Appearances are nothing but a frail state of mind."

Ichika shrugged and started to walk farther down the river. "Killian, come walk with me. Tell me your story. I have seen your body and through it i have felt a bit of your mind. Will you let me feel more?"  

[Thalea]

She knew. It was strange meeting another who was observant, who could see the most intricate movements of someone’s face and know that their words had hit a mark. He smiled at her words, “I am not a king in the royal sense, although I do know a queen, but that is beside the point.” Killian began to follow the mare since she asked so nicely. Would he tell a stranger his life story? He could give her the gist of it and not go into the details unless she asked. “I will my lady, what is it you would like to know? Would you like to know why I winced at the mentioning of kalonas?” The stallion took a deep breath, “When I was little I had heard about the fierce and terrible kalonas and how only just a few moon turns before, they had tried taking over Kawani and failed. I felt that I understood the kalona, and I pitied them. They were feared and cast out, even those who were not a part of the battle were held in suspicion. One day I came across a wounded kalona. He had been in battle and his wounds had yet to fully heal, it was because of that that I am still alive today. To him I am of a lessor race and needed to be exterminated. He became too weak to give the killing blow and walked away, leaving me to fend for myself in the broken state I was in. A pale beautiful mare found me, and healed my wounds and then brought me to her head knight. I trained under him for moon turns, until I became a knight myself. It was only just recently that I finished with the training.” He turned his attention away from the past and back on to the mare walking beside him.  

[sbuggy166]

Ichika watched his recede into his mind and start pulling out memories. His descriptions were short, but they reaffirmed what she had been guessing. There was more to him. He was a knight. That is something that she could not have guessed unless they had been fighting. He also, like most in this land, had a bad taste in his mouth from a kalona. Ichika listened along as they walked.

"I like your story. There is more to you than just a colored coat and bright eyes. I dont know much about being a knight. It is a new term to me. But you trained, and training is either of the body or of the mind. It can be both too."

Ichika's head feathers fluffed up a bit as she amused over several different things. She had observed in others that when one is trying to learn of the mind they have to share their own mind. Ichika was not used to holding normal conversations. Usually she would say a word or two and then they would leave. She has been described as difficult to follow. This stallion was keeping up though. She decided that she would share a bit of herself and test to see if it would reveal more of him.

"I have very few interactions with others. It is usually me that leaves a bad taste in others mouths. Either they cannot understand what I speak and are afraid of my inside, or they are tested by my outside. I am no knight, I did not train. My clan, or herd as you say, is one of blood and battle. We do not train, we are simply born and fight. You recently finished your training, but I recently started mine. I am traveling, far from my clan. I am training myself on how not to fight, but rather how to think. It is nice to talk to exchange names when I meet someone rather than to exchange claws."  

[Thalea]

Killian nodded his head at her words, “Sometimes others do not want to look too deep within a person and so they assume the worse. Time and patience is all that is needed to understand another, but many do not wish to do such an action. We live in a world where we want answers now and patience is not a virtue that people hold dear.” He turned his gaze to the mare as she walked beside him, a warrior learning not to be a fighter but more of a mediator, one who talks instead of fighting with hoof and claw. “That is a noble journey that you have set yourself upon. It must have been hard for your clan to let you go down a different path than what they had deemed appropriate for you. You have said that you have encountered others, but they do not stay long enough to have a proper conversation, I assume that is affecting your training?” Yes at times she was difficult to understand, but one just had to have patience and the words would start to make sense. Ichika was a very insightful mare, it was a pity that other soquili did not take the time to see that for themselves. “You know, I don’t like fighting either. I only learned so that I could protect the ones I cared about. I did not want what happened to me to happen to my family. I would rather not fight if it came down to it.” He turned his gaze to the path a head, “Especially since I can understand my enemy so well. I understand their weakness, their desires, and fears.” Sometimes he wondered if he really was the monster others called him, because in that moment where he understood his enemy more than they understood themselves, he loves them and with that love he defeats them so utterly to prevent them from harming his family and those he cares about.  

[sbuggy166]

Ichika could not help but smile a bit as he talked. He was saying what she was thinking. Was he doing the same thing to her that she was doing to him? was he too trying to learn her mind?

"You have spoken my mind. I have a unique gift that my clan took great advantage of. You say that you understand your enemy. I am much the same. I was not so much observant of their feelings, but I could understand intentions and slight movements that lead to a bigger picture that most could not see. I also had a terrible gift for battle plans. My clan took great advantage of that. If they followed my plan then they could have whole clans at our knees with little to no bloodshed."

Ichika bobbed her head with a bit of pride. "that was my original intent of course. I wanted to make things as bloodless as possible. They thought it was just good planning, but for me it was manipulating them into thinking that my way was more successful. They fought desperatly to keep me. I did not leave on clean terms. Several of my clan kin died the night I left. It is my clans nature, someone had to pay, someone had to chase, someone had to fight, someone had to die. It is my most selfish act, to leave and let others die in my place. Some still follow, but they will never outsmart me,"

Ichika met Killian's gaze. "I do not care if I have to be completely alone. I can entertain myself. You must be a strong fighter. I have seen many die simply because they have no reason to fight. You have a reason. Hold onto that as if it is the only thing left that will keep you from losing your light, because it is. Even though I have not felt it, I admire your strength."  

[Thalea]

She was like him, yet different. Since birth she had the innate ability to do what he had trained to become, yes he was smart and bright, but before he trained as a Knight he did not have the insight into battle that he did now. Her story was a sad one and it was not yet done, those who wished her harm still sought her and what would they do if they caught her? He knew that what she said was true, that she could out smart them, but there was always a slight chance. They would probably kill her companion and depending on how badly they wanted her for their herd, drag her back or kill her for making them seem the fool. These were all guesses on his part, he did not know her herd well enough to know how they would act out in that situation, but he could guess.

He bowed his head, “Your story has been a hard and lonely one. It will be a sad life to be completely alone and constantly running from an enemy.” For many moon turns he had nightmares that the kalona that almost killed him would come back to finish the job. During the training as a knight he knew he had to let go of that fear and just be strong enough for that day should the kalona come again. “Yes, but I also fear that this light of mine could blind me later. I may do something for those that I love and later regret the decision I make. But that is how life is, it is a journey with many paths, and each path will change who you are, either for good or for bad.” He looked at the trees around him. He was not sure why he started saying those words. He did fear that one day he would do something he would regret, but there was no use in worrying about it before it actually happened.

“I have a hypothetical question for you. What if your clan found you again? What would happen? To you and to those traveling with you? And how would they make you do as they desired?”
 

[sbuggy166]

"It is in my nature to plan." Ichika stopped herself. He had mentioned something that she had not factored in. Sure she was able to deal with her clan on her own. She was ready to fight them and to do whatever it took to be free. That freedom had always been at her own price though. Ichika had wondered alone for so long that she had simply been accepting that fact of her life and never thought to add others into the calculation. She stopped and thought it over out loud for a moment.

"Well, I have never had others with me. I have been alone and when you are alone it is easy to be alone. Alone is selfish and I can pay any price for my freedom. You said what would they do to those around me. I have personally planned raids on other clans and any warrior knows that bodily damage means nothing. If you want to strike the enemy you strike its heart. Emotions make or break someone. If the inside is broken then the outside is soon to follow. Te most logical answer would be to always be alone. Never form ties and never stay in one place too long."

Ichika stopped again. Her heart had given a little pang at those words. She grimaced at the feeling. It was new to her, but she knew immediately that it was the pang of a lonely heart. Her cost of freedom was to be alone. But did she really have to be alone? maybe there was hope? maybe her clan had stopped hunting her. After all she had not seen any trace of them for a long time, maybe they had moved on? Foolish, Foolish, Foolish. Silly thoughts of a hopeful heart. Thoughts like that would be a mistake and would lead to her fall. At this point she started to mumble to herself with her head hung low and her feathers pressed tight. She was thinking.

"Thoughts like that would be the end. I cannot hope that they have forgotten about me for that would be fatal if they have not. The way to ensure victory is to always plan ahead. Know every scenario, know all enemies, know all outcomes. I must think of the most desirable outcome. I do not want to be alone and I do not want to kill and I do not want to be hunted."

The pang hit her heart again. She straightened up and looked Killian in his blue-light eyes.

"I cannot think of an answer right now. There are too many outcomes. I can come up with an answer eventually and it will be before my enemy chooses a path of attack. I would think though, that if I had others around me I would not leave them. I have seen what it is like to share heads and hearts and I would think that it would hurt to lose my heart for if i have shared it then part of it is gone but still whole. It is whole until those i gave it to are gone. I do not want to lose my heart so I would protect it, and Protect those I gave it to. That is my answer for now."