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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:00 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:07 pm
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Raikinti gave himself a nerve-steeling shake as he gazed down the path that lead into the black heart of the woods. The forest ahead of him was dense, promising plenty of shadows in which danger could lurk. It was also outside of his usual wandering zone, nearer to the foot of the mountains than he regularly wandered. Still, there were supplies to fetch for his friends, herbs or mushrooms for the Shaman or flowers for the sea-born Soquili that had never seen them before. A dozen little errands he had put off until they had sufficiently accumulated.
But now there was no avoiding it. He had tasks to complete and things to fetch, and thus a wandering he would go. As soon as he could make himself do so.
"Come on, get it together." The striped stallion muttered to himself. "So what, the last time you were in the woods a Kalona chased and hunted you for sport. But you made it, and there are others counting on you... So, get ready."
Moderately cheered by the mini-pep-talk, Raik flipped his heavy ears forward and searched for signs of danger. The woods head of him was relatively quiet, the silence broken by the wind rustling the leaves. Small mammals scurried through the branches, ruffled the shrubbery. There were also distant birds cheerfully whistling and singing, and their sound alone made him drift into the woods, his mind half-lost in listening to their songs.
'There, see? Not so bad....'
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Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:24 pm
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Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:47 am
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With careful steps, the half-Cery stallion progressed down the path and entered the mouth of the woods. Tension skittered over his withers and down his spine, a fear-reaction-memory stirred by being in the shadows of the wood once more. There was a time he felt most safe in the forest, but that had been somewhat tarnished by his run-in with the Kalona stallion that had tried to make him lunch.
'Probably want to forget about that, 'Kinti.' He scolded himself, and draw his head up as he stepped further into the embrace of the trees.
The forest itself wasn't bad, lending the patching sunlight and greenery to help him hide from those who might want to make a meal of him. And he wouldn't let one bad experience tarnish that safety forever. Besides, there were new sights to be seen in the safety of the trees, and maybe he'd make a friend or two.
On the heels of that thought he caught scent of another, and twisted his head as his nostrils flared wide. It wasn't the musty-predator scent he associated with danger, so he refrained from fleeing. The snap of a tree-branch made him want to startle, but through sheer force of will he remained.
"Hello?" He offered in a soft voice, turning his head toward the sound of the other's approach. There was a dim shape around the next tree that made him think a mare or at least a young Soquili had found him. The shape was lean and graceful and did not speak of danger, rather a shyness like his own. "I mean you no harm, honest..."
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:31 am
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Whisper remained frozen even when the stallion spoke, still resisting the urge to run from a sound she herself had made. His voice however seemed gentle, and he promised not to hurt her. She had heard that before and been hurt very badly, though the details were fortunately fuzzy. But he looked quite different from the one who had harmed her before, and so she slowly moved closer, almost mincing, afraid of making more loud noises.
"Hello." She whispered in return. "I'm called Whisper." She'd had another name once, but an old name didn't matter. She wasn't that mare any longer and couldn't recall it anyway.
"I'm alone." It wasn't said to assure him, but simply a statement of fact and when she stopped again, it was with enough distance that she could be heard easily but still give her space to run if she needed to. But he looked nothing like the other one, and though his markings were strange, they weren't like hers either. Maybe it really would be alright.
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:31 pm
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Raikinti could tell that in spite of his soft tone and his gentle words, the mare was still moments away from bolting. He could tell, because he'd been in her place more times than he cared to count. And he'd found those in this land who said they meant no harm one moment, and tried to eat you the next... So he understood her being somewhat distrustful of his promise as well. But he wasn't resentful of that and he couldn't blame her for the wordless fear.
So instead he remained very still and watched her with gentle eyes, not staring outright but giving her his attention. Her careful steps forward made him give a faint smile, trying to be encouraging without spooking her off again.
"A pleasure to meet you, Whisper." He offered gently. "I am Raikinti. My friends tend to call me something sort, Rai or Kinti. Feel free to do the same, if it suits you?"
He glanced around when she stated that she was alone, then nodded. "I am as well.. Though I have some friends here, in this land. They're a little unusual, but good-hearted."
The copper-colored stallion gave a bit of a shrug. "Do you have friends or family here? Someone I could help you find, maybe?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:00 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:39 pm
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Though he drifted a half-step forward to ensure that he could hear her the next time she spoke, Raikinti made sure that he didn't get too close to the shy mare. He didn't want to scare her into running off. He would prefer to help her find, well, whoever she had lost.
"I am sorry to hear that you have lost your friend." He murmured. "And if he has changed it, it will be that much harder to find him... If you could describe him, maybe I could help?"
He flicked his ear when she said one of his nicknames, grinning faintly and bobbing his head. "Yep. That's me."
The fact that she took a step toward him made him tilt his head, thoughtful as he considered her. He glanced around the clearing quickly, half-hoping someone would appear claiming to be this mystery friend. When no one turned up, he gave a faint sigh.
"Well, I don't know where he is... But I would be happy to try and help you find him."
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:57 pm
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 2:53 pm
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:19 pm
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Whisper nodded, for what else could she do? If her friend was out there--if he had managed to stay safe--surely she would find him somehow. "He could be at the ocean." She conceded. It made sense. She remembered the taste of salt, and if her new friend--yes, he could be a friend, couldn't he?--had friends of his own in the sea, maybe they could indeed find him.
"Thank you." She uttered and stepped a little closer, flicking her tail. She was trying to relax, but she couldn't remember what safe felt like. Still, she wasn't alone and Raik really looked nothing like the one who had hurt her and her friend. With him, maybe she could be safe. She hoped so, oh how she hoped so. She wanted to know what safe felt like.
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 7:35 pm
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Raik somewhat worried when her immediate reaction was little more than a nod. It seemed like she was even more shy than he was when he had come to the lands, or perhaps he'd overwhelmed her? He hadn't intended to, of course... But it seemed he'd managed it anyway.
"I don't know much about Kelpi, though a friend of mine is one and she's started teaching me." He offered in gentle explanation. "From what I understand, they tend to favor the sea. If he's not there, she can put in a word with the Pirate band and we can try to meet some of the Swamp-Kelpi, maybe they've seen him or know where he's gone. It's a little tough to tell. Can you tell me more about him?"
It seemed like she had forgotten, like maybe there was an accident and she'd lost her memory? Raik was pretty sure he'd heard a similar story about a different mare, a unicorn had healed her though. He wasn't sure if or how that could apply this situation, and it didn't seem like the type to bring it up jut yet.
"You are most welcome, of course. A pleasure to help someone in need." He returned with a gentle smile. He could tell she was still nervous, but he didn't really know how to fix it. "How about a gentle walk in the general direction of the sea, hmm? You can tell me if you remember anything else along the way."
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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 4:21 pm
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As they talked the copper-painted stallion began to realize the task might turn out more difficult than he anticipated. Something must have happened in her past, and he didn't want to ask the wrong thing and remind her of it. She seemed so, fragile, and he just sort of wanted to keep her safe. At least, until he found her friend for her... Then he could at least be sure she'd be ok, right? Hopefully this was a friend and not danger.
But aside from the sea, and much of the cost was various terrain by the sea, what did he know? Not enough to really help. Still, hopefully with the help of friends and a little luck they could find the one she was looking for... And hopefully it wouldn't be too stressful for Whisper, either.
When she repeated herself, Raik nodded understandingly. Maybe if he asked a different way, it would make more sense? "Yellow, Ok. That probably hasn't changed, so we'll start looking for a yellow stallion. But like a daffodil or a buttercup?"
He considered what he remembered of Sahaena. "Does he have a flowing mane, like you and I, or is it all spines and frills like that of a fish? My Kelpi friend, she has no mane... It's all lovely red and black spines."
He didn't want her distressed, so he tried to give her an encouraging smile. "You'll remember, I have faith in you. And until then, we'll head to the sea. Maybe smelling the salt will jog something? A friend of mine who is a very clever lady told me that smell helps you remember things better than any other scent. I don't remember why, but she was very convincing. And it's true! To this day I think of her and I smell the flowers in the meadow we were laying in, when she told me that."
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:46 pm
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These were questions she felt she could answer and thought about it. "Very yellow. Like a daffodil, more than a buttercup. He has a mane, but a fish tail." She shook her head, making her long braid swish. "Shorter mane than mine, longer mane than yours. All yellow."
Her ears pricked as Rai continued, as he encouraged her and she smiled slightly. While sudden sounds would still make her jump, as time went on she was beginning to feel more safe and certain that she would remain that way. Kinti wouldn't hurt her, and he seemed to have many friends. She could only remember one, but now maybe she had two. That was a relief.
"I hope I remember." She intoned. "I hope I remember good things." She certainly didn't want to remember bad things, she didn't want to remember how she lost her memory, how she ended up the way she was now. To distract herself from her worries, she looked around and then looked at Raikinti.
His hooves were longer and sharper than hers. His pelt was strange, but then so was hers, so that meant nothing. Was he like her? No, she was just thinking too much. Maybe if she thought a little less, memories would come easier. Trying to force things just made her head hurt.
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