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 Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:58 am
 Liebe had wandered away from the cave that her mother shared begrugingly with her father, the high golden winter sun hidden behind the deep gray clouds that turned the world into a monotone wonderland. The sky seemed to blend with the white blanket of snow on the ground, but the cloud were a more foreboding gray color.
Snorting to herself, Liebe skirted around a hole in the snow. It reminded her of her mother's 'ferretbuddy,' the silliest little creature she'd ever encountered, and she immediately giggled. Patty was a nice little critter, of course, but goodness, was he hilariously clueless.
"Hello, bright morning sun," she called to the gray, emotionless sky, pretending that it was a warm spring day, though she had never encountered one. Her tail flicked her behind, chasing away the invisible flies and other insects that her mother had warned about biting her. Since she was a winter foal, and had never encountered warm weather, the chilling, piercing air felt natural in her lungs, but stung at her eyes. Her wings, the gold-tipped wonders that she had inherited from her wonderful mother, were pulled close to her body, sheltering her belly from the bitter cold.
The trees around her were gnarled and ripped with disease, but they seemed like home to her. A tiny squirrel darted from one tree to the next, chittering madly like some escaped lunatic. Liebe sighed, ruffling her feathers and flicking her curly mane out of her face before taking shelter underneath a particularly gnarled tree, savoring the lack of snow underneath.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 8:25 am
 Arsenic's hooves hit the ground softly, almost drowning out the quiet tones of his voice. Asthario was laying on his shoulders, his arms wrapped around the stallions neck to share warmth and keep them both from freezing. After a while Arsenic had gotten used to being around the mountain lion, understanding that though Asthario was a perfect image of his nightmare, he meant no harm. Besides, how much harm could a little kitten with no home do? So Arsenic let Asthario get to know him, in turn learning about the lion and becoming happier now that he had a constant friendship. They told eachother everything, especially the deep secrets.
They spoke softly to each other now, laughing and teasing. Asthario would take one of Arsenic's braids and tug on it playfully, while Arsenic would n** his paw. It was all good fun between friends, two buddies keeping eachother company forever.
Arsenic was the first to hear the voice of another soquili, stopping in his tracks and looking around. Asthario registered that he had indeed heard a voice not long after.
"What was that, 'Sen?" He tilted his head.
Arsenic's eyes fell on the wind mare and motioned towards her. "Seems the weather hasn't kept everyone under shelter afterall." He chuckled, beginning to make his way towards her.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:05 am
Liebe swiveled her ears around, suddenly hearing the crunching of snow underneath hooves. Her mother told her to be careful! Her mother warned her of dangers and rogue 'friendly' stallions that would try to be friends with her! What the heck were 'friendly' stallions? They sounded nice enough to her...
Liebe cursed her own foolishness. She should've brought Patty with her, as some sort of appetizer for the thing that was going to eat her, so she could get away before becoming the main dish.
It was about that time that she heard voices. Not the creepy, only-I-can-hear-them voices, but real voices, echoing against dead trunks and a thick blanket of snow. She supposed the clouds contributed to the echo effect as well, but she tried not to think about it.
"Who's there?" she called out fiercely, backing her butt against the tree so she could defend herself if need be. Thankfully, she hadn't inherited her mother's dreamy voice, so she sounded relatively powerful. She saw a glint of red, like blood in the snow, but it wasn't blood; it was another Soquili, a stallion, with something that he was talking to... it reminded her of the little ferret, but it was bigger. With bigger teeth.
"Why didn't I bring that stupid ferret?" she asked herself, hoping and praying that the stallion wouldn't harm her, and that she wouldn't have to limp home to her mother in tears.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:22 am
Arsenic tilted his head as the mare backed herself against a tree, flattening his ears against his head with a look of concern. She seemed so scared of him. It didn't make since. He'd never veiwed himself as particularly scary; he was smaller than most stallions, and it took a lot of effort for him to raise his voice to anyone. He had muscle, but that was just incase he needed to protect his sister.
He moved only close enough so she could hear him when he spoke, not wishing to yell. "I'm Arsenic, and this is Asthario." He motioned to the lion on his shoulders. "We won't hurt you..." He added after a moment. "I couldn't hurt a fly if I tried with all my might." A chuckle escaped him and he flicked his tail in amusement. How could she seriously be fearful of him?
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:34 am
Liebe internally sighed with relief, but she tried not to show it. She wasn't the smartest mare in the world, especially since she had been taught some pretty odd things by her mother's friend Will and his son, but she had let her imagination take hold of her, twisting this seemingly nice stallion into a nasty Kalona with a taste for Soquiliflesh.
"Pardon me for being rude," she called out, keeping her butt firmly planted on the tree. "But what is that... thing... on your back? Asthario, was it?" She chuckled nervously. "Like I said, don't mean to be rude... just never seen one before."
She relaxed a bit more. The stallion had a sort of sincere quality about him that made it seem like he could be one's best friend, or the only colt in the bunch that played by himself. And Liebe felt drawn to him, as though she felt the same, but not completely; perhaps it was the isolation from almost anyone besides her family.
"I'm AF Goldenes Herz... everyone calls me Liebe," she said, moving away from the trunk of the gnarled old tree.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:56 am
Arsenic felt safe to step a bit closer, though still not invading her space. "Asthario? He's a mountain lion. My best friend. If I can't hurt a fly, he couldn't harm a blade of grass." He chuckled, pretty confident that what he said was true.
Asthario purred in amusement and bowed his head to Liebe. "I truely am harmless, Miss."
Arsenic smiled at the mare, nodding as she gave her name. He'd remember it, as she seemed like the kind to make a valuable friend. "Lovely name, Liebe. I'm Arsenic. And variation you'd like to use is fine by me. What are you doing out alone? Just a walk to clear your mind?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:03 am
Liebe glanced behind her, as if checking for her mother's reproachful glare, before taking a step towards the stallion.
"I got sick of my mother," she joked. "Stuck in a cave with her all winter was proving to be quite the little adventure, so I left for a bit." She giggled. "That, and her ferret, Patty, bugged the living crud out of me. Couldn't take him anymore. And I could just about ask the same question of you." She bowed her head to the mountain lion [whatever that was] and offered an apologetic smile.
"Sometime's Liebe's mind gets out of control," she said, the third-person speech coming on like a sneeze, and disappearing just as quickly. "And I think of things that I know aren't true. Like," -she laughed fully now- "I thought you were a Kalona coming to eat me." She shrugged. "One can never be too careful, eh?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 2:57 pm
Arsenic laughed. "I don't think I could ever get sick of my mother, but I suppose I'm just a Momma's Boy." He flicked his ear at her last statement, giving a shrug after a moment. "It's nice to walk in the snow. Beauty beyond anything one could experience."
He was shocked when she admitted what she'd thought. "Really? A Kalona? I could hardly imagine myself as a kalona. I'm too soft." He shook his head, smiling. "I could never be like that, but it is indeed important to be careful."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:45 am
Liebe grinned. A momma's boy, eh? Almost quite the opposite of what she thought he was; a mean, nasty Kalona.
"My imagination ran wild when I heard, but didn't see, you," she admitted, kicking at a twig with her hoof and keeping her gaze fixed on the snow.
"The snow is an endless expanse of blank canvas," she said, reciting the words Will had told her. "And it's up to one's own devices as to what to do with one's colors." She looked up at him now, her eyes sparkling.
"One can never jump to conclusions, either," she said seriously. "I think I've accomplished both of those today."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:56 am
"I hadn't realized that the echo was making us heard. We're normally very quiet." He shrugged with a soft grin of his own. He closed his eyes for a moment as she recited the words she'd heard from another. He nodded, understanding them and keeping them logged in his memory.
"Yes, jumping to conclusions can be quite risky, but it's better than being ignorant or gullible, I would suppose. Everyone has their own faults, though. I often assume that no one will hurt me, that with friendship I can change them. "
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:11 am
"You silly little beast!" Liebe joked, taking another step towards Arsenic so that they were only a few lengths apart. "Thinking you can change another to be your friend. I was taught to regard everyone as enemies at first, then slowly warm up to them." She glanced around her, searching for her mother, and whispered, "But do you think I follow those teachings? I think not."
"I'd rather be amazingly silly and foolish, like I am, than be gullible or ignorant. Because everyone likes a silly little bugger, but ignorant Soquili make me want to scream." She frowned for a moment, focusing her gaze on a twig near Arsenic's hoof. Then she looked back up, her eyes sparkling and a grin spread across her face.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:19 am
"It appears you don't." He chuckled. "I like silly soquili, almost as much as I love sweet innocent soquili." Hi grin grew. "You have no idea how much I want to die when talking to ignorant beings though, it's more frustrating than anything." He was getting slightly uncomfortable by how close she was, and how she seemed to look at thim, but like they had agreed, jumping to conclusion was not bright, and definitely not something he wished to do.
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