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 Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:54 pm
Twelve suns since he had seen his daughter.
The sleek stallion stood at the top of the rise and peered out across the vast greeness of D’ob. There were Bae, Jala, the odd Aeri Ichsa or Reya in varying hues, but no small black foal with vivid stripes met his questing gaze. Every so often he would see a smaller shape and start up in hope, but always a moment later his hopes would be dashed. None of them were black and feather winged. None of them were Sekhmet.
Diego closed his vivid blue eyes and sighed out a weary breath, his gold-feathered wings sagging somewhat.
She could be anywhere by now.
Had she run away? Had she been taken? He had no way of knowing, no way at all. Was she out there happy in a new life? was she out there lost, afraid, abused? Was she dead? He didn’t know. He didn’t know. He ought to know. A father ought to know where his young children were, yet he could not account for the feisty filly who had his way of sighing patiently at fools.
The golden stallion opened his eyes again and scanned the surrounding area once more. Still nothing, not that he had expected any different. His search was a hopeless one, his quest a fool’s quest. Yet he could not surrender it, no matter how hard Bastet had tried to persuade him to let it go. He couldn’t abandon hope of finding his child and saving her if she needed it. If she had left of her own free will... then he didn’t know; it was hard enough to get his head around the fact that she was vanished at all, let alone that she might have chosen to leave home and family. Had he really been so poor a parent as to drive her to that?
Diego frowned to himself and glared out over D’ob once more as though the lush grassland had insulted him personally. He’d been a damn good father, he was sure of it; doubting himself would not bring Sekhmet back. Sadly, thus far, it looked as though seeking her wouldn’t either.
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:44 pm
...Still. He had been practicing for quite some time now and he ached. Time to land and rest himself before he damaged, rather and merely wearied, his pinions.
Giving a soft sigh of relief at the decision, Lucius folded his wings in and dropped like a stone towards a hilltop.
Not too far from the ground, he noticed that it was occupied by a creature now looking up at him and so the morbidly-adorned stallion slowed a little earlier than he might otherwise have done, circling towards the grass at a fairly leisurely pace so that when his hooves finally touched the ground, he only had to trot a few paces to rid himself of excess momentum. As he came to a halt, he smiled and gave a nod to the other stallion; a gold Jala with neat cropped mane and tail. Clearly somebody regularly had the attentions of humans focused on him.
“Greetings.” It wasn’t worth wasting more on somebody who might well be running away in a few seconds time; it was always hard to tell which ones would bolt and which would linger.
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:54 pm
...What in hells name was that idiot doing? Thrill seeking was all very well, Gods knew he loved a good dive, but that was an Aeri and it was just falling! If it didn’t slow soon, he, Diego, was going to end up about as fat as a well-trodden on blade of grass and wouldn’t that just improve his bloody awful day?
Fortunately however, the dark shape seemed to summon a grain of sense from somewhere and spread its, his?, wings back out to swirl about in a lazy spiral... There was something odd about the shape.
Diego squinted.
He could clearly make out the outline of ribs... yet the Aeri was obviously a broad creature. What the... Oh. Oh hells. Oh bloody hells.
The monster landed, and Diego gulped.
He could see ribs on the strong form. They just didn’t belong to the orange-eyed Aeri, or maybe they did. Possession was, after all, nine tenths of the law. Bones. Actual bones... fitting like a second skin? That wasn’t right, surely that wasn’t right and bones weren’t usually red. ...Was he hallucinating, or had the world just gone insane when he hadn’t been looking?
...And now it was talking to him. Well... Okay then. “...Well hello... You’re ah... Unique.” Hopefully that wouldn’t get the Aeri stallion angry with him, it was true after all, but sometimes people didn’t like the truth.
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:11 pm
Lucius laughed; he had to. Unique. What a polite way of putting it.
“And you sir,” he chuckled with a shake of his red-masked face, “are very frank, something I seldom encounter. People usually skirt around the matter, you know...”
On closer inspection the Jala was... haggard. He looked to be quite a young stallion still, no youth but well, well within his prime, younger by a little way than he himself was but... Old. Worried-old rather than aged-old. Well, it made sense to him and if there were better words he couldn’t think of them right now. The mane and tail were neat, feathers and coat cared for but the eyes were exhausted.
They looked like eyes that had not slept well in some time.
“My name is Lucius,” the red-maned stallion announced with a brief bob of his head, “I apologize for dropping down on you like that, I didn’t notice you at first.”
What had the Jala been doing before he’d looked up?... Lucius frowned to himself; he really had no idea, but standing around on a vantage point alone rather than down grazing?... A guard, perhaps, or maybe he was an outcast? Looking for something? Lots of possibilities, certainly, and perhaps his curiosity as to which if any of his guesses was correct would be sated soon. Hopefully the gold-one was an open sort; it would be rather frustrating to be left in teh dark now he’d got himself interested.
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:22 pm
The blue-eyed stallion smiled nervously. Well, so far so good; he still thought he was probably talking to a psycho or some sort of creepy zealot - the distinction between those was fine - but so far so good. “Diego,” the short-maned Jala replied, dipping his head in response. “Oh, and don’t worry about it,” he went on, trying to make his usual quirk of a half smile and mostly failing, “I wasn’t exactly all alert myself. I only noticed you when your shadow started getting bigger...”
Was the stallion a wanderer? Perhaps it was just prejudice over his oddness, but Diego couldn’t picture that muscled frame wandering about with a herd in regular territories... If he wandered, maybe he had seen Sekhmet. He knew his daughter, if she’d spotted such a stallion she would have approached because she would have been afraid, and Sekhmet always approached things that frightened her unless it was obviously insane to do so...
But he couldn’t ask, not just yet, he should probably think of some pleasantries to exchange first. Usually they came to him easily but today... today his mind was weary and thus far giving him nothing but comments on the weather which wasn’t much good. Still, maybe if he stayed quiet, the frightening Aeri would give him something to go on...
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:22 am
“Oh... Well, good.” Small talk. Geh. He wasn’t ready to move off again yet and so he was going to have to... chat. Well, at least the Jala seemed like the intelligent sort, though his wit might be somewhat dulled by weariness. Still, a tired clever Nequus was far to be preferred to one who was just an idiot, and the world did have its share of those. All things considered, he’d done fairly well to drop down on this individual, whoever he was, no running and screaming, no attempting to destroy the monster, no inane comments. So far.
“So... Are you from around here?” Oh wonderful, and now it sounded like he was trying to chat the gold Jala up or something. Not that it was the worst thing in the world to sound as though he was trying, but it was still potentially embarrassing if that was the impression Diego got.
If he returned the ‘interest’ he would have to explain that, though the phrase was often a pick up line, it had not been intended as such. If on the other hoof the blue-eyed creature was disgusted... well actually the explanation would be largely the same. Still, with luck it would not be interpreted that way and he wouldn’t have to attempt to explain himself. Much as he loved words, Lucius thought to himself, he sometimes felt as though the damn things were just trying to make him look like a fool.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:28 am
Fortunately for Lucius, Diego was not really in a state to take words at anything but their face value.
“Oh, um, no, not really.” The golden Jala peered out over the valley again, this time in the general direction of his home territory. “I come from over that way, towards Ryuten,” he said with a wave of his wing. “My father leads a reasonably sized herd there I’m just... looking for somebody at the moment...”
Well, maybe it was time to ask. Wasn’t as though it could hurt, right? For all his frightening exterior, Lucius the skeleton-clad Aeri seemed positively civilized and quite amiable. Perhaps, if he hadn’t seen Sekhmet, he would be willing to keep an eye out for her on his travels... if indeed he was a traveler. Best to establish that before he got his hopes up on that score.
“Are you from around here Lucius?” Jumping topic a little, but oh well; he was over-tired and couldn’t help making a fool of himself.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:39 am
Ah, so he had been looking for something. Someone even. Hum, one of his father’s herd, doubtless... Yet why would the son of a herd lord be the one off after a missing Nequus?... Unless it involved him personally. Friend? Lover? Child? Somebody he owed a kick in the face? All possibilities, certainly, and now he had a chance to ask and get rid of that niggling curiosity, he did dislike curiosity niggles... Oh, but he’d been asked a question, best to answer that first.
“No,” the muscled stallion shook his head, the movement making the luxurious red curls of his mane swing, “I’m not really ‘from’ anywhere. I’m nomadic for the most part, though sometimes I settle in a given area for a short period of time if it suits me and my family... Tell me Diego, who is it you’re out here looking for? If you don’t mind my asking that it.”
He didn’t really care if the stallion did mind, he was free not to answer, but it was a good clause to add to save trouble. Oh doubtless he could take the feather-winged creature to pieces if he decided to make a nuisance of himself, but unnecessary fights were always better to avoid; you never knew when the weediest little idiot might get a lucky hit in and seriously injure you.
Wings, of course, were the most fragile part of a Nequus and he was just getting good with his, an injury could set him back a long long way in training them to be as good as they could be which, Lucius sighed internally, would probably never be better than above average. Oh well. One couldn’t excel at everything, he supposed..
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:01 am
Diego sighed deeply, and on letting out the breath he sagged from his usually immaculate posture to an altogether wearier stance. “My youngest daughter,” he said, eyes lowered. “She vanished twelve days ago. Nobody saw her leave, nobody saw anything suspicious, nothing. I just picked a direction and started looking. I know the world’s a damn big place to be looking for one small filly in but...” the golden Jala raised his blue gaze to meet Lucius’ orange, “but I can’t just give up without even trying. I don’t know if she ran away, or was tricked, but she’s a savvy one my girl and that doesn’t seem likely, or if she was forcibly taken. If she was killed. I just... well, I just have to try.”
Would the brown-marked stallion understand? He’d said that he had a family, so perhaps he would. Perhaps he would be sympathetic. Perhaps he would help. It was possible, and if the curling-tailed creature was willing then heck, his chances of finding Sekhmet were doubled. Alright, they were still depressingly slim but telling himself they were doubled would make him feel a little better about the whole thing.
Still, even if Lucius refused it didn’t change the fact that he had to look for Skehmet until... Until what? Until he found her? That might very well never happen. How long before he gave up, moved one, went home to his duties to his father’s herd, and indeed to the rest of his family. One turn of the seasons maybe? Two? Until he had recruited a bigger search party?
Aquila he knew he could count on once he’d tracked the tough little mare down, maybe some of his other grown children too. Lucius, maybe, would join up. Who else? Diego frowned to himself and tried to recall anyone in the world who might owe him a favor. It was not a long list.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:16 am
He didn’t usually feel for strangers, but the tired Jala with his desperate blue eyes tugged at the strong Aeri’s heart. A while ago it probably would not have bothered him, he would have offered to keep an eye out, as it cost him nothing to do so, but he wouldn’t have felt for the sleek gold Nequus. Now though, now that he knew the agonizing worry of not knowing where your child was, he couldn’t help but want to help in whatever way he could.
“I’m... sorry to hear that,” the boned stallion said after a moment with a shake of his great head. “I understand how you must feel, I’ve been in the same situation with my son. I was fortunate enough to find him not long ago but... I understand. No matter how futile the search, as a father you can’t simply drop it and move on... If you want, I would be glad to aid you in your search; as I travel around in any case and am used to covering a lot of ground I think that I could be of use to you... Could you tell me what your daughter looks like, and her name?”
Fortune had smiled upon him in his search for Vox; running into the other Aeri by Fyhi had been a millions to one chance... Could it happen again, for Diego this time? He hoped so, he couldn’t imagine how he would have felt if he had never found his son.
“Even if there was nothing you could have done to keep yourself from being separated from your child, as a parent you still feel responsible,” Lucius said quietly with another shake of his head. “No matter how capable they are of looking out for themselves you still worry that they could be in danger and needing you, especially if they’re young...” Those were probably all things that the blue-eyed stallion knew, but Lucius doubted that he would mind hearing them from another all the same. Knowing that somebody else shared your sentiments when you were worried was always a small bit of comfort, and Diego probably needed all the assurance he could get right now, poor stallion.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:30 am
The gold stallion snapped back to reality and gave the other stallion an exhausted, grateful smile. “Thank you Lucius,” he said with a deep bow of his head, “you have no idea how grateful I am for your offer... Or maybe you have,” the Jala realized as he recalled the Aeri’s words on his own lost child. He only hoped that he would be as successful with his hunt as Lucius had been... Right, a description.
“Her name is Sekhmet,” he said with a nod, “not overly tall or small, quite slim. She’s mostly black, but she has striped on her face and rump; they’re a blend of purple and gold. Gold eyes, too, and dark hooves...” The more he spoke of her, the more he missed the filly. He should have done something, anything, so that she might still be with the herd and safe. Taking a deep breath and pushing aside his guilt, Diego ploughed on. “She’s not a mare yet, but she’s not tiny either; just approaching adolescence... Like I’ve said, she’s a sensible girl so she won’t have gone anywhere insanely dangerous of her own accord but... Well, I don’t know, if she was taken I suppose she might be anywhere... I’ve heard that there are some Nequus about right now who hate those with black coats so...”
So he was worried, of course, even if there hadn’t been such a threat he would have been worried, but the possibility that somebody had seen her and decided that she had to die was one placing itself in the forefront of his mind. No matter how smart a foal might be, if an adult wanted to hurt them, kill them, take them away they were pretty much done for. Shuddering to himself, Diego waited for Lucius to add something else to the conversation; he certainly couldn’t think of anything else to say right now.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:44 am
Lucius frowned behind his skull helmet and nodded. “Yes, there are such idiots wandering about. Sadly none of them ever reveal themselves to me, and so I have been unable to deplete their numbers as yet... Still, in general so far as I can gather there are not too many of them; chances are your daughter, Sekhmet, has not encountered them...”
Or so he hoped. If she had, then looking for the girl would be pointless. Still, hopefully she had not met such an unpleasant fate and if she had, perhaps he could find out who was to blame and either punish them himself or let Diego know so that the Jala could have a little revenge.
“Anyone,” Lucius muttered as much to himself as to Diego, “who attacks those weaker than themselves for no good reason needs to have a taste of their own medicine... Still,” he went on in more normal tones, “your Sekhmet sounds like a distinctive girl, I am sure I will easily recognize her if I spot her and it’s a good description to pass around, too.”
Was there anyone he could enlist himself? Vox and Jacq would probably be willing if he could find them, perhaps one or two of his other acquaintances... Well, it was worth mentioning that he was looking for her to almost anyone he met really. Stupid though many Nequus were, he had to admit that many of them were decent sorts deep down, maybe even better sorts than he was actually and most parents would sympathize enough with Diego’s plight to at least keep an eye open for the lost filly.
Lucius offered the gold-feathered Jala a smile. “If we both spread the word, I’m sure news will get back to you before too long... I recommend you direct anyone who hears anything to somehow get word back to your herd; you I assume will be wandering about and not available to receive word but your herd isn’t going anywhere, correct?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:07 am
Diego smiled properly for the first time since he had discovered Sekhmet was missing and nodded rapidly a few times to the other stallion’s suggestion. “Good thinking, good thinking. Estavan’s herd just south of Ryuten is the place... Lucius... Look if... if there’s ever anything I can do for you, just let me know, alright?”
He wished there was more he could do than that, but for the time being there was not. Still, the more he talked to the bone-clad Aeri the more reasonable and intelligent a creature he seemed. Doubtless the red-maned stallion would see that it was all that could be offered right now, and hopefully he would realize that the son of a herd lord could do quite a bit of repaying when and if the time came.
“So... I don’t think there’s anything I haven’t told you,” the gold stallion said after a moment of silence with another tired smile. “I don’t want to seem rude, Lucius, but... well, I want to be getting on. I’m looking for an older child of mine right now, Aquila, she’ll join in the search, I know she will and I’m hoping to find her siblings too and ask them but... well, I don’t see a lot of most of them anymore.” And he missed them. Still, he couldn’t fault them for growing up and having their own lives; that was what children did after all.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:14 am
Lucius smiled back and nodded. “I understand, Diego, I never wanted to be still for too long while I was looking for Vox. I bid you farewell then, and good luck. If I hear anything, I shall go to your father’s herd and let him know... Provided I’m not attacked or fled from on sight, that is.”
Estavan’s herd, south of Ryuten. No problem, he ought to be able to remember that provided he found a corner of mind for it now... Closing his eyes f or a moment, the black stallion repeated the name to himself a few times. Once he was confident that he had memorized it, he opened his eyes again and gave the other stallion another smile.
“Good speed and fair winds to you, Diego, my your search be a short one.” And, he added silently, a successful one. It would be no good at all if the gold stallion found his daughter the next day but dead in a ditch somewhere. Lucius had never been very sure whether or not he believed in Gods, and if he did he had no idea what it was that he believed about them, but he sent a quiet prayer to any higher power that might happen to be listening on the basis that it couldn’t do any harm and had an outside chance of doing some good.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:32 am
Diego bowed his head to the larger Nequus and gave another tired smile. “My thanks, and the same to you Lucius along, once more, with my sincerest thanks. I can’t tell you how much more hopeful I am now.” Certainly there was still a good chance he would fail, and certainly even if he succeeded it might take a long time but with a plan to spread the word and with the outwardly frightening Lucius aiding him, he could hope rather than despair and perhaps he could even get some sleep.
“Oh,” that was a point, “if you’re brining news, ask for Bastet. She’s my mate, and more sensible than much of the herd. She won’t run away... though she might try to attack you at first I’m afraid, she seems to have a bit of a thing for doing that... but anyway, you look like ah... well,” the blue-eyed Jala gave a lopsided smile to the muscled, armored Aeri, “like you could handle her.” And that was the understatement of the year.
“Well, I’ll be off then,” Diego went on after a moment, stretching his wings out and giving them a few flaps to limber them for take off. “See you soon, with luck, and as I say, if you need anything don’t hesitate to approach me, my father or anyone else in my family. I’m sure any one of them would be as glad to assist you as I would be. Farewell Lucius, and thank you... again again.”
Exchanging a grin with the red-maned Nequus, Diego turned away at last and set off for the edge of the rise at a trot, a canter and finally a gallop. When he reached the beginning to the slop down to the richer grass at the bottom of the hill, the golden Jala bunched his muscled and launched himself into the air. At the top of his arc, he spread his wings and, with a few practiced flaps, began to rise into the clear sky on on with his quest.
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