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 Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:37 am
...What was this?
The blue paint snorted and shook her head; her ears were buzzing and her head ached. Sort of. Felt odd anyway. Great; more things than she had time to do and a headache on top of that, just her luck. Grumbling softly to herself, the tall mare trotted out of her sleeping cave and headed off to find herself some breakfast. She’d feel better after some food, she was sure; this strange buzzing ache would pass before mid-sun in all likliehood.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:39 am
This decided, the tri-coloured Jala settled his feathery pinions back against his flanks and trotted over into the shade of a small copse that flourished in the rich soil. The air was thick and heady with the scent of ripe fruits, and Dahak reared up on his hind legs to pull down a fat elppa for himself. The juice was plentiful, sweet and probably staining his lips something awful. Oh well, at least people who didn’t know him desperately well would probably just pass it off as another patch of blue on a blue patchy stallion. Sighing contentedly to himself, the Shaman munched on.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:40 am
The buzzing headache had not got better; if anything it was worse. Undine grumbled to herself as she trotted on towards her magically inclined son’s herb patch. She didn’t like to go to him, she was used to just toughing it out, but the buzzing was keeping her from concentrating properly and that was the last thing she needed, especially when she was as busy as she was right now. A quick magical fix, while she hated to ask for it, was definitely in order. Once that was done, she could go back to normal and put this annoyance behind her.
This said, when she arrived at her son’s hideaway she found herself unwilling to ask him about it right away. She was taking a break, she had time for a few words with him before she started asking things of it. It felt as though she only really saw him when she was asking things of him these days.
For this reason, when she spotted him in the shade of the little patch of trees, she whickered a friendly greeting and trotted over to join him. “Afternoon Dahak,” she said with a smile as she came to a halt, “you have elppa juice all over you you know. Are they good?” They smelled good, much better than the quick mouthfuls of grass she’d grabbed for breakfast. The tactician’s belly growled at her in agreement; not only had the grass not been very exiting, there hadn’t been enough of it and it had been quite a while ago. A couple of elppas were very much in order; she could always wash her face off before she returned to her duties.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:41 am
Dahak pricked his ears up at the whicker and raised his head as he caught the flash of blue and white that was his mother. As the elder Jala spoke, he grinned sheepishly and licked his lips. It probably hadn’t improved matters too much, but oh well.
“Afternoon ute,” he said with a nod once his attempt to get some of the juice off himself was over. “They’re perfect; very juicy though as you see. Have time to join me in a couple, or are you here on business?” She often was on business when she came up to find him; either something she needed healing for herself or to ask him to come and see one of her fellows who was too much of a fraidy-rit to come and ask his services for themselves.
Still, he understood and didn’t mind too much. They were both very busy people and couldn’t always make time for one another; so it was with his father as well, though admittedly he was less inclined to try for his sire. He still felt a gap between them, a wedge of magic that he had no idea how to take down. He couldn’t stop having magic, and even if he could he wouldn’t. Maybe it was that last bit that was the sticking point, the fact that he’d welcomed it. Maybe he ought to ask. Sighing slightly, the blue-eyed Jala gave his mother a hopeful smile. He hoped she’d stay a while.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 6:44 am
The brown-eyed mare chuckled and nodded her head. “Yes, I can see they’re juicy and I have some time to spare. It’ll be nice to get to eat in peace for once.” That much was certainly true; people did have a habit of coming to ‘catch her while she wasn’t busy’. In Undine’s opinion, half way through a mouthful of berries wasn’t the definition of not busy.
Shaking her head and snorting to herself, the blue and white mare turned her attention back to Dahak. “Mind if I help myself?” They were sort of his after all and, it didn’t hurt to be polite with family. When the lad made an indistinct noise around a mouthful of blue-flesh fruit and gestured to the tree with a wing, Undine nodded and reached up to pull one down for herself.
As she chewed on the first sweet mouthful, the tactician turned her thoughts inward, to the humming and buzzing inside her skull. It was strange; so strange, she hadn’t a clue where it had come from. The aching came and went without a pattern she’d been able to see, but the buzzing remained and had seemed to grow louder the busier she’d got. Odd. Well, it didn’t matter all that much anyway; Dahak would see what was wrong, tell her and then fix it, but not necessarily in that order. She would just enjoy this elppa, maybe have a talk about... well about something with her son and then she’d get the whole thing fixed and go on with her day. It was annoying, but nothing to worry about.
Yet it was strange, very strange; the more she considered it the stranger it seemed. The buzzing was... was... well it wasn’t in her ears. It was in her head, she was sure but surely only crazy people heard odd noises inside their head. She wasn’t a crazy person, so she had to be mistaken. It was probably just something wrong with her ears, yes, and she was just imagining that she was just imagiing it... Something like that anyway. She was far too sane and sensible to hear strange noises in her head.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:09 am
Dahak grinned to himself as he watched his mother’s teeth pierce the skin of her elppa and release a quantity of blue juice onto the mare’s lips. Now he wasn’t the only one at least. Still grinning, the Shaman finished up the crunchy core of his own elppa and raised his head with a sigh. “Another lovely day,” he mused aloud, turning his eyes skywayrds, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a summer this good before. Sunshine to life the heart and rain to feed the plants and fill the rivers and lakes. If I believed in fate and such I might call it a good omen, a good time for a young Jala to look for a partner in life, perhaps.”
Hum, well he hadn’t really meant to bring that up but it was said now and he would like his mother’s opinion on the idea. He’d never really had time for mares, far too busy with his planning and then, once those plans had born fruit, his training. “Do you think it’s tie I started looking for a mate?” the young stallion went on bluntly. “I know I’m not all that old yet, but I know it would make good political sense for me to be partnered and more than that, I’d like to have a mate. It doesn’t need to be a wild and passionate love affair or anything but... well I don’t want it to be just politics either. Something like what you and trie have would be enough for me.”
It would be nice to have romance and passion and all that sort of thing though. He would be the first to admit that he sneered at such things when people talked about them, but that was because it was so damn obnoxious. Love was all very well in public, but it should be a calm love, or at least presented that way. If he ever fell in love, he certainly wouldn’t go flaunting his feeling to all and sundry. His heart would be for her and her alone to see. Everyone else would know he loved her, of course, but they needn’t know how much and needn’t hear him wax poetic about the quality of her ears or some such. That sort of thing, the silliness and the sincerity, was personal to his mind or at least bloody well ought to be.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 7:31 am
Undine raised her head and her eyebrows, chewing on a mouthful of elppa and regarding Dahak speculatively. He certainly wasn’t a colt anymore, it made sense for him to consider finding himself a mare, she just hadn’t expected him to think of or suggest it; she’d rather thought she’d have to give him a nudge one of these days. “I think it’s a great idea,” the amberish-eyed Jala said with a smile and a nod, trying to ignore the insistent buzzing that persisted within her mind. No, not her mind; her ears. “Did you have anyone in particular in mind?” the tactician went on with a tilt of her head. She doubted it; Dahak didn’t really socialize enough to have met anyone.
It was possible she supposed, her ears gave a particularly loud buzz that she was hard pressed not to grit her teeth over, that he’d fallen for one of the doctors or something. Still, it was more likely that he didn’t really have anyone in mind and wanted her advice on looking. Still, he’d said that just a good match wouldn’t do; that was fair enough she supposed and it wasn’t as though there was much social climbing he could really do anymore.
Pretty much any mare he wanted would do fine so far as she saw it, though maybe it was just this headache making her dim-minded or something, she would benefit from being with him and he would benefit from the children they would have. Above a certain age, and her son was past it, having foals only made your standing better so long as they weren’t wholly inappropriate for whatever reason.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:04 am
The tall stallion gave a relieved grin and shook his head. “No, nobody in particular really; it’s a bit difficult to find people who see me as a person rather than The Shaman as it were... I thought... well... I think that maybe I ought to consider looking outside the herd?” Now was the time to tread carefully; approve of him finding a mate his mother might, but that didn’t mean she would like the idea of him taking an non-Katilenuck. So far as he saw it, it made little odds; the only way he could mate above his station was to somehow catch the eye of one of the princesses, but he didn’t like the idea of being subordinate to his mate.
“New blood is always a good thing, right?” the blue-eyed stallion asked rhetorically. “I don’t see the need for me to strengthen our family’s position in the herd, we’re pretty well set, and I don’t think it would be too big of a deal. The Queen herself hasn’t picked her mate based on how pure his blood is after all; she chose a good strong partner for herself, one who makes a fine military leader. I could find myself a good mare from other lands who accepts our values and who can be of use to the herd if at all possible. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?”
Caution was of course all very well, but he had no intention of seeming to dependant on her opinion, to weak and cringing. He wanted her to approve, and he was open to being talked out of his current game plan but his mother would have to make a good argument to persuade him to do that.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:09 am
She heard her son’s words, but the meaning took a few moments to filter in; the buzzing had picked up again and in the midst of it there was something almost... almost recognizable. Almost like a murmur of a voice. Undine scowled internally and gave herself a mental shake; she was far too sensible to start thinking a headache was voices, it was just a headache and a buzzing in her ears, not the sound of muffled voices. Crazy people heard voices, and crazy was one thing tactician Undine definitely was not.
“Humm,” she said eventually, hoping Dahak would take her silence from cogitation rather than confusion, “well I suppose that might not be a bad idea. I see no real benefit to it other than the fact that she probably wouldn’t be quite such a little suck up to you, but I don’t really see any problem with it either other than locating such a mare. You can’t just go wandering away from the herd you know; the Katilenuck may have functioned perfectly well without a Shaman until you become one, but now they have you... now we have you that is it’s... it’s not so... so easy to go back to... to the way we were before. We’ve... yes, we need you now. Have to wait for her to come to you or send somebody... umm... send them looking for her, for someone they think you’d like.”
It was getting louder and then softer by turns, almost like a voice carried first to her and then away by the wind. But it wasn’t voices, of course, it was just her ears playing up and just a building and waning ache in her head. It was strange, sure, but nothing to worry too much over. Any minute now she’d mention it to Dahak, he’d look at her and then go on about redness or badness for a time and then he’d repair whatever was wrong and then everything would be fine. She’d head back to work and put the whole weird morning behind her. Any minute now, she’d ask him. Any minute.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:23 am
The tall stallion frowned slightly and nodded his head to his mother’s words. “I know ute, I’m never gone more than a full sun these days, not that I ever was. Until I get called away by a fruit tree, I’ll be here and when that happens well people can just struggle along without me for a time and appreciate me all the more when I get back.” Something wasn’t right with the mare before him. Always she was precise, sharp in her speech; he couldn’t remember her ever stumbling over a sentence like that before. Was she debating the wisdom of her advice to him, or was something actually wrong with her?
Maybe she’d come up to see him on business after all. Though it was what he’d expected on first seeing her, the brindled healer couldn’t help but feel a shade disappointed at the thought. They were both very busy people who took their work very seriously and seldom had free time at the same time. He should be used to that by now, and Gods knew he hadn’t exactly forged a strong bond between himself and his parents when he’d been a colt but... but for a few minutes he’d thought his mother had come to see her son Dahak rather than the herd’s Shaman.
Well, so life went he supposed, no sense crying over squashed fruit; he’d picked this dynamic out for himself long ago, and he knew that even if he was given the chance to go back and choose differently he wouldn’t. Even when all your dreams cam true there was a cost and things you had to give away in trade for your fantasies. He knew all that, and yet he was still disappointed; that was Nequus nature for you. Foolish, whiny and thoroughly illogical. Usually he used that to his advantage, used it to manipulate others. It was never nice when it came around to bite you in the backside, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Sighing slightly, Dahak pulled himself back to the present. "Is there anything you need from me by the by ute?" he asked with practiced casualness and a slight smile that looked as though he meant. He always had been good at this game.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:37 am
It was a game Undine had never had the patience for or even the inclination to attempt. She recognized it though even in her distraction, and she frowned rebukingly at her son. “Don’t you sweet-little-smile at me, mimila, I was being sweet little smiled at and seeing through it long before you were born. Yes, though; as a matter of fact I did have more than one reason for coming up here. For one, I wanted to see you and to get to eat in peace, and for another I have a problem I need you to sort out.”
Damn but this boy pissed her off sometimes. Guileful deceitful little drek this one was; she loved him anyway but that didn’t make him any less of a guileful, deceitful little drek that made her want to find a nice solid cave wall to knock her head against a few times.
“I woke up with an odd headache this morning,” Undine went on once she had gathered calm to herself again. “It’s like a... a pressure that fades in and out, and a buzzing sound in my ears. I thought it would go away by itself quickly but it hasn’t and I haven’t the time to wait on it any longer; I need a clear head so I came to ask you to help me, Dahak. If you don’t want to, please feel free to say so and I’ll be on my way.”
Hum, so maybe she hadn’t calmed as much as she’d thought; this headache had her frazzled and Dahak’s sweet and innocent act had only increased her ire. The sooner her damn head was fixed the better; last thing she needed was to start making rash decisions based on either emotion or on impaired thought processes.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:37 pm
Dahak flicked his ears back, somewhat less than pleased at being talked to like a colt, and even less pleased than that that his mother had called him on his faux niceness. He wasn’t used to being caught out, and it rankled. As the other Jala went on however, the Shaman’s annoyance faded to mild concern. He didn’t like it when his family was ill, and now he also felt like a bit of an arse for been angry with Undine for being so snippy when she caught him out; pain tended to make people snippy.
“Of course I’ll fix it for you, ute,” the tri-coloured stallion said with a smile, leaning forward to give the brown-eyed mare a nudge, “my powers are always at your disposal, you and all of the family. Now,” the Shaman took a calming breath and closed his eyes, “let’s see what we can do about this headache.” Letting the breath out again, Dahak opened his eyes. He scowled. There stood his mother, the same as ever. He would have thought he’d somehow neglected to look properly at her, but the healing plants behind her shimmered with their various purposes just as they ought to.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” the tall Jala said with a shake of his head, blinking the augmentation to his vision on and off once or twice. “Nothing I can see at any rate,” he concluded, shaking his head again and frowning deeper. Why couldn’t he see what was wrong with her? It made no sense, none at all. What were the possibilities? His mother wasn’t ill, his vision had somehow gone wrong, his mother was ill and his vision was fine but for some reason he couldn’t see what was the matter with her. Was it something beyond his skill to repair? He hoped not, no it couldn’t be that. It couldn’t be. It couldn't...
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:55 pm
Undine blinked and said; “hu?” intelligently. He had to be wrong, had to be; her head rang, no her ears rang, and the ache was returning. The tactician shook her head vigorously, but this did nothing to improve matters so she turned her attention back to Dahak. “Are you sure?” She asked uncertainly; there was something wrong with her, that much was clear, so either Dahak was having an off day, or he was angry with her and deliberately keeping his healing back.
Yes, maybe that; he was a damn good actor, maybe better than she’d thought, maybe he’d shaped up smartly after being caught out... But he wouldn’t do that to her. He loved her, she was his mother, he wouldn’t wish suffering on her... would he?
Much to her chagrin, the tall mare couldn’t answer that question. She didn’t know him that well, not really. He had grown up by himself, far from her influence and she didn’t know him at all. She didn’t really know any of her children. She was always busy, so busy, too busy to spend very much time with foals or even adults other than her fellow tacticians. Did he resent her that negligence? No, the distance had been as much his making as hers and she was sure thy understood one another’s busyness. Almost sure. Guileful, clever Dahak. What resentment had he bottled up over the years, and how many small ways would he take revenge?...
No, no he wouldn’t. Just recently he’d repaired her wing, repaired damage she hadn’t even been aware of unasked. He wanted to help her; he looked worried and confused. He wasn’t doing this on purpose... Which meant that whatever was wrong with her was something he couldn’t see, couldn’t heal.
Now feeling very nervous, Undine shuffled her wings uncomfortably and met her son’s eyes once more. “So... What should I do?” She hated to ask anyone for advice on anything, but he knew more about sickness than she. Even a sickness he couldn’t repair with his magic he might be able to give suggestions on dealing with. Maybe it would go away by itself. Yes. Maybe it would.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:06 pm
Dahak made an indistinct noise in the back of his throat and tried to think of what the doctors always advised. “Rest, I suppose,” he said eventually with a shrug of his wings. “Like I say, I can’t actually see any wrongness on you so maybe... I don’t know, maybe it’s stress or something? I wish I had more advice or help to offer ute but... well I don’t. Go and rest; if it’s not gone by tomorrow come back to me and we’ll try again, go on to the doctors if I still don’t see anything wrong with you...”
He didn’t voice the worry that had popped up in the back of his mind. Thus far he hadn’t tried to treat anyone with a sickness of the mind, and so he didn’t know if he could. Maybe his mother was going crazy and he was powerless to help her. What bitter irony that would be, that he could heal so many, but not one of the people closest to his heart.
Silently hoping that he was wrong, the curly-maned stallion gave his dam another affectionate nudge. “Go and rest ute,” he repeated, “the other tacticians will have to cope without you for the afternoon.” Tomorrow she would feel better, had to feel better; it was just stress... Yet perhaps he would ask the doctors about illnesses of the mind later on anyway. It couldn’t hurt to know how they began after all.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:14 pm
Stress. Of course. That could explain it; she hadn’t had a real holiday in... in... had she ever had one? Going off to Shrilal didn’t count in her opinion; looking after a tree might requite less brain power than her job but it was more wearing, both mentally and physically. Maybe this was just her body’s way of telling her to take it a bit easier, maybe that was all.
The tall mare took a steadying breath and smiled at Dahak, returning his nudge and nibbling a leaf out of his mane. “Right,” she said with a nod, trying to block out the humming buzz in her mind. “I’ll go and do that then,” she added, stepping back and rustling her wings in a businesslike manner. “See you later then mimila,” the blue and white Jala concluded with as much brightness as she could muster before turning away and setting off at a brisk trot. Just stress, rest a while and she’d be fine. It might take a few days, she supposed, but she could spare that; there were a few of her colleagues who she trusted to plan their way across a puddle, it would be fine.
Giving another shake of her head, Undine trotted onward.
The whispering buzz went with her.
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