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 Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:03 am
 Dark olive eyes narrowed as Thorn looked out over the edge of the mountain cliff she was perched on. From here she could see a good portion of the lowlands including the two-leggers village and most of the lake. She snorted angrily as several memories from the past winter rushed through her mind and she kicked a stone over the edge before turning away to make her way back to a small cave that served as her home during the warmer months. She stared blankly at the back wall for a moment before turning away from it.
She had no desire to be still and rest at home at the moment. There were too many thoughts plaguing her mind that needed to be put to rest or at least spoken.
Setting one hoof in front of the other she headed away from her lookout and home and into the mountain forest. She muttered words at random as she kept her eyes peeled for something that could either provide some distraction or that would serve as an outlet for her thoughts. From the corner of her eye she caught some movement and following it she found a little song bird perched in a tree. Something to talk to.
"You!" She snapped at the little winged creature angrily. "You are a fortunate little one and I would much rather see you unhappy at this time." She said pausing for no real purpose but she seemed to be listening for an answer. She didn't receive one as the bird flew away. "Useless little creature!" She shouted after it giving her tail an irritated flick. How was she supposed to get things off her chest if the only thing around ran away from her?
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:15 pm
 Tossing his head, the shocking stallion rose from his break. He had been running for a while, and had taken a rest for a moment to have a drink of water. He was now standing next to the quiet little pond he had decided to lay beside and sighed as he looked around.
It was a pretty quiet day today. There hadn't been any serious disruptions from his aimless wanderings. Though this quiet would normally bother him in any other place, he had found these lands to be quite peaceful for the most part. Unless you managed to come across the wrong kind of creature, you should be pretty well off.
Pointlessly tossing his mane to the side, he turned and looked around. He sometimes wished that this place did have a bit more going on. It was quite different from his adventures he had been on with his former master. But perhaps this was a good thing. Perhaps a bit of peace would do him well.
He began to trot towards a line of trees at the foot of a mountain before taking off in a canter, watching the scenes pass him by. Maybe he could still find something to do on this dull day.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:20 pm
Thorn stepped from rock to rock following the tree covered path downhill never once losing her footing. Her grace on the rocks came from being raised in the crumbling paths closer to the peaks. She sighed coming to a stop on a flat rock to look around hoping to find something else to speak with. Her eyes lit up with an almost insane fire as she spotted a rabbit crouched beneath a small bush. "You!" She said stepping forward to talk with the little animal. The small creature went rigid as she approached before dashing away leaving the mare in the proverbial dust.
"Well it is not as though I really wanted to speak with you anyway!" she shouted after it as though trying to save face, although there really was no point to it as she was, after all, hunting down small animals to try and get them to talk with her.
Tossing her head she marched off not at all happy with her current situation. After a few minutes she paused and pawed at the ground before lowering her head. Something didn't feel right. She stared blankly at the ground for a few moments before it hit her. She had made her way off her mountain once again. "Oh this is just perfect!" She hissed to nothing in particular. She had once again found her way to the place that had caused her problems and she was not happy about it.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:26 am
As he approached the edge of the mountains, he thought he could make out the shape of another one like him, but this one was obviously a female. He slowed his pace so as not to frighten her as he approached. However, when he got closer, he saw that her expression was something less than friendly. He hesitated a moment. He wasn't sure if she had seen him or not yet, but he figured it was best to wait. He had no idea what she was like, or why she looked in such a foul mood.
So he stood there, giving the mare her space. He had learned over the many years of his life that when others looked bothered, as this mare did, it was usually best to let them make the next move. So he lowered his head to munch on some grass, but still kept an eye on the mare. He knew nothing about her, and had no idea if she was the type who would suddenly charge at him, so it was best to keep her in eyesight while he was in such a vulnerable position.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:35 pm
As she turned to head back up the mountain once again she paused. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see someone standing not too far away. She looked over her shoulder to get a better look and let out a sigh that was between thankful and frustrated. She didn't really feel much like speaking to another horse but everything else was running away from her. Huffing she turned around and crossed over to the other.
"I can not believe I am doing this..."She said under her breath looking the stallion over with distaste. His coat was white like snow but he was also an odd reddish brown color that reminded her of mud. She did not much care for mud.
"Do not run." She ordered but her normally cold voice sounded almost like she was pleading. She kicked herself mentally for speaking in such a way. Begging was disgraceful. It mattered not what kind of trouble she was in, she should never beg from any other creature, it was putting herself below them and was something that just shouldn't happen.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:43 pm
He didn't have to wait for long. It seemed that she spotted him quite quickly, and he was a little surprised at how forward she was. She immediately gave him an order, by which he was slightly taken aback. But he recovered quickly and assumed the familiar warm smile that he usually wore.
"And why can you not believe that you are doing this? A common greeting is nothing to be ashamed of. My name is Raksh. May I be so bold as to ask your name?"
He bowed his head slightly in greeting and respect. He had learned that this was always the best way to greet somebody new. If you were polite and respectful to somebody, they had no reason to disrespect you. But that didn't always mean that the kindness would be returned. It was always a gamble...
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:04 pm
She shook her head to let him know she wasn't about to reveal that information. "Trust me...Raksh...?" She quirked a brow at the name finding it quite interesting, unlike anything she had heard. "You would rather not know." She sighed and pulled a face that looked a bit like she was going to either maim something or turn tail and leave.
She didn't give her name out freely on most occasions. That typically drove people away from her and at this moment she did not want that even if she did not find the stallion before her a pleasing to the eyes as the company she kept normally. "My name is Thorn..." She said finally sounding a bit frustrated, which she was. She did not return his bow feeling that her name was greeting enough but she did offer a believable smile.
For the next few moments she stood perfectly still not even flicking an ear or her tail, she was trying to decide just what to say from here. The trick with speaking with other horses was that she could not speak to them like she would any other animal she encountered near her home. They would speak back and most would not sit and take the abuse her words often offered.
She opted for a slightly less forward approach and let out an overly dramatic, hurt sigh trying to get him to question what was wrong.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:46 am
He was slightly confused. This mare seemed to have a lot on her mind, but also not willing to share what was obviously bothering her. But he was not one to pry, so he waited for her to make the next move. When she introduced herself, he smiled. That was some progress.
"Well, it is very nice to meet you, Thorn."
After her greeting, she seemed to be having a strong internal struggle going on. He was tempted to say something, but it looked as if she needed to work this out on her own. Besides, the first words she said to him were a little less than friendly. However, when she released a huge sigh, he could tell that she was asking him to make the next move. He chuckled lightly to himself. This was definitely going to be an experience, he could tell already. But at least he had found something to break the dullness of the day he had been having already. Taking caution to sound as kind as possible, he spoke.
"Is there anything wrong, Thorn? You seem bothered by something."
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:09 am
She smiled inside knowing that she was not dealing with a complete idiot. Sure it had been obvious what she was trying to do but very few people actually ever picked up on it.
"Well..." She said sweetly trying to play like she hadn't known he was going to ask. "You see, I came to the valley when there was snow on the ground and..." She paused. Speaking the way she was killed her. She wasn't happy and pretending like this was such a little thing. It wasn't. She sighed and looked at the stallion with angry and hurt dark eyes. "I can not do this." She said her voice it's normal icy tone. She took a step forward not really trying to seem menacing but trying to give him the idea that he should stay just where he was.
"Every other creature I have encountered has fled from me when I tried to speak, do not react the same way. Last winter I came to the valley to see the snow and chanced to meet a rather charming stallion. When the snow melted, however, I returned home alone as I always have. These past few weeks though he has not been out of my thoughts for a single moment and I do not understand why!"
As she spoke her voice slowly became more hysterical along with her movements. Her head rolled from side to side and her eyes flickered from anger to sorrow to something entirely unreadable every few seconds. She honestly had no idea what to do with herself as she explained this and was beginning to get more frustrated.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:21 am
Raksh smiled his familiar warm smile at the troubled mare. He had a feeling that he knew what was going on with her. He had been in a similar situation himself. A very complicated situation, but very similar all the same. But in order to first gain her trust, he needed to ensure her that he would not leave. That he was more than willing to help her.
"There is nothing to worry about, Thorn. You do not need to intimidate me into staying here. I am very willing to listen to what you have to say, and perhaps offer help if you ask it of me."
He nodded lightly and smiled that comforting warm smile. He wasn't sure if coming right out and voicing his opinion would be the best thing, but he also thought that being straightforward would help her. There was no point in dancing around the issue. It was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Bracing himself for a possible outburst, he chose his words carefully.
"Well, Thorn, forgive my forwardness, but I believe you are in love. If not that, then at least infatuated. You can't stop thinking about this stallion, because you care very much for him."
He waited for her reaction, ready to take an earful if it was coming.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:41 am
He was an interesting one. Not only did he have no intention of leaving but he wasn't giving her dirty looks for essentially threatening him. She had no intention of asking for help though she didn't need help she just needed to tell someone.
She said nothing as he explained what he thought was going on. Instead she just gave him a confused look. It was ridiculous to think that she was in love...wasn't it? Over half the people she met were convinced she was unlovable and unloving. While their opinions generally didn't matter a few of those people had been beautiful, like her, so they must no something.
She shook her head and took a step back. "That simply isn't possible..." She muttered sounding a bit like she wanted to believe it. She couldn't though. Love or even lust was something that only remained as long as you were around that person fairly often. She had only seen him a few times and that had been quite a long time ago. It was foolish to believe that she still had feelings.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:08 pm
He nodded his head gently. He had been expecting something like this. She didn't seem the one to accept that she had feelings like that. Or perhaps she just didn't believe that it could happen. But she seemed so bothered by her feelings, and he didn't feel right just leaving her in this state of inner turmoil. He felt that now he was involved, he couldn't just leave her because she didn't agree.
"Well, what makes you think that it is impossible? I believe that almost anybody is capable of love. I have met very few who I though were incapable, and you don't seem to possess any of the traits that they showed."
It was true that in his many adventures before he came to these lands, he had come across some truly evil beings. But even some of the fiercer ones, he thought capable of love, however twisted a love it might be. But looking at this mare, he didn't think that she was one whose soul was so tarnished that she couldn't love. No, as he looked into her eyes, he knew that she was able to love, that she may have had some hard spots in her life that may have hardened her soul, but that definitely didn't make her incapable of loving. In fact, it may have made her love even stronger.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:29 pm
She didn't really want to answer. She felt foolish that the only reason she felt incapable of loving anyone was because she had been told that. She didn't want to say it but she didn't wish to stay silent either. It felt almost as though some crime had been committed against her but she was going to claim that she were guilty to save face.
Raising her head high she pulled all of her confidence together making herself seem more together then she really was. "I have been told so. They have, quite simply, told me that I am unlovable because I chose not to associate with creatures that don't suit my tastes or act poorly to me." Just saying it she felt ridiculous and know that if she told the stallion who she chose not to associate with he would likely agree with them.
She chose to keep silent about the ones she kept away from, especially considering that were this a normal day he may be one of them. She did not wish him to leave just yet.
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:16 am
He considered this for a moment. It sounded like she had just taken the word of others and not tried to explore her own possibilities. He tilted his head to the side a bit as if to shrug his shoulders.
"Well, did you ever try it on your own? Did you ever go against what they said and try to get close to anybody? Because you don't really know they were right. In fact, I believe that they were wrong, as I've already told you, and I believe that you are both capable and worthy of love."
He smiled warmly, waiting to see how she would react to this new bit of advice.
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:34 am
She snorted preparing to tell that she in fact had tried to get really close to someone but she stopped. The truth of the matter was she had gotten close enough to want to be around that person more often and then she had left. There had been no time to try and get really close to him.
Her eyes reflected this sudden realization and she lowered her gaze to the ground in shame and sorrow, something that she had not done since she was a very young foal. Realizing what she had just done she lifted her head with a snap pulling on an angry mask.
"And who are you to say such things?" She demanded knowing well that what he said was nothing bad. She simply did not want to appear weak in front of another. "You have known me only minutes compared to the hours or days several of the others have. How would you know whether or not I am capable of love." The tone in her voice was beginning to betray her act.
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