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 Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 2:49 pm
Lush though it was, she hadn’t found water for the last two days. Perhaps that was her terrible survival skills, perhaps it was just bad luck but either way it wasn’t a good thing. She was doing alright though, there were juicy fruits to be had at almost every turn, but her mouth and throat still demanded a real drink at the next opportunity.
Frowning to herself, Undine came to a halt and looked this way and that. No sign of water, not that she knew what signs of water really looked like in any case. So then, she was going to need to find herself some help... A small smile crept over the mare’s lips at this point, and she chuckled softly to herself. Yes, why not? It was worth a try, and if it didn’t work she’d just go about things the old fashioned way.
Sighing out a deep breath, the tall Katilenuck listened to the stream of voices within her mind and tried to pick just one out of the torrent, one that she could use...
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:07 am
 Freedom! The blue colt galloped through the grass for no other reason than because he could. He was alone; Hanyx and Sedna were never interested in the 'adventures' he loved, and Rhinel had said something slightly suspicious about having plans - but he didn't mind that. He quite liked being alone. He was also coming to the edge of land he knew, approaching places he'd never been before. Grinning, he pulled up at the end of a shallow valley and turned to look back at the way he'd come. It was territory he'd travelled with his family, with just his older brother, and on his own. But this - the colt turned to look ahead again - this was all new.
Malachi gazed out at the land ahead of him, a little disappointed that it looked much the same as that behind. He just didn't recognise bits of it, that was all. Still grinning, but slightly more calmly, the blue colt crossed the border that existed only in his mind, and stepped out into something new.
This was good. He liked exploring; it was his favourite pastime, rather than the games most other foals played. His mother was happy enough for him to wander off with Rhinel, now they were growing up a little, but this was the first time he'd been allowed this far out on his own. Malachi supposed he ought to be scared, but he wasn't. He was far too excited for that.
As he rounded a clump of fruit trees, memorising their position in case he was hungry later, the dark-coated colt caught sight of a bright blue flash against the green grass. Intrigued, he turned towards it, and before long it solidified into the shape of a Jala mare. Perhaps he wasn't as alone as he'd thought. After a brief pause he continued heading towards her; maybe she knew these parts and could tell him if there were any interesting places to go, and if not, he might as well say hello.
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:43 am
A young mother worried about her foals, a stallion thought hateful things about his love rival, an old mare thought of nothing but how kind the sun felt on her back. They were all useless, but they and other insisted on sharing their thoughts with her. Undine snorted to herself; just her luck to find herself surrounded by such... A child mind saw a flash of blue and white and turned to see that it was a Jala mare, that it was her. He was going to... to... his mind slipped and jumped away from her, but the amber-brown eyed mare was left with the impression that he found her interesting.
Opening her eyes, the Katilenuck stretched her wings out and flapped the feathered appendages a couple of times. The useless voices were dominating her awareness again now, but she still thought that she could use the boy, perhaps to show her to water, perhaps just to exercise her talents on. Many people, of course, avoided her for her brindled coat and tear markings, but this one did not seem to know what her herd were, that or he was very inobservant. Still, if he had heard of the Katilenuck, she would say she had run away from their hard ways and cruelties to other breeds; doubtless the little fool would lap it all up.
Giving one last beat of her wings, the tall mare turned about and allowed her eyes to alight on the boy she had known would be there. Feigning faint surprise, the tactician smiled down at the little aeri. “Well, hello there mila,” she said kindly, “lovely day, isn’t it?” Bloody little idiot.
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 1:16 pm
Malachi came to a halt in front of the bright-coated mare and grinned up at her. "Hello," he said, then added, "Yes, it is, niriture," being careful to include the honorific, for he didn't want to insult her. She seemed nice, friendly. And she was pretty, or at least he thought so. The bright blue parts of her coat were almost the colour of his eyes, although with a strange pattern he hadn't seen before and didn't know how to name, and she had white markings below her eyes... they looked almost like tears, he thought.
But staring was bad, and as interesting as she looked he knew he shouldn't do it, so he met her gaze with a questioning look, head tilted to one side. "I'm Malachi. I've never been here before. Not this exact place, anyway. I'm exploring!" he finished, grinning again. He hoped she wouldn't mind that he was fidgeting slightly, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't stand still, he was too excited about being out on his own. And he was even talking to an adult he didn't know!
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 8:29 am
Undine sighed internally; so he didn’t know his way around here. Oh well, perhaps he knew how to look for water even if he didn’t know a specific stream or pond in the area. Suppressing his mild disappointment, the tall mare smiled down at the smaller Nequus. “Are you now? Well that sounds like good fun; I’m new to the area myself... Do you think perhaps we could explore together for a while? I’ve been traveling by myself for a while now and I’d welcome some company... Oh!” Yes, that, a name for him to call her by. Not her own though; that wouldn’t do at all. “How rude of me,” the Jala went on after a moment with a chuckle and a shake of her head, “you can call me Verity; glad to meet you Malachi.”
Very glad indeed, he seemed so innocent and so very trusting. More fool him, and all the more useful to her. Doubtless if they couldn’t find water themselves, they would be able to find other Nequus who would be all too happy to help a little foal and a ‘reformed’ Katilenuck. It wouldn’t be that hard to keep up the pretence of liking the little brat for long enough to get her drink and her practice, she was sure.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:12 am
Malachi smiled up at her. She was as friendly as he'd hoped, and even if she didn't know the area, she wanted to explore with him! He'd never expected that. Maybe it was just that she was bored or lonely from travelling by herself, but even so, it was exciting. He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to act with her, but, well, he supposed he'd just act normal. Only more polite. After all, he didn't know her.
"Pleased to meet you too, Verity-niriture," he replied, completely sincerely, and then added, "That's a pretty name."
The colt paused for a moment, glancing round at their surroundings and then up at the sky. It was still early in the day. That was good. Maybe, if, Verity wanted to, and it was in the right direction for her, he would take her back and introduce her to his family. But it probably wasn't in her way, he realised, given where they were and the direction he guessed she was headed. Shrugging to himself and flicking his dark tail restlessly, Malachi turned back to his companion. "So, where do you want to go first?" he asked with a grin. "I mean..." He faltered for a moment, unsure if he was being presumptuous. "Were you going anywhere in particular or just exploring?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:35 pm
While the colt had been speaking, Undine-come-Verity had been trying to find the colt mind from among the generalized babbling. For a moment, she caught him wonder whether or not she’d like to meet his family, as if, but then it was gone again as though the wind had carried her a far off voice and then tugged it away again. Still, no matter, she had time yet, as much as she needed. From what she could tell, D’ob was full of fools so even if she ended up parting from this one before she had a decent grasp on her powers she could find somebody else. People did so love to hear of those who had done wrong and then reformed; being Katilenuck practically made all of this easier for her.
The blue and white mare dragged herself back to the real world, or at least what other people considered the real world, and smiled down at the dark-coated colt. “Just Verity, please, I’ve never had much use for honorifics. Anyway, when you arrived I was looking for water; I must confess I’ve been a bit sheltered until recently and I’ve no idea how to find it away from my home turf... Do you have any idea where we should start looking, Malachi?”
She hoped so; if not she was going to have to start attempting to pick up the location of a stream from people’s thoughts, and that so far as she could tell would be about ten times harder than just looking for herself right now. Not only could she not single out one voice for more than a few moments, but she had no idea where the owners of the voices actually were. Not so great for finding a place to drink. Damn. Well if she worked on it, the powers that had decided to descend upon her would become useful in the end, she was sure of it. For now, she’d just have to hope that brat aeri knew what he was about.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:51 pm
"O-okay, Verity." The blue colt paused for a second, letting the slightly odd feeling of referring to an adult by just their name sink in, and then turned his mind towards her question. He knew where there was water, but it was a way back in the direction he'd come from. He didn't want to have to retrace his steps if he could help it. It would waste time, and he was determined to make the most of this day. So. That meant they had to try to find some around here, somewhere.
Malachi frowned and looked around. There were no obvious signs that he could see. But he had a vague idea of where they might find water, from what he'd heard and seen and guessed. Still frowning slightly, he looked up at the Jala mare. "I guess," he began, hesitating slightly, "that water flows downhill, so we should look for a valley or a hollow or something that might have a stream or a pool in it. And trees an' things grow by water, a bit more than they do in other places anyway, so... we should look for a a valley with lots of plants in it?" He ended on a questioning note, unsure if he'd actually been helpful or just stated the obvious, if Verity had known all that he'd said already. He shifted uneasily. He so didn't want to make a fool of himself.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:00 pm
Undine laughed at that and nodded her head. How had she missed something so completely and blindingly obvious? She really must be distracted by this whole Seer thing. “Yes,” she said after a moment, “that sounds like a good start; don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. Still, I suppose if I had I wouldn’t have met you and that would be a shame.”
A great shame... Now what was it he was...? Ahhh... Okay, so he was worried he’d stated the obvious, right, good. It was easier, much easier, to focus on his mind than any of the others around her. Was it to do with proximity alone, or the fact that she was looking at him and had some idea of who he was? Could be either, she supposed, or both. Perhaps she would find out in time; she certainly hoped so. The more she knew about this, the better she could use it and the greater an asset she could be to her herd when she returned.
Her herd. She did miss them, even the idiots. They were her people, one way or another; pure Jala all. The Jala out here seemed to have no idea of what they were, and that annoyed her no end. Unmarked they might be, but any Jala was still better than any bae, aeri or ichsa and far, far better than any reya or mixedblood. The sooner she was back in the red mountains the better. She just had to get the hang of this whole Seer thing first, then she could leave these cursed lands where the lower breeds held their heads as high as those of feathered wing. Horrible place, truly horrible.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:16 pm
She was laughing. It was a few moments before Malachi was certain it was not malacious, merely amused. And then she spoke and clarified it, and he smiled in relief. And... she was truely glad she'd met him? That was a surprise. But a good one. And, he supposed, it would have been a shame if he hadn't met her.
Shaking his head at his distraction, Malachi paced a short distance away in a direction he thought might be a good one to start looking in. "Shall we go, then?" he asked, hesitated, then smiled and said what he was thinking anyway. "I have to go back to my family by tonight, so I don't want to waste any chance to see exciting things. Oh, and is this direction alright?" he added, "I don't know where you were headed, and I wasn't going anywhere, but..." He glanced down at the grass and then peered into the distance. "This seems to be a bit of a slope." And there were definitely trees ahead.
Shrugging, he looked back at Verity again. He hoped that she would be content to walk. He was still a foal, but he could keep up with adults on foot. Flying was a different matter. The day was fairly calm, but he wasn't confident in his ability to keep up with Verity, fly safely and look for water all at the same time. And he didn't want to look silly in front of her. He really didn't.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:27 pm
The brindled mare nodded her head and set off at the foal’s side, peering into the distance in the hope of catching a gleam of water. No such luck, as yet, but down was certainly the best bet and so down it was, down in the company of the foolish little aeri. Go home to his parents later on he would and Undine resolved that he would go a little educated as to the ways of the world.
True there was a chance the revealing her true self could cause later inconvenience for her, but it was just too sweet a thing to resist. He was so... sweet, sweet like an overripe fruit that would splatter so easily when it fell from the safety of its tree and encountered the hardness of the ground below. Just how much might a little encounter with reality change the boy? Perhaps she’d have to learn how to track his mind at a distance in order to find out.
“So then, Malachi, do you go exploring from your family often?” Undine asked, hoping to get him thinking about something she could focus on and read. If she was going to give him a proverbial kick in the face, she needed to get as much practice in in the meantime as possible.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:46 pm
That was an odd question. Or perhaps just odd to him, he wasn't sure. Malachi paused, considering how best to answer it. "Umm... no, not from my family, really. Usually my brother - my older brother that is, Rhinel he's called - comes with me. We get on, most of the time, but he's a bit..." Wild, he thought, reckless, disobedient. "...um, he sometimes gets me into trouble," the blue colt said diplomatically, remembering the many occasions he'd been persuaded to stay out too late or stray too far. To be fair, he had let Rhinel persuade him. Rhinel was good at persuading. "But today he didn't want to come with me, and Momma said I was old enough to go exploring on my own, so long as I was back before it was dark.
"I like exploring," he added, "Or did I say that already?" The hill was steeper than it had looked, or it was getting steeper as they descended. It looked promising. Now they were further down, Malachi could see that it led into a fold in the ground. The fold was twisted so that its route was not visible from their position, but there were definitely trees there. Malachi smiled to himself.
If Rhinel had been with him, they would have been racing down the hill by now, at breakneck, dangerous speeds, as fast as they could run, and Rhinel would win, as he always did, and Malachi would just try to avoid falling over. Racing was fun; he just had to try not to care that he always lost. It was, however, not something that he should suggest to Verity. He glanced across at her as they walked. That affirmed his decision. She didn't look at all the racing type - she was far too dignified and... adult.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:56 pm
Wild, reckless... a bright coloured brother. He was persuasive; Malachi followed him into things he oughtn't to... They raced together.
Well, that wasn’t too bad a searching really now was it? Sure she hadn’t caught everything, other voices had invaded, but she’d certainly got the gist of it. Good good. “You know,” the tall mare said after a moment with a smile to Malachi, “this looks like just the sort of hill I race down with my eldest daughter Charity when we both have some free time.” Hells no, she and Zara had never and would never do something like that together, but she did like the name she’d placed on her child. Truth for her sly self, and kindness and giving for her cold, cold daughter. Pretending and lying to such a willing audience, she found, was quite a lot of fun.
“I think you’re right,” the brown-eyed mare went on after a moment, “there might well be water down here, and if there isn’t there should at least be some juicy fruits to eat and places among the trees to explore. That’s the thing about wooded places, you never do know what you’ll find next.” Perhaps, Undine grinned internally, just perhaps, you might find that the world is not the bright shiny place you have painted it until now. Yes. This was going to be fun.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:13 pm
...She raced? Malachi blinked. She didn't look the type, but he must be wrong. He wondered about her daughter. Charity was a nice name, too. How old was she? Was she as pretty as her mother? And then he blinked, and stopped thinking about that, because that was just the sort of thing that Rhinel and Sedna would tease him mercilessly about if they knew.
Avoiding looking up at Verity, he nodded in absent-minded agreement to her comment about the woods. He did like woods. He liked to play hide-and-seek in them. It was perhaps the one game in which he had an advantage over his siblings; his dark coat helped him blend into the shadows. He didn't stand out like bright Rhinel and Hanyx and pale Sedna.
From an adult's point of view, he supposed, woods must still be useful - for the fruit, for the shelter, the possibility of water. They were close enough to the trees now for him to realise that he didn't recognise all of them - and that was exciting. He wondered if he'd be able to go home and tell the others about new fruits he'd tried. He wondered if he'd be able to carry some back with him as a present. ...And then he realised he'd drifted off into his own thoughts for rather too long. Embarrassed, he looked back up at his tall companion. "Where are you from, Verity?" he asked, hoping she'd in the process tell him a little more about her family. There was no harm in being interested.
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 5:05 am
For a few moments she managed to ride along with his thoughts, but she soon found herself distracted by his assessment of her, and with that his thoughts slipped away from her again. Oh well, at least she could amuse herself with the fact that the little boy thought she was pretty. It was nice to know she still looked good even after the trials of the last several weeks. She felt a lot better about going back, knowing she still looked good. She still had to think of some kind of story to explain her disappearance and return of course, the secret of her powers would be shared with only a select few, but she was sure she could handle that.
“Humm?” Undine turned her attention back onto Malachi and smiled at him. “I’m from over west way, I belong to quite a large herd that’s mostly Jala but we’ve a few of other breeds in our midst too.” Damn right they did, members of other breeds that knew their place or were soon taught it. “My family,” she went on, “is quite large. There’s myself and my mate Sky and we have six children. The elder four are Charity, Fealty, Severitas and Justas.” Gods knew which way around those went but oh well. “Then I have two younger daughters, Prudence and Harmony. We don’t always get on, you know, but in the end we’re family and we love one another deep down.”
There at least was a grain of truth, or so she liked to believe; certainly she loved all of them. Ha, perhaps now she would be able to find out how each of them really felt about her, and indeed about one another. Humm, no, not felt; it was thoughts Seers dealt in not feelings. Well, still, she’d know what they thought and she had to admit that, in a few cases, that was a slightly worrying concept. Ignorance, she supposed, was bliss at times but blissful or not it had never been and would never be something she chose. Knowledge was power, and she wanted power; the power to help her herd and to see it become ever more glorious. If she had to discover a few unpleasant truths on the way, so be it.
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