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 Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 10:28 pm
 Days like these, Jonquil wished he were still a colt.
Snow blanketed every possible surface, smooth and untouched as far as the eye could see. Though snow wasn't falling, the clouds in the sky were heavy with promise, and most of the sensible Soquili were bundled away with the loved ones enjoying a crisp and cold winter morning. Jonquil, sensible though he usually was, also possessed an adventuresome spirit. Even if he wasn't a colt any longer, and his brother wasn't a whinny away to frolick with, he could still enjoy the snow.
Wading into the midst of it, he ignored the chill and lifted his hooves high, prancing through the chest-deep powder and grinning as he did so. Despite having no real direction, he drove forward, leaving a thick and obvious rut in the snow behind him as he carved a path into the hillside. Impractical as it seemed, he was making his way toward the sunrise - he knew he would obviously never reach it, but until a distraction came along, it was the most amusing thing he could think of.
That, and it was a gorgeous sight. Pale yellow and shimmering behind a vapor of clouds, the sun slowly inched its way up above the horizon, casting a glow down on the tops of the trees and spilling over the snow. He always admired nature, and enjoyed spending time exploring when he could. When the weather was poor he limited himself, not wanting to be caught in a storm or the likes, but he'd stayed close to home for too many days and he was itching for a little adventure. There was no telling what he might find chasing a sunrise.
Kicking his back legs up, he turned in a quick circle, laughing as snow flew up and billowed around him. He probably made quite the sight, prancing around in the snow, but he didn't mind. Sure, Jonquil was a grown stallion, but even adults needed to have fun once in a while, didn't they?
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:51 pm
 Well, good grief.
There was enough snow to nearly swallow the poor mare. Barely rising above the blanket of white death, an autumn-colored soquili did her best to snake her way through it, running into bushes or trees more than once in her journey.
Bad weather or not, nothing was going to stop her from getting her daily walk in!
Nose pointed to the sky, Nakanadi breathed the cold air, feeling her lungs turn cold as they exchanged her precious warm breath for something much less satisfactory. She was freezing! The snow was trying to eat her whole, and she fought against it with every fiber of her being. Her thick coat didn't help any once the snow had clung to it and melted. She felt like a huge, wet sock.
She'd managed to make her way from her home to a hilly region, where the snow rose and fell in tall, imposing slopes. As a filly, when her father had taken her and her sisters to a smaller (and much less deep) hill, she had sat on her rump and slid down the hill, just as he'd shown them. The snow had been new and exciting then; now, it was more the changes in the landscape, and the new paths revealed, that drew her attention. Snow came every year. It was a pity so many creatures slept or hid when it fell.
She let out a heavy snort, grunting when her chest connected gently with a rather large rock. Exploring was all well and good, and it was pretty dedicated of her to continue to do so when she could possibly freeze to death, but honestly. She wasn't getting anything done this way.
Hoisting herself up, she climbed onto the rock carefully, grateful it held enough of a flat surface for her to get some footing. She'd expected to be able to see out over the terrain, to look at the rising sun, but all she could see was the crest of a hill. She frowned, huffing out another breath. More to go, still.
Turning her head, she looked at her own path, wobbly and often ending in unfortunate areas. Her attention was immediately drawn away from that, however, when in the corner of her eye she saw something very large, and... purple. Brows drawing down, Nakanadi watched the creature plow its way around the snow with much more ease than she'd managed; in fact, it seemed to certainly be enjoying the trek. The path it left behind was certainly impressive.
As much as she enjoyed exploring and making her own paths, her body was freezing. She waited a bit, watching the creature - a stallion, she discovered - go about his merry way, prancing her and there, before she called out, "Hello! Hello, how are you?"
Ugh, it hurt to yell. Why hadn't her coat done more for her in this cold weather? Managing a smile, she remained on the rock, shifting her weight from one leg to another and probably looking more than a little stranded.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:21 pm
It took a moment for Jonquil to realize that he wasn't exactly alone. He paused in his cavorting, head swiveling to the direction the unexpected greeting had come from, ears pointing forward in interest. Balanced precariously on the crest of a rock jutting out of the snow was a mare, her colors warm in direct defiance of the blues and whites of the landscape. She was a fair distance away from him, but she seemed a little distressed if he was any judge of things, and that caused him to frown a little.
Sociable by nature, he would have abandoned his own pursuits to interact with another regardless, but something about her posture suggested to him that she was at the very least a little lost. There was no way Jonquil would leave a perfect stranger to fend for herself in these kinds of conditions - or any kind, really.
Shifting, he began to plow through the snow toward her, eyes flicking to the line of trees behind her. He imagined that, if she'd woven a path through the snow following the treeline, she had run into quite a few hardships. The hills were mostly grass with gentle dips, but the closer you got to the forest, the more cluttered the ground became, covered by deceptive, smooth snow. It would be easy to hurt oneself in such conditions.
When he was close enough that he could speak to her without shouting, he arched his neck, lifting one leg high and pawing the snow in front of him as he spoke. "Hello, miss. Are you all right?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:00 pm
She watched him approach, sweeping the snow aside like it were nothing. Letting out a slightly disgruntled snort at that, she set her pride aside and managed a meager smile. The fact that he approached her was a relief, since she wasn't a pretty pink Jane Doe; petite, yes, but otherwise plain. He was a good man.
"Well, I'm not quite sure," she began, lifting a hoof, and then the other, gently shaking bits of snow off. A full-body shake was in order, but not when the gentleman was right near her. She must have looked ridiculous, covered in the stuff.
"I thought I could make the trip," Nakanadi confessed, feeling her face heat up at the embarrassing situation she'd put herself in. She could only be thankful the stallion had been playing near her - she didn't bother to question why a fully-grown stallion had been playing - and that she wasn't stranded. Who knew if her father would come looking for her, after all.
She cleared her throat, taking a few short steps backward, then forward, glancing uneasily at the snow surrounding the rock. "I wish I could say my confidence was backed with experience, but I've never really wandered into snow this deep. I don't suppose you could help me?"
While some mares might have batted their eyes, maybe looked up under thick lashes, she simply stared through half-moons, looking as miserable as she felt. She'd lost her chance to look pretty for company.
"Just clearing the snow at the base of this rock would be helpful. I don't know if my legs would be willing to dig through more."
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