[FIN] Silent Night (Nigel Darkwing & Calor)

[Skye Starrfyre]

To say that it was could would have been an understatement. Each puff of air from his nose seemed to crystallize in the air before him, holding its warmth for only a second or two before dissipating into the chill, night air. He kept his wings close to his body for what warmth he could garner from them, his tail swishing in an attempt to keep moving. Now would have been a perfect time to sleep... If only he were tired.

Instead he let his gaze drift skyward, deep blue eyes lingering on the large, silver orb hanging in the sky above him. Ah, the moon... She was so beautiful tonight; filling the sky with her radiance. If only she brought with her the same warmth that the sun did... If only.  

[mouselet]

The young stallion was...cold. Also a bit lost. But the cold was much more relevant at the moment. Calor unashamedly wished that his father was here so that he could cuddle close to Moltres' flaming feathers.

This midnight meadow though, was not the forest Calor's family lived in. Because Namid, his mother's human friend, didn't like open spaces. He was trying to get back to the forest in his vague way, but at night, the shadows were many and it was hard to see. Even if the moon was full.

So, he would make the best of things. If he kept moving, he'd be warmer than if he stopped. And maybe he'd meet someone at night, someone...pretty perhaps. Calor entertained fantasies of meeting a beautiful mare when he saw something...light...ahead of him. It was another Soquili! The sunset stallion picked up his pace and hurried towards the white-bodied stranger. Maybe it was a beautiful mare!  

[Skye Starrfyre]

He had been about to turn so that he could continue on his way when he heard movement, head tilting towards the sound of frosted blades of grass crunching beneath something heavy... Hooves, it seemed from the looks of things. He gave his head a light toss, standing his ground as best he could while waiting for the other to approach.

"Good evening..." His voice seemed loud to his own ears, so different from the silence that he had become used to, even if it wasn't.  

[mouselet]

If the stranger hadn't spoken, Calor might have been able to delude himself into believing that it was a mare. True, it wouldn't have lasted long, but it would have been a nice fantasy.

Anyway it was an event that never was and the sunset stallion was facing another Soquili the likes of which he'd never seen before. He quickly took in the white body, navy markings, silver horns and transparent wings that he couldn't tell if they were black or blue in the darkness. A stylish stallion, to say the least.

"Good evening!" the young Soquili replied energetically, quite as if he wasn't at all cold and a teensy bit nervous about being in this strange land at night. "How are you yourself, good sir?"

Mother did say it was always good to be polite. Even if Father often asked why that hadn't applied when they first met.  

[Skye Starrfyre]

He paused to think on the question he'd been asked for a moment, tail swishing slowly back and forth behind him as he glanced up at the sky before directing his gaze down to the younger stallion. "Cold." He nodded, speaking with a kind certainty that was soon followed by a smile. "And you? On such a beautiful night as this?"  

[mouselet]

Cold hmm? Oh, Calor certainly understood that sentiment! The wind was blowing, the sun was down and all the world seemed dark. The young stallion refused to be depressed by the setting, but it was a bit of a challenge.

"Well, I'm cold too," he replied laughingly. "It seems to be the right sort of night for that kind of thing."

This whole making polite conversation seemed much easier in practice than his mother had made it sound!  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"It does, does it not? I would say that most things roaming about are cold tonight... The wise ones are nestled close to something, or someone, warm." A soft smirk curved the corners of his mouth. "What that says about whatever wisdom I may or may not have... Well, I'll let you be the judge of that." He nodded slowly before stepping back so that he could get a better look at the other stallion, spreading his wings for a brief moment as he bowed to give a bit of flourish to the action. "Nigel Darkwing... At your service."  

[mouselet]

The sunset stallion snickered at the joke. "I guess you and me aren't very wise, eh?" Not that wisdom seemed very important to Calor, especially since both his sister and his mother despaired of him ever acquiring some.

He was a bit surprised when the stranger backed up a step to, well, the only word that came to mind was bow, spreading his wings and everything. The young Soquili could only duck his head in vague confusion as he introduced himself as well. "Ah, well, I'm Calor."

Okay, maybe it wasn't as easy as he'd thought. Hmmm.  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"Perhaps we aren't all that wise now... But in the future we will be. We'll learn from this moment and continue learning from here on out. That seems to be the way the world works." He nodded as he straightened himself out, folding his wings back down against his sides, tail swishing slowly behind him. "Funny how the world works, isn't it, Calor?"  

[mouselet]

The red stallion cocked his head and considered Nigel's words. "That does make sense. Mother says only a fool stops learning..." Calor grinned at the other Soquili as he remembered something else, "but then again, she calls me a fool all the time."

He glanced up at the sky. "So if I'm a fool and you're not yet wise, does that mean one day you will be wise and I'll be a wise fool?" It was an interesting and amusing line of thought, at the very least.  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"I've also heard that only fools rush in... Fools, I believe, do many things that others wouldn't..." He chuckled softly, shaking his head before directing his gaze to the sky as well. "I believe that questions such as those are better left for those with infinite wisdom; the stars, perhaps... I've heard that they are rather wise as well, giving advice to the Lady Moon as they light the sky even in her absence."  

[mouselet]

Calor cocked his head at Nigel. "Well, if fools do many things that others wouldn't, wouldn't that mean they're brave fools?"

He snorted at the strangeness of the conversation. "Fair enough. The stars can know the answers and we can foolishly wonder ourselves to death, or just give up and move on to other more immediate matters. Like the cold." The stallion considered this for a moment. "Then again, discussing more esoteric topics means we aren't thinking about how cold we are. So...which is better?"  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"I... Would rather not think about the cold." He smirked as his tail swished behind him. "As much as I blend in with the dark night and the white snow... I must say that I am looking forward to the warm caress of spring and the soft sweetness of summer to follow. I've heard that fools fall in love then." His smirk broadened into a bit of a self-satisfied grin.  

[mouselet]

Calor laughed. "I guess I can understand that!" Hadn't he, after all, hoped to run into a beautiful mare when he'd seen the white shape ahead that turned out to be Nigel?

"Then again, I've heard that in the deep winter foolish mares get seduced by stallions and have summer babies. But," he continued, winking, "that's all I've heard on the subject of love." Especially as the sunset Soquili was of the opinion that his parents truly did love each other, even if his mother continually denied any such emotion towards Moltres.  

[Skye Starrfyre]

He glanced at the other stallion, unable to keep himself from chuckling at the other's notions on love. "Speaking from experience there? Or is it truly something you've simply heard? Sometimes stories we hear are every bit as important as experience, of course... Especially in the cases of those who learn from words."