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 Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 3:02 pm
Crocodile Smile had just finished a meal and was feeling very content with the world as he took his evening stroll through the mire. The sun barely fit through the leaves in some places, the trees so intimately curled around one another, but it was high evening and the sun drifted somewhere overhead. Some places you would doubt it ever existed.
He was nearing the heart of the swampland, and suddenly the trees seemed to want to be as far from one another as possible. The trail he made was leading him around the edges of a wide stretch of water that immersed the bottom of those trees, and he picked his way with seeming ease through the reeds and over roots. This was one of his favorite spots, especially come nightfall.
But he wasn't really thinking about that now, deeply immersed in his own thoughts, sanguine eyes sweeping about lazily. He licked the corners of his maw, tasting blood left over from lunch.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:03 pm
Life-Pulse was, as usual, nodding her head to an unheard beat. If one were to ask her why, she would say that she was just mimicking the hearts of the trees around her.
And as usual, her eyes were only slightly ajar, and she wasn't watching were she was stepping. And all of a sudden she was knee-deep in a large pool of water. A quick yelp escaped her as the cold liquid splashed all the way upto her muzzle. Life-Pulse was drenched, and didn't like it. Didn't like it at all. She tried picking up her feet, but some mud had them in its grasp, so she looked around, her ears twitching to that same beat she had been nodding to, as she tried to find something to tug on.
The more she looked, the more frantic she got. Nothing was within her reach. How had she gotten herself stuck? Just a moment ago she was on a path to.... where had she been going? Life-Pulse shook her head; she had once again lost track of everything except the Music, and ended up who-knows-where.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:54 pm
Even in meditation, the cry did not escape his notice. The buck's head swiveled toward the startled sound, and wondered if it was not some helpless creature being swept away. He was not hungry, so he didn't exactly come running, flaring nostrils to take in what may lurk ahead as he made his way toward where he thought the origin was.
"Dear lady," He soothed upon finally laying eyes on the doe in distress. He hid his surprise well- with such a frail trill he had honestly not been expecting to come across another kimeti. "Have you lost something?"
Life-Pulse was looked over and evaluated quickly, clearly in some sort of predicament. The bog was probably the cause of more deaths than its inhabitants were, and there was little chance this would be a different case. He didn't immediately jump for her, however. The bog made its kills over a good length of time.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:21 pm
A rustle to her right, and then a voice. Life-Pulse jerked her head to look at the owner of this greeting and calmed down a little when she saw it was another kimeti. But as she looked this buck over, she couldn't help but feel that there was something.... odd about him. None-the-less, she replied as calmly as she could.
"Yes... and no. I haven't lost a thing, but I am a little confused as to where I am. So, if you will, I'm what's lost," she took a second to look down at her legs, now that she had eased her heart-rate to a more regular beat, and gently tried tugging them loose of the mud. No luck. "I also seem to be stuck."
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:55 pm
"Taking a journey far from home?" He implored casually, resisting the urge to grin. Quite the compromising position, wasn't it? Were he a lesser buck, and not one of high social standard (at least he thought so) this doe might be in for some trouble indeed.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance," The paler offered, "Unless you are quite comfortable where you are, of course."
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 1:12 pm
"I guess you could say that..." She glanced around to gather up any details she could about the area to try to piece together where she might have ended up. Nothing familiar by just looking, so as she replied next, her ears were trained on the sounds around them.
"Some help would be nice. I really rather not stand here in this pool of water with my legs being swallowed by the mud."
The doe could hear the water sloshing up against roots that emerged all around her; could hear some birds trilling in the distance; felt the slow resonating pulse that was the marsh. Still nothing told her where she was, but now she knew that she had been here, or somewhere close to here, before. The roots quivered with a beat she recognized.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 9:33 pm
Bit of an airhead, it seemed. However, Croc planned to follow up on his words. It wouldn't be at all polite to leave the girl to starve here. She seemed lovely, even if she wasn't all there. The kimeti would turn and begin to walk away, his eyes searching. He couldn't just tromp into the mud and hope to pull her out, after all.
Soon enough, he returned carrying a long branch in his teeth. It was unspoken what the doe should do as he extended one end her way. Hooves would dig into the solid earth to give him a good grounding for when she was ready to begin struggling free.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:08 pm
The buck turned and walked away, and at first Life-Pulse thought that he may have left her stranded, but she kept catching glimpses of his mostly-pale coat, and so tried to concentrate on staying calm. She lifted her nose to the sky and inhaled deeply. Yes, this place did seem familair, if only faintly. Perhaps she had been here long ago? Perhaps when she was little? She didn't know. She gave up trying to place this part of the bog just as the buck reappeared.
She grasped the branch that was extended to her, firmly with her teeth, and when they were both ready, slowly began tugging at her back legs, trying to get them a little closer to the surface. After moving them up to a more comfortable level, she began pulling up her front legs until she could hope to gently trod through the top layer of the malicious mud-puddle. Her tail replaced the twitching of her ears as she progressively made it closer to the edge of the bog.
Finally, she had made it to the bank with one last tug, and tumbled into a heap of tangled limbs. Sorting those out, and having sat up, she looked down at her mud-covered self and let out a big sigh.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:41 pm
"If I may say, my dear, brown is your color." The buck allowed himself to chuckle now, nudging aside the stick with a hoof. He circled the girl somewhat, considering. "If you'd like, though, I may know a safer place where you can wash those little accessories off. How rude of me, though. I am Crocodile Smile. What may I call you, most misfortunate doe?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:55 pm
Life-Pulse turned her head to look at the buck that had just helped her out of the sucking mud as he spoke to her. He was mostly white, with fringes of red, but what she found most odd about his appearance was the fact that he had no horns and a longer mane than most. She was, of course, still trying to pick out what was eerie about the buck. But that still wasn't it.
"That would be lovely, I really would like to wash all of this wretched mud off of me." She looked down at herself once more and then stood up, made a face at the bog and then turned to fully face Crocodile Smile. "My name is Life-Pulse. Thank-you for pulling me out of there. I don't know if I would have made it out on my own." As they start walking, she continues, "I tend to lose track of where I wander, which probably isn't safe. But I can't help it, often. I lose myself in the Music of Mother Marsh. Do you hear the Music?" She looked at him, a glint of hope shimmering in her eyes, and her hooves taking up a steady rhythm as they stepped.
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 9:46 pm
If he noticed her scrutiny of him, he didn't readily show it. He led the way around the murky passages of water, over roots and across firm patches of the mire. Even if he wasn't familiar with this place, he had a very good idea of where it was safe to tread, ticking off the signs in his mind. He kept his crimson-tipped ears folded back so she knew he was listening to her.
"The music?" He mused aloud. "Unless you mean the constant screaming of the cicada bugs and the natter of birds, I don't imagine so. Though I love the Mother, I know I am not her favorite son. Her words escape my ears sometimes. Here we are."
Another section of swampland, even more open water to be found here although still so murky. Some stones jutted up from the shore, some leading out to the water. "This is my favorite place." He told the doe, and gestured her to a long, mostly flat rock a little ways out into the water, far enough to be somewhere deep. There was a small arrangement of rocks out there that did not lead directly to, but were close enough that one could hop to the flat rock. Croc looked over the surrounding reeds. It all seemed still, but he didn't trust anything about the swamp. "Try not to splash lest you attract less favorable characters. Otherwise, it's safe."
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:33 pm
No, of course he didn't hear the Music. Hardly anyone did. She accepted this and moved her thoughts forward, to their surroundings.
It was a lovely place where he had taken her. The water seemed to call to her. She approached the edge, and carefully slid into the water as smoothly as she could. The water was cool on her skin, and lifted the sticky mud from her coat. It felt really nice. Leaving her question about hte Music, at his answer, she looked around them and replied with, "This is your favorite place?" She rubbed at her legs and belly as best as she could, "It's lovely. The water's really nice, and the stones seem to call out to you." Next, she closed her eyes, held her breath, and ducked under the water to wash away any remaining stray specks of mud. She came back up, and pulled herself back up onto those smooth rocks, drenched, but with a smile spreading across her features.
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:28 am
As her back was turned, the buck allowed himself to stare openly as Life Pulse entered the water. She seemed at peace with surroundings, and her moment of innocence quieted him. The doe climbed free and took a place upon his favorite rock. His lids would lower somewhat at her question and description, and though he didn't smile, he was pleased. Perhaps it was silly or vain, but the compliment to his environment felt like a compliment to himself.
"Yes, it is. I have spent many an evening laying where you stand now, soaking in the sun. And then I take a swim before the evening comes. It is a simple pleasure to which I find myself indulging. What about you, my dear? I doubt your habit is putting yourself in the mire."
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:04 pm
A blush stole across her cheeks again at the mention of her earlier tumble. She shook herself off, getting rid of most of the water on her coat. Her coat a little fluffier than usual, she replied, "Well, no. Falling into the mire is not a regular habit, though of course, it does happen every once in a while. When I lose track of my feet, I tend to wander into situations I would ordinarily avoid... But I like to walk the mire, looking for new places, new things I have not seen or visited. I suppose if I had to pick a favorite spot... the heart of the Swamp would be it."
She closed her eyes imagining the very spot she described, "There, the mangroves grow tall and shady. Their roots stretch far out and then fall down towards the water they stand in. The water there becomes clear, and is always teeming with life and activity. Always new birds and lizards flying about or scurrying away. So many noises... so many heartbeats... All in one peaceful place."
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:32 am
The heart of the swamp. A single, solitary shiver stole its way up Croc's spine as he thought of that place. He had been there, once, as a mere foal. It was where he was born. It was where he escaped from. But he sat and listened as she retold him of a place he had little memory of.
"Is it really so peaceful there?" He inquired, "It sounds like a lot of noise to me." A faint grin pulled his maw, but he was only half joking. He was beginning to put together a measure of this doe, who spoke with an almost melodic treble when describing her favorite place. He had no doubt in his mind that she was indeed a true kimeti.
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