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 Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:31 am
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:40 pm
Aryon trudged through the snow wearily, sick of catching his ankles on hidden branches and other hazards. Despite the fact that it was late winter now, he was still in the same section of forest that he had met Ellette in a few months previous. Travel was possible, but not advisable with a snow storm whipping up in no time and sometimes with little warning. Besides, they had adequate food where they were and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want to travel off by himself anymore.
The living was hard, but it was simple enough to dig through the snow to the hibernating grass stalks beneath for food and snow was just frozen water. They didn't go hungry, but it was unsurprising that both were looking a little lean this late into the winter. Aryon resolved to spend next winter somewhere significantly warmer with a grumble.
In the abundant free time they both had, Ellette was teaching Aryon how to fight. It had always been a wish of his to learn to defend himself and others, despite his smaller stature. If left up to him they would do this all day, but on the slim rations they both became tired easily. The rest of the days were spent either in companionable silence or quiet conversation. As much as he had grown to look at Ellette as another sister, he would be glad when Spring finally blew warm air into their frozen world.
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Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:12 pm
It had been a long winter. Ellette plowed her way through the white flurries as she headed to the spot where she was to meet up with Aryon. She had spent the day a few miles away gathering what food she could find to store in their little cave home against the last an coldest part of the snowy season. She hoped Aryon had managed alright, she had left him with orders to practice the fighting forms she had drilled into him relentlessly over the long winter, he had come a long way and his progress showed, he was much fitter than when they had first met and he even managed to win against her occasionally when they sparred. She had made sure he had the knowledge and capability to defend himself, but she still worried whenever she wasn't there to look after him, she had grown quite fond of the kindly stallion and always felt ill at ease when they were apart, afraid that something would happen to him. He was no longer the defenseless stallion she had happened across a few months ago but he was her student and her dear friend, she felt better when she was there to protect him.
Hearing a raucous call, Ellette turned in time to see Lioth swooping out of the trees to her left. He swooped around her head a few times in a dizzying display of aerial acrobatics before settling on her back in his customary perch. Ellette tryed to maintain her seriousness as she glared at her feathery companion but she couldn't prevent the wry smile from twisting across her lips. "Showoff!" she accused in a playful growl. Lioth flicked his tail at her before tucking his head under a wing to take a nap. Ellette had sent him off days ago to check the status of the passes that led out of the forest, he was exhausted. She had rescued the orphaned Lioth as a fledgling a couple months ago on one of her outings. Aryon had helped her nurse him back to health but he was firmly devoted to Ellette and followed her everywhere.
"Aryon!!" she called out, nearing the site where she had left him, "Are you out there?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:13 pm
He heard the cry of a hawk in the distance and knew that Lioth must have returned, thus Ellette was nearby. The hawk had taken to her as they both nursed him back to health and Aryon was secretly a little jealous of the bond they shared.
Shrugging the thought away with ease, for it wasn't a very large feeling, he began to head back to the area near their cave. He heard Ellette call his name, "Over here!" he called back.
As he walked however, the snow shifted underneath him and he slipped. Panicking, he gripped at a tree branch with his teeth and stripped it of bark as he fell backwards. He gave a shout before tipping over the edge of a small drop off that had been disguised by the snow, landing hard and blacking out.
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Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 10:03 pm
Ellette heard his shout and broke into a run, startling an angry cry from Lioth who flicked her with his wings as he took off again. "Find him!" she pleaded, squinting her eyes to try and see him through the snow laden foliage, Lioth soared away to scan the forest ahead. He hadn't sounded to far away but now all was silent. Had he been attacked? No, surely she would have heard some signs of a struggle. She glanced up in the sky to see her familiar wheeling in a tight circle a few yards away, she sped up, foolishly forgetting to watch her footing. Only Lioth diving at her face and pulling on her hair kept her from following Aryon over the dropoff. She jumped down carefully and knelt in the snow besides Aryon's prostrate body. He was so still, her heart hammered against her chest as she pressed her head against his side, releaved to feel his pulse beating strongly. "Oh Ary... " she sighed. She rolled him over gently and was alarmed to see the snow beneath his head stained a bright crimson. She needed to get him back to shelter.
Ellette nudged one of Aryon's forelegs over her neck and rooted through the snow until she had him slung across her back, mindful of his horn. She grunted as she stood, stumbling a little as she struggled with his dead weight. She was a sturdy mare and thankfully Aryon was small for a stallion but at the moment it felt as though he was a boulder. "A leggy boulder, she grumbled to Lioth. She wished she had a better way to carry him, it couldn't be good for him to be hanging like that with a head injury but there was no help for it now. Lioth helped her navigate safely to their cave home, avoiding the worst of the dead-fall. She slipped only once on a patch of black ice but caught herself before dropping her precious burden.
Upon reaching the cave, she carefully lay Aryon down, taking pains to avoid jostling his head. Once she had him settled in what she hoped was a comfortable position she nudged him gently with her nose, he was alive, but she had heard horror stories about other soquili who suffered head injuries and spent the rest of their life sleeping, trapped inside their own broken minds. She nudged him more forcefully, feeling her eyes burn when he didn't respond. "Ary? Please wake up! Are you in there!?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:35 pm
Aryon was dreaming, he had to be. He was flying over an open plain so fast he could barely make out the terrain. Shooting past the edge of a forest, he suddenly angled towards the sky. Looking down, he felt like he could see for miles. Was this what it was like to fly?
Abruptly he was falling, tumbling through the air with no control. He panicked and started thrashing, hoping to achieve the impossible flight once more, but it was for naught. Just before he hit the ground however, it disappeared. Everything did for that matter, and he was alone in a dark void for a time.
----
He groaned as the darkness receded from his vision. A shooting pain made itself known at the back of his head as he tried to move a little and he immediately stopped. What had happened?
Cracking his eyes open tentatively he quickly closed them again when the light made his head pound even more.
The last thing he remembered was Ellette calling to him and then all of a sudden he'd been falling...she must have heard him shout if he was not still laying in the snow where he'd fallen.
"Elle..." he moaned pitifully, hoping she was near.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:53 pm
Ellette let out a sigh of relief as Aryon finally stirred, she gazed down at him with concern, she had had Lioth fetch her some of the fragrant plant called blood moss, smashed into a pulp and spread across the wound in Ary's skull it had lowed the bleeding enough to allow it to clot. Of course, she had no idea what the internal damage might be. Ellette leaned down to gaze into his eyes, relieved to see that they were normal and not clouded by blood. At least he remembered her name, she tried not to let her anxiety show so as not to distress him. She hoped the damage wasn't too serious, she had learned a few useful first aid techniques over the years but they were mostly just the sorts of things that would hold her together until she could reach a proper healer. "I'm here," she reassured him in a soothing voice, "I need you to tell me your name and where we are right now if you can. Do you remember what happened?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:54 pm
Aryon looked around their cave with half lidded eyes, not bothering to lift his head from the ground. It hurt too much.
"My name is...Aryon. We are in the cave, and...I fell?" he muttered, trying to focus both of his eyes on one point but finding it difficult.
The throbbing in his head was dulling a bit, and for that he was thankful.
"How'd you get me back here, Elle?" he asked absently.
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 2:07 pm
She nodded, satisfied for the moment with his answers as she busily checked his ears and mouth for blood. His speech wasn't slurred and both his pupils seemed normal. She marched purposefully outside and returned with a mouthful of snow which she unceremoniously spat out and packed around the wound on his head. "I carried you Ary, I'm a lot stronger than I look. Lioth helped me see watch where I was going" She fixed him with a stern glare, "That was foolish, weren't you watching your footing? You could have died!" she paced in front of him agitatedly, the adrenaline still pumping through her veins made her tremble slightly. "Your a uni, are you able to heal yourself now that your awake?"
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 2:22 pm
He looked down in embarrassment. How could he have not noticed he was standing at the edge of a cliff? It was a stupid mistake and now Ellette was mad at him.
Aryon twitched as water dripped down his head from the melting snow. It was helping with his headache and he shrugged, "I don't know. I've never tried to heal myself...I guess it couldn't hurt."
He closed his eyes to attempt it but after a few minutes he realized nothing was changing.
"Looks like not, I guess I'm not a strong enough healer...I'm sorry Elle. I know it was stupid." he mumbled.
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 5:22 pm
Ellette gazed at silently him for a moment, her eyes reflecting an inner struggle. Finally she sighed gustily and knelt down next to him, nudging him affectionately with her nose. "I know it was an accident Ary, I'm not mad, I was just worried....I was afraid you wouldn't wake up. I didn't mean to snap at you."
She glanced out the cave mouth to where Lioth was perched, "Lioth says the snow is clearing, once your well enough to travel we can get out of this blasted forest." she felt a tug at her heartstrings, sure, it had been an inconvenience at first, but if she had never been trapped here she wouldn't have met Aryon. To be completely honest, she couldn't remember what had brought her here in the first place, she wasn't a big believer in the fates but it was curious how things had worked out. She couldn't imagine having to part ways after all they had been through. "Do you.... have somewhere you need to return to? Someone to return to?" she found herself blurting out the question she had been mulling over for quite a while now, her cheeks burned with embarrassment at such a personal question but she forced herself to meet his eyes. That wasn't what she had meant to say but now that it was out there she wouldn't back down like some foolish chit. Did Ary have a love? And more importantly--Did she care?
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 10:03 am
Aryon returned the nudge before leaning into the solid mare who had become his dearest friend. Her concern for him touched him and he smiled softly at her in reassurance. Aside from the ache in his head he knew he was fine, just bruised. It was a good lesson in knowing your surroundings, he supposed as he resolved not to take anymore tumbles from cliffs anytime soon.
Glaring at the eagle a little bit, he found he didn't want to leave their little territory. It would mean leaving Ellette as well...
At her question he smiled to himself, thinking of his love. He had not seen her in over a year and he missed her.
"I have my mother and sister, though I have not seen them since I left years ago." he remembered his family, and leaving them. He had left in an effort to gain the skills to protect them and now he had them..was it time to go back? "I could return to them I suppose, but it is a long journey."
He found himself wondering if Ellette had anyone to return to..."I do have someone, but I have not seen her in over a year...I left them all to learn to protect myself and others, and now I have the skills but I find myself reluctant to leave my friend."
He looked up at her before continuing, "What about you? Do you have someone?"
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 11:55 am
She carefully lowered her lashes, averting her eyes from him and instead studying the mouth of the cave. She felt a peculiar twist in her chest at his admittance which she shoved deep into the dustiest corner of her heart. It doesn't matter she told herself firmly, she turned back to look at him with that in mind and smiled a little wryly, shaking her head; "No one worth mentioning," she admitted with a self mocking little smirk, "No one that wanted to stick around to see what was left after the passion faded." She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, relaxing into their casual embrace. She had tried the 'love' thing, it felt nice to have someone she could count on unconditionally. She was happy Ary had found love, it was probably for the best, this was nobodys heart got broken. "My parents have been gone a long time, it doesn't bother me anymore. I learned to be strong because of it. But you should treasure the family you have... Perhaps, I could help you find them again if thats what you wish." She glanced at him sidelong, "This winter has been...eventful, but I think its about time we move on. I was hired on for a job a while back, treasure hunters. We're meeting near the entrance to some caves a few leagues to the west in a month or so. It should be simple enough job, I doubt we will find any treasure, and its unlikely that bandits will attack that deep underground." She laughed and wrinkled her nose at the thought, "Your welcome to come with me. It would be another adventure, and then we can go in search of your family and your lady-love."
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:59 pm
He smiled at the way she included him in her plans for the future. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one who didn't want to part from his new friend and he didn't dwell on why exactly it hurt to think of leaving her.
Instead, he concentrated on their new goal. "Treasure, eh? What got you into that type of thing? It doesn't seem like something you normally go after..."
He trailed off, hoping he hadn't offended her. Despite living together for the winter months, he realized he still had a lot to learn about Ellette. Aryon frowned mentally, he didn't know her parents had died, what else didn't he know about her?
At her offer to help him return to his family he grinned broadly, "Thank you! I have put off returning to them for a long time, I didn't want to go back until I could protect them all...it would be great to have you meet them."
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:21 am
Ellette nodded, "Honestly, it isn't. The mare in charge of the whole escapade approached me awhile back, wondering if I would join the party of hunters. I'm not sure if I mentioned it but I often hire out to protect travelers and the like, I guess she heard of me. It seemed like an easy job and something more interesting than babysitting a bunch of lilly footed ninnies who expect me to play the servant as well as the mercenary. I have to admit, Her appearance is somewhat...distressful, it takes a while to get used to. I've never seen the like before. When she fixes you with those reptilian eyes..." Ellette shivered convulsively, "Well, I thought it would be safe enough to travel with them and I wasn't exactly sure it would be safe to say no, so I committed myself to the job." She gently butted her head against Ary's side, "You can be my plus one," she suggested with a grin, "Semuan-ya is a smart mare, I'm sure she'll realize how useful a healer could be to our group, and if she wants me she's going to have to take you as well." Ellette narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she gazed at him, "Perhaps we should find another uni to fix you up on the way, or a Kirin. Before the few wits you have left leak out of that hole in your skull." She laughed mischievously and winked at him.
"Not to worry, I'll help you find your family Aryon," she pledged soberly, "I look foreword to meeting the people who produced my best friend.... And the special someone who snagged his heart."
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