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 Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:36 pm
 Taking some time away from the hustle and bustle of herd life as they were still working on the new grounds establishing gardens, shelters and pathways in the temperate rain forest they would call their home. Everything was coming together nicely and everyone was rather excited to have a place to finally call home and belong without the judgment and difficulties that could be found out in the world. However....the added responsibility of being named Alpha of the herd weight a bit on her small shoulders. While she had the guidance, support and love of Cuauh to help her if needed it still meant she was in charge...and the little mare didn't take such a thing lightly.
Besides...she had already failed once before.
Sighing a bit heavily as she pushed through the underbrush she came upon a ocean inlet, adoring the fact they had set up herd land so close to the ocean she loved so much. Walking along the beach slowly as she remained in deep thought, Ikinya stepped into the water to cool her legs in the small tide.
Gazing out to the waters she remembered the nights prior to when they lost one of their precious little foals. It stung as if it was just yesterday, watching the mare that had promised such a precious gift to them turn around and decide she would be a unfit mother as an usdia to the kids and that they would ruin then....wincing physically the little mare knew Kayla could think what she liked of her; but the fact remained stuck in her soul. What if she was right....Subira and Zyanya had grown into wonderful adults with the aid of their father...but would they have been different if raised by both full sized parents? Then what of Adom and Darius? Darius was a bit of a special case...she was sure without them he would have perished in those woods - and Adom was a little gift of heaven even though she didn't birth the similar looking usdia.
Yet time and love healed her wounds to scars, and with time she began to feel the pull of motherly desires now that all her children were grown...grandbabies could only do so much! However her heart could not allow herself to try just yet for fear of the same situation happening again...it would kill her to lose children again - especially ones she had birthed if ones she didn't hurt as bad as it had.
"Mmmm....you need to relax Ikinya..." She breathed, feeling too tense as she tried to breathe in accordance to the rising and falling tide waves which splashed against her short legs.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 10:26 am
 It was around that time of day where a special little Nixie was expected to head into the tides to soak. He had his favorite spot and very much enjoyed having his routine of relaxing at a certain time. Just as the sun was kissing the horizon he would come and sit in the tide pools and just as the sun sunk below the ocean he crawled out to head back home for sleepy time. It left his scales feeling moist and dry all night which made for the best sleep.
The tiny Nixie's skin was finally replenished and the sun was just leaving the sky when he heard the voice of another. It had been so long since he had been close enough to a stranger to hear such emotion in anothers words. Due to instinct the maroon colored stallion sunk into the tidal pools all the more, though they weren't even deep enough to come up to his knees.
It wasn't that the little mister was afraid of the girl who stood talking to the ocean. He just wasn't one who was good at talking to others. Other Soquili seemed to have this natural thing where they could just open their mouths and words flowered out like nothing, but dear fishy over here had some serious social anxiety. Just thinking of meeting strangers caused the male to feel as though he was setting himself up for failure. He definitely had his reasons for keeping his distance from others. His past wasn't tragically dramatic though it did claim a few scars on his heart. That was a story for another time, though.
His eyes focused on the female now that he had shuffled out of the water, dry sand sticking to his hooves, gritting underneath his weight. If there was one thing he didn't like about the beach it was the sand, but that was only when he was wet, which unfortunately was all of the time it seemed like. The closer he got, the heavier his hooves became. Why was he heading towards the little female instead of walking in the opposite direction. He figured it was his own sympathy that was drawing him near. She just looked like something terrible was on her mind. Something that he cold maybe distract her from, even if it was at his own humiliation. At least the pretty little thing would look so miserable.
Nothing but a few yards where between the two of them now. The small stallion was focused on staying as sly and invisible as possible until he wanted his presence known. "Excuse me..." he spoke up and cleared his throat after finding it was rusty with having not been used in a while. "You... you seem upset..." he stated the obvious. It just went to show how unfamiliar he was with interactions. He seemed to have lost all knowledge he used to possess. "Pterois... Pterois is my name..." he gave a subtle introduction, knowing he wasn't asked to do so but that was common courtesy wasn't it?
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:13 pm
Entranced by the beautiful sunset laying out its vibrant play right before her eyes the mare offered a more calm breath of air from her lips; despite the fact her face still held the soft traces of pain mirrored in her heart. While she knew it was an event she would never forget in her life she knew she had to forgive eventually...she was none the less blessed with two lovely daughters and the happiness in Cuauhcoatl's eyes she wouldn't change in the world to how precious they had become. Perhaps one day fate would allow them to see the daughter removed from their lives out of a loving fear....how hard was it not to come across an Angeni or Giraffe printed child bearing resemblance to both her, Kayla and Cuauhcoatl?
Flicking her ears to the side at the sound of motion her heart jumped into her chest at the sudden realization she was no longer alone with her thoughts and twisting her head to the side she lay sight on a most preculiar creature indeed. He had fins much like the Mer who had joined their herd as a sea ambassador, yet he was an usdia like she was....or was he? None the less with the size being about the same she let out a breath of relief, fearing for a moment she may have been found once again by that bearwalker.
"You startled me..." Ikinya offered a warm smile as if she had been just scared by Anansi - with the patience of a saint really. Upon his words hitting her ears her face faultered a little, caught off guard twice now as she didn't quite realized how downright depressing she may have looked to someone watching. "Ah....well...one could say that. More so reliving the past....as much as it hurts to think about you can't move on if you just forget it never happened." Well come could she imagined, but not her...not for something this important.
"I'm quite sorry if I worried you...Pterois. None the less it is a pleasure to meet you - not to be obvious but I can't say i've met another usdia with fins like a mer before!" Chuckling an airy kind of giggle she turned her body to face him fully, dipping her head politely as her braids fell along her face and neck. "I'm Ikinya, I didn't happen upon your territory did I? I apologise if I disturbed you..." Manners Manners Manners, it was her best strategy for getting to know others and guaging their personality...but with his quiet demeanor, Ikinya already felt at ease around him.
And his affinity with the sea due to his breed probably helped his case too from the avid ocean lover.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:20 pm
Pterois hadn't been expecting such a lasting impact when the girl turned her dirt colored eyes towards him. Once they locked he found himself freezing up, uncertain of what to do or what to say. He almost forgot how to breath. When she relaxed and confessed her slight jolt of fear was brought on by him he felt his cheeks heating with embarrassment. "I didn't mean- I'm sorry..." he apologized with some hesitation. Perhaps it was better to just say sorry rather than explain himself and that he had been watching her from a distance. As the sweet giraffe printed female spoke of reliving the past he felt his heart clench and he gave a subtle look of sympathy. "I see... I suppose you're right..." he tried not to take the wisdom she gave to seriously because he was in fact trying to forget his own past. He managed to bury it the best he could and it was nothing but a soreness on his heart now.
What caught him off his guard though was how the well mannered mare apologized for being worrisome. He gave a ghost of a smile before listening to her own introduction. 'What a strange way to meet somebody. Though, it isn't the strangest encounter I've had so far,' he thought to himself before giving a quick nod, "Ikinya, don't you worry. I've, well- I'm new to these lands... I've traveled here with a few of my kind though I've... lost touch." The very end of his sentence gave hint of his voice wavering with force as he tried to make it sound as causal as possible. "If anything, I'm the one who might be trespassing." He pursed his lips, remaining silent now as he glanced back towards his tidal pool, wondering for a moment if he should have just walked the other way.
He wanted to say something. Wanted to break the awkward silence that he left off on. He lowered his eyes to the sand, heart pounding. He began to sweat, feeling terribly out of place in the eyes of another. He caught sight of a chipped shard of a sand dollar and began to kick it around with his hoof. The action was helping take his mind off the anxiety and giving him something else to pay attention to other than the acquaintance in front of him. It seemed to be focusing far to much, however and in one split second he accidentally applied to much pressure and the fragment of the shell snapped in two. The tiniest little gasp escaped his mouth as he stared down in concern as he lifted his hoof, feeling bad for ruining what was already ruined.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:26 pm
Shaking her head quickly in her own worded error, Ikinya flicked her tail and smiled warmly. "Its okay....I startle easily." Well, she didn't before the skinwalker attack yet now it seemed she jumped at anything she wasn't aware was there before. In the brief moments of silence between them she took the time to watch him...study him as Cuauh had slowly taught her over their time together. She could see from his slight faltering expression even ever so lightly that something troubled him too of course I was too blind to see it beyond my own troubles.. she thought. His posture wasn't overly confident, and by his fidgeting she wondered absently if she was really so stressful to be around?
No matter, she would try her best to make him feel a little more at ease. It wasn't every day she got to be around other mini's like herself.
"I am a natural worry wart though...comes with...age." She laughed lightly, as the days passed with her adopted children she felt no longer the pretty spring chicken that was for sure. "Oh? I'm fairly new too, I came from Africa on the human's boat a few seasons back." Did he get lost, or had something happened to his group? "I'm sorry to hear it...did you ever try to go look for them?" Trying to keep it general as to not assume, yet it sounded a safer direction to go than if there were hard feelings.
Curiously watching as he fiddled with the sand dollar her brows raised as the weight cracked the piece of shell in half. Folding her ears back at how startled he was she tried not to laugh and approached closer, looking down at the small dollar. "Looks like in no time at all it will be small enough to cover the beach like the rest..." Looking out to the sand, it was clear to see all the worn down specs of shell which created a kind of glitter when the sun hit it right.
...Speaking of the sun.
Looking up quickly she flashed a face of fear as the sun had disappeared over the horizon; the last of its warm glow fading fast....oh no.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:50 am
Startling somebody, be it easy or difficult to do, is something that Pterois looks down upon. Though, he guesses that he could spare himself the guilt because it's not like he had intended to give her a frighten. Nor did it seem like she was holding a grudge against him. Pterois allowed his deep crimson eyes to flick up and away from the shell, laying on her soft understanding orbs. She was different from other soquili. Not the judgmental beasts that lived around here who poked fun at his tail fins. Even before that he wasn't the most easy guy to get along with, although with this new kindness he discovered in Ikinya he could hopefully learn to be a little more friendly.
The Nixie wasn't one to easily laugh but he just couldn't help himself to a chuckle when she mentioned her age. "You look no older than I am..." he then realized that statement made him look quite 'aged' himself. He shifted from hoof to hoof, returning his eyes back down to the shattered shell, and yet he didn't feel so terrible about it anymore. Her distracting words were helping sooth his urges to piece it back together and pretend nothing happened. Much like how he treated every other mistake in his life. "A boat? Mmm, what are th-" he paused for a moment, before recalling the term. "Ah, those things that skim the surface of the ocean? You actually rode one?" He asked with a smirk. He was quite impressed because he always wanted to go home to one. He just never had to guts.
His sheer amazement slipped from his expression and he dropped his head again, something that he was known to do when he got uncomfortable about a topic. Why did Ikinya have to stick her nose into his past? He never took to kindly to anybody prying into his most tender moments. "They're dead..." he spoke softly, almost tasting bitterness on his tongue. That hadn't exactly been true. They could still be alive out there somewhere but his trio were dead to him. He never wanted to encounter the pair he had abandoned as long as he lived.
Finally, she acknowledged the shell on the sand, taking the time to register her logic he turned his eyes back up to her. "Like the rest?" he glanced around and for the first time he noticed that sand didn't just come out of thin air. He had this sort of epiphany that caused his eyes to grow as wide as dinner plates. "You're absolutely right..." he leaned down and nudged the shells into the sand some more before a feeling washed over him. As if he had done some sort of favor to mother earth.
All seemed content once again. Well, until Ikinya grew quite and Pterois lifted his eyes to see that horrified face. "Ikinya? Ikinya, what is the matter?" he spoke with genuine concern. Even if they had only just met he felt like this girl only deserved happiness in her life, and that look on her face certainly wasn't one of happiness. He flicked his eyes towards the set sun, only a faint glow lasting above the horizon now. "Is it late for you? Do you need to be somewhere?" he asked the safest questions. Maybe she was even afraid of the dark? The poor thing.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:16 pm
"Why yes, I wanted to see if they were was more to life beyond my small tribe. I traveled far to get on one of those boats to a land told to be vastly undiscovered; either way, I knew I wasn't going to be happy till I found out what I needed to know." Ikinya confessed, recalling her homeland after all this time reminded her constantly how old she really was; even if she wasn't an elder by any means she held scars of her years. "Well i'm not so sure about that, but thank you by any means for your very kind words." Smiling the mare dipped her head, some of her braids falling over her face as she did so.
However when he spoke she felt her heart sink, not realizing it may have been a different meaning despite she took it as literal. "I...I am so sorry..." She stammered a little, that clenching of her heart coming back once more as she thought of almost losing a newborn child to that skin walker as well as her own life...that pain of never seeing her loved ones again. Lowering her head so her eyes were shadowed over, the mare bit her own lip gently.
She wasn't able to look up at him after that, her eyes shadowed even as she shook gently as the light at her hooves began to fade. What if she was out there...what if she was watching. She'd left and didn't tell Cuauh where she was....would he come looking? She did remember he was to teach the children about night flora...he wouldn't be done till much later.
"I....I...." She tried to breath, that fear returning when she remembered facing off with the skin walker and barely making it out alive. The gash marks on her back hidden by her hair burned at the mere thought of it. She wasn't afraid of the dark...more so what lurked and waited for her there. It had been so long since she left the heard land alone, in the dark no less.
"I never stay out past dark...there is the possibility that skin walker is still...looking for me." She gulped, unable to help the shaking of her knees at this point. "I didn't tell anyone I was leaving either, they probably believe I am off in the far fields in the garden still safe. Its impossible to get back without having wings in the dark."
Even if she tried to go back she would only make it to the bottom of the mountain and be stuck in those woods where creatures like Howl could be waiting for her to slip up.
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