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 Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:19 pm
 It was late, and there was a miserable stickiness to the air, even more than usual, but the flowers Lightfall had found more than made up for it. They were white, and beautiful, and big, and Lightfall lowered herself down to rest beneath them, her tail absently swishing to shoo tiny bugs from her legs now and again.
She'd wandered a bit afield from her usual cozy spot, with its well-worn nest between the heavy roots of an old tree, and it was too late to go blundering back through the darkness -- she might well get herself quite lost.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:38 pm
Silent was growing angry. Again. She had stumbled over what seemed to be every root in the swamp and she still wasn't close to finding a place that was even relatively dry. And now that night was falling for a fifth night, it was unlikely that she ever would. She had been able to eat well enough, so she wasn't starving, but dry ground had eluded her ever since she opened her eyes.
That is, until she nearly broke her neck while falling onto the edge of a nest and becoming entangled in the reeds.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:57 pm
"Easy there!" Lightfall had barely been resting for more than a few moments, it seemed, when the stumbling sent a foal straight to her nest. She pulled herself up and leaned in, starting to try and tug the tangling reeds free of Silent. "Are you hurt?" she asked, between mouthfuls of reed. "And what are you doing wandering so late?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:22 pm
Sin pulled, managing to roll herself out of the reeds. "No, I am not hurt. As for the wandering, I'm just trying to find a place for the night. Or a herd. Or something. Oh I don't know!" the foal grumbled. "It seems this swamp has been nothing but troublesome ever since I woke up. First the plants, then the water, then incessant flies that seem to be as common as air!"
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:45 pm
Lightfall hid a chuckle at the foal's grumbling, and covered it by spitting out the last of her mouthful of the reeds. "I found this nest, and there's flowers... it's the safest place I've found, since I seem to have gotten a touch lost myself. We can sleep here for the night, and keep each other company. In the morning I can show you the plants I rub on to keep the flies from getting me. It works for a while."
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:46 pm
Silent nodded mutely, quickly becoming too tired to care much more about caution. She hadn't had a good night's rest after she had left the birthing place. After all, it was only a doe; there wasn't much she would have to worry about from her. Plodding forward, she lay down in the nest on a side that was partially sheltered by a particularly large root. "Oh, my name is Silent Burning by the way," she mumbled. And with a last half-hearted flick at the flies, she fell asleep.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:34 am
"Rest now," Lightfall whispered to the sleeping foal. "I'll keep you safe." She tugged a large frond down, ripping it from the base of the plant, then settled it over Silent to help keep the bugs off; that done, she curled up near to the foal, close enough that her breath whuffed over Silent's flank. When morning came, she would need to find food for them both, then see about getting Silent to a safe place, and perhaps the little foal's family could be discovered...
And then Lightfall, too, was asleep, contented by the presence of another kimeti, no matter how young.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:22 pm
When dawn broke, Silent woke to the sounds of the swamp life. Songbirds were singing and foxbuns had begun to craw out of the dens. She noticed that a large leaf now covered her glistening with the morning dew. It appeared the elder doe had taken pity on her late in the night and she gave a small wuff in appreciation.
With a small shrug, she slithered out from underneath the frond and left the nest to stretch her legs. Her fur soaked in the sun while her eyes took in the surrounding area. At the edge of the clearing, there appeared to be more dry land, a larger mass rather than the tiny mounds that were abundant in the swamp. A little further she could see the sun trickling down through the trees, throwing beams of light across a small, worn path that led through the trees.
Glancing back at the nest, she noticed the blue doe was still sound asleep. So after a quick lap at a pool of water, she found a particularly nice slab of warm rock and dozed off in the sun.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:47 pm
A while after Silent's brief awakening, Lightfall dragged herself awake, staring blearily at the foal on the rock for a long moment before she shook herself and stood. Breakfast was caught, a couple succulent silvery fish, and brought over near the rock before Lightfall nudged at Silent's shoulder. "Silent, it's time for breakfast..."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:50 pm
Silent blinked the grogginess from her eyes. The warmth from the sun seemed to sink through her bones and she felt too delicious to move. But then a strange smell reached her nose and she was no longer tired.
Wrinkling her nose, she took another sniff and stood, walking slowly towards the source of the smell. The scent was musky and smelled of the swamp, unusual but not entirely unpleasant. When she reached the pile, Silent nudged it tentatively with her hoof. One of the strange things slid with a splat to the ground. One of its eyes stared blankly up at her. Small teeth could be seen in its tiny gaping mouth. "This...is breakfast?" she asked hesitantly. "What is it?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:05 pm
"It's fish! It's quite good." Lightfall considered the small fish pile thoughtfully, then lifted her head and scented the air carefully. "I could likely get some fruit as well, I smell some nearby."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:22 pm
"Yes...I think fruit would be better," Silent said perhaps a bit too happily. "I'm not sure if I could eat anything that is...staring at me." Sin trotted closer to the doe. "I'll just follow you there. Oh, and what's your name? I don't think you ever mentioned it last night and I can't just keep calling you Doe."
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:53 pm
Lightfall picked herself up and stepped away from the foal, sniffing the air as she walked; it wasn't long before she returned to Silent's side, a cheerful look to her. "Found a bush nearby. You'll probably be happier with it than with the fish."
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:26 pm
Silent stood and trotted in the direction the blue doe had gone early. Only a few paces off she found the bush that had been previously mentioned and began to munch on the berries happily. "You still haven't told me your name," she mumbled around the fruit.
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:32 pm
"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Lightfall, but you can call me Light if you like." The doe hauled the fish over by the bush and started eating, polishing off her fish in quick order before starting on some of the berries as well. It'd been a long day of traveling the day before, and her stomach was feeling the lack.
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