|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:25 am
 'There's no snakes... there's no snakes there... oh, I can hear them, but there's no snakes!'
The mantra wasn't working. Follow My Voice had began her journey simply enough. With the best of intentions the quiet doe slipped into the night, garlands on, in search of those who walked before her. Her heart urged she do right by the swamp, and if it meant testing her fears in the darkness, then so be it. These spirits had things to teach her, and she was eager to learn. Although she was frightened by the darkness, she was sure the stars would be kind and light her way and thus far they had... unfortunately, the hearth was less accommodating. The path ended abruptly, and before her was a tangle of briers and oak leaves. And the doe was certain she heard a pile of snakes writhing beneath the thick, dark patch of brush. ' It's all in your head!' The doe assured herself, abandoning grace to stomp in place, clearly anxious. She closed her eyes tight, trying to visualize this secluded area in the daylight... it was green and whimsical and very familiar. She opened her eyes, releasing a long breath. It was so impossibly black! ' I'll just find another way.' And so she did. But, seeing as she kin to From Bloody Ashes, fate wouldn't let her by so easily... bad luck ran in her bloodline. The moon failed to shed familiarity on her new path, and while Follow My Voice busied her anxious mind with reassuring repetitions, her feet led her deeper still into the dark swamp. ' I smell...' SPLAT! " salt water?!" Yelped the mismatched doe, nearly slipping as her hooves tangled. Cold, slippery moss replaced hard dirt, giving the doe goosebumps. She settled as she realized it was merely a shallow stream... until a new, yet familiar feeling, set in. ' There's no crocodiles, it's far too shallow... there's no crocodiles. Only fish.' She pressed on, teeth gnawing on the twisted vine garlands hanging gracefully from her neck. All this trouble for imps that, night after night, eluded her. Rejected her gifts. Made her feel... " ...I must be crazy. What am I doing out here?" She murmured, turning in circles as her worried mind scoured the land for the way she came...
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 5:46 pm
It was the perfect night. At least, to Dappled Sea it was. The air was warm, the sky was clear, and the Moon was shining her brightest with the stars. And then a loud splash and a yelp broke the perfection. 'What could be making so much noise at this time of night?' Dappled grumbled to himself. It seemed impossible to get a moment's respite in the entire swamp, despite it's enormous size. 'Just ignore it and it'll go away,' he repeated to himself. He didn't have the patience to do with such mundane things. But, after a few more splashes, he gave up, letting out a dejected sight, and began to plod towards the source of all the noise. Within a few feet he met the shoreline, where a little further out stood a drenched and bewildered doe. "Are you looking for something or are you swimming?" he asked rather abruptly. He wasn't one for dancing around with words just to be courteous. It was a waste of time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:43 pm
Follow My Voice nearly flopped onto her backside when the stranger spoke, trudging back a few more steps, though obviously without any sense of direction. She was absolutely lost without the sun, a trait she aimed to fix with these nightly excursions, but thus far she'd made little improvement.
"Whose there?" She called, trying her best to sound still of heart... the low quaking in her voice betrayed, and again the doe fell into a steady circle, her dim eyes squinting toward the sound.
She'd already forgotten his question.
But it mattered little now. She could have swore she heard a whole troupe of hooves galloping through the shallows, spinning around her, eyeing her curiously, plotting...
"Are you a good soul...or...?"
She didn't dare tempt the stranger with fearful words and hoped he wouldn't urge her on.
The darkness was already playing tricks on her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:48 pm
The doe him was completely bewildered it seemed, enough to nearly trip over herself again, at least. It wasn't unusual though, many of the kin were not comfortable in the dark and did not seek it out. It seemed she was one of those who preferred the sun and all it's hustle and bustle - a stream of never ending, bothersome, tedious things.
"It depends on what you mean by good souls," he replied, letting out a small laugh that wasn't entirely kind. "I am a soul, yes. Though good or bad is a very odd thing to try and consider. Who is to judge the good or the bad? Everything is and nothing much more."
He kept to the shadows, interested in letting this scene play itself out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:02 am
Follow considered the voice patiently, still gnawing gently upon one of the many garlands strung about her neck, bitter enough to make her recoil. She kept the slow yet bothered back-step in full motion, switching her tail anxiously as she made her way through the shallows, searching the night for land. Perhaps her eyes didn't burn as brightly as her kin, perhaps the spirits played tricks on her sight. Regardless of the reason, the waters seemed endless, as if the wind had thrown her up and settled her in the middle of a great estuary.
Panic had yet to set in.
"Well, I've seen many a bad soul in my time, and many a good one, too." Murmured the doe, nearly wincing as she struggled to free her hoof from a slimy, crawling weed.
"They both like to play tricks." She continued, testing her bravery despite keeping her nose toward the ground. "B-but my intentions are good."
Gullible as ever, Follow pulled a cleverly braided weed from her neck, intertwined with acorns and golden leaves. It seemed a silly offering for anyone, but they were made with the sweetest of intentions, and she could only hope she had been able to imprint upon the gift in some way...
She dropped the reed into the water, stepping back several paces to wait.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:27 pm
"Are they really?" Dappled asked. Slowly, he stepped into the moonlight, allowing the doe to see him. He sniffed the strand of weeds she had left in water between them. It smelled of sunshine and the musky scent of dried leaves. It also smelled of fear. He honestly had no clue as to what she hoped to achieve with it. He didn't eat acorns, weeds, or old leaves.
"There's no need for this," he said abruptly, finished with his examination of the odd trinket. Now that he was closer, he decided to study the doe before him instead. "Wh are you so afraid of the dark? Or perhaps the better question is, if you are so afraid, why are you here?" It seemed like a silly thing for the doe to do, since she appeared to be on the verge of panic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:26 am
If the doe hadn't been so blinded by anticipation she would have noticed by now that this buck made the same sounds as she when he waded through the shallows and his eyes, like a mimic, cast the same lifelike glow. She was on edge, yet, but some part of her still longed to believe he was ancient...
She winced as he shrugged off her gift, a symbol of toil and dedication -- a token of good nature. She didn't want to come empty hooved, after all. Still, he had yet to leave, and she saw this as a good thing.
"I..." She began, wavering beneath his sight. "I always go out at night, to look for those who walked before me. I hear they answer questions... fix things. I don't want to be afraid of the dark..." Had she the bravery she would have finished her sentence with a bold 'I don't want to be afraid of anything!' but her tongue lost pace and she returned her eyes to the water.
"Usually the moon helps, but it isn't so bright tonight..." She added. She had ceased shivering. Be it ghost or not, the presence of her kin was intensely comforting. The doe's attentions returned to the offering floating loosely atop the murky water and her frown deepened.
"...And... what are you doing out here?" She managed, voice small and curious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:21 pm
"They things that walked before us? If you speak of our ancestors, you will find no such spirits in this world. Nor will you find any magical being who can save you from your fears," he counseled in a stern voice. The doe seemed upset again, though this time in anger, as she seemed to glare at the weed he had discarded into the water. Or rather, she had discarded and he had left alone. As he continued to study her, he noted she seemed rather young in demeanor, if not age as well. Dappled was pleasantly surprised when she managed to ask him a question in return. He had thought her too timid.
"I? I come here often," he replied, attempting to soften his tone. "The solitude of the night is a comfort in comparison to the constant activity of the day."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
