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 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 8:21 pm
 With the sun out and shining and not a cloud to be found, it was the perfect day for the stallions to take the boys out. For today, Gunkan and Nori had decided to split up, each taking one of the colts with them. Today, Nori was taking Nigiri out for a few lessons between the two. Normally he tended to rely on Gunkan for help, but it was time for him to take charge and man up. Even if Nori wasn't terribly good at certain things there were still plenty of other things that he could teach the colt. For instance he could teach him which seaweed tasted the best and where to find it. Maybe he could even teach the little colt to swim! After all, it was such a nice day out it would be a shame to pass up the perfect opportunity for a dip.
"All right then." He called out to Nigiri, hoping that the colt wasn't having any trouble keeping up with him. "Since it's such a nice day out today I thought we could take a trip to the beach. Maybe I could teach you to swim? How does that sound?" The stallion turned as he asked the question, hoping that perhaps he would be able to provide something fun and entertaining for Nigiri.
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:10 pm
Nigiri was terribly excited to be able to spend time all alone with daddy Nori. So often, it was all of them together. It wasn't that he didn't like that. He did, he loved spending time all together...but this, this was the first time that he would really get to spend one on one time with one of his dads. It was really exciting. He'd get to ask more questions, have more fun.
Tiny little puffs of dirt floated up and touched his skin as he walked along. The course earth touched his scaley skin. When his dad mentioned swimming, he was kind of excited. He'd be able to soothe his parched skin in the cool water. It would be nice to learn to swim and move beneath the waves.
It was then that it hit him. Daddy Nori wasn't exactly that....coordinated. He's heard about how they met and Daddy Nori almost drowned trying to rescue him. "Maybe not swimming today, dad..." Please don't ask why he thought.
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:34 pm
Nori looked at the little colt oddly. He didn't want to swim today? Was it something that Nori had said? Did he do something? Nah, he doubted that that was it. Nigiri probably just didn't want to go swimming today and that was perfectly fine. Perhaps he would take him some other time or maybe even Gunkan could take him. Come to think of it, Gunkan might be a better choice in the long run. After all, Nori wasn't terribly well coordinated and when it came to water it seemed that his coordination was even worse than it was on land. No, Nigiri was right. Swimming would have to wait for another today.
What do do today though? The stallion thought on that for a moment. What sorts of things could he teach the young colt? He supposed there had to be lots of things that he could teach him, he juste needed to come up with something. AH! What about seaweed? Oh he did adore it, and perhaps Nigiri had developed a taste for it too? It was certainly a place for him to start and Nigiri certainly needed to learn what was edible and what was not. Plus then they might have something in common as well? It was at the very least worth a shot.
"Do you like sea weed?" He asked the little colt. "I could show you what is edible and what isn't. Plus there are a few places where you can find the best and harder to find stuff. Or perhaps we could do something else as well. Was there anything on your mind?" The stallion looked at the colt excitedly. He hoped that they could find something to do!
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 3:38 am
Nigiri smiled when his father mentioned seaweed. Thank goodness! No swimming! He didn't want to get in a....predic-pred...situation. He couldn't save himself and his dad. "I like some seaweeds, I haven't had a lot."
He stretched his long legs, stumbling over little rocks here and there. "So do we have to dive for them? Or do they wash up on the beach? Will I learn names or just descriptions? Do we always eat them raw or do we cook them? What other things are good?" He took a deep breath and paused.
"I wanted to know some about shells too! Can we make pretty shell things? It seems like fun, and well pretty. We could make tools too! Wouldn't that be great? Have you ever made tools before?"
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 8:13 pm
Nori smiled cheerfully down at his son. Goodness wasn't he full of energy? And questions! So many questions! Yet really he didn't mind, he found them to be rather endearing. "Well..." He started off slowly, trying to tackle the questions one at a time. "I suppose you do dive for some of the seaweed, but until your father teaches you swimming I think we should stick to collecting those that wash up on the shore. I can definitely try and teach you the names that I know. I don't know if I've ever actually tried to cook seaweed before, but I suppose we could certainly try it. Most of the time I eat it raw off of the beach. Occasionally I set it out in the sun to dry so that it lasts longer. It makes a great snack that way." Nori tried to address each question as Nigiri asked them, only barely keeping up with the colt.
"I don't know a whole lot about shells, but perhaps we can learn together?" He smiled down at the little colt. "They certainly are pretty and of course we can make things! Perhaps a nice little shell necklace for father Gunkan?" Nori suggested. "And no I don't believe I have made many tools before, although I have crafted the occasional net. We could certainly try to see what we can create though. At the very least I can show you how to weave a net. Now then, anymore questions?
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 1:07 am
Nigiri listened to his father answer his questions. So he could eat the seaweed that came on the beach for now--not any others.. That was...fair enough. He rather liked the idea of not swimming right yet. Although, he felt that could take to it like a fish to water--after all, wasn't he a kelpie? So they could make things or try to with shells, and eat different kind of seaweeds and even make nets and necklaces and and!
He bounced a little on his hooves, "That sounds great. Oh, which do we do first? The seaweed? I think I'm hungry and I want to know. And then we can find shells and weave nets. Is it hard? What do we weave nets out of? How would we cook it?"
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 10:42 pm
Nori debated on which of his son's questions to answer first. The colt was full of so much life and energy, the stallion found himself having a hard time keeping up with him. "Well, I suppose we will head to the beach first. I think no matter which we do first we'll be needing the beach for that. Luckily it's a short walk away." He grinned down at his son as he spoke. He certainly was glad that the meadow they lived in wasn't too far from the beach. It was just far enough that there wasn't any danger of the water coming into their home when the tide was high and close enough that the walk was a short one. They were also far enough away that they had a little stream with fresh water coming through it. The Ocean might be made up of water but it was too salty to drink.
"I think we'll start collecting seaweed first if that's okay with you." Nori asked his son. "It will give us a chance for some breakfast and will also allow us some time to let the seaweed dry while we do other things. To cook the seaweed we will have to collect some wood and start a fire. It will be difficult and I've only ever tried it a few times, but I think we can do it! Also we will want to dry some of the seaweed for later too, but we only need the sun and a rock for that. As for the nets, we'll want to find some thick rope-like material. We'll probably end up using some different types of kelp and seaweed for that as well, and yes it will likely be quite difficult but I know with your help we shouldn't have any problems." Nori smiled down at Nigiri as he talked, all the while leading him towards the beach.
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 9:26 pm
Nigiri could barely contain his excitement as eh kicked his feet up trough the sand on the beach. It felt good squishing underneath his hooves--it felt natural and right. He kicked around, causing him to slow down as he listened to his dad. He was excited about cooking seaweed. He hadn't ever tried cooked seaweed before, well not that he could think of. And leaning to make things sounded fun and useful.
"That sounds good daddy!" He paused for a moment, "Do you think we can try to catch some fish too?" He was so excited to have this time alone with this dad. He could feel his little tummy rumble excitedly, so he began to pick up speed.
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:36 am
Nori chuckled as he walked along the beach with his son. The questions and the amount of energy that foals were always so full of always astonished him. Had he himself ever been that full of life when he was a foal? He supposed that he probably had been, although the thought was so foreign to him it was difficult to recall. The stallion smiled to himself as he recalled a memory of putting seaweed in his brother and sister's bedding. Alright, perhaps he had been that full of life and energy too. Maybe he still was, he just got better at containing it?
"We could certainly try!" He told his son enthusiastically. "Although we should probably focus on one task at a time. For now, why don't you help me gather up some of this seaweed? Here like this," He walked along the beach and selected a prime piece of the seaweed and placed it gently into the bag around his neck with his mouth. "There! We'll just gather the good pieces like that and we'll collect them. Once we're done collecting them we can lay them out to dry." Nori told Nigiri with a smile.
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:18 pm
Nigiri skipped a little, "How do we tell which seaweed is good?" It all looked delicious to him. There were different shades--different kinds, but they all looked good. Perhaps, they tasted different...but well, he didn't know that yet so how was he supposed to know what was good?
He picked up a darker brown kind, "Is this one good? Or is green better? Or is grey?" He flitted back and forth between the pieces and brought them each to his daddy. He was eager to learn, and his stomach was grumbling with hunger. Why hadn't he thought to have a snack before they left home? Well, I guess this was the snack...but still!
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:50 pm
Nori smiled cheerfully down at his son. Had he ever had this talk with his own father? He supposed that he never had. After all, he didn't think that his father actually even ate seaweed. No, Nori had learned all on his own what was good and what was bad. Not that any seaweed was really all that bad really. Mostly he had just developed his own tastes, likes and dislikes. Nori motioned with his muzzle for his son to follow him over to a bit of seaweed that lay by his hooves.
"This," He motioned the olive green looking plant. "Is bladderwrack. I know it's a silly name but it's one of my particular favorites. See how the leaves branch out a bit? It looks as if it isn't a seaweed at all yet it is. The best part about these are the air sacks called bladders. They're little pockets in the plant that hold gas. They're really quite tasty, here try some." Nori told his son as he gobbled up a bit himself.
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:04 pm
Nigiri giggled at his father's explanation. Bladderwrack? He giggled even harder, it seemed like such a funny name...isn't a bladder what like...held your pee or something? He wiggled his nose half in laughter and half in disgust.
Air sacks called bladders? He giggled even harder. It was just too funny. Really, just too funny. He tried to keep a straight face as he popped one of the little bladders into his mouth. His teeth pierced the skin and he felt the gust of air and flavor.
He nommed on them quickly, and ate another. "They're funny, but they sure do taste good."
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:18 pm
Nori couldn't help but smile as his son tried not to giggle. He had to admit that the name was certainly humorous, especially so to one who was so young. "It is sort of a silly name isn't it?" He grinned down at his son as he enjoyed the bladderwrack. "Just don't eat too much of it, there's more I still have to show you. You wouldn't want to get too full and not be able to try out others would you?" Nori picked up a bunch of the bladderwrack with his mouth and shoved it into his bag. He would dry it out later when they got home.
"Here." He called his son over to look at some long pieces of seaweed that lay on the beach. These were much bigger than the last and of a darker color. "This is Sugar Kelp." He told the colt. "It's a much sweeter type of seaweed, a little sweet for me but I certainly did enjoy it more when I was your age. Why don't you give it a try while I pack some to tack back with us?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:41 pm
Nigiri giggled again when his father said bladderwrack, before he agreed. He didn't want to get too full--but his dad seriously underestimated how much he could eat. "Don't worry daddy! I can eat tons! Dad says I could out eat you both if I wanted," he gave out a little giggle.
He looked at the darker longer pieces of seaweed. He carefully took a few bites, and it was sweet--sending a rush to his head. He really, really liked it. He nibbled a bit on it, realizing it'd be something he'd like to eat last--like desert.
"So do you like different kinds better on different days? Or different times of days? This one tastes more like a snack or dessert, right? Are there some really nice salty ones? Or ones that have lots of different flavors all in one?
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Nyx Queen of Darkness Crew
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:15 pm
Nori chuckled at his son as he reassured him. It was easy for him to forget just how much the colt could eat, being as little as he was. The stallion thought over the questions that Nigiri presented him. How his son could come up with so many questions in such a short span of time he would never know.
"Well, I suppose that I do like different ones at different times. Sometimes I want something salty, and sometimes I want something sweet. I suppose that it all just depends on what I am in the mood for. Although I don't think it has anything to do with the actual time of day or anything such as that. Each species of seaweed certainly has its own flavor. Some are sweet such as that, some can be bitter, and others are salty." He told told his son, trying to answer all of his questions.
Spotting a little tide pool not too far from them, Nori motioned his son over. "You see the green bit on the rock there? That's Sea Lettuce. This one has it's own flavor. It's not necessarily too salty or too sweet I don't think." He paused a moment, allowing Nigiri the chance to try a bit of the seaweed if he wished to.
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