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 Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 7:07 am
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 5:18 pm
 The small flutter woke up from his uneasy sleep tucked by a gnarly tree root. The spring sun was finally warming up his still-battered wings and seemed to give him a small sibilance of optimism despite the cold, damp, disheartening nights. It had been weeks since the tremulous thunderstorm that has separated the little lost colt from his family.
He had been in such a hurry to grow up, too. Always dreaming of the day that he would be old enough to strike out on his own! Despite the warnings from his father, he always wandered off alone. Father and farther. One day he got lost for six whole hours. A few weeks later, he got lost forever.
The violent spring thunderstorm had rolled in suddenly and strongly. Just as the little foal was learning the ins and outs of his butterfly wings and the gale had taken him adrift on the powerful wind. He had been battered by the heavy rain, pelted by small, stinging pellets of hail, and pushed against tree branches and mountainsides. By the time the storm had subsided the colt was an unknown many miles away from his father, mother, and brothers... and while he had avoided any serious injury, his paper-thin wings had become tattered and bent and unable to fly. The good news is was that they were healing. But he still couldn't go more than a few feet and flutters off the ground before they gave out and he was back to walking.
Today... was just another day. Salubri had given up on the prospect of seeing his family again - at least anytime soon. He squinted into the sun and roused himself onto his four legs: it seemed the colts desire to grow up was coming true faster than he now realized he wanted. He picked a direction and started walking, keeping his little ears and eyes open for any signs of serious danger. He had no set destination in mind... perhaps it was fate who took him so far from his home, and if that was the case, he would have to trust fate to direct him where to go from here.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 4:49 am
 Vanmoriel peered up at the sun, squinting her eyes. By her estimation, it was just after noon which meant she still had plenty of time to collect flowers. The bag hanging across her back was already overflowing with bouquets of magnificent colour, but Vanmoriel liked to give herself an excuse for staying out so long. She enjoyed it out here, the different sounds and smells; the air seemed fresher.
Besides all that, the butterflies moved differently here than when they traveled through the nesting areas of the Flock. Here they seemed calm, their movements were slower and they stayed still for long enough that she could take a mental picture. She supposed without the hustle and bustle of the Flock, they wouldn't mind her peeking as long as she was quiet about it and didn't bother them too much.
Vanmoriel never captured butterflies here. This was their home and she would do right to leave it be, lest they all take off and leave. Once or twice, however, she's nabbed a butterfly that flew through the Flock and kept it for as long as it took her to paint it; then she set it free.
A flash of colour in a break of trees and roots caught her attention and Vanmoriel pushed forward, expecting to find a cluster of beautiful purple flowers. What she found, instead, was quite different.
"Oh!" She called, taking a step back as her eyes came to lie upon the colt before her. She wondered if perhaps she should call the guards; they were always close to her so that they would arrive in a matter of seconds if she called. It had been that way since the incident with the skin walker. But this boy before her didn't look like a monster and he was just as young as she, maybe a little older.
Her eyes came to rest on his wings, tattered and beaten and her heart sank. He was just a butterfly; a wounded butterfly. She'd rescued a butterfly a few weeks ago, its wing had been torn by what she later found out was a bird. She tried to keep it alive but sadly it died and she was a little broken up after the fact.
"Your wings..," she breathed out, saddened by the memory of the butterfly. "Did a bird try to eat you, too?"
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 6:08 am
The colt blinked at the appearance of filly, he had not heard the hooffalls of another Soquili approaching, but a quick glance over the foal would explain why - she was slight and young and perched on four clawed feet. His eyes lingered on them for a moment before he met her eyes. "Oh, hello..." he said, somewhat awkwardly. Memories of his father's words floated across his mind: how to act in front of lady. Salubri straitened his posture and dipped his head.
But then she mentioned his wings, and he jerked his head back up. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, he fluttered them helplessly. His heart sank as he looked over his shoulders... they were getting better. In fact, they looked many times better than they had a week ago, but, he supposed in a newcomer's eyes they looked just as bad as he feared. "No..." he admitted, his ears lowering in shame, "It wasn't a bird. I got caught in a storm."
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 9:34 pm
Vanmoriel shuddered. She remembered that storm; the winds roared and tore down many branches in the nesting areas. She stayed huddled up to her siblings and protected by their mother and father, the thunder making her jump every time. She took a step forward and examined his wings a little closer. "They seem to be getting better, at least," she said with a smile. "You'll be up and flying in no time."
Claws digging into the ground, she glanced around. "Are your parents around? They should be careful; the guards will chase them away if they catch them." As she glanced around, a flash of yellow caught her eye and she leaned towards the stallion and pulled a flower from the ground with her mouth, sticking it in her bag. "I should be getting home soon myself. I'm not supposed to be out on my own, but everyone's busy so I snuck off." She tilted her head. "Did you sneak off, too?"
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 6:52 am
The colt pawed at the ground with his front hoof at the mention of his parents. What did he say? The scared little foal in him wanted to cry; to tell her he was lost and he wanted to find them. But the noble, stubborn, hot-headed little stallion in him wanted to throw up his muzzle and shrug it off; parents? Who needed 'em? Conflicted, he avoided her eyes. "No, they aren't around," he finally settled on, decided not to elaborate yet. But he did raise his eyes to meet hers, "Guards?"
Salubri looked around, as if feeling like he was suddenly being watched. "Guards of what?" The curiosity was evident in his voice as she watched the pretty blue filly. He puffed his chest when she mentioned she had snuck off: certainly if a filly was sneaking off at her age what he had done wasn't so foolish...right? "Yeah I sneaked off..." he said, faltering a bit as his bravado didn't come off sounding as impressive in reality as it did in his head. "Then the storm.."
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 7:42 am
Vanmoriel raised a brow. His parents weren't around.. He'd snuck off.. A storm.. What an odd and unlucky turn of events. Sitting down before him, she pulled flowers from her bag and began arranging them by colour, starting with purples first. "These match your wings, I think," she held a bunch of wild flowers up to his wings and smiled. Before going back to her task.
"Yes, guards. They're probably watching us now, but as long as I'm safe they won't bother us. They guard the territory of The Flock. That's where I live with my sisters and my mama and my papa." Pausing for a moment, she tilted her head to the side. "If your parents aren't around, does that mean you're lost? That's what mama told me."
She eyed him with gentle eyes and a soft smile. "I wish there was a flower the colour of your blue. It's wonderful.. Like the sky in Summer." Her eyes widened for a moment. "Oh! Manners.. Mama says they're important." Clearing her throat, she stared him in the eyes. "My name is Vanmoriel. It is a pleasure to meet you."
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 8:12 am
Salubri watched the flower-arranging with interest, cocking his head as he stood over her. He fluttered his wings at the mention of the matching purples - he had to admit she had an eye for the hue.
"What's the flock?" he asked bluntly. "Why do they need guards?"
He shrugged when the filly asked him if he was lost. "I guess...." he finally said, darting his eyes. "I haven't been able to find them. Its been a little while.
He smiled as she rambled on about the colors of his coat, admittedly liking the compliment. It was easy to play to his vanity: his father and mother were both beautiful and prided themselves on it. His father especially. "I'm Salubri, its very nice to meet you, too, Vanmoriel." He nodded approvingly, it was nice to see her act like lady... he felt a bit embarrassed he didn't think of it first. "That's a pretty name."
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:43 pm
"The flock is where I live. We have guards to protect us." She explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world, when really her answer didn't give much of an explanation at all. It didn't occur to her that the Flock wasn't known by everyone; especially it's reasons and teachings.
Vanmoriel's tummy grumbled and she remembered she'd not yet eaten lunch. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out some berries she'd collect on the way and placed them on the ground between them. "I don't know if you've eaten yet, but help yourself. These are my favourites. They make a pretty paint, too." She grinned and took one in her mouth, chewing on it. Juices dripped down her chin but she paid no mind to them, as she always did.
"You should come live with me. If you don't have anywhere else to live." She spoke as if it was something simple; something that occured regularly and something that held no consequences. Naturally, she didn't fully understand what bringing a male home meant. "Mama and papa are lovely."
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:07 am
Salubri's eyes darted down to the berries, and his own stomach rumbled in response. He licked his lips as she began to eat, and he pawed at the ground sheepishly. He didn't like to impose, but he'd had little to eat the last few weeks other than boring grass. "Thank you very much," he said, tucking his legs under him across from Vanmoriel and nibbling at the sweet fruit. They were quite delicious - but Salubri was careful not to eat too fast or too many, despite how much his impulses wanted him to.
"I can come?" he asked, his orange eyes widening slightly. He wasn't expecting such an invitation; after all he had wandered off from home because he was ready to grow up. But the weeks on his own did nothing but remind him how lonely and little he was: he has wanted a family ever since he left his own. He chewed on his lip slightly, darting his eyes as he considered his option.
His flame-like eyes caught sight of her claws again and he cocked his head. "Do your momma and pappa have feet like that, too?" He tucked his ears sheepishly on his head, realizing has he said it how silly the question may have seemed. "Sorry. Its just that I've never seen another one with feet like that, except for my mother."
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 2:11 am
Vanmoriel watched him eat and nudged a few more berries towards him; the way he licked his lips and stared at the fruit made her think he was hungrier than he made out to be. She nibbled on a few more herself, mostly for the taste rather than satisfying her hunger.
She shrugged in response to his question, finishing the berries in her mouth before giving a response. "Of course. Boys come to the flock to live all the time." She was, of course, referring to captured stallions though she was still a little too young to understand the full implications of what she was suggesting to the foal.
Eying her claws, Vanmoriel nodded. "Mama and papa have them; so do my sisters." She tilted her head to the side. "Is your mama a harpy, too?" She nodded towards his hooves. "There's stallion who have feet like yours, too. And some mares."
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:08 am
Salubri nibbled the last few berries as Vanmoriel offered them, his ears flattening against his head in a modest thanks. "That sounds nice," he admitted when she spoke of the boys coming to live with the Flock. Obviously he knew nothing of nature in which the males came, but going off what Vanmoriel was saying it sounded like a pretty nice place. "So there's a lot of you there, then? Like a big family.. a flock...that's like a group, right? Like a herd?"
Salubri's interest was peaked. He looked back down at his hooves and tucked them under his body and shrugged. "I guess, if that's what that means. She had feathers in her hair, too. More than you have." He let his orange eyes look over her features again, nodding. "She's the only one I've seen, though she says I have some older siblings who have then but they all grown and I've never met them."
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:33 pm
Vanmoriel nodded with a smile. "Yup! There's a lot of us. And mama said Aunt Umoja is trying for babies. Whatever that means. They'll be my cousins." She wiggled, excited at the thought of more foals to play with. she wiped her snout on her front leg, smearing berry juices across the blue colouration.
Eyes lifting up, she caught a slight glimpse of her feathers. Her sisters had more feathers than her and for a little while, she'd worried if there was something wrong with her. "I take after my papa. That's why I don't have may feathers. But mama and my sisters have a lot." Her head tilted to the side. "How come you've never met them? Did they get lost, too? Did they runaway?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:36 am
Salubri looked up at his own hair. It was short and stiff, but didn't seem exceptionally feather-like. "One of my brother's hair was all pointy... mom said it was because they would be feathers." Salubri tilted her head as she spoke of his older siblings. "Run away?" He blinked, confused. "No, they just grew up..." he said with a shrug. Was that not normal? He always assumed it was... but he had no reason to question it. "Dad says they have their own families now. I was hoping to meet them one day, you know.. until I got lost. Maybe one day..."
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 7:56 pm
Vanmoriel tilted her head. Grew up and were gone? Surely that wouldn't happen to her and her sisters. They all stayed together. That was how things were and that was how they would stay. But what if they wanted something else? She pouted a little, suddenly saddened at the thought of never seeing her sisters again. She sniffled for a moment before remembering she was with company and regained her composure as if nothing had happened.
"One day! I promise!' Glancing around, she eyed the sky and suddenly became aware of how late it was getting. "We should probably start heading home. We'll be having dinner soon and mama always chastises me when I'm late. Especially if I'm late and covered in berry stains." Standing up, Vanmoriel stretched out and made sure her bag was tightened around her. She smiled down at the colt. "Are you okay to walk? Maybe when we get back a healer can look at your wings."
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