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 Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 2:15 pm
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 2:23 pm
As Auri woke, he knew Tiger must still be sleeping on his perch in the trees. After all, if the hawk was awake, the birds wouldn't be singing. But the early rays of the sun were gilding the world around him and it was time to be up.
Though he paused before opening his eyes. Auri was not accustomed to a warmth beside him. He traveled alone, always. But the breathing of another soquili was near. It took him a moment to remember Naomi and their conversation of the previous evening. But, his heart rate quickened with the memory and he opened his eyes with a smile.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 4:54 pm
The sun was just starting to peek over the trees as Naomi could feel Fluffy already up besides her as well as Auri. It was the first time that she actually had someone stay by her side during the night besides Fluffy, and Naomi had to admit to herself that it felt nice. There was so much time where she just spent it wandering that having additional company for more than a day was... Refreshing.
Mornings were always Naomi's favorite time of the day. While she stood up, she took a deep breath. She could feel her muscles ready for the day, not like when it was nearing the night when she couldn't move after a while. Naomi happily trotted around Auri, enjoying her refueled energy.
"Good morning, Auri!" Naomi said with a smile. "Isn't the morning wonderful? I hope you're well rested!"
Naomi had always been more of a morning Soquili. She felt that if she slept in too much that her energy would be wasted since it seemed to diminish faster when the sun was setting. "I'm just so pleased I get to go on an adventure with more company today!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:27 pm
Auri's smile grows at the energy Naomi seems to exude. "Good morning. You're awfully chipper this morning."
Auri takes longer to stand, stretching as he moves so that he is limber. It is a morning routine that leaves him ready for the day. Even his wings stretch and fold in a few different positions as he twists and bends. Finally, with a shake of his head to clear the last of the cobwebs and settle his long mane, Auri looks up at the trees.
Spotting Tiger, "Hello sleepy-head! Time to join the world again." It is said with a friendliness that suggests this is not the first time these words have been spoken.
Tiger pulls his head out from under his wing, blinking. A grumbling mutter is difficult to understand, though it is clear he is disparaging mornings. Tiger ruffles his feathers and preens them into order before turning back to Auri, "One day you will explain why the sun being up means we must be also."
Auri's laugh is a tenor rumble, "Because you won't fly after dusk and we'd loose to much travel time if I let you decide when we leave. Now buck up, there are ladies here. You don't want to be a wussy around them now do you?"
Tiger shakes his head, his crest mantling, "I'm not looking to impress them, lad." And before Auri can reply, the hawk launches himself from the tree and wings away.
A smile of enduring friendship lights Auri's face as he shakes his head lightly and turns back to Naomi. "Don't mind him. He's always a grump in the morning. He's getting on a bit in years, though he'd never let on. Mornings come with joint ache and until he gets warmed up and moving he's not as pleasant to be around."
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 9:08 pm
"Of course," Naomi replied to him brightly. "I'm not super tired like last night. And it feels wonderful." It was easy to see the glow on Naomi's eyes and face. Something so simple made her that happy. Unlike at night, Naomi stood tall with her head held high. She knew that her energy wouldn't last so she had to make the most out of it.
Naomi's heart warmed as she watched the relationship between Auri and Tiger. She thought it was cute how the two got along. It sort of felt like how her and Fluffy got a long; it was an odd relationship, but it worked. She laughed just a bit as she watched, Tiger being more annoyed of Auri than anything.
"It's okay! I completely understand." She knew that Fluffy didn't really like mornings either. To keep away from saying anything, the lioness would wander in front of her, 'making sure nothing was wrong'. The lioness was a ways in front of them already. "Fluffy's the same way. That's why she wanders further out to scout."
"Where are we off to today," Naomi finally asked Auri. If it was just her, she would have just picked a direction and walked, but Naomi was pretty sure Auri knew where he wanted to go next.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 9:31 pm
Auri nods towards the south. "I hear there is a river that leads towards the ocean in that direction. I'm hoping to run into it and follow along the banks for a ways, see if I can find out anything. It's hard, not really knowing who I'm looking for, if there's any hope of finding him or her, or how to know them when I come across them."
"But . . . I have to keep trying. It's great to have someone with me for a leg at least. Should keep things from getting as boring." Auri looked forward to where Fluffy was already a decent distance down the road.
A soft laugh, "Looks like both our friends are impatient to get going. Shall we?" Bowing, with one front leg stretched out in front of him and the other bent under him, he lays his neck along the extended leg, the head bowed. A bit overly gallant, but it amused him to do so. And it seemed somehow natural to give deference to the lovely Naomi.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:30 pm
Naomi nodded in return and trotted towards the direction that Auri pointed. "I hope we can find it," she said with a smile. "It sounds like a pretty place to be. We'll eventually stumble upon something that will complete your quest, whether it be good or not. I'll continue to travel with as long as you'd have me as well."
She went back to Auri and nuzzled his neck reassuringly. "And more company is always better than none!"
Going forward again, she stopped after she was a few paces away. "Come on, slow poke!" Naomi could already feel the difference in her muscles from the moment she first woke up, but was going to ignore it for as long as she could today. She would push herself to the full extent of her body today, for Auri!
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:18 am
Auri smiles and catches up. He wouldn't bother telling her that he had been distracted watching her march strongly down the path. "I'm here, I'm here. Though we might want to keep an eye out for something with which to break our fast. I wouldn't want you to suffer the pangs of hunger just for my endless quest."
Opening and resettling his wings, Auri realizes that it might just end up being a longer day than he was accustomed to. After all, he usually flew for at least half the day. But he wasn't going to leave Naomi alone on the ground, not when she was so graciously offering to journey with him.
"So . . . what kinds of things do you like to do as you travel? You know, to pass the time."
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 3:27 pm
She laughed. "It's okay! Sometimes I don't notice how hungry I am before I hear the grumbling of my stomach. It usually alerts Fluffy and well... She's quick to find some apples, normally." Naomi knew Fluffy preferred the taste of meat, so edible herbs were sometimes hard to find, even if the lioness was standing right next to them. "What would you like to eat today?"
Naomi flushed at Auri's question. She had spent so much time with just Fluffy that, well... It was the simple things that she enjoyed. "Well, Fluffy is normally up front of where I plan to go, more so because she wants to make sure that nothing in front of us could hurt me. If so, then we turn another direction to keep from getting into trouble."
"As for how to pass the time... It's really the little things." There was a moment of silence between the two, where there was the slight howl of the wind and a chirp of a few birds. Even the sound of the ground against Naomi's hooves caught her attention. "Most of the time, it's just sounds, but there are other times where another animal will pop up and join us for a while."
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 8:36 pm
Auri nods, "Ah. Okay. I'm not accustomed to traveling with anyone, so . . . I don't know that I'll manage to be good company. But I'm willing to try."
Looking around, he keeps an eye out for something edible. "It sounds like you and Fluffy have a good relationship. Tiger . . . we've been together all my life. He was literally there when I was born. It's sometimes hard to remember that he isn't just here to take care of me, teach me, watch over me."
"I mean . . . he raised me as much as anyone. He told me of my family, my past. He doesn't say much, but when he does, it's because he really feels what he says or it's important or something. Mostly he just scouts, looking for the river where we lost my sibling. I think he blames himself for that. Though . . . there wasn't anything he could have done. He did an amazing job just keeping me safe."
Spotting something promising, Auri pauses. With a smile he trots towards some bushes. "It looks like we're in luck, they haven't been picked bare. Though, if you haven't had blackberries before, you should be very careful of the briars. Actually . . . I'll clear the thorns for you."
Without even thinking about it, Auri begins carefully stretching his neck out to bite the thorns from around the berries. The thorns drop to the ground with very few drops of blood. Auri seems practiced at getting to the dark berries. He clears a large area of the bush so that Naomi can get to the food before moving to another area to start clearing a way to his own breakfast.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:28 pm
"You're already wonderful company," Naomi said with a smile. "Just having someone else to talk to feels wonderful." Sometimes Naomi would talk to herself just to hear the voice of another; Fluffy was normally too busy scouting to really have a conversation, but Naomi never minded.
There actually seemed to be a lot that Naomi didn't mind. She listened as Auri spoke fondly of Tiger. It made her think of her own family; they had abandoned her as young filly since they noticed that she lost her strength as the day passed. Naomi knew they had to survive as well, with her other siblings, so it was only natural that she would be left behind; she never felt any hatred or remorse against her family.
"It's nice though! At least he stuck around... I hope we find your sibling too, or at least something that will give the both of you... Closure." Naomi felt a little bad saying that, but she knew there was no nice way of saying it. "Maybe we can keep each other safe now!"
Naomi looked at where Auri stopped. "Oh! I've noticed those before but haven't actually tried them. They look yummy though!"
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 10:20 pm
Auri looks over to smile at Naomi. "You haven't tried them before?" He stops from where he had begun clearing a section of thorns for himself. "I have not met anyone who doesn't like blackberries."
Walking over, he nudges her slightly with his muzzle. "Go on, they aren't going to eat themselves." He watches, waiting for her expression, sure she will react with delight to the taste of the berries.
Auri's voice so soft it almost doesn't carry, "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe." Even as the words leave his mouth, he ducks his head slightly. That sounded much cornier out loud than it did in his head. But there was something in her quiet strength. She just accepted and moved forward without railing against the unchangeable. She was amazing.[[Sorry it's a bit short.]]
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:22 am
"We stuck mostly to things up in trees," Naomi said with a nod at the question. "We didn't want to accidentally eat the wrong things, so we stuck to what we knew. Neither of us really had anyone to teach us what things were good to eat," she said with a nervous laugh. Most of what Naomi knew was when she was still with her parents.
Naomi trotted happily towards the blackberries and studied them. She thought that they looked kind of cute with all of the little mini berries in a cluster; she was excited to try them. "They look yummy!" Naomi was careful to avoid the thorns and was thankful to Auri for removing others. She took a couple into her mouth and chewed. Then, she looked up to Auri and smiled brightly. "These are delicious!"
She would have stuck her head back in and have some more before Auri spoke again. Her bright smile changed to a warm one and she nudged the stallions head so they were looking at both of each others' eyes. "Don't duck your head like that. I know you will. I'll try my best to look after you too!" Naomi loved how Auri was so sweet; it seemed like a long time since anyone else wanted to protect her...
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 2:21 pm
Auri, a bit flustered just nods. Moving back to where he had started to clear an area for himself to get at the sweet berries he spends a few moments biting off thorns before what she said catches up to him.
Looking up, his eyes a bit wide with surprise, "You mean you don't know what you can eat?!" His voice a bit indignant on her behalf. "That just isn't right! How could someone not teach a foal the difference between healthsum and poisonous?"
With a shake of his head, Auri returns to removing thorns for a moment, though the vigor with which he's biting them suggest it is not the thorns that offend his sensibilities. "Well, we'll just have to fix that! I don't promise to know all the good to eat things out there, but I can at least show you some. And definitely point out the things you want to avoid."
Auri mutters to himself a bit under his breath as he keeps removing thorns, possibly opening up a much wider hole in the bush than he really needed. He hadn't been raised in the most loving or caring manner, but at least he had someone who watched over him and taught him to survive.
After noticing how much he had mangled the bush, Auri shakes his head again. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten, he calms himself. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. That just . . . that . . . I hate that you've never enjoyed blackberries. That you've been alone. I mean . . . I'm alone, but I chose it. I set out on my own so that I could find my sibling. My foster mother, Felina, wasn't . . . naturally nurturing, but she cared. And even though I wasn't her responsibility, she took me in. She taught me to survive, to be strong, to fight evil and protect the innocent."
Auri shakes his head, "I'm not always good at all that, but I try. I just don't understand anyone who would allow an innocent to suffer. Not for any reason."
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 4:02 pm
Naomi laughed in response to his disbelief. It wasn't something she hadn't thought about too much, since... She wasn't really willing to test out too much just in case. "I learned a little bit, but since my parents realized that I had a... problem, they left, thinking that I'd die eventually. So... I guess it wasn't that I didn't learn anything, just that the lessons got cut short."
The news that she was abandoned as a foal wasn't going to be a very pleasing information for Auri, and Naomi knew that. She smiled at him and quickly nuzzled him. "Don't worry about it though. It's in the past and I've long forgiven my family. It was better for them, and I don't think I was supposed to make it to adulthood anyways. So I'm thankful for that, at least!"
"I'd be happy to learn from you, Auri," Naomi was beaming with happiness with the last offer. She hadn't had a teacher for a very long time either. It was more often than not that she had to teach Fluffy a lot of manners... The mare was happy in deed! "Trying anything new would be a delight as well!"
She laughed again at Auri as she looked at the bush. It was interesting how a mare like Naomi had such a merry personality. "It's okay, really! I'm grateful for a lot of other things. Like... If I was never abandoned, I would probably never have met you, Fluffy, or Tiger!"
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