|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:06 am
 (( I think Yei Umeko is alpha in this herd? But other than that I can't think of any distinct landmarks besides pine trees and cliffs/mountains and probably a valley, though I've RPed a hill before and some rocks in the distance I don't know if those are official herd landmarks. x3 This is where I get my information. ))
Sanuye had just been busy trying to tidy her mane as was always a habit of hers. She could hear Elisheva in the distance telling her to leave it alone and that her efforts were worthless. Giving one last pouty puff at her bangs, she peered around the black curtain of her hair to observe the herd. The Summit family was currently consulting with the Balance family who had meandered down from their home in the pine trees to bring some of their pine cones and bark to stock up for the next winter season. Being one to stick to the Summit area of the lands shared between eight families, Sanuye could not help finding the other families interesting.
She was sure it was nothing to be too excited about, the other families often met to discuss matters. So, trying not to stare at the others, she turned to wander off on her own for a little while. She was not needed in these matters, and it was no use sticking around. Making sure to stay close to home, she wandered into the valley she knew best, not expecting to come across any family members on her little journey.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:25 am
 Bored, bored, bored, bored. Sometimes, Robelia felt that she was a completely superfluous entity in the rich lands that she called home. She had been blessed to be born to Yei Umeko and Grencia, a loving and proud couple who formed the core of a happy and prosperous herd. Robbie, as she had been called since infancy, had grown up at the bosom of a family that truly loved and cared one another, even if they could be a little exhausting. By the time she was born, she had nine older siblings; her birth had been followed by that of another sister, Tranquility, the current 'baby' of the family. Her older siblings in turn had scattered, some temporarily, some permanently; some had founds mates and had children, while others... Well, she didn't know what they did. But the unifying factor seemed to be that they had a purpose. Whether it was an dramatic purpose, like herd defense, or a simple purpose, like taking care of foals, they all had something to do. Except Robbie. For better or worse, she hadn't yet found her niche, and it was both freeing and frustrating. She revelled in having command of her own time, but sighed at not having something to commit herself to. Some days, she made herself fret with the possibility that she was coming across like her spoiled little sister! Today, boredom had driven her from the higher slopes to see what there was to see in the herdlands. Perhaps she'd wander down to the Balance lands and see if her sister-in-law Elizabeth needed any help with her young sons. It wasn't much, but at least it was something other than lying around! Thinking how very much she would like to have something of her own to do for a change, she wandered herself into the little valley. She hadn't passed through their often, and she paused as she passed along, saying to no one in particular, "You know, this is a pretty nice spot!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:42 am
"You're right," she said suddenly to the passerby. She had been staring at her feet as she walked across the grassy valley when she had heard someone speak. Upon looking up, she could tell that neither of them had been paying much attention. She wouldn't be surprised if the mare strolling past her had not been speaking to her. She felt embarrassed for intruding on the mare's private thoughts. "Oh, sorry...I just, you're right it is a nice spot," she said, her cheeks flushing an even deeper, more impossible shade of crimson.
She had been here so often that sometimes she forgot to look at it. Most of the time she stared at her feet as she walked, and failed to see the beauty around her. She wanted to thank the mare for making her open her eyes, but her appearance caught Sanuye's eye. She was obviously a child of Yei Umeko and Grencia, Sanuye's grandparents. It wasn't as if this was surprising to Sanuye. She saw family members daily. But it was always interesting to see them on their own or doing something besides protecting herd boundaries or gathering food, or helping with foals.
Perhaps she was going to do something important, something interesting. Perhaps she was going to speak with the Balance family with the others. Sanuye's heart jumped at the opportunity to accompany this family member to whatever important business she had. "Oh, are you going to consult with the Balance family?" she asked. Other members of the herd were already there doing just that, but perhaps she could get in on the action if that's where this mare were going.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:54 am
The sudden response to her comment was so unexpected that Robbie jumped about a foot in the air, her reaction woefully unsubtle and her surprise obvious. So much for 'grace under fire'...
Oh well. Unlike some others she could name, Robbie didn't have much in the way of dignity and didn't care how she came off. So she'd showed she was taken by surprise, big whoop. It's not like she'd be the first, or the last! So she grinned at the mare, her expression unabashed. "Well, hello there! I guess you can see how good I am about observing my surroundings, you probably could have cold-clocked me without my noticing. I don't think you would have been successful at hiding my corpse without notice, though; I'm too brightly colored."
A bit of a crazy greeting, but that was Robbie for you. She'd never really grasped the concept of "appropriate" when it came to day-to-day behavior, although she had her moments where she could do a pretty good imitation of 'normal'. Overall, though, she found normal to be overrated.
She examined the other mare curiously, on her part having no inkling that they were related. She knew that she had many family members in the area, but there were so many that some she only knew in passing, or not at all. It was safe to guess that they were cousins or relations of some kind, but where was the fun in confirmation?
She shrugged her shoulders at the other mare's question, though her curiosity was piqued at the formality of the use of the term 'Balance family'. That probably was the proper name for that group...but she'd always just called them Ambroise and Lizzie, aka her stick-in-mud oldest brother and his lifemate. "You know, I don't really have a plan. I was wandering that way, but mostly because I'm bored and don't have anything to do." A lightbulb went off in her head, and she beamed at the other mare conspiratorially. "You wouldn't happen to be bored yourself, would you? Two bored heads might be better than one in becoming unbored!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:18 pm
Her eyes widened at the odd response. One might have assumed that she was going to back away slowly from the mare and run away, but instead she let out a rather loud laugh. "I'm sure you could have done the same to me," she laughed, "I wasn't paying much attention either." It was probably a good thing that neither of them were predators. But then, the herd was so safe and well protected that neither of them could have knocked each other out if they had wanted to.
Her bangs blocked half her vision of the mare, but she could see her expression of curiosity. She took it upon herself to examine her as well. Yes, she was definitely related to Grencia, with the feathers and all. Perhaps she had said the word 'Balance' funny, because she could see the other's ears perk at the name. Sanuye had rarely seen Ambroise and so the connection was not made in her mind. She had only a moment to wonder at the mare's reaction before she spoke again, Sanuye hanging on her words.
The other mare's words of excitement made her grin. She was bored, and previously it had seemed she could do nothing about it, but now that this family member was here it could easily change. "I am bored!" she said as if it was a grand and glorious thing to be. It was odd to her that a child of Yei Umeko and Grencia was not busy, but she was grateful for it. Sometimes things here seemed to serious and that could get exhausting. She cast her mind about for things to do that would help them become unbored. "My name is Sanuye," she said in the meantime.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:32 pm
Most excellent, the other mare was bored as well! And so far, she seemed to have an appropriate sense of fun. This was more than encouraging, because a stodgy companion could ruin any hope of fun. She'd even seen some Soquili whose sense of honor was so strong and overdeveloped that they wouldn't extricate themselves for a hideously dull conversation, all for the sake of being 'mannerly.' For her part, Robbie often found mannerly to be synonymous with dull, so she tried to avoid situations where it would be expected of her.
At the other mare's introduction, she bobbed her head in response. "Well, nice to meet you, Sanuye. I'm Robelia, but no one ever calls me that unless I'm in trouble with my parents. You can call me Robbie."
Grinning, she did a neat pirouette on her hind feet. "So, now that we've established we're both bored, we need to figure out what to do. Got any ideas?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:44 pm
Sanuye's concentrated frown parted so that she could smile at the other mare. "Hi Robbie!" she said with a grin, as if they had known each other for ages. Her frown returned when she thought that sounded funny, she should have said 'Nice to meet you Robbie!' but oh well, she was sure Robbie wasn't one to care about how things were said. The nickname fit her perfectly, she thought.
She watched as the mare turned, sending her feathers in a lovely flutter. Sanuye smiled but couldn't help shrugging. She hadn't a single idea what to do. At least, not one that she was entirely comfortable with. She did have one idea. Obviously the herd was boring them, they were seeing things they experienced every day. The answer was of course to find some new sights, to explore. But Sanuye would have felt silly for suggesting something that she wasn't sure she wanted to do.
"Well..." she hesitated. Leaving the herd was something she didn't often do, it was outside of her comfort zone. But Robbie's carelessness made it seem so appealing. "We could always explore a little?" she finally suggested. She needed to stop being so controlled and careful, and she knew it. Perhaps Robbie could help with that. But that was if it sounded like a good idea. Maybe the other mare had something better to suggest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 6:41 pm
It was both a good and bad thing if a group couldn't decide what to do. Good, because it meant they had the opportunity to stumble into something to do; bad, because it meant that they had no direction in which to start stumbling. The happy medium was something generic, which allowed a starting point without leaving too much room for disagreement or rigidity. Consequently, Robbie was more than happy to accept 'exploring' as something to do of interest. After all, few things left as much room for doing your own thing as exploring!
So she grinned at Sanuye, bobbing her head (and her 'antenna' feathers by association) in agreement. "Exploring sounds great. I mean, these herd lands are massive, doncha think? I've been a member of this herd my whole life, and I doubt I've poked my nose into half of what there is to see." Cocking her head at the other mare, she asked, "Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to prowl? North, south, central? Personally, this valley is new to me," she finished as she looked around speculatively. Who knows what they might find?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:33 pm
Sanuye thought about that a little. She had been a member of this herd all her life as well. And yet she was just now meeting Robbie. It made her realize how vast the family had become and how very little she was compared to it. But that fact didn't bother her so much. They were all here for one reason or another. The herd lands were massive, and she was sure there was plenty for them to find here.
"Have you ever been to the hot springs?" she asked curiously after the thought popped into her mind. Robbie had said she was heading toward the "Balance" family's home. Surely she had been to the springs, then? Sanuye had always wanted to go there, but had never gone. They were a sacred place and she wasn't entirely sure she was welcome there. But they were all family, right? Why wouldn't she be allowed, especially with Robbie there?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 6:33 am
"The hot springs?" Robbie repeated Sanuye's question curiously before grinning back at the other mare. "Sure have! My favorites are the ones located in the cavern behind the waterfall. Elizabeth took me there once when she was minding me, apparently she has a romantic story connected to that place." She almost managed to say this with a straight face, but giggles eventually overcame her and she was laughing before she finished her speech. After all, it seemed so peculiar to imagine Elizabeth having a romantic moment! She loved her brother's mate dearly, but she could be rather practical, and Ambroise...
Well, Ambroise was not really the type she would associate with romance. Border defense, training, other combatish things...those, she would associate with Ambroise. But not romance.
Flicking her tail, she asked Sanuye curiously, "Have you ever met Elizabeth?" She didn't ask about Ambroise, because asking about Ambroise would make no sense. Given the busy nature of Ambroise's responsibilities, if Sanuye would have met anyone, it would have been the mare. "She's very nice, if a little stodgy." Frank assessments, that would be Robbie all the way. "But don't take that to mean that she would mind us passing through, she's very hospitable."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 6:51 pm
"I haven't met her," she said truthfully with a little giggle. She hadn't been entirely sure what had been funny about this Elizabeth having a romantic moment there, but it made her feel a little embarrassed knowing this about the mare she didn't know. Sanuye could only imagine if she herself had had a romantic memory somewhere and others talking about it. The thought made her blush like crazy. Would she be intruding by visiting there? Was it a place only couples went to? But Robbie assured her that the mare was hospitable, so that had to mean it would be ok. She seemed to know Elizabeth much better than Sanuye, but she wouldn't mind meeting more new faces. After all, if she was going to live here it would be best to get to know everyone.
She smiled at Robbie. "Well, alright then, shall we pay her a visit? Hopefully she's not having any romantic moments," she threw the joke out, this time laughing more heartily.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 6:42 pm
“Alright, then it’s hot springs, ho! I’ll be sure to introduce you to Lizzy if we run into her, but even if we don’t we should be able to have a grand time prowling around. I live higher up on the peaks myself, and I always love the chance to run around in the water. There aren’t too many pools up our way, unfortunately.” Well, semi unfortunately. After all, water would get dull and interesting if it was constantly available! They had more than enough water to drink, and that was what was important. It kept the allure of the lower slopes that much more pronounced!
With Sanuye’s dark complexion, Robelia barely noticed any change in coloration; the bit she could see she chalked up to time spent in the sunlight. The idea that Sanuye was blushing, particularly about something said about people she’d never met, would never have even occurred to her! So she nudged Sanuye playfully. “Should we see if we can find some shade on our way? You’re looking a bit colorful, and that’s saying something!” Not that there was really much shade to be spoken of in this area…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
