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 Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:15 pm
This is a private roleplay & AIM log between Roarian Aloysius Bleauregard (roleplayed by Mahogany Sunset) and Denika Lynn (roleplayed by Kaitaia).  
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:26 pm
Quote: Every step was hesitant and deliberate as Roarian watched where he placed his feet. He had to do it carefully - the long grass around him had sharp-looking leaves on its stalks, and his lips had been cut enough times when eating for him to know that he didn't want to experience the same kind of cut on a leg. So every time he took a step, he looked before he leaped.
Not only was he worried about the grass cutting him, but other cares plagued him, as well, not least of which was his thirst. He'd been out on the plains for a day or two, but the most water he'd seen was a natural little pond. Someone said that when you thirst, you already need more water, his thoughts said, round and round the back of his head. Despair was already building in the back of his mind, and his nose searched for the cool, almost bitter scent that would take him to water. All I have to do is find some, he thought. But then something else bothered him: What if the water I find is poison? Shaking his head and moaning, he said aloud, "First thing to do is to find it." After that, I can worry about whether or not it's potable. Quote: Denika Lynn on the other hand, lay on her belly in the warm grass, face tipped up to enjoy the sun as it warmed her. Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes and smiled. It was such a beautiful day. The skies were blue, with the wispy kind of white clouds that danced overhead, and a gentle breeze to slightly ruffle your mane and feathers. It was perfect, absolutely perfect. The kind of day where you could forget your worries and just relax and be yourself. Quote: Roarian was so busy looking down at his own feet that he failed to look ahead, and almost stumbled into the mare lying in the grass. At the last moment, when he saw a hint of beige in the grass ahead of him, he stopped and looked up - and balked, eyes wide. There was something white and feathery attached to her back. "Fair maiden," he whispered, "A bird has landed on your back." He hoped it wasn't a bird of prey - one that large might be able to carry her away, though she looked to be of a build with him. Quote: "Hm?" Denika opened her eyes when she heard someone address her and she lowered her head, turning it to look in the direction the voice seemed to be coming from. Her gaze caught upon a large stallion shying away from her, a rather distraught look on his face. Her own eyebrows raised up in concern, and she flicked her wings out to spread them while she glanced over her shoulder. There was a bird on her back? She hadn't felt anything, and she didn't think Sissy was near. Quote: Her eyes were blue, the blue of sapphires shot with light, but when the bird on her back moved - when its wings spread - he jumped back. "My lady, hold still. It moves." He could feel the fear in his eyes, and he took another step back. What are you doing? You should be helping her - it's going to take her away! But at the same time, some place in the back of his head, his common sense spoke. What bird of prey is white? The thought made him tilt his head. Had he ever seen one? They usually had plumage that was supposed to blend in, to hide them from their prey, right? ...Maybe its her familiar? That could be it. Familiars came in unusual colors, touched by the spirits as they were. "Do you have a bird familiar?" he asked, totally unaware of how unnatural the subject change must seem. Quote: Denika was confused. There was no bird there. She gave her wings another flick or two to be sure, but nope, no mysterious hidden birds came jumping out. Turning back to the stallion with a quizzical look on her face, she nodded in response to his question. "Yes, I do, but he isn't here right now. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm a bit confused, I don't see any birds?" Quote: "Are... are you sure?" Roarian asked, though he didn't jump when the wings moved again. "It... It's white. Or cream-colored." He inclined his head toward her back. "Right there." Uneasy, he pawed at the ground a little. Looking a little closer, he realized that he couldn't find a head attached to the wings - and even stranger, that they were attached to her. "Unless... unless you are the bird?" His voice wavered, high at the end in a question. Why would a soquili have need of wings? he thought, and took another step back. What if she is a bird of prey? What if I'm prey? A whimper escaped his throat.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:26 pm
Quote: Now she was even more confused, and a bit concerned as well. Was this stallion seeing things? She checked again once more, but just like the first time, there were no birds on her, nor around her. The only thing even remotely bird like was her--Oh. He had seen her wings, and assumed it was a bird.
She let out a little laugh, not in malice, but in genuine humour. "Oh, no, no! I'm not a bird," she assured him, getting to her feet. Once she had, she thrust her wings out slowly to show him. "I just have wings. I'm called an angeni."
Quote: The laugh surprised him, and Roary blinked as she stood. When her wings opened, he was amazed by the creamy soft span of them, but she did it slowly enough that he didn't flinch - which was good, because his neck and body were beginning to grow sore from the sudden jarring movements of his own fright. Pushing the thought of wry neck aside, he asked, "An angeni? Can an angeni fly?" He couldn't see how - even the great span of wings such as those would not be able to carry his weight, and he could swear she was nearly his size.
Quote: The poor guy had never seen a horse fly before. That kind of surprised Denika. There were many horses that could fly, and many of them had different wings than hers. It wasn't exactly an uncommon thing. Still though, he didn't know that obviously, and that was nothing to fault him for.
She nodded, sending her blond curls bouncing around her shoulders. "I can fly. My breed can fly the highest out of all the horses that can fly. There's quite a few different types." Her lips quirked into a grin. "Would you like to see?"
Quote: "But... but aren't you afraid of falling? Have you fallen before?" He eyed her wings suspiciously. "How do you stay aloft?" Looking down, he shuffled his feet. Don't ask if she's too heavy to fly. Don't. Ask. Glancing back up at her, he nodded, even though he didn't understand how she could fly - and wait, did she say there were other breeds that could fly? "I would like to see." I'll have to ask about those later.
Quote: "I'm sure I stumbled a time or two when I was a foal and just learning how to fly, but I haven't in a very long time." She flapped her wings a couple of times and turned away from him. She really didn't know the mechanics of how she managed to stay aloft to explain it to him, but she could show him. "Alright, I'll just be a moment."
Turning away from him, she started to trot away, then broke into a canter, and then a run, beating her double pairs of wings. A few moments and she caught the updraft, and leapt into the air, quickly soaring high. She only made a few passes overhead before landing again with a smile.
Quote: The beating of her wings whipped his hair into his eyes, but once she was in the air, the whirling wind relented enough that he could shake it out again and watch her soar - and soar she did, the wind riffling through her feathers and hair. For a fleeting moment, Roary longed to fly, but just as the thought came, he shoved it away. I'd be far too scared to ever leave the ground.
When she landed, he winced, praying she wouldn't come down too hard - couldn't she break an ankle doing that or something? Still, his breath had been taken by the sight of her flying, and he couldn't ask her a question for a moment; instead, he just stared at her. When air filled his lungs again, he stumbled over his words as too many questions tried to get out at the same time. "Do you ever - you said - how..." Clearing his throat, Roary smiled a little bashfully, shaking his head. "My apologies. You said there were other breeds that have the ability to fly?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 9:35 pm
Quote: She had landed easily and with grace, having done so thousands of times. While it wasn't unheard of for a someone to have a bad landing and roll their ankles or worse, she thankfully had never been in such a circumstance. She shook her wings out to smooth the feathers and then folded them neatly on her back once more before she turned her attention back on the stallion and caught him staring.
A flush made it's way up her cheeks and she looked away for a moment. Was he staring because he was impressed? Or horrified? It was sort of hard to tell. Her gaze went back to him again when he cleared his throat and proceeded to ask another question.
"Yes," she said with a nod. "There are a few. There are winds, which are like myself, but they only have one set of wings instead of two. Kalona also only have two wings, but they're leathery instead of feathery. And then there are flutters, who have wings like butterflies. They also have the ability to make themselves smaller. And of course, there are hybrids, the children of two breeds with wings. They have mixed traits. I've seen quite a few unicorns with wings."
Quote: Listening eagerly, it was only after a few moments that Roary noted her blush and the way she looked away from him. Had he stared too intently? Had he done something so socially awkward it had made her embarrassed for him? That had happened before... But he could never tell. It always had to do with him asking the wrong questions, too, though she didn't seem to mind answering his. "I... cannot imagine anything without feathers staying afloat," he confessed. "Or something making itself smaller. Is it magic?" When she mentioned unicorns, he nodded - he had met one of those before. She'd rescued his hair tie from the river. "Do the... flutters? Ever get blown away?" Or eaten also came to mind, but he was nearly certain that was too morbid a thought to share aloud.
Quote: She most certainly didn't mind the questions. It was rather sweet, how earnestly he listened and how curious he was. She was quite content to answer whatever questions she was able.
"It is quite a sight to see," she agreed with a laugh. "I think it is a magic of sort, yes. Kind of like how unicorns have healing properties." She smiled kindly at him, but his next question gave her pause.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen it happen myself, but I have seen birds and butterflies be blown off course. I suppose it could happen to a flutter as well!"
Quote: Roary's eyes widened further, the whites nearly showing now. "Unicorns have healing properties?" He didn't know that! He'd met one, but she hadn't told her that. Maybe I should have convinced her to come with me. She could heal me when I fall and I could... I could... Do something for her in return. A unicorn would be a wonderful friend to have - not that that would be the only reason they were friends. She had been far nicer to him than he probably deserved, and he hoped she'd thought of him as a friend. Something along that train of thought gave him pause, though. "I am sorry, my lady, but... I have not introduced myself. My name is Roarian Aloysius Bleauregard." He blushed a little - sometimes he hated introducing himself. What a mouthful. "It will probably be easier to just call me Roarian. Or Roary... Whichever you prefer." Smiling, he asked, "What is your name?"
Quote: "That they do," Denika said with a smile, watching as the wheels turned in his head. He was quiet for some time, lost in his thoughts perhaps, but she didn't bother him. She had apparently given him a lot of new information, it was normal to want to process that.
"Oh!" she exclaimed when he told her his name. She had forgotten entirely herself. It had been easy to with this stallion, this Roary, she found. She found herself quite comfortable in his presence, and it seemed as if they already had known each other. "It's quite nice to meet you, Roary. My name is Denika Lynn."
Quote: Grinning - but not so widely that a bug could fly into his mouth (he'd been there, felt that panic before, and learned his lesson) - Roary nodded. "It is nice to meet you as well." He looked around for a moment - hadn't she said that she had a familiar? Shouldn't he meet it, too, while they were doing introductions? But they were their own creatures, so maybe it wasn't at Denika's beck and call. "You said you had a familiar?" he asked. "A bird? May I meet it?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 10:50 pm
Quote: "Oh yes, I do! His name is Sissy. He shouldn't be too far." Denika took a step back, looking around the field for the little hummingbird. He wouldn't have flown far from her side, he never did. He was probably just flitting about in the patch of flowers just down the rolling slope.
Sucking her cheeks in, she made a high pitched noise. Sure enough, a tiny dot appeared over the flowers and hovered a moment before quickly making a beeline straight for her. When it reached her, the dot was hardly much bigger. Sissy certainly wasn't a big bird. He flew excitedly around Denika's head, causing the mare to laugh. "Calm down!" she said, "I have someone for you to meet!"
Quote: Tilting his head to the side a little, Roary wondered what kind of bird it was - and why a male had been named "Sissy." He supposed there was probably a reason behind it... But maybe that was just the name he'd been given when he had hatched. Either way, he shouldn't judge a person by their name. If he did that, well... He'd probably be some egotistical dandy flaunting his name about. The thought almost made him smile, but then Denika made that sound - a high sound, one he hadn't heard before. His ears twitched uneasily - but then something zoomed up next to Denika.
He was a tiny thing, the little bird, but Roary recognized the shape immediately. A hummingbird, with a long sharp beak... I hope he doesn't peck me with it. Roary could just see the infection something like that would cause, but the little fellow seemed far more excitable than dangerous. "Hello," he said, smiling a little weakly.
Quote: "Hello!!" the little bird chirped in reply, zooming from Denika's head over to Roary's instead. "It's nice to meet you! My name is Sissy!" His words all came out in a blur, so it was actually more like Hello!It'snicetomeetyou!MynameisSissy!. He hardly took a breath the whole time he spoke.
Denika shook her head and sighed a little. "Sissy, you're speaking to fast. He won't be able to understand you!"
Quote: Roary couldn't help it - he ducked when the little bird came toward him, and barely stopped a squeak from escaping his mouth. When Sissy started talking, though - when he chirped out the words so quickly they were barely intelligible - Roary laughed. And it was a good laugh, not making fun of Sissy; it was a genuine, humorous laugh, the kind he hadn't felt in a long time. He was always too worried to laugh, or had no one to laugh with. Raising his head up a little, Roary tried to make eye contact with the hummingbird, ignoring the voice that told him that if he wasn't careful he might swallow the poor thing. "It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Roary."
Quote: Sissy took a deep breath, screwing up his face as he did. He didn't like to talk slow. It was much faster just to blurt everything out! But he knew he had to, so he did. "Hi, Roary," he said, dragging out his voice. To him it sounded insanely slow, but to the horses it would only sound normal.
Denika chuckled and shook her head. "He gets a head of himself a lot. He's got a lot of energy."
Quote: A smile tugging at one corner of his mouth, Roary said, "Hi Sissy." Turning to Denika, he said, "At least he has the energy. Sometimes that is hard to find." Some days, just turning off the thoughts that told him life was dangerous was exhausting - but he had to do it every day. Otherwise, he would never drink - or eat or sleep. Or do any of those other things he needed to do to survive. "How long have the pair of you been together?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2014 12:02 am
Quote: Denika could only agree there. Sometimes it certainly was hard to find the energy to do things. On those days Sissy's energy could either be infectious, or exhausting. The little hummingbird had no sense of how to read a room.
"We've been together for a long time. I found Sissy after..." She paused a moment, taking the time to study Roary to decide if she really wanted to open up to him. It only took a second, and she decided she did. He was so nice and so kind.
"I found Sissy after I was separated from my sister. I was barely more than a foal... And we've been together ever since."
Quote: Roary frowned as she offered herself up to him. He didn't know what it was like to lose a sibling - he had been an only child, with such worrisome parents that they'd instilled their worry in him. "Is that... Is that why his name is Sissy?" he asked quietly - he didn't want to offend her, or be too presumptive, but if she had found him as a foal and was missing her sister... It was what he would probably do, though he knew he couldn't understand. He had never felt the bond between siblings. Thinking about it for another second, he looked down at the ground. "I apologize if I pry."
Quote: She gave him a soft, sad smile, and even Sissy seemed to sober a bit, not flying around quite as haphazardly as he had been. "It's alright," she murmured. "I wouldn't have told you if I minded."
She turned to look at the hummingbird, her gaze going tender. "That is why," she said with a nod. Sissy imitated her nod with one of his own. "It's a silly name for a bird, and a sillier name for a boy, but I didn't know he was a boy when I found him."
Sissy flitted over to Denika, affectionately touching her ear with a wingtip. "I don't mind," he said softly. "I like my name."
Quote: Unsure whether or not he was intruding on an intimate moment, Roary couldn't help a slight smile at the obviously deep bond that went between them. "Have you found her yet?" he asked, though some part of him felt she hadn't; if she had, something told him they would never have been separated again.
Quote: Denika gave the hummingbird a thankful smile, and he beamed back a 100 watt smile before zipping off again to go do whatever. She laughed and shook her head before answering Roary's question.
"Unfortunately.. No." Her smile turned wistful. "I know in my heart she's out there somewhere, but where, I have no idea. Every time the Great Wishing Star visits, I pray that I'll find her, but so far my wishes have gone unanswered."
Quote: "Ah." His brows furrowed, saddened for her, but part of him was curious. "The Great Wishing Star? What is that?" If he was to be truthful, he'd never heard of it - but it must have been some celestial body he'd missed, and for that, he felt silly; after all, he was always scanning the skies, looking for predators... Though it was not often he actually looked at the stars. He did not fear them; they had been there his whole life, staring down at him as a guiding light and easing him with their constancy when he became too fearful. Some part of him admired and envied them, able to watch without fear the world below them - at least, that was how he thought of them; how they really felt (if they felt at all) was far beyond him.
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:23 pm
Quote: Denika paused for a moment, searching for a way to explain what the Great Wishing Star was. She was honestly really surprised that Roary had never heard of it before. "It's a star... Like a shooting star, but much bigger. It only visits every once in a while, but it's said to have magical powers that can grant wishes. There's a special place, a sort of alter, that people pilgrimage to to make their wish. I wished that I would be able to find my sister."
Quote: Like a shooting star, he thought, remembering all the times he'd stared up at the sky, waiting for black wings to block out the stars and grab him, only to have a magical streak of a shooting star catch his eye as it flew across the sky. "But... it is stationary, right?" he asked, his face squinching up a little as he thought about it. "Otherwise, those who make their pilgrimages would have to follow it across the land..." He was probably giving it far too much thought. Shaking his head, he asked, "Have others you've known had their wishes come true?" If so, maybe Denika was right to put hope in the Star - and perhaps her sister was out there where she would one day find her.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:42 pm
Quote: "I'm not sure," she murmured. "It shines in the sky above the alter, but it isn't always there. It's a funny thing, I suppose." She let out a little laugh.
"I haven't met anyone personally, but there's a lot of stories about it; about people who wishes have come true."
Quote: Roary nodded, imagining Denika standing before the altar and making her wish and waiting for it to come true, waiting to see her sister again. And the way she talked about her - the way she had even named her familiar after her, after their bond, told him that there was more than just shared blood running in their veins. There was love there, too. "Well," he said, "if there have been others whose wishes have come true, I am certain it will grant yours."
Pausing for a moment, he realized that something was missing, some important piece of this information puzzle. "If I may ask, what is her name?" he asked, continuing headfirst along his train of thought. He pushed aside the thought that maybe he was opening an old wound; if Denika had wished to find her again and to be reunited, she must still have some hope that her sister was alive. There couldn't be closure there yet. "If I ever run across her, perhaps I could bring her back to you, or at least tell her I have seen you." Yes, he thought, if I don't die of thirst before then.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:51 pm
Quote: Denika smiled gently, genuinely touched by Roary’s kindness. “I hope so,” she murmured. It certainly would be a miracle if her wish were to come true. A very blessed and welcome miracle indeed.
“Oh, her name is Melanie. Melanie Rae. She looks sort of like me, I guess, but she only has one set of wings, and a horn. Her hair was dark when I last saw her, but…” Who knew what it could be now. It had been forever.
Quote: Roary returned her smile, his tail flicking a bit against the warm air. If there was one thing he was grateful for, it was the warmth in the air - winter just wasn't his season. It meant cold and chills and freezing, and that was only his hooves. His skin would shiver and his breath would freeze to his face if it got cold enough. Briefly, he wondered if Denika could fly in the chill air, but the thought flitted by as transient as a butterfly. "Melanie Rae," he muttered, committing the name to memory. If he should run across her, he would know who to search out. "Her hair..." Something compelled him to know the details. Denika had made her wish - and if there were tales out there about the star granting such wishes, he could not pass up the opportunity to learn the details. If he ran across her and completely passed her by because the details didn't stick in his mind... The thought dripped dread into his heart. There was a lost soul out there, and someone was looking for her. "Her hair is dark - brown or black? And her horn is a unicorn horn...?" Roary almost shook his head at himself, feeling idiotic for asking so many questions. She must think me strange.
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:30 pm
Quote: Denika smiled. It touched her heart that Roary was so interested in her story and genuinely seemed like he wanted to help find her sister. She closed her eyes, thinking back. It had been a long time, but her sister’s face had never left her mind. “Yes, a unicorn horn,” she murmured, her smile widening. It was sad to think of her sister, but happy at the same time. “Her hair is a reddish sort of brown, and her coat, her coat is a little lighter than mine.”
Quote: Nodding, Roary couldn't help but add Melanie's traits to Denika's figure in his mind, if only to give him a little estimation of what she might look like. "She has the draft build like us?" Where are you going with this, Roary? his mind asked him. You might never even make it off the plains. Sighing, Roary tamped the thought down. "I apologize for asking so many questions. It is not too often that I have run across soquili with families, and it sounds like you miss her so dearly... I would like to help, if I could." Giving Denika a little smile, Roary looked around for the little bird that had sparked the conversation. "What do you think Sissy will do when you meet her again?"
Quote: Denika nodded in response to his last question, but before she had a chance to say anything, Roary continued talking. Her smile turned a bit wistful. “I’m not sure, to be honest. He wants e to find her, of course, but I don’t know how he’ll really feel if we find her. It’s just been the two of us for so long.” She shook her head to chase any bad thoughts away. “But I’m sure it’ll be great!” She laughed and took a step closer to Roary, bobbing her head toward him in thanks. “Thank you. I really do miss her."
Quote: "I'm sure you'll find her someday," he said. Anxiety began to break in on his thoughts again, though, and soon he was distracted. "Do you know where there's any water around here? I've been walking for a day and a half and have yet to find any." His smile turned to a little frown of concentration as he looked out across the green-gold plain. "Is there a good place you've found to drink?"
Quote: “Water?” Denika looked a bit surprised. He’d gone a day and a half without finding any water? That seemed really bizarre to her, until she realized that Roary didn’t have wings like her. Of course finding anything would be much harder when you couldn’t fly up for the advantage point above the land. “Um. Yes, actually. There’s a river not far from here. Would you like some company? I can show you the way.”
Quote: Roary's frown turned to a grin - something he hadn't done in a while, walking around by himself. "I would adore your company," he said, nodding to her. Not sure which direction she would lead him, he shrugged his shoulders. "Lead the way?"
Quote: Her cheeks flushed a little, flattered by his choice of words. “Of course,” she said, a silly little grin on her face as she started toward where she knew the river to be, looking over her shoulder to make sure he was following.
Quote: Roary stared after Denika as she began walking, and it was then that he realized that he might very well slow them down substantially - but if he didn't look where he walked, he would probably have a panic attack halfway to the river. Or a quarter of the way. Sighing and squaring his shoulders, Roary looked down at the grass, gazing at the footprints and broken stems of grass that Denika had left in her wake. Here goes. Putting each foot down deliberately in a place where Denika had stepped, Roary followed after her, slow and steady and trying to keep a calm head.
Quote: The river wasn’t that far away, twenty minutes or so. To fill the time, Denika chatted over her shoulder with Roary, telling him funny stories about her foalhood with her sister. She thought he would appreciate them. Just thinking that made her heart flutter like Sissy’s wings.
Quote: Roary let his mind follow Denika's stories, glad for the distraction it gave his thoughts, though his eyes still traced over every blade of grass in his path. Every once in a while, a little chuckle came out of his mouth. He had not had siblings, but Denika's foalhood with her own sounded wonderful. Having a playmate might have just made him a little bit closer to "normal," whatever that was. Perhaps he wouldn't be so afraid of getting hurt if he had had someone to have fun with, even while getting hurt. Scraping a knee or bruising a shin might not seem so bad.
Distantly, he heard the rushing and trickling of a river, and Roary felt something akin to disappointment. Over so soon? Maybe she would stay for a while and tell him more stories.
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:35 pm
Quote: The river was just ahead. Denika finished telling Roary a rousing story of how Melanie had stood up to what she had thought was a monster about to attack them but had only turned out to be a bunny in the woods as they reached the river bank.
“Here we are!” she smiled, nodding toward the river. “Nice and cool, perfect for a good drink!"
Quote: Standing on the riverbank, Roary let out a chortle at Denika's story. A rabbit! He would be lying, of course, if he told her that he had never done the same thing - though he had been cowering instead of standing up to the little creature. Every once in a while, the rabbit would be replaced by a squirrel or a chipmunk. Once, it had been a porcupine, and that encounter had ended with an unfortunate leg full of quills. "It takes a certain courage to stand up to the unknown like that," he said. "Your sister must be very brave."
Carefully, Roary picked his way down the bank and to the water. Looking both ways to make sure nothing was waiting for him, he sniffed the water before taking a sip. It was cool and clean against his tongue, and he swallowed gratefully. After a moment, he looked back up to Denika. "Will you join me?"
Quote: “She was,” Denika agreed, smiling fondly. Her sister really was brave. She always protected Denika and kept her safe. At least until the day they got separated…
Shaking her head to clear that train of thought away, Denika turned her attention back to Roary at the water’s edge. “Of course!” she said to his invitation and stepped down to the riverbank herself for a drink.
Quote: "I'm sure she still is," Roary replied, "and if I can, I will bring her back to you." Fool, what are you promising? You can't even promise you'll make it to tomorrow alive. He studied her as she stepped down from the bank, the grace with which she moved despite the fact that her size was nearly equal to his own; it was the grace of a bird in flight. She had been so nice to him, even though he was a stranger and he had been so incredulous about her wings. And she had revealed to him her past. Her sister misses her, too. He would find Melanie, then, if he could. If he made it through tomorrow.
Quote: Denika’s cheeks flushed warm when she heard Roary’s proclamation. Could he? Could he really? She’d been looking for so long herself and had turned up nothing… She was afraid to let herself get her hopes up yet again, but still, it was sweet of him to even make the gesture and look. Her eyes started to tear up at his kindness. He had a good heart, Roary.
“Thank you,” she said softly, smiling down at their reflections in the water’s surface. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help.”
Quote: Blinking back his trepidation at Denika's tears, Roary realized after a moment that they were not tears of sadness. He dipped his head down again for a drink, and when he lifted his head again, he nodded to her. "You're welcome, my lady, but I can't promise anything. I can't even promise that I'll be able to find you again if I do find her - will you still be here?"
Quote: Still smiling, Denika raised her head to look over at Roary. “I wander here and there, looking for my sister. But I can always come back here to meet with you.” She paused a moment, her cheeks heating up again before she continued shyly, “Even if you don’t find her, I’d still like that."
Quote: It was Roary's turn to blush. "I would like that, too." When, though? Would three months be enough? It seemed a long time now, but if he wandered too far, he might not make it back in time, and Denika would be disappointed by loss again. "Three full moons from the next, and if we don't make it back, we can wait for each other until the fourth passes."
Quote: Her smile widened to an almost impossible width. “Yes, yes!” she agreed, ecstatic at the thought of seeing Roary again. “That would be perfect.” Her wings danced upon her back, showing exactly how pleased she was with the prospect. “Three moons. I’ll see you again in three moons."
Quote: Roary returned her smile with one of his own, watching her wings shift and flutter on her back, their creamy expanse looking impossibly soft in the sunlight. "It's set, then," Roary said, then looked down the river bank. He wasn't about to cross the river - not at all - so he would have to follow it. And what better place to look for someone than along a river, where they might come to drink? He could find his way back to this place, then, too. Looking back to Denika, he felt a strange reluctance. It seemed time to leave, but he didn't want to go. "I will see you then," he said, but he made no move to leave.
Quote: Denika nodding, the smile on her face felt as if it was stuck there permanently. Not that she minded, no, not at all! It was good to smile like this again.
Even with the smile, she felt the same reluctance that Roary did and found herself not exactly wanting to leave him either. But she had to continue her mission to find her sister and they would meet again in three moon’s time, she reminded herself. Just three moons. “Until then,” she agreed, waving a wing at Roary in farewell before she turned to go.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:30 pm
Feeling his breath clutch in his chest, Roary squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to watch her leave him behind. He would be going back to wandering alone, afraid, but at least he had a purpose now. Denika had her own way of searching to conduct, and the two of them would cover more ground separately than together. Besides, he was a stranger, and even if he invited her to come along, he doubted she would accept - and that would just be awkward. "Until then," he confirmed, and opened his eyes to turn back toward the river. The last he saw of her in that moment were the soft, cream feathers brushing over her back.
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