[PRP] Different Types (Ealaionta and Morrow)

[Cajmera]

 

[Cajmera]

Ealaionta was utterly and truly stoked. In fact, he was so excited that he was practically trembling, and it had been hours, hours, since he'd done the deed. It was just so awesome, so wonderful, so dreadfully exciting! After spending ages and ages just lying around and watching the strange two-legged creatures in their home village, watching and admiring their work, drooling over their beautiful creations and lamenting his own utter lack of knowledge and ability to replicate their work, it had finally dawned on him that he didn't need to be a silent observer. No, he was capable of more than that; he could actually participate in the creative cycle, actually share in the firsthand joy that came from touching and enjoying the fruits of their labors. The fact that he was unable to share the creative process was a great frustration to him, but he was philosophical. Maybe one day he'd learn to overcome the obstacle of having hooves instead of hands, but in the meantime...

Stiffling a giggle of joy, Ealy surveyed the fruits of his moment of clarity. On the groun in front of him lay stretched out a beautifully woven, soft and silky white scarf; he knew it was a scarf, because he'd seen several of the two legged creatures wrap others like it around their necks. This one had been out on a line, along with several other pretty scarves; it had been the work of a moment to take it and run. He had felt no qualms in taking it; after all, the two-legged creatures had many more scarves, and the ability to make more besides. And now he had a scarf of his very own!

Still, a tony part of his brain had recognized that the two-legged folk might not share his opinions, which is why he'd fled through beyond the village into the forest before settling down to admire and play with his new treasure. Just think, he had gotten it, all by himself! He had, with no assistance, obtained a treasure that he's pined after for weeks!

He couldn't imagine this day becoming any better, or any more interesting. He, Ealy, had a scarf!!

Kyaishi

 

[Kyaishi]

Despite being under his mother's protective, watchful eye- his sister and he had gotten the worst of it, since they were born without sight like their father, and hence forever subject to Mother's overprotective fear- Morrow had managed to wander off from his family's clearing. Sure-footed steps, only stumbling every here and there as the rattle above his head warned him when he was nearing something dangerous, carried him along the edge of the forest, and he paused at the sound of the leaves rustling far above in the trees' canopy. Morrow smiled slightly at the feel of the wind upon his fur, rustling the glowing tendrils that protruded from his hide, and tilted his head back to enjoy the sensation. Despite his mother's worry, the orchid colt did not lament his lack of sight- it was simply a different way to See.

His kodama friend, after all, reminded him that the forest had so much more to offer.

Breaking into a prancing trot, the young foal let a full-out grin twist the odd curve of his too-wide mouth, ignoring the surprised click-clack at the jarring movement. Letting the humid forest air fill his lungs, Morrow broke into a run, tossing his head back and allowing himself to believe that he was flying through the trees above, as he imagined his brother and their mother could do, with those strange membranes they called wings. His own spiny approximation flapped at his shoulders in mute desire, though he felt no disappointment that he couldn't actually take to the sky. There was so much more to enjoy.

So engrossed was he in his joy of the surroundings that he failed to hear the warning rattle of his kodama guide, failed to let his senses detect the excited red blur that was directly in his path. In a moment of distraction, a collision occurred, and the purple colt went down in a mass of thrashing legs and violet hair, the kodama tumbling some feet away with an upset jangle.

Well... that was less than dignified.  

[Cajmera]

Ealy had been so caught up in his rejoicing and gloating that he hadn't heard the tell-tale hoofbeats signalling he was about to have company. When the other foal finally broke into his field of vision far off to the right, it was too late to get out of the way AND save his prize, so with a wail he threw himself bodily over his prize. It was a timely action; only a moment later, he was sent flying by the impact, the scarf wrapped firmly around his leg. Before he'd even landed, he was already fretting; his scarf, his scarf, his beautiful SCARF!

He was usually a pleasant colt, happy to meet and mingle and question, but he was rather put out with the current situation. If that purple blur had hurt his scarf...

"Pleasebeokpleasebeokpleasebeok...." Muttering through partially clenched teeth, he carefully, carefully unwound his prize, examining it for any sign of rip or tear. It was dirty, but appeared to be intact...thankfully. Still, he wasn't going to let the threat of damage get let off so easily. Giving one of his small forelegs a determined stomp, he swung around to face the purple blur with an unhappy scowl. "Say, don't you know any better than to look...where...you're going?"

Ealy had built his anger up to what was, for him, a high pitch. However, that anger couldn't shield him from the extraordinary sight he was seeing. As he looked full-on at the purple blur, he could see that it was, in fact, a colt. A colt who had no eyes, not even a single one! Ealy had never seen anyone without eyes before, and he was caught completely off guard. HIs immediate reaction was a hard split between fascination and fear; there was something creepy about the way the foal 'looked' at him with nothing but a dark space where his eyes ought to be...and what was with his mouth? It was all jaggedy, not...well, smooth-lipped. Ealy knew he wasn't supposed to judge others on their looks, but maybe this guy was a special case.

Either way, he was now feeling extraordinarily awkward, and he clutched the scarf to himself tightly. In a somewhat milder but still gruff voice, he said, "You should be more careful."

Kyaishi

 

[Kyaishi]

Groaning at his own foolishness, the violet foal rolled back over onto his side until he could fit his legs underneath him, not bothering to dislodge the dirt and leaves he could feel clinging to his fur as he stood, rather unsteadily, and swayed uncertainly without his guide. He hadn't yet learned to sense the way his father did, and made mistakes quite frequently... but this was the first time there had been another casualty.

"Ah, I'm sorry..." the blind colt murmured sheepishly, dipping his head in what he hoped was an apologetic gesture- he was never entirely sure, since he'd never seen such a thing, but it seemed the appropriate thing to do. "I wasn't... paying enough attention. You aren't hurt, are you?" Morrow tensed in sudden concerned dread, tail flicking agitatedly as he tried to- unsuccessfully- examine the other colt without sight. He could hear the telltale jangle of his kodama friend some distance away, probably pacing along the treeline, but he knew it would be too wary to come close to a stranger- the tree spirits were not intrinsically trusting, after all.

Although his attention was focused mostly on the worry of having injured someone else, Morrow detected the hint of awed fear in the other Soquili's voice, but was undeterred by it. Well... he supposed he wasn't completely immune to the fear yet, he thought with a wry twist to his oddly-shaped mouth, it wasn't exactly pleasing, but he wasn't hurt by it as his mother always worried that he might be. Understanding was a lot to ask for from someone who had never encountered... well, someone like him, before. He was aware that he was different, and though it didn't bother him, he'd witnessed these types of reactions before.

"I won't hurt you. That is, um..." he shifted uneasily, looking more guilty by the second as he considered his own words, "if I didn't hurt you already." The reassurance was familiar, but most of the time unnecessary; most of the time, others didn't take him at his word. He itched to be back in the forest again, where he could feel the trees at his back, and where he felt welcome and at home, but, well... if he had hurt this stranger, he couldn't simply leave him there, especially if it was his fault.  

[Cajmera]

As the strange purple foal righted himself, Ealy continued to stare with round eyes. A little part of him repeated his parents' admonishments about judging someone based on looks, and about how it wasn't very nice to stare, but he just couldn't help himself in the face of such...weirdness! There was just nothing there; nothing that helped make a face a face! Well, no; that wasn't totally true, because there was a nose. And the shape was right, he allowed, but the eyes and mouth...they were all wrong. He'd never heard of any sort of Soquili like that before; he knew about unicorns, and Winds, and Kelpi and Kalona and Cerynei, but all of them had eyes. Eyes, and mouths with lips, and...

Wait, did that mean the colt wasn't actually a colt? Maybe he was something else entirely, something that had slight similarities to a Soquili but wasn't. Maybe he was...was...a bad spirit?

Ealy was working himself into a fine panicked frenzy when the other finally spoke, and the surprise of hearing normal words come out of the jagged mouth was enough to nearly cause him to bolt. But the voice itself was so mild, and so NORMAL, that once he's stifled that first urge to flee, he found his fears diminishing a tiny bit. The stranger might be weird, but he sounded just like a normal guy!

Less fearful but still cautious, Ealy shook his head at the other colt, only belatedly realizing the gesture was pointless. "No...I'm not hurt. Not even my scarf is hurt, but we coulda," he said with increased intensity. "That's why you need to be careful, you know?" Feeling a little emboldened by this exchange, he cocked his head at the other foal, studying him with increased scrutiny. He was taken aback at the 'I won't hurt you' comment; had he been that obvious in his fear? Once again his manner was gruff, but this time it was more a defensive gruffness. "I didn't think you'd hurt me; that would be mean. 'Sides, I'm bigger'n you, you know? So if you tried, I'd fight you!" Not that he knew anything about fighting, but it sure sounded tough!

Kyaishi

 

[Kyaishi]

The feeling of wariness and fear that permeated the air around them prompted Morrow to shrink back a bit, as if his close proximity to the other colt were the sole cause of his trepidation, though he knew that his intentions were the biggest unknown that were likely causing the apprehension. Still, the stranger wasn't up and running, and although he could feel the stare that the other was no doubt directing towards his more... outlandish features, he hadn't yet started throwing accusations or derision his way. A step in the right direction, in any case.

All at once, though, he felt the other foal relax just a bit, as if put at ease by his words, and Morrow relaxed in return, curiosity rising just a bit as the tension in the air began to fade. Still, the guilt didn't disperse, and he lowered his head again at the fervent admonishment by the stranger, ears flicking backwards. While other Soquili were not his preferred company, he certainly never intended to cause harm to anyone else, and even the possibility of having inflicted an injury on another caused him no small amount of distress. Perhaps it was best that his kodama friend was still keeping itself a fair distance away from the exchange- no doubt it would pick up on his anxiety and start to emulate his discomfort itself.

At the colt's admission that no harm had been done, the blind foal relaxed a bit, but tilted his head in confusion at the shared mention of a scarf in his reprimand. He had heard the telltale sound of billowing cloth shortly before their unfortunate collision, but he couldn't fathom why the scarf would be an object of concern- at least, one comparable to the colt's own safety. Perhaps it had special sentimental value? He thought of his mother and her silk ribbon, given to her by her own mother, and he supposed he could understand, although he had no such attachments of his own... at least not to anything non-living. The forest and its residents were another matter entirely.

"Um... is your scarf... important?" he spoke softly, almost afraid that raising his voice would damage any good will he'd gained so far- which wasn't much, but he considered it progress that the small winged Soquili wasn't running for the hills, and the crushing feeling of fear had finally dissipated.

When the foal spoke again and bluntly stated that he didn't think Morrow had any intention of hurting him, he started visibly. Well... that was a switch. Most assumed right off the bat because of his looks that he was a carnivore, or some sort of monster-hybrid that preyed upon other Soquili- hadn't he been frightened just a moment ago? And yet he stated so brazenly that he didn't believe that the odd-looking foal was 'mean'. A small smile grew upon his maw at that, although he fought to conceal it, unsure if it would come off as threatening to his new acquaintance or not. At the claim that the other colt would fight him if he had attempted to harm him, he only nodded, although... his ears flicked and his head tilted at the assertion that he was bigger than Morrow.

He very much doubted that, from what his senses told him. Perhaps, if one were to include his wings, the other foal might have just a tad bit of mass on him, but the amethyst foal knew that it was a declaration full of hot air. Understandable, considering he had been feeling threatened only moments before. He said nothing, of course, but cleared his throat and shifted his weight until he was facing the other. Lifting his head slowly, he took in a cautious breath before speaking again, this time with a tiny bit of hesitant, but hopeful warmth.

"I apologize, I'm not, um..." here he shifted again, wishing for the comforting weight of his tree spirit friend on his back, "I'm not really all that used to sensing... other Soquili, when I'm moving." A slight pause followed, and after a moment of indecision, Morrow resolved to press his luck just a bit. "My name is Morrow. Do you, um... live around here?"  

[Cajmera]

Speaking had been the right choice, Ealy realized with a somewhat relieved shudder. Sure, the other foal was still creepy-looking; sure, he was like nothing Ealy had ever seen. Sure, he'd run right smack into Ealy without looking or thinking; sure, he was definitely the sort of fellow that would give a foal nightmares. Maybe even Ealy himself, later...or maybe he WOULD have had nightmares, if he hadn't been a very brave boy and stood his ground and tried to be nonjudgmental, just like his parents had taught him. His knees might still be shaking, but just the act of speaking to the other foal had bolstered Ealy's confidence. They had spoken; you shouldn't be mean to people you had spoken to, that was just good manners!

And it was good manners to not be rude and change the subject about things when someone was talking to you, either. He was a bit surprised that out of all he said, the odd colt latched first onto the subject of his scarf...but then again, Ealy himself had been rather passionate in his few words on the subject. He was still wary about the other colt, but not so wary as to keep his pride and joy to himself. Smiling with greater interest, he held out the scarf with one wing towards the other colt in a tentative share. "Yes, it's very important. Feel how soft it is? It's dirty after I fell on it just now, but it's still pretty nice. I got it all by myself, and I'm going to take care of it all by myself, too."

He was feeling increasingly confident the longer they spoke. Ealy was a friendly foal from a friendly family with a strong curiosity for the novel; sure, this foal was a long stretch from the two-legged Kawani he usually favored, but novel was novel! So he was quick to forgive, in the wake of the other foal's clearly reasonable explanation. With a caveat, of course. "Well, I'm ok, so we're ok...but you maybe ought to think about going slower next time, 'specially if you have trouble knowing what's around you, Hmm?" Winding the scarf back around his neck, Ealy proceeded to dust himself off, then grinned. "My name is Ealy! That's actually my nickname, but my real name is reaaaaaally long, so I just get called Ealy. Though my Mama and my brother and sister have longer names, I guess; mine's really Ealaionta, but that's just one word, not two, soooooo...." He trailed off, realizing he was answering his answer was proving much longer than the question. Ooops!

"And I live around; what about you, Morrow? I've never seen a Soquili like you before," Ealy added somewhat frankly. But there; introductions made! Take THAT, shaking knees!

Kyaishi