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 Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 10:42 am
(Please do not post unless you have either my or Cihiru's permission. Thank you!)
The day was a hot one, so Isilme had decided this morning to walk down to the river and cool off. She had marveled at the heat here, in these southern lands: the summers where she had lived were warm, but short-lived, and nothing compared to the lazy heat of the day here. It's all she can do to not just fall asleep, reasoning that surely predators couldn't be out hunting in this.
But she's too wiley to fall for that sort of wishful thinking, so at high noon, she's reached the banks of the river, and is snorting happily as she sends up sprays of ice cold water, which sharpens her senses and brings her more fully awake. As she idly plays, she tries to focus on the feeling of unease that has plagued her the past few weeks. She's been in one place too long: that must be it. She's never stayed in the same place for more than a fortnight. Alta has been oddly silent in the matter, when before she would have complained about the slow pace. Instead, the peregrine falcon had been off on her own, sometimes for days, and had come back only reluctantly. It was clear that the other female wanted to be off, but she oddly said nothing. It was a puzzle, and one that Isilme was reluctant to solve.
She shied from those thoughts much as she would from a fly, not wanting to follow them to their obvious conclusion. Instead, she puts all her concentration into trying to catch several of the fish that flit past her legs. Now she's waded in as far as her stomach, which the water laps at, tickling. She blows a humerous bubble in the water, chortling, and ducks her head fully under to watch the fish.
All too soon she's forced to come up again for a breath of air, her breath ragged. She enjoys swimming, something she's not often able to do, considering her home climate.
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 3:15 pm
To say he was unaccustomed to the climate would have been reasonably far from accurate, but it didn't prevent him from being at least a touch uncomfortable. The heat had coaxed local insects from... wherever it was they disappeared to, and he found himself flicking his lengthy tail to shoo them then. Why was it they insisted on being so annoying, anyway? He never did anything to them!
But to say he didn't have more important things on his mind wouldn't have been entirely truthful either. Really, the irritated twitch of his decidedly less-scruffy hide was a nag in a forgotten corner of his mind. Other thoughts reigned decisively, causing him to pause his absent pace and declare "Today" to noone in particular. Yes, he would tell Isilme today. Sure, he hadn't quite figured out how, but... Well, that was a minor detail, and he wasn't about to let it discourage him. Act first, think later.
It was with that persuasion he set himself to locating her. Resuming the abandoned trot, Loki set off through the thicket with a more obvious air of purpose. Now, if only he knew where to find her; a tracker he was not.
He did have deductive reasoning to aid him though, and he did his best to take advantage. Besides, process of elimination didn't hurt either. While the river was not the first place he checked, it was the last, as following its winding path drew a familiar form into view not long after wading splashes met his twitching ears.
"Afternoon, Isilme," he called as he neared, all but able to hide the amused grin stretching his velvety maw. "Having fun?" Drawn in by the coursing waters, the stallion pulled himself to the river's edge, and dipped his head to lip at them.
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 7:34 pm
If she could start, she would have: but it's very difficult to move suddenly in deep water, and so she only succeeds in losing her hoof-grip on the bottom of the river and bobbing for a few seconds before she can calmly put them back down again, and start a search for the owner of the voice: Loki.
"Come to join me in the river?" Isilme calls back, swishing her wet tail so that it sends up a spray of water. "It's quite cool compared to this infernal heat you call summer," she jokes, but she nevertheless moves closer to him and out into shallower water. Droplets course off of her belly and down her legs, and down her face: except for one portion on her back, she's completely soaked. The grullo mare sighs in contentment as a very faint wind blows onto her wet fur, cooler her even further. "That's much better. I don't even remember more than a few times getting to go swimming in summer to get cool. I didn't know it got so warm here." She wonders if she'll even need such a shaggy winter coat come snow time.
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Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 2:11 pm
In the brief moment he was unsure if she would find her footing, the stallion lifted his head and drew a step nearer, throwing his forelegs into the river's current. Though the following inquiry smoothed his initial concerns, her startled response was not quite what he had anticipated, and he gave a sincere "Sorry, I hadn't meant to surprise you."
He smiled too though, and the apologetic expression quickly gave way. "That's not a bad idea. Though," he started, wading foward "I'm not too certain what you mean by 'infernal heat.' You don't think it's pleasent?" Loki's broad, jesting grin and ever-lighthearted tone belied his intention. "And I don't remember many blizzards. I did try to warn you."
"... Even though I was uncertain you'd stay so long at the time." Giving one of his ears a twitch, the mustang shifted his weight rather deliberately. "Is it really that bad?" As though his purpose just reoccured to him, his tone had sobered considerably, and his expression hinted at a genuineness that seemed almost out of place on his features.
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