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 Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:27 pm
It had been a long journey.
Normally Maestro was not one to own up to the fact he was sorely lacking in one area or another, but even he knew his limits. For one unaccustomed to exceptionally lengthy times in the air and somewhat unexperienced with the odd thermals the mountain peaks created as the sun went down, it was remarkable he had made it this far. He had flown for nearly a week, stopping only to rest and to feed, the urge to strike out on his own surpasing any need to realize that he was going to get himself lost.
It was now though, as his wing muscles twinged in complaint, that he considered his journey to be at an end and made a slow spiral to the grassy meadows below. He had no idea where he was, yet the notion did not trouble him too much. This land looked hospitable enough and he was a fair sized stallion. Surely he'd not come to harm here.
After touching down as graceful as one so large can manage, he carefully studied wings. Dismay crossed his boldly marked face when he noted how mussed and damaged the delicate structures looked. They looked like they'd need a fair amount of preening.
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:38 pm
Huff. Huff. Huff.
Like a flash of black against the green ground, Ladius raced through the grass as though pursued by the hound of hell...or rather, as though she was the hound of hell. Her hooves dug into the ground as she ran, flinging up clumps of sod and bits of grass; however, she paid no attention to anything other than the small brown creature that ran on ahead of her.
The rabbit was terrified out of it's wits. This didn't usually happen, Soquilis usually left it alone, but not this one! No, Ladius had spied the small creature racing through the grass and instantly taken off after it, her mind consumed by the idea of a chase. And what a chase it was!
Well, what a chase it was for a time; like a beacon of hope, a hole in the ground appeared in front of the rabbit and it gratefully dove downwards, leaving Ladius behind.
"Darn it!" With a sigh of disgust and annoyance, the mare skittered to a stop beside the hole, glaring down it with an expression of profound disappointment. So much for that pastime; now what was she supposed to do??
That question was cleared up a bit as soon as she raised her head, however; now that she wasn't focusing on her rabbit, she could see that she wasn't alone in the meadow. No, there was another Soquili there...a winged one!
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:45 pm
Maestro was not so absorbed in the woe that was a disheveled wing that he did not notice the sound of strong, rhythmic pounding of hooves. He happened to glance upward as the mare skid to a halt, a slight dust cloud uplifted by her sudden stop, and quirked a brow. A quick look clearly told him this wasn't one of 'his' sort. Odd...he'd only heard about the wingless kind from the old storytellers. So they DID exist.
He flicked one ear forward casually while the other lay against the stiff, cropped mane, almost in a lazy fashion as he watched her.
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:55 pm
Ladius stared at the strange winged stallion for a few long moments, her sides still heaving from her prior exertions. Strange...she'd heard of Soquili with wings, but never been able to actually picture what that would look like. Birds had wings, bugs had wings...but Soquili? Obviously yes.
After a short bit of time, her breathing had returned to normal and she decided that the silence had lasted long enough. Tossing back her multi-braided mane, she briskly took a few steps forward towards the stallion and gave him a friendly smile. "Good afternoon, Sir; forgive me for asking, but have you always had those wings?" A bit blunt, maybe...but straightforwardness was just her way.
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:05 pm
Maestro could hold staring contests all day long, especially with a mare, but even he couldn't bear to ignore the injustice attached to his own body. While the mare was busy catching her breath, he broke his stare and addressed some of the worse feathers. Some were removed with a wince and a tug...others were more salvageable. The removed feathers were left scattered in the grass at his feet like they were nothing but leaves carried by the wind.
When he glanced up again, this time at the sound of her voice, he had a downy feather stuck to his tongue. He made a face and a lapping motion with his tongue, trying to unstick it for what seemed like ages before he cleared his throat in a dignified manner.
"Ah course eh've had 'em fereva'..." he said with clear amusment in his voice. "N' have yeh neva' had 'em?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:15 pm
Ladius frowned slightly as she watched the strange behavior of the stallion; he was acting like he was a bird, pulling out his feathers like that! Could he still use his wings if he pulled out all his feathers, and didn't that hurt, anyway? Talk about strange behavior.
She continued to stare as he started making strange faces, almost coming the conclusion that the best course of action would be to simply walk away before he turned violent or something along those lines.
However, once he started talking she found her attention and interest back on the stallion; partially because of what he was saying, but mostly due to HOW he was saying it. What a different voice! "No, I never have; the only winged creatures I've even seen are birds, bats, and assorted insects. So...how did you wind up with them? And why are you trying to pull out all your feathers?" Raising a brow, she pawed at one of the stray feathers on the ground, looking at the way the sun shined on it; indeed, why would you tear off something that...attached to you?
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:25 pm
"Then eh suppose eh'm in meh rights ta say tha' yeh are th' first eh've seen withou' them," he answered, his voice agreeable, but still edged with a matter-of-factness. "'n' eh was born with 'em...like any otha' wind would be."
Her second question made him eye her skeptically. This was so odd to be questioned about his everyday behavior, yet...oddly amusing too. This was standard issue back where he was from. EVERYONE preened. Maestro took the opportunity to fan his wings for her benefit, showing the neatly preened wing and the travel-worn one in comparison as his eyes rolled skyward as he launched into Wing Preening 101.
"Well, as yeh kin see...onna these looks ratha' rough, don't yeh agree? 'n' ta otha' looks nice 'n' orderly? Ta nice one works betta' fer flyin'...ta messed up one, not so much."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:38 pm
Well, that was fair...but the idea of being the first non-winged one to be seen was rather strange to Ladius, and made her eye the stallion rather suspiciously; maybe he was trying to mess with her mind? Though what that would bring him, she didn't know. "I suppose that you are indeed within your rights...though the whole thing seems very strange."
She wasn't expecting to him to fan his wings, and her first reaction was to jump back a step, as it seemed like he was going to attack. But once she realized that wasn't the case, she stepped forward again that she could look closer at his spread wings. Nodding her head as she spoke, she looked from one wing to the other, curiously poking at the scraggly one with a hoof. "Can't say that I understand the problem with the flight thing...but I've never tried to fly, or had wings, or anything like that. But I can tell that this one," as she pointed at the other wing, "Looks better."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:49 pm
When he did look away from the sky and noted that the poor thing apparently was recovering from a shock, he quickly looked around, lowering his wings briefly to check either side of him, looking for the source. It never occurred to him that it might be HIS fault. He shrugged and directed his attention back to his wings, which he admired subconciously while nodding.
"Indeed. Eh made it look tha' way by smoothin' ta feathas 'n' pullin' out ones tha' were too messed up ta fix. Lil' bitta work, but helps ah great deal."
Maestro was having a hard time imagining a soquili that was earthbound like this mare appeared to be. Perhaps she was a misborn? How sad.
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:58 pm
"So, basically you sacrifice a small part for the benefit of the whole, hum?" Well, that made more sense, now that Ladius thought about it. Perhaps that was why birds did it, too...that, or an inordinate sense of vanity, but who was she to judge?
After studying the feathers a bit longer, she nudged at the spread wing again, curious as to how strongly the feathers were even attached. "So, does it hurt to rip out your feathers like that? And do all the winged Soquili you know do that?" Maybe it was a breed phenomenon, not that she'd really know. Perhaps that was why she was asking so many questions, because all of this was new to her.
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:08 pm
"More o' less," he said as he dramatically swept the broad limbs back into a neatly folded package to either side of his side. "Eh....doesn't hurt tha' bad. Jus' a p***k, really. 'N' only if it's ah new featha'. We all do it."
He nodded matter-of-factly, obviously indicating the 'we' in his wording to be the others of his kind, then tilted his head to examine her bare sides.
"...how do yeh travel long distances? Or do yeh jus' not?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:15 pm
Ladius stepped back again as the stallion folded his wings, not wanting to be smacked or hit in any fashion. "I see. I suppose it's along the lines of pulling out a thorn or something, hrm? I know how that feels."
She found herself frowning a bit at his last question, though. What a strange thing to ask...she obviously traveled in the same method as other Soquilis! Chuckling a bit at the absurdity of the query, she raised one of her forelegs and showed it to him. "These things are how I travel long distances; that's why they give us legs! Or do you winged types not really use your legs?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:21 pm
"So yeh travel ova' ta' mounts wit' jus' yeh legs?"
Maestro didn't bother to not sound incredulous with his question. By hoof, the trip he took in seven moons would have taken double that! Why would anyone want to do that. He chuckled openly and lipped the air for a moment in thought.
"I use meh legs, but only fer short jaunts...neva' fer long, long trips, of course. Much easier ta fly."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:28 pm
Now it was Ladius' turn to be even more surprised. Why under the sun would she want to cross mountains when she had basically everything she needed in this nice wide meadow? There was food, space, places to sleep, small creatures that provided entertainment...eveything that she needed. Heck, that was all anyone needed, wasn't it?
"Actually, I've never traveled over any mountains...why would I need or want to? I'm sure that there's nothing of great interest on the other side of them, and I'm not the type to cross them just to say I did." Chuckling, she gave the stallion a curiously amused look. He made it sound like crossing mountains was a necessary part of life! "Do you regularly go crossing mountains, then?"
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