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 Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 1:37 pm
"You are enough in itself, Aegis." Yei afforded a wry smile at the cat. The mare was well aware of her friend's love for games and the concept of calling out to thin air would seem amusing to her. All the same... The mare couldn't help but wonder whether or not such tales really were true and whether or not they really could hear her? Her parents had always told her that they could hear her, wherever the wind blew the spirits would listen and although they didn't always respond they would know.
She did wonder, were her parents still alright?
"I..." Aegis was right, there was no one except her, she could handle Aegis' teasing. It couldn't hurt to try, to extend her apology to the winds and to hope the spirits would carry it for her - all she wanted was to be heard. She had made so many mistakes and they had all led to this.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, opening her eyes once more a she looked up towards the rather grey sky above her head. "I'm so sorry!" She spoke louder, her voice rising to something close to a shout.
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 1:58 pm
"And I am certain the clouds forgive you for however you may have failed them." The soft clop of hooves against the rocky ground cause both mare and feline to turn. For a brief time, it seemed that both had imagined it but sure enough the tentative hoof beats continued and the burnt orange plumes began to show itself. Progress remained slow, the stallion struggling to maintain his footing but somehow he still managed to sustain the majestic arch of his neck.
It was only when he had finally reached the top of the ledge that he took a few moments to catch his breath. Truth be told, he was far from recognisable and the once 'glorious' plumage upon his wings had all but been destroyed or hidden beneath the strange contraption strapped to both wings. In response to the scrutiny from both parties, one wing did ruffle but the other continued to remain limp.
He wavered slightly, releasing a somewhat uncomfortable snort at the strain of the cool wind against his delicate flesh, still bare where the mare had ripped out the feathers but there were tiny ones returning, a sign of hope for him.
"Are you alright?" The stallion enquired, his brow furrowing at the troubled expression on the mare's face.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:17 am
"You -" Yei couldn't really have gawked any more at the sight of the stallion, once magnificent, he was now a shadow of his former self and was far from the magnet for mares that he had been. She supposed this was due to the bandages and straps hiding his wings from view as well as the welts on his legs and that odd bandage around his left eye.
"Look awful." She mused at last, she had thought of saying 'dead' but clearly he wasn't if he was in that state. Even so, the very fact that he was alive caused her to choke just a little. All this time both she and Aegis had assumed that the stallion had been brutally murdered, eaten alive by a Kalona and yet here he was - battered but alive and looking somewhat confused.
Nevertheless, while the urge to shout at him was there her lower lip did give a slight quiver. Images of his colt-self came to the forefront of her mind (boyish smile included) and the lump rose in her throat. He'd always been so nice and she had been a long time ago, shy but polite - recently though...
"I'm so sorry." She whispered, lifting her eyes ever so slightly to meet the wind's.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:21 am
"Well spotted." Well this was odd, now accustomed to the verbal abuse and the insults that the mare tossed at him with ease, her sudden apology left him a little stunned. At a loss for words, he wasn't entirely certain what he should say in response to it, for a start he wasn't entirely certain as to what she was apologising for.
Was it her abuse?
Had she done something while he was away?
He didn't know, all he could do was shake his head ever so slightly and make his way slowly towards her. While he was going to remain away from the ledge (for fear of falling) he was going to close the distance between the pair, she looked so vulnerable on her own. Actually, her sudden submission rather reminded him of how she had been as a filly.
Gentle, modest and unassuming.
"Sorry, for what?" He asked softly.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:29 am
Aegis had excused herself as the stallion had appeared, all too aware of the desire for privacy. While there was a part of her that would have loved to stay there were some things that just had to be discussed away from the public eye - Yei would tell her what happened when she was ready - for this reason the pair had such a strong bond.
"Everything." It pained her to think of everything she had done but to be asked to elaborate on it was an entirely different matter. In doing so, she would be forced to unveil everything and in turn she would have to open herself up to hurt - the very thought made her look away from the stallion, who was once again wobbling unsteadily on his legs.
He had never hurt her before, had he?
"For hurting you, for saying all those things..." She began, her ears giving a slight swivel against the wind, "I tried to look for you but the birds said you'd been taken by Kalona and I just thought that, well, that it was over." She took a breath, simply allowing the words to escape from her lips in as controlled a fashion as she could but her voice was still unsteady; apprehensive.
"And then I remembered, I remembered everything and I never got to say I was sorry - I never got to say goodbye when you disappeared that day." She shook her head, encouraging the forelock to cover her eyes that threatened to well up at the slightest thing. "And then I realised I had never said goodbye, I just always knew you were there..."
"I'm so sorry..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:17 am
His lips parted at this. He had assumed she would give him some form of explanation but instead of that, she had explained everything. While her words had hurt him for the duration of his stay he had always excused her and deemed it his fault that she couldn't remember...but now she did. From her lips, she spoke the words he had longed for her to say, she knew who he was!
"Yei..." He murmured gently, shaking his head ever so slightly in response to her words. He was in two minds, while he wanted to embrace her he wasn't entirely certain that now was the time. Every bone in his body ached, but he was shaken to the core by her words, he just wanted to touch her, just to let her know that everything was alright. He wasn't mad and he never could be, he had always forgiven her for her faults because he had never looked for her either...he had given up as well.
"You have no need to apologise." His voice became a whisper, but his gaze had softened and a small smile had appeared on his lips. "No one is without fault, we all do the same things..." He was of course, referring to taking another for granted, ever realising how much they meant until they disappeared for good. He knew that sense of loss, the pain it caused.
"As for the Kalona, that would not be entirely accurate..." He motioned to the barren lands in the distance, slightly higher and closer to the deserts than the Islagiatt lands, "The stallion that found me was a mutant, without him I would not have lived..." He explained.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:25 am
Just like that, he had forgiven her without question. Just like that, she found her walls crumbling and she quickly lost her nerve, turning her gaze down to her hooves. She was relieved that the forelock had fallen over her eyes to the extent that he couldn't see her face, she could feel the tears and no longer capable of containing them she allowed them to trail slowly down her cheeks - it seemed all the weight and guilt had simply been lifted from her shoulder, a great burden gone in one fell swoop.
It was the first time in years, that a stallion had rendered her speechless and all she could do to fill the gap was to gaze at his injuries from behind the strands of her mane. The linen and leather bandages masking his beauty, hiding the destroyed wings and the wounds upon his face... Apparently like her, he had a two-legger who would come whenever he needed her most.
It also gave her the perfect excuse to cry, she wouldn't let him think she had simply burst into tears because she had been forgiven - she couldn't. She could allow herself to be vulnerable to a point, she just couldn't let him see her for someone weak, not after all she had done...
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:34 am
"Yei?" He had seen the mare's many mood swings, but even in the past he could never recall her keeping her gaze hidden. Shy, yes... But she had always allowed a fleeting gaze to raise up in response to a word or a smile from another. Shaking his head again the stallion then decided that perhaps there were times when a touch in its slightest form was necessary; just to provide comfort.
Thus, very gently he moved his head forward and softly began to brush the mane from her eyes with his muzzle. While he might not have received any true resistance, the tears were enough to make him pause barely inches from her muzzle. He had seen girls weep, it was nothing new to him but most did it upon anger, or pain...he was fairly certain he hadn't hurt her.
"Shhh, don't cry." He whispered softly, lipping the tears from her cheek. For all his faults, the stallion offered a slight smile that looked rather comical. It could be defined as a 'half-smile', littering his face in a lop as opposed to a full grin, a direct result of the bandage on his face preventing him from moving or expressing himself all that well.
"...Everything is alright."
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:43 am
"Is it?" His reaction only served to make her cry harder and her jaw tightened in response to his touch. All she had wanted, was for him not to see but it seemed the fates were against her. However, it seemed he hadn't made any reference to weakness and even as she lifted her gaze tentatively she found the soft smile to be encouraging as opposed to moving. Maybe he didn't think that of her...?
Did he miss who she had been?
"Why didn't you tell me who you were, the day we met?" She asked at last, shifting her weight as she lifted her gaze once more to the half covered face of the stallion. The expression on his face simply encouraged her, she needed to know why he had refrained as opposed to reminding her by force like many would have.
"Why did you let me do so much, when you knew the truth?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:08 am
"Would you have believed me?" Grencia smiled somewhat sadly as she at last asked the question he had been dreading. The first time he had seen her he had been so tempted, so tempted to shake her and yell for her to open her eyes but it would have done nothing. Rather, she would have been even more disgruntled and would have viewed him with even more prejudice.
"To be informed of who you were by a Wind stallion, to be reminded of your life..." He released a sigh and drew away so that he could maintain eye contact. Granted, the expression on her face could have crippled him (more than he already was) but there were some things that needed to be explained and now was the time to do it, "Yei, I think you would have been more frightened than appreciative."
"As for why I allowed you to continue," He hesitated briefly and shook his head, "Penance - I never came to look for you, I deserved the abuse. You had no wings, the pain you endured was far worse than my own." While this was a clear lie and his emotional hurt could have rivalled the pain she had endured on that fall, he would be loathe to admit it.
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:30 am
Well, he'd hit the nail on the head. She had loathed "exotic" soquili for many years, for inexplicable reasons. Her friends and family in these lands had simply accepted that this was the way she was but unfortunately they'd never questioned why (and neither had she). All this time, it had been because of how she had been treated as a young filly by those who were 'superior'. Those who were kind to her hadn't left the lasting impression that the others had.
...She'd expressed a hatred, a jealousy for no reason or only half a reason at least.
All the same, his reference for never coming for her struck a chord. She had given up on him, perhaps he had done the same thing - word of mouth was a powerful tool and while he was three years her senior, he had still been young. It brought some comfort to know that as odd as it may have been, someone other than her parents had been thinking of her.
A small smile came to her lips at this.
"Was I even missed?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:49 am
"Every day." Grencia's expression became more serious as he turned his gaze towards the mountain slopes, the mists and what lay beyond them. "Your parents, your friends - you loss came as a great blow," Turning his head back towards the mare, he released a small snort and shook his head. He wasn't lying when he said she was missed, she had been a warming influence and a welcome face each day - that and she had always been so good with the elders and the children.
'The Reliable One'.
She'd certainly proved that name to be true when she had fallen instead of allowing one of the foals to tumble down. It was just a shame that the Elders had assumed her dead and so few could recall the precise location she'd fallen - he still should have checked at least.
"After the accident, we opted not to go through that route any more as well, the risks were too high for those without wings." Too little, too late. Grencia had beaten himself up mentally following the loss, especially when he had never had the courage to inform her that he wanted her as his mate and no other (contrary to belief).
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 8:57 am
"Well I suppose that's something." Yei afforded a slight smile, apparently her fall had caused some benefits to be had for those without wings. The Elders had opted to find alternative and safer routes which made her feel better, at least to know that all the foals wouldn't risk falling to their deaths. She had barely come out of it alive, a foal would have died instantly...she knew that much.
Even so, the prospect of going back to a herd such as that wasn't one she was entirely fond of. While she craved a time when she could see her parents again, the life of a nomad was no longer for her...she was quite firmly fixed to the mountains and wouldn't be moving any time soon. She just hoped her parents were well, they had taught her so much and most of all, they had always taught her to be strong...
To love everyone despite appearances.
It was almost as though a dark cloud and the pink tinged glasses had been lifted from her eyes. Oddly, as she turned to fix her gaze on the stallion once more she didn't feel that burning irritation, nor did she view his additional limbs with disdain - instead, she was seeing them for what they were. While they may have been injured, their beauty was unquestioned.
"Oh Grencia," She released a sigh and canted her head to the side, "What happened to you?"
"You're a mess."
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:14 am
"You have no idea how many times I have had those words uttered to me." His smile grew somewhat at the question and it was only after a few moments that he considered the appropriate manner in which to approach the subject. The only individual who was firmly aware of what had happened, was the Mutant that had rescued him from the hillsides and ensured he remained warm. It had been an exchange, the mutant had desired to know of the potential threat and Grencia had accepted these terms in exchange for the help.
...He hadn't even divulged what had occurred to Blais when the stallion had found him...rather, he had simply groaned and acted rather hostile. At the time, he hadn't been in the mood to explain anyway, he was too busy fighting back the urge to weep - no grounded soquili would ever understand the agony of a broken wing.
"Let us just say I was forced into a battle that left both my opponent and I in dire need of aid. Said opponent was in even worse straights than I - unfortunately, I was unable to see how they faired after the battle." Canting his head to the side, he kept his gaze on the mare who seemed to be slowly calming down, something about the way she stood almost made her seem lighter, more serene.
"Those of us who fly, are rather brutal at combat...we always go for one another's wings."
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:22 pm
"And falling from the sky, crashing into the trees and disappearing for so long was all a part of this process?" She enquired softly, she seemed to struggle with his words. She had never been in a fight with another soquili that had resulted in injury. The concept of causing harm to another was far from her nature but apparently, the guardian within him meant that he was not beyond it.
Strangely enough, the thought of a male capable of combat didn't frighten her, it simply made her feel safer. If someone could fall at high speeds and still come out alive then they had to be special, although there was a part of her that hoped the other soquili had faired just as well - the concept of another falling to their death rang deep in her core.
"As well as this, mutant, you speak of?"
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