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 Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:16 pm
The stallion nickered a laugh, and turned towards the edge of the clover patch and the treeline ahead. "Allright. A twisty curvy path? Sure thing!" He looked back at her over his shoulder at her eager expression, and started out at a slow trot, eyeing the line of trees and undergrowth for a suitable entry spot into the thin woods beyond. finding one, Rakesh nudged it wider with his shoulders, snapping off some lower twigs so they wouldn't catch Tikva's short foal's mane or scratch at her sides to badly.
The sun had begun to climb high enough to be almost hot in the little clearing, but once inside the thin copse of trees, the air was cool and damp, and the ground dappled with green shadows and golden sunlight. A squirrel scampered accross the ground and up a tree, and birds sang in the overhead branches. Rakesh continued ahead slowly, forging a trail through the carpet of leaves and the clinging undergrowth towards what his nose told him was a small fast-moving water source.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:27 pm
Tikva had no problems trailing along behind her indulgent father, the path left behind him was even wide enough to allow her the luxury of peering around through the bushes to see what kind of world she lived in. She liked the birds, even if she couldn't find them, and she would have wanted to follow the squirrel if it hadn't gone up and disappeared from view.
"Why can't we climb trees too?" She mused, hopefully loud enough for her father to hear. He knew about all those kinds of things she didn't, but she would learn it all provided he would tell her about it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 5:06 pm
Rakesh stopped pushing ahead and turned in the path, returning to his daughter to look up at the squirrel now scolding them from a branch overhead. "Why can't we climb trees? Well, for one, we aren't really built for it." The stallion lifted one front leg to scrape at the tree trunk with his hoof, causeing a jay to scold him loudly from above. The sharp edge of his hoof left shallow scores in the bark as he kicked at it. "Squirrels have little claws and special feet for holding onto the tree." He lifted his foot again, bringing back down to the ground with a muffled thump. "And horses have hard hooves, designed for running fast on the ground." He smiled at her wistful look. "Every animal has a different purpose, and a design to suit."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 5:21 pm
Tikva awkwardly looked down and tried to examine her own little hooves. A different purpose, eh? When she pawed at the tree it didn't leave any mark on the rough wood, nor did it really seem to have any ability to find purchase in the little irregularities. "I suppose we can't fly into trees either, otherwise we would have wings like birds..." She muttered, glancing up at the noisy creature above them.
"Has a squirrel ever let you look at it's feet before?" She asked, satisfied with his previous answer and immediately proposing a new question so she could get another answer.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:14 am
Rakesh smiled. "I've heard that there are some soquili that can soar through the sky like eagles, or swim in the deepest lakes like fish. Maybe some day you will meet one." He was about to turn and continue forward, but was stopped by her second question. He smiled, hiding a laugh. "Well, you know, I used to be a number-one squirrel nail pedicurist, so I've seen tons of squirrel feet in my day," Rakesh stated, his tone and expression serious.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:12 pm
"Really?" Tikva asked, peering up at Rakesh with a mixed expression of skepticism and awe. "Can we go find a really deep lake today?" If there were such creatures out there she would like to meet them now. And flying soquili might be harder to find than ones that swam really deep, because the latter would need a deep place if they did indeed swim really deep.
She glanced up and the squirrel began it's agitated chattering all over again. "What's a pedicurist? You don't look like one."
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:19 pm
Rakesh nodded sagely, "Really, I was! I wouldn't joke about something that serious." He tried to finish with a straight face, but couldn't help grinning at his daughter's expression. "Ok, so maybe I didn't help them keep their nails pretty, but I have seen squirrel feet."
"I don't think we'll make it to any of the really deep lakes today, but we can maybe find a nice clear stream, and get ourselves a cool drink," He said, beggining to turn back in the direction he had scented water. "But I'm sure you'll get to meet a water-horse some day."
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:32 pm
Tikva was happy enough to continue on their way. "I didn't think squirrel feet were that serious. I think they would be funny looking if they can stick to trees." Maybe some day she would see squirrel feet too. And a water horse.
"Maybe if it's just a stream, we'll see a little water horse? Maybe one my size? You would be too big to fit in a stream so it wouldn't be the same size as you are." She flicked her little tail. Wouldn't it be wonderful if she could find a water horse to take home and show her sisters...
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