|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:49 am
It was at periods like this when his brothers would have started making inappropriate sounds. They would have gagged, cackled or started cracking twigs under hoof if only to shatter the silence. Unlike Ambroise they had never been content in absolute silence, they'd taken after his mother in that respect. However, like his father, Ambroise rather enjoyed a little peace and quiet when he knew that there was nothing of importance to attend to in the immediate future. In this case he had a very important issue to deal with but until they reached the peaks there was very little he could do about it; therefore he was taking a leaf out of his mother's book and he was 'going with the flow' as the family tended to say.
He was a river.
No, that was too fast flowing.
He was a stream, a trickling stream that bubbled down the mountain at it's own pace. Somehow that image seemed much more appropriate and he quipped a small smile at the thought.
Nevertheless his bubbling stream was soon to erupt into a thunderous waterfall, for even he couldn't have expected what he was about to see. Nearby the smallest 'crack' could be heard as another creature stood on a vulnerable twig. He paused immediately and his ears swivvled, he was well aware that something had to be a particular size and weight to snap such things and he hadn't seen anything in passing. This was not a particularly good position to be in... Unsurprisingly his ears flattened against his head and he gave a disgruntled snort as he looked from left to right for any indication of what might have been there.
Crack!
"Damnit!" hissed a voice, the vital slip up that Ambroise required to detect the culprit. Unfortunately, it wasn't an unknown one and worse still, he was related to it.
"You stinking son of a - !" Ambroise snapped his mouth shut to resist the urge to curse further (especially as he would have been cursing his own mother) and flared out his wings angrily, smacking the branches away from his head. A number of leaves fluttered by and a few twigs broke off here and there but for the most part the trees were safe. Really, very few would have anticipated the volume that Ambroise could raise his voice to when he was genuinely angry and nearly quivering with rage.
"Fenghuang, get out here NOW!" he roared.
There was another snap of a twig, a shuffle and then a pause from the hidden sibling.
"Ahhhh s**t," came the response, one that seemed to resembled a groan. While Ambroise wasn't aware of it, he'd completely blown his brother's cover (though it was unlikely he would have cared if he had known anyway).
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 2:08 pm
Elizabeth had never been one for vulgar language. Indeed, those inclined to poke fun at the sedate mare might argue that she had never been one for language at all, let alone the coarser words and phrases that seemed to be spoken so freely by so many. However, it was rare that she had been exposed to such language, given that she spent so little time in the presence of other Soquilis.
Consequently, the whole sudden chain of events, from the initial soft curse to Ambroise's violent response to the ear-splitting bellow that followed left Elizabeth agape, in both the literal and metaphorical sense of the word. It actually took a few minutes for the mare to collect herself and close her mouth; in less time, though, the mare was stepping back, giving her mate room to address whatever it was needed to be addressed.
She did wonder, though, as she stepped out of the way, if the Fenghuang he was speaking to was indeed that small foal from so long ago...
~~~~~
~"Fenghuang, get out here NOW!"~
Given that Ambroise was no attempting to be quiet when he ordered his brother to appear, it should hardly be surprising that others besides Feng actually heard the order. Fenghuang's disgusted reaction was one legitimate response, and for another?
"Fenghuang? FENGHUANG???" Anelisse's reaction was both incredulous and indignant; if Raccoon couldn't tell from Mistress's voice that she had heard the bellow, the quivering of her body would have been enough to give it away. And it was not a happy look on Mistress's face, either, much to Raccoon's dismay.
Without giving Raccoon any time to respond in any way, Anelisse had given the familiar one quick, piercing look, then turned and started off in the direction of the voice. "Raccoon, we have business to attend to!"
Business, indeed! When she saw that red stallion, she had some words for him! As well as for whoever was yelling, they had no business to be yelling so rudely in HER home!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 2:30 pm
What came out of the forest was something that most would have recoiled in disgust at. The stench that caught Ambroise's nose didn't quite cause him to reel, but his eyes did glaze over briefly as he fought to maintain his composure for a variety of reasons. He hadn't been this furious in a long time, the last time he had felt quite so murderous was on the day he had discovered Althalus' little mishap and had been forced to sort it out! If there was one thing Ambroise did not handle well it was sordid messes, if there was one thing he appreciated even less it was a lack of consideration to his family from one of his own blood relatives. Ambroise was every definition of fuming at this moment and no amount of deep breathing would quell his anger. Alas, it was one of those unfortunate moments when ranting was unavoidable.
"A year and a half, Fenghuang. A year and a half, without any word!" He roared, disregarding Elizabeth for the time being as he stalked towards his incredibly grumpy brother. To be honest, 'grumpy' was putting it incredibly politely given that the male was a steaming mass of mud, tats and leaves - if there was a red coat under there it would ne nigh on impossible to tell at the moment. "You go galivanting off based on the tales of your bloody uncle and vanish off the face of the earth - we thought you were dead!"
Unsurprisingly, Feng recoiled slightly as Ambroise's nose came close to colliding with his.
"We searched everywhere, we spent weeks hunting high and low for your sorry backside and now I find you here in the most sordid and disgusting condition I have ever seen ANYONE!" He took a breath and shook his head. "And lord knows I've seen some disgusting things but you even rival a ckalona in feeding right now!" Snarling he brought his wing round to slap his brother upside the head and, still not finished in his verbal assault he continued onwards.
"Where the hell have you been? You better pray you have a bloody good excuse or I'm going to tear you to tiny little pieces and bring your ashes back to mother personally."
"When I came down here I met someone," Feng murmured, his mood rather deflated given the circumstances. "Actually I met a princess and -"
"A princess..." Ambroise didn't sound impressed.
"Yes and she needed me! She didn't realise it but she did and I wanted her to realise this!" Feng snapped, Ambroise brow lifted in distaste. "So I went up north and things didn't really go to plan, I got kinda sick..."
"Just what every brother wants to hear," Ambroise replied drily.
"Humans helped me though, and would you shut up I'm trying to explain!" Feng continued, gritting his teeth as he eyed his older brother. Given Ambroise's body language, he would have bet good money that his brother was going to interrupt him every single sentence. It was only in that moment that he actually spotted Elizabeth and paused briefly in his explanation. "Hey Lizzy! Fancy seeing you here, you're looking smashing today and -"
"Fenghuang!"
"ALL RIGHT!" Feng roared and puffed up his chest, he reached Ambroise's height when he refrained from slumping. "Around spring I managed to get back here but something had happened to the princess, she wasn't well anymore and I knew I had missed something - I told you she needed me..."
"Yes because this doesn't sound even remotely disturbed at all," Ambroise replied coolly.
"The fact of the matter is that I stayed, she doesn't have any idea I'm here! ...Or rather she didn't, I'm fairly sure the entire area knows I'm here now so thanks for that," Feng paused and through his brother a scathing and very sarcastic smile. "I've been keeping her safe, I didn't have time to shimmy on up the mountains again when I'm not even sure the damn mare will eat!"
"So - you put off letting your family know you were alive so that you could stalk a female."
"It's NOT stalking!"
"It bloody well is!" Ambroise snapped with a ruffle of his wings. "You are by all measures the very definition of a stalker, slinnking about in that...attire and spying on an unsuspecting mare - did we teach you nothing?" The stallion howled, throwing his wings up as though he had no other way to express how he truly felt.
"She -"
"Did not need you, when the hell did you develop such fanatical ideas you're not a complete idiot; or at least I thought you weren't until today..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 3:00 pm
Ah, the pains of being a well-bred mare could sometimes far outweigh the joys. Being a well-bred mare meant that Elizabeth managed to contain her shock and natural disgust at the shambling mound of Soquili that appeared in response to Ambroise's summons. Behind that self-containment, though, Elizabeth was absolutely shocked. THIS was Fenghuang? This filthy, long-haired creature who reeked so strongly it made her eyes water? It was a shocking comparison, this thing-that-might-be-a-stallion with the foal she had known.
At the least the 'conversation' didn't require her participation; maintaining her composure was taking all of her efforts, and to do more would have been...well, impractical. Very, very impractical. Even when Feng noticed and spoke to her, she could only manage a barely contained, tight-lipped smile.
Though to be honest, she wasn't going to even try to start a conversation, not at the moment. Ambroise was rather...intent on his lecture right then, and the last thing that she wanted to do was interrupt.
Besides, from the sound of things Ambroise had a good reason to be emotional (even if anger was not the emotion of her choice). For Fenghuang to be absent for so long without word, without even informing his family? And for such a reason, it was such dangerously irrational behavior! And so very inappropriate with regards to the mare, too...
~~~~
"Inconsiderate, rude, noisy, disrespectful Soquili with NO common courtesy, NO inclination or care about those around them who might live here and wish to simply live their lives in peace WITHOUT being subject to the criticism and mud-flinging of others and then having them vanish into the sunset without giving anyone a chance to actually have a civilized conversation with them!"
To Raccoon's ears, it sounded rather like Mistress had forgotten what she was talking about in the course of her rant, but she was hardly going to mention that fact. When Mistress was upset, it was best to just let her get things out of her system. Though to be honest, she didn't care much for the way Mistress had decided to do this. Red One had been so crafty at avoiding detection, a Someone able to find him had to be quite the potential threat. Red One was able to take care of himself, but Mistress?
Well, that was why Raccoon was there, to buy time if needed and try and keep Mistress safe.
Anelisse, on the other hand, didn't know exactly WHAT she was thinking or why she was doing what she was doing. It was so irrational...but damnit, she was NOT finished with Mister Fenghuang, and if he was close by, then he owed her a conversation!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 3:15 pm
The one sided argument continued for a little while longer and with each passing moment Fenghuang failed to provide any rational or logical explanation for his behaviour. For all intents and purposes he had acted like a child, he'd be impulsive, inconsiderate to blame it on his fanatical and questionnable obsession with some faceless mare was enough to drive Ambroise up the wall. Any onlooker would have sympathised with Elizabeth's plight in this moment, torn between a furious betrothed and her soon to be brother-in-law... it certainly wasn't the best way to be introduced to the family on such an auspicious day. Elizabeth would have been well within her rights to storm off and demand that Ambroise return with an apology and a more fitting introduction to his chaotic relatives - alas, it wasn't likely to happen any time soon.
The tension could have been sliced in half with a knife.
...However, something seemed to click in Ambroise's head as he sucked in a deep breath and regarded his brother with something on par with abhorration, it was one hell of a feat as well, given that Ambroise was rarely angry enough to come close to hatred for a sibling... in fact this was probably the first time. There were truly no words to describe how he felt and for a moment he looked away as he gathered his thoughts and dwelled on the best way to proceed with the entire fiasco.
"You owe an apology," he said at last.
"I'm sorry," Feng replied flatly.
"Not to me!" Ambroise hissed and shot another look his brother's way. "To your MOTHER but first, first you are going to get clean, you are going to get whatever crap you have rolled in OFF of you and then you are going to trekk your sorry a** the whole way up the slopes," he continued, leaning back in despite the putrid smell that seemed to radiate from his brother. "And you better be prepared to beg because so help me by the gods you are going to make amends for what you put us through!"
"I -"
"If you say you can't I will hail you up there my self and you will never see this hell that is the lowlands again, do I make myself clear?" he snarled and for all Fenghuang's bravado he knew that his brother was being completely honest, there were few things Ambroise threatened that he was merely making up. No, Ambroise didn't threaten, he made promises.
"Perfectly," Feng replied softly, a hint of ice in his words.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 3:29 pm
"I wish that you would make yourself clear in a more polite and respectful way. Did it occur to you even ONCE in your little ranty diatribe that there might be Soquili around who were sleeping, relaxing, or otherwise trying to enjoy the day in peace? I would say no to be charitable, but HONESTLY!"
Eyes blazing with indignation, Anelisse broke out of the trees a short distance away from the three other Soquilis. A few strands of hair had come undone in the course of her swift trek, but otherwise she was in as fine a form as she had ever been...to say nothing of a fine temper! However, only a few moments of her indignation were reserved for Ambroise. As soon as she had vented her irritation with him, she had swung around to face Fenghuang, allowing little time for anyone else to speak.
"And YOU! What do you mean by going and vanishing like that when I wanted to talk to you! Coming around and not even stopping by, just contributing to disturbing the peace and being so very...irritating! And you look filthy and you smell, you need to take a bath! Immediately!"
A bit of an anticlimactic end to a fine rant, but that was often how it was with Anelisse: All the bluster worked itself out quickly, then all that was left was...well, less than dramatic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 3:39 pm
"Oh peachy," Fenghuang permitted the drawl to escape his lips as his cover was truly blown, Anelisse had stormed through the trees in all her glory and despite her mildly dishevelled appearance, would put most beauty queens to shame. He wasn't surprised of course either at her looks or her mood, Raccoon had always been spectacular with her hair and as for the mood - well, she was generally a rocket. Still, it did mean that he was caught in by far the most creative but disgusting disguise ever and his brother had annihilated any standing he might have had in one rather well placed swoop.
It was Ambroise's expression that spoke volumes though, as he turned his gaze towards Anelisse and flicked his gaze from top to toe. She was aethestically pretty, he could see the teenage crush appeal his brother may have had but the personality and they little fit? She was definitely princess tippy toes but if Fenghuang was besotted with this little welp it had to stop, Ambroise was furious but he wouldn't stomach the humiliation of his sibling when it wasn't by his own hands. Thus it was with a small snort of disgust at Anelisse that he returned his gaze to Fenghuang and shook his head.
There was no point in starting another argument.
There was no point in taking the bait in relation to Anelisse's little fit either.
"Make yourself presentable, I expect to see you home within two days," he pointed out darkly. He chose not to wait for a response from his brother (though Elizabeth would have seen him pull a face) and flicked his gaze towards Elizabeth. He had the decency to look sheepish in this moment and cleared his throat.
"Perhaps we should uh - proceed to the slopes, Miss Elizabeth..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
