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 Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 5:47 pm
"Of course I have," boasted Mal. "I met a kalona mare. She was a unikalona, actually... but she was mostly kalona. I've heard a lot about kalonas and have done a lot of research." That was the truth. He had simply eaten up every kalona story that he'd heard since he was a foal. Once he was able to fight and defend himself, he'd be able to get even closer to them!
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 5:56 pm
... Haya was astounded. His mouth even hung slightly open. This kid had talked to a unikalona and gotten away from the encounter unscathed? Apparently he had been lucky enough to find one in a good mood. Haya knew only too well himself what sort of danger a unikalona in a bad mood could be.
"Please listen to me." The seriousness and urgency he felt was reflected in his voice. If he didn't do something about it, the kid was on a path to getting himself killed. "You seem to like kalonas. I don't understand that... but it is what it is. You say you've met a unikalona... but I don't think you really know what a kalona or a unikalona is. If you did, you wouldn't want to be anywhere within biting distance of one." So far, the other stallion didn't seem to understand. Haya decided to get a little more direct. He turned himself so that he faced sideways in respect to Malchediel. From that perspective, scars were evident on his flanks.
"Do you see those? A kalona gave me those when he was trying to kill some other members of my herd." He turned again and lowered his head so that the scars across his snout were visible. "And these I got much earlier. I was probably about your age and she was the first kalona I ever met. I thought I could talk to her and that she would help me understand what it meant to have kalona blood. This is what she taught me."
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 5:59 pm
When the half-kalona started his speech Mal was frustrated. He didn't like being treated like a colt and that seemed to be what Haya was doing. As soon as he caught sight of the scars that feeling stilled. A chill grew within him as he surveyed the healed damage.
"I see that... but... the unikalona didn't hurt me. You aren't hurting me." Confusion flooded him. He had made it away from kalonas without being attacked.
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:06 pm
At least Mal seemed to be listening. That was a relief. It meant that there was a chance of getting through to him.
"Halfbreed kalonas can be a pretty mixed lot," said Haya. "I don't know about that particular unikalona but I do know that unikalonas can be all flowers and sunshine one moment and tearing out your throat the next. I'd be especially worried if I was talking to a unikalona because I'd be wondering if they could control their impulses as well as a full kalona." His children were unikalona but the blood had been watered down enough in them to make their lives livable.
"As for me, I've told you. I've met kalona." His voice grew gruffer. "I know them well enough to know that I'm not like them. Don't go using me as example of what kalonas act like."
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:15 pm
Mal went uncharacteristically silent. He looked at Haya with great scrutiny. He hadn't come here for a talk about kalonas... but he'd never talked to someone with such experience with them.
"So...." he started. "But..." He wasn't sure what he wanted to say. His bluster was gone. This was entirely new territory.
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:18 pm
"If you have any questions, now is the time to ask me." Haya looked straight at the young stallion. "I'll listen and I'll give you the best answer that I can. I don't claim to know everything about kalonas but I'll give you the best answer I can."
He had come fully out of the water by now. The dampness was still a nice buffer against the heat, though he would have preferred to stay in the water entirely.
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:22 pm
Mal took a moment, though about it, then asked the half-kalona his first question. Once he had been answered more followed. The half-kalona was surprisingly easy to talk to. Mal wished that he had even gone to meet him earlier. They talked for a long time. It wasn't sunset yet when they finally finished but it was getting close enough that Mal thought he probably ought to start heading back to the Miakoda herd.
"I'll go tell my parents that you want to talk to them," he said grudgingly as he started to leave. "I guess that they can come talk to you... or you can come talk to them."
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Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:29 pm
"I don't mind going out there to meet them, you know," said Haya with a smile. "It's nice to get out of the herd every once in a while. I'm still not quite used to living in such a big group, honestly."
Mal nodded. They exchanged another few words of parting and then he was gone. Haya watched after his disappearing figure.
By the end of their talk he really felt as if he had made an impression on Malchediel. Maybe he was still going to go out chasing kalonas but at least now he might have some wariness about them. Oddly, a lot about Malchediel reminded Haya of himself at that age. Brash, full of unfounded expectations. For Haya, all that had ended with the death of his daughter. He only hoped that Mal might be able to hold onto his hopes and expectations a little longer. I hope he holds onto the hopes that don't involve going nose to nose with kalonas, that is, he mentally corrected himself with bemusement.
He hoped that Sengdroma and her mate Maion would agree to let him have more contact with their son. Though they had talked a lot, Haya had the feeling that he still had a lot to share with the young unicorn stallion.
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