{PRP} One Warm Day {SakuraXRoman}

[Phail Ninja]

Sakura flicked her ear back at his vague answer. "You walk? Didn't you just say you're bored of traveling?" Her voice was half-teasing, but she noticed how his back seemed to stiffen at her question. "Why do you walk if you get no pleasure from the sights all around?"

Noticing his change of topic, the mare grinned inwardly. One point for the female, zero for the stranger. "Well why not? You've made no attempt to push me away, and I enjoy the company, no matter how gruff he may be." Truth be told she was a social creature at heart, and the forest tended to get lonely, so it was nice to talk to someone once in a while. She was not about to pass up this opportunity, Besides, it was nice to have a slightly more in depth conversation than just small talk about the weather.

"You are blind to love, you do not see how it can be beautiful. Disaster does not befall all relationships." Her face was filled with utter conviction, her eyes shining with the force of her belief.

 

[Regal Renegade]

This conversation was beginning to grow more personal than he had wanted but he was able to place a mask on his face and body to hide his emotions. “I do not walk for the sights; I walk because I simply have no reason to stop.” He figured that was a diplomatic answer if ever there was one if not a little philosophical. Honestly he didn’t know why he continued to walk; his hooves just got a burning sensation if he stopped in one place for too long. He hadn’t really sat down and taken the time to figure out why this was, he didn’t really care to know the answer.

If he had truly wanted to push her away he supposed he could have but he was doing everything aside from becoming violent to get her to leave. It was a usual phenomenon for others to walk away when talking to someone as unpleasant as he. Even so he had no answer to give besides that of a grunt laced with disapproval.

He eyed her a moment, taking in the emotions glowing within her when she spoke of love. “One way or another you always loose the thing you love.” He countered. “Whether taken by death, lust or unfortunate circumstances something always happens.”  

[Phail Ninja]

If the stallion thought such a meager answer would satisfy her, he was wrong. "You have no reason to stop, but you have no reason to keep going either." She didn't phrase it as a question, but if the stallion wanted to talk it would leave it open to discussion. Though he'd probably just shrug it off and try to change the topic again.

Sakura burst out beaming with a smile as he didn't think of an argument to use against her. To her, that seemed to almost be an invitation to talk more. Surely after stating it so obviously, he could try to push her away more if she truly wasn't appreciated as company? Besides, the stallion seemed... lonely, even if he didn't admit it. Wandering was probably something nice to do, but to do it with no purpose or joy was a morose life-style. She hoped that on some level, even if he wouldn't admit it, her encounter would be something he was grateful for. Then she snorted to herself, he was being like a stubborn foal. Even if you show them reason, they press on with their point more and more strongly. But foals she could deal with.

"Just as in the way everything you hate is lost. All things come to an end, the good and the bad, and the mediocre and boring. Everything, eventually. But is that an excuse to evade it? To evade life, love and everything else?" Everyone can love, she thought, just like everyone can hate. But it is about embracing the moment and the memories, and not allowing grief to rule your life. At least, that was her penny's worth.

 

[Regal Renegade]

He clenched his teeth and let out a deep sigh as she brought to light the story of his life. He really had no reason to continue on but he did. He kept on slogging through days full of pain and sorrow, days full of reminders that he was truly alone. “I guess.” He replied snippily. He hadn’t meant to reveal a sore spot within himself but he was unable to keep it contained. He simply couldn’t deny the empty feeling within his heart.

From the corner of his eye he noticed her smile and, after pushing back his hurting pride, wondered if he had ever smiled in such a manner. Most of his time as a foal he spent worrying for his brother and hating his father, it had just become a way of life. Looking away from her he furrowed his brow in contemplation. This mare was bringing up things he would have rather avoided and it was beginning to frustrate him. It wasn’t that she was doing it on purpose but her vivacity revealed his own dull nature.

“Then tell me, what do you do when the happiness ends?” Surely everything came to an end but what one did in the meantime was what truly bothered him. His life was far from glorious or perfect and he didn’t expect this slump would just end; it had been going on for quite some time now. “Evading it keeps you from having to repeat it.” He grumped.  

[Phail Ninja]

Though his words were simple, they were laced with a bitterness that was impossible to disguise. It was a stinging, brash emotion that made her want to recoil and yet move closer to comfort him at the same time. "You could stop." Sakura felt she wasn't doing herself any favors by saying such statements, but something told her it had to be said. Perhaps, one day, he would realize the wisdom in her words. Then again, she wasn't really the best of role-models, considering her own aversion to any form of travel outside of her forest. But in this, at least, she felt confident her answers were correct.

Did she detect a flash of hurt in his eyes as she smiled? If she did, it was too fleeting for her to grasp properly. With a gentle snort and a slight shake of her head, she opened her mouth to speak. And then she hesitated. Clearing her throat, she rethought her words. How could she phrase it? How could she show that she could feel the deep sadness that seemed to pool within the stallion, the emotion that was so covered by walls upon walls of defenses that Roman appeared as nothing more than an uncaring being? "You... don't smile much."

And then she snorted a much bigger snort at his next words. "And what do you do when the weariness ends? When the hatred ends? When the pain ends? Happiness is an emotion some are born feeling, and others have to earn. But if you work hard, the happiness... it never ends. It is always there, somewhere." You could not always feel it, especially in the bleak times, but always, always it returned. You just had to have faith, and a bit of elbow grease. "And if something befalls you, you work to find more happiness. Life... life is too short to spend it avoiding the pain. Pain will happen, it is natural. Just as there is light, there is dark. Warmth, cold. Joy, sorrow. Pain has its equivalent, as does everything. Perhaps instead of avoiding it, you should concentrate on the other end of the scale. Aim for happiness. If nothing else, it gives a purpose to your wanderings."

 

[Regal Renegade]

A humorless chuckle rumbled deep within his chest and a bitter smile painted his countenance. “For what? Even if I stop there is nothing to keep me from moving again. I have nothing to hold me where I stand so I keep moving.” Though her answer seemed simple enough he knew he wouldn’t be able to follow through. He had attempted to just stop and call someplace his home but his feet would always begin moving once again when he found he had nothing to keep him there. Inwardly he knew it was partly his fault for being unable to connect to anyone but he never tried to find a way around that.

Her words caught him off guard and he turned to look at her once more. Rather than giving a true response he grumbled and shook his head. Why did he suddenly feel as if he were admitting something he had done wrong to a mother figure? Somehow she had triggered that sense within him which caused his gut to clench.

He listened to her words but they did not truly get to him, though he did stow them away for future use. “The weariness, pain and hatred don’t end. Maybe for some but for others it has become a way of life, one that cannot simply just dissipate. Happiness may be a powerful thing and one that is always around but it seems as though that emotion seems to skip over individuals. No matter how hard you try to work toward something or find something meaningful it always seems to bring sorrow. It is a curse, one that follows you no matter where you go and no matter how hard you struggle darkness floods you. What do you do then? Just keep pushing for a rainbow that will never come? Or accept the reality and stop wishing for things that will never be?”  

[Phail Ninja]

Well... he had her there. But Sakura knew that she was right, regardless of how persuasive his counterargument was. Grimacing slightly as she fought to find the right comeback, she felt her heart twist at his bitter smile. There was a soul who needed a friend, who needed compassion and to learn true happiness. "Find a reason to stay..." The words were soft, almost a sigh as her argument broke into little pieces. Perhaps it looked like she was giving up, or perhaps it sounded like the gently advice of a caring Soquili. But Sakura could not tell how he would take her words, only that there was a message she was trying to convey, and it seemed to be failing.

But at his next movement the mare shouldered her resolve. At first it was an almost surprised glance, and then it dissolved into a gruff grumble, but at the end was a head shake. It seemed to her that all that sadness she had sensed was, in essence, the entirety of that small motion. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and it was true. Sakura had no words to describe how she felt towards him at that moment. The urge to comfort him, to let him know he was free to smile... But some things are best left unsaid. And in this instance, silence was probably a stronger answer than any words she could ever have uttered.

"Such things will only never be if you believe they will never be. The opportunities for happiness may be all around you, yet you are closed off to them because you assume such things can 'never be'. Shrugging off the emotions of the last moment, she pressed on with her views. How could he not see? "Happiness is not being free of the flood. Without the flood, happiness cannot exist. Happiness is the little piece you find within the flood that keeps you sane, the thing that keeps you going, the thing that makes fighting the flood worth it. And with it, some people swim out and manage to find purchase on dry land. But those who refuse happiness are those who drown deep within the sorrows of life."