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 Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:15 am
Oh . . . gods. It couldn't be, right? There wasn't any way they had to be related. Locals just liked inviting spirits to things all the time, right? Right? And not all spirits were bad either. Maybe he'd been lucky enough to get a good spirit instead?
. . . Pffff. Lucky. What a laugh.
"I think they said they wanted to let the spirits party too," Bernard answered with a shrug, tenuously holding himself together with his uncertain reasoning. "Let them find their own loves for the night even. I personally don't like the idea of a spirit watching me with someone else, though. Er, hypothetically speaking."
It was still a little hard to suppress the goosebumps at the thought of an ethereal being watching his clumsy, drunken act.
Bernard paused, wondering if he should let the conversation go further or if he try and get the heck out. This mare's conflicting appearances and apparent personality confused his already frazzled mind, and he wasn't sure how much longer he cold handle being even remotely near the hair-dragon. "I should, ah, get going. But I must ask: what's it like living with that thing?" he inquired with a gesture to said hairy phenomenon.
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:41 am
Let the spirits party too? It was an interesting thought. Aquitaine wasn't sure if she truly believed in the spirits or not. Yes there were some things in life that lacked all normal explanation, yet were these things the results of spirits, something else, or just a random thing? That answer might never be known. Still, if these spirits did in fact exist did they need the permission of others to party? Could they not party if they wanted to? Or were they allowed only to appear when invited be it through some strange ritual or through a festival like the one that had happened down on the beach? Well these were all questions she could think about later, and she may never know the truth.
"I suppose the spirits desire the right to enjoy some fun as well." She gave her shoulders a shrug even if she wasn't sure that she truly believed that. Not if the spirits were there to cause trouble in the long run. Things may seem fine now but the effects could take time to appear.
At his question Aquitaine glanced back at her dragon. He had been quiet for a while now, seeming content by the fact the stallion had kept his distance. Thank goodness he was behaving himself or she might not have had the opportunity to speak with the stranger for long. Slowly her eyes returned to the purple stallion. "Well, to sum it up in one word: challenging." Of course she wasn't going to leave it just at that so she continued on. "It affects the way others see me. They see him and instantly think I am some creature from a nightmare. I cannot change how I look but I can try to show them that I am not what they think I am. It can be exhausting at times. He's actually quite heavy, and so he slows me down a lot. I used to want to be a dancer like my mother but he keeps me from truly pursuing that dream." Her eyes drifted to look out over the ocean and took a deep breath. "The hardest part of all, even harder than trying to explain to others that I'm not some kind of monster, is when he gets angry. It doesn't happen all that often, but when it does he can attack me. I wear these bandages to hide some of the scars and some of the more recent markings."
With a sigh Aquitaine turned back to the stranger. "But it has also made me stronger. Shown me that life has it's obstacles and you either learn to live with them, find your way around them or be miserable because of them. Do I wish some days that I didn't have him? Yes. But then I think that my life might not have turned out the way it has so far. It's been challenging but I really couldn't imagine a different life for me. The truth is, the idea of being normal scares me." She had never admitted that to anyone before, true as a foal she had wanted to normal on many occasions but now she was quite happy with her life as it was and so no longer wished to be normal. She just wanted to be herself.
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 12:12 pm
Bernard had not been prepared for such a candid answer, much less a long one. He had suspected it was that thing's fault she wore bandages, but even so the verbal admittance made it seem all the more horrifying to him that she had been cursed. What a poor, sympathetic creature . . .
When Aquitaine finished, he swallowed and tried not to look too self-conscious. "I see. That's a fine lesson." Pause. "I, ah, also noticed I never gave you my name. It's Bernard." Another pause. "And, uh . . . I apologize if I offended you."
He wasn't going to apologize for being frightened, though. That hairy beast was far too unsettling to not be afraid of.
"I'm going to be in the area for a while," the stallion continued, "if you ever want to chat, Miss Aquitaine. There's an old friend in these parts I'd been meaning to visit."
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 12:35 pm
Well, this was new. It had only taken up til this point, mainly her long explanation just now, to see any kind of understanding in the stranger. It was hard to understand she knew, others saw something horrid and assumed that looks led to personality that matched. That was the exact reason she strived to prove those who misjudged her by looks alone that they first impression was indeed correct. Not all would believe her and but she was still willing to try each and every time. At his late introduction and apology Aquitaine smiled widely. "Well, it's good to be able to finally place a name to your face Bernard." She gave her head a slight dip in greeting. "And thank you, though no apology is really necessary, you were still kind to me even with your suspicions and for that I thank you."
All too often others would try to attack her, drive her off or shoot obscenities her direction just because they feared her for her looks. Bernard had obviously feared her at first, perhaps still did to a certain point, but he had been polite under the circumstance. Their meeting had been refreshing.
"I'd like that." The fact that he was willing to speak with her again meant a great deal to Aquitaine. "I live only just a little bit down the beach that way," she motioned with her muzzle in the direction opposite from where the festival had occurred, "so that is where you can find me. I would really like to talk to you again if it will not take too much time away from you visiting with your friend." She paused for a moment and then added. "I shouldn't keep you any longer so that you can go see your friend. But thank you again for stopping and talking with me."
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 4:11 pm
She mistook cowardice for kindness - surely a stallion with a better make of nerves would have stood his ground against the strange evil nesting in her hair. But Bernard nodded regardless at her words. "I'll pay a visit afterwards then," he said with a little smile, disparaging thoughts of his upcoming fatherhood close to ripping it off his face. "Maybe she'll come too. She likes morbid things."
... That probably wasn't the best thing to say fro two reasons: social etiquette and just plain not knowing what the mare did or didn't like. He just assumed from the skull pins in her hair that she did.
"So I'll see you around later then, miss." Bernard paused, picked at the ground, then gave another bow of his head and turned to leave. And as he did so, the smile dropped as once more dark thoughts consumed his mind, now tinged with more uncertainty of its outcome. He could only hope his misfortune was not so sadistic that his own children would have to suffer for his own folly.
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 4:36 pm
Aquitaine smiled. "I'll look forward to it, and to possibly meeting your friend." Hopefully his friend would be perceptive to meeting her, and perhaps he would even warn her ahead of time about what Aquitaine looked like. If Bernard had been fearful of her at first it might go to say his friend could be as well. Such was the life of having off looks. Aquitaine would be happy to meet Bernard's friend regardless. Though the morbid comment had caught her a bit off guard. With a slight shake of her head Aquitaine brushed the comment off.
"Until next time Bernard." She gave her head a dip in farewell. For a short while she remained there, watching the stallion leave until finally she turned around and headed home herself. Her eyes fell upon the flower tucked within her mane that she had picked earlier for her mother. It was time to deliver her present and share the story of today's adventure with her parents and brothers.
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