|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 10:55 am
Twisted Progeny pg2  Well this was the first real break they have had all day, "Lead the way"
A beat of excitement pumped in her chest. Although she was wary of the new and alien surroundings, they thrilled her at the same time. She had never felt the earth beneath her hooves feel so cool, it was refreshing. She was so used to the scorching hot sand, and having to wear wraps around her rear legs to keep the dust out. As she followed Ri she glanced down to peek at her rear legs, there was no dust in her joints to hinder her movement, she couldnt remember the last time her feet moved with such ease.
She flipped her hair to hide the small smile on her face. She was happy Ignazio had decided to come along, she wouldnt have made it this far without him. She didnt want to admit it, but she appreciated his help and willingness to protect her. They had basically been inseparable since birth and she couldnt imagine not having him at her back.
She was curious to see where this new adventure would take them. They had never gone so fare from home before. They had already been welcomed by the locals, and Kynreeve was beginning to warm up to them too. She had to remember this was an opportunity to learn something, "always take the opportunity to learn from something new" her father's voice echoed in her head. He may not have been around much, but his lessons always stuck. enjoy some arts!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:00 pm
Ignazio trailed behind Kynreeve and Ri, peering into the gloom around them suspiciously every so often. He missed the wide openness of the desert, it made him nervous how closed in and hidden everything felt beneath the interlaced branches stretching so far over their heads. He heard rustling in the canopy occasionally as small creatures scuttled along the branches, making him jump and showering them with leaves. They moved in companionable silence for a while and Ignazio began to feel a little more used to the presence of the other female, she wasn't as chatty as some of the other fillys in their herd, which he liked. And she didn't seem to mind the exposed bone in his sister's hind legs or his strangely mutated wings that blinked lazily every so often as he moved, providing his brain with sensory information about his surroundings that was otherwise out of his line of vision. He didn't notice the influx of extra perception most of the time as it had been constant since his birth, he only knew that his wings made him different and that for the most part, people felt threatened by things they didn't understand, and were all to often mean about it. But not Ri, she was the first foal he had met who hadn't immediately asked about his mutations, or stared at him until he felt uncomfortable, he felt immediately accepted for what he was without needing to find a label for himself. There was something Ri that felt familiar, a similar strangeness, they were all built very differently than most of the soquili he had met so far and he found himself pondering why that might be. Since Ri wasn't looking in his direction, he gazed intensely at the fragile cracks radiating from different points on her slender frame, he had seen people die from less, and yet she moved as though she barely noticed. What was it that made them so different from even their own families?
"Is it very far yet?" Ignazio asked finally, after they had been traveling for what felt like ages. His legs were starting to grow sore.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:17 pm
She had to admit she had no idea where she was going. This part of the forest was familiar to her but only vaguely. She had only gone this far on a few occasions. As she racked her brains for where she had caught a glimpse of the ruins, she caught Ignazio's eyes on her. She didn't mind. She was strange, but then again so was he she supposed. Kynreeve was strange as well. In her eyes they were all completely normal, there was nothing threatening about them and she was sure there was nothing scary about herself. But she knew what the rest of the world would think about the three of them, especially if they were to be seen roaming through the forest. She was a little uneasy at the silence between them as they walked, sure that she was a freak to them even though she felt so close to the two darkly colored foals. When Ignazio finally said something she jumped at the chance of conversation.
"I don't think it's very far. I think it's just this way," she said, hesitantly indicating ahead of them where the trees grew even thicker and darker. The path was nearly gone and she was unsure of what they would think of this. She had strayed off of the path here when she had glimpsed the ruins. She bent to duck into the bushes that twisted together and bent in all different directions. Beyond this was what she thought was a cliff and potentially the ruins, if they were interested enough to follow her that far. It was easy for her because she was used to the branches and twigs, but she was unsure of what the two newcomers would think.
"Where are you two from anyway?" she asked over her shoulder out of curiosity, hoping that they would decide to continue the journey.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 9:23 pm
Her shoulders were slightly sunken and tired. Their journey had been long after all. She was relived when Ri said they were close. He feet were sore from all the walking and the terrain felt a bit awkward now. Every step was uneven and the ground was full of roots and rocks. Worse yet, the vegetation was growing ever thicker.
She managed to keep up with Ri, ducking and weaving around the overgrowth. She glanced back only to check that Ignazio was still close behind her. Her heart jumped at the question about where they were from. She had trained herself to lie. It was second nature to be deceiving, but this time she hesitated.
Why should she keep it from her? Unless Ri was inevitably deceiving them this whole time, which she wasn't quite ready to rule out, she had given them no real sign of distrust. She could at least tell her a little bit.
"Well.. We are from the desert. We live there with our father."
They really were far from home, and every step was taking them farther away. She could only hope that the ruins would bear some fruits for their labor. If nothing else the trip would be a good experience.
"Where you are from, do the others look like you?" She was ofcourse refering to the cracks in Ri's coat, but said it in a way that it could be taken differently. She didn't want to say it, she wanted Ri to say it. She didnt want to rudely point it out, because she was afraid of being scrutinized for her own mutations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:45 am
By this point, Ignazio was simply hoping they would be able to find their way back out of this forest, everything was starting to look the same to him and if there was a path it wasn't a very good one. The forest ahead of them was dark and foreboding, he certainly liked Ri, but he was beginning to wonder if she was leading them into some sort of trap. Yet they had come this far, it seemed a waste of effort to simply turn around and attempt to retrace their steps.Plunging boldly ahead of the females, he led the way into the darkness, trying to suppress the nervous shivers he got every time a strange shape reared up out of the shadows, twisted tree trunks and oddly shaped bushes that seemed monstrous when glimpsed out of the corner of his eyes. He was largely unaware of the conversation the fillys were carrying on behind him as his bright green eyes scanned the forest as the passed for any sign of danger. After a while the forest lightened up again and he saw the cold stone shoulders of a cliff rising up in the distance and a tumbled and broken stone wall less than half a league in front of them, beyond which rose the blackened remains of a stone tower and several other structures that may have once been houses. Ignazio stopped, suddenly hesitant, it looked even more wretched than Kynreeve had made it sound when she told him about it, brown creepers covered most of the walls and made an eery rattling noise as they shook in the wind. It looked like a dead place. A haunted place. He wondered if Kynreeve and Ri had also noticed it or if he still had time to turn them around and steer his sister far away from the ruins they had sought so earnestly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 3:47 pm
The desert! Her father was from the desert. Though he had left because of the way others treated him there, it had always been a place she had wanted to visit. It was a part of her just as much as the forest and she often felt a pull in her heart when the desert was mentioned. Not many would willingly stray into burning hot territory divided by strangers and endlessly full of sand. But she felt there was something interesting there for her. As if life had a prize for her if she was brave enough to make the long journey to the desert. Perhaps Kynreeve and Ignazio were her key to whatever life had in store for her in the desert. She followed Ignazio with little protest, she hardly knew where she was anymore. "Well...not exactly. My sister has a snake for a tail, but I'm the only one who is...broken," she shrugged. She hadn't thought about it before but she wondered now why she and her siblings did not look similar or have similar traits.
She considered this as she walked, the forest around her beginning to change with each step. At first she was so puzzled with herself and her cracks, and her sister with her snake tail, and her brother with his tentacle hair, that she didn't realize how dark it seemed here. She was first awakened to the changing environment when she felt like she was being watched. A quick look at Kynreeve and Ignazio, however, told her that they were too busy picking their way through the forest to be staring at her. The trees began to thin again, and her hopes lifted at the idea of being freed from having to duck under branches and skirt around bushes. But her jaw dropped and her heart fell at the sight that was before them.
"What did you say this place was?" she asked in a whisper, glancing hesitantly at Kynreeve. Ignazio stood silhouetted against the dark tower and she felt herself reaching towards him, wanting to pull him away from it. She was not usually this nervous during her explorations through the forest, but this place was strange, even to her. She could feel the cracks in her skin cutting past goosebumps and deeper into her flesh. The breaking rippled over her entire body, even to the tip of her tail and her hooves. Her legs refused to move any further except to scoot closer to Kynreeve. She was sure the other filly would be disgusted by her crackling side pressed against hers, but it was a comfort that her instincts craved and she couldn't help it. Besides, it was Kynreeve who had wanted to come here, so perhaps she knew more about it than Risti did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:48 pm
Kynreeve shivered at the mention of a snake, but a snake tail? That sounded horrifying. She had learned to stay wary of snakes and cobras, their venom was toxic and some could kill you in a matter of minutes. Ri's cracked features seemed less grotesque to her than her sister's snake tail.
Kynreeve started to wonder what Ri thought of her mutations. Did her exposed bone gross her out? Kynreeve didn't even know how to explain the strange bat effect that surrounded her exposed legs. She sometimes felt jealous of her brother's mutations. His appeared to be mostly cosmetic and didn't seem to hinder him in any way. He probably had an advantage with those extra pair of eyes on his back. She did like how they glowed, they reminded her of her own eyes, like they were mirrored in some way and only further connected them.
Her legs did not hurt her, she had little feeling in them at all. She could only sense change in temperature. Even when sand gets between the joints it doesn't hurt, it only hinders her movement and makes it annoying and sometimes difficult to keep up.
Kynreeve started to wonder what caused such a variation of mutations between siblings. It sounded like Ri's family had the same strange variations, what could possibly cause it? Perhaps despite the vast distance between them, their family's were connected in some way.
Her train of thought was disrupted when Ignazio stopped abruptly. His caution caused her to pause and creep closer. Her ears were pointed forward and alert. Ignazio had an unsettled in to shaken look about him. She soon saw why. The forest thinned as if something had eaten away at it. The stone structure beyond them was massive. She had never seen anything like it. It felt more alien to her than the forest. She had only caught a glimpse of a man once in the desert, and she had heard that they settled and built structures like this, but she had never seen it. It was so dead and empty, the brown grey vegetation crept up and around the heavy stone awkwardly. It reminded her of the bone white remains of animals she had found in the sands, long after they had perished. It almost looked like stone skeletal remains, its residence long since gutted and gone. All that was left was the bones of a stone giant.
Disappointingly it didn't appear to have any valuables left behind. Everything was grey. The sky was considerably darker now that she could see it once again. They must have spent more time traveling through the forest than she had previously thought, the sun was nearly set and the moon was on the rise. At least tonight the sky looked the same, it was clear with not a cloud in the sky. The night sky looked similar in the desert, and the stars seemed to shine brightly here too. Looking up made her realize how heavy her head felt.
she looked back at the ruins and they still looked rather foreboding. She would rather wait till sun rise to explore them. As Ri crept closer to her she at first felt jumpy but soon realized the filly was more nervous than she was. Ri was also in a strange place with strange foals. The comfort of someone being so close felt natural, and she realized how cold it was out here.
"Perhaps we should find a place to stay. It would be safer to explore them in day light." Kynreeve hoped that the ruins would look less frightening in the sun light, and she didn't want to spend the night in them.
Her stomach rolled and made a gurgling growl. She felt slightly embarrassed, she had been to afraid to try the flora, she didn't want to accidentally eat something poisonous.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:45 am
"We're not sure" Ignazio replied to Ri's question, "She just overheard some birds talking about it, so we decided to see what all the fuss was about."
They clearly hadn't thought that part through. "I agree! We can head down when the sun rises." He most definitely did not want to explore the ruins by night, nor did he want to turn around and sleep in that dense tangle of forest. That meant sleeping within sight of the hulking monolith... He didn't expect tonight's slumber to particularly restful if that was the case. The grumbling of his sister's stomach brought his own hunger to the forefront of his mind, sharp and insistent. They hadn't eaten since they left the desert, which seemed strange as they had been wandering through paths lined with more food than they had ever seen all day. But their father had raised a distrustful pair of foals, poisoning was not unheard of among the Debbani and unfamiliar food from unfamiliar sources was not to be eaten. Ri was certainly unfamiliar but she at least had nothing to gain from Kynreeve and Ignazio's death. He thought they could trust her, especially if they waited for her to try the food first. "Do you know what plants are good to eat out here, Ri?" he asked, looking around to find some sort of shelter for the night, his sister needed food and a safe place to sleep so Ignazio's shyness around females was tucked away for a later time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:44 pm
They had traveled an awful long way just to see some big creepy stones. Risti felt that there was more to it, but she didn't want to ask. Their suggestion of exploring tomorrow was probably a good one. She knew it would get colder as the night progressed, even now she shivered, but perhaps that was because of the eerie stone walls that gave her chills. She certainly didn't want to sleep in sight of the ruins but it was definitely their best and only option at the moment.
She felt Kynreeve's belly growling and realized she was still pressed against her. She moved slightly, feeling a little cold now. Almost at the same time, Ignazio asked what was good to eat. She wondered if they could read each other's minds, or if they were both that hungry. "I can show you," she said, glancing around for the good food. Sometimes there were berries that were particularly sweet, and there was a tolerable plant that she often enjoyed, but as she looked she realized they didn't seem to be around here. She wondered if the ruins had scared away all of the good plants. Still, she found a shrub that was usually her second option if the others weren't around.
"The leaves on these are alright, it's not gourmet but it'll work...Just don't eat any spiky leaves, or the ones with three leaves on one stem," she had been taught that those ones caused horrible itching, and she didn't want to be a bad hostess. Upon further close inspection and investigation she also pointed out a few grasses that were satisfactory. She steered clear of a couple of berries that she came upon that looked foreign to her, the last thing she wanted was to poison Kynreeve and Ignazio.
"What do you eat in the desert?" she asked curiously as she searched for more possibilities in the growing darkness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 6:44 pm
Kynreeve was happy that Ignazio was taking his brotherly role and he seemed determined and focused again. She focused her attention on the plants that Ri had pointed out. They tasted different and kind of woody; but the leaves were soft and tender. They did the job to satisfy her hunger. She thought it was strange that here Ri advised them to not eat the thorny plants. In the desert the thorny ones were usually the best.
"Thanks Ri, these are pretty good." she had never had leaves so juicy.
"In the sands we eat whatever we find. Most of the cactus is really good." She managed to say through her mouthful of leaves. Sometimes their father would return from a job and have grains or oats. More often then not it would be someone dad worked with that would come by and drop something off for them. It was alright most of the time, Ignazio was good company, but she wished she was big enough to travel with their father.
"Once in a while we travel to the oasis and it is always full of exotic plants and tasty blossoms." They only went to the oasis when they needed water or would be low on it. Sometimes the adults would bring them water instead, so going to the oasis was always a treat, even when it was hard to get to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 3:16 pm
Ignazio gave the plants Ri had warned them about a wide berth and took an enthusiastic mouthful of shrub, his jaws busily working to grind up the delicious leaves. The texture was strange, but it was good and there was plenty. Whatever might be said against this alien landscape, at least the food was plentiful.
He nodded in agreement with Kynreeve's response. "Some areas have grass, it's tough and brown, nothing like this, but you can eat it. And the Amachi traders bring in food sometimes too, our father brings some home when he can get it, its easier than going out and finding it, and less dangerous. But Kynreeve and I, we get along all right. Some of the others aren't so lucky, you have to be strong to survive in the desert, especially with coats as dark as ours. Water is the most important thing, if you have water, you'll be able to find anything else you might need." The conversation flowed easier from him when he was concentrating on something else.
He thought he might not be doing his home justice, it was a harsh, hard life, but the desert was as beautiful as it was deadly and the struggle kept the days from growing too tedious. "Maybe you can come visit it sometime. Then you can see for yourself" He suggested shyly, heat flooding his face as he quickly resumed his dinner, there weren't a lot of kids their age among the Debbani, raising foals requiring a lot of hard to get resources, and the Rasheka Bayda foals wanted nothing to do with their dark coated neighbors. It would be nice to have someone their own age to play with if she wanted to come see their home.
"You said your sister has a snake for a tail..." he began hesitantly, "Do your parents have mutations like yours? Ours doesn't, well our father anyways, and he has never said anything about our mother being... abnormal. Its just, we've never met anyone else like us, anyone different. Until now, that is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:46 pm
Risti munched on some leaves herself, happy that her guests were pleased with the meal she had provided. She listened eagerly to their tales about the desert, and it made her even more curious about it. Cactus? Oasis? Amachi traders? These were such strange words to her, and at Ignazio's comments she grew curious at what it was their father did. "That sounds lovely," she nodded at Kynreeve, imagining what she could of it in her mind, "I would love to visit!" Her ears perked at the suggestion, and she strongly considered abandoning the ruins and heading towards the desert that very moment.
But the cracks in her skin accelerated, telling her that she was tired and that travel would probably not be a good idea right now. She found a comfortable spot as far away from the sight of the ruins as possible and spun in a circle before flopping to the ground. Lying sprawled upon the cool earth, she pondered Ignazio's question. "My mother has a tail like mine," she said, wiggling her tail slightly, "But my father is pretty normal I suppose."
She hadn't really questioned why her father was so normal and why she and her siblings were...not. Even her mother was relatively normal despite her nightmares. Rinkini could probably pass herself off for a unicorn of sorts, except for her nightmares. But Risti and her siblings...What were they? What were Ignazio and Kynreeve? She found her eyes coming to rest on the other filly's exposed bone, and then her gaze shifted to Ignazio's blinking wings. "I haven't either...well...I once met a tiny foal with swirly eyes...but nothing else like that," she said, thinking of her friend Zhutkaya. She hoped she wasn't freaking the two newcomers out too much and she blushed as she waited for their reaction.
"Do you think we're the same...somehow? All of us?" she asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. They didn't seem related. Their skin was dark and hers was neon bright, they ate cactus (whatever that was) and she ate leaves...And yet they were all so similar, and Kynreeve and Ignazio seemed so familiar to her. She felt that she could be herself around them, for whatever reason. She didn't worry about falling to pieces and being stared down or laughed at. But why? Why were they this way? And why did they seem familiar?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 10:04 am
Ignazio tried to picture what swirling eyes would look like without much success. Instead he watched Ri's tail swish back and forth with apologetic fascination, he thought it would be handy to be able to control your tail like that, he had noticed the other filly seemed was very graceful in her movements, perhaps that had something to do with it.
His gaze swept over the cracks twisting their way up Ri's legs, the painlessly exposed bones on Kynreeve and then twisted to peer at the crimson pinions which quivered and blinked back at him. Could all these diverse anomalies truly arise from the same source? They hadn't grown up in the same area so it couldn't be environmental and anyone with eyes could see they weren't related, so what then?
"It all feels connected." He responded finally, "I can't say how, or why, I don't even have a legitimate reason for why I feel this way, but somehow I just know this isn't coincidence.... What do you think it could be?"
Ignazio had finished eating and was wandering around their small camp to find a comfortable place to rest. He settled on a portion of the ground that had been overtaken by some sort of spongy moss. Folding his legs underneath him, he sat quietly, wracking his brain to try and remember anything his father may have said about the events before or around their birth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 1:12 am
The mutations were curious, how so many soquili were effected by such and odd string of genetics is beyond her comprehension. She tried to think of things that could be found anywhere, despite the weather or terrain.
"Maybe the two-walkers have something to do with it." after all they were found most everywhere and as far as she knew were rather mysterious. If they had built the ruins, perhaps their answers could be hidden in there. More and more she was beginning to believe that she wouldn't find gold or treasure in those ruins but something else, something fare more sinister.
Kynreeve found a place near Ignazio and lay down. She kept her head facing the ruins, as if it would sneak up on her otherwise.
*shall we progress to the next day? unless something goes bump in the night*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 4:10 pm
(Yup that sounds good. ^^ Sorry for taking so long guys!!!) She listened to the two foals' theories, the conversation making the night feel mysterious. She shivered slightly and tried not to look at the ruins. As an owl hooted in the distant spookily she flinched, her pelt cracking a little as she did so. "How could two leggers make my skin crack like this?" she mused, following the other filly's gaze toward the ruins. Kynreeve could be right, but how was that possible? Did the ruins have something to do with this? How was it possible that it was all connected as Ignazio had said? "Do you think our parents would know?" she asked, though she didn't intend to do so. Usually she wouldn't think to ask her parents. Rinkini was worried enough as it was with her nightmares, Risti shuddered to think how her mother would react if she brought up all these questions. But then how could they find out more about themselves?
The moon rose in the sky, casting an eery glow over the odd foals and their restless sleeping area. The shadow of the ruins fell over them as it rose further, but Risti didn't notice as she was starting to fall asleep. Despite her fear of the ruins, her little body was worn out from the day's adventures and she couldn't help falling for sleep's allure. They would get to the bottom of this tomorrow, she assured herself of it everytime she tossed and turned in her sleep.
***
Risti awoke with a start, feeling very much as if she was being watched. She didn't dare move, her hair prickling all around uncomfortably. She could see Ignazio from where she had turned in the night, but he seemed to be sleeping still. But the sight of him reminded her where she was, and ever so slightly she turned to face the ruins. Eyes widened and heart pumping, she couldn't help getting to her feet and approaching to investigate it in the light of day. She moved quietly so as not to wake the others and slowly she came closer to the nearest aged wall of the ruins, feeling more and more on edge with each step. But something was pulling her towards it, she couldn't help it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
