[PRP] A Different Perspective { Kalypso x Kuma }

[xo maho]

Looking up from her apple, Kalypso saw his tail poking out from around a bend in the cave and absently wondered what he was doing back there, but she listened to his explanation all the same. "Of course I wouldn't survive in one of those," she muttered abrasively as she chewed, praying it wouldn't echo across the cave. It was a small rebellion, much smaller than an escape attempt, but it was better than getting up and giving him a beatdown - and if she did that, she'd collapse before she even reached him. As much as she was tired, she still had to hold on to something... Even something as small as a quip, barely audible over the trickle and whooshing of water.

Tensing as he came back around the corner - did he hear me? - a shot of fear went through her. Was he going to bare those sharp teeth right before her eyes again, do something to intimidate her? But no... He seemed quiet, almost still as he bent to look at her. And then... He was kind? "Uh, oh, no, it wasn't you," she stammered out, scrambling for words. She wanted to scramble away from him again - he was getting closer, though it didn't seem to be a malevolent closeness. "I stepped on a pot and it broke and cut me," she said, trailing off. Should she mention the broken ankle? How could she do it without inflaming him, blaming it on him? "A bandage would be good, but I think I broke my ankle somehow... It had better be tight, and set correctly." Because if it wasn't, she'd be crippled for life. Crippled for life, and likely never able to escape to find her daughter again.

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[techabyte]

Kuma watched her for several quiet moments. When she finally responded, he nodded curtly. The Kelpi shifted back behind the gold and gems. He moved toward the back, searching quietly. His tail flicked behind him as he looked around. His ears flicked slightly before he leaned to peer at some fabrics he had tucked away. He glanced from the fur clad to the a delicate silk. Shaking his head some, the stallion grunted. Well crap. He needed to find something. He nosed around a bit, before finding some cotton strips. He leaned and nosed them for a moment, before picking up the cotton. He moved quietly toward the mare again. He paused when he wandered around the corner, only to lock his gaze on the mare once more.

He suddenly felt a bit bad about what he had done, but at the same time, he didn't really care. Kuma was a selfish man. And he would get what he wanted. He flicked his ears, before walking toward her and glanced at her for a moment. Well... He knew he had done some damage. And the Kelpi regretted it; though at the same time he didn't. He leaned down and nudged her ankle gentle, before beginning to wrap it as tightly as he could, moving his tail to hold the place of a knot he was tying. He lifted his head and took a half step back, admiring his work, before nodding lightly. "That should do it..." He murmured thoughtfully.

Mahogany Sunset

 

[xo maho]

As she watched, he disappeared once more around the corner, his tail flicking out from time to time. Her ears swiveled toward him as she heard rustling, and then clops as he emerged with some kind of white fabric in his mouth.

When he looked at her, she tamped down the temptation to pin her ears, to swing her head at him, to keep him away from her wound now that she knew for sure he would be touching it. Her ears twitched uncertainly instead; she frowned as he came toward her and walked around to her side... And then inhaled sharply as he nosed her bloodied and broken ankle. She did her best to suppress her protests, but whimpers of pain escaped her mouth. Pathetic. Just pathetic. She was supposed to be ready, supposed to have trained herself to escape this exact situation. And yet here she was, lying on blankets of fur and letting him minister to her wounds. Pa-the-tic.

Sucking in one more breath as he tied off the knot, Kalypso looked up at him and found his eyes. His blue eyes, she noticed. Had she ever met anyone with blue eyes before? She didn't think she had. "Thank you," she murmured, looking away and flicking her tail to distract herself. It dragged over the rock and pinched a little as a knot caught in a rough spot, but she paid the pain no mind. She could already feel the pressure of the bandage helping to calm the swelling of her ankle. His hooves lurked in the corner of her vision. "What is back there? You keep pulling things out of there like magic." Her eyes had locked on the edge of the stone wall just ahead of her, where the cave went deeper - toward land? Toward sea? Which direction is that?

It was then that Kalypso realized she had no bearing, no orientation - no idea which way lead to shore and which further out to sea... Or if they were on some forsaken island in a cave. The waves in the little exit pond threw sound echoing through the cave, messing with her sense of direction. I have no idea where I am. Her heart sped up as she tried to put her panic down. She had asked him a question, after all. Maybe he would answer, and the answer would provide more answers: answers to the questions that she couldn't answer herself.

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[techabyte]

Kuma analyzed the mare carefully, his head tilting to the side. She didn't seem to be flinching away from him; not at the moment any way. Though he was certain that she would do so again soon if he stayed close. Let alone move slightly from the mare. Any movement seemed to startle her. Flicking his long tail, the fins seeming to scrape the cave floor, the stallion carefully took a step back. He turned and moved away from her, aiming to give her space. After all, she was scared still; and he needed her to calm down. He moved back to the water, dipping his tail into it and angling it properly. After a moment, he lifted some of the sea water, and shook it over his head, letting the water drops fall onto his head and neck. The water drizzled down along his skin, before getting soaked in. He seemed to relax some at that, obviously enjoying the feel of cool water along his body.

Then she spoke again. The stallion turned his head toward the mare, frowning slightly. So she was curious... That was a good sign, right? The Kelpi flicked an ear, before grinning slightly. He chuckled under his breath, before turning toward where he had continually disappeared. It was behind an almost mountain of treasures. The cave was much bigger than she could imagine; though with the way that he seemed to be keeping her on one side of the treasure, it was no wonder she couldn't see beyond it. She was too injured to stand... at leas that was what he thought. His tail flicked again, fins shifting some, before he moved toward her once more, careful and slow. He paused near her, before slowly lowering his head to stare at the other Soquili.

"If you want, I could show you. Though I'd have to help you stand... and walk. You probably could be a lot more comfortable back there anyways..." He murmured in thought. Behind that area was where he slept, after all. Where he relaxed and enjoyed himself. He tilted his head some, dipping it a bit to peer at her a little more. He could figure something out eventually... right? Maybe she would trust him enough to get her back there. Though at the same time... He pushed the thought away, waiting for her answer.

Mahogany Sunset

 

[xo maho]

Uncertain, Kalypso weighed her options. Maybe there's more room back there, maybe there's an exit I could sneak through... At the same time, the pinching in her ankle told her that if she were to move, to get up and walk over there, it'd be a painful and possibly debilitating experience - and she might not even make it all the way. If there was a door, even a hole in the wall she could dig through to escape, though, when she was stronger... I have to do it. I have to do it for Sephora. Her daughter was the foremost thing in her mind - Sephora was her life. It would be a few days before the little snow-and-cream mare realized that her mother was truly missing, and so Kalypso had a few days to plan her escape... But if she didn't know the whole of the cave, she wouldn't know from where failure could come sneaking up on her.

"I want to see," she replied, watching as he showered sea water over himself. He really is a creature of the deep, isn't he? Foreign, that was what he was - his ways were foreign to her. Apparently he came from a place where it was perfectly acceptable to steal away another being, though. "I think I can walk, but standing will be the agonizing part." If her ankle was this sore, throbbing this hard, when she was laying down and not putting pressure on it, she didn't want to think about what it would be like to rest her body weight on it.

It will be terrible. But it will be worth it.

Or so she told herself. He was still over there in his little pond, tiny waves beating against his legs like so many little creatures begging for escape. She scoffed at herself. Am I too harsh?

That was one thing she had failed to think about when he had taken her - had she not spent her daughter's foalhood telling the little mare not to judge others by their outward appearances? And yet she had spent the whole of her adult life judging kelpi as feral beasts and dangerous monsters. While she had been kidnapped by a kelpi, he seemed to be neither feral nor bestial, though dangerous and monstrous she was not yet sure about. There has to be another way to find out besides getting to know him. She didn't have time to get to know him. Sephora needed her - she had never been alone for more than a few days, and if something bestial stumbled upon her, something truly monstrous... Her daughter had never learned to defend herself.

"Let me try to get up on my own first, and then you can help me," she said, and put as much of her weight as she could into her front hooves. Then, with a grunt, she heaved herself forward -

And crumpled back down to the ground. "Nope, I need your help," she said weakly. Pain shot through her ankle, like needles flying all the way up to her hip. That was the best idea you've ever had.

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[techabyte]

The Kelpi relaxed more in the water. It was the way it felt on his form. Cool and calm. Serene. Perfect. He didn't know how anyone could or would live without it. If he spent even the slightest bit of time away from water he felt dry and parched. And anyone who was anyone would know that being by the ocean was the best feeling in the world. The air and the sky, the way the waves lapped at the shore and made it look like something from a dream. He smiled slightly at the thought, before pushing it away in order to get his eyes focused on the mare. She was so guarded. So protective and uncertain of him. And she had every right to be. After all, he had done something "not so good" in order to get her where he wanted her. But, that being said, he had a compulsion. A need to have every sort of treasure at his disposal. And she was the loveliest creature he'd ever laid eyes on.

Though he knew he'd done wrong, Kuma had no intention to let his treasure go. Not now, anyways. Maybe if she got to know him more she'd choose to stay. He always had trouble with that part. If after a few days they continued to treat him harshly even though he tried to be kind and if they truly wished to leave and have nothing to do with him, he showed them how to leave. He could be a brute and selfish, but he knew that resentment could destroy any hope he could have at keeping someone at his side. Flicking his ears, he watched as she tried to get up, his head tilting some curiously as she moved. He took a step out of the pool, ready to move foroward more if she asked or demanded it of him, but until that time, he'd wait. He was patient, after all. His tail flicked in the water, sending a small wave toward the wall where it crashed and created more ripples. When she fell back down onto the ground, he was out of the water and heading her way in seconds.

He dipped his head down when he got to her, sniffing lightly at the ankle that was troubling her. His tail gave another small flick, before remaining still. After a moment, he moved over to the other side of her, laid down, and pressed his side against hers. "All right. You'll have to push back against me and stand up at the same time. It should get you on your feet, at the very least. From there, we can see if you can walk on your own." He stated. His eyes flickered toward the back of the cave, before dropping his head slightly in case she needed to rest her head over his neck to get a better grasp of his person. It was all about team work to help a fallen up to their hooves. And he knew he'd be able to do it if she put a little bit of trust in him. Though, she still hadn't given her name, and so he was certain that trust was very, very far away.  

[xo maho]

The splashing of the water as he came toward her was the only thing that made Kalypso flinch; given the situation, her instincts knew that he was coming to help her, and she could almost curse them for it. She had a mission to focus on, though. Escape routes.

Taking in a deep breath, Kalypso braced herself as he checked her wound, and then he was pressed against her, the coolness of water and his skin pushing into her side. Very carefully, she let her breath out, and drew another in. "All right," she murmured, pressing back against him. She was not near as big as he was, though; the imbalance was enough to make her feel unsteady. Kalypso squeezed her eyes shut and, biting her lip, hooked her neck over his, pulling as well as pushing to get herself to her feet. So pathetic. But, she considered, he was being incredibly kind to her. Part of her said that it was only so that she would not put up so much of a fight, but she also wasn't entirely sure.

No matter what was going on with him, no matter how genuine his kindness and her begrudging her cooperation, Kalypso soon found herself steady on her feet. She could put her weight on only three of them, but that was hardly an issue when she could stand with one foot cocked all day if she had to. It was a resting pose. Now that she thought about it, walking would probably be harder than she thought. "Stand on my other side, please," she murmured. This is decency, a voice in her head muttered. He is showing you his decency.

Kalypso promptly told the voice to shut it.

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[techabyte]

Kuma waited quietly, his tail flicking behind him as he waited for the girl to respond. But the mare, for all she was worth, was cautious. She was careful of what was going on, and careful of just how much she trusted him. And she had every right, to be honest. But Kuma was a selfish man, and he wanted this treasure all to himself. His head tilted to the side as he watched the way she seemed to almost battle with herself on what to do. After a moment though, she adjusted and laid her head over his neck, and started to push against his side to stand. Kuma grinned, before standing up at the same pace she did, getting her up and onto her hooves. The stallion shifted some and glanced down at her, eyes flickering along her. At least she was up on her feet now.

When she asked him to move to the other side, Kuma nodded. He shifted slowly to the other side, making sure she stayed on her hooves, and pressed his side against hers. He dipped his head slightly and nosed at her shoulder to try and comfort her slightly. ”It shouldn’t be too far.” He said simply. He glanced toward his back half of his cave, before carefully nodding, and started to help her get toward the back of the cave. His tail flicked to rest near her back hooves, trying to make sure he would be able to catch her if she happened to start to fall. He didn’t want her any more hurt. Honestly, he hadn’t meant to hurt her this bad in the first place. And he felt bad for it. His ears flicked back as he thought about it, before he shoved the thought away; that was in the past. Right now he needed to focus.

The Kelpi eased them both toward the back, and when they crossed the small wall of treasures that blocked the front and the back half, there was clearly a lot of treasures in the back. They almost touched the ceilings, but were clearly organized. Sheets of silks and several gold trinkets. Furs, beads, and glass treasures. It was clear that he took care of everything that was in his possession. He hated the thought that anything with such beauty would be treated horribly. His tail flicked away from her for a moment, before he directed her toward a pile of silks and pillows. ”I found these in an attacked village… They have been cleaned since then, and I think that you will find them far more comfortable than the furs.” He stated, before moving her that way. He paused near the pillows, and glanced down at her with a small smile. ”Is it acceptable? If not I can make something else that could work… I’m Kuma Pau’a by the way… may I know your name?” He asked softly, wanting to know his treasures title.

Mahogany Sunset