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 Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:56 pm
She laughed. She could see Safi as having almost infinite patience with a child. He was a gentle male, from what she'd experienced with him. "I remember the one who taught me to fly... he was an odd one."
Then again, Calamity always had been a little off from anyone's expectations of him.
"He pretty much told me to jump in the air and flap. And then laughed while I tried various methods."
She listened to the stallion speak, pondering his words. "Unbreakable, hmm?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:45 am
Safi's mouth twitched as he imagine child Selene with her dainty and delicate flutter wings crashing repeatedly to the ground. A vision both endearing and amusing! "Maybe this is a bit of a stretch, but the one that instructed you didn't have wings of your sort, did he? It's just that I've never seen your sort of wing before." Then again, he'd never seen anyone with Indawo's sort of wing before, either; flutters sure had a lot of variety!
"I myself learned to fly by trial and error, since there were no winged adults around; but since Kwahu has the same sort of wings that I do, it's not too terribly hard to relate. Besides, the more you fall the more you appreciate it when you DON'T fall, right?" And he'd fallen enough in his foalhood to REALLY appreciate not falling.
He was chuckling again at the idea, and it was only with difficulty he snapped his attention back to the serious aspect of their conversation. Man but he was easily distracted these days... "Well, yeah. Think about it; we are bound to our relatives, whether we like it or no. And that bond is always there. Hell, I haven't seen my father since the day I came out of my basket, but that doesn't make him any less my father, you know?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:09 pm
She shook her head. "Nope. He was..." she broke off, glanced at the wind stallion. "He had very different wings than I." Kalona were built for battle, really. Hard, spiky wings, made of what looked like thick leathery stuff, like bat-wings. But soft-ish, if truth be told.
She laughed at the thought of Safi learning to fly. The image of the stallion, sprawled on the ground with a cutely dazed expression was just too much! "I bet you were adorable!" She could fully understand the joy of not falling. "I wanted to learn to fly because I wanted to know what butterflies tasted like. They looked like sparkly starshine, I wanted to know if they tasted like it too."
But she was silent when he reapproached the serious side of things. "I've never seen my parents." she murmured. "I have no father, no mother. I have people who have become as close as family... but no one I can truly, truly call family. I think that's why I keep Yue so close at times, and then drop it at others. I try so hard to make her feel she has a family, it becomes something like a smothering. And then suddenly, when I can't take the closeness I am forcing on her, and vanish..." she shook her head. "I'm a horrible mother." the smile she gave Safi was cheerful though. "But I'm learning. That's what matters, right?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:07 pm
Safi's eyes danced with amusement as Selene spoke of her flight experience; if he didn't know better, he would almost think that they were comparing battle scars. But then, what good winged child didn't have one or two lumps as a result of shmucking into the groud a bit harder than they would have liked?
Even lumps were a more pleasant topic of conversation than what Selene suddenly shifted to, though. Safi found himself frowning a bit, actually, at the idea of having no family just because you didn't know your parents. But then, hadn't they just been touting the greatness of familial relationships? Sometimes things were much too complicated for their own good...
Still, that didn't mean that things were as bad as she seemed to be saying, even though her ending note seemed awfully high. Without a word, Safi stepped up and wrapped his wings in a hug around Selene, giving her a gentle nuzzle. "Never assume things about yourself that make no sense, Selene; you might have a few things that need tweaking, but how many kids have you raised before? What expert is giving you advice? By your logic, every first time parent would be the worst thing to grace the reproductive world. And just because you had issues of your own doesn't mean you can't be the best of mothers to your daughter."
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:26 pm
She smiled at him, nosing him in gentle thanks. She rested her head against him for a moment. What really made it so easy for her to accept things from him she wouldn't even accept from her teepee-mates? Was it the way he was so easy to understand? There hadn't really been anything complicated in their relationship. They met once, they got along, famously, she thought. And somehow, he relaxed her.
Like a brother?
Not really.
Like a real, genuine... friend? One that she'd made on her own and not thrown into a familial role?
He was... easy. Nothing was complicated with him. She laughed softly, licking at his cheek and pulling away, trying to make sure it kept from becoming awkward. "No experts. But I also didn't get a learning curve. And you're right. I can be a good mother... I just have to learn. Keep trying. I'll get it right."
There was only so wrong you could go, and at this point in her relationship with Yue, there was noplace to go but up.
"If you're not careful though, I'll get a crush on you, and what'll you do then?" she winked. "So charming... you'll have me mooning over you like a lovesick filly."
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:55 am
Stepping back as well, Safi nevertheless reached out and ruffled Selene's mane about her horn, chuckling a bit at her teasing statement. Ah, to live in a society where you could tease others with impugnity...oh wait, that wasn't a facet of the order, it was just the way he liked things to be. He totally knew that, and that was made being him so much fun!
"I can be careful, though to be totally truthful it would probably be worse for you to crush on me than for me to be crushed on. Since it's me we're talking about here, there'd be a high likelihood of me taking horrible advantage of said crush to tease you about it unmercifully, which would not be kind, gentlemanly, or in any sense the behavior of a good role model. Of course, that in turn would probably make me sad, since you might decide that a fellow as cagey as me has no right to ever meet your daughter."
Laughing, he danced back a few more steps and tossed his mane, the two-tone strands falling about his face and framing his bemused smile. "Besides that, crushing on a stallion like me would only ever end in heartbreak, and who wants that?" Even he wasn't that malicious. "But since we're sensible adults here and you have agreed that I know at least some of what I'm talking about in terms of parental relations, you could continue to work at being a good mum by letting me meet Yue sometime."
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:07 am
A little noise was made as he ruffled her hair, a small squeak of protest. But the squeak turned into a laugh as he spoke. "I see how it is. You only want me for my little girl!" she made a face. "But I guess." besides.... he was a distinctive fellow. If anything happened, she'd be able to hunt him down fairly easily. Not that she thought anything would.
"And as for my crush on you..." she tilted her head, batting her eyes at him coyly before breaking down in giggles. "I think that would be my burden to bear. After all, I'd have to be the one loaded down with feelings for a silly stallion like you."
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:16 am
"Darn, you saw right through my clever ploy! But that's not entirely true; if you weren't around, who would I give the kid back to when it was time for everyone to go to sleep? I'm not a nanny, you know." Sticking his tongue out at Selene, Safi's eyes were sparkling with amusement. So much like he remembered...
And so vindictive, too! "Ooh, major burn on the stallion there; are you insinuating that I'm not an utterly sexy stallion heartthrob? Does it seem ludicrous that I might acutally be likeable? I've never been so wounded in my life!" Though, in a way her words were almost eerie...but as something he himself wondered about others. He'd been with Inali, after all, but there had been about as much emotional connection there as with a pomegranate. He hadn't given up on a soul connection, but obviously he had yet to find 'the one' for him. At least he'd been able to patch things up with Inali!
But he was starting to get stiff standing around like this. "Hey, you up for a little walk-about while we continue this chat, Selly? Otherwise my legs are gonna give out and I'm going to become one with the ground!"
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:31 am
"Oh, you mean you're going to give her back?" her face fell. "I mean, wonderful!" her eyes were bright with laughter. "And you? Sexy?" she broke off, eyeing him. "Well, you do have a very fine coat." she gave a wink. Yes, if he was a little more serious, she might actually have a crush on him. But everything between them was light and airy, so liking him was no burden. Their relationship was light, airy amusement to her.
But she couldn't stop the small twist to the gut he inspired. Okay, maybe it was a small crush. But nothing she'd act on.
"Selly?" she sounded offended. "Selly. Pfff." but she turned, waiting for the stallion to lead the way. "How about a race?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:41 am
"You are a heartless mare, Selly, and I just want you to understand that fact. You have wounded my pride as a stallion beyond all repair!" Never mind that he had no such pride. Made life a whole lot simpler, at any rate! "And yes, Selly. Selene is too long of a name to get out at once, therefore...you are Selly!"
Grinning, he watched as she turned away; turn about was fair play, after all, even when all of those involved knew it was all in fun. Not that it wasn't fun to mess with the minds of those that couldn't recognize teasing, but even so....
He shook his head at her suggestion of a race, though. "Nah, too cold for that much physical exertion. I was just thinking of a saunter, shooting the breeze as we went, that sort of thing. Maybe to wherever it is you've stashed your daughter?" Glancing over at her, he raised a brow queryingly. The fact that she didn't have Yue with her indicated someone else was being responsible today, so maybe she was taking some time off? "If you feel like it, that is."
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:59 am
She grinned. "Heartless is my middle name!" she said cheerfully. "And fine, fine. Selly it shall be." she sounded very put out, but... heh. It was the first time anyone had given her a nickname! She noticed him watching and wiggled her haunches flirtatiously. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
She thought over the next comment. "A saunter would be nice. As for where I have Yue Shuang stashed..." her voice dropped. "If I show you, I'll have to kill you." her shoulders shuddered as she fought to keep her face straight.
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:20 pm
Even as Selene was trying to keep her face straight, Safi was dying of laughter on the inside. His own expression serious and set in stone, he merely nodded his head. "That's a risk I'll have to take then, won't it?"
Giving way to the overwhelming desire to crack up, he started laughing almost as soon as he'd finished speaking. "Ok, obviously serious is not my thing. Big surprise there, huh?" Or not.
He couldn't let her earlier behavior slip by without a comment, though. Flipping out a wing, he gave her a swat upside the head, albeit a gentle one. "Good greif mare, have some shame! If you go around wiggling you bum at every stallion you come across, you'll end up with more kids than you can shake a stick at! Though in all innocence, I wasn't looking at anything. Thinking would probably be a better word." Trotting up next to her, Safi gave Selene a smile that was both mild and bittersweet; thinking was something he'd been doing a lot of lately. But that was neither here or now, right?
"So, trusting in my lighting reflexes and mad fighting skills to keep my hide in one piece, lead the way."
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:36 pm
Safi's laughter sent her own off in helpless waves. "Goodness." she fought for composure, and gained it just as the stallion smacked her with his wing. "Oh!" she tried to duck, but got hit anyways. "Awww." she looked pitiful. "And as for whom I wriggle my bum at..." she pondered the question. "No, no, I can't think of anyone whose taken me up on it yet without begging, pleading, and no small amount of convincing." Namely, she'd threatened to make Forrest's life a living hell. After all... he was kind of a gentle soul, and hadn't appeared to have much of an interest in mating....
So it had been a bumbling, almost painful experience she wouldn't repeat easily.
She glanced over at Safi, noting the almost sad smile he gave her, and leaned in, nipping at his ear. "Perk up. You're about to meet the devil."
Yue Shuang was outside, by the river, pacticing with Quistis. The unicorn mare kicked out her hooves, aiming squarely for Yue's chest. The first time the mare had done it, Yue's tiny body had been flung into the air, and she'd had to flap her wings to keep from hitting the ground hard. She'd still plummeted, but tiny wings had halted the speed a bit.
This time, the filly ducked to the side, in an almost roll, and headbutted the mare in the belly. The mare gave an oof, springing back and yanking her whip out of her belt with her teeth. She used it with surprising dexterity, what with having no hands. The end of the leather wrapped around Yue's horn, tossing the filly onto the ground, and the mare took the advantage to tie the filly's front legs together in a hobble. "I win." she said with a straight face."
And the scene that the flutter and wind soquili would walk in would be one of Quistis trotting around, being chased by a stumbling, hobbled, enraged filly.
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:47 pm
Laughing, Safi dodged away from the biting Selene, amusement having once again returned to the fore of his attitude. "I think that you're exaggerating just a little bit, Selly...but even if you're close, I've had my fair share of dealing with unpleasantries; consequently, I'll be able to keep smiling, at least!"
Prophetic words, perhaps, because at just that moment the odd little scene of pursuer and pursuant came into view, seriously trying Safi's ability to hold his laughter. Good greif but that filly looked funny! And mad...
Turning to Selene, he managed to keep a completely banal expression on his face and his tone was equally blah. "Your daughter?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:59 pm
She grinned. "And if you can't keep smiling..." she blinked, staring at the scene before them. "You can always come by and... what..." She blinked. She hadn't seen -this- aspect of training before. "Come see me, and we'll see about making you smile again. Feel free to make our home a haven when you need it. Plenty of amusement. One good thing about my home, is that our human, and our family, means it is always a place of laughter."
"Quistiiiis!" Yue yelled, and fell over herself again. This time, her horn got stuck under a small tree root, and she whinnied in rage, wriggling. "Woman, let me go!"
The unicorn mare nodded to Selene and Safi, a bland grin on her face. "Very well then." she agreed easily, and with a tug, freed Yue's hooves.
The filly scrambled up. "Geez, Quisty, wha..." her voice trailed off as she saw her mother. Everything melted away into a cool copy of the face Quistis wore. "Oh. Hello mother."
"Yue." Selene stepped forward, a nose extending towards Yue, but the filly pulled away, head held high. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine."
Yue gave the stallion a curious look. But then it melted back into coolness. "I see. Hello."
Quistis nodded her head towards Safi. "Selene, if you're here, I'm going to head back... Duo's all alone at the teepee, and you know how he gets." she bowed her head again in courtesy to the stranger and drifted off.
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