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 Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:03 pm
A plan had begun to form in his mind. A cunning scheme, artfully crafted.
It would take time. It would take all his patience.
But he would succeed.
"Walk with me?" He murmured, his voice soft and low. She couldn't stay on this beach forever. He hooves would rot away; her legs turned to stone by the passing tide. "We could stay in the surf; we need not travel onto land." He coaxed, amiable crimson eyes warm with gentle optimism.
Please?
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:08 pm
She blinked, dazed by his gentle inquiry.
Walk? What for? Where to? To pain? Anger? Encounters that would lead only to dismay, or, worse, heartbreak? What could be gained by leaving her post?
He will leave you if you don't agree. He will walk on, without you. You will be left behind. Alone. Left to waste away, an ethereal figure who stands apart... silent. Still. Alone.
She turned, her breath coming short.
You knew this day would come.
Aching misery.
When faced with his gentle encouragement, she couldn't say no. "... All right." She lifted one hoof, hesitant, as though asking him where to put it, and then let it fall. She raised the other... it lingered in the air, and then drifted gently downwards to join its brethren on the floor. Sand swirled about her hooves, matter displaced by her presence.
Only... Only I don't know the way.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:34 pm
He smiled warmly, praise and pride stirring in his rich voice. "This way..." He led her towards the East, where it was rumored that the trees bloomed all year round and the grass was never greener.
They moved a little bit each day. Step by step, they worked their way around the beach. Each night, they would return to her comforting post. As dawn broke, they traveled a little further, a little longer, than they had the day before.
Soon, they ran out of surf.
She had followed him so willingly. Though hesitation warred with trust, and her steps often faltered, so uncertain was she of this new course, she needed only gentle encouragement and his consistent presence to begin anew.
And now they would move onto dry land...
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:38 pm
She stood still, deathly calm masking the terror she felt inside.
Just one step. Just one. Move on. Move out. Move. Leave. Go.
She willed her legs to move, but her hooves seemed stuck in the murky bottom. The surf lapped at her ankles. A gull called.
Just one.
What's the worse that could happen? She would get onto dry land, and the wind would swirl about her legs?
She glanced at the stallion standing before her, a questioning smile paired with furrowed browns showing his concern.
She steadied herself. Took a deep breath.
And followed him out of the surf.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:44 pm
He watched her take that first step, and his heart was warmed.
It had been months since they had first began this journey, this slow detachment from the salty sea. He drew her out further and further, gently coaxing, never pushing her farther than she could handle. He treated her with utmost care, as though afraid that she might break... and, if he pushed too hard or moved too far ahead, she would.
At first, they had strode side by side in companionable silence. They concentrated wholly on their task, focused solely on putting one hoof in front of the other.
Then, ever so slowly, bits and pieces of her story came out.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:49 pm
She told him only what she could handle.
'Twas a stallion that drove me to the sea.
I gave him my heart; he had eyes only for another.
I... sacrificed... much in bringing him back from the brink of despair, but in return... it was I who was consumed by... madness.
No details. None of the lavender rose, the heart wrenching conversations, the bitter scene of that crimson stallion, full of such vibrant joy, playing in the surf with the one he loved most.
Just enough.
Perhaps, one day, she would reveal all to him. But for now... for now, it was enough that she had opened up even as much as she had.
He had accepted it all, absorbing the new information. His heart was filled with sorrow; it made so much sense, now. So much.
Seasons passed. The tides change.
And the pair traveled on.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:55 pm
And then one day, they did not return to that familiar beach.
Kazan stopped to rest, ducking beneath the trailing branches of the weeping willow, tossing them aside with a flick of his powerful neck so that she might join him beneath their cool embrace.
The light was slowly fading from the sky, splashes of color appearing on the still horizon.
"We should start heading back soon."
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 2:02 pm
Sadiki paused, standing comfortably at his side. Her gaze flickered to the sky, then back towards him.
She was tired. Her muscles were weary; though they had stopped often, this constant travel was taking it's toll.
They had traveled far this day. Deep into a sprawling forest filled with trailing vines, twists and turns that forced them to weave through the land like snakes.
The willow offered shelter. It was cozy, there beneath the limbs, with Kazan at her side...
"Why don't we stay here for the night?" It made no sense to go back. And, besides... there was always tomorrow.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 2:05 pm
He blinked, breathless.
Who would have thought that she would have made such a suggestion?
This was true progress. Could it be that she no longer needed the surf to feel at home? Could it be that... that...
No. It was too soon to think about those maybes.
"Alright."
They slept beneath the willow that night. And the night after. And the night after that.
The following night, they traveled back to the lonesome beach. It didn't seem so comforting any more...
That dawn, they set off in a new direction.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 6:09 pm
beach run
shell abalone? offer
crimson stallion lavender rose
refuse 2 allow 4 another episode
brilliant and shy smiles
gentle nurtur
walk slowly back
collapse beneath tree for night
where u want 2 go 2morrow
anywhere so long as it's with you
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