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 Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:24 pm
Khalidia listened with rapt, wide eyed silence, takig everything that the older Kirin said and committing it to memory - well, as much of it as she could, anyway. There were so many thoughts bouncing around in her head that it was hard to find a place to store this new information, but she was pretty sure she had it down. "It would be sad if we ate everything and some other animal starved." she murmured, turning over one of Silarial's points in her mind and judging it's merits. "And I'd hate to be hungry too. You're right! Best to leave a lot of it to keep growing!" The filly giggled, then stepped daintily forward.
For a moment, she simply sniffed at the fungus the older female had tasted. It was musty and heavy, not like anything she'd had before. She blinked and took in another, over large whiff, and let out a sneeze, delicate nose overwhelmed. "Oops! Sorry!" she told the others before giggling again and bending her neck to sample the new dish. It was earthy to her tongue, and interesting - but not something she would want to eat very day. No, she liked grass the best as a staple. There was a considering look in her eye as she chewed, then swallowed, then looked to her teacher. "I like it." she declared simply and forthrightly, nodding her head once to emphasize the point.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 6:05 pm
Sensing that Khalidia did not recoil from the strange new food, Alucard stepped boldly forward to try a bite, himself. She hadn't sneezed directly on it... right? Here goes, he thought, nibbling around the edge Khalidia hadn't touched. Again, the vampire colt found himself comparing the taste of this to blood. Somehow this fungus wasn't as rich or salty, though it had the same earthy overtones. It was pleasant enough and did not make him feel ill as he expected.
Maybe he could live on this, and need not hide any late night hunting from Khalidia. Keeping a clear conscience with a newfound friend was more important than drinking blood, right?
"It's good, isn't it?" He commented quietly to the filly. "Is grass like this at all?"Silarial flicked a few glowing insects away from her flank with her tail, head tilted to one side thoughtfully. "You know, foals your age should be drinking milk, but since neither of your dams is present and I can't make it, I guess you'll have to make do.
Give as many of the plants here a try while you can - it's best to know your own home, after all. I'll be right here to take any questions." With that, she gladly stuck her head out of a "window" in the cave, letting the rain soak in and properly rouse her. She loved living here, especially in the worst weather - she thought it brought out the beauty in her surroundings, especially how most things refused to be beaten down despite the storm's strength. She prayed to the unknown powers ((sky kirin? xD)) that these foals, too, would grow as strong as the wind and the rain.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:18 pm
She giggled and rubbed her side against his briefly before pulling back - she wasn't all that hungry, really. She'd eaten enough earlier that day while walking. "Grass is lighter, with a little less taste." she told him quietly. "Have you been eating leaves or something, to not know that?" she teased, then trotted carefully over to the mare. "What are bats? Why do we have horns?" she asked, then stuck her head out of another of the 'windows', mimicking Siliarial happily.
However, her questions had only just begun, and she continued to shout as she let the rain soak her. "Are there big creatures like us in the sky that are crying, is that where the water comes from? And ooh, why do you think our dams left our eggs? How come we were all alone? Why do you like to be alone?" Then she stopped to take a breath and perhaps get a few answers, pulling herself back into the cave.
A rather impish idea struck, and, without warning, she moved closer to Alucard and began to shake off the moisture, spraying her friend with an abundance of water drops, giggling all the while.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:25 am
Alucard scrambled for a reply, but realised it wasn't necessary as Khalidia went over to the window. For someone who was just about to go to sleep when he found her, she was really energetic. So far he hadn't had to lie to her, and he wanted to keep it that way if possible. Some day the truth would out, just not now.
"Hey!" He exclaimed as the droplets hit him, feeling like little pinpricks of cold. Having a gut feeling he was going to regret this later, he stuck his furry tail out the "window" she had just come back in from, then turned and shook it right back at her.Bad timing, thought Silarial as she brought her head in and got more water sprayed onto her already-soaked neck. She considered shaking her mane out as well to join in the fun, then decided it really wasn't fair since hers was so much longer. Instead, she squeezed it against the wall and settled down on the spot to watch them play, dripping a small puddle where she was. It was really too bad she had not met them when she was younger.
"Deep and hard questions, Khalidia; I will answer those I can. Bats are like mice, except winged. They can't see very well and spend most of the daytime sleeping. I'm not sure why we females have horns, but I have seen young stallions using them to fight, just to see who is stronger. As for the rest..."
She trailed off, unable to provide a concrete answer to the questions that, in fact, inspired more questions. Big creatures in the sky? How could she answer a question about their dams when she herself had never been one? Did she really like to be alone? Hm. Time to throw one question back.
"What are these sky animals you speak of?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:43 pm
Giggling, Khalidia shied away from the water droplets sprayed by the male, then 'charged' at him playfully, horn lowered; she lifted it just before ramming him with it. At the last moment, she swerved to the right and let her side rub against his, getting him wet wherever her mane and neck touched. "I win Alu!" she teased, then pulled away, walking to the older female.
As Silarial began to answer her questions, she dropped to the ground near her, listening attentively. However, her eyelids had begun to droop - now that she was still, she was realizing how tired she was. She'd been running on excitement and curiosity, and that wasn't enough anymore. "What's a mice? And bats are kinda like Alu then!" she added with a small laugh, looking over at her friend before turning her attention back to the older Kirin. "I'm glad females don't fight with their horns. It's fun to pretend, but I wouldn't want to do it for real. I'll be worried for Alu if he does it later with other males." she added, then scootched closer to Silarial, and, without thinking it might be intrusive, settled her chin on the other's withers.
"Sky animals... like us." she murmured, a touch of drowsiness entering her voice. "Just bigger. I heard a noise earlier, like big hooves running across the ground. I thought there might be big Kirin up there, running around in the clouds. Alu thought that maybe the water coming down was them crying... it mad me a little sad..."
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:39 pm
Silarial looked first at Khalidia's legs, then at her eyes. She nudged the filly anxiously, rising to her feet as she did so. "You're tired, you need to sleep... but not right here. Resting in a place this damp might make you ill." Despite her strong legs and buoyant chatter, the filly did not seem very old - three days, maybe a week since hatching. It would not be ideal to fall sick at this age. The mare gave a worried swish of her tail; how long had Khalidia been awake?
"Alu, you know the way back to your part of the cave, yes? It's sandy enough for all of us to bed down. Please lead the way."
The mare wasn't exactly very tired, having woken up recently - but it was all the more convenient that she would watch over and protect Khalidia while sleeping. Despite Alucard's constant reassurance, there where dangers in the forest and she was determined to shield the young ones if she had to.Alucard had whirled around, ready to play another game of "chicken" with his sparring partner; but when he noticed Khalidia babbling more than usual and the way her legs wobbled out of exhaustion, he thought better of it. Mock fighting was fun, but not when the "opponent" was at an obvious disadvantage. For some curious reason he felt honoured to walk ahead, and, arching his neck proudly, was the first to trot back into the tunnel they had come from.
He only regretted not being able to meet the bats.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:37 pm
Khalidia yawned as she was nudged, then got to her feet, wobbling a bit. "Okay... no sleeping here." she agreed easily, expression looking slightly goofy. As she walked, her path continued to weave a bit, but she seemed otherwise okay, lagging along behind Silarial.
She watched Alu a moment, then giggled and looked up at the other female. "He's funny." she murmured quietly. "Look at him walking like that... I think it's 'cause he's a boy." she admitted before yawning again. "I don't think girls are that silly..." Then she went quiet, trotting along in a happy but sleepy manner, following the lead of the other two.
As they got closer to the entrance she and Alucard has used earlier, she noticed that it started to get a little warmer, and there was less moisture in the air. After a moment, she realized that the noise of the rain was also less - maybe it was stopping? Yawning, she waited until she could see the gray opening of the cave, then went back to the ground, settling her head on her forelegs. "Alu... come lay with me. You two, Silarial." she demanded, being rather childish for a moment.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:10 pm
Group huddle! was the only thing on Alucard's mind as he settled next to his best friend. Dawn was yet to come for just a while more, but it had been an adventurous night and he did not mind heading to sleep early. There were many, many nights more for them. He was quite dry now, and more importantly, clean - the water had taken crusted patches of dried blood with it as it left his body. As he dozed off to the pitter-patter of falling rain, which was gradually getting softer, he hoped he would not move too much in his sleep. How awful it would be to tailslap Khalidia without realising it!
"Hey uh, if I poke you or push you over while asleep, I'm sorry." He mumbled drowsily, eyelids already drooping. Fatigue was apparently contagious.Silarial waited for the two foals to be comfortable before lowering herself to the ground, neck, tail and body arranged in a protective half-circle around them. Though most of her was relaxed, her eyes and ears remained alert. She had fought off the leaders of the forest's only pride of greatcats with the help of the bats before, and heavily doubted they would come by when the weather was like this... but one could never be too sure. As the foals' breathing slowed she gazed fondly at both of them.
We are family now, she thought cheerfully.
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:32 pm
As the foals slept peacefully and their new guardian kept a careful watch over them, the rain continued to gently fall for some time longer. Shortly before the moon reached its zenith, it finally tapered off, the storm clouds trekking their way into the west with the encouragement of the wind. The landscape was illuminated once more, and night-creatures that had hidden from the tears of the Sky-Kirin ventured back out into the world. The air was soon filled with the nocturnal chorus of insects and night hunters, but nothing ventured forth to disturb the slumberers in the cave - for now, the small, impromptu family seemed almost to be safe in its own protective bubble, where no harm could reach them.
For now, at least, all was peaceful, and life was good.
La Fin
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