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 Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:05 pm
"Gehe...." She mused in a curt giggle, trotting a little more proudly and fluidly once he was at her side while keeping her pace enjoyable for the both of them. Leaving the beach behind her hooves once more hit the softness of soil and grass; pressing on through the trees and around bushes. She concluded that she enjoyed his smiles, they seemed like the rare and elusive strawberry....a type of berry she had a very hard time finding around these parts. She wasn't sure if was simply that they didn't grow in this king of climate, or if she was perhaps too late and someone else had already gotten the feast ahead of her. Either way...a precious gift for sure.
Time was slowly ticking in her head, as she knew sooner or later she would have to head home and face her parents. She was sure she must have worried her brothers too, but being young like her it probably didn't weigh on their hearts too heavily.
'Voda..." Meridah began, finding her gaze looking skywards through the canopy of leaves above as they moved towards what would be breakfast. "What do you want to do when you grow up? I mean...you know what i'm going to do....what's your dream?" She asked, casting him a pleasant smile as her gaze returned to him. Hating the fact for more than one reason that she didn't know a whole lot about him other than he had despicable parents and came from the sea. Did he have dreams? Aspirations? Likes, Dislikes? Perhaps he had a hobby, or other interesting things others found out about when labeled with the title of friend.
Helping others was what friends did, after all. If he said he would help her to swim than she wanted to help him with one of his goals!
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:00 am
His ears flickered at her giggle, and he matched her pace, carefully holding his tail up and out of the way to avoid dragging it along the ground. On land, his movement became gangly and awkward- perhaps, some day, his muscles would strengthen enough that he could carry his tail at a less awkward position, and his movement would be fluid once more... but, for now, he managed to keep up with her, even if he looked less-than-graceful doing it.
His stomach was willing to fuel the movement only with his mind's promise that they were moving towards food.
Perking up at his name from her lips, he glanced over at her. At her question, his hooves faltered a step before continuing on.
Living as he did, from day to day, he didn't really... think that far ahead. He ate when he was hungry, he rested when he was tired, and he enjoyed observing nature and seeing new landscapes on his travels. He had liked the stories of Knights and other noble adults, true, but that was her dream... He only blinked at her pleasant smile, though it encouraged him to do some of that deeper thinking he avoided in favor of survival.
But, that was just it, wasn't it? He traveled, so he got to see pretty new things, and it seemed like each of his trips on land brought some new adventure... but, he didn't have anywhere to return to. He kept moving through the daylight hours, stopping in whatever shelter he could find that was not already occupied for the night, and in the morning he kept moving off in a different direction. He'd only found a few spots that were so marvelous that he had returned to them later to admire them anew... otherwise, he just... kept seeing new things.
Perhaps he was at heart an explorer, a discoverer, or perhaps he was a lonely little colt who kept running away from anything that might hurt if it was lost- because he didn't know how to do anything else. Go away, they said. That had been all they wanted from him. He went away... and he kept going, even though he had already traveled so far.
He watched Meridah for a few moments, thinking once more how nice it must be to have someplace safe to return to every night- if she wanted to. A place to call her own, but that was shared between those who shared their lives together. A place... to call home.
Somewhere familiar, where he knew every rock and tree, but that held a special place in his heart- not merely because it was beautiful- but because it was.... home.
"I want..." he took a deep, steadying breath "... to find a Home." Not where he'd been born, for that was an unwelcoming and confusing place... but somewhere that he felt comfortable, safe, secure. Somewhere other than deep in the sea while a storm raged on the surface, crashing waves and the tumultuous chaos of the ravishing winds churning the surface waters while he remained safe so far down. He couldn't stay there forever, nor could he find his peace entirely on land. He needed an in-between place, where he had access to water and didn't have to travel very far to rest on land.
He shook his head a little, not even sure if such a place existed. But, anyway, that was somewhere to find, not someone he wanted to be. "I'd like to see what it looks like from the top of a mountain..." he started, thinking that it might be possible when the snows were just starting to melt and if he had a guide who could get him to water straight away if the snow-melt proved insufficient moisture. But, again, that was... somewhere.
He was a collector of memories from every place he had been. While others took souvenirs to remind them of those happy sights, his keepsakes were his memories... Perhaps, after all, it made sense that when asked that question the first place he thought was where. He had many wheres, so it was easy to think of where else he might wish to go.
But... he didn't want to give her the easy answer, even if it was the truth.
"I..." one corner of his lips tilted upwards in a half-smile, as his eyes warmed at the thought. "... I want to be a good friend."
He didn't need to be a hero, or want to have stories created around his exploits. He wanted to be kind, and true, and.... loving. Maybe those were qualities that Knights possessed, but he didn't really want that title either... he just wanted to be a good friend. Maybe not the best there ever was, but... what he really desired was to be able to honor the bonds he made in life- like the one he had with Meridah, if ever that could be replicated at a lesser scale- and be the kind of Soquili that others would be proud to call friend. He wanted to be a partner, a care-taker, a confidant... someone to have fun with, and someone who would always be there even in the toughest of times. A good friend, a true friend... maybe he was already off to a good start, but that's what he wanted to be when he grew up. To be an adult who knew friendship and acted with utmost loyalty, whose very existence exuded the word friend.
He wouldn't be lonely, anymore, then. Even when they weren't together, he'd know his friend(s) was/were out there and take comfort in that fact just as they would surely be content to know that he was out there somewhere too. And they'd find each other, again and again, and live their lives together... and maybe he'd even have somewhere to call Home, where they could meet and play or talk long into the nights.
A Home where love and friendship- adoration and acceptance- live together in harmony.
... yeah. That was what he wanted when he grew up.
He looked back at Meridah, his first friend, and smiled, his golden eyes shining with the promise of Tomorrow's tomorrow's tomorrow.
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Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:38 pm
Home.
Home was such a heavy word, when one really thought about it hard enough and with a different perspective to see it from. Meridah had all but taken for granted her safe spot amongst her family, extended and immediate. Her mother was always around, her father full of adoration especially being his only daughter amidst two brothers. They had all the love in the world for their children, and it made for quite happy times in her short time here in the world. They filled her head with nobility and traditions, the goods and the dangers of the world but...there was always love.
Always a spot to sleep beside her two brothers, safe from the world.
She'd never imagined not having such a place for her heart, and as she stole a sideways glance to the colt as he fell back into thought she felt her own chest clench for what had to be the umpteenth time. How did it feel to go asleep by yourself, and wake up in that same loneliness. She would actually have to take the time to tell her family how much she appreciated them when she got home....because there were plenty out there who didn't have them.
Yet....what did Voda want in a home?
Was it new parents he wanted? Family to call his own that would love him like her parents loved her? Was it just a safe, welcoming haven amidst the storm called life? Or perhaps he just wanted to find his own place....somewhere he could always come back to. "Will...your home be far away?" She asked, quietly in a reserved fashion. "Will I be able to get to it...?" Perhaps thinking a little too far into advance since he hadn't found a home...or well began looking. Yet how could she help it? She didn't want to have him move so far away she couldn't visit until she was older and on her own. What if he found family and a home far into the sea? Somewhere she couldn't go even if she could swim?
Meridah would be happy for him, of course. Yet she'd miss him terribly if he went somewhere she couldn't follow.
Giving him a thoughtful look she wondered how strange it would be to see an ocean dweller on a mountain....yet she was sure the sea didn't offer grand majestic views into the vast world around one's self....being at the top of a mountain was very different then in the vast sea she imagined.
"You're doing a great job already..." Meridah spoke truthfully as he finally spoke, giving his shoulder a little nudge. Perhaps she didn't have much to compare it to as she didn't really...well had any other friends. Yet she was sure they would pale in comparison; the connection they had seemed rare - promises of a lifetime at such a young and tender age surely wasn't for the faint of heart? She meant every word, and had all the intentions to see it through and be the best of friends forever. She would see him through his desire to be a good friend....besides, it took a good friend to be a good friend, right? Looking ahead she could see the raspberries just moments away, a bright smile breaking on her lips. "Oh look Voda!" She spoke in glee, trotting over quickly to the bushes and inhaled the sweet smell. "Oh yum...." Her stomach growled as she leaned over and lipped the berry till it fell off its stem; eating it up with a delirious vigor. "Just as good as I remember, come! Try some!" She looked back and urged, motioning with her nose to the clusters on either side of her.
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Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 9:55 pm
Peeking at his friend with curiosity in his luminous golden eyes, he blinked at her questions. Would his home be far away? Would she be able to get to it?...
He was, truly, confused. Of course it wouldn't be too far, and yes of course she'd be able to get to it. Home wouldn't be Home if best friends couldn't be together there.
He understood the need for silence, the peaceful self-reflection that was only possible when there was no one else around and all thoughts could turn inwards. But, when there was only ever 'me', and no one else, loneliness made all the ceaseless solitude seem... barren.
All the wonderful revelations of that peaceful silence were useless... unless they were shared with someone else.
Just like Home wouldn't be Home if he couldn't share it with Meridah.
Home would be a safe place, somewhere to rest and to reflect. But Home would also be a place where joyous laughter could ring freely, breaking the silence with warmth and affection. A happy place, and a place to ease the pain of sadness and loss. A healing place.
It might take a long time to find that place that resonated Home, but he knew that some things were worth waiting for- were worth searching for. Were worth.... fighting for- even if that battle was raged in the confines of one's own mind, against despair and hopelessness.
"Meridah..." he said quietly, his brow furrowed as he wondered at the mystery of the mind of a filly. "... if it was too far away, if you couldn't get to it... it wouldn't be my home." Even if he found someplace nice, someplace he might want to return to time and time again... if she couldn't be with him, when she wanted to be... it would just be another location in his collection of landscapes and interesting places. If that happened, he'd have to keep searching.
Because... home was a place, and home was a feeling too. And that feeling wasn't loneliness, not at all. It was...
He peeked at her again when she nudged him, and he couldn't help but grin. "You too." His cheek muscles ached a little, but it was okay... he was glad to have found someone who could make him smile so easily. And glad was a complete understatement, but he didn't know any other word for it.
His mouth started to water at the proximity of the sure-to-be-delicious fruit, and his ears perked as she darted towards the bushes. He watched her for a few moments, despite the pangs of his tummy, wondering whether Home would have raspberries that they could share, and then she beckoned him, and his hooves started moving of their own accord. He was with her in moments, his soft nose inhaling the delicious scent while poking carefully around the spiny vines.
As he bit into the ripe red fruit, his taste-buds began to tingle as the juices flowed over his tongue. It was just pure taste, not like the crunchy-yet-delicious apple! A little pocket of air inside that smooshed delightfully when his tongue pressed it against his teeth, and just enough tension in the skin to give him something to chew. Some were more soft than others, and those were much sweeter!
He looked from the bush to the filly back to the bush. "Yum!" he echoed, borrowing her word because she had said it so perfectly.
But, his stomach demanded another gleeful expression: "Thank you!" He wasn't sure if he was thanking the wind for carrying the scent to them, Meridah for starting them off in the right direction, or the bush for its bounty. Maybe all of them.
He carefully selected and then quickly savored another raspberry. Yum.
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Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:18 pm
It was nothing short of awe that the filly listened to her dear friend speak, easing whatever worries she may have had creep into her soul for but a split moment in time. It wouldn't be home without her....it was such a bold statement but she had already begun to secretly wish it to be true. Home seemed to be many a different things...and while if worse came and he did find a home out of her reach....well, wouldn't it be okay if he had two homes?
"I...." She stammered, losing her composed train of thought which seemed to be a new running trend. "I am glad....just, don't give up something good which could come along. You know....like parents down there...family. Even if your home was far into the sea....I don't think its not allowed to have two homes. One in the sea, one on the beach?" Perhaps, in the end, she wanted to tell herself he could totally run into two amazing soquili who would love him a hundred times what his parents could. That he too could have a happily ever after with family of his own.
Yet even if such a wonderful dream didn't arise...she would be there. She'd try her best to be all the family and friend he could need till he found more.
As conversation took a more muffled tone as she continued to nibble hungrily at the juicy berries at her disposal; she glanced over once or twice to see how Voda was liking the new foods of the land. Utterly pleased he was enjoying himself she was free to eat and eat and eat until her little belly was staring to get upset with all the sweet delectable berries she'd scarfed in perhaps a rather un lady like speed. Life was bliss.
Yet...the little filly was coming to realize that life was really full of ups and downs.
Perking her ears up slowly she thought she'd heard something strange, something awry in the faint music of the forest with its breeze, birds singing and distant sounds of the sea. It was almost like a rustle....but it sounded like perhaps something had pressed against an entire tree with the creak something had made. Narrowed eyes looked ahead as she tried to stand stall to look over the bush only slight to see if she could spot anything.
Not only that, but as her tiny chest rose silently in an inhale she was surprised that something strong hung in the air; a scent not like anything she had ever smelt before. It had the strong sharp scent of something metallic....and something....fishy? A rotten kind of smell, at any means. Her posture alert she trained her eyes to swerve around on her head; waiting for the chance to spot whatever was making such a smell, and such noises around them. Perhaps...it was just an animal?
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Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 11:33 pm
Hadn't... hadn't something good already came along? Someone good, that is.
He wouldn't give up on the good things in life, not ever. He would stand strong against fear, and refuse to yield to the bad things that try to take the good things away. If one good thing required giving up on another good thing.... then, that wasn't good at all.
He'd stopped chewing, and quickly swallowed the juices before they started dribbling down his chin.
Home was such a grand concept, he was sure it made sense to find a little piece of it in many places.... But, if he visited places, multiple sanctuaries, many areas to have fun and to sleep and be content... then, that was traveling and enjoying the trip, wasn't it? It wasn't... that elusive and all-encompassing home.
Maybe it wasn't right to depend entirely on one thing to ensure happiness. Maybe getting a little bit of what was needed from many sources was the right thing to do, so that no individual territory was drained of its resources or simply over-used. He got tired, if he pushed to hard or stayed up too long, and he wondered then if the land got weary too. He didn't think of it as a living being, but maybe the world was just a form of life he didn't understand. Not just the grass, which could grow and die, or the sweet fruits that came from flowers and then disappeared into the bellies of foals or back to the earth. Whatever was... beneath it. In everything, all around them, like the air but... could something without a brain have a mind of its own?
He plucked another berry, and rolled it around in his lips before munching it. Maybe homes got lonely too, with no one there. Or, was a place a home only after someone called it that? Would he know his home the first time he saw it, or had he already passed it by- because it wasn't ready for him yet, or because he wasn't ready to see the potential of a place that didn't scream 'LIVE IN ME'?
The feelings he got when he gazed at a beautiful place for the first time... it was easy to appreciate beauty, to notice excellence and to want to return to it. Home was something so foreign to him, and yet he desired it so strongly... did his home have to be beautiful to begin with, or would its beauty come from the memories that would be built there? Fondness and acceptance... could a home be built with time, anywhere? Manywhere?
His thoughts trailed along while he enjoyed their ripe red meal. He didn't like the idea of having a home that his first friend couldn't reach, even if it was just one of many. Even if he ended up with multiple places that felt like home, it just... wasn't right.
But, then, maybe it wasn't right to put all the pressure of making a place into a home or not on the presence of a single soul.
His nostrils pinched, as if trying to block out the flow of water or a yucky smell, and he stopped chewing again as he considered the reflexive movement. For the second time in less than a day, he was so caught up in thought that he had failed to pay attention to his surroundings. He was left processing information his body had gathered without his conscience mind.
A smell, icky, but familiar. Like.... a half-eaten fish that had washed up on shore. Unless it had been carried inland on a sea-breeze, that fishy smell had no business here... he was sure that the odor wasn't coming him, because he was just slightly salty from the residue left behind by the slowly evaporating ocean-water on his skin... not rank and fishy. He glanced at Meridah, puzzled, wondering if the smell had been previously masked by the sweet scent of berries, and immediately tensed when he saw her alert stance.
She smelled it too.
When something was left half-eaten, that either meant that the predator had gotten bored or something bigger had come and chased it off its meal. That is, if his association had been correct... he took a careful whiff.
Maybe the fishy body wasn't here, and the smell hadn't been carried on the wind. His breath sometimes took on the scent of whatever he had eaten most recently, but...
Uh oh.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:23 pm
Slowly turning her head to the side she glanced to Voda, wondering briefly if she was just hallucinating, her over active imagination playing tricks on her. His tensed look as he was meeting her gaze told her everything she needed to know and more. She wasn't alone in what she could smell and hear....he could pick it up too. Hopefully it was perhaps a wolf, or coyote....something small she could perhaps scare off with loud whinnies and the charging stomps of her hooves.
Oh, how she wished she had been given a better fate.
Flicking her ears as something cracked closer to their location, she narrowed her brows deeply before mouthing a very clear and precise 'Stay." Turning slowly, almost painfully slow she took one step after another, silent in her very movements as Meridah even went as far to slow her breathing despite her pounding heart. If she could round the bushes, she might be able to see what sounded like it was on the other side. If she could take a look......without being seen.....things would be okay, right? Inching closer and closer her head poked around slowly, eyes scanning the clearing just beyond the bushes. The little filly wasn't prepared for what she was about to lay eyes on, not by a million years.
There stood a massive bear, and when she discovered bear...she meant to say skinwalker. The blazing almost tribal markings burning across its pelt was out of the natural world, its one paw cuffed in what should have been shackles tying it to something. One paw...was even on fire with some kind of ethereal flame. It wore a skull hat on its head, antlers erupting from the skull itself. It seemed to be rummaging through the berries filling its stomach...but at its monstrous paws were none other than blood caked into the thick fur....it seemed it had eaten its dinner and was onto desert. She even noted a few torn apart fish carcases; the beast had eaten....a lot.
All of the hairs on her back bristled as slowly, ever so slowly she began to back up. She was brave to take on a lot of things in this world at her young and inexperienced state...
A bearwalker was not one of these things.
Finally turning around, her eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared openly at her best friend; mouthing the word over and over again as she krept with the utmost of care.
Bearwalker, bearwalker, bearwalker, bearwalker....
She didn't dare to move any faster for fear of them being caught.
Meridah also didn't notice the wind had changed direction, and began to blow from a southern direction.....towards the massive bearwalker only a few measly meters away.
They had to get out of here, immediately.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:11 pm
Stay.
Such a stern command, from someone he trusted explicitly. His jaw tightened as he pinched his lips together, drawing in a sharp breath and holding it when Meridah began to creep silently around the bush. He wanted to follow, to help, to do something but... he knew that he was rather clumsy on land, and would only hinder his friend's stealthy approach.
He stood anxiously, his eyes trained entirely on the creeping filly, prepared to dart in front of her and flail wildly with his tail (his... soft and squishy weapon, along with his hardened hooves) if need be. It wouldn't matter if he was clumsy, not if the predator was that close.
His lungs started to burn, and he took a quiet and careful breath.
She turned, and his own eyes popped open when he saw how large hers had become. Surprise? Fear? By the time her lips moved with the second iteration of the three-syllable death sentence, his brain registered the word.
Bearwalker?
He'd heard of bears, but didn't everything walk? Bears ate fish, that he knew, and if.... walker. WALKER?! Skinwalker? BEAR Skinwalker?
The horrors of those legendary predators had penetrated even the seas, and warnings flowed from the lips of land-living adults whenever foals were around. Not to scare, or to intimidate, but to warn.... danger, danger, DANGER.
Strangely, survival techniques were not shared with the stories of the beyond-monstrous beings. Someone had to live, somehow, to tell the cautionary tale, but... how?
His muscles quivered, tensed to spring into action. His tail, strangely enough, continued to obey her earlier command and remained perfectly still- aside from a little wiggle near his rump.
His lips began to move, as he lifted a hesitant hoof: Go.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:31 pm
Careful....CAREFUL. Each step had to be painstakingly surveyed before her hoof could bare any of her weight against the ground. One crack, one slip of her hoof on a rock could mean utter and complete disaster if she wasn't careful. She wanted to bolt, her entire body nearly screamed at her to do so and to get as far away from this location as possible....but her snail pace had to be resumed. What if the bearwalker was still hungry?
What if two little foals were the perfect dessert?
Reading his lips loud and clear thanks to their seeming unending saucer like stare, she nodded her head....once she was close enough, once she was back to her spot they would run together. She just had to make it back....just a little further.
That was when she noticed her hair swaying with a north bound wind.
Wait....wasn't the wind blowing south, before?
As if some sick and cruel que, she felt the bushes move behind her and a hot stick breath mere inches from her rump. It hadn't lunged with fangs bared, but inhaled deeply as glowing eyes turned to lay on the two foals; and Meridah turned her head around to face what she had feared.
Its head had to be twice, if not thrice her own size, a mixture of berry and blood splattered its great mouth full of even greater jaws and saw like teeth. Her heart had stopped cold in that moment as she had done nothing but stare; gawking in horror at what was a mere few inches from her own very flesh. It wasn't until the bearwalker had opened its mouth to let a long groan from its jowls and snort did her body's control finally spring back into action.
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN.
"VODA!" She screamed, unable to keep the pent up cry tearing from her lips as hooves sprang into action; barreling her little body forward to him and her head shot forth to give a passing gentle n** at his neck. Words were not needed as she ran full tilt back down the path they had come from...back towards the beach and some semblance of safety. Hell; she would barrel into the water if it meant getting away from the skinwalker - drowning was infinitely better than being torn to shreds. Looking back only to make sure he was at her heels, she didn't look back long enough to see if the horror was charging after them.....running till her legs gave out seemed to be the most logical choice of action now.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:01 pm
Was it... less stinky?
Before he could even draw in a breath for a sigh of relief, the implications of that subtle shift in scent came to fruition: Meridah, so close, and.... big. BIG baddie Bearwalker barely bursting from the bushes.
Rage curled up in his gut as he saw how close the bear's maw had come to Meridah, and he was fighting the mixture of fear and sudden kamikaze urges when his best friend darted towards him and screamed his name. He jerked forwards, but she was passing him, and her gentle n** re-connected him with the reality of the situation- and his survival instinct.
He sprang up and twisted his torso, wincing as he stepped on his tail (it couldn't quite keep up with the rest of him) but grunting through the pain and bolting after the fleeing filly. His ribcage expanded frantically to fuel his pumping legs and one last cry, as the two foals fled near-certain demise.
"I'M HERE!" A reassurance, a desperate plea, a confirmation. He was here, but so was the Bearwalker, so it was time to go- with her.
He liked it better when it was stinky.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:19 pm
Catching the sound of his voice put her at ease, thank goodness....she really didn't want to have to go running back there in case anything happened and he for some unforeseeable reason got trapped by the walker or fell.....neither of these things happened praise the heavens. Yet....even if it had, she'd always jump into the fray no matter how little the chances were.
He was her best friend, and one couldn't replace something of such value even if it meant grave injuries.
The thundering of her hooves echoed along with the thundering inside her chest; the foliage whipping past her vision as she followed the trail back to the beach. They were getting closer, so much closer. As long as they both made it, they were home free! Finally in what seemed like a burst of energy she broke through the last of the forest and onto the sandy beach; nearly losing her hoofing on the soft surface.
Yet, she didn't stop till she was right at the waves; screeching to a hault and looking back with her chest heaving heavily.
She couldn't see the bearwalker.
Nor hear it.
Had they lost it, or perhaps it never bothered to chase?
"Do....you.....see it?" She panted, looking to her companion; fear still pounding in her heart.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:59 pm
Watching her flee, he was glad that she was faster. On top of her head start, she was lighter on her hooves and far more agile. But he was racing for his life, and he wasn't too far behind by the time they neared the sand.
He barreled a foot or so past her, crashing into the waves, instinct calling him back to the sea as the last water droplets clinging to his skin had been shed during his frantic flight. He hadn't slowed his momentum at all, and his hooves crashed into the water at full-speed.The resulting spray of saltwater was rather refreshing, and he stopped, turning around to face the shore. He wanted to roll around in the ocean so badly, but the danger may not yet have passed.
He searched frantically for any sign of the beast, hoping that they had really out-distanced it... hoping that it wasn't merely preparing for an ambush.
"... no..." a breathless whisper, filled with hope and trepidation.
He took a few careful steps until he was back at her side, his neck twisting back and forth as he angled his eyes to best see all the possible hiding places on the shore.
He couldn't see the massive predator, and he could only smell the sea... his nerves bunched as a passing cloud cast a shadow on the sand. That gaping maw, stained in still-dripping red fluids... had they really escaped its grasp?
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:11 pm
Flicking her ears to hear him splash sent an odd chill of familiarity to her soul; something about him crashing in the waves had reminded her of moments before they had even left on the search for berries in the first place. When they weren't face to face with a bearwalker.
She only turned her head when he'd moved back to her side, glancing his way as he too did not see such a monstrosity chasing them down like she had feared. Her own thoughts echoed his unknowingly....how did they escape? Was there really all there was to it? Stories had made them seem like they craved death and destruction at every moment, no opportunity for despair on their victim spared. Had the two of them really....done it?
It was dangerous to linger, and even more so for the pair of them. At any moment the creature could burst through the forest lining and make a lunge at them. Could she really risk heading into the sea; as well putting a huge risk on him to hold her up?
Could the bearwalker swim?
She didn't want to find out.
"I-i should go.....its safer for you in the sea; and safer for me at home..." She looked sorrowful to be leaving his company...but there was no better time to face the music of her parents with having a skinwalker story to follow what had transpired. It made her overnight adventure seem like a mere spec in comparison. "Tomorrow it should move on...hopefully....." Leaning over against him she rested her head under his chin while she nuzzled his neck. "Meet me then...?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:37 pm
As the moments past, and no claws or fangs came into sight, he began to relax slowly- still alert, adrenaline cycling through his system in a now-familiar rush. He wondered vaguely if their time together would ever be... sustained relaxation, calm and quiet but still exciting just by being together. So much had happened in their brief time together- what waited just past Now?
Golden eyes caught warm brown as she spoke, and he glanced back at the shore expectantly. But, no, it was.... clear.
Her words were logical; she could move quicker and more stealthy alone, and she knew the land well enough to make her way back home safely. But it still made him nervous, to think of seeing her go off into the land of beasts... but there were Knights, too, and she would be much safer with her knightly kin than with a lone kelpi colt.
He would watch her go, and then return to the sea... his body needed the cooling embrace. And he was confident that he could out-swim a bulky predator, especially one not adapted to life beneath the waves.
Besides, her family had to be worried for her. He felt a pang of guilt; it was his invitation to eat that had gotten them so close to a Bearwalker, of all things. The raspberries had been delicious, of course, but... the sight of those terrible jaws so close to his friend (friends forever!)... it wasn't worth it. His stomach grumbled happily, for a change, quickly digesting the fruits to re-fuel after the flight and only slightly unsettled by the frantic charge. Well... his stomach probably didn't mind the risk, but he wanted her safe and sound. As safe and sound as a Knight-in-training could be, that is.
She looked sad... he was sad, too, to part ways. But, they'd see each other again- they'd promised! Even so... he didn't like to see her sad.
Her arched his neck, creating more space for her head while holding his turned cheek against her crest. He breathed once, deeply, not quite a sigh.
"I'll be here."
When you need me... whenever we want to be together. Always.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:00 pm
I'll be here.
It was so simple, so resolute. It made her heart feel wonders better to hear the words from his lips; and to feel the returned secure-ness of his small embrace. She knew with every single fiber of her being that he would be here tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that into well, forever. As much as she could not shake the sadness for not being able to drag her friend home with her, she would uphold her word with every fiber, every breath of her body.
She would see him tomorrow, bright and early.
Pulling back with a final nuzzle she gazed into his eyes with a bright smile crawling over her lips once more. Knowing it would be strange to leave the comfort of the beach back to the mainland once more. But...it had to be done.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, shortly after the sun rises from the eastern mountains...." Meridah turned her torso, then the rest of her all while looking back longingly. Was it always so hard...to leave the ones you cared about? How did others say 'so long' to friends?
Either way, she kicked up and ran; close to the forest before B-lining it up the hill she had initially come from. Pausing near the top she let out a light nicker or a goodbye before disappearing from sight and into the heart of the land.
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Thus weeks had passed, and times had become significantly brighter and much less sinister in each passing day. Today, however, was the first day in some time that the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Rain pelted the land as the storm rolled in from the west; winds howling through the nearby trees. It was at least a hour or two after their designated morning meet up time....but there was someone out in such wild weather braving the storm.
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Closing her eyes against the ferocity of the storm, it was hard to really see anything in the chaos of rain pelting against her face and the wind threatening to sweep her off her very hooves. Meridah wasn't able to see the sun since the storm had picked up sometime in the night while she slept, but either way after a long pleading session with her parents to let her go out, they agreed.
She would have been just shortly past on time....but something had stopped her in her tacks.
Never had she thought it would take so long to find a safe temporary spot for something so small....but she did. Now, with hurry in her step she slowly rounded the corner of the path to the decline which would take her to the beach. Almost there....almost to Voda.
Breaching the treeline the mare snorted loudly as the wind really pelted the rain against her face; low rumbles of thunder from above echoing across the land. Without any tree cover the rain stung a little on her thin pelt; turning her head away from the ripping breeze as she carefully put one hoof in front of the other to head down the hill. She didn't want to rush; but it was really hard to see....was he still there? Perhaps he headed into the water where it was calmer below the waves.
Half way down the hill she called out, feeling her chest tighten as she really didn't want to leave without him...but she only had so much time before she needed to get back to the little treasure she found out in the woods. "Voda! Voda are you there?"
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