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 Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:19 pm
Maurice didn't reply right away, he was busy considering how best to land. Thin wing-strands beat overtime as he approached the ground and his eyes narrowed. Considering how much the last landing had jolted him, trying something different wasn't a bad idea. It might end up being very awkward or it might end up looking spectacular.
Well, actually, it would be pretty spectacular either way.
The Ichsa was still travelling quite rapidly as he neared the palce where Nizhoni had stopped but, instead of reacing out with his front legs to land, he pulled them both up. Back hooves struck the hard ground with a thud and the horned Nequus skidded along, his wings extended to form as much air resistance as possible.
A little way along two grooves in the grass, the stallion dropped his front legs to the ground and, after a few awkward, stumbling paces, he managed to come to a halt. Some moments passed in silence as the blue Ichsa stood stock still waiting to be able to hear the wind over his pounding heart.
"Well," he said eventually, shakily, "that could 'ave gone worse but, as y' see, I'd be best to rest up for a little while at least. I'll prob'ly want a week or two 'ere t' let m'self 'eal before I move on southwards."
He could feel his legs trying to tremble with fear and unused adrenaline but the tri-star marked stallion held them sternly in check and focused on calming his breathing. It's ok, it's ok. That was fine, nothin' bad 'appened. He'd be so close to falling over and breaking a limb, he should have just landed normally and risked any damage to his foreleg, it had been stupid.
Yea, but wasn' it exitin'? whispered a tiny and mostly buried spark of daring from the pit of his soul.
Maurice ignored it for the time being and focused on soothing the rather larger part of himself that was currently envisaging all the ways his little stunt could have gone wrong.
The spark contributed him smacking horn first into the tree and having to spend an age pulling himself out. The spark smirked, despite the metaphorical dirty looks it was getting from everywhere else.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 5:14 pm
She watched him curiously; why was he trying to land like that? But, as soon as the thought struck her, she remembered his injured foreleg, and his peculiar landing scheme made more sense. She pawed the ground gently, watching his attempt to land, dancing about anxiously. What if he fell, or injured himself, or worse?
Once he had landed and was, for the most part, stable, Niz trotted over to his side, head tilted slightly as she walked with him. She listened to his answers before commenting. "Are you okay?" Was her first question. He seemed very shaken by his odd landing, but she nodded at his time frame. "Okay, that's fine. If you have to land like that, then I hope you'd stay at least a week and a half, poor thing." He seemed to be very deep in thought, she decided, wondering if it was because of his strange landing, or something else entirely. "We can rest right here for a few minutes so you can calm down a bit, if you'd like, then we can go look for Nyx. I only say calm down because it seems to me like that landing kind of shook you up a bit. I'd rather you take a rest here to calm your nerves instead of going on and falling over or hurting yourself," she stated, head tilted to the side a bit, her emerald eyes watching him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:42 pm
Great, and now she was convinced that he was pathetic, not what he wanted from anyone. "I'll be fine," the curly-maned Ichsa informed his companion with a briefly flashed smile, the tremble gone from his voice but still present if repressed in his limbs.
Maurice gave himself a vigorous shake to rid himself of the tingles that ran up and down his spine. This seemed to help with the thundering heart and feelings of sick fear a little so he did it again.
"There," he said after the third shake, tossing his head to rearrange his mane and smiling faintly, though not yet with the calm he had possessed before his inventive landing. "I'm good t' go now if you are Niz. I think I will need t' 'ang around f' a good bit as y' say 'cos I don' want t' land like that again. Still, sooner we finds this Nyx o' yours the better, right?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:31 pm
"Okay," she replied as she watched him shake to rid himself of his nervous feelings. She waited patiently until he was finished, and her ears perked forward as he spoke. "Okay, and yes, the sooner we find her, the better. It shouldn't take too long to find her, though." She pawed the ground a couple of times, then set off, headed deeper into the valley. "As I said before, she doesn't usually travel out of the valley much, I don't think. She should be around her somewhere..." She glanced around as she walked along, looking for the splotchy mare that was her friend. She looked over at Maurice every minute or so to make sure she wasn't going to leave him behind, or his leg wasn't giving him too much trouble.
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:13 pm
Maurice nodded to the mare's words and set off after her, his gait adjusted to keep the pressure off his damaged leg as much as possible. The result was a less than graceful limp but it was effective at what it was intended to do; allow him to keep up a fair pace without damaging himself further.
"Tha's good," he said to Nizhoni, flashing her a brief smile. "I'd 'ate t' 'ave t' go wanderin' out of the valley t' find 'er now I'm 'ere, y' know? One my leg ‘urts an’ two it'd take longer an' it in't polite t' be in somebody's space, when y' know its theirs, without permission f' too long. ...I did get the right impression, yea? She is kinda the top hoof in this bit o' the valley?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:01 pm
Niz walked beside him, making sure not to leave him behind or get too far ahead of him. "Yes, that would be bad, wandering around looking for Nyx is bad enough. And yes, she's the leader of a herd around here, as far as I can tell. I think that's why she doesn't roam much," she informed him, still looking about for her friend. Unable to see her, she trotted forward a few paces, then called out the aeri's name. "Nyx!" Her ears swivelled around as she paused, waiting, hoping to hear her friend since she couldn't see her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:20 pm
The well-built stallion trailed on after Nizhoni, ears pricked up and glancing from side to side for some sign of an approaching mare. ...What does she even look like? 'ow do I think I know what she even looks like, what breed even? I won' know if it's 'er or jus' some random filly wanderin' around the place. Maybe I should ask. Maybe I should jus' point out any mares I see. Erg.
Sighing to himself, the Ichsa stallion chose to keep his silence. He'd had more conversation than he was used to in the last few minutes and felt awkward breaking the silence between himself and this stranger. Kind or not, she was still an unknown...
Wait...
Had that been a voice?
The blue-coated stallion frowned and turned his head to where the noise had come from. There, upon a small rise some way away from them stood a tall Aeri. It was hard to tell from here but she looked as thought she was splodged over with vivid colours.
"Umm... is that 'er up there?" he asked tentatively, coming to a halt to better gaze up at the muscular figure, pawing at the ground unconsciously with nervousness at the introduction of another person he didn't know.
After all, he only had Nizhoni's word that this Nyx was nice. This might not be Nyx, it could be any Nequus calling down at them for any reason. ...Come to think of it, he had only a few minutes of experience to decide that the Ichsa mare beside him was kind.
Well, she does seem like a good person... But people can be so good at seeming... F'get it. I can run or I can fly if things get bad. Well. Fly. I'm sure she's alright. I'm sure. I 'ope...
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:09 pm
Niz had completely forgotten to describe Nyx to Maurice, she was too busy looking for the mare. Was she even close enough to hear her calling? Was she sleeping somewhere? Her ears swivelled constantly, looking about for her friend. Where was she...?
The young mare had been too wrapped up in her thoughts to hear the voice, but stopped and turned when Maurice pointed it out. She looked up at the figure upon the hill, eyes squinted a bit to be able to make it out completely, then perked her ears and danced about. "Yes, that's her!" She said, then looked at Maurice. She noted his pawing the ground, wondering if it was out of nervousness or something else. She tended to do it, she knew, when she was impatient or restless, but why would he be either of those? She pondered on it a bit before she decided to question him, one ear flicking idly. "Maurice, are you okay? You seem a little nervous.." But why would he be nervous? Nyx was nice, why would he be worried?
Then she remembered how he'd acted when they first met; he had seen nervous, as if something was bothering him. Maybe he was always nervous around new horses? She had been a stranger, but he didn't seem to have been nervous around her.. She couldn't make sense of it, and she took a few steps towards the aeri on the hill. "D'you think you're up to walking up the hill?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 2:06 pm
"Oh!" the stallion dragged himself from unpleasant imaginings and returned his pupiless gaze to Nizhoni. "Up there? Sure, n' problem. S'not far an it don' look too steep either." He probably ought to answer her other question too or she'd draw the worst conclusion possible, people always did. But he'd feel stupid and small telling her.
No 'elp f' tha'; jus' tell 'er, it'll be fine.
The Ichsa took a moment to assure himself of this before setting off towards the hillock at a steady limping walk. "I... I guess I am nervous though untrustin' might be a better word. I'm not great with meetin' new people, 'specially not a lot at once or in quick succession, I need time t' get used t' one and decide they're prob'ly alright before I meet another in general, y' know?"
No, Maurice decided, y' don' know. Y've no idea at all; y' think every Nequus an' 'is Rit is a sweetheart. Couldn' think any other way with 'ow y' reacted t' me tellin' y' about that b*****d over-protective Reya. That'll get y' int' trouble one o' these days, filly, 'ope y' learn before it costs y' too much.
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:29 pm
Her ears were perked forward, gazing towards him as he spoke. "Okay, I just wanted to make sure," she stated with a nod; she didn't want to risk him being injured further, or putting too much strain on his foreleg. She watched him start off up the gentle slope, and she joined him on the short journey, listening intently to what he had to say.
"That's understandable, I think," she nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose I'm lucky by not meeting any irritable horses yet, but I'm sure I will." She turned her gaze to the soft, rich grass beneath her hooves as she walked, pondering on her attitude towards others. It was true, she was always very up-beat and trusting of others, and all of the nequus she'd met so far were wonderful, why assume others that she would meet would be bad? Then again, they really might be mean or irritable, and could possibly get her into trouble, or worse. "I should be more wary of new horses that I meet, I suppose." Her ears flicked a bit as she pondered on this, thinking out loud more than to herself. For once, she actually thought that not all nequus were wonderful horses. If she were to meet a nequus like Maurice had met, how would she have reacted? What would she have done? It was a hard topic for her to think about, she'd always pictured other horses as nice and wonderful.
She looked up at the top of the hill at her splotched friend; just a few more moments until they reached the peak. I hope Maurice isn't too nervous around Nyx.. What if he doesn't stay, what will he do? Where will he go? And why does it concern me so much? She snorted; never before had she worried over anyone before, but she pushed the thought out of her mind and continued walking at the steady pace up the hill beside the blue-coated stallion.
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:07 am
The blue-coated stallion sighed and shook his head slightly. "Now don' let me poison y' view of the world, Niz. I'm sure that most Nequus are basically good an' optimism is always a good thing in my opinion. If y' 'ave choice about whether t' be a nervous, mistrustful little sod or not, chose not t' be. It gets y' nowhere t' be honest; y' don' make friends easily, y' avoid even casual contact with people and always wonder if there's some hidden motive t' somebody bein' nice t' y'. I try not t' be such a suspicious little git but it's kinda ingrained. I'm tryin' t' change it an' I wouldn' want t' 'ave influenced someone with a good view on the world to be a pessimist, y' know?"
They were a good way up the hill now, speaking had distracted his attention from noting their progress for a while but he was aware of it again now. He was also aware that the brightly coloured mare that awaited them was absolutely huge compared to him. Repressing a shudder, Maurice contrived to look more confidant than he felt.
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:51 pm
"You haven't poisoned my view of the world; just made me think a little. I shouldn't think of every nequus as being wonderful, is what I'm saying, I suppose," she nodded, looking over at him as she spoke. How had that attitude been ingrained? She decided not to ask; she didn't want to pressure questions on him that might make him feel uncomfortable. She returned her gaze to the peak of the hill, which was just a few paces away. She speeded up her pace on the last few steps so she hopped up onto the top of the hill, ears perked as she smiled at her friend. "Hello, Nyx! How're you today?" She asked, not out of politeness, but because she really was interested. "I brought a friend, his name is Maurice. He's on his way to the sea, but he needs to rest for a week or two. Is it okay if he stays here in the valley?" She asked, ears perked, wondering if she should really be the one asking or if Maurice wanted to, but it was a bit too late to think of who should be asking since she already had.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:52 am
The tall mare smiled at her Ichsa friend's ever-present enthusiasm. "I'm well thank you Nizie," the Aeri let her eyes wander to the stranger that the creamy mare had brought. Oh bother, why are the pretty ones always so short? "You are most welcome to stay with my herd for as long as you like, Maurice and indeed to come back any time after you have left. Any friend of Nizhoni's is a friend of mine and friends are for life; make yourself at home and feel free to ask me for anything you need."
He looked a little nervous but quite a lot of the smaller breeds did when confronted with a towering Aeri mare, he'd probably get over it soon enough.The blue Ichsa smiled slightly, trying to ignore the size of the creature before him. True, she wasn't as broad as many Aeri but she gave the impression of possessing at least a little of their power and a considerable helping of the speed they often lacked to go with it.
"Thank y' Nyx, I'll be glad of a place with kind weather t' rest." Thank goodness Niz had asked for him, he wouldn't have known what to say to the kindly smiling mare. ...Well she seem quite friendly too, probably is friendly. The horned Nequus gave another slight smile and tried to persuade himself to relax.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:14 pm
"Yaaay! Thank you, Nyx!" She said happily while dancing about a bit; enthusiatic was a good term to describe her. Foolish and naive on occasions, but enthusiastic. "Maurice, would you like to see my favorite spot by the river? It's really pretty!" She offered, taking a step or two towards the aforementioned spot, just a little bit to the side of where they had come. Who wouldn't like to stand under a shady tree near the river, surrounded by flowers of almost every color?
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:39 pm
Maurice blinked rapidly a few times at the mare's enthused prancing, very foal like at times it seemed. Well, he liked foals so that was alright. "Umm... sure, why not; right be'ind y'," he said with a slight smile, setting off after her.
After taking a few paces, he paused to bow he head respectfully to the tall mare who had given him leave to stay in her territory. "Thank y' again Nyx, I expect I'll be seein' y' soon." With these words, the blue stallion set off after the enthusiastic Ichsa mare.
Nyx smiled to herself at Nizhoni's overt happiness, she loved so see the people she cared about to exuberant. "Goodbye you two, see you soon," she called after them, returning Maurice's nod just before he turned away. Sweet boy, hope he gets over being nervousness of me before he has to leave.
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