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 Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 4:16 pm
It was all just a bit too much for Keahi: her proposed death, the idea that plants could eat things, the notion that a head could actually starve since your stomach was in your belly and not your head, the apple trees and bushes being plant monsters... at that, Keahi whipped her head around and glared at them as though daring them to move... when they did nothing but sway gently in the breeze, she turned back to Imperio... just in time to be nuzzled.
She blinked, wondering why he'd be so upset that she'd (... not...) been eaten. Then again, she'd be horrified, devastated even, if Imperio were to be suddenly devoured... So his reaction was fine.
"Aww... but since I wasn't eaten after all it's all ok, right? And you're not a failure, right?" She smiled widely, hoping that the gesture would raise his spirits. "Besides, you'd make a wonderful knight." She giggled at the thought of him in armor, but gave a reassuring nuzzle so he wouldn't think she was kidding.
Clunk, clunk, CLANG!
(OOC: xD)
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:03 pm
Imperio sniffled, scrunching his nose up as he tried—in vain—to wipe his tears away with a hoof. "I'm not a failure? Really?" he said, with large doe eyes that didn't suit a full-grown stallion's body. "Does that mean even though I didn't save you from the monster plant you don't hate me?"
He perked up at Kaehi's compliment. 'Maybe I would make a good knight!' He envisioned himself full decked out in armor, shining blindingly in the sunlight. He wondered if he'd look with the helmet, before realizing that if he had a helmet, he'd probably be blind because helmet sometimes went over the eyes and Imperio wouldn't be able to see if something was over his eyes! It'd be like, like.. a blindfold. Imperio gasped inwardly at the new revelation. Maybe he didn't want to be a knight anymore.
'But, but~' he thought in histrionical anguish. 'Kaehi said I'd be a great knight. So maybe I will be a knight.' He reaffirmed his thought with a determined nod. 'Yes, I will be a good knight because Kaehi said I'd make a good knight and Kaehi's smart and therefore she must be right. Even if being a knight means I'd be blind but still. Kaehi said so, so it has to be true!'
He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted as he caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. His mind honed in on the object, his brain quickly catching up to the entire reason they were in the brush of demonic trees. "Apples~!" he cried, his eyes sparkling like a child at a candy bar as he rushed over to the tree, previous misgiving about the attacking and plotting trees forgotten. "Applesapplesapples~"
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:43 pm
Keahi nodded, her features relaxed into a solemn expression. "Since there was no saving to be done as there was no plant monster, you never did fail to save me. Besides, I could never hate you-"
Keahi trailed off as Imperio became completely fixated on the apples.
It was then that her stomach finally decided it was OK to protest again and that it wouldn't be yelled at for doing so. It let out a small grumble, though it was just loud enough for Keahi herself to hear and be prompted to act.
She walked forwards a few steps, hesitating briefly as her gaze shifted from apple to apple. Which to choose, which to choose?
A particularly juicy red apple was hanging just out of her reach. She reared, attempting to grab it with her teeth. Her teeth only barely made a mark on the skin of the perfect apple. She huffed, and settled back on the ground, staring woe-begone up at it.
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 8:36 pm
Imperio didn't bother stopping to pick qhich apple to eat. For him, there were two types of apples: apples he could eat and apples he couldn't eat. Therefore, he grabbed the nearest apple that landed in the 'apples he could eat' category. He chewed on the apple-y goodness in rapid, undainty chomps, eating so quickly it was a wonder he could even taste the sweet fruits.
'Apple, apple, apple~' he chanted mentally, bobbing his head side to side in his own mental tune as he eat. He swallowed is quickly, core and all, as he reached for another one. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaehi reaching for an apple that stood just out of her reach. He contemplated for a moment, glaring at the innocent apple that Kaehi sought. 'Mean apple,' he thought with a scowl. 'Not letting Kaehi eat you.' He paused as a light bulb blinked on above he head. He thought for a moment, long and hard, on how he could get an apple that was out of reach for Kaehi. (It never seemed to cross his mind that since he was just a little taller than Kaehi, that maybe he could just reach up and grab it for her.)
'HAHA!' he though triumphantly, as the perfect idea came to him. 'I shall scare the tree into giving it to her.' He preened to himself at his wonderful idea, then set to mind how to scare a tree. 'Maybe if I bite it...' he thought, staring at the tree brach with a touch of wonder.
He prepared himself, steadying his hooves on the ground as he ducked his head in what he thought was a scary/mean manner. He let out an odd growl (that honestly came out as something that was definately not a growl, nor intimidating, for that matter), and then, precedingly, bit the nearest tree branch. That tasted funny.
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:15 pm
Keahi stared at the apple, silently wishing her bones would grow so that she might reach it. Perhaps if she got something to stand on...? The mare looked about for a thing that would hold her weight and make up the necessary height, but instead found Imperio... kissing a tree.
With his teeth.
Was this some strange tradition that she had never heard of? Perhaps Imperio was a member of some cult-like circle that believed it was proper to graze your teeth against tree bark before partaking in a meal of a few deliciously juicy apples? Would she offend him by not doing the same?
Keahi eyed the bark, her nose scrunching up at the thought of actually placing her mouth upon it. She leaned forwards, delicately holding the skin around her teeth back, and then bumped her pearly whites against the bark.
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:25 pm
Imperio growled menacing at the branch, the noise rumbling from the back of his throat. The tree stood firm, much to Imperio's chagrin, as though it felt no pain from Imperio's attack. Imperio was, pointedly, miffed.
Maybe he he shook is head and growled, he thought, once seeing Nana do the same to some weird little critter that had white fluffy stuff come out of it. He tried, sinking his herbavore teeth into the innocent tree branch.
He gagged, feeling a decent chunk of the tree break off and slide into his mouth. He released the tree from his capture, taking the oppurtunity to try and hack up whatever bits of bark and tree parts that decided to take its revenge on Imperio for his attack. He vaguely wondered if it was possible to get spinters in his throat. "Gwah," he said, still coughing as he bent his head low to chuck up whatever nasty gunk he had partially swallowed.
Finishing, he wrinkled his nose into a mixture of disgust and contemplation. "Ew," he said decidingly. "Just ew. Never try to beat a tree in a fight. They always win." He rubbed his tongue on the roof of his mouth, the sliming little appendage occasionally peeking out from his mouth as he sought to rid himself of the taste of bark. "Yuck."
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:39 pm
A fight?
Reality gave a final sprint and overtook Keahi's stumbling mind. Imperio wasn't part of some tree-kissing cult, she hadn't had to 'kiss' the tree, and that wasn't a kiss after all- he had been fighting the tree!
Which meant that the bark flavor clinging to her teeth was there for nothing.
She curled her lips back and huffed once, delicately. "Just out of curiosity, but why exactly were you fighting the tree in the first place?" Her eyes bore into the side of his head, her lids slightly lowered of her eyes- quite plainly, she was glowering.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 10:31 pm
Imperio ducked his head, his ears lying flat against his head at Kaehi's tone. In all sense, except for the fact he was quite a bit larger and lacked paws, he looked like a kicked puppy. "It was being mean, Kaehi!" he explained, as though it was obvious, though he let out a pitiful whimper from that back of his throat. "I thought that maybe if I scared it, it'd like.. I dunno, drop the apple that you wanted?"
His eyes watered again, his pitiful whimpering and soulful orange eyes making it doubtful of whether he should have indeed been born as a stallion. "Did I do something bad?" he asked, almost timidly. Kaehi was angry at him, so he must have done something bad. He had just wanted to help Kaehi, but maybe she didn't want help. Or maybe she didn't want him to fight. 'That has to be it!' Imperio thought, his mind whirling. 'Oh, oh! I know. Kaehi doesn't want me to fight because fighting is bad and the tree looks really strong so maybe she doesn't want us to fight the tree for the apple because it'd be angry at us for provoking it and then it'd beat us in a fight and then we'd lose and we couldn't eat apples! Or maybe the tree has psychic powers and is currently controlling Kaehi, and therefore, Kaehi isn't Kaehi but how can Kaehi not be Kaehi? Wahh, I'm so confused~'
There was a long pause as Imperio thought, before he finally exclaimed, "I, Imperio, Kaehi's shining glowstick of a knight shall save thy fair mare from the evil mind-controlling tree! CHARGE!"
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:28 pm
Keahi's glower had faltered, then melted into a pile of goo at Imperio's thoughtfulness and whimpering. She silently forgave him for making her kiss bark; he had only wanted to help! ... and he actually noticed her woeful glance at that perfect apple! Many other stallions would have been too busy stuffing their cheeks to spare her a glance, that or if they had seen it would shrug it off. "Aww... That's so sweet." A warm glow had formed in her eyes.
The glow turned icey at his words. "Mind-controlling tree?" Keahi stepped forwards, placing herself in between Imperio and the tree. "Trees don't have mind-powers, they're not monsters-" she back-kicked the tree, just to prove her point"... and you should be-" she faltered as a large branch, dislodged by her kick, dropped onto her head, knocking her out cold.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:32 pm
Imperio, unwittingly, blushed at Kaehi's comment, his puppy eyes lighting up in happiness at the same time. 'Yayyayyay, Kaehi said I was sweet. That's a good thing, right, right, right?' He felt like dancing: compliments always made him feel warm and fuzzy and really really happy. He almost preened at Kaehi's gaze, the warmth spreading as he felt delighted, no more than delighted that Imperio didn't even know what he felt. He grinned, his eyes twitching back and forth in another display of his happiness.
His celebration quickly turned into a frenzied panic, as he stared at the now unconsious mare on the ground. "EEEK, what do I do, what do I do, help, help, help~" He ran in circles frantically around the mare, his long tail tangling into his legs as he panicked, unsure of what to do. 'Kaehi's dead, dead, dead, oh no, what do I do. No, wait, not dead, she's breathing!' "SHE'S NOT DEAD," he said, in relief though still panicking. He kick his front legs, shaking them in the air as he tried to calm himself and failing.
His head whipped back and forth as he looked for someone to come by, because Kaehi was on the ground and not moving and she was alive but she didn't look alive and he didn't know what to do~ "WAHH~" he cried, hair in his eyes and mane tangled in a large knot from his constant running in circles. "Maybe water! Water, water, water," he chanted, head darting back and forth as he looked out into the valley for the river. 'Waterwaterwaterwaterwaterhastobesomewhere~ But if I get water, how do I bring her to water? Or do I bring the water to her? But I can't carry water! I don't have a basket or anything and I can't pick it up because I have hooves but if I don't find away Kaehi might die and I thought she was gonig to die before too but she said she was fine so maybe she'll be fine now? But, but, what if she isn't fine and she doesn't ever get up and what if she does get up but then is mad at me because I couldn't bring her water?' He eyes scrunched and watered in distress.
"Wah, I feel so useless~" he said in anguish, tears bordering theatrics welling up.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:58 pm
Nothing reached her.
Nothing could.
She was unknowing, uncaring. Completely oblivious to the world around her. She did not know that Imperio was having (quite possibly) the worst meltdown of his entire life. She did not know that the branch that fell was, quite ironically, the one that held that single perfect apple. She did not even know that she didn't know these things.
She was lost, her mind functioning on a purely corporeal level: she was breathing, her heart was beating. But that mind, that glorious mind that held such intelligence (which had, granted, deserted the mare for the duration of her experiences with Imperio) wasn't functioning. She could not think. She could not register the panicked voice that reached her ears. She could not access her memories, nor make new ones.
Unfeeling, uncaring, unknowing.
She might as well have been dead.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:22 pm
Imperio thought he saw the slightest twitch of Kaehi's tail, jumping up in excitement before he realized that he likely imagined it. He wilted, his eyes pressed back and tail dropping. Worry laced his features as he gazed down at the fallen mare, and he pressed back another whimper. He glared at the branch that had fallen on her in turn, stomping angrily on the center of the branch, snapping it in two, in an act of revenge. "Stupid tree," he muttered, before walking in a half circle around Kaehi.
He still didn't know what to do. He had his breakdown, calmed a bit, and was on the verge of another one. It wasn't everyday that he has an unconcious mare next to him, and he didn't know how to make her get up! Maybe water would help...
He stared at the river that he could barely catch a glimpse of in the center of the valley, the water sparkling in the sunlight. 'Water he knew helped when someone was out of it like Kaehi was,' he thought, nodding along with his thoughts. Last time one of the leggers had run into a tree, the other two-leggers had dump a big thing of water on her and that had gotten her up.
But Imperio didn't have have a bucket and he couldn't carry a bucket and even if he could he didn't want to leave Kaehi all alone where something could come along and attack her. He whinnied sadly, his tail brushing against his hind leg as he tried to come up with a way to make her come back from limbo. 'Water, water, water,' he thought.
his eyes shot up as he got an idea. 'Perfect!' he thought, happy to be struck with such a brilliant way of waking Kaehi up. He couldn't bring Kaehi to water nor could he bring water to Kaehi so...
He bent his head down down, bring his face within inches of the fallen Kaehi's, her mane ticking his nose...and licked her.
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:55 pm
The mare's blissful ignorance was interrupted by the touch of tongue on skin. A layer of the twisting, swirling, spiraling nothingness was peeled away as the touch of another living creature reached through the haze and gently pulled Keahi's mind back from the abyss.
The tiniest of movements.
Her eyelids fluttered gently as she attempted to open her eyes, but her nerves were still scattered- her eyelids would not obey her command; the connection between brain and nerve endings was still shot.
After quite a few breathless seconds, she managed to open her eyes wide enough to see Imperio's face so close to her own. She twitched slightly, the teensy jolt all that conveyed her surprise.
Her mind felt groggy.
... Why was she on the ground?
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:28 pm
Imperio gave a delighted kick as he saw Kaehi's twitch. 'Whee~ My plan worked! I'm a genius.' He danced for a moment in celebration, giving his head a shake and tail a flick.
He bent down again, nudging the mare with his nose happily by her neck. "Kaehi! Kaehi, Kaehi! Get up, get up~" he said, running in a circle around her to nudge her back in a futile attempt to help her stand up. "Up, up, up! Kaehi's is awake and okay and not dead! So that's a good thing so Kaehi and I should go and run and eat more apples because Kaehi flopping on the ground is bad, bad, bad." He pushed against her harder, the flat of his head resting against her back. He gave his back legs another delighted kick, ignoring the fact that the mare had yet to move again despite her initial twitch. "Up, up, up~"
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:26 pm
The onslaught of words did little to improve Keahi's condition. Her mind was moving slowly, as though what once was run electronically now had to be cranked by mind. Processing Imperio's words was a slow progress, and before she could even think of a response he was nudging her and badgering her to move.
She tried, and managed to raise her body a few inches before falling back down; her feeble attempt at movement caused her still-weakened knees to buckle before she could properly get to her feet. She needed a little more time to recover from her unexpected fall.
She cast a groggy look around, her eyes finally settling on Imperio. "... Mm..." the words wouldn't come; she tried again "... Mm... I'm trying." She swished her tail (a movement that was accompanied by a delightful spark of a smile... she was regaining control of her limbs! ... er... hair?)
The sooner she got up, the sooner she could munch on an apple.
Keahi pressed on her hooves again, trying to shift into a position where she could get up.
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