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 Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:04 am
"Ye won't!" Biscuit swam back to the shallow regions and stood firmly on the ground beneath the water. He offered a smile as her expression echoed that of his eldest daughter and shook her head. He could understand why they would be afraid of the water, but so long as she stayed near the shallow area she would be fine.
"I'll be right here, I will nae let ye swim too far out," Biscuit encouraged, backing away from the shallows slightly to give her more space. She was an adult after all, much larger than a foal and so she would need more time and room to adjust to the odd sensation of the water caressing her sides. Granted, he loved the feel but not everyone was the same.
"I promise!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:14 am
She looked at him and nodded. He had given her no reason not to trust him so far, right? So there was no reason to be afraid. Well, except for that horrible dark abyss that was the lake. But he was fine, so maybe she would be ok, too.
She sighed and moved forward into the water, until it was just below her shoulders. The water was cold, and made her shiver a bit, and she could feel her skin crawling with the sudden change of temperature.
She looked at him, and smiled.
"Well, this isn't so bad. A bit cold, though."
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:11 am
"Aye, bit cold this time o' day," He smiled apologetically and backed a little further in to give her more space. She would need a great deal of space to practice her paddling before he could even dream of teaching her to fish. Only after she was comfortable and he was sure that she was all right to swim about on her own, would he teach her how to leap about like the moron he was!
"Now, lessee..." Popping his lips, he took a few moments to examine her overall stance before nodding. She had strong enough limbs and her legs were long enough to thrust her through the water with ease, he just hoped those jewels wouldn't add too much additional weight. If they did, she'd just have to take them off or work a little harder.
"Alright, now all ye hafta te do is act like ye walkin', only make ye strides way longer and try to scoop the water under ye." He explained, offering a nod as he demonstrate the move. "Jes' give it a shot and see how it feels, aye?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:16 am
She nodded and looked back down at the water. It was quite clear, and she could see her feet at the bottom of the water, though they were distorted a bit. She thought she should try with her front feet first, just to get the feel for it.
She reached her left leg forward, stretching it out as far as she could, and pulled it back to her body, trying to do it as quickly as possible, though the water provided quite a bit of resistance. Lifting her right leg, she did the same.
"Well, that seems easy enough. And you're sure you'll help me if I start sinking?"
She looked nervously at Biscuit before she pushed off of the shallow bottom of the lake and lunged forward into the water. Stretching her head to keep it above the water, she pumped her legs as quickly as she could. After a while, she was still afloat, and she smiled at Biscuit as she paddled towards him.
"Hey! Look! This is quite easy!"
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:33 am
"Aye, ye be a natural!" Biscuit agreed as he watched the mare continue to paddle about. It seemed that as the minutes progressed she was growing more confident. Her 'strokes' were longer, stronger and thrust through the water more smoothly...perhaps he had been wrong in assuming those jewels would have gotten in the way? Refraining from voicing this thought he grinned instead and carefully moved in parallel with her.
"I be promisin' I'll help if somethin' goes wrong but I be reckonin' ye be doin' jes fine!" He continued encouragingly, "When ye be ready ye can move deeper in and come meet the fish!" He added after a few moments, catching sight of the glittering creatures beneath his hooves. Weaving in and out of his legs as though they were sea weed, he wasn't entirely sure if they were waiting expectantly for his game or were completely oblivious.
...Could've been a bit of both really.
"Ye jes' make sure te tell me when ye ready."
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:22 am
Treading water, she smiled happily. For once, her moods seemed to have balanced for a decent amount of time. She hadn't had an outburst or sudden swing since they had come to the lake. She looked down into the water around her, and caught sight of some strange-looking things shining in the water below. She looked back up at Biscuit, an inquisitive look on her face.
"Are those things 'fish'? I've never seen them before! What do they do?"
That simple comment showed how strange a life Ju had lead. Sure, she probably had seen fish before, but she never knew what they were. This would be a normal question for a foal who was still exploring his surroundings for the first time in his life, but it was strange for a fully grown mare.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:16 pm
It was strange how things worked out. While the stallion chose never to question the ways of the world, he was always rather entertained by what occurred. Not a day went by when he didn't doubt the power of the lake and its potentially magically qualities. Without fail, bringing another soquili to the lake just to marvel at its beauty or to enjoy a swim calmed them - it made them happier.
Alright, so the world was filled with grumpy planks but they all mellowed just a little. If they were children, it taught them discipline and determination whereas if they were adults it taught them to trust and to listen. After all, it was a damn sight more difficult for a grown soquili to be saved, wasn't it?
"Aye, they are," Biscuit confirmed, choosing to assume that she simply hadn't been to the lake often enough to spot them. There were rivers around without them that she could sip from so perhaps it was ordinary - he wasn't one to question those sort of things...especially given his family.
"Most of the time they jes' be swimmin' about around ye legs but sometimes they be pickin' the dust of ye and what not." He replied after a few moments of watching them flit beneath his legs. "Peaceful critters, bit like meself really..."
"So how ye findin' the water then?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:57 am
Ju moved around in the water, feeling more and more comfortable by the second. She was actually truly happy for the first time in a while. And Biscuit was being very nice about the whole thing. He seemed to be enjoying teaching her.
"Its great! I've never done this before."
As she swam around, a fish brushed up against her leg. She let out a bit of a squeal at the feeling of their harsh scales. She looked down at it, and quickly swam away from it, a new worried look upon her face.
"It touched me!!! And it hurt a little! I thought you said these things were peaceful! Its trying to kill me!!!"
She continued swimming away from the fish, looking back to see if it was chasing her. She headed for Biscuit, hoping he would protect her from the evil little fish.
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:17 am
"It nae be tryin' te kill ye," Biscuit resisted the urge to laugh and swam across to meet the mare half way. She really was like a child in some ways...While she was most definitely a mare her mentality left much to be questioned. Her inability to swim, her fear of something like a fish...to him they were rather unusual but everyone was raised differently. From the sounds of things she hadn't had a healthy relationship with her parents either way.
"It jes' be sayin' hello and gettin' te know ye," he explained gently as he glanced down at the fish weaving in and out of his own legs. Every now and again one would pause and 'n**' at his legs or would brush against it but perhaps he was just used to the feel. Given he resided in the mountains on a more regular basis his fur was much thicker than hers.
"Ye see, they cannae smell so they gotsa touch ye to understand who ye are, that way they be knowin' who ye are in future," he reassured her, completely unaware that the memory of fish left much to be desired. Unfortunately it would be many, many years before anyone would figure that out. Good news for Biscuit as he could never be proven wrong!
"But if ye be wantin' a lil bit of revenge against ye I can teach ye how te fish - does mean ye gotsa touch 'em again though if ye be alright with that, aye?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:06 am
Ju cowered behind Biscuit, watching the fish as it now swam around the stallion's legs. He was very reassuring, and that made her feel a little bit better.
"But it hurt a little! He felt sharp when he touched me! Why did he do that?"
She didn't understand it. She had never met an animal that was sharp like that. It was one of the strangest things she had encountered, and that was probably where most of the fear came from. She just didn't completely understand it.
Though when he mentioned getting back at the fish, that caught her attention.
"I'll...have to touch it again? But how do you do it?"
It sounded slightly violent. She didn't exactly want to hurt the fish, but perhaps if she had a little power over it, it would calm her down a bit.
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:37 am
"He dinnae know any better, he be like a new born foal and dinnae understand what the consequences of his actions are," he replied in the same soothing voice as before, canting his head to the side as he watched the mare's changing body language. He wasn't entirely sure he understood this one and her naivety at all but who was he to question? All that mattered was that she trusted him a little, right?
"I be sayin' he be curious, he got real strange scale things all over his body instead of fur so I be thinkin' tha be why he's sharp, aye?" Offering a small smile, the stallion pushed himself away from the mare and came to an open spot. There, he stood still and turned his gaze down towards his hooves to watch the creatures flitting back and forth beneath him.
"Now ye be watchin' closely and ye be seein', it dinnae hurt them jes' surprises them!" He explained after a few moments before slowing his breath and falling silent. Every now and then a fish would flit back and forth between his legs but none stayed long enough for him to react. It took another few minutes until he found one that satisfied his tastes and then he reacted.
Rearing up onto his hind legs, he thrust himself into the air. A large wave sprang up around him and from inside his cupped forelegs the silvery creature flew out, arching through the air before flopping back into the water. A delicate flash, a series of ripples and it darted away towards it's comrades once more.
"And tha' be how ye doin' it, aye?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:48 am
As she stood in the shallows of the lake, Ju watched Biscuit closely. For a moment, she thought he was playing a trick on her, because he was just standing there. Thinking this was just a waste of time, she glared at him, and almost turned to leave. But just as she was about to move, he suddenly reared back and tossed one of the fish into the air. She gasped and let out a tiny shriek.
"Jeeze, you could have at least given me a warning! You scared me!"
She watched as the fish flew into the air and fell back down into the water. She saw its silvery skin reflecting the sun as it darted around in the water, trying to shake off the shock of what had just happened to it. Soon, it swam deeper into the water and was lost to her sight. She looked back at Biscuit, another confused look on her face.
"So....that's it? You just...throw it around a bit?"
This was one of the oddest things she had seen him do so far, and she didn't completely understand it. Why did he enjoy something like that so much?
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:56 am
"I be apologisin' fer scarin' ye, but if I hadda spoken while they were about I woulda scared 'em away," he explained softly, flicking his tail as he began to wade towards the mare again and grinned. Had she been a little more laid back he would have given her a nuzzle of encouragement but he had a suspicion she was very particular about her own personal space. To him, it seemed she wouldn't permit it to be invaded unless she wanted it invaded.
...He had respect for that. A lot of respect.
"But tha' be what ye do, it looks pretty strange from a distance but it's an art I be tellin' ye!" He seemed adamant about this and released a small sigh, "Fish are fast lil creatures, ye gota know exactly when te rear or ye be missin' them - sure it looks mighty strange when ye watchin' but it feels wonderful when ye succeed!" He canted his head to the side a little more and then motioned to where he had stood.
"Why don't ye give it a shot? All ye have te do is stand on the spot fer a lil while and wait. When one is real close te ye legs ye take a deep breath and rear. Make sure te put yer legs close tegether so ye can cup it in them and it'll go flyin'!" Again he would have nudged at this in an almost teasing manner, almost to exchange a challenge but he refrained - she barely trusted him, he had to tread carefully.
"Higher ye can get it, the more impressive it is. Reckon ye can beat me?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:56 am
She squirmed a bit as he explained how she was supposed to toss the fish in the air. She really didn't like the way the fish felt when they touched her, and when Biscuit had done it, he looked quite ridiculous. She didn't want to go walking around in a pond, jumping about like some kind of fool.
But then he challenged her. Of course she could do better than him. She could do better than anybody. Now that he had put this challenge to her, she gained new resolve. She swished her heavy tail once before she walked towards the spot where Biscuit had been. She stopped and stood perfectly still, watching the fish as they swam around her legs. It took a while to get used to it, but when she saw one swim right between her front hooves, she knew she had to go for it.
She suddenly reared back, turning her hooves inward to hold the fish as she stood completely upright. She released the fish and sent it flying. It was immediately clear that she had made it higher than Biscuit. It seemed to almost hang in the air for a moment before it changed direction, and started falling back to the water. With a splash, it returned to its home, and Ju saw it dart off, trying to get as far away from her as it could. She turned to Biscuit, a smug look on her face.
"See, its not all that hard. You made it sound like you didn't think I could do it. And now it seems I have beaten you at your own game."
She let out a little giggle as she waded back to the shallows near the shore.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:12 am
Owned.
Biscuit was incredibly impressed by the mare, he hadn't put much effort into his own throw but she had completely destroyed it on her first attempt. Usually it take a number of tries before soquili got used to the movements of the fish but she had proven there was hope yet. Thus, he simply followed the fish as it plopped back into the water and swam for dear life - he may have stunned his fish but she showed her's who was boss.
"Touché," was about the only response he could muster as she drifted towards him again. He wasn't used to being thrashed and he suddenly detected that hint of a competitive streak creeping into his head. Usually he didn't compete against women, usually he simply continued to watch and worship their beauty but this was just not sitting with him.
Fishing was his sport!
"I kin still throw it higher though," he stuck out his tongue teasingly, waded back in and waited for a small amount of time. It wasn't long before another unlucky fish found its way near him and with another of his ridiculous bounces he hauled himself into the air, his rear turned into a semi jump and the fish flew higher than it had done before. It was just a little higher than Ju's but he had proven his point - or so he thought.
"Hate te say I told ye so, but I told ye so," he purred with the most boyish of grins...temporary forgetting her unpredictable nature, this was where he was in his element.
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