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 Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:28 pm
An ear flicked forward and she lifted her head, smiling up at Illidan. She remembered from when they first met that he had been, as he put it, betrayed by a human. There was no pity in her expression, there was simply understanding. She could tell he didn't like two-leggers. In her heart, she still cared for the humans that had been her family at one time. However, there were days back when she was younger that she felt something akin to hatred because of their actions. Now... she had learned to forgive them, but still not herself.
"It would be better if there were horses," she agreed, then turning her attention to the foal. "Communicating with two-leggers is very difficult. They wouldn't be much help and if we get too close to their horses while they are around, they might wonder what we're doing." For a moment, she nosed lightly at Coridan's neck.
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Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 10:07 pm
Coridan smiled at the nuzzle, leaning into Doan's side a bit. He found himself liking the mare more and more all the time. It made him not miss his mother so much with her around. "Can horses that live with two-leggers talk as we do?"
"Some do," Illidan answered quietly, walking alongside his son. He glanced over the colt at Doan, watching her. She was taking the situation so well. He wasn't sure he'd be as calm being separated from his children in such a fashion.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:11 pm
At the young one's affection, a gentle smile lit her face. "Let's just hope the ones we find can," Doan said, though she actually sounded a bit lighthearted. She was sure that at least a few of them would be able to talk. And that was all they really needed to discover if this leg of the trip would give them any usable clues. Looking up, she caught sight of Illidan's gaze. Her smile grew until a sound in the distance distracted her attention.
"What's that?" It was a language she didn't understand. When she looked forward again she saw it. The village was coming into view in front of them, just beyond the trees.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:41 pm
"Two-leggers," Illidan all but spat. "We'll need to go around to where they keep their horses without being seen. They'll likely try to capture us if they see us." He glanced about, letting the magic that guided his sight find a path for them. Noting a trail that lead about the circumference of the village, the stallion started following it. "This way."
Coridan just shrugged and followed after his father, trusting him to know how to keep him and Doan safe from the bad two-leggers. Though, he didn't understand why they were bad. He'd heard his father speak ill of them before about his life before coming to the Kawani lands, and he had listened in on Doan and his father's discussion that the two-leggers might be holding Doan's daughter. Were all of them so bad, though?
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:52 pm
The two-leggers here spoke in a language that sounded even different from the ones her owners had spoken. When she thought about it, they sounded somewhat like the ones who had taken her over the ocean. But that was a long, long time ago. She barely remembered it. "Alright," she muttered, keeping close to the stallion and also keeping an eye on the colt as they moved. "I'm right behind you." The further they went, the easier it was to see a small group of humans gathered in a circle and talking. For a moment she felt a feeling of nostalgia, but pushed it away to keep herself from stopping.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:57 pm
Illidan growled softly as he led the mare and his son safely past the humans. He was mentally daring one of the two-leggers to look their way and just try to capture them. Up ahead, he could see where the horses were being kept and stopped long enough to gesture with a wing to the area ad also to keep quiet till they were there.
The colt bumped into his father's legs when he stopped, but caught the gesture and moved on up ahead of him to the makeshift stables. He waited a fair distance away, hidden in the brush by his coloring, and waited for the adults to catch up.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 2:13 pm
Doan made no noise, but only nodded at the signal. Being as small as she was, and with the Kirin blood that allowed her gentle steps, she was able to keep up rather well with the colt without rustling too many bushes. The domesticated horses were just ahead of them now and although she meant to wait for Illidan, she began to grow nervous. She wanted to know what these other horses knew. Glancing around, she took a few tentative steps out of the cover of the trees.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 3:11 pm
Illidan came up beside the mare, glancing back to see if the two-leggers had spotted them. Satisfied they'd been unseen, he nodded to the stable, keeping his voice low. "Let's go make us a new friend. Coridan, you stay here."
The colt nodded, backing up into the brush, and lay down to wait.
Looking down at Doan, Illidan motioned with a nod of his head for her to follow and walked to the stable.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 3:56 pm
"Okay." Giving one quick glance back to the foal, she then moved with Illidan towards the stables. She could already see some of the other horses looking up, noticing their presence. If the stallion hadn't been at her side, she wasn't sure she could have approached all these others on her own. "Hello," she called lightly, peering down the rows of wooden confinement at all the unfamiliar faces. There was an older looking mare a bit further down the line who stuck her head out as far as it would go and Doan, feeling more at home with such relateable females, wandered closer.
"Hello," she greeted, looking up at the taller mare while keeping her voice down. "We're looking for someone," she admitted quickly. "My daughter, Hong Yen Ha, might have been brought through here. I wonder if you've heard or seen anything?" The other mare seemed to think for a moment, looking Doan up and down as if deciding whether she had seen anyone similar recently.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I've heard of or seen anyone like that."
She forced a smile for the answer as the horses nearby who had been listening began to shake their heads. She spoke quietly with them for a few minutes longer before nodding and offering her thanks. Then she moved back down to where Illidan was to see if he had discovered anything.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:17 pm
Illidan sighed as the horse he'd been speaking with moved back into its stall and looked at Doan, shaking his head. "No luck here, either. From what they've said, though, this is the closest two-legger settlement to the big water. They should've seen something if she was brought here."
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:22 pm
The mare's head drooped and she stared at the ground for a moment. "I see..." Maybe it had been foolish, but she had been hoping so hard that this settlement would hold some clues. That thought had helped her keep going. "Let's move on," she said quickly, shooting a glance up at the stallion before turning back to the bushes where the colt was hiding. "I don't want to risk getting caught." That was mostly an excuse. She just wanted to get out of here and will away the worries that she would never find her daughter after all.
Stepping back into the trees, she let out a long sigh. "I'm feeling kind of tired," she admitted, shaking her head. It wasn't a physical kind of tired. "Maybe we can take a break for a few days." She needed to gather her thoughts again.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:28 pm
"We're not so far from my cave that we could go back there, or find shelter close by if you're too tired to do more walking," Illidan suggested, resting a comforting wing over the mare's back. He really wished he'd been able to find information for her, but it was likely her daughter was either brought by another group of two-leggers they did not know, or was smuggled past this village. He refused to believe Doan's daughter might be dead and told her as much as he ushered her to where Coridan was hiding.
The colt popped out of the brush as the adults arrived. "Did you find her?" Even as he asked, he did not see another Soquili with them.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:39 pm
"Let's go back to the cave," she suggested. It sounded more comforting to be somewhere stable. And from there perhaps they could check the other direction. Maybe... her daughter had been here for years already and had made a home further inland. She had to remain positive. Shutting her eyes for a moment, she leaned against Illidan, grateful for his comfort. It would have been far, far too hard to do this alone. Now she truly realized that.
Sucking in a deep breath, she opened her eyes and attempted to gather herself, shaking her head at the colt as he revealed himself. "No, not yet," she answered. "She's not here, but we're going to rest for a little bit before we keep looking..."
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:59 pm
After a goodly walk back, Illidan led the other two up the path to his home in the foothills. Walking into the cave he glanced about at the bedding scattered around. "You can sleep there in my place. I'll stay with Coridan."
"Sleep over!" the colt laughed, trotting inside and flopping down on his bedding.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:09 pm
Glancing around the cave, Doan took a moment to familiarize herself. Last time she was here it had been just a short visit. Glancing up at Illidan, she nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you." It looked comfortable and the more she stood there, the more she realized how weary from traveling she really was. Clopping slowly to the bedding, she loitered around for a moment before finally laying down, her long mane draping over her side. The most she could get out was a quick 'goodnight.' The moment she closed her eyes she drifted to sleep.
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