|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:52 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:53 pm
Mei_Long While light peered down from the gaps in the canopy above, Connor didn't have the faintest recollect of what time it was. However, that's how it usually was these days. He didn't think of the time, he didn't think of where he was. It was just who was around and if he was hungry. Since he had arrived in the dark swamp-like forest he hadn't changed much. A few scratches from twigs or other things adorned his freckled skin, and he had small bags under his eyes from the none too easy sleep conditions of his new abode. Also, his hair was longer and his once smooth hands, only slitted with the occassional paper cut, were now more warn and dirty. He needed a bath, greatly. But since he had not yet been able to defeat the creature in the lake, he had to find water elsewhere to bath. And so, Connor now walked through uncharted territory with his makeshift spear in hand, long ears flicking with intent to catch any sound.
While his hooves stepped carefully over moss covered branches, vines, mud holes, and other things Connor's green eyes stared straight ahead. He had learned that eyesight only distracted from his ears. And though light did travel faster than sound, ones eyes couldn't always be trusted in this forest. After all, there was little light. No wonder he had never found another taur in this place. Makokun Caden wasn't quite exactly sure how he always managed to get himself into situations that involved him not knowing where he was or how to get home, but once again he had given in to his unbridled curiosity, and he now found himself in the depths of a bog that, despite the considerably dire conditions of the situation, he couldn't wait to explore. The atmosphere put his keen feline senses on edge, and as he walked through the thin mist that obscured his vision, his ears picked up on a noise that sounded like hooves, and he wasn't too terribly experienced with these sort of things, but either the sound was distant, or they came from a child like himself. He suspected the only reason he hadn't been discovered yet was the advantage his soft, padded feet gave him...they would also give him a nice advantage on sneaking up on whoever else was walking through the forest, he thought with glee as he set off to find them. Mei_Long A snap sounded from under his front left hoof, causing Connor to pause and listen for anyone around him. With the lack of response he continued on his trek. There had to be water soooomewhere. But so far the only moisture he was smelling was that of the dew on leaves, and the fog in the air. Sighing faintly to himself Connor looked at the book in his hands. It was his most precious possession at the moment: his journal. His only companion.
While wandering he let his mind wonder, sure on his instincts to kick in should anything dangerous happen. His mind wandered to flowery fields, their light scent wafting into the air and greeting his senses pleasently. And in the middle of it all was a taur much larger than himself, and one he would do anything for. Sure, he still didn't know why he thought of Emori so much. But the important thing was he did... right? So much that he'd live here just to grow up to Emori's expectations. His tail flicked idley as he thought of Emori, flowers, and... less hungry times while his stomach growled. Makokun After wandering around for a while and coming no closer to finding the hoofed taur in the forest, Caden decided a change in tactics was in order. Picking out what looked like a sturdy tree with many branches, Caden lept up and grasped as the lowest branch, his nails sinking into the tree as he did. Soon, he was pulling himself up through the branches with relative ease, slipping only once or twice on the moss that seemed a bit abundant. Making his way out along a rather thick limb around 15 feet up from the ground, Caden peered out, trying to look through the brush of the rest of the forest for taur he had heard earlier. As luck would have it, the snapping of a twig brought his attention upon a taur not too far off, yet still too far away to identify through the mist. Patiently, he waited to see if the taur would head towards him. Mei_Long Walking slowly through the fog, almost in a bit of a haze, Connor's thoughts continued to wander over events that never happened. He was day dreaming. However those dreams were interrupted when he paused, under the branch Caden currently resided on, and walked towards the tree he'd clambered up. "What..." he breathed quietly as his small hands brushed over the interrupted moss. He didn't see this often. Usually the trees were undisturbed in their growth, almost scarily so. But this... this was not natural.
Stepping back from the tree Connor clutched the spear tighter to his chest as he realized something. If those were there, that meant something WAS here. And whatever it was could climb trees. Which meant neither the ground nor canopy was safe here. Shaking his head of the terror that threatened to overcome him Connor held his spear out, determined to face this "danger" with a bravery that he felt he did not possess.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:54 pm
Makokun Caden blinked down at the taur who had strolled right into his sight. 'Ah, centaur,' he identified it, though with the sound of hooves, he had been pretty certain that was what it had been anyways. Still, he had never met one before, only heard of them, so it was good to verify such things. He even seemed to be the same age as Caden, much to the boy's delight. But now what? Looking at the centaur, it didn't seem he was in the friendliest of moods. Looking up, he spotted a flower growing in the tree's lower canopy and reached up to pluck it before dropping it down to the centaur as a sort of peace offering.
Mei_Long Continueing to look around in search for any other sign of the creature who made the markings, the last thing Connor expected was for a flower to come floating down from the sky! Spotting the pretty thing on the ground Connor reared back, almost spooked by it's sudden appearence. He hadn't seen many flowers, and for one to suddenly appear startled him. But then as he looked at the flower his spear lowered, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Emori?" Connor whispered, though highly doubted it. What he DID know was that the flower came from above him, so... that would mean... Connor looked up, and against the canopy he could make out another taur! "A-Ah..." Connor started to raise his spear again, but stopped, and looked down at the flower. Lowering the spear he looked back up at the taur, green eyes peering to get a better focus. "Wh-Who is up there?" Connor called, hoping it wasn't a mistake to lower his weapon. Makokun Caden had to hold back from chuckling at the centaur's reaction. He often daydreamed himself, but it was entertaining to watch someone else so clearly drifting between daydreams and reality, especially with the backdrop of the murky forest. Ultimately, however, he realized that the centaur wasn't in a state of fancy, like he was, but fear, and was able to bite his tongue because of this. Instead, he decided to flaunt a little more power. "Who's asking? I really have the advantage here, y'know, I don't think your hooves could climb trees very well, and I've got plenty of branches up here to protect me from your pointy stick, if you could even hit me," he said, his voice more aloof than taunting or demeaning. "So, who are you?" Mei_Long Connor's green eyes that had been narrow from trying to peer up into the branches widened in shock. He was taken aback by this reaction. He had not been attacked or given the information he sought. Instead he was... well, he frankly didn't know what was going on. Though, the taur in the trees was correct, he had the advantage. He remembered it took him a long time to climb a tree the first night he had been in these woods, and he didn't fancy climbing another.
"Well... you're right... but who SAYS my poiny stick can't reach you?" Connor retorted, though who knew full well that the likelyhood of his spear making it up there AND doing any damage was zero to none. So, he decided to give into the taur's demands. It was only polite, since he hadn't been attacked yet. "My name is Connor, now, would you tell me yours?" Connor called once more, wary of Caden's next action. Makokun Caden grinned as the centaur submitted to his demands, though he wondered why the boy was still trying to keep up his brave front. Shrugging it off, Caden turned Connor's words over in his mind, wondering whether he should answer truthfully or tell a little fib to make things more interesting... Well, he was already lost in these woods, and that was interesting enough, he decided. "The tree says so, says he's been watching you," Caden chuckled. "Says he'd catch it anyways! And I'm Caden," he said, popping his head out through the branches to allow Connor a clear glimpse of his face. Mei_Long At this Connor looked shocked, "the trees?" he muttered, glancing to the tree Caden was now perched in. He supposed a tree could watch him, but could someone talk to it? Looking back to the Caden Connor caught his name, and smiled in understanding. He was a Cattaur, so that explained it all. Connor had read that Cattaur's were incredibly in tune with magic, and thus, nature.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Caden" Connor called, though really, he hardly considered them met. He could only see his face, and they were so far apart, Connor was having a hard time deciding if he was a small one like himself, or larger like Emori. Though his voice did seem rather young. The prospect of meeting a young taur, and in a place like this, seemed to cheer Connor up greatly. He'd been dying for some conversation. After all... he couldn't talk to trees.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 7:30 pm
Caden snickered under his breath as the centaur seemed to take what he had said seriously. he hadn't counted on that, but it seemed that his joking had gone right over the boy's head...perhaps both figuratively and literally, considering he was still 15 feet up.
"Nice t'meet you too, Connor," Caden replied quickly before letting the tree branches fall back into place in front of his face. "Funny to meet you out here, though," he remarked. "What are you doing out here? Hunting, by the looks of it, but don't centaurs live in herds or packs or groups or somethin' like that? I didn't think they'd make a child do the hunting!" His tail wrapped around the branch absent-mindedly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:43 pm
Of course Connor had taken it seriously, as there was one thing that had become apparent about Connor: he was a serious kid. Far too serious for a kid at times, if not all the time. So naturally, when it came to tom-foolery, he was at a complete loss. Perhaps as he grew up he would gain a sense of humor. At least, one could only hope.
The branches above once again scewed Caden's face, and Connor frowned slightly. He liked being able to see who he was talking too, and the distance combined with the foliage wasn't helping at all. However as Caden observed the obvious, Connor sincerely hoped he could not see his own face clearly, as the centaur had paled somewhat. Yes, it was true that centaurs traveled together. But he himself as a centaur seemed to... well... suck at interacting with anyone. Thus, he was as isolated and alone as a wolftaur with a limp.
"Well, actually, I'm alone" Connor began, wondering if this was a wise thing to say. After all, a taur alone was an easy target, but he was pretty sure he could trust this cattaur. "I came to live out here" he said, not feeling close enough to this cattaur to devulge just why he was out here. Emori was his secret, and his only, he thought stubbornly, guarding his precious memories with the foxtaur as if they were a vast store of the world's most precious element. And perhaps they were.
Turning from his thoughts Connor tilted his head slightly, deciding it was his turn to question. "What are you doing out here then, Caden? Do cattaurs have a habit of strolling alone through dense and murky bogs?" he asked, crossing his arms lightly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 12:09 am
Caden held his arms out at his side to help him balance as he walked back along the branch before jumping down suddenly to a stronger limb below. Craning his neck back, he was able to get a better look at Connor.
"All alone? Why is that? A centaur alone in a forest makes no sense, don't you know? Maybe a centaur alone in a field, or a group of centaur in the forest, but you got it all confused, y'know." Even if Caden hadn't been good at reading body language, it wouldn't have taken much for him to realize that there was something this centaur was keeping hidden... "This place isn't a home, this place is an adventure, you don't live in adventures! You're just supposed to go on them sometimes, didn't anyone tell you that?"
Smirking at Connor's question, he answered promptly. "Yes, they do! More than centaurs, anyways."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:25 am
Taking a few moments Connor rolled over Caden's words in his mind. Was it truely so strange to see him in this forest, alone? Well, by coming here Connor hadn't been trying to conform, but become stronger. None the less, the cattaur didn't need to know that. "Well, I suppose I'm confused about a lot of things, so one more is alright with me" he said with a small shrug, arms falling from their crossed position.
At the mention of an adventure Connor smiled slightly, remembering when he wanted to seek out an adventure. Now he knew that these kind of adventures became tiresome when... you lived in them. Caden was right in every way. An adventure was not to be lived in, but to be lived for a while. Otherwise you would grow tired. Connor hoped to grow stronger before that happened.
When asked if he had ever been told all this, surprisingly, a small smirk graced Connor's freckled face. "Well, no, no one has ever informed me of this valuable information. Thank you my catty counterpart" he said, forming his words as he did on purpose, just for a bit of fun. He didn't recieve much coversation out in these woods, so it was nice to use words other than 'ah!' and 'grrr' or his most recent phrase 'I'm lost'.
And now that he could see Caden better, the first thing that struck him was not the beautiful spotted coat, or his dark honey hair, but his eyes. They were a clear sky blue. So different from the rest of him that they stuck out. Connor found himself temporarily lost in them before he pulled his own eyes away. Biting at his lower lip he now realized he had not only missed coversation, but merely SEEING another taur. This had to be the reasoning behind his reaction to Caden just now. For surely staring at him for longer than needed. This is what Connor concluded, and an answer he was definatly fine with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 2:07 am
'Confused about a lot of things? Just his luck he ran into a cattaur!,' Caden thought, chuckling to himself. "Well, any centaur alone in a bog has got to be confused somehow," Caden replied. "Or else very lost, but you said you live here, so you must be loony, right? Right, you just said so!"
The cattaur didn't even bother to hide his snicker as Connor referred to him as his "catty counterpart." Had Connor not been joking when he said this, he would've laughed even louder. "Of course not, nobody else here to inform you of it...except for the trees," he added for a bit of fun.
Being used to cattaur's more tactful analysis of others, Caden was rather amused when he was blatantly stared at, though he acted as if he didn't notice, stretching as cattaur do. Obviously, the centaur did not mean to be rude, so he instead took it as a compliment, though he wondered what had caught Connor's attention. Maybe he had gone a little loony in this bog? Clearly, social interaction wasn't his strong point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:07 pm
At being accused of looniness, Connor took offense. "I am not!" he huffed and pouted a bit, "plenty taur go off on their own to..." he looked around his surroundings, "strange places" he finished. "You did, didn't you? Are you crazy too for coming here?" he said, turning the question back onto Caden. Though in typical centaur fashion he could hardly hold the grudge, and let out a sigh, signaling he was done with his tangent.
"None the less, I'm here and so are you, so..." he paused, green eyes blinking as a question like none before had hit him. "What now?" they certainly couldn't go on forever questioning each other, right? Espicially not here. Connor had been growing more and more nervous of staying in the same spot for so long. "I suggest we find somewhere else to talk, if you like... I'm not a good climber" he said, fiddling with the spear in his hands as he looked around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:47 pm
Caden chuckled at the centaur's reaction, enjoying his bit of teasing. "Well, I already told you, cattaurs do things like that a lot more often than centaurs. If you were a cattaur, you wouldn't be loony...well, maybe a little, but still...you're a centaur, anyways." His meandering thought process made sense to himself, so he never stopped to think that it might throw Connor. "So I'm not crazy for a cattaur, but you're crazy for a centaur," he finally concluded.
Caden swatted idly as some leaves as he pondered Connor's question. "Well, we could go home, but since you live here in the forest, you are home already, aren't you? So are you inviting me into your home? I'll let you lead the way, then." Standing up again, he walked back to the trunk of the tree and slid down to a lower branch before notioning for Connor to lead the way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:59 pm
And Caden's thought process confused Connor even more. "Well... ah..." he was frankly at a loss for words. Though he decided not to persue an arguement with the cattaur. One, he didn't want to, and two, the cattaur seemed possitively convinced that this was how it was. So, he wouldn't argue. "Then I'll be crazy, but let's keep that our secret" he said, not liking the idea of being thought crazy by any other taur.
At the thought that this place was truley his home Connor shuddered. "I said I lived here, not that it was my home" he corrected. But none the less he led the cattaur back out of this uncharted territory, and over to a small gathering of trees that, as far as he knew, where uninhabited by dangerous creatures or plants. At the center of the trees was an obviously slept in next of fresh leaves and grass from the canopy.
How Connor managed to get them was unknown, but it must have taken a while seeing as centaurs were not the swiftest of climbers. Settling down in the center of his sleeping area Connor layed down onto his side, giving up all defense in favor of resting his legs. "It's not much, but the trees are so close together nothing can get in without me knowing. It's a nice reassurance" he explained as he watched Caden idley.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
