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 Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:55 pm
She was glad she did so. Not too far off she spied a stunted, gnarled tree all by its lonesome, bathed in moonlight, sporting quite a few delicious-looking round, red fruits. Ears perked, the yellow-winged Bae trotted over, fluttering her translucent wings.
She halted before the tree, blinking up at the apples just out of her reach. She reached up as far as she could, but her muzzle would not come anywhere near any of the delicious fruits. Another snort escaped her and her ears flicked back. Curse being so short. She reared onto her hind legs, reached again, but allowed her forehooves to return to the earth after a few unsteady moments. Falling wouldn't be very good at the moment. Allowing herself another snort she turned on it, and aimed a well-placed kick at the tree. Several apples wriggled free from their stems and dropped to the soft ground below, and the Bae mare turned to pick up one of the delicious fruits.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 1:09 pm
There was a tree just a little way ahead and a Nequus by it; she'd only just noticed.
The red and gold filly skidded to a halt and peered cautiously at the grey and yellow creature. That was a Bae and... No, no she wasn't one of Them. Going closer was alright, was a good idea.
Follow the impulse of her hooves, the mixed-blood approached cautiously. Even without being one of Them the mare might be nasty to her because she wasn't pure. Some little way from the adult, the lone filly paused and ruffled her feathered wings. She would be noticed soon and then she would know if the mare would let her come closer or not. She certainly hoped she'd be allowed; the gold-maned crossbreed had just noticed the apples.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 1:20 pm
The Bae mare lifted her head, munching contentedly on her apple and fluttering her pale wings a bit. It was a curse to be so short, she figured; a curse from the loss of her mother when she was just a fruit, but at least she had inherited her father's strength. She lowered her head again, but froze with mouth open, her teeth about to wrap themselves around another delicious apple.
The cause for her inaction was red and gold, a wonderful mix of the two colors. Her yellow eyes looked the filly over closely, studying her features with interest. Jala wings that matched her coat, but a black Reya horn? Plain as day it was that this filly was a crossbreed. The mare closed her mouth and lifted her head, smiling over at the mixed-blood foal. "Well hey there, sweetie. Wha's a li'l one like yerself out s'late?"
The Bae couldn't help but take a cautious glance around. Where were this little one's parents? More often than not when a foal was around, so were its parents, though that wasn't always the case. The gray mare fondly recalled a certain paintaloosa filly she had met not very long ago who hadn't parents either. She tilted her head to the side a bit as she glanced at the red and gold colored filly, flicking her yellow tail. "Would ye like an apple, too, hon?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 1:34 pm
The small filly pawed lightly at the ground and sniffed at the sweet fruit smell that tantalised her so. Tantalised. That was a good word. "Yes," she said after a moment, "yes I would like an apple please miss Bae." Ears perked up, the predominantly red crossbreed trotted forward, her muscular tails with their black horn tips playing over one another.
On reaching one of the apples, the feathered filly prodded at it with a fore-hoof a few times until she was sure she'd seen all sides of it. The skin was unbroken and there had been no give in the flesh; this would be good to eat. Gold eyes still watching the elder Nequus with a mix of interest and caution, the filly took a bite. It was indeed very good to eat and she'd been asked another question. She swallowed.
"I'm out so late because if I'm not awake at nights the Reya in my might get sad. If I wasn't awake in the day enough the Jala would be sad; I have to keep them both happy because if they're not happy I'm all out of balance and that's not good." It made her walk strangely and the world's colours started to mix themselves up more often, not something she wanted happening when she was trying to graze or similar.
The filly took another quick bite of the apple before raising her head up to study the translucent-winged adult. "Would you tell me your name please miss Bae?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "Mine is Salomé." Salomé. She didn't know how she knew that, didn't even know if it was true but it was as good a name as any so far as she was concerned.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 2:08 pm
The gray mare flicked her tail, watching the filly with a mixture of curiosity and delight. Such a cute little filly. Miss Bae? She hadn't been called that before. She chuckled lightly, fluttering her wings a bit as she listened to the little filly explain her reasons for being up so late. She bobbed her head to show she under stood, though didn't comment on the filly's explanation right away. "Ah ain't no miss, sweetie, just t' let ye know. An' meh name's Elsie, hon. Ye've got such a pretty li'l name, Salome," she said, testing the name out for herself. Yes, it was pretty and fit the filly perfectly.
"Just be sure ye get enough sleep, otherwise ye'll be all out of balance anyhow," said the short Bae with a nod, flicking an ear. "An' it doesn't do t' be all out of balance 'cause'a lack'a sleep, or 'cause'a not satisfyin' the Reya or Jala in ye." She lowered her muzzle, taking a bite of the apple at her hooves. She was glad several fell from the tree, but she might need to get more if the little filly Salome wanted to stay and wanted more apples. The Bae mare wouldn't mind getting more; apples certainly were a treat.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 2:30 pm
Elsie; Elsie was the mare’s name and it was a nice friendly name too. She was right too, sleep was important and when the sun came up over the horizon she would have to go and find a place to sleep for a time. “I like your name too Elise,” Salomé smiled, biting into her apple again. It was quite a long time since she’d tried anything this good in fact she didn’t think she’d ever had such a nice apple. The ones she got were usually the ones that had just fallen to the ground and weren’t all that good anymore. Sometimes they had things living in them too and that wasn’t tasty.
“These are good,” she said aloud, aware that she ought to comment. “Thank you,” she added and she munched on the core and seeds of the fruit. Out of the corner of her eye, the filly spotted a glowing shape in the sky and she raised her head to inspect it. The moon was coming close to full; a bulging almost-circle high up in the jet-black sky with its diamond stars. “I like it at night,” the crossbreed said after a moment with a smile to the adult mare. “Everything looks so pretty in half-light and shadows, don’t you think?” The day was pretty too of course but right now she was feeling more Reya than Jala and Reya liked the night very much indeed so far as she knew.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 2:59 pm
"Thank yeh, sweetie," Elsie said with a warm smile. It was good to know someone else liked her name, too. She lowered her muzzle, taking another bite out of her apple and lifted her head, chewing it contentedly.
"Yes, they are good, an' yer welcome sweetie. If ye'd like s'more ah can always get s'more. Ah ain't tall enough t' get 'em, but ah dun need to reach t' get 'em," she said with a bob of her head, flicking her yellow tail. At the comment about night the gray mare gazed skyward, looking at the pale, misty moon and the twinkling little stars. She knew there were things called con-stuh-lay-shuns but she could never fully understand them. The stars made pictures in the sky, but she could only see the stars, no pictures. "Yeah, ah like it at night, too. S'why ah stay up sometimes, the moon and stars're so pretty," she agreed with a bob of her head. "The day is pretty too, ye can see all the colors of everythin' so much better."
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:50 am
The filly whickered and nodded her head with a smile. “Yes, daytime is pretty too; I like the clouds and all the shapes you can see in them.” She didn’t like it when the world changed on her but, so far as she could tell, it didn’t bother anyone else when colours swapped and the landscape twisted subtly.
As the thought occurred to her, the red crossbreed peered about to ensure nothing of the sort was happening right now. It wasn’t so she smiled to herself and took another chunk out of her apple. Swallowing, she turned back to Elsie. “Thank you,” she said with another smile and a bob of her head to the grey mare, “I think I’ll be okay though. I’ve had quite a lot to eat tonight already and I don’t want to eat too much and spoil it all.”
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:22 pm
The Bae mare laughed, flicking her tail to displace a rogue fly that had settled on her rump. "Yes, ah like 'em too," she said. The clouds were so pretty, she had to admit. All white and fluffy, but then again sometimes they were gray and dark, but that was always when they opened up and shed their bounty onto the lands, which was always needed. It wasn't good when the grass got all brown and crunchy, like she had heard could happen in some places. It was hard to imagine that happening to the valley, the grass was always lush and delicious.
Speaking of lush and delicious... The gray mare lowered her head to pick up the last chunk of her apple, eating it slowly to fully enjoy it. She had good common sense, this one, which was a relief. A foal without parents or common sense probably wouldn't last long, even in the valley, she figured. "Yer quite welcome, sweetie. It's best to pace yerself, ah figure." To this she gave a nod as if to affirm this thought, moreso for herself than the little filly. A sudden thought struck her, and Elsie smiled down at the red and gold foal. "What's yer fav'rite kinda fruit, Salome?" She quizzed, flicking an ear. "Mine's apples."
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 6:22 am
Salome pause mid-chew for a moment to consider the question. What was her favourite fruit? Annabelle liked raspberries best of all but she wasn’t sure about herself. Raspberries were hard to get off the bush without pain but were very nice. Strawberries were good too but she’d bitten on a mouldy one once and gone off them since so not those.
The red-coated filly flicked her tails, ignoring the sting as the sharp blades that tipped the appendages nicked their neighbours. “I’m not sure,” she said eventually, “I like apples and raspberries but I haven’t tried many fruits really so I’m not sure. Annabelle likes raspberries best though.” Was it alright to tell this grown-up about her friend?... Yes, even though the other mixed-blood couldn’t be around anybody but herself and had to be kept secret from Them, it was alright to tell Elsie about her. Elsie was nice.
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Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:56 pm
She watched Salome with a smile and ears perked, idly flicking her tail. It was always such a treat to spend time with the little ones; normally angry parents would come and chase her away from their foals, not wanting to take the chance of a vicious nequus getting too close to their newborn flesh and blood.
"Raspberries an' apples, huh? Well ah still haven't tried all the kindsa fruits out there, but ah still think apples are my fav'rite." She offered Salome a smile, flicking her tail at another rogue fly. Annabelle? Who was this Annabelle that Salome had mentioned? Friend, probably. "If ye dun mind my asking, is Annabelle a friend of yers? Ye should tell her from me that she's got such a pretty name," Elsie said with a smile and bob of her head. "Ye both have good taste, too; raspberries are real good. Hard to get off the bush without prickin' yer nose, though," she added the last statement and scrunched up her nose, trying to focus on it and more than likely making an amusing face in the process.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 6:18 am
The red filly nodded her head a few times to the mare's words. "Yes, yes Annabelle is my very best friend in the world and I'm sure she'll be happy that you like her name. She's good with raspberries, she never seems to hurt herself getting at them." The gold-eyed crossbreed giggled at this point, shaking her head. "I always do, I always hurt my nose when I want raspberries and Annabelle laughs at me but it's alright because I know she doesn't mean it nastily, she just thinks the look on my face when I poke myself is silly."
It probably was, too, she couldn't see her own face when she was getting berries, only when she looked into the water. Sometimes when she did that though the water-Salomé would move when she didn't and that worried her so she didn't look at herself very often these days.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:50 pm
Elsie chuckled, lowering her head to rid herself of an itch on her foreleg. She raised her head again and shook out her mane, sending it flopping over to the other side of her neck and making her bi-colored scarf wiggle a bit with the effort. "Mm, ah've a secret fer ye," she said with an amused grin on her face, leaning closer. "Most everybody pricks their nose on raspberry bushes, even adults like me. Especi'ly me," she said with a laugh, shaking her head at her own silliness. It was so hard to get the raspberries off the bushes. "Annabelle mus' be real good at gettin' th' berries offa th' bushes, that's a good talent there."
She suddenly clicked her tongue thoughtfully, flicking an ear. It didn't take her long to figure out whatever it was that was on her mind, however, as she gave Salome a bright smile. "Say, sweetie; would ye like t' hear a bedtime story? Ye dun have to sleep after if ye dun want to, ah jus' like tellin' stories. Ah dun get to tell 'em to foals much, 'cuz most parents dun like anyone comin' near their little'uns, so ah hope ye'll excuse my enthusiasm when ah come across one ah can talk to." She hoped she hadn't botched her words too bad, or that she didn't mix any words up or sounded strange. That was always hard to do.
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:42 am
Salomé gave an exited whicker at the adult’s offer and nodded her head enthusiastically, casting herself down on the ground as she did so. “Yes please miss Elsie,” she said with another nod, "I love stories very much, but I haven't had one told form me before, I've only listened to the stories that were for other foals from their parents." She would have to make sure she listened to this story very well so that she could tell it to Annabelle; Annabelle had never been told stories either. In fact Annabelle mostly only seemed to know the same things she did. Maybe that was what made them such good friends.
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 8:29 am
The gray mare grinned excitedly and settled herself down on a good patch of grass, making sure not to lay on any apples as she did so. That wouldn't be too comfortable. "A'right sweetie; ah heard this'n when ah was younger, an' it's one of my fav'rites," she beamed, fluttering her translucent yellow wings. "It's called th' Sand Nequus."
She relaxed a bit and cleared her throat, and somehow managed to copy the same accent and tone as the nequus who she'd heard tell it to her.
"The Sand Nequus is a nequus, obviously, but it is a strange creature that no one alive today has seen. He has the traits of every breed of nequus: two horns, one Reya and one Ichsa; a strange tail, a mix of hair like I have, and the muscular tails of the Reya like you have; and he has the strangest pair of wings you would ever hope to see, with the outline of the Reya and Aeri wings, but instead of the membrane stretched between the fingers he has butterfly wings like I have, and at the base there grows feathers like you have, and tendrils, like Ichsas have. His body is a pure, snow white, though he is covered in flecks of tan, silver, and gold, with eyes that change between those three colors. He's said to be a beautiful little creature. But the strangest part of all, is he's only about the size of a little bird, about the size of your nose," Elsie explained, hoping Salome would be able to figure out just how big the Sand Nequus would be. It was always nice to be able to visualize things in stories. Visualize, that was a nice word.
"Now, the Sand Nequus, if you couldn't tell already, is a very magical creature, and he has a very special job to do. His job is to fly around to every creature, and when it's time for them to go to sleep, he flutters his strange wings very hard. When he does that, lots of special, magical dust floats down onto the eyes of the nequus that needs to sleep. This magical dust, when it settles onto the eyelids of the nequus, makes them yawn and become very sleepy, and they will almost instantly fall asleep," she explained with a nod and a knowing smile.
"They say that whenever someone yawns and gets sleepy, that the Sand Nequus is nearby, trying to sprinkle his magical dust onto their eyes so that they can fall asleep."
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