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 Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:25 pm
Kiefer walked through the woods. He hadn't been in here alone in a while. It was quiet, almost so much so that it bothered him. Save for the dull murmur of insects and the occasional rustle of a small animal scurrying alone, it was practically silent.
He made himself cough, just to break it. Kiefer was weird like that. If it was silent, he would make a noise, just to assure himself. He wasn't scared. It was broad daylight, gorgeous out. But silence was just one of his pet peeves. he couldn't sit back and enjoy it like others did.
He wondered for a second where he was. It didn't really matter much, it wasn't like he had anywhere to go back too. Although he liked to know how far away he was from his family. Never too far, although he admitted more then a few times he had gotten way to far away. He liked to pretend that he had a limit, almost getting a thrill out of breaking it. Almost.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:37 pm
 As those that knew him were well aware, Antony was a rover. On one day he'd be strolling though a meadow, on another, wading through the sand of the beach only to be wading in the lake come the next sunrise. He was a stallion who couldn't stand stagnation, and to that respect he was always on the move; new places, new people, new experiences.
Today, though, he was back in very familiar territory; the woods, on his way to see if he could find his father. Even when he didn't have something he wanted to speak of Antony enjoyed talking to his father, but right now...yeah, some parental words of wisdom would be nice.
So the large stallion was walking though the trees, enjoying the pleasant crunch of leaves underfoot. It was peaceful here, and peace was good...
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:50 pm
Kiefer's ear's twitched. A sound? Again...there it was. It sounded like someone was coming. Certainly not light and quick enough to be a little animal. No, it was a soquili walking, the leaves crunching under his or her hooves.
He sighed in relief. Someone to talk to. Someone to break the silence. Perhaps an old friend? Or maybe even a family member! Kiefer very much wanted to see his family. He had seen Attie rather recently, but that had been accompanied by some horrible white mare with flowers that liked to scream about herself. He hadn't seen his parents or his other sister, Tahlia, for a while.
The golden stallion peered amongs the trees. It was hard to decipher anything in the tangles of branches and leaves and shrubs. No wonder so many got lost. He had when he was younger, once. Back then it had been so scary, practically pitch black. He was just a foal, haunted by the over-dramatized stories his father used to tell him to scare him.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:55 pm
One thing that had always fascinated Antony about the woods was how very close it was, how thick and enshrouding. You could walk along the path and be completely oblivious to everything around you, be it another Soquili in the underbrush, a mouse in the grass at the side of the path, or a bird flying over the treetops. In some ways, it was creepy; in others, fascinating.
At the moment, he was completely unaware that there was another nearby, being so preoccupied with his own musings that even if the other stallion were moving, the sounds were too soft to hear. Then again, he himself was making no effort at all to be quiet; he WANTED to be heard, especially if it turned out his father WAS around but wasn't alone. It was rude to physically interrupt, after all.
So he merely continued to meander along, his large wings wrapped loosely around his shoulders and chest.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:02 pm
Kiefer continued to look around. The sounds certainly weren't loud, but to hear walking, the other had to be close. He turned around a full 360, and soon caught a glimpse of...something. Through the threes, he saw movement.
The stallion moved in that direction, it was where the sound was coming. Soon he was close. The figure was larger than himself...and rather...funny shaped. It took him a few moments to process that he had wings. Huge wings, not like that of wind soquili. Flutter, perhaps? Or...
He shook his head. The other stallion seemed to have not noticed him, lost in his own thoughts. "Hello?" Kiefer said, his voice low. He didn't want to startle the stallion. Then again, maybe that was just a weird thing to do.
He cleared his throat. "Hello!" he said more clearly.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:07 pm
The first hello, the soft one, Antony might have brushed off without even realizing that it was there. The second one, however...
Pasuing in mid-stride, the large stallion looked about for a moment, narrowing his eyes slightly to look through the trees in search of the speaker. It was gloomy, but fall meant that trees were losing their leaves and light could finally make it down to the forest floor. That, and it was really rather hard to hide bright yellow.
His gaze alighting on the other stallion, Antony gave a polite nod of greeting, then said, "Hello, yourself. Having a pleasant walk?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:13 pm
Kiefer met eyes with the other stallion, and his heart almost skipped a beat when he finally realized just what he was. The fangs..and the wings with spiked edges and spikes at the basis. No horns, though. Still, what else could it be but a Kalona!
"I..yes...walking...I... don't eat me" he found himself blurting out. Kiefer never considered himself a coward. Quite the opposite. But Kalonas were one of the few things that did scare him. All his father's stories, the scary night in the dark forest. Kalonas were like the boogie man to him, only this one was real.
He took a step back, and closed his eyes tight for a moment. He knew he had blurted out something very stupid. The stallion had never been put in a situation where he had genuinely been scared before. Jumping off rocks into the ocean? No problem! Crazy blondes? Easy! Kalonas. Oh no...
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:24 pm
Throughout his life, Antony had been faced with the undeniable predjudice most Soquilis had against kalonas. Even though he himself loathed the behaviors of 'true' kalona, he nevertheless had to deal with being half kalona and sporting some very obvious features proclaiming that kalona blood. Being feared was nothing new, though it had taken him a long time to come to that conclusion.
Right now, he was mildly amused. The other stallion must not have been able to make out his wings clearly before, otherwise why would he have called out only to cower in fear? Tony couldn't blame him for being nervous, but still...
However, this was something he'd dealt with numerous times already; clearing up some misconceptions was nothing novel. "Can't say that the thought crossed my mind, actually; don't let the wings fool you, I'm not a kalona." A bit blunt, but it conveyed his point well. "Though just to be on the safe side, watch yourself when you're out here. There are a lot of things besides rodents and lovers that enjoy taking advantage of the impenatrability of the forest."
Having said all of this in a markedly matter of fact tone, Antony gave the other stallion a nod, then once again started to walk. After all, if the other stallion WERE that jumpy, he probably wouldn't want to talk or anything anyway, and Antony could respect that. He had things to do, after all, and forcing his company on one that didn't want it wasn't on the agenda.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:36 pm
Kiefer stared at the Kalona...or...Soquili...or...whatever he should call him, for a few seconds, processing what he had just said. He...wasn't a Kalona, despite the telltale signs? And he had no intention of eating him? Well. That was good.
Save the face that Kiefer had just made a complete idiot of himself. And probably just offended the other stallion. He stood for a second while he walked off. Sure, the stallion said he wasn't a Kalona. But like it or not, he looked like one. And he had the teeth and wings of one. So even if he didn't have the temperament, if he got angry, this stallion certainly wouldn't have any sort of trouble hurting another. But he had chosen to just walk away. If that wasn't proof that he was alright, Kiefer didn't know what was.
He turned, and ran after the stallion.
"Oh...sorry...I...." he ran out of words. He had even warned Kiefer that this forest was dangerous. Which didn't make Kiefer particularly happy. Of course, not that he had actually seen a Kalona. Or not really, but someone who looked like one...they weren't that scary. Well, they were. But not as bad as his mind had conjured.
"I...er...was surprised...because...I...erm...I've never...met a...I mean..not that you are...I just.." he stopped himself. Kiefer was just digging himself deeper, it seemed.
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Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:45 pm
...Ok then. At the sound of hurrying feet, Antony had paused again and turned to look as the yellow stallion came racing up to him, breathing hard and somehow managing to insult even as he apologized. Not that Antony was offended; the kalona were meant to be feared, he looked like a kalona, he was feared, end of story. All was right with the world. No, this stallion, for all his making things even worse, seemed a good sort; why else would he be so earnest in at least TRYING to apologize.
Besides, he was kind of funny. As the other stallion stammered and floundered, Antony felt himself growing even more amused until finally, he broke in and commented, "You've just never seen a kalona in any fraction so far, so you saw me and panicked. You're not the first one. For future references, true kalona have horns on their heads and spiked or spaded tails, but I'm not so naive as to suppose that all halves or quarters or whatever are saints."
That was probably a lot for the other stallion to process, but it would be good for him to think on it. "But don't worry about it. It's a natural reaction, and you'd be a damned fool if you didn't react that way." In his own unbiased opinion. "But yeah...not a killer or even a carnivore here, so now worries that I'm going to try and chow down."
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Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:31 pm
Kiefer watched the stallion, and took in what he said. He sighed in relief. This stallion was certainly very reasonable. He raised his head, still feeling like an idiot. Worst. He felt like a little cold, with some adult explaining him that it wasn't that he was stupid, just uninformed.
"errr. Yea... thanks" he said, rather slowly. "My name is Kiefer by the way" he said, realizing that it was rather awkward, he didn't even know this stallions name. He seemed like a very decent guy, and at least deserved a name.
Kiefer looked at him a bit more closely. He did look very intimidating. But he was right. He didn't have the trademark horns, or the devilish tail. The wings were still a bit unsettling. However, the eyes didn't hold the anger or evil that he always pictured a Kalona to have.
Of course, in general, some Kalona's weren't bad, that his father had met. He told about how he made friends with them. Sometimes. But they were never exactly...friendly. Just not...enraged.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:25 am
Raising a brow at the yellow stallion, Antony found himself having to fight back laughter at the anxiety and confusion that seemed to be radiating from Kiefer. First he was panicking, now he seemed to be almost tripping over himself to make up for that. Kinda nice, honestly, to NOT have to beat the idea that he wasn't vicious into people. Which, in a way, was contradictory, but who was keeping track?
Bowing his head slightly, he returned the introduction with one of his own, his smile still amused at Kiefer's behavior. "I'm Tony, and it's nice to meet you, Kiefer. Tell me, do you always greet and cower like you did with me, or was I a novelty as far as that type of introduction goes?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:51 am
Kiefer gave off a nervous laugh. "What? Haha...oh..no...of course not...just..." he trailed off, deciding that he ought to completely drop the subject of Tony's appearance. "It's nice to meet you too, Tony" he finally said.
Kiefer trotted next to Tony, trying to think of what to say next. After such an awkward introduction, conversation generally didn't flow normally. "What brings you to these parts?" he asked.
Although, he himself honestly could not answer that question. He was wandering, mostly. Halfly looking for his family, halfly avoiding them. It had been so long, he felt like a bad son and brother for not visiting them enough. He had seen his sister Attie fairly recently, although the reunion had been spoiled by this horrible white mare.
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Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 4:33 pm
Giving Kiefer one last amused look, Antony too allowed the subject to drop. Now that they'd established what breed he was (or at least half was), it was time enough to move on. Especially to such an innocuous topic.
"Actually, I'm looking for my father. He tends to spend a lot of time out here in the woods, and I usually try to track him down out here when I have something to talk to him about. What about you? Forgive me if this sounds strange, but you don't really seem to be at ease with yourself out here."
To put it mildly!
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