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 Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:10 pm
 Journey peered at her reflection in the stream, the grey mare staring back at her looking oddly distorted with the slight current. She was in a rather depressed mood, as her favorite tree had been hit by lightning in the last storm and was completely destroyed. It's branches were no longer thick and gnarled, but nonexistant in some places. The small pink buds that entertained her during the spring had turned a nasty black, charred by some small fire and ruined by the rain not too long afterwards.
She splashed her hoof in the water so she wouldn't have to look at the reflection, then focused on the small fish that darted away. They were tiny, silver, flitting to and fro with only the threat of larger fish and hooves making them uneasy. A snapping turtle loomed a little farther into the center of the thin stream, a rock with a disgusting tail and a sharp beak, not unlike a predatory birds'.
Journey glanced up to the sky. It was an overcast grey, pregnant with snow and blocking out the sun. The air around her was light and chilly, and she wrapped her feathery wings tighter around herself so she wouldn't be as cold.
She suddenly felt very alone, which was never a good thing for a herd animal such as herself. The meadow she was in was completely empty besides a lone owl, hooting on the edge in one of the taller trees. She didn't even see any squirrels, which was an unusual occurence.
She needed someone else there, or she'd go insane.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:24 pm
Kiefer dipped his head low, watching the steam from his breath curl upwards to the sky. It was freezing outside. Despite the cold, his chest was soaked in sweat. He had been running for hours, and just now finally slowed down. He needed a rest, to slow down and think. To figure out why he had run for so long.
A few months ago, he had met up with an old friend from foalhood. Actually, he had met up with her colt. And it scared him. They were the same age. She had...foals. And it ha hit him recently. That foal was probably full grown by now. And he was still... alone. Confused. Immature. Stupid.
His sister Attie would talk about finding mates. The thought...it hadn't crossed his mind. He had just been running around all his life, entirely alone. Azariel was probably one of the best friends he had had. She had moved on in life. Why hadn't he?
Maybe he wasn't meant to have a mate. To have friends. The thoughts bitterly reminded him of his father. How he said that friends were stupid. In yet even Bairn had Astia. Is it possible he was like his father...only worst? Would he one day be telling passing Soquili that mates were silly, useless? And they would walk by, shaking their heads about the crazy, stupid, old stallion.
He didn't want that. He wanted friendship. Love. Something. Anything.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:50 pm
Journey sighed heavily, stepping away from the stream so she wouldn't have to look at her reflection or the tiny little silver fish any longer. She was in a dreadful mood; she really couldn't explain why the tree had put her in such a horrible mood. Come on, it was just a tree.
But it was the only constant in her life. The stream dried up, froze over. The grass died, got too thick, was too icky. The sun came and went as it pleased. And she was never guaranteed companionship.
Sure, there had been Oliver for a while, when he was still a foal... she felt like a mother to him, though his own took very good care of him. She helped raise him. Then, all of a sudden, he left; off to find his own treasures, his own adventures, and leaving poor Journey and his father behind. Journey had never been great buddies with Will either, but he was still someone to talk to until he went and got a mate.
She looked about her for the first time in the while and noticed a familiar golden stallion not too far in the distance. She didn't know exactly where she recognized him from, but she felt a rush of relief; no memories of danger or violence entered her mind, so he was obviously safe to talk to.
Yet, from what she could see, he was a little sweaty.
"I seem to know you from somewhere," she called out in her dreamy, floating voice while she was about fifteen yards away. "I believe I've met you before."
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:03 pm
Kiefer took a deep breath of the cold air, it made his lungs ache. But he took another breath, and wondered why it hurt. Air shouldn't hurt. But then again, the day was so gloomy, so grey, it didn't surprise him that even the air was harsh.
Then, a voice. The stallion jumped in surprise, looking up, suddenly seeing...a mare. Grey as the day was, she blended in with the sky. So familiar she seemed. And she seemed to think the same. Then, his eyes caught her wings. He couldn't remember the name. But he had met her under an apple tree, she was the first wind Soquili he had ever met. He remembered marveling over her wings.
And now, here she was again.
"Yes, I remember" he said slowly, and closed his eyes tight. What was her name? He couldn't remember. Ah, well. It seemed as if she didn't even remember where they met. "I don't think I remember your name, though" he added.
The mare didn't look happy, either. he moved closer to her, trying to put on a smile. But right away he picked up the sadness in her eyes. She looked lost.
Maybe that was what he was. Lost. But then again.. being lost meant there was somewhere he was trying to get too. It meant you could get found. It meant someone had to be looking for you. Kiefer didn't know what he wanted. Maybe he wasn't lost. Maybe he was just aimless, wandering. And if you are wandering, there is no reason why someone would look for you. They would just watch sadly, and hope you figured it out.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:17 pm
Journey put on a sad smile. Well, at least now she didn't feel as bad for not remembering this stallion's name, as he had forgotten hers as well.
"Journey," she said softly, taking another step towards the stallion. She shifted her wings uncomfortably as his eyes caught them. She hated when others stared, as it made her feel different and awkward, just as Will hated others commenting on his two-legger clothing.
Suddenly, a thought appeared in her head as though it had been shot out of a cannon.
"Keefy!" she exlaimed taking a few more steps forward. Her brown eyes sparkled, her bad mood momentarily forgotten. "That's what I called you, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I had the sudden feeling--" She stopped, laughing a bit.
"I'm probably a nutter, eh?" she asked, blinking a few times, looking up to the sky again. "It probably wasn't you. But oh well, I tried, and that's all that matters." She vaguely remembered exclaiming Keefy under her favorite tree before it was struck, and knew, just knew, that it was for this stallion. She didn't remember his full name, however.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:31 pm
He cracked a small smile, this one genuine. Her name was Journey. How fitting. The memories slowly came back. Journey. The one that gave him the nick name. What was it...
Oh yea.
"Yea...that was what you called me. But my real name is Kiefer" he said, not angrily. It was funny, this mare had given her this nick name. she was so bubbly before. She seemed to lack that right now. Although it had shown though for a second. Yes, this mare wasn't always like this. Then again, he wasn't always like this either.
Nobody could always be sad or cynical. They were always happy some time. Or maybe it was that you started happy, and then, if you got cynical...well, you would either come back, or you wouldn't. It was silly to think that everyone ended up happy. His father had been happy. At least for a while. Kiefer knew that Bairn wasn't entirely pleased that none of his foals had been perfect. Tahlia, quiet and reserved, over powered by the other two personalities. Attie, sensitive but level headed. A dreamed, a hopeless romantic. And himself. The annoying little colt that couldn't keep his head on straight, and didn't know when it was time to stop. Or stop. Or slow down. All he could do was speed up.
And if you keep speeding, eventually you crash. Maybe that was what happened. He was always going too fast, and sped past the things that were really important. The things that his friends had all seemed to find. He couldn't pinpoint it, but it must have been something important.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:01 pm
Journey wrinkled her nose jokingly. "Kiefer? Too formal. Too stiff. Keefy sounds more fun, carefree." She grinned widely now, her mood changes coming even more quickly than before. Seeing Keefy again had put her in such an impossibly, obnoxiously good mood, she was surprised that she didn't just explode.
She inhaled sharply, the air burning down her throat and into her lungs. She exhaled just as sharply, desperate to get the burning air out. Thankfully, it didn't hurt as much the next time, so she dismissed it without a second thought.
"What have you been up to since I last saw you?" she asked dreamily, her dark hazel eyes focusing in on Keefy's greenish ones. She had no clue why, but she felt as comfortable with the golden stallion as she did with Oliver or even Will, as though she had known all three of them from each of their births. Though, she felt as though Oliver was more a stepson than a friend, and Will was more of the overprotective uncle, she, oddly, felt more at ease and herself around Keefy. "I know it's been quite some time, since we both forgot about each other."
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:10 pm
Kiefer's smile grew more, nearly a grin. Finally, something, someone, to get his mind off of things. Dwelling on that subject was...well...stupid. It got you no where. Action caused results. But he didn't know how to go about changing things.
"Well, whatever you prefer. But under that notion, perhaps I should call you Jo-Jo?" he said, jokingly. Then again, this mare looked so excited, she might declare that it was the best nick name ever.
What has he been up to? Nothing. He had a few encounters, most of them were generally uneventful, though. How do you answer a question like that if you haven't been up to anything? Saying nothing made you sound stupid. When such an amount of time has been by, of course you have done something? But he wasn't about to admit he had been wandering aimlessly for a few months.
"Oh..just...been around. Meeting people" What a stupid thing to say. "How about you?" he said, swishing his tail. Surely this mare had something else that she had done. She seemed like the type that met soquili and instantly click with them, developing friendships. He would meet someone, then would mess it up, or never follow up on the friendship. It got him nowhere.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:26 pm
Journey shrugged half-heartedly. "It's up to you," she said slyly. "A nickname's a nickname, and it just makes me feel special that someone took up the time to make one for me." She laughed as she pretended to weep sarcastically.
She straightened up, composing herself and collecting an air of self-assurance. She didn't want to seem like a pompous arse, but she would rather be confident and feeling good about herself than seem like she would allow anyone to walk all over her. She wanted to be approachable, kind, and gentle as she had been raised to be, yet she wanted to be respected and loved. Not something you could be overnight.
"'Meeting people?' As in, 'Hi, my name's Kiefer, you're so-and-so!' and move on to the next Soquili? Or actually befriending them and gaining their trust?" Journey asked bluntly, her smile unfading. She sighed when he asked her about what she had been doing, however. Quite frankly, she hadn't done anything... at all. She hadn't even met very many interesting Soquili that piqued her interest and remained in her memory... it was unsettling.
"I've been sleeping a lot," she replied, tossing her mane out of her face innocently. "Otherwise, I haven't really done anything." She shifted her weight from her left side to her right, her tail feebly flowing in the slight wind that had picked up.
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 3:22 pm
Kiefer chuckled. "Well, to be honest with you, I've didn't spend too much time on it, Jojo" he said. If she was going to give him a rather embarrassing nick name, he would have to return the favor. It was all fun and games, right?
He watched her straighten, and then suddenly became away of how...scroungy he probably looked. His winter coat didn't grow in as nicely as others might have. His was lumpy and fuzzy, sticking out in some places, and his chest was still wet with sweat. He hadn't bathed in a few days, and he was aware his mane was rather wind-whipped. At least Journey looked clean and composed. She had been lost before, but it seemed as if she at least had an idea to figure out where she was.
He blinked. It was a rather personal question... his smile fading. Then again, maybe it wouldn't be so personal and embarrassing if he had actually made any friends. Then he could go, Yes! I have my besty So and so!". But that would simply be a rather bad lie.
"No, I haven't really made any...friends. In fact, it's rather rare for me to even meet up with someone more then once" he admitted, looking down a bit. "Have you met anyone? I mean... in between sleeping and such" he said, in a joking manner, even though he realized it might have come off slightly snarkish.
He always tended to do this. He would meet someone worth knowing, and then say some stupid comment that was offensive, or rude. He never had bad intentions, it just came out. And when he did have bad intentions, his insults always seemed weak and pathetic. Then again, it seemed as if the mean soquili out there could take it just as well as they could dish it.
Why was that? Why was it that the nice soquili he wanted to be friends with were so easy to hurt, and the ones that he dislike, and didn't care about, were so callus that it was impossible to hurt them? Perhaps they just couldn't be hurt any more. Or maybe they really didn't care. He envied them. How simple life would be if he didn't care.
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Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:35 am
She frowned sadly. "Does that mean that I'm your only friend, Mister Fuzzybutt?" she asked childishly, trotting up to him and smoothing out a bit of the winter coat on his back with her wing. Hers had actually grown in quite nicely, smooth and warm with a hint of extra tingly love in her feathers. "Because if that was true, I'd be a lot more comfortable in admitting the same thing about me to you." She caught his eye, grinning with her expression but slightly hurt in her eyes.
The truth was that all of the others she had met hadn't stuck in her mind like she would've liked. Judging that only random images came to mind, such as having to sit under a tree with a whitish mare instead of playing around in the rain, she either had the worst memory ever or the most boring adventures. No, calling them boring was too mean; uninteresting. There, that was a better word.
"I haven't met anyone interesting," she said casually in her dreamy voice, trotting back to a comfortable distance away from Kiefer. Close enough to talk to each other, far enough away to not seem too intrusive. Perfect distance. "Besides, I'd much rather meet someone twice if I'm not their good friend than make the best of friends with someone and never see them again." She grinned now, both with her eyes and her expression. "It just seems more special that way, don't you think?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:59 pm
Kiefer felt his face getting hot with embarrassment behind his golden coat. She had noticed his ugly coat. It was just his luck to run into people when he was looking particularly horrid. Particularly in contrast to Journey's nice, pretty coat. And she had those gorgeous wings, too.
"Well..." he said, trailing off. There was Charl, but he hadn't seen her since the beach, so long ago. In the summer. And there was also Azariel, but the same went for her, he hadn't seen her in a long while, either. "I've had friends, but I haven't seen them in such a long time..." he admitted. "So right now, yup. Pretty much my only friend" he said, grinning slightly.
So she was a bit like him, a bit not as social as one could be. He had met plenty of Soquili, but none of them really connected with him that great. Well, some had. But then he had never seen them again, which was never good.
"Once I met a soquili who's hooves were on fire" he said, suddenly feeling like a bragging colt. Then again, he had met Kindle when he was a colt. They had gotten along quite well then. Now...well. He couldn't even remember their last encounter. He just knew that her hooves were burning and she couldn't just nearly as well as he could.
"True enough" he said, nodding. In truth, he could have said that Az or Charl was his best friend...but, well... it was as she said. He had never met them again. It was sad, but he wasn't sure how much he missed them.
Just like his father, he was basically an idiot when it came to social things. Maybe worst, because his father had at least managed to find a mate.
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 4:45 pm
Journey pursed her lips in concentration. "I think that, instead of talking about all of these depressing things, we should give you a bath and fix down your coat, if you'd like!" she said cheerfully. The sky had started to clear up a bit, and now a slightly warm breeze ruffled her feathers and lifted her mane and tail. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the momentary lapse in the frigid cold. She had never felt so happy before.
Sure, Kiefer was a bit rough around the edges, but that didn't matter to her. In her experiences, the prettiest Soquili were the meanest, and the not-as-pretty, though they were not ugly, were so much nicer and more humble than anyone else she had met. Kiefer fit the bill, from what she could tell, which she liked. Besides... though she didn't want to admit it, he wasn't half-bad looking. Not at all.
She trotted around the stallion, flicking him with her tail as she passed, and waded into the stream behind him. It was chilly at first, and she felt her wings contract closer, but she was soon used to it; something underground must have made the stream warmer than it should have been.
"Come on, Keefy, get in!"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:05 pm
Kiefer's ear twitched, almost more embarrassed now. She wanted to fix him up? Then again, maybe that was just what he needed. It wasn't like he was purposefully...sweaty and dirty right now. In fact, most of the time, he kept himself generally clean. And of course the day he is dirty, he runs into a very attractive mare.
Yes. He had to admit, mares were generally quite attractive. He hadn't met one yet that he found ugly, except for perhaps that horrid white Tiffany thing. Then again, he wasn't ugly outwardly, either. Her personality made him see her as quite bad looking, though.
Journey had the addition that she was so friendly. No matter what he said she always was positive. 'Your dirty, lets clean you up!' 'You haven't met anyone? Probably for the better anyway!' To have that sort of optimism...well, he rather envied it. And the wings interested him so much. They made her look so magestic. Which, again made him feel belittled.
He jumped as he tail hit him, and he felt his cheeks heat up again. But was that time about embarrassment?
The stallion watched the mare dive into the water, and went in after her. The water WAS quite warm in comparison to the air. Which was nice. Because another factor on his lack of hygiene was the water. It was just too cold to bath comfortably.
"I'm in, I'm in!" he said, then feeling rather stupid for stating the obvious, and then laughed it off. He needed to stop being uptight. He needed to loosen up, and just do what he wants with out worrying.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:31 pm
Journey grinned and flicked some water at Kiefer with her tail, giggling playfully and moving about like a filly on a playdate. This was the most at-ease she'd been in... whew, quite a while. And it felt good.
She spread her gray-black wings across the surface of the water with a sigh of relief, slightly amused that they reached either bank. She touched her longest feathers down on the grass, careful not to get any of them wet, and whipped about to Kiefer, her forelock settling into a veil in front of half of her face. She stood up straight and proud, her eyebrow quirked and her expression subtle.
"So, Kiefer," she said in her most serious voice, though it still sounded dreamy and soft. "What can I do for you?" She winked with the one eye that was visible, but her act was ruined when she started giggling again. She pulled her wings back to her side, shaking some loose droplets of water from her mane that got there only God knows how, and settled back into her casual, friendly manner.
Journey took a moment to study Kiefer more closely. He didn't need a bath in her book! But, she could tell he was a little uncomfortable about it... or something... ah, she had no clue. But a bath always made her feel better! He was actually quite good looking, but it wasn't as if that was all he had going for him; he was the first stallion she had met that didn't creep her out upon first meeting him. She didn't feel that maternal or brotherly bond with him as she felt with Will and Oliver... it was more of a connection that confused her. Slightly awkward, but still highly bearable. She liked it. A lot.
"I really apologize for that," she said jokingly. "So, anyway, how do you want to do this?"
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