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 Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 9:58 am
Tikva awoke slowly, and blinked her grey eyes in the direction of the rising sun. It sure was brighter than in her basket, even when the sun still hadn't peeked over the tops of the trees. Sleeping outside would take some getting used to.
Although this time of day was when most waking creatures would simply roll over and go back to sleep, the little filly didn't want to just lay around. She realized she was kind of hungry, and kind of thirsty, and the idea of closing her eyes again was the last thing she wanted to think about. With that in mind she happily scrambled up onto her spindly foal legs. Now was the perfect time of day to go pester her father for attention.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:11 am
Rakesh cropped at the shortgrass by the edge of a line of shrubs, now and then taking a step, or snorting early morning dew from his nose. His ears flicked back in the direction of his daughter -his daughter, still strange words to hear falling from one's mouth onto one's own ears- as he heard the sounds of her waking, rustling grass and a change in breathing.
Feigning ignorance, Rakesh continued to n** at the stalks of grass, and smiling to himself, watched his little Tikva approach out of the corner of his eye while all the while pretending not to.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:29 am
It didn't take the filly too long to realize her father was near. And he wasn't looking either! A mischievous grin appeared on her face as she half-stalked and half-pranced towards the stripy stallion, most of her silence lost through her eagerness.
She pranced right up to his side, and poked at one wide, black stripe with her nose. "Good morning!" She said at the same time, certainly much louder than was perhaps necessary for that time of day, but entirely appropriate for the purpose of startling an unsuspecting victim.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:48 am
The stallion gave an exaggerated startle, bringing his hed up and around to peer at the filly, happyness writ on his features. "Oh ho little one! You startled me!" He nosed her gently on the flank, nipping tenderly at a spot he knew -he- loved to have scratched at least. "Up with the sun this morning are we? Or up with our stomachs?" Rakesh chuckled, remembering all too well how hungry a growing horse could be.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:53 am
Tikva giggled both at her apparently successful ambush and the teeth against her side. She was a little ticklish there, especially when one was as gentle as her father was being with her. "I think the sun woke me up, or it might have been my stomach," she said with a an innocent smile, poking that black stripe again, and then another. "But the sun is already too bright to let me sleep more."
She ceased her poking and looked up at him with an eager expression. "Show me something tasty for breakfast?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:13 am
Rakesh chuckled to himself, the hide on his side gathering everytime Tikva poked it with her small nose. Apparently she wants the only one who was ticklish to a light touch. "I think my stomach woke me up too," he nodded in mock seriousness, his stern expression disolving into a smile at her eager little face.
He shook his forelock out of his eyes and raised his head, scenting the air until he caught the direction of what he'd been smelling on the slight breeze all morning. Looking down at Tikva again, he smiled. "Breakfast sounds like a wonderful idea, and I know just the thing. Come this way!" Rakesh turned and deftly parted the shrubline with his body, passing through and leaving a gap for his daughter to follow, leading them down the lee and to a shaded patch of clover and honeysuckle.
"A special treat, just for you and me"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:34 am
For the young filly, setting out into the bushes that grew higher than her head was quite the adventure. Thankfully she was content to follow the trail left by her father rather than explore on her own. Or at least she would be until her stomach was satisfied.
Only when they stopped did she notice the scent of the honeysuckle, and the plants it was coming from. "What is it?" She asked, mostly ignoring the clover for the moment. Without waiting for an answer she nibbled on a pale flower, and was delighted at the flavour. "It's good! Here," the little filly said, tugging off a piece of vine with her teeth, and bringing it and the two blossoms attached to it over to her father to take.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:46 am
Rakesh smiled indulgeantly. "This is honeysuckle," he said, nosing one of the many-petalled blossoms. "And this," nipping at a mouthful of small green leaves, "is clover." He watched, eyes twinkling with supressed mirth, as she immediately set upon the sweet-smelling flowers, much as he had done when first introduced to the food. "I'm glad you like it, dearheart. It's one of my favourites as well."
The stallion dipped his head to take the proferred blossoms. "Why thank you. Though, we should try not to eat all the blossoms, and try some of the clover too." He said, rememberingthe words he was told as a foal when he disdained the green leaves in favour of the sweet flowers. "You want to grow up strong and beautiful, right?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:01 pm
Tikva tilted her head, looking a little doubtful. "The flowers smell better..." She ducked her head to take her father's advice, but was sidetracked by a fluffy little clover flower. It went into her mouth as readily as the honeysuckle blossoms had. "But if I want to grow up beautiful, shouldn't eating beautiful things be better?"
The little filly lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "The green leaves aren't very pretty."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:16 pm
Rakesh smiled. "Well sometimes in life, to get the full experience, you have to take the good with the, well, clover isn't really bad. The not-so-good, I suppose." He stated matter-of-factly, his conviction made less imposing by the laughter he was holding back. She certainly was a smart one, he'd have to watch out.
He lowered his head, pressing his nose to her forehead, below the nub of her sharp horn "But we don't want them to feel left out, do we? Just because they aren't as pretty as the blossoms. Besides," He continued, nodding. "It's perfectly possible to have both, instead of one or the other."
He dipped lower and demonstrated, nipped up a moutful of clover, supplementing it with a honeysuckle blossom.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:27 pm
"I guess..." She still didn't look too convinced, but she nibbled a bit at the green leaves anyway. Just a little, more to say she had tried it than to actually eat it. But her father was right, it wasn't bad. In fact, they were better than she had expected, and even more so when she tried mimicking her father's move to eat both clover and honeysuckle at the same time.
After a bit of contented grazing she spoke up again, in a matter of fact tone. "I suppose the clover leaves are pretty enough with the dew on them."
As her little belly filled, her curiousity was given a chance to surface, and she slowly nibbled and munched her way to the edge of the clover patch. Maybe she could talk her father into making more pathways for her so she could explore places outside the little place they called home...
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:53 pm
Rakesh smiled to himself at Tikva's begrudging admittance that the clovers weren't that bad, and continued nipping mouthfulls of clover. A small one, but a concession nonetheless. Maybe he wouldn't be too bad at this whole parenting thing afterall.
He watched as she made her way closer and closer to the edge of the clovers, and shadowed her movement from a small distance, finally raising his head and calling to her as she seemed to lose more interest in her breakfast and gain mor ein her surroundings. "Planning on doing some exploring after you fill your tummy are you? Hope you weren't going to leave without me."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:11 pm
Tikva's head swung around, and she bounded back to her father's side. "No, I can't go exploring without you," she said, moving around behind him to give his back leg a push with her head. "I need you to make paths for me to explore." She probably could have wandered off on her own, but it wouldn't be as easy if her father didn't clear the way for her first.
She peered around his side to grin at him. "Can we go explore now?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:39 pm
Rakesh laughed, moving a couple steps in the direction of her pushing. "Sure we can dearheart. Which way would you like to go first?" It was early enough in the day yet that they'd have plenty of time to explore, and it was good for the little filly to get to know her surroundings, and good for Rakesh to get to know his daughter.
"You just tell me where you want me to make a way for you."
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:19 pm
Tikva bounced around behind him, eager for him to go somewhere and make her a path to explore. Someday she knew she would be big enough to make her own paths but until then she would have to rely on others to help her out a bit. That knowledge didn't help her young patience though. It was only about as long as her little, fluffy tail.
"Forward, let's go forward." She said, giving him another nudge. It was much gentler than the first headbutt, more like a reminder than anything. "You can make a twisty, curvy path so we can see everything!"
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