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 Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:16 pm
[img goes here when certed] The sky had gone grey. It barely stood out against the soft reds and hard darks of the earth beneath it. A few golden strips swayed in the wind, testament to the grass that had tried to grow higher up on the mountain. They had probably been too pathetic and too badly placed to be bothered with, and so had not been eaten down by various nibbling herd members.
It was a gloomy sight at best, but still an upbeat turn from the dark skies. They had bled crystal clear water earlier that day, and had drenched Xu in the process.
Her coat was now stained darker, small patches faring better than others, but none of her could be classified as dry. The still humid air kept her sopping, and water dripped steadily, and annoyingly, from her belly.
"Ugh," she complained, squinting against a patch of sky that dared to be brighter than the rest. "Please let the sun come out!" However, Xu knew better. Her luck was completely foul. She was born last out of five other siblings, four of which were already grown. Though they were in their youth still, they were still plenty old enough to kick her rear around whenever they pleased. Three of them were brothers, and the older sister was so harsh towards her she didn't know what to think. She seemed to have father's air of authority, but with mother's wit. And she was scary. She was almost as scary as the Reya, who she had yet to meet, but was sure she'd flee when she did. She'd heard the horror stories and she wasn't going to stick around for 'Katilenuck Pride'. Xu figured that the Reya knew what they'd done wrong and felt no reason not to repeat it to her, foal or no.
Swallowing the lump that had formed at the thought of them, she managed to keep herself from stumbling over a rock that had planted itself in her way. She was sure this was the way home. Unless she had taken a wrong turn. . .
The overhead world rumbled, and in the distance, she could see the storm wasn't quite over. Just her luck.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:33 am
Xerris sighed to herself as she went about the tedious task of seeking out her younger sister, Xu. She'd rather be back with her family, trailing after her parents and older sister, but curiosity had gotten the better of her and she'd gone off in search of the youngest of Xla'lanan and Undine's children.
"Where could she have gone?" Xerris mused aloud then paused for a moment to scan the depressing landscape. Unfortunately, the dark clouds and drab scenery made it difficult to make out much of anything. But she should have known. Even on the best of days her luck was poor so it was unlikely to be easy for her to locate Xu..
And speaking of bad luck, was that thunder she heard? Turning to look, Xerris took in the sheet of rain moving her way and huffed another sigh.
"Oh Jala, please don't let me get caught out in a storm..."
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:19 pm
Who knew that searching for small plants to bring home to her siblings would have turned into this? She'd thought her sisters and brothers might enjoy a nice flower or two. She knew where the most colorful ones grew, and her brothers had taught her how to pick her way carefully on the rocks. This act allowed the tiny amount of courage she had to spur her through those nasty heights. Still, she'd come back empty mouthed. She must remember that flowers did not grow when the season changed. Xu wasn't disheartened, however, she was learning and that was enough.
Luckily for both of them, the small amount of good fortune they both did have played it's part well. Xu remained undestracted for long enough to hear the light pitter patter of feet far below her. She was certain there wouldn't be anyone else in this rancid weather, but she'd been wrong.
Creeping carefully over to the edge of her forlorn pathway she dared to take a peek over the crumbling drop-off. The ground wasn't too far beneath her, but enough to make her head sway with apprehension.
The young female Katilenuck that walked beneath her looked upset and just as distraught as she. Xu recognized that face any day of the week.
"Xerris-waru!" she shouted. Her ears went back and her muscles tensed as she heard her voice resound the canyonside. "Up here!" she followed up, hoping her sister would hear her over the increasing rumbles and the nearing soft patter of rain.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:42 pm
The mountains were an excellent conductor of sound so, despite the harsh rumblings of thunder and the tinkling noise of rain falling, Xu's words still managed to carry down to Xerris' ears.
Twitching the appendages, she zeroed in on her tree-sibling's voice and turned to look, smiling at the younger filly and raising a wing in acknowledgment.
"So there you are. Stay put, Xu-waru!" she called as loudly as she could, knowing the sound would have more difficulty reaching way up there than drifting down the mountainside.
Then, without further ado, she began to climb. And, unlike her younger sister, Xerris felt no fear of heights. But, just because she was brave didn't mean she was foolhardy; the brindled-blue filly stepped lightly, testing the ground before she put her full weight down and moved on.
In no time at all, Xerris found herself standing next to Xu and looking over the edge of the drop-off at the spot where she'd just been a few minutes ago.
"What're you doing all the way up here?" she asked, her blue eyes shifting from the dampened reddish earth to the approaching storm.
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 9:38 pm
Xu's heart skipped a few beats when Xerris raised a wing. She nodded at it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, her body swaying to and fro from nervousness. The light voice of her sister did not carry up as well as she would have liked, but the word 'stay' reached her ears. She could most certainly follow that basic command and had no desire to move in any other direction than where she was. The last thing she needed was to lose sight of her sister once again.
"Be careful!" Xu yelped after Xerris. She closed one eye and brought the front of her wingspan over the other. Part of her tried to look, but her body mostly just cringed in fear. It was wet, so wet, and the rocks would be slippery! She gave a small squeal of fear when she imagined the sound of Xerris' hoof slipping against the frictionless earth.
However, when she dared to open them again she found only that comforting face near hers. "Don't do that," she insisted, choking on the saliva that had built in the back of her throat. Giving her sister a wary gaze, she slid away from the precipice.
Her gaze followed Xerris' own, intently watching the cloud of darkness heading their way. She chose to make the viewing brief as she found more comfort in her sister's eyes.
"I was trying to find the Queen," she admitted sheepishly. Her father got to see her all the time, running important errands. He'd come home from meetings with her now and then, his face full of the pride of accomplishing something at work. 'It's not easy to be a Royal Advisor', he'd tell his sons and daughters. 'Someday I'll have a son to take my place.' Xu wondered why a daughter could not do it, but there had been hushed silence at asking. So Xu thought the Queen would know, since the Queen always knew such things. She was, after all, the Queen. A beautiful Queen, too, Xu thought. She herself was rather ugly in Katilenuck standards. Yet, her mind was sharp enough. Enough. Why couldn't she have been born male? Then, perhaps, father would look at her differently.
"I think I took a wrong turn towards home." She'd never been up this way before, and it was obvious she hadn't found the Queen or the mare would have walked her safely home.
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:06 pm
"Oh honestly, Xu," Xerris chided, letting out a low laugh before butting her forehead against her sister's shoulder. The younger Katilenuck filly's worry over the littlest things was both endearing and terribly frustrating to Xerris' way of thinking.
"Anyway, what were you doing looking for the Queen?" she asked, eying Xu appraisingly. What reason could give her the courage needed to climb the mountainside in search of the matriarch of their society? But a distant rumble distracted her from further questioning her tree-sibling about her motives. Instead, she glanced at the clouds, trying to judge how long they had before the downpour would begin.
"We should get moving before the storm really gets howling. I'd rather not get caught in a wash-out. Come, I'll guide you down," Xerris told Xu, smiling confidently to reassure the fainthearted filly.
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:54 am
Xu let out a sigh and a somewhat forced smile when Xerris bumped up against her shoulder. She gave a half-baked roll of her eyes, when in truth it was to look at the sky again.
"I wanted to ask her a question," Xu answered simply. As frightened as she was to meet the queen, and as terrified as she had been to go out alone, it was something she had to do. It was also an adventure she'd probably skip out on for a little while. This experience had not helped her bravery in the slightest.
"Yeah," Xu answered, shivering slightly at her already damp coat. She eyed the way down nervously, giving a look at her sister. It wasn't as though she didn't trust her. Well, okay, yes it was. Her sister was like her brother, in that she did very silly and completely useless things. What was the use of taking shortcuts when there was a much safer way to go?
"Okay," she whispered, reaching out and snatching up the end of her sister's tail between teeth. She needed something to hold on to, any comfort she could get ahold of would make her happy. "I wunnit wan' 'e cau' in a wathou'," she continued, the hairs of her sister's tail clouding her ability to speak.
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:40 pm
Xerris was fully aware that Xu didn't have much faith in her but that didn't trouble her in the least. She had quite thick skin and, little did everyone realize but, she had plans for herself. Nothing definitive to be sure but her younger sibling's attempted visit to the Queen had set the wheels turning.
Smiling to herself, she scoped out the mountainside, carefully considering the best approach. As far as she could tell, there were several possible routes but it was up to her to choose the easiest, taking into account Xu's weaker constitution.
"It's alright, waru. I'll get you down safely," she promised, looking back over her shoulder at the multi-colored filly, her blue eyes registering the affection she held for her sister. Then she turned back to the task at hand and began the descent.
Reddish scree shifted under her hooves but she continued at an unhurried pace, moving with the careful confidence her brothers had instilled in her.
"Not far now," she kept murmuring in a comforting mantra while she alternately watched the ground and the sky. Hopefully Xu's poor luck would cancel out her own and see them through this safely...
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 11:20 am
Xu eyed the slipping red earth with apprehension, gulping back the terror forming at the base of her throat. Careful was a term that the filly could relate too, but the confidence was lacking in every way possible. She was thankful for the unhurried pace, and followed carefully behind her sister.
'Not far now,' was drummed into her head and gradually began to losen up the tension in her sister. As frightful as she was, there was a slight semblance of trust there, and it would surely grow if they were allowed to get through this safely.
At last the solid ground reached the tips of her toes, and she let out a huge sigh. Xerris' tail dropped from her teeth and she stood still for a while, trying to catch her breath. That part of her luck, however, didn't hold, and a drop of water pelted her nose.
"Xerris, Xu!" came a very angry call from in front of them and the beginning rain. "You two are going to have your hides skinned when our parents throw you to the Reya."
Unable to swallow that fear now, Xu quickly hid behind Xerris. Scary third sister had arrived.
"Z=Z-ara!" she managed to squeak out, unable to look in her direction.
"You best add a respectful tone to that, Xu," Zara told her, though what was more frightening was the complete lack of anger that came with it. It wasn't a 'do this or else'. It was simply a 'you will do this.' "The both of you better pick up the pace. I'm not up for getting wet today."
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:29 pm
Xerris hadn't even had the chance to begin celebrating yet when a stray drop of rain flicked at her ear followed quickly by the sound of their older sister's voice.
'Drek,' she thought sourly, looking up to watch the mare approaching. Zara was someone to be respected, yes. But 'respect' was a fair bit different than 'like'. Putting on a convincing smile, Xerris dipped her head, bowing slightly to the blue-brindled paint.
"Yes, Zara-waru. Of course. But hold a moment, please?" she asked then, without waiting for an answer, she turned to Xu and very deliberately took her time congratulating her brow-beaten younger sister.
"I told you I'd get you down safely. You were very brave even though you were frightened, Xu," she said, proud of her tree sibling, and bumped her forehead against the multicolored filly's before finally turning back to Zara and waiting expectantly for the oldest sister to lead the procession.
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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:27 am
Zara's look towards Xerris was enough to floor Xu, and she secretly scolded Xerris for doing something so blatently against the heiarchy that Zara had set up. It seemed to slide by, quickly, however, and Zara gave nothing more than a shift in her weight to show she'd heard.
'Waru' Xu noted, was hardly a respectful tone, but Zara wouldn't tell Xerris that now. She would wait until Xerris needed something and then send it crushing down on her head. She gave a worried glance between the two of them. Oh she wished they wouldn't fight so much! Especially when it was so hard to tell they weren't getting along.
Xu nodded slowly at Xerris, beaming avidly when she got the bump against her forehead. She could admit, perhaps, that she was feeling good about making it down. Even if it was just a little.
"Mother and father will be very displeased to see you soaking upon our return," Zara said apathetically. Seconds later a wing stretched out over the two of them. "You best huddle together and keep dry, then."
It was not a moment too soon, for the sky overhead gave a thundering roar and let it's belly loose.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:57 am
Xerris knew it bothered Xu when she struck sparks between herself and their older sister but sometimes the temptation to undermine the mare's authority was just too strong. She couldn't help that her older sibling irritated her so; Zara was..abrasive even at the best of times.
The blue filly also knew that 'waru' wasn't exactly respectful and it would come back to bite her in the flank at some point but there was no use getting worried over it. If everything worked out as she hoped, she wouldn't have to rely very heavily on her older sister anyway..
Smiling to herself, she almost didn't hear her sister's next statement but at the last moment, she refocused her attention and politely thanked Zara for the cover.
"Pesky rain. The clouds just seem to follow us, don't they Xu?" she asked of her tree-sibling, turning her blue eyes on the multicolored filly.
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