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 Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:12 am
 Ever since his afternoon with Forte, Diego had been craving apples. Not just any apples, either, but the best and the biggest. The sweetest apples that grew on the trees. And after searching tree after tree for the better part of the morning, he'd found them! Not only that, he'd found a branch thin enough to bend when he grabbed hold with his teeth. With enough bending, it had splintered off the tree and he held it in his mouth now, quite proud of the fact that not all of the fruit had been rattled off. There were five still in place and that meant one for each of the girls and ...the rest for him. Head held high, he all but pranced toward home. But he couldn't pass up the chance to say hello to the mare he passed along the way, so he slowed. Rolled the wood against his tongue a bit, and did his best. "Hmffo!"
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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:24 pm
Taipa had been lounging beneath a tall shady tree this afternoon. The heat just seemed a bit too much for her. Especially with such a dark coat. Her colors just liked to attract the heat--or something like that. She never really understood it. Earlier she had taken to running to try and cool herself off. But the bright sun beating down upon her as she raced across the meadow did nothing more but to heat up her body and make her sweat. Sweat wasn't really all that attractive. Well, unless you were some burly, muscle bound stallion where sweating just made you look....
Anyway.
Today she had set to people watching. A few Soquili here and there had passed by, but none seemed to notice the lone mare as she watched them go about their business. It always seemed to be that way. She didn't have the striking features that her older siblings had inherited. Even Chidi seemed to be more noticeable than her and they were the same age. How odd the way things worked out sometimes. Though it did nothing for her self esteem. Taipa would have loved to be a social butterfly perhaps, but it just never came to be.
She had just been about to leave for the day when a peculiar looking wind stallion came into view. He had passed her by earlier. But this time he was carrying a tree branch in his mouth. Apples and leaves dangling from it. How odd. She wondered where he was going with those. But as he tried to speak to her over the branch in his mouth, her ears perked and she glanced around slightly. He was talking to her? Well, she wasn't too sure what he had said, but he had said something. "Ummm...It might be easier to talk if you set your branch down."
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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:20 pm
Ah! Good idea. But he didn't want to lose the apples since he'd done his best to be careful to keep them in the first place. So he took his time putting the branch down. He was almost ginger with the thing and he double checked that it wouldn't flop away before lifting his head and giving himself a little feather-straightening shake.
Right. "I said hello!" Bright and cheerful, that.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:29 pm
Well, at least that was better. And she could understand him too. For a second she studied his odd colored coat. Taipa had never seen one so...colorful. If thats what you could call it. He certainly wasn't the brightest colored Soquili, but also certainly wasn't the plainest looking either.
A small smile came to her gray lips as she dipped her head lightly. Studying him once again for just a few seconds. "Hello to you as well, stranger." Her head tilted again as she glanced at the apples this time. "Taking dinner home?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:40 pm
His patterning had earned him more than a few looks and a least one comment that the dots caused dizzy spells. He hadn't painted himself, obviously, but it wouldn't do to go around knocking mares over just by breathing, so as she studied him, he did his best to stay still. No fidgeting. No preening. He just. Stood.
Until she spoke again. Then he let go of his breath and relaxed. That was better. "Dinner?" He flicked an ear at the apple branch. "Not dinner. There's not enough there. Just a treat for the herd." Oh, and: "I'm Diego."
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:32 am
His patterns had no real effect in making her dizzy. Though all the dots did make it a tad bit hard for her eyes to clearly focus on one spot but it was not like she'd say anything about. You never knew who had a complex about what they looked like now a days. Though she might be one to talk.
An eyebrow raised as she suddenly realized he had been holding his breath. How odd. Perhaps he was nervous? Though why would someone who's nervous just walk up to a total stranger and start talking. No. Not nervous. "A treat. Sounds nice. Your a very generous stallion to be bringing treats to your heard." Her ears perked forward as he offered his name. "My name is Taipa."
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:24 am
Not nervous. Not at all. Not even close. Just trying to be polite. And generous? He liked that word. "It's nice to share," he offered reasonably. "And it's nice to meet you, Taipa. Were you going somewhere? I think I passed you before."
Generous. He glanced at the apples and up again. "And would you like an apple? There are more of them than there are of us." Less for him, but generous. He'd keep repeating the word in his head. It made him happy.
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:19 pm
The mare nodded. Her parents had always tought her that sharing was nice. Yes. And it was even better to share with those who had less than yourself. To be generous and kind to all those you came across. Because you never knew who was watching you. Besides, it was only proper anyway. "That it is." Taipa shook her head. "No, I've been sitting beneath this tree for a while now. I'm not surprised that you didn't notice me all that well. Apparently I tend to blend into the background quite well." She gave a slight, nervous and dishearted laugh. Taipa had never liked how easy it was to over look her, but then she never did much to stand out in a crowd.
Glancing at the apples, she once again shook her head. "No. But thank you for the offer. I wouldn't want to take from your herd mate's treats and I'm pretty full from lunch earlier."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:11 am
Well. That didn't sound good. He tipped an ear toward her. "Blend into the background. Out here?" He looked around at the trees and grass and whatnot, then looked back at her and smiled. "Not at all. I'm just easy to distract, especially when I'm doing something. I had apples on my mind, so that's what I got. And once I had them, I saw you."
He ducked his head toward the apples again. "Are you sure you won't take one? The mares won't miss one. They don't even know I have them at all. You could keep it until later when you are hungry. They were the best ones I could find..."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:50 am
"Well, I suppose not blend into the background as in with the trees and stuff. More like--over looked sometimes. My colors don't exactly make me stand out in a crowd. Unless I'm standing amongst a bunch of rainbow colored Soquili." Taipa supposed that his explination was a good one. If someone's busy thinking directly on one thing they can ignore everything else until their minds are no longer on a single thought. "Hmm, I see."
She eyed the apples once more before looking back up at him. "Well, if you insist really. I could just take one and save it for later. Its really nice of you to offer and I really hope I'm not putting you out for taking one."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:00 am
Diego snorted quietly. "There are a lot of bright, rainbow Soquili. Sure, some of them'll catch your eye, but after a while, all those colors and swirls make my head hurt." Not that he had much room to talk. "Now, give me a pretty mare like you with just a little color, in the right places, and I could stand and look all day."
He nodded his head then. "I insist. Go on and pick one." He inspected the branch, pointing with his nose. "I think that one's best."
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:54 am
Taipa blushed lightly at his comment. And for once she was thankful she had the slightly dark coat. It made it easier to hide the fact that she was blushing. "I guess sometimes seeing colorful Soquili all the time could make one's head hurt. Even the especially bright ones. And plus--it'd be a lot easier to find them in a game of tag."
She inspected the apple he had pointed at. And with a quick n** of her teeth had broken it away from the main branch. Leaving just a little bit of twig to its end. "Thank you. Your still very generous to be offering a complete stranger your apples."
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:05 am
"Tag!" He didn't bounce. He didn't quite flutter his wings, but he did brighten up. "It's true. They're easier to spot than you would be. Do you like to play tag?" Was that hope in his voice? "Or race? Or, well. Anything?"
He watched her n** the apple off and his ears flicked back and forth. Delicate. She was delicate. "If I'd tried that," he confessed with a laugh, "I'd have ended up with half the apple in my mouth. But we're not strangers anymore, so you're welcome."
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:45 am
Her ears perked forward at his elated response to her mentioning tag. Perhaps Diego had an affinity for the game. "I used to play tag all the time with my mother and brother Chidi. And Chidi and I would race all the time as foals as well. Though I have to admit its been quite a while since I've done either."
She had rolled the apple closer to her, though not quite sure where she would store it for the time being. Taipa had gotten most of her softer touch from her mother. The older mare's delicate nature had rubbed off on her just a bit. Though Taipa still had that tomboy streak every now and then, it had faded just slightly as her body and mind grew. "Well that would be no good. Unless you planned to eat the apple right away." Laughing, she shook her head and climbed to her feet. Stretching out her legs one at a time before giving her head a little shake. "And you're right. We're not strangers anymore."
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:42 pm
"I haven't played tag in a long time, either, but I used to play when I was smaller. I have to say, I was pretty good at it," he boasted, chest swelling a bit. "It'd be good to have someone who could keep up." That might have been a joke. It might have been more bragging. It was definitely an invitation.
"Exactly," he agreed. "And if I planned to eat the apple then and there, there wouldn't be much point in being careful about picking it off the branch. I'd just ...crunch." He watched her stretch her legs and shake, his own hide twitching in response. He didn't need to shake himself, but the urge was there. He let his wings spread a little and refolded them again instead. That was enough. He could behave.
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