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 Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:38 am
The the day was hot, and would probably be uncomfortably so were he not lazing in the shade of a tall elppa tree. Yawing to himself, the golden stallion shifted position slightly and stretched out his feathery pinions, giving them a few flaps before settling them back by his flanks. It was good to be away from the herd. He seemed to think that at least five times a day, but it remained just as true as the first time he’d thought it.
His time was his own, he didn’t have to sort out people’s petty problems or be a good respectable stallion day in day out. If he felt like diving into the river and frolicking about like a colt, he was perfectly free to do so. As it was, he did not wish to do this but the same could not be said for his mate. Smiling to himself, Diego turned his eyes onto the striped mare and chuckled softly at her antics. Not the mare he would have chosen for himself at all, but a very fine one for all that, and one he was very fond of, too.
“Much better,” she said with a grin at the small noise of disgust he uttered. “Time for a rest I think,” she added, casting herself to the ground beside her mate. “I vote we stay here for the rest of the day,” she added after a moment, shaking more water off her wings, “way too hot to be traveling in my opinion.”
Diego nodded to her words and gave a massive yawn, causing the long-maned mare to chuckle at him; being his mate was a lot more bearable away from the herd when they could just be two friends. Pretending to love him in anything but a platonic way was infuriating, and had a tendency to make her as annoyed with him as she was with everybody she had to pretend for which was hardly fair.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:10 pm
So hot. Everything was...hot. The dark green pulled in the heat and a river never looked so inviting. Moving closer to it she paused. Jala. Although she personally didn't have any reason to dislike them she did... jealousy maybe... For wings so strong and powerful.
With a frown she stepped forward. They didn't own the river. She could get a drink and even play in the water...they couldn't do a thing about it... She nodded. Walking, Straight and tall... well not tall per say... she was always on the short side... but Aloof... She would simply... ignore the couple... Why would she care if the watched her cool off.
Glancing back to make sure they were well away from her, she dipped her head and drank. Oh water how she had missed water... It was too hot to be anywhere but near the water. Her ears twisted back. They were going to sleep... Good... she could stay around the river without worry.
She looked at the tree they were resting under. Surely it was big enough for her to be under too. She couldnt see a tree big enough or high enough to keep her wings from tangling or tearing. She looked around once more to make sure. Nope it looked like their tree or no shade... Shade... she needed it for now...
Moving quickly and quietly she slipped around the other side of the tree. See everything would be fine.She smiled the temperature dropped dramatically from the sun into the shade... It was perfect... If only that stupid twig would stop pestering her side. She side stepped away but her body grew warm and she realized the shade was more on their side.
Break off the twig...the idea hit her and she reacted before thinking of the consequences.
-SNAP-
The twig in her mouth and her ears back she groaned. They had to have heard it... she peeked around the tree... "Oh no..."
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:26 pm
Having half closed his eyes to doze, the blue-eyed Jala hadn’t noticed the approach of the Bae mare and so the snap of the twig make him start and swing his head around. When he spotted the creature that had made the noise, the smiled and good to his hooves before turning to face her properly. “Ah, another refugee of the heat wave I see; good day to you miss; I am Diego of Estavan’s herd, and this is my mate Bastet. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” It was slightly annoying to have to put at least a shade of pretence back up, but seen as she wasn’t of the herd there was no reason to go overboard with it or anything. So long as he didn’t embarrass his father’s herd but somehow insulting a potentially important stranger, all was well.
Bastet too had been half asleep when the Bae had come over to their shade, and as such she startled to, coming to her hooves swiftly to ensure she wasn’t in a vulnerable position if the maker of the snapping noise turned out to be hostile. When it seemed both that she was not, and that Diego was handling the situation, the well-muscled mare relaxed and gave the Bae a smile.
“Yea,” she said as her mate finished speaking, “pleased to meet you.” She looked rather comical with the twig still in her mouth, but the gold-eyed Jala succeeded in suppressing her amusement at the sight because firstly it was unkind and secondly it might reflect badly on her and her mate’s herds; that was the last thing she wanted.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:50 pm
Siwa frowned. These two weren't mean... she had been taught not to talk to others for sake of being bitten... literally. She started to speak"mmmim name ish Siwa"She shook her head and spit out the twig. Offering up a small smile she tried again"I'm Siwa." Her wings twitched lightly.
She didn't feel on top of things. That was a scary thought...to not be in control... She shuffled her hooves lightly some what embarrassed. "I'm not quite sure why yet but i don't think i'm supposed to be pleasantly conversing with you..."
She wasn't meaning to be rude. Just she didn't really think this was done. Wasn't she supposed to snarl and curse them to purgatory? Probably...but they hadn't done anything and she wouldn't wish someone harm until they did to her... "I didn't mean to disturb you... I was just trying to get out of the dreadful heat..." Oh wait they knew that... she shook herself... Ok so Jalas weren't completely bad...at least at the moment they weren't... What else was false... "You aren't blood thirsty beasts are you?" Her whole knowledge was made of false statements and myths... Great...now she was way under the top of things...
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:08 pm
Diego chuckled and shook his head, settling himself back down in the grass so as to be as unthreatening as possible; it seemed this Siwa had some rather unpleasant misconceptions about his kind. Perhaps her family had had bad experiences with the Katilenuck, or perhaps they were just convinced that Bae were the best and everybody else was scum; he knew there were some Jala like that even beyond the brindled herd Katilenuck so it was quite possible.
“No,” he added after a moment, “not bloodthirsty at all, and you’re quite welcome to be here; it’s not like we own the shade or anything and even if we did you'd still be welcome.” He had to wonder where she was from to have such ideas; whether it was a whole herd or if it was just her family, or if perhaps she herself had even had bad experiences of his kin. Still, perhaps he would find out, and hopefully he and Bastet would be able to persuade her that Jala could be pretty decent sorts really.
Bastet nodded to her mate’s words and joined him in the grass. “Nope, only blood I like is the blood of grass and that... but that’s not actually called blood so it doesn’t count.” Damn, why had she had to go and say that? Diego had been doing pretty well at being personable, kind and intelligent but then she’d decided to go and throw that piece of drek out there. She’d probably made herself look really stupid now, and if Siwa knew so little of Jala she might start believing that many of those who possessed feathered wings had their heads full of air.
“Sorry,” she said after a moment with a grin, “that came out sounding stupid; I think it’s the heat.” Perhaps she was just making excuses, but oh well; it felt better to at least try to explain why she’d said something so daft than to just leave it hanging in the air accusingly like a bad smell nobody wanted to own up to having made.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:31 pm
Siwa looked them over carefully... Stupid rumors..."No worries..." She smiled at the female and shook herself. "As you have witnessed..." she glanced pointedly at the twig... "I have my stupid moments." She looked from one to the other pretty much making up her mind. Nope...Feather wings didn't mean feather brained...
She nodded to her self... probably making them think she was insane but she simply twitched her tail and looked out toward the sunny area. They said they wouldn't mind her company... she wouldn't have to cook. With a frown she glanced at the golden male. "Why aren't you with your herd?....If you have one...shouldn't you be with it..."Pretty much wandering for her life she had been happy to be away. She didn't like rules...That was probably the case with them but...curiosity prompted the question.
((ooo she has a bit of a back ground now XD *doesnt get this herd thing yet* Back to the front page))
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:45 pm
Diego nodded. “Ah, that. Well technically we’re on herd business, we’re just taking our time over it. We left in search of a mate for my brother you see, the heir, but we want to find the right mare for one, and for another we like the freedom of being away for a while.” Wasn’t that just the truth; he could stay away from it forever if it wasn’t for his conscience, and the fact that he’d miss his father and brother of course.
Once again, the striped mare found herself nodding along with Diego. “Yea, we need to find a Jala girl who’ll be both good for the herd, and good for Diego’s brother and that’s not turning out to be desperately easy. Still, great from my point of view; I like traveling around, seeing new places, meeting new people and that.” And not having to be ‘proper’. Proper mares were not allowed to spar for fun. Proper mares did not roll in the mud. Proper mares did not swear or snort when they laughed; proper mares giggled genteelly. It really sucked to have to be a proper mare at home, and once again Bastet found herself hoping that their mission would take a very long time indeed.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:05 pm
The freedom part she understood...she understood the will to run and do as you pleased what she couldn't figure out was why they...were looking for a mate...for his brother.... That one just didn't make sense... maybe it was one of their strange traditions...She didnt usually generalize but...Looking between the two they appeared completely serious. "So...you find your brother a mate?"
Simple enough question. She was still trying to understand how this worked..."And you have standards?" She laughed. They were looking for a jala who was fit to lead...and who would fit nicely with his brother. She was trying so hard to be nice but...this was just something that couldnt be passed by with out laughing. "So wait...What are all these standards that she has to meet... Whats your brother like,is he so mean and ugly he cant find his own mate?" Her voice had lost its teasing and took on a curious tone. "Usually mates are found because the two like each other... your just going to drag a random jala into the position?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:28 pm
Diego laughed at that and nodded. “Yes, you’d think so wouldn’t you? Thing is that my brother is... lovely but about as bright as a stone and isn’t really meant to leave the herdlands what with being the heir and my father being far from young in any case. What we’re looking for is, basically, a mare of some position in another herd who’ll bring allies to us and who’ll treat my brother well. Oh, and who isn’t too ambitious,” he added with a grin, “she’d need to accept she wouldn’t be getting any particular power for herself out of the deal. It seems to be quite hard to get all of those things in one Jala though; apparently by and large being high up in a herd turns you into a snooty, spoiled little madam.”
Snorting to himself over some of the candidates he and Bastet had met so far, the golden stallion shook his head. “Still, I imagine we’ll find somebody for him in the end, though I’d prefer it if he could just choose somebody who made him happy.” Perhaps he would find somebody his elder sibling would fall for; his brother was the sort who would and could love just about anyone given time.
Bastet sighed faintly to herself as Diego began to ramble and silently agreed with Siwa. Why couldn’t people just choose their own mates? Would it really destroy a herd if its important members didn’t mate for politics? These days she found herself counting herself lucky to have been mated to Diego; lucky to have had a choice made for her and to be forever bonded to a creature she would never be in love with. She was still trying to make sure that her children didn’t end up as playing pieces, but it was looking as though she might not succeed in that. She almost wished Andre and Sao had done as Sekhemt had and run away from it all.
“I’m guessing you’re not from a herd then Siwa?” the striped mare asked after a few moments with a lopsided grin. “You seem way too sane to be part of a herd.” Something about gathering a large group of Nequus together seemed to cause everybody present to share one brain, said brain usually being the one belonging to the most pompous and self serving person around. Over the years it turned into serving the herd, to preserving peace and stability and whatever but Bastet had always suspected that arranged matings had begun with the biggest stallion wanting the prettiest mare for himself and looking for an excuse to take her.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:42 pm
Siwa nodded. She understood...power plus power equaled more power... "Or sir, it could really go either way im assuming... So what your saying is basically you want someone who is used to leading... or came from a family that leads... then you want that mare to give up any and all power she held.... just for the sake of more fighting power... "
She nodded. "Herd politics make absolutely no sense from a romantic's eye..." She considered her self a romantic... It made her feel better then flighty-uncaring-mare-who-has-no-goals-or-dreams.
Looking at the striped mare she shook her head... "Nope...im all by my self and have my head screwed on just right...Its not hard to see flaws unless your living them..." She smiled softly..."I don't mean to be rude in any aspect but still... If your already strong...whats the point of being stronger..."
She shrugged. "So...where are you off to next?"She tipped her head..."Or are you just going to be wandering about hoping to come across the perfect self-sacrificing Mare...."
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:14 am
Diego chuckled and shrugged his wings. “Ideally, I suppose, we’re looking for an eldest daughter who wasn’t set to inherit. As to the point of more power... Well, I suppose because if most of the herds are going off and making connections we need too as well if we’re to avoid being taken over or somesuch.” He’d never really thought about that before, which was odd really given he wasn’t stupid.
Mates of position were needed because power was needed; he’d thought that far but he’d never considered the point of power. Surely if they were inoffensive nobody would bother trying to take their lands; certainly they were quite nice but there were plenty of quite nice lands in Urin. Conquering for the sake of conquering, then, would be the only reason to attack them and how many leaders would do that?... As that question flitted though his mind, Diego was left with the distinct impression that the answer was ‘far too many’.
Bastet swished her still wet tail at a passing fly and smiled at Siwa; it looked like she ought to take over whilst Diego was cogitating. “We just left a nearby herd run by one Nyx. As leaders go, she’s pretty sane; she took her mate for love and seemed to be handling the backlash from it alright. Still, she’s pointed us eastward; apparently there’s a fairly new herd with a couple of high up Jala mares whose hooves might fit in the prints we’ve been told to look for. I just hope the poor girls are alright with it, and that if they’re not their parents don’t force them into the match.”
As the last words left her mouth, the striped mare glanced over at her mate, wondering if that comment had been too close to home. He didn’t seem to have noticed however; the golden Jala was still looking at nothing in particular with a slight frown on his face and so she relaxed and shot another lopsided smile over to Siwa.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:03 pm
Siwa smirked at Diego. "So its monkey see and monkey do?" She smiled"Or in this case Jala-Herd-leader see Jala-herd-leader do?" She shook her head..."Sorry that was rude...ignore that." She swished her tail lazily... Her wings twitched. a little glitch in her behavior. Her wings would twitch with out her consent.
"So you don't believe in love."She glanced at Diego quickly then back. Oh... opps. "Sorry...i guess i've gone from being nosy to being a bother... " She smiled softly. Looking around quickly she noted the sun wasn't as high in the sky. Noon had passed. It would get cooler... Yes... She could leave the Jala to their mare search... She was starting to feel nosy...She ad even stumped the un-stumpable... or at least he came off that way."I hope you find what your looking for..." She glanced westward... "So going west probably wouldn't be a smart thing to do...huh..." she flicked an ear. "Wouldn't want to be eaten by your herd..."
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 3:29 am
Diego chuckled and shook his head. “Love? Chance would be a fine thing.” Damn he missed Iona at times like this. He hadn’t seen her in what felt like an age. Had she found Libra? Was she happy even if she hadn’t? He could only hope so. “Well, in any case,” the golden stallion went on with a smile, “have a good journey, wherever you’re going, but if you ever are up close to Ryuten and happen to stumble across Estavan’s territories, I’m sure he will make you most welcome at a quick mention of my name.” His father always had been appreciative of bright Nequus who could think for themselves, and this one was very bright indeed.
Bastet smiled and kept her own opinions on love to herself; as nice as Siwa seemed, she knew very well that even the friendliest of people could turn nasty about mares who liked other mares. It was far from a certainty that the Bae before her would be such a creature but she didn’t want to chance spoiling a pleasant encounter by brining it up.
“Yea, goodbye then Siwa,” she said instead with a smile, “it was good to meet you.” Perhaps she would run into the pretty mare again sometime; that would be nice. Intelligent conversation was always a good thing.
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:27 am
Siwa nodded. "Alright i will have to remember that." She flicked her tail."So until the next time i bid you happy journey...and i hope you find what you are looking for...." She smiled softly...
Nodding a last good bye as she walked out from under the tree"It was really nice meeting you..."She smiled. "And i must thank you... I never knew Jala could actually be pleasant to converse with..." She smiled her voice lightly teasing... She officially wasn't listening to rumors... With that she flicked her wings and started back on her way...
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