Leez0rz
Pocket Lint looked at Ranulf confused and looked at him a bit nervously. "The h-h-ho-howls do s-seem- s-scary." She said, her ears slightly flicked back. She looked over Ranulf to make sure he didn't have any wounds or anything. "W-what makes the h-h-howling noise?" She asked, nearly gulping at the thought of such a scary noise. "Ranulf is o-okay... right?"
Thamin
"Skin... Wakkk... Wallll... Waaallllkkrrrrsss." Ranulfed sounded out. He had herd the word many times, most notably when his mother had told Azzan about his birth mother. "Ranulf okay, Ranulf just not want be food." He admitted. He couldn't imagine any soquili brave or insane enough to actually try and meet a skinwalker. "Pocket Promise? Pocket run if hear howl?"
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint blinked. "S-skinwalkers?" She looked at him confusedly. She had no clue what that was since she never encountered one. Seeing that Ranulf was trying to sound something out, she just nuzzled him to encourage him to say it. The mare smiled in relief. "I'm h-happy Ranulf is okay." She said, nuzzling him. Pocket just looked and him and nodded. "P-pocket will try to run..?" She frowned, not liking the idea of having more to fear.
Thamin
"What wrong?" Ranulf asked worridly. He scolded himself mentally; how could have been so stupid to have just made her sad? "Please happy, Pocket please? Ranulf not let pocket hurt. Ranulf protect!" Ranulf assured her, nuzzling Pocket.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint blinked and tried to smile, shaking her head. She moved to lightly nuzzle him back. "I d-don't like h-having more things t-to be scared of." She said softly, looking at the dirt. "I w-want to be b-brave." She said with a frown before smiling at Ranulf lightly. "T-thank you."
Thamin
"But... Pocket is Brave!" Ranulf protested. "Pocket make friends Right? More than Ranulf do..."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint smiled lightly at the stallion's protest. "I j-just happen to c-come across.. others." She said softly, still looking away from Ranulf. "I d-don't know." She said, not knowing if she really made more friends. It always felt like aquaintances, if anything.
Thamin
"Pocket Brave!" Ranulf exclaimed. "Pocket not run from soquili. Pocket meet others. Ranulf sit home, safe. See no one, talk no one. Pocket brave..." At that moment he wished she could see herself as he saw her. She may be timid, but it hadn't kept her from at least conversing with others. She, who was so shy and quiet had done more in her life than he had (or probably would) and to be able to do all that mad her in his eyes the bravest soquili around. For someone that was afraid, to do something as frightening as even talking to someone they didnt know like the back of their hoof was amazing. He wished he could tell Pocket this, but all he could do was lick her cheek and nuzzle her comfortingly.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint just smiled to him lightly, eventually raising her head to look up to him. "I g-get scared.. and s-sometimes I w-want to run away." She said softly. "All R-ranulf needs to d-do is go outside a-and m-maybe he'll r-run into somebody." She said with a soft smile. Feeling the lick on her cheek came to make her blush brightly before nuzzling into him.
Thamin
"But Pocket dont." Ranulf whispered to pocket. "Pocket no run. Pocket scared, but Pocket no run." He smiled weakly and buried his face in pocket's braided mane as she nuzzled into him. Maybe she was right, that all he had to do was go outside. He would think about it later though, right now he was with pocket, and there was no where else he wanted to be.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint just nodded, still smiling a little bit. "Y-yeah. S-sometimes I'm t-too scared to run." She said softly. "B-but everyone is u-usually nice." She said. The mare felt the stallion bury his head into her mane. She blushed lightly, moving her head to lightly brush against his. Her tail flicked a bit behind her as she started nibbling on Ranulf's mane, remembering how Sweet told her he had a hard time keeping it well groomed.
Thamin
"How many Pocket meet?" He asked curiously at the word everyone. He wondered if she had met any other usdia's; he knew that though there weren't many around his father had still met quite a few. If pocket had found at least one maybe he could too. It would be nice after all to have another guy to ask questions of other than his father. He stepped back a little, letting pocket tend to his mane. It was hell to keep care of the thing now that father had given up teaching him how to hold his head up so he didn't step and trip on it. After a few seconds though Ranulf turned his head away from pocket, hiding his face behind the veil his mane made as he blushed. How ridiculous he must look, a mess of dirt and tangles. He had been so happy to see Pocket he had forgotten how he looked. He was embarrassed that pocket was seeing him this way.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint paused a moment to think and recall all she had met. "I t-think 5 to 6 others." She said, not really sure. "I m-met 2 other u-usdias other t-than y-you, S-sweet, and your parents." She said with a brief smile. The mare continued working on his mane, not minding doing the work. She felt a brief movement and moved away from his mane. "D-did I hurt R-ranulf?" She asked quietly and cautiously, trying to look at him.
Thamin
Ranulf blushed even harder at having worried pocket; it wasn't what he wanted to do. "No..." Ranulf said turning his face even more so she couldn't see him. "Pocket no hurt Ranulf." He thought hurriedly for an explanation for turning away, but none could be found other than the truth. What would she think if he were to say he was embarrassed for her to see him so filthy? Could he even say it without mutilating the sentence? He felt so stupid. "Uh.." He looked for a way to change the subject, something he realized he didnt have to look so hard for. "So, the two Us... Ussssssdddeee... Usdiiiiiisss..." He gave up on the word. "The two like Pocket and Ranulf; They nice? Good?"
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint just tiled her head at his response. "W-what's wrong then?" She asked softly. The mare moved a bit closer to look at him and nuzzle into him. She was completely blind when it came to other people's emotions and how they felt. She couldn't tell if he was trying to hide something, but she did know he didn't want to look at her. The mare just looked at him, confused. The usdia tried nudging him to respond. Hearing the change of subject, she decided to reply to it. "U-usdias?" She asked, trying to get him to say it by gently nudging him with her head. "R-ranulf can d-do it." She said. The mare moved to try and recall them. "O-one scared Pocket... but s-she was n-nice. The other o-one was s-silly, but I d-didn't understand him."
Thamin
Ranulf sighed. He wanted to keep on the conversation of who she had met. He wanted to badly, but he couldnt. She moved closer, he didnt move. She nudged him and he didnt move. "Ranulf em... em bar... esssssddd..." he finally sighed, the rosey hue returning full force to his cheeks as he dropped his gaze to the ground and turned to her. "Ranulf dirty..."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint smiled, nuzzling him more. The mare just giggled a bit, hearing the disconnected word. "N-now say it all t-together." She said softly. "Em-bare-essed." She said for Ranulf. "Embarassed." The mare could just smile. "It's o-okay. Pocket doesn't mind." She said, not noticing that she picked up on Ranulf's third person speech. "Ranulf n-needs to get c-clean and P-pocket doesn't mind helping." She said, moving a bit closer to continue working on his mane.
Thamin
Ranulf smiled weakly as he raised his gaze from the ground to pocket. He couldnt help but feel like a baby when he couldn't take care of himself, but unlike his father pocket didnt seem to be troubled by it. the color slowly began to fade from his cheeks. He leaned forward and licked pockets forehead before whispering the word "Embarrassed."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint blushed from being licked on her forehead. Her head moved back against her neck in embarassment. "G-g-good" She said shakily, averting her gaze on Ranulf. She didn't know why that made her heart leap like that, or what triggered such emotions.
Thamin
Ranulf giggled a bit and moved forward as pocket shifted her gaze, knowing she was embarrassed as he had just been, but why e could not tell. he hung his head over her neck, his mane draping over her neck and shoulder as he 'hugged' her. "It okay Pocket." he whispered to her, not wanting her to be embarrassed for any reason. "Pocket okay, right?"
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint briefly stiffened at the hug and then relaxed, knowing it was just Ranulf. She let out a sigh and nuzzled against his head, not minding the hug he was giving her. The mare pulled away slightly. "I-I'm okay.." She said softly. The mare raised her gaze to look at him then to his mane which wasn't done. It was a lot more work than she had thought. She went back to tending to it, staying close to Ranulf.
Thamin
Ranulf felt pocket tense then relax. He worried that he had made her uncomfortable, but all worry melted away as she nuzzled him and went back to working on his mane. He began to tend to her mane as well, though he knew it was no use. He mane was perfect, her braids falling in soft curves against her face and neck; but it was something to do. He felt useless just standing there letting himself be taken care of. He could go get food, but that would call for him to leave, and he didnt want to, he was in paradise when he was with her and he feared that if he left he wouldn't see her for a long time like before.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint giggled a bit feeling Ranulf work on her own mane. She usually had her human help her with her hair since braids were just hard to do for horses. Her braids were coming undone a bit, since she hadn't asked her human to redo them in a few days. She kept cleaning out Ranulf's hair, making sure there weren't any tangles or dirt as she went through rows of hair.
Thamin
Ranulf gave up after a moment, not really helping since her mane didnt need any tending. He stepped back a tiny bit, pulling his mane out of pocket's reach for a moment. "Pocket dont have clean Ranulf mane if pocket not want." He didnt want her to feel like since she had started she had to finish, something his father had told and made him feel many times. He couldnt see all of his mane, but what he could see had no tangles and was clean. It looked incredible, he had forgotten his mane looked like this it had been tangled for so long. "Pocket do good job."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint blinked, feeling Ranulf stop but she didn't seem to question why he had stopped. The mare looked up, feeling Ranulf pull away. She looked at him questioningly, wondering why he had done so. "I-I do w-want to." she said with a small smile. "I h-heard how much t-trouble Ranulf's mane is for h-him and I w-want to help him!" She said, stepping forward and nudging him to get comfortable. "J-just sit and relax?" She said nuzzling him. The mare just smiled and blushed lightly. "Th-thank you."
Thamin
Ranulf nodded and smiled, sitting like Pocket had asked. "Who say mane t... troooo... bllll... troubllllleee?" He figured it had been his father, but anyone that had seen his father untangling him when he tripped could have told pocket. He blushed a bit once again remembering how much he fell when stepping on his mane, but this time he didnt turn away from pocket. He gave a big sigh and tried to relax.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint started working on Ranulf's mane again before pausing. "Sweet t-told me how R-ranulf and his p-papa would have t-trouble with t-their manes." She said with a nod."D-does R-ranulf want P-pocket to say word?" She asked curiously. The mare went back to work, trying to work as efficient as possible.
Thamin
Ranulf just nodded as pocket said who had told her. He hadn't been expecting his brother, but deep down he felt as though he had. Sweet and pocket had been spending a lot of time together after all; a lot. Ranulf dropped his gaze a bit, thinking on things. "what else Brother say?" He asked quietly.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint continued her work for a while before pulling her mouth away from Ranulf's mane again. "S-sweet just said it w-was funny seeing R-ranulf and your p-papa tangled up." She said with a frown. The mare went back to his mane, finding there was only a small section to finish.
Thamin
Ranulf smiled weakly, but the smile faided as Ranulf realized Pocket was frowning. "Ranulf not make Pocket sad talking of Brother, did Ranulf?"
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint shook her head. "It's o-okay." She said with a slight smile. "I l-like Sweet, s-so Pocket not s-sad." She said, not sure how that could be interpretted. She just knew she was sad that Sweet laughed at Ranulf and his father because of their difficulties with their mane. The mare finished her job on his mane. "All d-done." She said with a smile.
Thamin
Ranulf smiled weakly as pocked said she liked sweet. He knew she did, but the extent of the like he didn't know. He wanted to, he wanted to ask of what Frilly had said, but he knew the words would never come to him. He was happy when pocket finished his mane, it was something else to think about. He stood and shook out the long flow of hair; it felt good to have it clean and untangled, a feeling he had almost forgotten with how long it had been dirty. He smiled and chuckled before stepping forward and licking pockets forehead, whispering into her ear afterwards. "Th... Thank you, Pocket."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint just smiled to him, looking over his mane. She was glad it looked better than what it did before. She looked up to him and felt the stallion lick her forehead. She blushed prettily as she averted her gaze to the ground. "I-I'm j-just h-happy t-to help." She stuttered quickly, making it sound like a jumble of words.
Thamin
Happy; the word was like music to his ears, and the fact that the word drifted to his ears in the form of pockets blissful voice made it only better. He closed his eyes and smiled, basking in the sound of the word. He buried his head into her mane gently, making sure though not to disrupt the braids that framed her face in such a lovely way. He let out a deep sigh, thinking once more on the word happy. It dawned on him that right then, that very moment in time, he was happy. he stepped back and nuzzled pocket, his eyes still closed, a soft warm smile of contentment plastered across his face.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint blinked a bit, feeling Ranulf get closer. Of course she didn't mind, feeling the stallion brush his head against her mane. A blush was still well lit on her face as she moved to nuzzle into Ranulf's now groomed mane. The mare just giggled a bit. "R-ranulf like?" She asked with a small smile.
Thamin
Eyes still closed and a smile still on his face he whispered only two words. "Ranulf Love."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint giggled and just smiled moving forward to nuzzle him again. "T-that's good." She said almost clearly. "W-why is it hard f-for Ranulf to k-keep clean?" She asked curiously. She knew his hair was long, but wondered how he couldn't avoid not getting it tangled.
Thamin
"Ranulf not like dad, not hold head right." He opened his eyes, stood and walked a few steps with his head held high the way his father did, the tips of his mane hovering only inches above the ground. He then dropped his head to it's normal position, hung low as he looked at the ground, the ends laying in waves on the ground. "Ranulf think, no t... timmm.... Timmmee... Time for have head right."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint smiled and giggled again, very amused how differently father and son carried themselves. She didn't need to worry much about her hair since it was short. It must be a curse to take care such long hair by yourself. The mare tried to think about possible ways to solve Ranulf's probably. "Ranulf c-could... cut his h-hair shorter. Or... R-ranulf can look w-where he steps." She giggled. "O-or! R-ranulf can.. f-flick his hair away." She got up and took a few steps to flip her hair a bit to the side so her hair wouldn't get in her eyes. She thought the little whip of the head might toss the hair out of his way, but she really didn't know.
Thamin
"Ranulf no cut mane, ranulf look like Sweet if cut mane..." Ranulf said with a smile. Ranulf took a few steps back so he didnt hit Pocket with his mane before imitating the flick of the head. The entire wave of hair followed suit, fanning out to the side like a cream and black flag before falling back at his side. He grinned for a moment thinking the little trick had worked before it rippled back to the ground once more. "Hmph... Ranulf not do right..." He murmured before trying once more with the same results.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint just smiled. "O-okay, I un-understand." She said softly. "R-ranulf w-wouldn't be the s-same if R-ranulf cut his hair." She smiled and shook her head. "S-sweet and R-ranulf very different!" She said. The mare could only watched as he tried attempting it. "R-ranulf is d-doing it right." She said. "R-ranulf j-just needs to w-walk w-with f-flick."
Thamin
Ranulf backed up a few more steps so he could walk, flick, and not hit pocket with his mane. He took a step and flicked his mane. It billowed out once more and settled along his back like before. Ranulf grinned and chuckled a bit, walking without worrying about stepping on his hair. That was until it slid down his side once again. His front hoof caught the tips of his hair as it started to trail the ground, and as he was moving forward and his mane was not his head was jerked down violently. He stumbled, tripped and rolled straight towards Pocket.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint contentedly watch from a distance. She smiled, happy to see him doing so well.Then, it came to worse. Her eyes widened, seeing the stallion step on his own mane and gasped. She was scaed, not because she was scared for herself, but because she was scared for Ranulf's wellbeing. Seeing that he was coming for her, instead of trying to run away, she moved to try and embrace the hit to make him stop. She closed her eyes shut, trying not to tense up for the inevitable hit.
Thamin
Ranulf felt his back hit something hard as he rolled, something large and somewhat soft; something alive. "POCKET!!" He called out, almost screamed as fear and worry struck him like a sledgehammer. He flailed, his long mane covering his face. He couldn't see if it had been pocket he hit, or something else. Oh how he prayed it hadn't been pocket, he couldn't forgive himself if he had hurt her. "I sorry, I sorry, I sorry..." He kept whimpering over and over as hes struggled to see if pocket was okay.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint felt the breath escape from her lungs, having her breath knocked out briefly. She made a light moan noise, feeling the stallion's slightly larger frame crash over her. She was glad at least she managed to save Ranulf. Feeling the flailing body over her own, made her cry out in pain, since the hard hooves would still hurt as they hit her tangled body. "S-st-stop m-moving." She whimpered out quietly. The mare continued to cry out as the stallion would move around.
Thamin
Pockets cry of pain tore through ranulf and tears began to well up in his eyes. Ranulf froze as pocket pleaded for him to stop moving. Something deep in him, deep inside, began to hurt. Breathing heavily, quickly, like one beginning to hyperventilate Ranulf fought back his tears, fought back the pain. It had been pocket he had hit, he had harmed, he had caused pain to. It was Pocket. "I... I so sorry Pocket..." He whimpered in a voice barely above a whisper.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint tried moving her legs to see if she could move around. The mare tried nuzzling against Ranulf. "It-It's o-o-okay R-r-ranulf." She said softly, trying to smile. "J-just be s-slow w-wh-when you try to untangle.. yourself.." She said, trying to soothe the stallion. "R-ranulf okay, r-right?" She asked, afraid that her attempt would be in vain.
Thamin
Ranulf didn't move, he couldn't for fear of hurting pocket more. He felt the nuzzle from her, but he couldn't bring himself to get past the fact that he had hurt her. "Ranulf... Ranulf hurt Pocket."
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint blinked. "N-no. It-it's okay. P-pocket knew it w-was going t-to happen.. P-pocket saw R-ranulf trip and d-didn't want him hurt." She said sadly, nuzzling against him. She was tangled still and didn't want him to be sad. The mare carefully moved her body in a way to not injure Ranulf. She would carefully wiggled one limb and try to untangle it from Ranulf's body and working until they were both free. "R-ranulf okay?" She asked, lightly nudging him.
Thamin
Pocket had let herself be hurt... To save him. He felt her nuzzle against him, and hoping that his movement wouldn't hurt her he shook his head violently until a part in the veil of hair appeared, letting him peak through to see pocket. Pocket nudged him and he could faintly hear her ask him if he was okay. He wasn't, he knew he wasn't, he had hurt the one person he had always hopped would never be hurt. But her letting herself be hurt to help him made him feel... he couldn't find words to describe it. He found himself unable to speak when he tried to answer her question, the little words he knew getting caught in his throat. The tears that had been welling in his eyes could be held back no longer and they rolled slowly down his cheeks. Unable to speak ranulf did the only thing else he knew to do; he licked her.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint was confused why Ranulf wasn't responding. Maybe he really was hurt. This concerned her. She frowned, not knowing to bring his spirits up. She thought she had done good to save Ranulf, but maybe she did wrong instead. She was getting fearful, not knowing why he was silent or decided not to answer. She tried to meet his gaze and found they were teary! He WAS hurt! What had she done? Her ears flicked back, upset that she did do her friend wrong. She felt something wet on her face, she thought it was a tear, but tears didn't feel like that. Looking up to see him lick her, she blushed. "R-ranulf?" She stuttered, not knowing where this was coming from.
Thamin
Ranulf nuzzled pocket. "Yes?"
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint was still blushing, not sure why Ranulf was crying or why he had licked her. She was feeling terribly shy after that lick and was trying to scramble for things to say. "R-ranulf... sad?" She asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.
Thamin
Ranulf smiled, though it was a soft, small smile. He leaned forward and licked her forehead before pulling away slowly in fear that leaning forward may hurt her more. "Ranulf happy." He said quietly.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint was still blushing, seeing him get closer. She felt all these nervous butterflies when he got closer and closed her eyes, feeling the lick on her forehead. When she felt him draw away again, she opened her eyes shyly meeting his gaze again. "I-I'm glad.." She said with a cracked smile. The mare shuffled a bit, trying to remove her body from Ranulf's so that they could be a little bit more comfortable. After a few soft nudges for Ranulf to shift or move, she managed to get free and detangle herself from Ranulf's body. The mare gently nuzzled into Ranulf, resting her head on his shoulder, relieved that he was okay. She might have a few bruises or maybe sore, but it was all worth it.
Thamin
Ranulf shifted his weight and moved as gently as he could away from pocket so she could get comfortable. He wondered if she still felt any pain, if she was still hurt. He couldn't tell if he was hurt; he assumed his neck and head would hurt from the jerk, but then again they always did after he tripped. But none of that mattered. He held his breath for a moment as pocket rested her head on his shoulder. He didn't even realize he had done so until one heavy breath escaped his lips. He nuzzled pocket as he laid beside her with her resting on him. He tugged on his mane and flipped some of it over her as a makeshift blanket, to keep her warm. "Is Pocket Happy?" He whispered softly into her ear.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint would probably feel pain in the morning where she had made impact with Ranulf. She didn't think much about it though. The mare happily nuzzled him back, giggling at the blanket of hair covering her head. She wrinkled her nose, nipping out some grass that got stuck in his hair before nuzzling into his mane. "H-happy.." She said softly, happily resting on him.
Thamin
All Ranulf could was smile. He was in, or what he could think of as the nearest thing to, Heaven. It dawned on him though that no matter how perfect the moment was for him, it was just a moment. Time would move on and though it would sadden him the moment would not last forever. He pushed back his mane so he could see pocket's face. "Pocket? Ranulf ask question?"
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint was content being in this position. She was happy here and wouldn't mind staying like this for a while. Feeling his mane shift away from her face, she blinked and re-opened her eyes she had closed without her knowing. "Y-yes?" She answered to Ranulf.
Thamin
"Pocket... Travel?" He meant would pocket be leaving to travel soon, but of course his limited vocabulary shortened the sentence. A look of longing was in his eyes, but it was mixed with worry at the same time, for what reason he didn't know.
Leez0rz
Pocket Lint blinked and tilted her head. "P-pocket go w-where?" She asked, not sure what he meant. She didn't really have anywhere to be besides the hole in a ground that Ranulf had found for her when she got bigger. She stared into his eyes, not sure what that look was. She felt like the best way to respond to it would be to nuzzle him and comfort him.
Thamin
"Nowhere..." Ranulf said contently resting his head over her shoulders, nuzzling her gently. He wasn't tired, but he was happy.