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 Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:36 pm
Nostrils flared and narrowed rapidly to keep up with his rushed breathing, the air mocking him by freezing and devouring his breath no matter how fast it came. Like a predator. "Like a...predator..." Shadowed eyes cast hauntingly over his surroundings, the youth careful not to raise his neck above the frail cover of the frozen brush. There was nothing left, no smells and no sounds save for the collapse of snow from tree branches. The only evidence left behind were his mother's dainty hoof prints, circling his current hiding location before darting messily into the wintery woods. The only trail left for him in the snow and he was forbade to follow. Not until she returned.
"Darn it all!" Jumanjii chattered his complaint under his breath, tail flicking his flank to keep the nerves from going numb. How long had it been now? Minutes? Hours? It was too hard to tell with winter clouds covering the sun's position. Everything was just as cold and grey as it had been earlier. And the snow kept falling. The colt shook his mane out, flopping ears ruffling against his wide neck. This much time alone for a colt so active....it was driving him nuts. But the threat was clear in his mother's voice, and he took it with tense obedience. Was she alright? Was she returning now, and maybe with father? Manjii' grit his teeth angrily. If only he was born with tusks, like his father or siblings. Would he have been any help then against this 'Puma'? Would he have been useful, instead of weak and hiding....
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Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 9:43 pm
 Vartan trotted down the path at a brisk pace. He didn't much enjoy the crunch of snow beneath his hooves, or the way the cold numbed his damp fetlocks, but damned if he was gonna laze around in a cave like a jackass while life passed him by.
He made his way through the forest, plowing through snow-drifts and leaping over the occasional log, when the sound of snapping twigs and the smell of sopping fur gave him pause. The stallion altered his course and headed over to see who'd wandered into this spirits-forsaken place, finally pulling to a stop in a shower of ice.
A colorful young cold was standing beneath a copse of trees. He looked young and soft, as most colts did. The towering pines made him appear smaller than his age.
Oh, fantastic. Another tourist to babysit.
"Kid." Vartan arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. "There a reason you're out in the wild by yourself?"
His tone implied that if there was a reason, it mustn't be a very good one.
In all honesty, running off alone was something Vartan himself would have done at that age. Wandering away from his parents to go bother hornets' nests or chase the local elk had been all that kept him sane as a youngster. But he'd been a foal in summer. The winter was a whole 'nother matter. Gawky little foals could easily disappear in these desolate, deserted woods, and no one but the wolves and the Kalona would know where their bones rested beneath the snowfields.
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Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:38 pm
Small and young muscles quivered under his flesh as the colt remained standing; waiting. Waiting. What else was there to do? As mush as he'd love to obey his urge and wander, he was expected here when mother should return. And besides that....he'd likely loose track of direction on his own and with the snow falling to cover his hoof prints. Busy shaking a tickle from his nostrils, Manjii' jolted as a voice broke the utter silence. Knees turned into a tangle of limbs as he fell to his side, and his eyes darted about to find the source of his fright. It didn't take long.
A dark pelt bled into his vision against the white background and the young soqu was quick to realize it was one of his own. All the same, it was a stranger and strangers were not family. Pinning ears and bristling short mane, Manjii' bared his small row of teeth to the other. "My name ain't kid....and aye out here to hide. So stop ruining it!" He turned his teal eyes to glance around again, not knowing if it was for his mother or this thing called "Puma"....
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:18 am
Vartan was heavily muscled and obviously scarred. Thick knots and whorls of damaged tissue marbled the delicate reds and pinks of his coat. Looking tough wasn't an image that he cultivated or a shell that he hid behind. He simply was. For him, life wasn't worth living unless he could get into a decent fight every couple of weeks.
If he didn't-
Hmph. If he didn't, his Kalona blood would still demand satisfaction, one way or another.
In any case, there was no way in hell this kid was putting more than a scratch on him, though Vartan knew better than to underestimate cornered rats and desperate children.
"Calm down," he commanded. "You're bright blue. You're not hiding anywhere."
The stallion tilted his head to the side, examining the kid's posture.
"And if you feel like you can take me out, go ahead. But I'll warn you that you don't wanna lead with your teeth. The head's the most vulnerable part of your body. You're sticking it right out into range of my forehooves."
Vartan raised one of his heavy lavender hooves and stomped ominously down on the snowpack, raising a shower of ice.
Spirits. Colts these days.
"Say, what're you hiding from?"
A light sparked in the depths of Vartan's violet eyes. Whatever this kid was hiding from might be worth fighting. After weeks alone in the wastes, he itching to throw down with something that could bleed.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:47 pm
Such details of the flesh undergoing the trials of life went unnoticed by the young colt. He was too cold and numb at this point to honestly care. And to see another individual alone was enough to set his nerves in a hyped jumble. Should he barge? Should he dodge and run? Oh all the options he could make! But no, he was bound by Sumi's word, and that word left him pasted to the spot. So how to react to this intruding soquili?
Ears set at a right angle as the other muttered an order. Was he...bossing him around? It was almost in the same tone his father would use. But he was nay his father. "I am calm, ain't it be obvious?" Brows crinkled to the obvious statement of his pelt. "Aren't these here twigs covering me? What about the snow on my back?" Well, that was gone now since he stumbled, but he was certain he had hidden very well just earlier.
Huffing, Manjii' turned his snout from the other. He didn't need to listen to this, he had enough bickering with his own siblings. Why take it from a random adult? Although...he'd love to test his stre...no! Must stay here. Ugh. Eyes begrudgingly watched the large hoof imprint the ground. It really was awe inspiring. If only he was that large to help evade the puma....
"Puma!" Manjii' jumped up as he remembered, tossing a wide eyed glance to Vartan. "My ma said something of a Puma nearby! But that was some time ago." His jaw clenched and he flicked his tail. "I'mma go help her! Maybe she already trailed it away, or she even be needing help?" The colt stomped his own hoof as his energy burned dimly. If he could follow her trail before the snow fell, then maybe....
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:31 pm
Aw, hell. Something Vartan'd said seemed to have set the kid off. What could it be? The constructive criticism? The truth about his pelt? Vartan wasn't good at being sensitive; and he especially was not good at reading the moods of pint-sized, stick-legged colts. For some reason, parents didn't like to let their children near him. It probably had to do with the amount of time he spent looming and glowering and hitting things.
He would have considered the situation further, if the kid hadn't very neatly derailed his train of thought.
"Did you say- puma?" Vartan's gaze sharpened. The grumpy stiffness left his posture, and he was all business. "You shouldn't throw that word around unless you're one-hundred percent positive, kid."
Oh, no no no. He could see it now: a young mother leading a predator away from her child, only to tire in the snowfields, and fall to the fangs of winter. It was a tale all too common in the Kawani lands.
Well, screw that. Vartan doubted he could take a puma. He absolutely could not take a skinwalker that was wearing puma form. But his life wasn't worth that much, all things considered. He had a family that had cast him out to feed the fires of their own hypocrisy, a mare that only gave him the time of day when she felt like kicking something, and a bloodlust that couldn't be purged. What good was that in the grand scheme of the Spirits?
If he fell in this kid's mother's place, it wouldn't really matter. No one would mourn for him. The best that Vartan could hope for in life was to die in glorious battle.
His decision came surprisingly naturally.
"Is your father with her? Which direction did she go?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 8:56 pm
The young male sighed, or more like shuddered, while rolling his eyes and glancing back at the adult. "Aye, what else could I have said? Pu-ma, puma. That's what me ma said." Manjii' gave a firm nod, nearly certain that is what he heard. And again his tail bristled when his statement was questioned. "I'm not throwing it around! It's true!" His voice lifted in his agitation, and he narrowed eyes at Vartan.
But the other male only stood there, and the silence of no reply drew long and stern. What, was that it then? He was going to get scolded like that and then ignored? Huffing, the colt turned his back to the other adult in stubbornness. Not the wisest decision, but then again Jumanjii' wasn't one to think before his temper. His form quivered again as he made to settle back near his hiding spot, before his ears twitched as the adult spoke again. "Eh? My father's with me two siblings. We were going ta go visit 'em." Then he nosed in the direction of the faint footprints before quirking a brow at Vartan. "Is tha puma really that scary? Ma said it was like a really big and mean squirrel......" Or at least that's what he pictured when she said claws and sharp teeth. Though, she had seemed more worried than it just being a squirrel....
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Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:12 am
At this point, Vartan was faced with an entirely different choice; one that seemed far more difficult than guaging the worth of his one life. Should he tell the child what he knew to be true? Or let him live in ignorance, so that he wouldn't fret over his fleeing mother?
Vartan knew that he would have preferred to have been told. But he also knew more than his share of Soquili who'd rather remain happily blind than turn their faces to the light. The mare who'd left this child behind had obviously wanted him to sit still and refrain from doing anything stupid.
"A puma is a cat," Vartan said, after a moment's deliberation. He had to follow his principles. "A predatory cat larger than an Usdia. It eats Soquili like us. It will stalk your mother until she is too tired to run any longer, and then it will pounce, and rip her throat out, before gorgeing on her guts. Odds are she's leading it away so that it won't do the same to you."
Hm. He probably could have put that better. Oh well. It was too late now.
Vartan shook his head. Colts these days were too damn naive. Or maybe that was the way it was supposed to be, and he'd just had a screwed-up childhood, living in constant fear of predators and elderly kalona.
"It's hard, kid, I know. But that's the way of the world. No good comes from shielding your eyes. So be a stallion, and tell me which way she went. There's no time for tantrums. If she's not long gone from here there might still be a chance."
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 8:05 pm
A cat. Larger than those Usdia. Eating soquili....eating......mama.....
His knees buckled numbly and it forced the boy to finally breath. He blinked, the chilly air burning his eyes as he stood in shook to the news. Why hadn't he known this?!? A Puma was a killer....and mama was playing tag with it. Just to keep him hidden.
Teeth grit and Jumanjii' turned narrowed eyes at the adult. The way the world is?!? "You. It be your fault!" The colt stomped a tiny hoof, his temper seen in the mist his breath created. "That's bad Juju ye just spoken! And now it's gonna happen, all because a you!" Annoyed and more disturbed by this sudden truth, he turned with a shake and shadowed his mother's trail. "I'm nay throwing a tantrum! And ye the grown stallion of us two. Now hurry and come on!" Teal eyes gave a final, teary glare at the blunt stranger before turning to the trail.
The snow was deep and the trail had grown faint with fallen snow. Even so, Manjii's hooves fit snugly in his mother's dainty prints. Though fatigue and chill sent his legs on a sloppy stride, creating firm and crisp lines behind him instead of tiny spots. He didn't bother looking back, that stupid male causing all this mess. His ma would have been just fine had that Puma not been chanted upon, he was certain!
"Oh!" No, just there! The blue colt skipped forward sluggishly to investigate. Mama's trail it....it disappeared into the woods! Stupid, gnarly tree roots! D8;
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:04 am
Aw, hell. Vartan hadn't mean to make the kid cry. Colt's weren't supposed to cry. It was one of the reasons they were slightly more tolerable than fillies.
Wasn't there a way Vartan could fix this by hitting things? He was good at hitting things. He yearned to hunt that puma down and rend and tear and smash until his insides untwisted and he didn't have to feel awkward anymore. For a brief, terrible moment, he considering striking down the kid instead, to show him some manners, and satisfy his heart, which was pounding for blood.
But-
But that crying. s**t.
Vartan followed silently behind Manjii, letting him lead their wobbling way down the path. He could have run off to chase the missing mare on his own, but the kid didn't look like he could take care of himself, and Vartan didn't fancy facing down a young mother and telling her that her boy froze to death in deep snow. Hopefully the kid would calm the hell down if allowed to fume in private.
Maybe he needed to hit something too.
"Your Mom's a smart lady." Vartan said quietly. "She's trying to lose the cat in the underbrush."
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:05 pm
He couldn't see, or hear, or even care.
He just....felt. The chill on his shoulders and the air as it scratched against his sore nose. And the....warmth, that vibrating warmth of another living being. Another being that wasn't mother.
Teeth gritted as the young colt stood still, just breathing in and out till his senses decided to return. All this walking for nothing. He didn't know what was worse, ending with a stained sight or endless white. No...the snow was much better to face. Exhaling slowly and deeply, Jumanjii' finally turned while casting a brief glance at the adult. What had he said?
"Hn." It was times like this he wished he had the same tusks that graced his siblings. If just to hear them grate against rocks and tree trunks. But he didn't and the only way to control his nerves was to simply grind his teeth. "So now what?...." He'd best retrace his steps and wait it out, that being the last rule he was told.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:32 am
Now what? How the hell was Vartan supposed to know? He doubted there was anyone less qualified than him to comfort some orphan kid. He had little sympathy for foalish fancies. There'd been a time, once, when he'd played with unicorns and dreamt of being a knight. Then he'd seen the world and blossomed into a full-blown cynic.
Life happened. The world was cruel. Some Soquili were born into screwed-up, exotic bloodlines, and inherited all of the downsides but none of the perks. Some lost their mothers to wandering predators. Some were hopeless, and some were unloved. Some were born unredeemably tainted. Every day was combat. There were no other options. A stallion would drown in misfortune if he didn't fight against the tide.
Wait. That was right. When Vartan had all but given into despair, knowing that his family could never accept his struggles, he'd searched out Uncle Zevach, and learned how to fight. That was something he could give this colt.
There was always hope, so long as you had the chance to rear back and kick your problems in the face. Wasn't there?
"Do you know where to find your Dad?" Vartan tossed his mane, to shake out the stiffness in his neck. The damn cold was starting to numb his nose. "Look- you can't stay here forever. You'll freeze to death. Your Mom is a brave mare. A fighter. You think she's gonna come back tonight if it means leading some cat right to your location?"
Why? Why couldn't he just hit something to fix this? It nagged at him. Like an itch. An itch that grew, little by little, into an ache of longing.
"You've gotta be strong, to be worthy of her." Vartan looked off into the darkness of the forest, trying to dismiss his impatience. "We've all gotta live up to our blood, one way or another."
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:44 pm
The wait was too long, and the colt took it as an adult's stubborn refusal to acknowledge. Snorting more to himself than at the other, Manjii' chewed harshly on his lip. Here this stallion stood, all stiff and silent but at the same moment....apathetic? It was so agitating to the youth, who only wanted to run and act. Here and now. But no, this stranger only stomped down any fleeting energy he had left to expel. A challenge if he'd ever recognize one...
Pinning pale ears, the colt took his own moment of silence for the question. His father? He lived out beyond the woodlands him and his mother dwell in. But now, with snow blanketing every inch of land without difference, locating the tusked stallion would take time and patience.
"I nay stupid, I already feel the chill hitting me." Just as Vartan seemed to, if his slight quivers gave any indication. Or was that just subdued adrenaline? Shaking his head, the boy was bothered to have to agree. No, she wouldn't come back with such chances. Mama never does like risks."
Lungs filled wide before shrinking as Manjii' gave a deep breath. It was all he could do at the moment to think straight.
"Up to our blood? Is that what ye mother told you?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:09 pm
The kid's breath rose as steam, obscuring the desperate look on his face. It really was cold out. Even for big old stallions with thick winter coats grown in would shiver in this weather.
"Not my Mom," Vartan said, consciously trying not to think of the home he'd left behind. "My Uncle. My Dad wasn't around when I was born, so... he taught me how to fight."
He tilted his head to the side, examining the colt's wiry physique for signs of frailty.
"You a fighter, kid? I see the way you're lookin' at those bluffs right now."
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:58 pm
"No, I'm nay allowed to be." A fighter? Pft, if he was he'd be out there right now. Able to track, able to defend. Able to fight. But no, he was here and bound in a youth's abilities. And parent's wills. No violence to come from or between the trio of siblings. Nothing but 'fun' and wreckless playing.
Narrowing eyes, Manjii' shook his mane irritably. "Bluffs, what bluffs ye talking about?" His temper was growing short once again. Both by the situation and the way this adult spoke so indifferently. Why were they speaking anymore....what the hell were they even speaking about? "Look, I 'ppreciating your help there. But our time and use here is done. Yeah?"
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