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Quicksilver the Archangel
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 Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 7:51 pm
Alyssum drove a charcoal-colored hoof against the surface of the frozen river, her violet gaze intense. Ever since the world had become accosted by the chill of winter, even the simple task of getting a drink had become progressively more difficult. At first, the water had simply been colder; then, a thin layer of ice, easily broken through, had appeared. Now one hit, two hits, three hits could not penetrate the clear barrier that prevented her from obtaining water.
As she continued to struggle against the ice, she longed for the blooming spring that she had first encountered when she had kicked her way from her itchy, basket prison. She missed the warmth, the plants, the green on the ground that stretched up into the trees. Now, the only color that surrounded her other than a dull brown of bark was white, harsh on her eyes when the sun chose to show itself, too cold to nap in, smothering the world.
A frustrated whinny left her throat when yet another hit appeared to have done only minimal damage, a small crack in the sheet of ice beneath her. Still... she refused to give up!
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:09 pm
 Piper trotted down the path to the river. Her breath steamed in the cold morning air and a few daring snowflakes added more white spots to her paint coat. The path was relatively cleared of snow from the constant traffic to and from the river, but the result was a few areas of slippery footing where the packed snow had melted only to refreeze. While the paint mare didn't love the cold weather like some of the soquili she knew, she also didn't particularly hate it either. Each season had its own beauty - and its own adventures to be had! She slowed as she crested the last final rise before the river slope - only to feel her feet start to slide out from under her as she stepped over. With uncharacteristic lack of grace she slipped and stumbled her way downhill, whinnying in surprise and dismay. With a final thump and crash she landed just off the bank on the river ice. An ominous cracking sound broke the silence after her landing.
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:44 pm
Alyssum had nearly decided to leave her spot in the river and seek another, more easily accessible spot to paw for water when a flicker of movement caught her eye and she turned her head just in time to see another Soquili. Before she had a chance to react, this same Soquili lost her footing and slid down, and Alyssum's ears swept back in concern when the end result was a sickening crack.
For the first time, she took in her fellow mare, instinctively nosing her still white and black form while taking note of of her rainbow mane and tail and pulling her name from there. "Are you okay, Bright Hair? That looked like it hurt..."
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 6:23 pm
The painted mare looked up, her brightly colored hair in disarray. It took her a moment to catch her breath.
"Ahh... it wasn't quite the most pleasant of feelings," Piper said with a chuckle.
She shook her head, dislodging a few more snowflakes as she did so. The movement caused more cracking from the ice below her.
"I think I should get up before something worse happens!" She tried to get to her feet, only to have her hind legs slide out from under her as soon as she braced her front ones. A few more mad scrambles and she finally got her front feet under her and onto the relative security of the riverbank. A final heave and she was fully on land - and just in time as her fight with the ice had caused the thinner area she had landed on to break into a myriad of smaller pieces.
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 6:58 pm
Alyssum wanted to do something to help her fellow mare when she realized the danger she was in, but by the time she realized the gravity of the situation, the ice had begun to crack. She could not step forward; added weight would only make it crack more, faster! Instead, she stepped back, distancing herself from the edge of the river and hoping to give the other Soquili enough space to come from the
A puff of relieved breath hung in the air whenever the paint Soquili leapt to safety, and Alyssum half-hopped through the gathering snow to reach her, shaking some of the snow from her own mane. "That... was way too close!" Then, with a smile, "But, on the bright side, now I can get a drink of water. Thanks!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:32 pm
'You are welcome!" Piper laughed. "Glad I could be of help."
She shook, sending snow and ice bits flying off in all directions.
"My name is Piper, daughter of Dancer and Ayita," she said. "I don't think I have seen you before? Though I have to admit that I don't stay around the pastures very often."
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:05 pm
Alyssum shifted to the side to avoid the flying snow, her ears curving to catch the other mare's introduction. Her precise words and manner of introduction made the brown mare give a half bow before straightening up, her voice crisp, "And I am Alyssum, daughter of Wild Rose and Briar. Nice to meet you, Piper. No... I would've remembered meeting you. Your hair is colorful, like the rainbow..."
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:33 pm
"Wild Rose? I know that name! She's my half-sister!" Piper laughed. "That makes me your... aunt? How have we managed not to run into each other before now?!"
The paint mare paced as she talked. She always thought better when she was moving.
"It's my fault, I suppose. I am always out looking for fun with my friend Watolga. And father and I did just come back from the mountains where he lived before coming here. That was a lot of fun, but boy do they have a lot of snow there!"
She stopped her walking and faced her brown dappled watcher.
"Well, we have met now!" she said with another laugh.
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:43 pm
Alyssum's ears pricked in interest, and a whinny of delight escaped her muzzle, even as one hoof excitedly pawed the snow. An aunt? Another part of her family? This... this was awesome!
Her joy translated into excitement blended with curiousity, and she soon assailed her new found relative with question, "Watolga? Who's that? And you went with... er... my... half-grandfather? To the mountains? What's it like up there? Can I go too? Are there more family members for me to meet?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:28 am
"Watolga Holpa is my bestest friend - you'll like her! In fact, your parents are why I know her in a round about way! They found her basket and brought it to Wambli, my adoptive mom."
It was obvious that Piper was just as excited as Alyssum. Her words tumbled out in quick succession.
"Father use to live in the mountains that are a moon's travel from here to the north," she slowed her ramble and there was a touch of sadness in the next words. "He had a family there, but they were all killed in an avalanche while he was patrolling for kalona that had been threatening the herd. He goes back there once each year and this trip I got to go. I loved the trip - there are some awesome things along the way! But I hated to see Father so sad."
"And as for others, well there is my brother and his family and I believe mom may be working on some more baskets herself!"
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:40 pm
Alyssum's violet eyes widened, and she kept her attention sharply focused so that she would not miss a single word. A surge of pride welled in her at the mention of her parents and their role in providing a friend to her aunt. That was certainly something that her kind-hearted parents would do, saving a woven basket with its tiny, fragile inhabitant from certain destruction.
She whickered in sympathy with the talk of death, but her mind was still young and didn't dwell too long on that topic, not when even more family became mentioned! An uncle? With family? And of course, the parents of her aunt... "It's all... all so exciting!"
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