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 Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:25 pm
 It was the hottest part of the day and still the fingers of winter could be felt grasping on to everyhing with the last bits of it's strength. As snow dripped, melting, off of tree branches a bright red bird squacked in surprise and took to the sky as a blur of blue, purple, and red raced towards it. He was only a foal, but Zul'Aolani was convinced that if he had the same feathers as the cardinal he was now chasing he would be given the secret of flight as well. It was the only thing he could think of anymore, and today was the day the tribal colt was going to fly. He could feel it in his bones, but more importantly, his shoulder feathers. They'd been itching for some time, and Zul had taken that as a sign that he was ready to sprout wings.
Dodging this way and that, he kept deep red eyes focused on the bird above. He didn't want to catch it, just wait patiently for a feather or two to fall. He ran because he needed to be there to catch his gift. One was all he really wanted. Something to tuck behind his ear or hold in his mouth. The little one even knew exactly which cliff he needed to dive from once he was ready...
A-ha! There it was! Falling from the heavens towards the excited child fell one crimson feather. Once it hit the ground, Zul'Aolani picked it up carefully and made his way to a large cliff overlooking a lake. He didn't want to think about failure, but if things didn't go as he planned this was the one place he was least likely to die when he fell.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:36 pm
 It was a truly beautiful day. So much had been going on in Guilian's life these days that it was an honest joy to sit back and relax; the mid afternoon sun saw the crimson stallion standing silently on the edge of the cliff, looking out over the lake with a meditative smile. It was such a wonderful sight, the Kawani lands stretched out before him like a spreading blanket. If he squinted his eyes, he could even see a few of the human camps, dotting the nearest shores. It was enough to make even the depressed of Soquilis feel wonderful and glad to be alive, and Guilian was far from depressed.
Indeed, he had a great deal to be pleased with these days. His children were healthy and happy, his grandchildren were growing into fine adults, and there seemed to be more coming every day. That was the latest bit of excitement, the news that his son Antony and his lifemate were expecting foals. If there was one thing that Guilian loved to see, it was more young people in the world.
Smiling at the thought, he flexed his shoulders, then spread his wings wide in a stretch. Yes, this was going to be a good day indeed! With that, he turned away from the cliff, just in time to see the approach of...
A VERY original foal.
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:45 am
As he started to get closer to the place where he planned to jump, the tribal foal kicked up his speed and slowly broke into a full gallop. He didn't want to tire out before he got close enough to jump, but when he made his leap he'd need to be going fast enough to give himself distance from the edge. Closer and closer he got the faster his long legs moved until he was just seconds from committing what was probably going to be the first of many stupid acts in his life. Eyes set firmly on the horizon, Zul'Aolani counted to himself in his head with the single cardinal feather secure between his teeth.
One.
Two.
Three.
Not even a second after the third count, the colt leapt into the air and went gliding over the edge of the ground and above the water. With wind in his face and a triumphant smile he had just enough time to let out a joyful whinny before the realisation dawned on him that he was no longer gliding through the air so much as falling. Closing his eyes tight, Zul tucked his legs in close to his body and braced for the impact of his fragile frame hitting the water.
"Well," he thought to himself. "At least I like to swim.."
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:07 pm
Very peculiar, very peculiar indeed. Without moving any more, Guilian watched as the peculiar foal came charging up to the cliff, right past the crimson stallion, and then...threw himself over the edge?
Guilian hadn't been sure what the foal was doing, and consequently had simply stood and watched as the foal came running up. He had NOT been expecting to see the child fling himself over the edge of the cliff! If he hadn't known that there was water below, he would have been extremely alarmed; as it was...
Well, if he was being perfectly honest he was still alarmed, and consequently was over the edge himself a mere blink after the foal, arrowing his wings to catch up to the colt. After all, he might not know how to swim...
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:23 pm
With a splash much smaller than Zul' had expected it would be, he found himself submerged in water. He knew how to swim, but it was still a strain on his fragile legs and it was getting harder and harder to make it to the surface. With just the tip of his nose exposed he sucking in as much air as he could and attetmpted to paddle harder with his hooves. It was slow, and he was starting to panic. Great, the colt thought as he felt his body start to give. I'm going to drown on my first attempt, and never know what it's like to fly.
They were odd last thoughts, and he knew it, but it would be the one thing he'd regret. He was an old soul in a young body that had lived well.
Seeing a bit of red above the water he glubbed wistfully. That damned feather hadn't done a thing to help him.
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:46 pm
So much for the hope that the foal could swim. His curls were going to flatten and he was going to need to get new roses, but Guilian knew what he had to do. Shaking his head at the whimsy of foals and the ends to which it could lead them, he sighed and plunged into the water himself, his spread wings providing extra buoyancy as he pulled the foal up above the surface. "Careful now, or you'll wind up inhaling even more water. Breathe deep, and then paddle; you should be able to stay afloat with enough air in your lungs."
Keeping his voice gentle and encouraging, Guilian allowed the foal to straighten itself out without interfering too much. After all, he was a stranger, and he didn't want to intimidate the foal by being a stranger! At the same time, to leave the foal to struggle alone as it was...well, that was hardly healthy, either!
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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:30 am
Becoming too frightened of the prospect of drowning without his family knowing he was dead, Zul' followed the advice of the talking red blob. A small thought in the back of his head wondered why his cardinal feather had grown so suddenly and could talk, but it was drowned out by fear and thankfulness that he could breath again. Taking deep breaths as he was being advised, the smaller male paddled with his legs towards shore. Chanting over and over to himself, "You will do this. You will do this."
As, with the help of the stranger, he made it to solid ground. He steadied his breathing and let his legs relax curled up beneath him. Eyes closed, he focused as his father had shown him once and thanked the Spirits that he had been sent someone to care for him. Even if it was only for this one time. Once he was done with his prayer, he thanked the stranger for saving him, eyes still tightly shut.
"Thank you so-so-so much. I didn't think about my legs not being able to handle the strain of the swimming 'cause the only time I've gone swimming it wasn't far away from my Poppa and I hadn't dived in and I didn't think that would hurt so much. I really thought that since I have feathers getting a running start would help and I would at least be able to glide a little bit, if flying didn't work, but I guess not." He stopped rambling long enough to breathe again deeply and then sank his head to the ground and covered his eyes with his hooves. "My Momma and Pop are gonna KILL ME when they find out I snuck off to fling myself offa cliff."
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:10 pm
Keeping an eye on the foal as he threw himself down on the ground, Guilian shook himself off and proceeded to tousle up his wet mane and shake off his wet wings as he listened to the somewhat original explanation of the colt's strange behavior. The comment about the feathers made sense as Guilian looked at the colt; what he had at first glance assumed to be oddly folded wings were, in fact, merely a strange pattern of feathers growing out of the foals shoulders. Very strange, very strange indeed; either it was a genetic thing, or fate had played a very cruel trick on this young foal.
It wasn't hard to tell that he was distressed, though, and Guilian's fatherly instincts were quick to kick in at the depressed tone of voice. "Well, there is no way to know whether or not we will be able to handle something until we have tried, my small friend; that being said, we must also be careful in our tests, so that we don't end up hurting ourselves or others in the process. A cliff might not be the best choice for testing if you can fly, just as the middle of an ocean is not the best place to determine if you can swim."
Finishing that thought, Guilian shook his wings again, then sighed at the obviously droopy qualities they were currently showing. Such was the price one paid for a good deed...but on the other hand, he'd needed a bath anyway. All was good. "However, if I may play the devil's advocate...to the best of my knowledge, flight and even gliding requires wings, wings to catch the wind and the air and hold you aloft. It is possible to fly with wings that lack feathers, but feathers alone are like extra-large hairs, I'm afraid."
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:34 pm
The colt's ears perked so that he could listen to the adult and uncovered his eyes to see who it was that was speaking to him. Doing everything he could to not let his jaw drop, he nodded in understanding of what the stallion was telling him. "My Momma said the same thing, 'cause she has feathers like mine, but I wanted so badly for her to be hiding the truth from me. I was certain that she was lying to me to keep flying a secret. I dun know why." With a sigh, he shook his whole body to clear his feathers and mane of being waterlogged. It depressed him that he wouldn't ever be able to fly, but he knew now that there was no way. Knowing was half the battle, or so his Pop would say. "Oh well." He sighed it out, along with the last bit of his depression and smiled up at the red adult.
"My name's Zul'Aolani," he said brightly. "I know I'm changing the subject, but are you the feather I had when I lept offa the cliff? My Pop says that the Spirits can do mysterious things, and that I should never ignore an opportunity to learn about them more."
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