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 Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 4:04 pm
It was still rather early in the morning when he started to finally move about, murmuring with pleasant sleepiness at the feel of the sun against his back. The soft rustle of leaves could have easily been dismissed as a gentle breeze roving through the tree limbs, but the colt, even half asleep as he was, felt his heart sink a little. Not only did he look like the forest, but he apparently liked the sun just as much as it did, too. Grousing irritably to himself now, Diriel gracelessly hauled himself to his hooves and gave himself a good shake. More and more, he found himself slinking off by himself. It wasn't as though he didn't like his family--no, how he wished they didn't make him feel so funny whenever he was with them. But was it them? Or was it... him? Had he done something wrong, and that was why he looked so different? For a child to make his own mother uneasy, well, it puzzled and saddened him a great deal. It was one of the reasons that, even now, he was lagging behind and reluctantly making his way back to the family abode. Would they worry if he never came back--or would they be glad? He didn't like thinking about these things, he decided with an unhappy snort. They were still his mother and father! They had to love him.... didn't they? "They'd be sad if I never came back." He muttered to himself, though his legs lengthened with anxiety to carry him back twice as fast. "They would be." ...Unless they'd all vanished in the middle of the night.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:24 pm
The morning breeze cooed a gentle 'Good Morning' into the delicate ears of the young who doze with security under the covering of nature's green foliage. Such a beautiful sight this day was to behold. The night had fallen to slumber and with great eagerness day had sprouted from the horizon. Burning brightly in the sky, the sun glistened across the dew-soaked land. It's rays stretched across the tall green grass and enveloped the droplets until they shone brilliantly. A small groan floated up from a patch of leaves and twigs. The noise begged for sleep to return as shifting of grass sounded. Whomever it was, with great determination, had decided that they would try to wrestle the sandman for more of his dream dust. Yet to no avail, the sensational pictures that once danced before their eyes not too long ago, did not return to the mind of whom who desired them. Slowly but steadily, not wishing to cause a crick in the neck so early, the little filly rose her head from the soggy ground. Golden eyes that drew upon the sun scanned the landscape. Long eyelashes batted as the young one recognized it was the exact same place she had dozed off in. Meaning her guardian would be close by as usual, and that she had lived to see another day. Good. After gathering her long legs together, shakily Rosalia stood up from the grassy bed. The little filly glanced down displeasing at her trembling sticks of legs. Perhaps it was just her body to reacting to such an early wake up? A small giggle crawled up from her throat just then as the little thought poked her dazed thoughts. To rise at such an early hour would certainly bewilder her Juan. Perhaps she should go surprise him? Yet what consequences would that present to her? Would he be gleeful or angered? Would she hurt his heart or make it thrive? Nerves clenched at the filly's belly as her mind tinkered away at the thought. What many thought of such a simple game had turned into an action needing to be throughly analyzed. Yet just as the little one feared she had wasted too much time worrying over one thing and had forgotten all about the surprise, a voice made her stand perfectly still. With ears perked, Rosalia stood as still as a statue. Her wings on instinct flared out to her sides as the steps grew closer. The brown and white feathered flying instruments stretched and arched as the time dwindled by. By now there was no time to flee, for from the tree's shadows emerged a.. A... Rosalia stared dumbfounded at what stood before her. It....It looked like a foal, like her, but it's figure had been changed. Disfigured. Morphed. Or perhaps enchanted? Like the characters in the stories Juan told her, supposedly relating to those he knew from his homeland. "A-Ah..." The little filly barely made a sound as she attempted to say a greeting. Anything would do. Just a simple 'hello' was all she begged her mouth to form. Yet the symptoms for cat-got-your-tongue had already begun to take over. Her tongue had become thick, limp, and fuzzy when she rubbed it up against her inner cheek walls. All she could do now as her eyes stared into the dark slits of the creature was quiver her long legs and stutter noises. If the foal hadn't been so focused on speaking to this curious other, she would have scolded herself for being a pathetic jitterbug.
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:23 am
The silence might have proved a blessing for the other, for Diriel had completely overlooked her presence in his somewhat frantic search for familiar faces. Worry rippled through his body, giving his heart a few unpleasant squeezes before it finally settled to harry away at his thoughts. All the while, he gracelessly made to scrabble across the open clearing, the thick branches sprouting from his spine trembling furiously.
A stuttered hint of noise made him unexpectedly pause, his mouth falling open a little as he debated whether or not he'd really heard anything. But what if it was his family? Or something bigger and ultimately more threatening? With great caution, he made to peek over his shoulder--just one quick glance. He immediately wished he hadn't.
Those wide, honey-color eyes stared back into the withered slits of his own, and he was thoroughly distracted by her quaking, quivering limbs. Roses strewn in her bi-colored mane and tail could almost be overlooked, save for their vibrant color. The heart pounding mercilessly away in his chest dropped to his gut, making him feel oddly ill as he took a hesitant step backwards. She looked terrified... and the only scary thing he knew in the area right now was... well...
Unexpectedly, he drew himself up tall while his head dropped almost aggressively, brandishing the pathetic branch sprouting from his forehead like some terrible weapon. "It's not polite to stare." He wanted to sound casual, dismissive, even confident, but his voice shook a little at the end and shattered any attempts at bravado. His confidence dashed, Diriel continued his slow retreat. Should he say something? Anything else?
But he didn't know what else to do. All his contentment from waking up vanished like startled birds in flight, and with hunched shoulders, the colt turned himself around and walked away. It wasn't fair. He didn't ask to look like this, to be this way, or to scare people like her...
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:26 pm
Locked eyes. They had locked eyes; she and this strange colt whose hallow gaze dug directly into her thundering heart. It felt like a stampede had riled themselves together with spirits set high on the goal of shattering her chest. Something inside Rosalia bubbled and groaned, dragging at the inside of her throat relentlessly in a scramble to escape.
Her wide eyes scanned over the other youth’s contorted body as she tried to place him in some kind of category. The swirls that decorated his form resembled that of a tree stump’s rings. Those particular rings that lied deep inside the wood supposedly told one just how old that symbol of nature truly was. Yet with all the twists and turns that wrapped around his neck, his broad shoulders, belly, chest, legs, everything; it was too difficult to even try and count just how many years he may be.
Suddenly by the colt’s abrupt movement, Rosalia was jolted from her dark realm of guesses and doubts. The small tree’s leaves that sprouted from the young lad’s back shifted and made the same calming noise that those around them hummed as a breeze blew by. Yet that stance he took, with a bowed head and planted hooves, chilled her bones rather than ease her jittery nerves.
Rosalia quickly eased back, lifting a leg up in retreat as her wings clumsily rose upwards and batted the air. It was an action she took all by instinct. The little filly’s mind was clouded as she scrambled to understand what could happen if he charged. There was little decision though for she knew in an instant. She’d be a goner, that’s what.
Yet at the moment the young lass expected him to lift his hooves from the ground and lunge in her direction, he merely uttered a reasonable statement. The voice that she had believed to be one of strength resembled more so torment than anything. Fear and something else brought upon the last strangled words. So much like her own. It was as if she was looking into a lake and staring back at her silly reflection.
Before she could take a breath and whisper a sorrowful sorry the boy was already turning his hide around and leaving! No! He couldn’t do that! She had been the rude little grunt, simply staring in awe at his majestic form. She was to blame, she was responsible, it was she who should leave. Not him.
“W-Wait!” At last! Her voice had finally ripped through the unseen barrier. The once quivering long legs Rosalia possessed had awaken and led her to a position just a few steps away from the tree natured boy. “A-Ah….y-you….I-I’m s-s-sorry…” The youth bowed her head apologetically causing waves of brown and vanilla colored hair to fall across her her eyes and nose, tickling the sensitive nostrils. “I-I w-w-was v-very r-rude. P-please for-forg-forgi—“ Her attempt at an apology and asking for forgiveness was shattered when a sudden sneeze interrupted her stumbling words.
Instantly Rosalia shot up, her hair going every which way as she froze in place. In no time a deep blush took over her cheeks and coated them until she looked like a ripe cherry. How embarrassing! Yet even so, she had to finish. It was her duty to. She couldn’t be rude, Juan nor herself would ever allow that. “P-p-please for-forgive me for m-my act-actions. B-Both t-the st-stare an-and th-the s-sneeze.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:55 pm
And there was the sound he'd been waiting for--the frantic cadence of hoofbeats as the girl made to flee into the forest. It didn't matter what dangers lurked in every shadow, nor the uneasy feeling that sent chills down his spine whenever he looked at those tall, silent trees. She was willing to face that and more just to get away. He snatched his thoughts before they could grow any more ugly with hurt, burying them deep in the soil of his consciousness and nurturing them with a deep, throbbing anger. He was discovering it was easier this way--to hate instead of hurt. As long as he was quiet, as long as he kept it buried and refused to confront it, it'd all get better in the end. Somehow.
A stuttering voice made him freeze with utmost surprise, glancing quickly over his shoulder as though needing proof to actually believe it. But there she was, stammering some sort of apology to him. She hadn't been running to get away, but to catch up! Diriel wasn't sure what to think, his withered jaw slack with stupid surprise--until she sneezed and he nearly jumped out of his skin.
Spots of rosy color bloomed across her face, and he realized belatedly that he was feeling almost as awkward as she was. This had never happened before, after all. Not that he'd seen many other foals, but... "Um." He croaked uneasily, glancing over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching--or if she happened to be speaking to someone else. The sight of the empty clearing greeted him. "...It's all right." He said finally, mind still churning with bewildered confusion. "I mean." Diriel cleared his throat and ducked his head a little, frowning at his hooves. "I forgive you."
Was that it, then? He wasn't exactly sure what to say next, eventually lifting his head up to peer at her through craggly slits. "...I wouldn't be really surprised. If you were staring, I mean. Everyone else does." And he knew he was a sight for sore eyes. "I dunno why I look like this, but I do." He wasn't sure why he was confessing that to her, either, but he silenced himself with a shake of his head.
She smelled like roses. It was probably from the ones woven into her mane, but... Well, it was soothing. "Um. I'm Diriel." He introduced himself slowly, as though not quite convinced she still wasn't planning on running away. "...Do you live around here, too?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:19 pm
The wave of relief rushing down upon Rosalia was so great she almost found herself falling onto the ground from the force of it. Those words, too sweet to really taste danced along her taste buds. "It's all right...I forgive you." Moments after his voice recited such splendid words Rosie's hooves were off and leading her in a happy dance around the young lad. He forgave her! Even though the look upon his withered face did not resemble such happiness she possessed, he still pushed away the trouble she had bestowed upon him. How...kind!
Her hooves, marked with dirt and grass from the woods, slowed in their prancing and jumps as she came to stand before the youth. Rosalia's golden eyes searched for the pupils of the other, yet she could only see darkness behind the slits. Nothing...but how could he see without eyes? Realizing she was staring once again, Rosalia shook her head and listened to the young lad's words.
"I...I'm still very sorry. Y-You're just, well..." Her eyes fell from the sprouting horn that twisted out of his head to the small saplings upon his back. "Much more interesting than I am. You look very beautiful, just like a tree!" Innocence laced her charming voice as she spoke. Her laughter that followed floating upon the air, sounding similar to the tingle of a bell as it rang out. Similar to her, the giggles danced around them until drifting away into nothingness.
Rosalia, unconscious to how close she was drawing to the other, leaned close enough to smell the earthy aroma that emitted from the other youth. It was so much richer than what she had never smelled before. Shivers raced down the young lass's spine as the spicy scent sparked in her flared nostrils. Her ears perked and stood tall, like a jack rabbit's, when the other's name drifted upon the wind.
"Diriel?" Rosalia said the name once and nodded. She wouldn't forget such a name. "I'm Rosalia, tis a pleasure." Recalling Juan's directions upon introducing oneself to another, the filly bowed her head to the young male. "I-I well...n-no. My g-guardian, Juan, d-decided though that we s-should r-rest here for a..a few days so..." She laughed, her happiness overcoming her stutters as she outstretched her wings with joy. "Here I am!"
As soon as she drew her feathery wings back to resting upon her back, she tilted her head from one side to the other. "L-Let me guess...y-you live here, right?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:28 am
He clearly had underestimated the weight of his words, recoiling slightly in sheer surprise as the filly began to prance with absolute glee. Was it something he'd said? Well, he was at a loss for words now! So he waited, hesitantly watching her movements until she'd unexpectedly stopped to peer at his face once more. He was almost uncomfortable with her scrutiny, though fought the urge to turn away. He'd already tried to run once, hadn't he?
She began to speak of his appearance, and inwardly, the colt cringed. He didn't... really want to hear what she thought about him. It made him think of his mother, always silent, but with eyes that spoke volumes. But... because she said nothing, that meant it wasn't true. Couldn't be. Blowing out a slow breath, Diriel found himself numbly registering what she told him, gnarled maw parting faintly while his head even tilted to the side. "B-Beautiful?' He stammered, feeling himself flush. Well, that certainly wasn't a word he'd ever pick for himself--nor did he expect anyone else to!
"Um... thanks." He said a little awkwardly, not sure how else to take the compliment. He'd thought her to be terrified of him at first, not awed! "Nice to meet you too, Rosalia..." He belatedly mirrored her bow of sorts, tilting his head at the mention of a guardian. "Oh, I see... Do... Do you travel with him, then?" The branches on his back twitched a little as she moved her own wings, as though aching to mirror them.
"Um... Yeah. Me and my mom and dad. We all stay in this little clearing. Though... I'm not sure where they are, right now." And that troubled him, but he said nothing about it. It wasn't her problem, after all. That, and he was so confused on what to do with someone that was treating him this way that his urgency to locate his parents had managed to dissolve itself.
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