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 Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:26 am
If there was one thing that could bring comfort when all else failed, it was the heavens.
Gaspard was not one to turn to the spirits for ease of mind, having never had a true encounter that could convince him that there were such benevolent beings watching over all; rather, his source of reassurance was in the pattern of stars in the sky. Constant and anchored, each time the sun sunk below the horizon they would wink to life, slowly burning and lighting a dark landscape with a familiar appearance. He liked to know that they didn't change, that if everything else before his eyes shifted and morphed according to the seasons the stars would remain.
It was romantic, but underneath his stoic appearance, Gaspard was a romantic stallion. Not in the sense that he cavorted with a great many mares, but in that he glorified those things that he found beautiful, revered them beyond the virtue that their own existence should have allowed. The words would never come to him to express what exactly he saw and how it touched him, but if sheer feeling could be any indication, no one would be in doubt.
Breathing softly, his breath forming a vapory mist in front of him, he carefully picked his way up a hillside, tail swishing quietly behind him. The noise was magnified by the still of the night, as was the rustling of grass against his hooves. Still, they were all noises that Gaspard was accustomed to.
Coming to the crest of the hill, he lifted his head, dark eyes tracing the skyline and picking out his favorite stars. There they were, just as they had always been, quietly and steadily shining, bright lights in a backdrop of blue velvet.
Content, he slowly lowered himself to the ground, prepared to spend however long his fancy demanded outside stargazing. After all, he had nothing else pressing that needed to be done, and the solitude of the gesture suited him. He loved his sister dearly, but this was something he felt he couldn't share with her - after all, they each held their own lives, and it was necessary to have some hobbies independent of one another no matter how close they were.
Quietly, so quietly, he sighed, something close to real pleasure in his expression as he listened to the sounds of the night.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:50 pm
 Stars were so remarkable. Ever twinkling in the heaven above when the night was clear as if the angels above were winking down at them. Perhaps Mama and Papa were up there somewhere watching at this very moment. Maybe they were smiling down at her and telling her to do her best, to be happy. A soft smile grew on the little brown filly as she watched the bright orbs of light hanging in the velvety black sky. Really silly the way she thought of it, that her parents were looking down at her this moment, big brother had said that it was idiotic and that her past was really a mystery so it couldn't be said that her parents were dead or something of the like. Yet it was still an entertaining thought to think that someone out there might perhaps care about her. Even love her. Maybe Mama and Papa were out there, somewhere.
But perhaps the thought that her parents were watching her up in the heavens wasn't the actual thing that prompted Astraea to love the night sky so much. She knew as well as anyone that she must have been abandoned at birth and as far as she knew, she wasn't a missing princess stolen from her castle and sent to live with peasants. No, she was just a simple unwanted filly lost in the spin of the world and taken up by a kindly stallion, Big Brother. Big Brother wasn't one somebody could call a kind one, more cold than anything else but he was good, he was kind. And he was no matter what blood relations was Astra's big brother and she loved him dearly.
Stars really made one feel so insignificiant didn't they? They made the problems so small and trivial, easily washed away in the vastness of the big sky with the little pinpricks of light streaming through like light from heaven. Heaven? What was that? Was that a good place? What was it like there? The stars reflected in the little filly's eyes as she stared back up at them, bathing in their marvels. Just standing here and staring up at the stars felt like standing up on top of the world, feeling the soft chill breath sweep her mane. She smiled peacefully.
Slowly, she lowered her head and started to make her way up the crest of the snow covered hill. The snow was no more than a thin cover of the purest over the setting, it glimmered a soft blue in the night. Up the hill she knew to be the best stargazing spot, where the sea of stars spread without the hinderance of tree branches and rocks. The sea of stars.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:48 pm
For a time, all remained quiet, calm. Gaspard lost himself to his thoughts, gaze blurring over the stars until they became a sea of swirling colors. Though he wasn't tired, it would be easy to slip into dreams in such a state, and he had done so before. It was rare that Gaspard could truly relax, and almost unheard of for it to be around others, and so he cherished moments such as these.
However, the peace wasn't to last. The spell was broken when the sounds of soft crunching filtered to his ears, the unmistakable noise of another being's presence. If he wasn't much mistaken, they were following the tracks he'd laid earlier, which could mean any number of things for him; an animal that did not recognize them and was coming to investigate, a hungry animal looking for food. A Soquili in want of companionship... a human, looking for any number of things.
Rising, snow falling from his body in gentle clouds, he turned in place, ears pricked forward, eyes straining. It was dark, but at least in the winter landscape he had the benefit of camoflauge, even if his eyesight wasn't as keen as he would have liked it to be.
Slowly, he watched a small figure approach, realizing after a few seconds that it was a mere foal. Out this late, and alone? Where were its parents, guardians? Weren't they aware that it could be dangerous, not only because of the weather and the chill of the wind, but with predators?
Ears flattening at the thought, displeased by the idea of innocents being harmed, he pawed at the ground and snorted softly.
"You, child." His voice rang clear in the night even though he wasn't speaking loudly. Gaspard often spoke in a tone that, though quiet, inspired others to listen. "Why are you wandering these hills alone?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:45 am
Astraea trotted on, but on a slight stumble, she realized that she had one of her hooves had sank into a slight hole in the snow that seemed to be made from a bigger hoof than herself, a stallion perhaps. The hoofprints seemed to lead right up onto the hill she was climbing, towards the place she was precisely making for. Curiosity crept in her eyes as she wondered if whoever it was was still there. But why would that soquili, for that was what she presumer with the shape and size of the hoofprint, be out here in the freezing cold? It was winter after all, why would he be out on a winter night right now? Wasn't it cold? She flicked twitched her ears at the thought, and she shivered slightly as another chill wind blew through. Though the hill was a good stargazing spot, it was exposed to the biting winter wind.
She startled at the sound of the voice that seemed to cut through the silence like a knife through butter. Her light blue eyes blinked as she tried to calm herself down from the shock. She turned to the place where she thought the voice had came from. At first glance, all she could see was snow, perhaps a ghost had spoken to her? Yet upon a closer examination, she noticed that a stallion stood there, his pelt almost blending him perfectly with the whiteness of the snow. So that was why she hadn't seen him when she first looked.
As the relief upon finding the source of voice washed over her, anxiety took over the shock. Judging from the words spoken, Astraea must have down something wrong. The stranger probably had been enjoying his peace when she had stumbled upon him and now he was probably really mad at her. She lowered her head in embarrassment as a light blush crept on her face, addressing the white snow piled against her hooves, "I'm really sorry sir for disturbing your peace. I just came here for stargazing, it is said that this hill is the best place to see the stars."
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 11:53 pm
Gaspard blinked, stance tensing a bit as he realized the foal thought he was angry. Often others mistook his emotions, assuming he was either apathetic or cold when he didn't intend to be, but he'd grown used to it for the most part. With adults it was easier on the one hand, as they tended to care less and be hurt less, but in his experience, they tended to assume more quickly and with less flexibility than children. As a result, he had few friends even in his adulthood, and even less who understood him.
Still, with a foal, he had to make an effort. She was simply out to see the stars, was she not? He could understand their allure, even if he didn't agree with her being alone. And while he wasn't angry, not with her, he had to wonder what sort of parent would let their child wander off in the still of night to do what she pleased.
Stepping forward, tail swishing behind him, he said slowly, "You do not need to apologize, little one. I'm not angry."
She was such a little thing. Upon closer inspection he realized she had wings; at the very least, if she could use them, she had one advantage over most predators. It made him feel a little more at ease regarding her situation, but not much.
Eyes calm, he focused them on her bent head, feeling awkward even in a situation with a child. Gaspard really was not all that great socially, and though the foal was less likely to be critical of that, he still found himself a little at a loss for words.
"This hill is one of many places to see the stars. You're welcome to it." Part of him wished she'd look up at him so that he would feel less like a bully, but another part wondered if that would be worse. "Do your parents know you're here?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:38 pm
Astraea let out a breath of relief at the stallion's words. It was good that he wasn't angry at her. She always had a tendency to exaggerate situations in her head and always thinking herself guilty over such small things. She pulled a smile onto her face as she lifted her head back up as she faced the stallion. She noticed him glance on her ebony wings critically. She shifted uncomfortably, not sure if the stallion was judging her to some fate or something. She paused a moment, wondering if she should tell him that she couldn't really fly yet, but then decided against it. It wouldn't be good if he started to think her as stupid, worthless. Maybe that was why Mama had left her...
She flicked her ears at the sound of the stallion's next words, and murmured,"Thank you." She should stop being so skittish, stop being like a mouse in front of a cat. Yet her natural uneasiness before strangers seemed to be kicking in after the shock of meeting one of them. Her heart dropped as she heard the stranger’s next question. The stranger probably didn’t know that Astraea had never known her parents. She had been left as a basket in front of a two legger’s teepee without any clue who or where her parents were. She bit her lip subconsciously as she tried to hold back the tears. After a few moments, she finally muttered, staring at the snow covered ground again,”Big brother knows that I’m here because I often come stargazing.” Hoping to end the topic of her parents by not mentioning them at all.
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:07 pm
She was avoiding mentioning her parents, which could have meant any number of things. Perhaps while her brother knew she was out her parents didn't, and she didn't want to be scolded. Or, she could have been fighting with them, or perhaps she didn't have any parents at all. All were equally possible, though some a little more worrisome than others. At least she had an elder brother to watch over her, though in Gaspard's opinion he wasn't doing a very good job. What kind of stallion in his right mind allowed his sister to wander about in the middle of the night?
He tried to think of whether he would have done so with Corine, but their ages were too close together to really consider it. Had she been much younger than him, certainly not. He realized that not all Soquili were as protective as he, but letting a foal traipse around as she pleased without concern for her safety bordered on negligence. The filly couldn't be expected to make the safest decisions for herself, not at such a young age, but a guardian... that was the point of being a guardian.
Unaware that his expression had become severe because of his thoughts, he murmured, "I see."
Pawing at the ground, he mused on what to do next. He could not, in good conscience, let the filly wander about on her own. That would be precisely the same as having let her go into the night alone in the first place, and Gaspard was nothing if he was not a slave to his own conscience. She said she wanted to stargaze, so he would simply have to remain with her until she grew tired and was ready to return home.
Then he would find out the truth of the matter - if she had parents, and why they were letting her run amuck if she did, or if it was only her brother. Or, if she had any of them at all; an orphan would surely make up stories to explain away their own solitude.
"Stargazing... is a hobby of mine as well." He still spoke quietly, though his expression had relaxed to one of calm indifference. Abruptly, he shifted topics. "My name is Gaspard. What is yours?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:41 pm
Astraea shot a glance up at the stallion again before examining her hooves again. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t really trusting her story, probably thought that she was lying. There wasn’t good. She bit her lip as she raised her head again and glanced up at the stranger again. His jaw seemed to be set in a severe expression. Her momentary relief seems to disparate as her flicked her ears uncomfortably. No doubt the stallion was really angry at her because he thought that she was lying. Her legs trembled not at the cold but at the thought. She gave a sharp intake of breath as the stallion spoke again.
She raised her head back up again for the third time noticing that he didn’t seem to be angry anymore. Instead, his expression had turned into one of calm indifference. She gave a small breath of relief at the sight, glad that that the subject wasn’t pursued. Gladness came into her eyes as she found that the stranger before her liked stargazing as well. It was nice finding someone who had a same interest as herself. She managed to pull on a small smile before the stallion introduced himself as Gaspard. The little filly paused, wondering if she should give her name to him because big brother had always mentioned the dangers of talking with strangers, but shrugged it off,”My name is Astraea. Pleased to meet you.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:54 pm
A heavy silence followed her introduction, not by any design of Gaspard's or the filly's, he was certain, but simply born of a lack of things to say. If he found himself grasping for topics with a foal, it was worse when he was with someone near to his own age; at least with the filly he didn't have to worry about the censure that only adult criticism could bring.
Glancing over his shoulder, noting that they were indeed still alone and the stars were still out in glorious splendor, he came to a decision. It wouldn't hurt to sit for a while longer and gaze at the stars, and perhaps with prolonged proximity, the filly would be inclined to share her true story.
"The view is magnificent." Half-turning, sending a flurry of snow up about his hooves, he settled his gaze on Astraea once more. "Are you coming?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:53 pm
Astraea flicked her ears rather nervously as a heavy silence followed her words. Several times she tried to raise her voice in a topic she hoped would interest him, but failed miserably with her attempts to actually precure the words necessary and pushing them out of her mouth. She had once been upon the verge of saying something only to have thought that it would sound very foolish and closed her mouth as the silence continued. Instead, she tried to focus her attention on the stars twinkling in the sky, but was constantly distracted by the stallion beside her. It seemed that her senses had been heightened by the presence of the other which made stargazing very difficult.
The little filly almost jumped the the sound of the stallion's voice and turned her gaze from the sky and nodded,"Yes it is." She paused before saying,"I'm coming, that is if you don't mind." And she followed quietly behind Gaspard.
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:05 pm
When he reached the crest of the hill, it was obvious where he had been laying - there was a dent in the snow clearly large enough for a stallion to have been laying, and a flurry of hoof prints around it. He knew from experience how cold it could be to make your own impression in the snow, though he didn't verbalize his thoughts. Instead, he walked past where he had lain prior, tail flicking lightly behind him, and settled directly next to it.
Hopefully the filly would get the hint and take the place he'd vacated for her. He was certainly cold enough, with snow brushing up against all his sides and melting against his warm body.
Though he looked up toward the stars, his thoughts were still occupied with the filly, and he found his gaze traveling to his left to settle on her. So young, and alone. He simply could not comprehend how this could be. It annoyed him enough that a guardian would take such a lax approach to supervising a foal that he wanted to say something, and confrontation certainly wasn't Gaspard's strong suit. He much preferred to remain uninvolved until a point came when he felt he had to interfere.
Unfortunately, this seemed like one of those times. The life of an innocent was being bandied about and taken far too lightly. Regardless of how capable she felt she was to make her own decisions right then, when she grew older, this example that had been set for her would only serve to perpetuate the cycle of irresponsibility.
Quietly, he asked, "You live with your brother?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 1:06 pm
Astraea followed Gaspard silently up the crest of the hill, feeling the silence pressing against her ears. The strange quietness with the presence of the other soquili unnerved her slightly. It wasn’t the silence that bothered her. No, she had gone quite comfortably with periods of silence, but this particular silence in the presence of the stallion just seemed…awkward. Her light blue eyes blinked as she noticed that Gaspard hadn’t settled down where the impression was. Why would he set on cold new snow when the impression could offer more warmth? She blinked again, realization, closely followed by gratitude swept over as she understood his meaning. A small smile crept on her face as she settled herself down where the stallion had originally been, grateful for the absence of snow beneath her. She muttered a soft thank you before turning her gaze up towards the stars, fully appreciating them this time, letting the little pinpricks of light shine within her.
She flicked her ears at the sudden question, she had been quite absorbed with the stars that she had almost forgotten the stallion next to her. She paused debating her answer before answering,”Yup. I live with my big brother, Aeolus…He isn’t my big brother really, through blood I mean, but he is my big brother, my guardian I guess.” She gave a little nod, hoping that the stallion would understand what she meant before continuing,”We live a mile or so beyond here next to the ocean.”
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:37 pm
Ah, so he wasn't her brother, at least not in the biological sense. That would almost excuse such an act of irresponsibility; perhaps the stallion hadn't been prepared to supervise a foal and so wasn't entirely certain how to go about it. He knew that if he suddenly had a child looking up to him for guidance and protection he would feel a bit like the earth had been stolen from beneath his hooves. Still, common sense seemed a lot less common than it ought to, and anyone who professed to be acting as a "brother" or "guardian" to another ought to at least take the steps necessary to secure their safety reasonably.
Perhaps it was just a slip. Either way, he would find this Aeolus and have a quiet word with him. He didn't want to upset the filly, of course, just make certain that she was being looked after as well as she ought to be.
Gaspard didn't realize it, didn't really think twice about it, but it was in his very nature to protect others, even those he didn't know. Despite his own deficiencies, the urge was strong and natural, regardless of whether it was really his business or place. Thus far, he had never questioned it; with Corine, a brother ought to protective, shouldn't he? And it wasn't as though he'd met many others in his travels that lingered long enough for him to form real attachments to.
Angling his head to face the filly, eyes somehow gentle in an otherwise stern and stoic face, he murmured, "I see." After a slight pause, he snorted lightly, as if dismissing the next words that would have come from him. Instead, he asked, "Does your brother worry when you aren't home?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:48 pm
Astraea blinked, slightly unnerved as she watched the white stallion thinking. What was he thinking? It would be nice if she could read his mind or something. He seemed to be slightly interested, if that was the correct word. She blinked again before returning her gaze back up to the stars yet their enchantment seemed to have weakened slightly at the presence of the other. Though her eyes still stared up at the stars, her thoughts weren't entirely on them but instead on the stallion sitted next to her.
She nearly jumped as he spoke again. Then she blinked, slightly puzzled both at the statement and at the question. What did her mean? The "I see" seemed to be more skeptical than to be needed and the question seemed to be asking about whether or not Big Brother was doing a good job. Of course he was. He was always there for her...he was the one who let her stay at the teepee. A slight flare of anger arose in her as she quickly stiffened it as she paused before responding,"He does..."
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:54 pm
A soft snort was his only reply for a time, Gaspard gauging her reaction more than her words. Over the years he'd become adept at reading others, and the filly was inexperienced hiding her emotions, making it easier on him. At least there was affection there, and trust. If anything, her adoptive brother must have been doing something right.
Rising, snow clinging to his legs and chest, he glanced over at her, noting how small her body was compare to the indentation he'd made ni the snow. He didn't have a lot of experience with foals, and so didn't expect the quick rush of fondness for the sight, and it left him confused. He didn't even know this filly, but somehow, the sight of a child curled comfortably in a bed of his making was pleasant to him.
Gaspard hadn't ever really thought about fathering children. As he led such a nomadic life, it really wasn't practical; that aside, the most time he spent with a female all together was Corine, and so he really had no prospects for that sort of thing.
Well. It was a thought to ponder at another time.
Ears flicking toward her, voice still the same low tone without inflection, he asked, "Then shouldn't we get you home?"
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