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 Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 7:51 am
Spring had come, and with it, all his favorite things about the season. The air was warmer, the sunlight softer, and the flowers in full bloom, leaving him little to be discontent with as he wandered the Kawani lands. It was true that Gaspard at least attempted to find beauty in any land he found himself traveling, but here he found that he didn't have to make much of an effort; the entire area seemed rich in hidden wonders and varied scenery. More and more, he began to think that if he were ever to find a place to settle, it would be here.
His sister seemed to like it, anyhow. Though he'd traveled a great deal without her, as of late he had become accustomed to her presence on his wanderings, and the idea of leaving her behind didn't sit well with him. Not only that, but he was coming to an age where settling in one area seemed favorable, if only to give his hooves and mind time to rest.
Part of him wanted a reason to remain rooted to a place; a family, even if it was makeshift. Of course he always had his sister, but he craved the close and carelessly intimate relations he'd observed with many Soquili in the immediate area. Growing up, he had never been blessed with a particularly strong family unit, and though it seemed a bit late in life to be seeking one, he could still hold the thought in the back of his mind and see what became of it.
Tail swishing behind him, he turned a corner and decided to dismiss those thoughts for now. Finding a close circle of friends that he could eventually call a family seemed a very radical idea if he thought about it, and he didn't want to dampen his own good spirits for the day by thinking of such things. Instead, he simply wanted to enjoy the sunshine, perhaps go for a swim, and eat some flowers.
Of course, the best laid plans often go awry, and it seemed he couldn't find a decent patch of flowers to save his life. Swimming seemed out of the question as well, as his favorite place was a good half a day's trot from where he was, and it didn't hold its usual charm without the mare he'd met there so many weeks ago. Well, at least he had the sunshine.
Slowing his brisk walk to a meander, he shook his mane out, eyes roving the line of trees before him. If he wanted sunshine, he had probably better not head into the woods, but there seemed to be something decidedly not right about the trees.
It took him a moment to realize a small creature was prowling their edge, apparently anxious. He blinked, one hoof lifted halfway as though he were going to take a step, and canted his head in slight confusion.
"Are you lost?" He murmured, watching the little creature weave its way closer through the shadows.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 3:34 pm
 The small black wolf walked through the thick trees along the wood's edge. How could this be happening? Her best friend, she need her help and there was no one else to be found. She had told her that it was not a good idea and that kalonas couldn't be trusted no matter how nice they may appear to be, but Shadi hadn't listened to her. Shadi was the trusting type and didn't know the danger that she was in. If only she had listened then none of this would have happen! That wasn't important now though, now it was up to Nikki to get help and that is what she planned to do.
Nikki wasn't about to give up and leave her friend when she need her the most, Shadi was the only friend she had. She had stumbled upon the black and green mare about a year ago one day while wondering through the woods and they had been wondering together ever since, afterall it was rather lonely by yourself, it was always more fun to have someone else around to talk to. She had grown rather close to the mare, she was very sweet once you got close enough to her where she was no longer shy.
She slowed down when she saw something on the other side of the trees. It was what appeared to be a white or gray stallion. She watched him for a moment, yes she need to hurry to help Shadi but she wanted to be careful she didn't want to bring someone back who might only hurt her more. Unlike Shadi, Nikki knew that not all soquili are nice. As she watched for a moment, she decided that the soquili seemed to be safe..
When the stallion noticed her she wasn't sure what to say at first. The male asked her if she was lost and she answered back deciding not to waste more time.
"No... I am not lost.. but I do need help." Replied the small wolf as she stepped out of the trees a bit towards the stallion. "My soquili friend is hurt and needs help." She said a little out of breath.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 4:12 pm
It wasn't every day that he found himself approached by a woodland creature, much less spoken to by one. In his experience, most other animals seemed a bit skittish of the larger ones, even herbivores such as himself, and usually weren't inclined to socialize. He was a little surprised, then, to be approached by the small wolf, but kept his expression neutral.
As the wolf stepped into the sunlight, he watched her carefully, listening without comment as she explained her presence. Ah, that made more sense. His ears pricked forward, attention immediately captured by the notion of a Soquili in need. In his travels, he'd borne witness to predators using lesser creatures to lure prey away and then ambush them, and for a moment, he wondered if this was such a case. He hoped not, but there was something of sincerity in the wolf's tone, and so he chose to believe her.
If worst came to worst, he was more than capable of defending himself and then fleeing to safety. Still, he thought that there was real need in this instance, and decided to think no more of it until he met the wolf's friend.
Lowering his head, he asked, "Where is your friend?" Though his tone was abrupt and curt, it wasn't intentionally unfriendly. "Take me there at once."
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 6:50 pm
Nikki watched the stallion quietly still not sure whether or not she should trust him. When he spoke his voice seemed sort of cold sounding.. maybe this wasn't such a good idea. The small wolf continued to keep an eye on him, whether or not it was a good idea it didn't really matter right now, Nikki knew there was no one else around and this was her only chance to find someone to help Shadi.
"She is in the woods.. " She said as she paused for a moment, where exactly in the woods she didn't know but she could find her way back there no problem. "I can't explain where exactly but if you follow me..."
Nikki turned around and started to head back into the woods disappearing between the trees, once she was a few yards in she turned a bit looking behind her to see whether the stallion was following or not. If he didn't help she didn't know what she would did, she didn't know how she could help Shadi herself.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 6:58 pm
Gaspard followed in silence, his mind already made up to do his best to give assistance. Though he had no healing abilities of his own, he had traveled enough and gotten into a few scrapes along the way, and through the kindness of others, he had recovered. As long as the wolf's friend's wounds weren't entirely too severe, he thought he could return the favors granted to him in the past. At the very least, he could likely find someone else who could help better than he.
Picking his way along behind the wolf, careful not to snag his hooves and hurt himself in his haste, he narrowed his gaze, keeping alert. Though he'd decided to trust the little animal, it wouldn't do to let his guard down entirely.
A bird was startled out of the brush, and with a wild cry, flew past his face. Ears pinning, he snorted, rearing back and avoiding being struck on the nose by the barest of margins.
Kicking up a small cloud of dirt for his efforts, he nevertheless kept on, seeing that the wolf had stopped to ascertain he was following. Well, there was that, at least.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 7:42 pm
Nikki saw he was still followed her and she smiled slightly as she continued towards where she had left Shadi. She had found someone to help her, now she just had to bring him back to where she was.
After a short while she knew she was getting close, she could smell her scent really close by. It was easy for her to pick up, mostly because she knew it well and because it was stronger due to the fact that she was bleeding. "We are almost there... she is close."
She slowed down a bit and looked through the trees and it wasn't long before she saw the green and black figure lying on the ground that was Shadi.  Shadi laid there waiting for Nikki to return, she knew it was only a matter of type, Nikki promised she would return with help and she always kept her word. She winced in pain softly, it stung when she moved due to all of the cuts along her body.
Normally she hated it when her mane fell infront of her face, but right now it was sort of comforting. It gave her a sense of being shielded from the world around her, a world that until now she had thought was free of evils but she was wrong.
Shadi took a breath after a while and tried to prop her self up into a sitting position but when she put pressure on her leg she let out a louder wince o pain. "Ouch!" She looked at her back left leg and saw that it was swollen a bit and bruised and just not like its normal white self. She said and laid back down again slowly hoping Nikki would return soon.
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 12:41 am
She?
It was funny how a simple pronoun could cause his stomach to pitch. While not a skittish stallion by any means, it had become truer and truer as years passed that Gaspard was decidedly not good with mares. Even when he thought he was getting along well with them, as he had with Dia, they tended to prove to him how wrong he was, or disappear altogether. He was confident in many other areas of his life, but repeated examples of the same sort of situations were beginning to prove to him that he simply was not cut out to be the sort of stallion who enjoyed the company of mares.
Not to say he considered enjoying stallions in such a way - heavens, no - just that perhaps he, as his father had cryptically hinted once, was better suited to a life of solitude than not. Certainly it seemed that Auguste regretted his decision to settle, or at least he had in Gaspard's childhood, and frankly, he had no idea how his parents had found one another agreeable enough to stay together long enough to procreate and make an attempt at raising their offspring.
He wasn't resentful, exactly. Well he was, in a sense. But not incredibly so. It just showed him, as his own experience did, that some were simply meant to be alone. His parents weren't the sort to fight often, and it was true he'd barely heard a cross word between them, but perhaps that was the problem. He couldn't remember a time when they had communicated well, or even made the attempt.
Ears pinning at the direction of his thoughts, he tried to shove them aside in favor of the matter at hand. Regardless of where his own inefficiencies had come from, they were his to bear and overcome if at all possible. It should make no difference that the injured party was a mare, except that the spirits above certainly seemed to enjoy plaguing him with many more female encounters than his constitution prepared him to bear.
The sound of a whimper reached him, and his ears flicked forward tentatively, holding their position only a moment before they slid back in unease. How hurt was this mare? Would he really even be able to do anything?
Following the wolf closely, he lowered his head to pass under a fallen branch, and the sight that greeted him wasn't inviting. A fallen mare, scraped and bruised, and seemingly unable to rise to her feet. She was vulnerable and obviously in pain, not a good combination for a female alone in the woods.
Sucking in a quick, quiet breath, he scanned her prone form, wondering what he could do for her. As long as her injuries were largely superficial, the most she would need would be for her surroundings to be made comfortable, and for food and water to be delivered to her until she recovered. He could handle that easily enough.
Clearing his throat, hoping to not startle her by his presence, he asked in a low, even tone, "What are the extent of your injuries, miss?"
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:00 am
Shadi laid on the forest ground by a tree wincing ever so often. Soon she heard the sounds of Nikki and someone else approaching. She wondered who her small wolf friend might have found for help. Part of her wanted it to be a familiar face that would protect and comfort her and the other part hoped that it wasn't family member.
Don't get her wrong, she loved her family dearly and she will be the first to admit that she doesn't visit them as often as she should. Shadi knew how much it hurt her mother that her children were all grown up and gone and how her father often spent a lot of time away. Her mother was lonely but her mother and father loved eachother greatly and when they were together she was happy. And her parent had found time to have five children together that was proof on their love for eachother.
The reason that Shadi hoped it wasn't a family member is that she knew they would freak out. If they saw her like this they probably would never let her go out alone again. It is not like this is her first time out alone, she had been on her own for years. She also didn't want to worry her family, she had grown up very protected by her family. Her mother never wanted her to go through the hardships that she said her and her father had gone through.
As the footsteps got closer she was taken out of her train of thought and was brought back to what was going on around her. She turned to try and see who it was and once again winced in pain. She had faith that Nikki would be back someone to help as long as it was Nikki that was approaching... what if it was the kalona again. The only reason she wasn't hurt more was because the kalona had been distracted by something else and choose to go after it instead.. what if it had decided to come back and finish what it started.
What Shadi saw though when she looked over carefully at the voice was infact not the kalona thankfully but it was a stallion. Normally Shadi would have been shy around a stallion and sometimes seem a little akward but at this time she didn't think about it. She took in a soft breath, "I ... think I did something to my hoof.. I can't get up." She said softly. She gestured towards it and winced slightly since moving too much hurt.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 9:57 am
So it wasn't a trap after all. Suspicions laid aside, Gaspard stepped fully into a wash of sunlight, peering down through his bangs at the immobilized mare. Though she seemed to be in a fair amount of pain, what he could discern from a distance seemed to be the extent of her real injuries, though she'd mentioned her leg, and he'd need to get a closer look at it. He was no unicorn, but as long as it wasn't broken...
Stepping forward, crunched a few twigs beneath his hoof as he approached, lowering his head to get a better look at her. Normally he wouldn't have approached a mare so closely to save his life, unless it had been his sister, but this was an entirely different circumstance. Certainly he was out of his element, but that was nothing new when it came to the female sex.
Scanning her leg, he could immediately see the difference between the white foot and her other - it was swollen, and streaked with dirt, almost in the shape of a hoof. He could only guess someone had attacked her, though not with the intent to feed, given she was still in largely one piece and apparently otherwise undisturbed.
He couldn't see any bone, and except for the small cuts along her hide, no blood. To his untrained eye, the leg didn't look broken; it was probably just badly sprained. Though he had no real obligation to the mare, there was really no way Gaspard would have allowed himself to turn around and leave her, and so on the spot, he made up his mind to do his best to care for her.
Glancing back to her face, he said quietly, "It seems that your leg is sprained, but that looks to be the worst of it."
Tail swishing behind him, the only slight indication of his agitation, he added, "We need to get you to a new location with water close by."
Looking to the little wolf, he asked, "Can you find an area with water if I stay with her?"
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