|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:10 pm
 Wait, come back! she thought to herself as she chased determinedly after a small white butterfly. The young filly had been following the insect for quite a while now, and in her resolve had failed to notice that she was no longer anywhere near their home.
It was only as the chase lead across the border from forest to beach that Chococo even realized her mistake. Butterfly quickly forgotten, she glanced about nervously, trying to figure out where exactly she was. "... Mom? ... Dad? ... Anyone?" She tried to stay calm, but her quivering wings gave away her true fear. How was she supposed to get back home?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:49 pm
 It had been about half a day since hitting the beach. The land beneath him had gotten progressively harder to travel on. Something inside of him was sure this was a familiar annoyance, but he couldn't quite recall it. Regardless, he continued his slow progression through the sand, keeping just out of reach of the waves and mushy slop. Maybe he really did enjoy the feel of the sun's warmth against his cold skin and the heated sand swelling up against his ankles.
And yet, with just a little more walking, he was beginning to feel fatigued, old muscles complaining against the labor. He began to push back up the beach towards the familiarity of the trees. It would be best to keep to firm ground for a bit as he recovered.
Close to the treeline, something appeared, ambling carelessly into the open. He quirked a brow and stopped, watching the small thing for a moment. The de-socialized part of him said move on, but his hooves remained planted. There was a sick feeling in his stomach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 1:14 pm
Chococo honestly didn't know what to do. She could go back into the forest and try to back-track the way she came, but she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going at all. A part of her wanted to try searching the skies, but she was still far too young to fly. Her wings couldn't do much besides move the air a bit at this point. Still trembling, the filly let out a small whine as she looked back and forth between the forest and the beach. What if they never find me? What if I'm stuck out here all alone?
It was several minutes before the distressed filly even noticed the nearby stallion's presence. Letting out a tiny 'eep' of surprise, she backed up into a tree and looked him over half curious and half wary. Chococo had never before met anyone outside of her family, and this stranger was certainly very different from them. Could he possibly help her, or would he somehow be a danger? The filly whined again and attempted to cover herself with her wings, just wanting this bad dream to end already.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 1:34 pm
The foal's condition certainly wasn't bettering. Something inside of him had wished she would turn tail and head back into the trees, or begin playing in the sand, or, ideally, be followed by some sort of adult so he could slip unnoticed into the trees and be on his way. When none of those visions came true, he let out a harried breath. Immediately after, she seemed to wise up to his presence. He wondered if it was foolish to have made a sound at all.
Nguyen finally unstuck when she was frightened back, but didn't run. Again, he found himself wishing she had bolted rather than cowering. It made the sick feeling in his stomach deepen. He took a step forward. "What are you doing here?" he questioned, voice low and strangely harsh. With so many years alone, he was unused to talking to anyone but himself and the occasional Diu illusion. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:02 pm
The filly cringed at the harshness of his voice and pressed closer to the ground in an attempt to make herself smaller. "L-lost," she replied meekly, emerald green eyes barely peeking up at him. Perhaps this stranger really wouldn't be of any help after all. Was he dangerous though? Hopefully not, but if he was then she was in even further trouble. "I-I don't know where home..." The quivering bundle was a truly pathetic sight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:13 pm
It was as he was beginning to expect. Lost. Walk away, that inner self told him. Leave her be, you don't want to get involved. Getting involved always meant the possibility for pain. He had learned that the hard way. Or rather, he had been burned once and isolated himself to prevent another. In truth, he had probably missed quite a few good experiences and was worse for it.
"Lost..." he finally muttered out loud. He couldn't do it. For all his shortcomings, it was too difficult to leave a foal like that. She couldn't defend herself. It was too hard to think that he would be able to protect someone again. Lifting his head, he glanced in the direction she had come from, trying to ignore quivering. "You live in the forest...?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:03 pm
Chococo nodded silently in response to his question. Since he didn't seem to be trying to attack her, the filly started to relax just the slightest bit. That didn't mean that she wasn't still upset though. "You... not from here?" she remarked, half asking and half stating. He certainly didn't appear to be from these parts, but then again she was too young to really know for sure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:36 pm
The old stallion narrowed an eye, observing her still. At least she seemed to be calming a little bit. "No, I am not from around here." At least she was observant, considering the age she seemed to be. That, he found himself hoping, would be enough to help her protect herself. That was really all one could expect in life. "I am from the moun-" he paused in hesitation, his stance wavering slightly. It had been too long. He could no longer call the mountains his homeland with complete conviction. "I am from the marshes," he told her slowly, head lowering. That was where he had been living for a long time, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:02 am
"Mar..shes?" she inquired, tilting her head slightly at the word. What were marshes? And why did the stranger seem so sad all of the sudden? She made a mental note to herself to avoid going to these 'marshes'. Slowly rising back up to her feet, the little filly shook some of the dirt out of her fur before looking back up at the stallion with curious green eyes. "My name Chococo. What yours?" The young Airin had a habit of talking fairly quietly- when she even spoke at all that was. She generally preferred to stay silent and watch, but in this situation it couldn't be much helped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 5:58 pm
There was a silence on his part as he allowed her to right herself. However, it was more his inability to think of something to say than anything else. It was already beginning to feel awkward on his part. It had been a long time since he'd interacted with anything so small and... He had to look away momentarily when her eyes stared up at him. "You should learn to speak louder if you want someone to hear you." he told her, sounding a bit harsh again. It had been his immediate reaction to her nonthreatening voice and he tried not to regret it. "I am Nguyen," he then answered quickly before jumping subjects. "Where are your parents?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:23 pm
"Um... home?" she replied uncertainly, trying to speak a touch louder. Of course, if she knew where that was then she wouldn't be lost now, would she. "Or... maybe look for me." A small pang went through Chococo as she thought about how worried they must be at her absence. Usually it was her brother Balint who did this sort of thing. Glancing back up at the stranger, it dawned on her that he too was alone. "Nguyen alone. You lost too?" So used to always being with her family, the thought of traveling by oneself seemed strange to the filly. Perhaps then he was like her and had been separated from those he knew.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:51 am
It would be best if they were looking for her. And at the same time, he didn't want them to find her now. He wanted them to wait until he could slip back into the brush unseen, watching silently just to make sure they made it all the way to her. Nguyen didn't like the idea of interacting with Chococo's parents. He didn't want to, although he did feel a little childish thinking so. Shutting his eyes, he sighed lightly as if thinking hard on what to do next. But her words pulled him back. "I am not lost." he told her, his own voice dropping to the low tone he had chastised. He wasn't, right? Not literally, anyway. "I am merely alone."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:20 am
Chococo cocked her head at his answer, not fully understanding it. "Not lost... but still alone?" she questioned, trying to wrap her head around it. If he was alone then that meant he was separated from his family, but he claimed not to be lost. Did that mean that he had wandered away from them on purpose? No, if it was intentional then he wouldn't look and sound so sad... She didn't get it. "I... don't understand," she said quietly, ashamed with this admission.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:34 am
Slowly, he sucked a breath through his nose. He hadn't expected her to get it right away. A filly so young had certainly not wandered far from her family before this, he thought. Maybe when she reached adulthood she would understand that many things existed outside of the comfort of home. He had no idea that she was part of such a tight-knit unit. It was something he had hoped to have at one point. It just hadn't turned out that way. "It's alright," he told her, voice rising again. "It just means that I know where I am going." He bowed his head to her. "But you don't have to be with others to know where you are going. That is the difference between being lost and being alone."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:14 pm
"Ah... ok." Perhaps she had misread his sadness. She was still quite young after all. "Where is your-" The young filly cut off mid-sentence, ears perking up at the sound of a familiar voice calling her name. "Jii?" she said to herself in surprise before happily calling out, "Jiyuu!" Of course, he still may not have heard her considering that her "loud" voice was how everyone else normally spoke.
She turned her attention back up to Nguyen and for a moment looked uncertain. If she were to run back into the woods after her brother, there was a chance that she could get lost again in the process. Also, if she were to leave then the light colored stallion would be all alone again. That thought made her a bit sad. "... You come with?" she asked tentatively, unsure of how he might respond to such a request.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
