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It had only been a week since she felt she was too big for the basket she had been sleeping in and pushed the lid open. When she was inside the dark, warm cocoon that was her basket, the filly felt safe and secure. So, as she stood inside that very same cocoon, staring at the big, bright (and rather cold) outside world, Fleurite found herself wishing she had never opened that lid. She shivered at the cold winds, her eyes hurt as it was so bright and well... She felt so vulnerable! However, her mother's voice and touch had warmth that the basket could not provide. From that point on, the filly decided that maybe the outside world was not that bad after all.
Then, there are days when she felt brave enough to leave her mother's side and go exploring; today was one of those days. Cautiously ducking underlow branches and carefully leaping over fallen tree logs, Fleurite found herself enjoying the sights, sounds and smells the outside world had to offer. Before long, she realized that she had wandered too far from her mother and siblings and that it was time for her to head back. However, as she tried to retrace her steps, it dawned on her that she was lost.
"Mother!" The filly cried out in desperation, hoping that maybe her family was nearby. Tears sprung to her eyes as her heart sped up; what if she never saw them again? At the thought, Fleurite cried out again, her voice shaky as she choked on her own tears, "Mother?"
On one of her normal walks through still un familliar territory she was beginning to familurize herself with the new lands she'd come to make a home in. She eyes scanned the area taking note of what she passed and where certian plants seemed to grow. She'd decided to stay in the new lands after meeting a pecular mare who thought she was a cat and help the mare to rais her little Kitten as the other mare had reffed to it as. With an inward chuckle she was already trying to remember the verbal directions to the other mare's den.
Her ears perked and swivvled upon her head as her feet came to a stop at the sound of a young one who seemed to be lost. Looking around she waited for the second call of 'Mother' before she headed in the direction of the call. She wondered if perhaps this could be the little neice or nephew she now had as roll as an adopted auntie.
"Mother..." Fleurite sniffed, her heart sinking as she stopped moving due to lack of motivation; she felt so helpless and lost. Although she knew that her mother would surely come look for her eventually, she couldn't help but imagine the worst case senerios in her head; what if she got eaten by one of those scary Soquilis her mother warned her about or what if she was never found or what if she fell into a ditch and hurt herself or what if- The sound of approaching hoofsteps pulled her back into reality and she froze, her ears turning to where the sound was coming from.
What if its her mother?
She opened her mouth to call 'mother', but quickly closed it as she decided not to; wouldn't her mother be calling her name to catch her attention? Besides, she could not see who was making the sound... It was a risk, after all! What if it was one of those scary Soquili? Wouldn't her life be in danger if she made a noise? As quietly as she could, the filly pressed her body against the truck of the nearest tree, hoping that the passerby would walk past her.
"Hello?" Her voice was calm and sweet like a summer breeze with an undertone of gentle serenity. As she made her way closer she had a thought of a poor helpless foal hurt and lost and maybe even hungry. Soon she was where she had thought she heard the voice come from. Her eyes were slowly scanning the area. "Anyone hurt or lost? It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." She pushed through some bushes, her tail stopping her abruptly getting caught and tangled. With a heavy sigh, she looked around again.. it seemed now she needed to be rescued.
The filly peeked out from her hiding place as she tried to take a peek at the passerby; it was a mare with a long mane and a long tail whose soft, warm colors contrasted against her own darker, duller tones. Her eyes soon shifted to the stranger's tail and it didn't take her too long to figure out that it was stuck; with a long mane and tail like that, Fleurite wondered how she kept it untangled most of the time anyway. Feeling inclined to help this stranger, the filly stepped out of her hiding place before approaching the mare cautiously - you can never be too careful!
"He-Hello..." She replied softly, blushing a little as she bowed her head, "Do... Do you need help?"
She couldn't help but to giggle at her own predicament. here she was trying to help some one else and she had a cluts moment of getting stuck herself. "Yes, it would seem my Tail has gotten rather.. snagged." She gave the skittish looking filly a warm smile. "I promise I won't eat you, I'm a grazer not a killer. " She let out a rather catchy chuckle that warmed her eyes.
Fleurite relaxed just a little, still weary of the stranger but aware of the fact that the mare was rather friendly. Returning the mare's smile with one of her own, she trotted to where her long tail was stuck. She spent a minute staring and frowning at the labyrinth of tail, leaves and branches before actually getting to work. As gently as she could, she separated the bush from the tail, breaking parts of the branches that refused to let go of the mare's tail - it was hard work, especially since not much light could reach the forest floor, but eventually, the filly did it.
"Done! Try moving away now," She smiled victoriously, blushing at the mare, "Don't get stuck again!"
"Oh, um, you're welcome," The filly smiled politely, feeling a little embarressed; she didn't do much, after all. At the mare's introduction, she hesitated; although her mother had told her not to give her names out to strangers, this one seemed rather nice... Maybe it'll be fine? Giving a nod, "I'm Fleurite but everyone calls me Fleur. Its um, nice to meet you."
All the excitement made her forget that she was lost in unfamiliar territory, but when Sho mentioned the 'lost little one', tears sprung to her eyes again as the fear she felt a moment ago returned. She quickly bowed her head in an attempt to hide the tears, but her voice gave away the fact that she was crying, "Oh... I'm- I'm lost... And I- I-" She sniffed, trying to regain her composure. Unable to do so, the filly kept silent before letting out a soft, "Could you help me?"
"Mother said it does mean flower," She muttered, as if trying to change the topic could help her hold back her tears; there was no use crying but she just can't help it! Seeing Sho at her eye level calmed her down somewhat, and she frowned, "Father? Um, well, that's not my mother's name... But, um... She was at a forest clearing and I'm sure that on my way here, I saw the river but didn't cross it. I can't find the river..." Her eyes became watery again as they threatened to fall; it was the first time she was away from her mother for such a long time! What if she got worried?
Thinking, she looked around before raising her nose to the air and breathing in deeply for a moment. Closing her eyes she thought some. This place smelled slightly more familiar to her than where she had been headed. finally it came to her.. she knew what direction they were from the rivver. "The river's still slightly behind you" She lowered her head back down to look at Fleur once more.
She knows where the river is? That would be really helpful! The filly brightened up a little, giving a sniff before she replied after a short pause, her spirits rising a little at the prospect of seeing her little family again, "I think... I think if you bring me to it, I can find my way back... Could you, please?" She gave a small but hopeful smile.
Giving a nod she smiled warmly. "Sure. It's won't be long before you can smell where things are yourself though.. especially if you continue to explore like this. Just make sure you keep a better eye on where's you been." She grinned in an almost foal like way and set off int he direction she'd smelt the river watter coming from. the lake was still a ways away she knew for a fact so she wasn't too concerned about mistaking the lake for a river. She stopped for a moment and glanced back to make sure the filly didn't get too far behind or lost once again before continueing forward.
It wasn't long before her ears picked up the fain sound of the river in the distance. She gave a rather joyful giggle and stopped waiting for fleur to catch up to her. "Just ahead is the river, can you hear it?"
"Smell... Smell the river?" Fleurite replied, looking rather confused at the newly acquired information as she followed behind Sho, trotting to catch up with her. It had only been a short one week and she was still getting used to the different smells of the outside world... What does the river smell like? She didn't really take notice of it, but maybe it was time to do that. She returned the mare's grin with a soft smile of her own, "Well... I'll keep that in mind..."
When Sho stopped, Fleurite halted as well; at the mare's comment, the filly wiggled her wings before trying to concentrate... Her eyes flung open in amazement and she grinned, "Yes! Yes I can!" She didn't know that by using all her senses, she would be able to find her way around... What a discovery!
Sho smiled and nodded. "Your sences can come in quite handy, Fleur." She couldn't help but to chuckle some. It reminded her vaguely of something but she just couldn't remember what it was. With an inward shrug, she looked back to the direction of the river. "Now close your eyes and breath in deeply through your nose.. hold it for a moment to consentrate on what you smell and then let it out. after you do let me know what you smell."
"I never knew that," The filly smiled a little, glad that she was learning important skills, even if she had to get lost to do it. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply - at first, she could only smell the damp earth and rotten material in the undergrowth, but then, she smelt something that she had never smelt before. The edges of her lips twitched upwards as she spoke, "Its very refreshing, and different from the rest of the smell. However, its not that obvioous..." She opened her eyes and exhaled, looking up at Sho expectedly.
"Was that the river?" She questioned with a slight blush, "I never knew water had a smell..."
Sho nodded. "It's a rather subtle smell.. though stagnent watter will have a foul odor so be careful of it.. drinking foul smelling water will make you sick." She smiled and walked slowly forward. "There are many things that have a smell that you wouldn't think would.. It's just apart of learning and focusing on that object's smell. Take mushrooms," She stopped and pointed out a cluster of mushroom with her nose. "They have a rather musty earthy smell. and while some are tasty, some are also poisonous."
"Foul? Like rotting leaves?" She made a face at the thought, as if she had just eaten something bitter, "Sick? What's that?" She frowned a little and turned to look at the mushrooms; mother had allowed her to eat some during their travels, and although it doesn't taste as sweet as clovers or fruits, it was still rather nice for a change. She blinked at Sho, "How do you tell the difference using smell? I know that I shouldn't eat brightly colored mushrooms though..."
"I've always been told the colors where the way to decipher mushrooms.. I rather never tempted to sniff out the bad mushrooms." She couldn't help but to chuckle some. Although she had learned quite a bit on her own, she did remember being warned of the brightly colored mushrooms. "Sick.. well it's when you feel not up to par.. like something in your body just isn't like it should be... " She thought some trying to make the discription of being sick not so complicated. " And by foul smelling I mean something that smells stinky.. like all the animals have used the area as a place to releive themselves.. or another sign would be if you see a corpse or two around the water source...."
As she listened carefully to what Sho was saying, she felt more knowledgable about the outside world. Sight, smell and hearing - she had learnt so much about these senses today! The filly smiled to herself, feeling rather proud of herself; she must share it with the rest of her family... Speaking of which, she had better head back before her mother gets too worried about her. Turning to Sho, Fleurite blushed before offering the mare a smile, "Thank you for today, Sho." She leaned in, giving the mare a nuzzle, something she knew her own mother does to her as a sign of affection, "But I have to go home now, before mother gets worried and come look for me."
She started to walk towards the river and everything became clearer; she knew her way home from here. Looking back, she smiled again at the mare, "Maybe... Maybe I'll see you again someday?"
Sho nodded and smiled in return. "No problem." When the filly nuzzled her she blinked and smiled even more. before watching her leave. "Take care Fleur, try not to get lost again and maybe we will see eachother some day." She gave one more smile before turning and heading back into the forest to continue her search for the den.
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