It was a beautiful spring day - there was a slight breeze and sunlight was filtering in through the space between the leaves that hang above. Zuriel was out and about, frolicking around the clearing in front of his home. His mum was out but his dad was inside, probably having his 'quiet time' while his brother was... The colt paused, blinking as he looked around; wait, where is his brother? He sighed softly to himself; Darius always had the habit of disappearing somewhere! However, his attention was soon caught by a passing butterfly, its coloring wings looked almost luminous in the sunlight. He quickly perked up, eyes lighting up as he chased it around the clearing, trying not to be too loud; it would be bad to disturb his dad!
"Come here, little butterfly," He whispered in English, his tail swaying to and fro gently as his eyes followed the insect... And as if it understood, the butterfly landed on his nose before folding its wings, resting contentedly.
Miyako trotted through the forest, foraging for berries and other niblets. As she got further along, she realized this was close to where she'd met the strange speaking stallion a few days before. Idly, she wondered if he was around again, interested in speaking with him and perhaps meeting his family.
Pausing a moment at the sound of an unfamiliar tongue, Miyako thought it might be Deus and trotted in that direction, only to find a foal with a butterfly on his nose. Well, this was interesting.
He stared so hard at the butterfly that his eyes were crossed it was giving him a bit of a headache. He shook his head, causing the butterfly to flutter off quickly. Although saddened at its departure, Zuriel smiled at the fact that his headache was now gone. As he turned around to head back into the cave to see if dad was done with his 'quiet time', he noticed a mare standing at the side. She was roughly the size of her mum, so he figured that they were both of the same species.
Hello there!" He called out in Kawani as he smiled, but quickly looked alarmed as he turned to look at the entrance to the cave, his home. He paused for a few seconds before letting out a soft sigh of relief - for a moment there, he thought that he had disturbed him. He regained his smile and trotted towards the stranger before he spoke in a low whisper, "I'm Zuriel! What's your name?"
"I'm Miyako," the mare answered, looking down at the little colt. She tilted her head a bit, knowing this little one had spoken the strange Dues talk earlier. "Do you know a stallion named Dues? I'm his friend." Was that too assuming? Well, close enough. They'd been friendly, anyway.
"Mi-ya-ko, Miyako..." The colt echoed; speaking out loud had always helped him to remember better; then again, his parents had always said that he had an exceptional memory for his age. He nodded at hearing the name, grinning as he replied proudly, "Deusdedit! He's my dad!" He gestured towards the cave with a nod before conbtinuing, "But he's busy now... He's having his quiet time with God!"
"Oh, that's right.. Dues-did-it is really spiritual. You share that with him?" Miyako asked conversationally, resting her hindquarters down on the ground. She looked at the cave the colt mentioned. "I didn't realize you lived so close by."
"Spiritual? What does that mean?" He blinked, looking a little confused but still with a small smile on his lips; he had never heard that term before. He then giggled at her comment before following her and flopping down on the ground, "Yes! That we do! We moved here from another place though... I like this place more because its bigger and close to the lake!" He nodded towards the direction of the lake; he was not allowed to go by himself, but he enjoyed the days where his parents would bring him and his brother down.
"I live on the other side of the lake," Miyako said, gesturing back with her nose. She looked down at the little colt again. "Spiritual is when you have a close connection with nature and the Great Spirit. I think Dues calls him God."
"The other side! Wow, I've never been there before!" Zuriel's eyes widened as he smiled happily, glad that there was someone around to talk to while the rest of his family was busy. He listened intentively, nodding once in a while to show that he understood, "Oh, I see! Yes, I love God like my dad... But I haven't started to feel Him, unlike my dad..." He paused, his face fell; why couldn't he anyway? But he quickly regained his smile, "But dad did say that I'm still too young!"
"It will come with age," Miyako said, reaching a fore hoof out to pat the colt's head. "But remember, with great power comes great responsibility. A spider told me that once." Her brow furrowed. "I think. Might have been those funny mushrooms."
Zuriel squirmed a little at the pat, but giggled after, "A spider did? Really? Is that possible?" He didn't know what to believe; he tried talking to various animals before, in both Kawani and English, and most of them either ignored him or ran away... Although if they could understand each other, it might explain why the butter came and landed on his nose when he asked for it just now.
Miyako had just been kidding the little colt, but she had forgotten how impressionable foals could be. "Sometimes you just have to speak their language. You don't exactly go up to a dolphin and say hello, right? It's more like . . . eeeee eeeee EEEEeeeee!" She grinned at the colt.
Zuriel became a giggling ball of fur at the weird sound Miyako had been making, Then, as his laughter faded away, he realized that his dad was probably still having his quiet time and quickly proceeded to whispered, "Shhhh! Dad might hear us!" However, remembering the funny sound, he giggled again, "But what is a... Dol- Dolphin?"
"It's like a fish, but they breath air instead of water," Miyako explained. "I never seen one, but there is a mer that lives close by and he told me of them."
"A fish that breathes air? How interesting!" Zuriel replied excitedly as he edged forward a little, "Does it live in the lake and rivers?" He had never travelled beyond the lake, but there must be even more wonders out there! He can't wait till he's old enough to travel on his own! The colt then paused, remembering a question he had that he forgot to mention, "If you spoke to a spider... How does it sound like?"
"I think they mostly live in the big waters, but my friend said a few live in rivers," the mare said, warming up to the colt. She faltered a bit at his other question, trying to come up with a suitable answer to satisfy Zuriel's curiosity. Lie, Miyako! Lie! "Um.. I think it was something like..." She made a series of whispery noises. "Yes, I think that was it. It was a long time ago and I had eaten funny mushrooms... that is, I mean, I had a tummy ache when I talked to the spider, so I don't remember the conversation too well."
"Oh! I'll have to ask dad about them," He grinned, happy to hear that these air-breathing fishes might live in lakes too. He blinked at her, looking fascinated as he spoke, "Wow... That explains why I've never heard one before! Its so soft and I can't hear what they're saying properly!" Zuriel giggled as he flicked his tail, "Do you think all insects speak the same way?"
"I don't know. I've only ever talked to a spider before. I don't think spiders are insects. They got too many legs," Miyako said, crossing her eyes a bit in thought. "Bees definitely sound different, though. Like . . . bzzzzt. Right?"
"Oh! That's true... Insects have 6 and spiders have more!" Zuriel nodded in agreement, feeling rather amazed; he hadn't realized it before, but now that he had, it was an amazing discovery! He then nodded again, "They're noisy, unlike butterflies... And I heard that bees can be dangerous too!"
"Yes, you have to be careful around them or they'll sting you," Miyako warned, nodding. "If your father is having God time, where is your mother? Don't you have a sibling?"
"Sting... Me...?" Zuriel echoed with a confused expression, wondering how they do it; there are more bees around nowadays, especially around flowers. If they're dangerous though, he might have to be careful around them. He brightened up quickly at the mention of his family, "Mum is out walking and Darius, my older brother, is... Somewhere. He hardly listens! Dad told us to stay put!" He pouted slightly before letting out a soft sigh, "But he'll be back, he always comes back before mum does."
"You're very well behaved, then, to do as your dad tells you." Miyako gave the colt another gentle hoof-pat to the head. "Your mom won't be worried to see a stranger here?"
"Thank you!" Zuriel beamed and giggled at the pat; it felt both nice and weird. At the question, he paused before shaking his head, "Well... You're dad's friend, so I think not! You could always tell her that!" He nodded, more to himself than at Miyako, "And mum's nice... She'll be okay with it for sure!"
"Well, if you're sure," Miyako said, tilting her head a bit. "Maybe I should stick around till one of your parents shows up so you're not on your own out here."
"Well-" He paused as a yawn escaped from his lips; he giggled, "Well, I was thinking I should go back in and take a nap... Dad's quiet time should end soon, anyway." He nodded towards the cave before scrambling up on all fours, giving the mare a grin, "But please do come again! I think mum and brother would like to meet you too! Wait till I tell them about dolphins and speaking to spiders!"
"Alright. I'll come visit again soon. Hopefully next time your family will be around to talk with, too," Miyako said, standing up and shaking the dust off. "Till then, true believer." She trotted back off into the forest like a really colorful ninja, headed to her side of the lake.
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