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 Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:00 pm
 Frenzy's long trek was finally coming to an end. She'd stopped to make sure her young ones' sacs were carefully placed, high enough that they wouldn't be eaten by crocodiles and carefully protected from a fall by nets of branches woven under them, then continued her journey south. And now, finally, she emerged from the edges of the swamp, to find -- sand. Sand, and water, as far as she could see. She breathed in deeply, tasting salt in the air, and bared her teeth in a victorious snarl. She would prove to the doe with the pale eyes that she was the best, that she was worthy of the coast. With her resolve hardened, she set off, down the coastline, in search of her.
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Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:17 pm
Bitterleaf has been making daily patrols along the shore, waiting to see if any knock-kneed colts and fillies with tell-tale glowing markings or vibrant blue coats have yet emerged from the treeline. So far, none have. So it is with a leisurely pace she has sauntered down so far, by herself for once--Jasper left back at the tidepools with the others--and she is exploring a clump of tall yellow grass in the sand for any potential tasty nibbles. So far exploring, in fact, that only her hind end is really very visible, complete with idly swinging tail.
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Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:36 pm
As she heads down the coastline, Frenzy spots a very familiar-looking tail. For most of her young life, she's been alone, and her encounter with the pale-eyed doe is one of the sharpest and clearest memories of her life.
At first, she opens her mouth, as if to call out -- then thinks better. With a glint of mischief in her eyes, she creeps forward, then leans out and bites that tail. Not hard -- not as hard as she had, while young -- but enough to be a reminder. Just like that, she lets go and dances back, eyes alight with anticipation.
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Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:48 pm
Just like it had been in the thick of the swamp, Bitterleaf's reaction is swift and collected. She wheels with her teeth bared, but is abruptly brought to heel by that familiar face--the expression, she notes, has not changed much. The hesitation lasts for just a moment before, just as she had so long ago, she retaliates with a bite on the ear. "A bite for a bite," she says sternly. It is the closest Bitterleaf has come in a very long time to being playful.
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Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:57 pm
Frenzy watches as Bitterleaf wheels about and bares her teeth. At the bite, she laughs, the fierce, rich sound rolling over the sands, and flicks the bitten ear. She is wiser, now, and knows when to pick her fights, and when to let it go. "I expected no less." This doe is possibly the closest thing Frenzy has to a mother figure -- the one who gave her a purpose, a goal to work towards. And yet... "I never did ask your name."
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:14 pm
"Bitterleaf," says the doe. It is somehow fitting: that plant at the center of so many rituals; the leaf that brings the visions. It suits her, somehow, this charismatic creature. "You have come to stake your claim here, then?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 12:39 pm
"Of course. I told you that I would, when I was the best." Frenzy's tail flicks lazily from side to side.
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 5:31 pm
"It is unwise to deal in superlatives," she chides, "especially at your age. It is wiser, if more difficult, to deal in facts. How far have you traveled?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 6:41 pm
Frenzy almost looks embarrassed, but that's swept away neatly. "I have been to the north, to the edge of the swamp, where I found this one." She shrugs her shoulders, indicating the watersnake wrapped around them. "Then I came south to find the coast."
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:21 pm
"So you have traveled far. Perhaps you will be dismayed when I tell you that to stay here you must make that entire trip again, with me to set the pace." She cranes her neck to eye Frenzy over the length of her nose, one eye shielded in the tangled mane.
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:04 pm
Frenzy bared teeth when she smiled. "I look forward to it." As a growing filly, she'd remembered Bitterleaf's words, about the trial and about the bounty of the coast, turning them over so many times in her head that they'd become as polished as water-worn stones.
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Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 5:38 pm
"Then perhaps you will be even more buoyed to learn that I won't be accompanying you," she answers flatly, resuming her search through the scrubby yellow brush for--who knows what?
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Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 8:06 pm
"Will you not set the pace, then?" Frenzy follows, staying at a safe distance.
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Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 6:07 pm
"I have business to attend to," Bitterleaf answers. She doesn't elaborate, but had she felt the need to divulge, she would have told Frenzy about the knock-kneed, teal-coated filly she'd seen bleating forlornly but resolutely in the brush days prior. "My son, Jasper, will be going with you. He is dull company," she adds, terribly ungraciously, "but he is a much hardier creature than most, and you may find the journey hard-going with him to set the speed."
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:59 pm
Frenzy doesn't question. It's not often that she finds a kimeti she will acknowledge as stronger than her -- and Bitterleaf's strength is reason enough for her to listen and obey. Her none-too-kind description of her own son got little more than a slight curl of Frenzy's lip. She wasn't going along to socialize.
"I will keep up." It's not a question of whether she can; she's already made up her mind, and her body will obey her.
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