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 Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:34 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:43 pm
"Don't worry, you'll really like him," said Utena to Capriccia as they walked. Akio lived atop a high hilltop, the highest that Utena had ever seen. Sometimes she liked to tease Akio about using the hilltop as a measure of self-importance. Something did seem just a little silly about living in such a grandiose place... and yet it also suited the stallion. "If anyone could live in such a grand place, it'd be Akio," she murmured to herself.
Upon the look that she received Capriccia, Utena gave an awkward laugh. "I'm sorry, I was thinking out loud. I'll be more careful about it." Together they walked forward. The winter chill clung to Utena but she paid it no heed. Her jacket covered her and warmed her... not to mention her thick winter coat of pink fur. She hoped that Capriccia was enjoying their time out. Sometimes it was a little hard to tell. Capriccia was so withdrawn into her shell that Utena tried her best to draw out the kirin mare. She wanted to see Capriccia happy. She wanted to protect her.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:49 pm
Capriccia frowned a little uncertainly when looking up the steep sides of the tall hill in front of them. She didn't understand why anyone would enjoy living up there. It seemed very exposed to her. She imagined standing up there in plain sight of the rest of the world. It wasn't a very pleasant mental image in her mind. Still, she trusted Utena's judgment and knew that her unicorn friend wouldn't take her somewhere without a good reason. She wondered what the stallion they were going to meet would be like. Very charming, from what it sounded like.
"Does he not have a heard?" she found herself asking as they continued. "I find it strange that so many soquili live without one." That feeling of strangeness stemmed from her own residence in a herd. She had never known anything different. She thought of the wise alpha and strong protector of Padmapani herd. Living with her family was a daily torture, but at least she knew she was safe from any outside intruders. A secret part of her wished that she could just spend the day with Utena alone. She felt safe in the unicorn's presence, and sometimes she thought she felt a little more. She didn't want to admit it to herself yet, but Utena was starting to get a little closer than being simply a friend.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:55 pm
Akio emerged from behind a bend in the hillside. The two mares gave little gasps of surprise and he smiled in amusement at the reaction. From his hilltop he had seen them coming from far away. It had been easy to saunter on down to meet them a little closer to the bottom.
"Why hello, ladies," he smoothly intoned. His expression was warm and he could see Utena reacting favorably to it. She turned her face to him like a flower seeking out the sun. His princess. He liked that. The other mare... he looked her over briefly. A kirin. That was a rare breed to see, but Utena had told him about that fact earlier. The colors on the kirin were subtle tones. Aside from her breed, another stallion might find her uninteresting to look at. Akio, on the other hand, found her fascinating.
Her shy reserve, the way that her eyes darted from Utena to him and back... Akio was a very perspective soquili and he noticed these reactions. She was not half so intriguing to him as Utena, but she was a beauty as well.
"I hope that the trip over was pleasantly uneventful," he said after finishing these contemplations.
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 7:01 pm
Akio had long since become a familiar sight to Utena. She stepped forward toward Akio while at the same time looking over her shoulder at the kirin mare. "Akio, this is my friend Capriccia." She smiled between the two of them. "Capriccia, this is my friend Akio."
Akio smiled at Capriccia and they exchanged greetings. Utena watched them happily. Two of her favorite people were finally meeting.
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 7:07 pm
Capriccia gave a little bob of her head at Akio. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The words came out with a polite inflection. Her father had drilled into her the need to be polite, after all. Inwardly she grimaced at the idea of what her father would say about this meeting in general. She knew he didn't like Utena and she doubted he would like Utena's friends either. It was even worse that she was meeting a stallion not from the herd. She wondered if he'd ask her where she had been that day and whether she would have to think of a lie to tell him...
"Utena has told me that you live atop this hilltop," she said politely. "Why is it that you do that? For the view?" Utena had such a lovely friend. Capriccia felt a small stab of jealousy at the thought. What chance did she have in competing for affection with this stallion? Why would Utena ever pay her attention when he was around?
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 7:29 pm
She was definitely a quiet little one. He turned to Capriccia and gave her his full attention for the moment while answering her. Mares enjoyed it when he locked his deep green eyes with theirs. For some mares, just that would be enough to destroy their defenses entirely.
"Why do I live atop the hill?" He looked up at the summit, still a ways upward. From this angle it almost looked like a pedestal with clouds sitting atop it. Beautiful.
"Why, I do it to see the stars." His voice grew slightly wistful at the thought. "The closer you are to the sky the clearer it is. I have heard of buildings that humans have built whose purpose is entirely for the viewing of stars. They call them "observatories" and I consider my hilltop my own observatory. I'd love to show you the way it looks at night some time, if you're interested."
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 7:32 pm
Utena's eyes drifted halfway shut while she listened to Akio talking about the stars. Of all the things he'd talk about, the stars were what he enjoyed speaking of the most. She knew personally just how long he could go on about them. She had come to his observatory one night to stargaze with him. Just like he had said, it had been beautiful. He knew so much about them, too. It seemed like he knew a story about each one.
"You should take him up on that," she told Capriccia with a smile. "It's so beautiful at night. I'll come with you, if you want."
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:36 pm
His eyes were beautiful all right. Capriccia felt something inside her tremble at the regard of them. She didn't talk to many stallions, especially not charming stallions with such piercing gazes. Luckily, she had had a lot of practice keeping herself composed over the years. If she could freeze her face when her father was yelling at her about how worthless she was she could certainly keep calm for Akio. She thought of the difference between Utena's clear blue eyes and this stallion's capturing green ones. She could drift away in Utena's eyes, but she would only drown with the stallion.
"Are we going up to the top of the hill right now?" she asked, still maintaining her quiet reserve. It would be very interesting to see the view from up there even in the day, she imagined.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:49 pm
Akio thought he saw some sort of response to him in Capriccia but it was gone as soon as he had noticed it. What was she up to? Attempting to resist his allure? He was used to that type. Usually they were either the prideful sort or the ones with mates already. They were harder to wear away than the more open ones, but he could do it all the same with a little effort.
He glanced at Utena and back to her friend. "We can go to the top of the observatory hill if you'd like. I'm used to the climb but it can be a bit of a strain on some soquili." He gave a good-natured chuckle that hid the contempt he felt for such creatures. Yes, he had seen fat and weak soquili falter before they reached the top. He always thought that it was terribly tragic that a body could be reduced to such a state. It was one more reason to keep himself in top form.
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Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:45 pm
"Yeah, let's go!" Utena was quick to agree to Akio's suggestion. She smiled on over at Capriccia. "You'll like it at the top of the hill. It feels a little like flying, to be up so high." That's what Utena thought, at least. It was marvelous to stand on top of the world like that with the clouds so close and the wind in her mane. Especially when Akio was there beside her... but those weren't thoughts that Utena was about to let run amok while Capriccia was around.
"Come on, I'll show you the way." Utena set out along the path ahead of Akio and Capriccia. Maybe getting a little ahead of them would give them a chance to get to know each other!
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Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:55 pm
Capriccia followed. She didn't mind heading up to the top of the hill but she wasn't overly pleased about Utena leaving her with the stranger. Akio set his pace to walk along side her and then she had no choice but to endure his company. As she walk she flitted a glance at him and was surprised to see that he was already watching her.
"U-uh yes?" she stammered with surprise and a little embarrassment.
Akio smiled at that, but it wasn't a cruel smile. Instead it was the sort of smile that told Capriccia that he didn't think that she was an idiot even though she sometimes couldn't talk. The way he smiled was like... he respected her. The inner tremble started again. What was it about that stallion that put her off her guard?
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Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:02 pm
As Akio walked he admired the mare that was keeping pace beside him. Utena was lovely enough but she also seemed to keep quite charming company. Was she a "princess" for Utena to guard as a prince? That had to be it. Akio could much more easily imagine Utena keeping company with stallions and joining them in their rough games than having time for the mutterings of a group of mares. That had to be it. Capriccia was the princess that Utena was protecting. How charming.
"I was just thinking that you remind me of the constellation and myth of Andromeda," he said to the kirin while they walked. "She was chained to a rock to be devoured by a monster, yet was a complete innocent herself." Capriccia seemed a little confused, so he continued. "You have a look about you like you're waiting to be devoured. I just wanted to tell you not to worry. Andromeda was saved by the dashing Perseus. I'm certain that your Perseus is closer than you might think."
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 5:12 pm
Utena smiled. It seemed like her plan was working! They were talking already and she knew personally how quickly talking with Akio led to liking Akio. She hadn't ever seen him be disagreeable with another soquili. He didn't even speak badly of other soquili. It was nice to have found someone who really was a good person.
The pebbles beneath her cloven hooves rattled slightly with each step. On beautiful days like this, the sights and sounds of a day easily blended together. She enjoyed the mixture of the sound of the pebbles and the birds around her. Peace began to settle over her. There was nothing like visiting old friends and helping others to make new ones.
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Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 6:18 pm
Capriccia drew in a soft breath. Andromeda? She was waiting to be devoured by a monster? Something in those words spoke deeply to her and she knew they were correct. Waiting for a monster. She knew exactly who that monster was. She could picture his speckled face and his feathered tail clearly in her mind. The monster was her father. Who was Perseus, then? Who was her prince? Utena walked in front of her and Akio walked beside. She glanced between the two of them, but it was Akio who was looking back at her.
"How did Perseus save her?" she asked quietly. "Were either of them hurt?" Was it possible to escape from a monster without being scathed in the process? Capriccia needed to know.
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