|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:59 am
She was so close!
The young mare couldn't help but stand over her creation with a pride that was usually reserved for proud mothers. Her invention had come to life and with the help of her trusted companions, it even looked exactly like the blueprints she had developed. These were, without a doubt, a very impressive set of wings and even as they lay flat on the ground they had a unique beauty to them. No regular set of wings could ever achieve such a feat, but then again, most regular wings weren't constructed from twigs, vines and a variety of other materials. Well, the wings she had encountered during her research had never been made of such things...
With a delighted smile fixed on her lips, it wasn't long before the mare was in position and was systematically instructing each of her assistants on what to do. The strongest of the birds and animals had begun to lift the wings into the air, carefully positioning them onto her back, while the smaller ones were waiting. From there, the smaller of the creatures would be required to strap and secure said wings in to position so that they could be put to the test.
That's right, Zucutto Sohalia was going to fly.
Or rather, she was going to try to.
According to her calculations the wings were of a sufficient size to support her, so if she got a good run up she should be able to take flight once she had jumped from the ledge. However, just to be safe the pale mare had taken measures to position her testing grounds over a small but relatively deep lake. If for some reason, her wings didn't work as intended, then she would fall into an icy pool of water as opposed to her doom. She couldn't help but quiver in excitement at this, all her work was about to pay off and she was about to go down in history!
"Are we almost ready?" she asked with a slight twist of her head to examine all the critters, though they all seemed to be thoroughly distracted and hard at work.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:11 am
Mmmm… So engrossed was the colt in blissfully stuffing his muzzle that he didn’t hear the buzzing sound until it was too late. Plum colored ears swiveled forward and dark eyes opened to reveal a big fat bumble bee sitting there on the tip of his nose.
The colt yelped and jerked his head up and out of the grass, his legs locking and his body going rigid as he did so. The bumble buzzed away harmlessly, but the colt remained, his little nose trembling slightly. He snorted and went to lower his head back down into the dense grass, but the spell had been broken and for the first time, the foal realized how quiet the forest had gone around him.
Then, to his right he heard a ruckus, just through those bushes and over the rise.
A dark, fuzzy little tail swished back and forth a few times as its owner carefully considered investigating. He had a healthy sense of self-preservation gained from the many cautionary tales his parents and sister told, but even this couldn’t override his childlike curiosity and, with ears perked and tail flagged, he boldly trotted forward.
When he crested the rise, the colt, Dean was his name, was amazed by what he saw; a young mare with wings!
Dean had seen wings on others before, but nothing like this. Those other wings were feathered like a bird’s and sprouted naturally, but these appeared to be made of various bit and pieces from the forest and attached to the mare with vines. The colt was struck dumb with amazement, “Whoa…” he whispered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:41 am
There was very little that got passed the adolescent mare and the moment Dean opened his mouth and echoed those fated words, her head swung round. Almost immediately her gaze fell on him and then she lifted a brow in amusement; she never got tired of how others reacted to her inventions. They were either incredibly impressed or absolutely horrified, often accusing her of some form of insanity and recklessness. Alas, she'd gotten used to that when she was a filly and as a result she was immune to it now - now it was just a source of entertainment for her.
However, Dean had arrived at a rather key moment and before he had a chance to flee in horror, she made a pre-emptive strike. Shifting her weight as directed by her assistants, she kept her eyes fixed on him and then nodded towards him to indicated she had seen him. If that wasn't enough, her rather abrupt form of address and method of introduction would certainly make that clear.
"You!" she called out with an impish grin. "Yes you, the one with the black hair and painted face," she paused and canted her head to the side. Her brow rose a little more and then she afforded more time to speak. She would put her faith in him and assume he was smart enough not to think there was anyone behind him, beside him or above him that she might be addressing. If he did lack that much intelligence then she would worry about him.
...Well, sort of.
She didn't worry about much if she was honest.
"See that fine to your right," she motioned again with her head and chuckled, "Could you go and grab that for me? We need another one to make these wings nice and tight and that'll do well," she allowed her request to sink in after this, and only spoke again to offer a brief bit of advice. "You'll have to tug pretty hard on it though, vines can be awkward to get off the branches if you didn't know that already!"
"Now chop, chop - I have a schedule to stick to, we're about to change the world here!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 11:15 am
Dean’s ears perked and his little legs locked in surprise when the mare spotted him and addressed him without so much as a “How do you do?” Her direct and almost familiar manner made it seem as though she was talking to someone she knew rather than Dean, but then, Dean was the only one hereabouts with black hair and a “painted face” and she was looking right at him, so he resisted the strong urge to look over his shoulder for someone else.
A bit taken aback by the mare’s manner, but willing and eager to help as always, the colt trotted over to the indicated vine, grabbed it with his teeth and gave it a good tug. It didn’t budge. He frowned; unlike this rather unusual mare, Dean didn’t make a habit of going around and pulling vines off of trees and so was unaware of the intricacies of vine-gathering. Digging his sharp hooves into the dirt and leaning his slight little body back, he pulled harder. It still didn’t move. The colt’s eyes narrowed in determination and his gaze followed the vine up the branch. He noticed it was caught on a bit of wood further up near the trunk. Maybe if he moved to the side a little, it would come loose… The foal shifted his weight to the left and gave the vine his strongest tug yet, grunting as he did so.
The vine came loose.
Unfortunately, Dean hadn’t expected it to break loose so easily and he tumbled backwards, landing near the mare in a dazed and tangled heap of vine, gangly legs and smoky hooves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 3:06 am
Dean was an adorable foal and if she'd been a different sort of mare the adolescent female probably would have squealed at his antics and promptly developed a sense of broodiness. Therefore, it was perhaps fortunate for Dean that Zucutto was far from normal and as a result, had a tendency to defy convention. While the young teenager could appreciate his clumsiness and how it would generally be defined as cute, she had other more important matters to consider. That being said his antics were not something she was immune too and she did end up with a rather large smile on her lips as he continued to struggle with the vines.
She couldn't remember a time in her life, even as a foal, when she had struggled quite so much. However, there was a fair chance he hadn't been raised in a manner that would have taught him out to deal with things like vines. She gave him credit where it was due, he worked out how to free it and then took action immediately - in comparison to a lot of other foals he had taken a far shorter time than they would! Still, as he tumbled backwards and deposited himself almost directly by her hooves she did afford a giggle and raised a brow.
"You know, vines are pretty weak at their roots," she mused, well aware that she was stating the obvious. "Next time you'll just need to give it a little tug," she added. That done she took a slight step forward and picked the vine up from beside him, it was at this point that she held it out to her companions and they set about attaching it to her wings. She turned round, glanced at their progress and then returned her attention to the foal.
"You didn't cut yourself did you? If you're anything like me you'll just bounce but you can never be too careful with these things, you know?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 10:03 am
From the stunned tangle of legs and in a softly accented voice came a response to Zucutto’s question, “I-I’ll remember that for next time, Miss.” Still rather dazed, Dean quickly shook off the fall and scrambled to his hooves. “I’m fine.” He smiled brightly, even as his hooves shuffled slightly, trying to keep the dizzy foal upright.
By the time he’d found his balance again, the young mare’s assistants were hard at work adjusting her wings. Dean took the opportunity to stare with absolutely no reservations in that open and unabashed way that foals and children do. It was an ingenious design and the colt was quite awed, though he was young and knew little of engineering, so he was perhaps a little too easily impressed. As he stared, it occurred to him that this contraption was obviously meant to be used; it wasn’t any mere decoration. Dean tore his gaze from the female to look at the ledge not far away and that’s when he realized… she was going to jump off!
The fuzzy little tail flagged in alarm and Dean’s gaze snapped back to Zucutto. He opened his mouth to protest, but he hesitated; she was older and therefore probably more experienced than he was, so perhaps she knew what she was doing. Still, Dean was a little dubious, so he changed his original protest to a question, “Have you done this before?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 9:19 am
With age came experience - wasn't that how the saying went? There was certainly logic to Dean's assumption but unfortunately for him, it simply didn't apply to the eccentric mare he had stumbled upon. Oblivious to his concerns and perhaps accustomed to his stares, she didn't initially take notice of him as she flexed her limbs here, there and everywhere in response to the directions of her team. Thus, he was provided with the ideal opportunity to stare and wouldn't be called out for a lack of manners - all things considered, the poor colt was entitled to it. After all, how often did you stumble upon a soquili who had tied twig wings to their back?
Nevertheless, when he had spoken up again with a much more direct enquiry the mare did turn her amber gaze round to regard him. A momentary pause followed, and then, it was with an impish smile and a gleam in her eyes that she gave him the answer that he may have dreaded. "Oh no, never done it before. This is the test flight," she piped up merrily and canted her head to the side - she may have been eccentric, but she wasn't completely blind. He was rather unimpressed in some manner, a little dubious and with cause for concern...
"You can relax you know," she said at last and chuckled, "There's water at the bottom, you can lean over and see for yourself if you'd like," she pointed out. Lapsing into silence as the final preparations were made, it took her a while to speak again. "But hopefully I won't need it - the wings should work and I'll fly, just like a bird!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:55 am
Dean’s eyes widened and his already soft voice went up about an octave, “Oh, okay then.” He looked from the sharp drop to the mare and back again a few times. There may have been water at the bottom, but from this height, it certainly didn’t look very soft… His little stomach twisted nervously, he may not have been the one taking the leap, but he certainly didn’t want to watch the mare splatter herself across the surface of the water. Even if he tried, he doubted he could stop her anyway, so as he shuffled his shadowy little hooves, he hoped there would be help nearby if it came to that.
But a thought occurred to the foal; who’s to say it wouldn’t work?
Dean looked back at the mare. Her wings were certainly impressive looking and again, she was confident and seemed to know what she was doing. And what if it worked? What if she really did fly? That would be so cool! The colt found himself conflicted; excited to see her fly, fearing that it wouldn’t work.
As he watched her make the adjustments, his eyes followed the contours of twig and vine and curiosity began to get the better of him. Another thought came to mind. “How are you going to steer?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:11 am
If Dean had been more adventurous, he would have made for a fantastic inventor. He had quite the critical eye and his observations were valid enough to warrant respect. It was with this in mind that Ziggy turned to face the colt, a warm smile lining her lips. He'd asked another valid question, he was a smart kid and adorable to boot. She paused momentarily, waiting for her companions to give her the go-ahead to shift in a more extreme manner and, when it finally came, she turned to face him.
"My legs," she replied and lifted one of them up, she then set it down again. "The goal is to attach the vines from the two tips of the wings to my legs, when I bend my leg, the wing will shift and I'll be able to turn," she explained. It seemed like a sound explanation, perfectly logical in every respect. "I can use my hindlegs to thrust, much the same way as a normal wind soquili shifts in the air," she added. She seemed so certain of her plans that it would have been difficult to dispute them.
Satisfied she had provided him with a lengthy, but coherent explanation, she then held herself completely still. A pair of raccoons swept downwards, sweeping a pair of vines into an unusual set of knots down and around her forelegs. When both had finished, they each gave a tap to her leg in encouragement - time for a brief test, just to make sure they'd gotten everything right.
She bent her left leg, it drew the left wing down.
She bent her right leg, it drew the right wing down.
Everything was in working order!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:28 am
“Oh…” Her answer left little room for confusion and Dean felt himself becoming excited, despite his misgivings. He continued staring at the ingenious contraption in wonder, coherent words seemingly lost to him as the moment of truth neared. The graceful, yet sturdy appearance of the makeshift wings and the confidence of the mare wearing them was quickly winning him over. He still worried for her, but that fear was starting to take a back seat to the anticipation.
As he watched her animal assistants work, he took a few steps back, wanting to make sure she had plenty of room to work and that he was out of the way. An excited smile found a home on his lips as he watched the wing move exactly the way it was supposed to.
It was time…
Dean wasn’t the one about to take the leap of faith, but he felt like it as his tiny body practically sang in anticipation, fear and excitement. He called to her, “Good luck, miss.” He realized he didn't know her name, but he gave her an encouraging little smile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:09 pm
If the mare had possessed the ability to salute then she would have done so, unfortunately, she lacked the necessary appendages. Consequently, there was little that she could do other than to return the well wishes with a winning smile and a confident nod. For this afternoon only, she was going to go where no other soquili had gone before, or more accurately, she was going to go where no other grounded soquili had gone before... She was going to take to the skies and she was going to fly.
It wasn't long before her numerous assistants had backed away from her, taking their place on the outskirts of the small clearing so that she had plenty of room to position herself. There was a countdown as she began to move, first moving to one point and then shifting to another. A step to the left, two steps back and just a slight shuffle to the right. There was a pause and then she seemed to be satisfied with the spot she had selected. A silence then fell upon the clearing and the mare closed her eyes, sucking in a series of deep breaths.
She calmed her nerves, aquiver with excitement and then she counted to three. On the 'three' the mare sprang forward, galloped towards the cliff and without hesitation, leapt off it. Unsurprisingly, there was a momentary pause, an almost comedic moment as the mare seemed to 'soar' through the air and then... Well, the wings gave way beneath the weight of her body and it was with a surprised squeal that she plummeted.
A howl of surprise followed, growing more distant and faded as she fell further. Such a 'howl' only ceased when the faint 'splash' of water could be heard below as she crashed through the surface of the deep pools at the base of the cliff...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
