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 Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:19 am
It had been a few months now and her injury had healed. Well, it had healed in the sense that there was no visible scarring but without the influence of a unicorn, the limp would be a permanent fixture in her life. For a time it had depressed her and she hadn't reveled in the sense of vulnerability that it left but eventually she had grown accustomed to it. She couldn't walk for as long as she might have liked but slowly she was beginning to see the benefits in such a thing... For one, it limited how far she could explore and as a consequence, it limited how many creatures saw her.
You see, Equinox was in hiding and the more witnesses there were to her existence, the more awkward life became for her. She had chosen a life of isolation to protect her family following an accident - the shame at her defeat would have caused them all to suffer and this was something she couldn't permit. In essence, the mare had feigned her own death and in doing so, was sure she may have broken the hearts of her family. However it was for the best and in time she hoped that her sacrificed would be recognised and her family's life would improve.
...Little did she know that her father had already taken measures to this effect.
Alas, despite her feigned death there were still whispers of herd scouts in the area. They had been instructed to remain mindful of the possibility of survival and as such, they were always alert even in an indirect manner of speaking. Suffice to say that this was making her life increasingly awkward and short of some drastic measures there was no way to throw them completely off her scent. Well, it would have been more accurate to say that she couldn't think of any method to throw them off her scent. Truth be told she was going to require something exceptional to succeed at such a thing and as of yet, this 'exceptional' solution had yet to be presented to her.
For the time being she could do nothing but lay low and this was precisely what she had elected to do this morning. It was with a sigh that she made her way towards the forest's edge. It was a short walk by most standards and she made reasonable work of it, placing distance between herself and her home within the colonies. A favoured spot, it would provide her with food, shade from the heat of the sun and a pleasant vantage point to soquili watch.
If she was lucky, today would prove to be a pleasant one.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:53 pm
Looking around, his eyes narrowed as he heard movement of hooves come close to where he was hidden. Keeping low to the ground the feline edged towards the sound, his eyebrow raising as he noticed the pale blue mare who was completely unawares of his presence. With a sly grin he quickly slunk through the underbrush ahead of her path, stepping out just before she passed by. Sitting down to prevent her passage the feline nonchalantly licked his paws, waiting for her response.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:50 am
Today was not her lucky day.
Equinox quickly conceded that the fates had decided that they were not going to humour her. Apparently relaxing beneath the trees and basking in the heat of the mid-afternoon sun was not supposed to be on her list of things to do. She heaved a disgruntled sigh at this news and made it perfectly clear that she didn't appreciate this type of disturbance. Give her an annoying soquili for all that she cared but she really wasn't in the mood to run for her life - while the feline looked as if it had already eaten this morning that could mean very little. For a start, Equinox was completely unaware of how much it had eaten, it could still be hungry.
Nevertheless the blue mare had never been one to cow from anything and rather than bolt immediately she had elected to throw her weight around first. She was a reasonably large mare by all standards and as such, the feline would have be faced with a tough enough challenge if he opted to assault her face to face. Granted at this precise moment in time she was unaware that she was looking at a skinwalker, if she had been aware she may very well have re-evaluated her strategy.
"Move," she ordered coolly, her tone an indication that she was not a well humoured mare and nor did she have any inclination towards games.
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 9:52 am
Her response humored him. Of course, it was obvious she did not know who's path she crossed but there was also something there that intrigued him enough to wonder if she would have cared had she known. He chuckled internally as he considered his next move. His first thought was to use his good looks to charm the mare into a false security before pouncing and yet this one would probably not fall for that trick. This was happening more and more recently, taking the run out of hunting. He mentally rolled his eyes. What was the world coming to when the damsels in distress refused to be distressed? Wrinkling his nose, Solemn decided he would try something new, if it worked he'd have a new level of the game to toy with, if not... well she looked delicious still, even with her attitude.
"Move my dear child?" His voice rumbled deep and clear. "Why ever do you believe I should move from my position?" Still sitting, he switched paws and licked it a few times before gesturing towards the blue sky above. "This location is precisely where the sun falls in such a manner that is optimal to my needs." He stretched and laid down onto his side, his sleek muscles bunching under his fir as he did so. There was an aura of calm detachment from the world, as if she only partially interested him and yet he regarded her closely with half lidded eyes. "What would you offer in return of my obedience to your most pleasant request?"
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 1:45 pm
Equinox was not a damsel in distress for the simple reason that she had never been raised as one. Gentle sensibilities were not something her family excelled at and with an ever logical father and a tomboy for a mother, delicacy and elegance generally didn't enter their vocabulary. She did possess manners, this went without saying, but if Solemn had been in search of a prissy little princess he was looking at the wrong mare. Instead, he had come face to face with a battle hardened cynic who had seen a great deal and lived to tell the tale. That being said, she probably could have redirected him to a damsel, lord knew there were plenty of the little hens to pester. Not only would he be doing everyone a public service, he'd be saving her a headache too.
Hens and peacocks, Equinox's worst nightmare - well, second worst nightmare. The first was being discovered by scouts and her family exposed, something she simply couldn't permit.
Nevertheless when he referred to her as a 'child' her eyebrow did threaten to raise - it took a great deal of control to remain neutral. A moment later, when she had settled to listen to his remarks, her lips pursed and she regarded him with something between disdain and bemusement. It was an odd conversation to be sure, but it wasn't every day you ended up speaking in riddles with a cat - particularly when they hadn't been there the last few days you had visited. Discipline ensured that she kept any glib remarks to herself and rather than snap for the 'child' remark she held her peace... something that would most likely save her life.
"I would offer nothing in return for your 'obedience'," she replied mildly. "Obedience implies that I gave an order, you regarded it as a request, therefore as a request it would be based on your own generosity," she pointed out. She allowed these words to settle and shook her head; of all the things she had to deal with in the morning, this was not one she cared for. Riddles had never been her thing, she hated them.
"Regardless, if you have decided to mark this pathway as your own then keep it, I can use another," It was with that, she backed away, raising her eyes heavenwards in brief exasperation. There were other routes she could take, if this feline wanted to emulate a sphinx then let him, he could bother someone else! With this in mind she deviated from her original path and elected to walk around him.
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 4:50 pm
Ahh, this is what he was looking forward too. A challange! Getting up he stretched, his whole body rippling with the motion. From this point it was a decision of curiosity, if he pressed, she might turn against him, forgoing that facade of politeness she seemed to be struggling to keep up. That would be an amusement for a short while until she finally snapped at him. Otherwise he could let her go for the moment and track her down just as evening was falling. The vision of his lithe body slinking out of the shadows like the moon from behind a cloud was alluring. At her moment of weakness he could calmly state his prowess of tracking and then slink back off for the night leaving her to her own worries of discovery. At least until the next moment he designed to show himself. Moving the few steps he needed to reach her, Solemn rubbed his body against her leg slowly before sitting back down. There was always a third option, always a few steps in between the extremes...
"I believe I shall walk with you." Solemn knew he would have her in little to no time if he played his cards right. "There are wild beasts in these woods. You never know who might be following you and, while I can see you are able to keep yourself safe," he slyly gestured towards her bad leg and circled her once as he continued, "such a journey calls out for companionship." Waiting until he was before her once more Solemn paused to let his next words sink in, "You never know, we might be rather good for each other. I am a familiar of sorts you know..."
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 5:16 am
Her appreciation for cats was beginning to lessen at a rather considerable pace. She'd never had anything against them up until this point; the house cats where she lived tended to ignore her and she tended to ignore them. However, this cat's continued presence was testing her patience and his apparent determination to stick to her like glue was wearing thin. Of all the things she could have acquired today, it was this cat and she had always thought that the Turkey-stallion was irritating. She couldn't help but release an exasperated and clearly irritated sigh - why was it that the fates always like to toy with her? All she had wanted this afternoon was a quiet, peaceful and otherwise pleasant day without any unnecessary disturbances!
Hmph.
"Will you now?" she replied wrily as he declared he should accompany her, partially to ensure her own welfare. His reference to her leg (while brief) did tweak a nerve but she refrained from letting this show. Instead she elected to lift a brow at how forward he was and even more so, at the irony of the entire situation. Here was a cat declaring that he should accompany her so that she would remain safe on her journey, and yet he had clearly made reference to the fact that this was the perfect hunting spot for himself not mere moments ago. Did he really take her for that much of an idiot? She was just a touch incredulous over this musing and it took a shake of her head to banish the thought from her mind.
"Companionship like you," she drawled and shook her head. "Would this be before or after you jump me in a dark shadow where witnesses are few and heroes are none?" she enquired darkly, her lack of trust towards him clear. She was no naive young miss and given as he'd outed himself as a hunter upon initial greeting, it would have been foolish for her to trust him in that respect.
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 6:34 pm
Now she was starting to get a glimmer of who he might be. With a low chuckle he made a bow, "I can assure you my pray is only the small creatures of the forest." The lie fell with ease from his lips with practice, his suave manner still with the air of friendliness. "Or would you accept the idea of one such as myself considering the notion that I would try to attack you from such a disadvantage. If I was planning on adding you to the menu I would have vanished already only to stalk you and catch you later when I had the inclusion of surprise." That statement at least held much in the way of truth. Solemn decided he liked this mare, her feisty personality reminded him of one he knew of long ago though with that memory came the remembrance of what happened to her... Well, all in good time, he supposed.
"You happen to be forgetting that one might be enjoying passing the time away with conversation even with such as yourself. The form of a cat is not always the easiest to make acquaintances though I get the inclination you would not want someone around you for longer than in necessary." Solemn extended one claw out in front of his face as if to add to his point. "To vicious, aggressive, a monster... such are the accusations of one like myself. Will you be another to add to the long list?" He peered at her searchingly with glowing blue eyes.
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Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 5:51 am
She still wasn't buying it, he was big enough to take on some of the larger soquili in these regions. Not only that, but based on size alone he would require more that just 'small creatures' to sustain himself. Honestly, she was beginning to think that soquili in this region assumed she had only been born yesterday. Feigning ignorance was one thing, but all out stupidity was an entirely different matter and she really didn't excel all that well at either of those. If she were to be honest, her lack of tolerance for anything ridiculous made the whole idea of acting 'stupid', completely absurd.
However, when he made reference to his poor approach she did concede that there was some logic to his argument. She sincerely doubted that if he was hungry, he would give a rats a** about a pre-emptive strike, but for the time being his apetite seemed satisfied. Thus, his immediate threat level was lessened in this sense and she could appreciate that he had made a reasonable observation (even if she didn't necessarily like it). She held her peace though, electing to keep her thoughts to herself in this respect, he might have a point now but that didn't mean she would let her guard down.
"I do not provide the most enlightening conversation," she pointed out wrily and shook her head. Nevertheless, she hadn't the patience to argue that point out and simply allowed him the 'point' and even lifted a brow at his immediate and very accurate assumption that she was not one for company.
Interesting.
"If you are aware that I have little desire for company then why do you insist on conversing?" she enquired coolly and released a sigh. "And while all those descriptions might hold some truth to them, I would prefer to address you as 'annoying' rather than those you might suggest," she pointed out. Well, if he had been expecting another rather brutal word to add to his list he was to be disappointed, he hadn't given her grounds to be appalled, he'd only served to exasperate her at the moment!
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:14 pm
"My intent for conversing is for the simple matter of... well I don't suppose you would want to listen to such a long winded tale of woe." He turned his back to her and started walking down the path, tail curling from side to side in a slow motion just like an innocent house cat. "No, I am sure you would be more interested to know about the small band of soquili who are near by. They have been traveling closer for the past few moments. I am sure you would be much more interested in conversing with them." Looking back over his shoulder he arched an eyebrow. "They even smell a little like you and I can't abide standing around while an ambush is being prepared."
For, while Solemn was perfectly happy stalking a lone female, he wasn't in the mood to deal with a posse. Especially if he was preparing to stake out this little corner of land. Having his cover blown so soon would be disruptive and he would just have to start all over again, a thought he did not relish.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:16 pm
"Are you implying that I'm being stalked by a posse?" Nox replied, fighting the urge to sound incredulous at what could only be described as a ridiculous idea. She had no enemies, she never spoke to anyone and she was worthless so any pursuit of her was meaningless. For all intents and purposes, the mare was almost inclined to accuse Solemn of being the subject of their interest as opposed to herself. Afterall, if they had been following her for a while then she would have smelled them from a distance considering where the wind was blowing.
...Unless of course, they had come by air.
She pulled a face at her own thought processes and eventually shook her head, forcing a snort from her nostrils as she sauntered on. She would reach her own destination of choice eventually, but it seemed that the feline had latched comfortably onto her - he was to be her company for this afternoon whether she liked it or not. Alternatively, she was his company until such times as he got bored, tried to eat her, or found another poor a** to hunt.
"In short you're being tracked because you're the dodgy one, you've just managed to systematically link me into your farce," she replied coolled and rolled her eyes. Alas, as an individual who did not aspire towards drama and preferred to keep her existence hidden, it would have seemed that Solemn was not the only one who needed to keep his cover intact. Consequently, the mare elected not to argue further and simply stalked forward, her limp slightly more pronounced as she quickened her pace.
"You're an prat, that's all I have to say about this - couldn't you have picked some random sap in the corner? There are better social butterflies than me to keep you hidden from hunters," she muttered.
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