|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:10 pm
 Feeling restless wasn't exactly unusual for Imriel. He was a wanderer, leaving the family lands and returning, usually to find that the family had increased by two or three in the time he was gone. It was sometimes intimidating to live within his own family. He often lost track of who he was related to, and to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know them all at this pointed. He just wanted to get out and see more the world, find someone like minded to adventure with, and have fun. Family, though Imriel was utterly devoted and loved them dearly, meant responsibility, and he just wasn't ready for that. He'd come close to that once, and looking back, it seemed scary that he had been so ready to throw the bachelor lifestyle away.
Today Imriel was exploring a forest outside of the herd territory. He did not exactly blend in with the green leaves and brown bark. Instead, he stuck out like a sore thumb, but Imriel had long ago known he would not ever be a 'blending in the background' kind of guy, and he was happy to attract attention, if it would come. He didn't think there would be kalona about in this stretch of the woods, though if there was, he was prepared to run and kick if he had to. He was not totally defenseless, even if he was meant more for pulling pranks than for waging battles.
Unfortunately, it didn't look as if there was anyone about. Imriel nudged a few feathers that had been discarded by some wayward crow. There wasn't much he could do with that. Back at home, he could probably trick someone into believing they had fallen from the wings of an angeni, persuasive as he was, but not here. There wasn't anyone here to trick or convince of anything, and Imriel was swiftly growing bored.
Maybe it was once again time to concede that this was an ill-fated adventure. Why didn't he have any close friends to share this with? The stillness of the forest would be so much more bearable if he had someone to laugh with and shoulder. They could eat berries, or something- whatever it was that one did in a quiet forest like this.
Perhaps it was his imagination seeking to find company, but Imriel thought he heard a shuffling in the bushes. "Is anyone there? Come out, come out, whoever you are! I don't bite, unless you want me to." His tone was jovial and warm, as usual. A stray beam of sunlight, filtering down from between the leaves, caught on to his short tail feathers and their endless stream of magic sparkles. Imriel looked quite ridiculous standing there, a goofy grin plastered on his face.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:09 pm
 She was, perhaps, a little further away from the chosen grounds of the family herd then was normal. Ishika was merely...exploring. That was all. It was not completely outside her nature to wander away from her family, it was just a bit on the unusual side. Her winged brother was the one who clearly possessed a spirit filled with wanderlust. He often vanished for so long, but when he came back...Oh! When he came back he had the most unusual of scents clinging to his feathers. He had wonderful stories to tell of places he had been, other's like them that he had met. Ishika was always filled with this excited energy and she pranced about like a little foal when he shared his stories. She wanted to go running off right then and there, just to see some of these wonders he spoke of. Yet, once she got to the edge of the grounds that were familiar, she always came up short in courage. Ishika worried about leaving her family behind. She worried what her father would think if she was off on her own.
Mare's were not supposed to be left alone and unguarded. Mares were far too delicate. That is what she had learned from her father anyways. That it was the duty of the stallion to make certain the mare was safe. So of course she could not wander too far from home. She didn't think Riralla really counted as a proper escort. He did his best though, and she adored him for his efforts. Without him she never would have wandered this far from the familiar places she knew of.
Of course, Riralla always watched out for Ishika. She had some old fashioned types of beliefs, but he never felt they were a burden. That was why they went so well together really. Today the ferret had engaged her in a silly child's game, to help her forget about her personal fears. It was working thus far, and they had gotten nearly a full day's travel from where her family grazed. With a flick of his tail, he scrambled through some bushes and turned around to make certain he could see the movement of Ishika still in the woods. Her coloration was almost a match for some of the foliage here, so on more then one occasion she had nearly managed to catch up with him and end their game. There...he spied her horn poking around a tree as she tried to be sneaky. Oh that silly mare!
The sound of a unfamiliar voice came from behind him, and Riralla turned quickly. His little eyes widened a bit. Oh oh...had he just lead Ishika to some danger? The small ferret, instead of dashing towards where he had just spied his companion hiding, lunged head first through the bushes. His tail he already held stiff and the fur bristled as he put on his 'fierce scary face' and bared his teeth. Riralla rushed forwards to meet and scare off any potential danger...or...you know... to at least distract it while giving Ishika enough time to realize they were not alone. All of Riralla's bravery felt a touch wasted when he looked upwards at the orange colored stallion. Oh...it was...just a ...stranger? Well, he didn't have any teeth, horns, or wings like the kalona that had been described in stories to him or Ishika...nor did he have the weird tail of..what were those water ones called again? Not that they were anywhere near a lake or stream...or where they? Riralla tilted his head to one side, then rather intelligently blurted out. "Your really really orange."
Riralla was not the only one who had heard the voice of course. Ishika had spied Riralla by the bushes and had been attempting to sneak near to him. She had hidden herself behind a massive oak tree and was picking her hooves as carefully as she could around the gnarled roots. When the voice had spoken, calling out for someone to reveal themselves, she had frozen. If Riralla had just darted back to her, she would have been content to hide and wait till she at least saw the speaker...instead though she heard her familiar dash off...then speak. Well, if he was allowing his curiosity to be so apparent, then there could not be anything dangerous here. Right?
"What is orange?" She called out from her place behind the tree. Ishika stretched her head out a little and tried to peer over the bushes where the voices seemed to be hidden by. Their game was clearly over now since it was not the two of them alone anymore.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:20 pm
Something was speaking to him form approximately hoof level. What on earth?... Imriel peered down, thinking it might have been a foal. It was, instead, a ferret.It was blue, which was, as far as he knew, not the color ferrets normally came in. And it was talking to him about color?!
"Well, you're really blue," Imriel replied, his goofy grin still firmly plastered on his face. The ferret was probably someone's companion, which meant there was another soquili nearby, which meant /fun/. Fun! Of course, Imriel could always stay and play with the ferret, but it would be nice to be in the company of his own kind.
"And you've got purple on you. I thought you lot were supposed to be all brown and normal looking." Just then, another voice rang out from behind the tree. The voice definitely sounded bigger, though it was also more feminine. Imriel wasn't sure how happy he felt about that. It was doubtless one more equine than the ferret, but it was also a girl, and girls weren't much fun, in his opinion. They were all so stuck in the mud, and in their own heads!
"I'm orange." Imriel was trotting forward, trying to look around the bushes to see who was there. "I'm guessing you're blue, like your friend. And that you have a purple mane." Okay, they weren't guesses. Imriel could see flashes of whoever it was through the leaves, but he tried his best to sound properly psychic, as if he just /knew/ those things.
"Come out and prove me wrong!" There was a hint of challenge in the stallion's voice. This was a chance for another game, and if there was anything Imriel loved, it was games. Whether Ishika wanted to play or not was a different question, but he had to assume his mystery woman was out and about and game for having fun if she had a ferret. Weren't ferrets supposed to be the perfect pet for active, mischievous folks like himself? Oooh, maybe he should find a ferret friend... Now Imriel's mind had totally drifted off from the hidden unicorn, back into its own little pocket of reality.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:28 pm
Whomever they were, Ishika could pick them out rather easily in the greens and browns of the forest. She could not get a direct glance of him due to the coverage, but she had a faint idea of his position. Riralla was watching the stranger rather carefully. The comment on his own coloration had caused his small ears to perk. Well, they seemed to both be observers of the obvious. That was good enough for him! Riralla snapped his tail up and bounced after the stallion. His eyes wandered first from the strange feeler like things on his head, to what looked like feathery leaves on his tail. Riralla stifled a snicker. He was a feather butt! "Well my more common cousins may be all brown. But I'm special!" He piped up at Imriel's hooves.
Ishika tilted her head as she listened to the male speak. Her ferret had not called out a warning, or snapped at the other. That had to mean he was not a danger to her. For a moment she wanted to be shy and hide behind the tree...but Ishika was not exactly that delicate of a flower, as Riralla would often tease her. Sure she knew what was expected of her, and she knew how things should be...but that did nothing to curb her curiousity. She had not met anyone outside of her family other then Riralla or her brothers familiar. Cautiously she poked her head out around the trunk.
Ishika's eyes brightened as the stallion would seem to just... know what she looked like already. Prove him wrong? Was that the challenge? Ishika's eyes danced with amusement as she purposefully stepped around the tree to keep herself out of sight. This was not some effort of a shy mare to keep from being looked at. Oh no..Ishika was playfully refusing to let him see her at the moment. "Prove you wrong? Or are you just looking to be proved right?" She playfully replied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:28 pm
Imriel very much debated riposting that Riralla was indeed special- special in the head, but for once the orange stallion held his tongue. He didn't know this ferret that well, after all. That kind of joking might work well with siblings and friends, but not with strangers. Was... was that tact Imriel was displaying? His mother would be so proud if she could see.
Speaking of things that couldn't see- Imriel still couldn't see the mare. Oooh, this was frustrating. She was on to his game! At the same time, this was intriguing and fun. He hadn't expected the hidden mare to play along. She had been hidden for so long. But now that Imriel could see it was a part of the game, he was eager to play, and to play along with what she was going with.
"It's always good to be proved right." Imriel turned his back to Ishika, as if he couldn't find her. "I want to see if my psychic powers are fully working." He peered around in an exaggerated fashion, first looking in a bush that was far too small to hide another soquili, and then peering up a tree, thrusting his head through the low, close branches. "I can't seem to find you."
Next he looked to the left and right of where Ishika was hiding, again looking at places impossible for a soquili to hide- in a log, and under a small rock. Ooh, he was going to win this game!
Finally he stood in front of where he was sure the mare hid. "I seeeeee you," he said in a sing song voice. "Do I get a name for all my troubles?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 8:40 pm
Oh this was fantastic fun! Ishika peered around the tree and watched as the stallion clearly searched in foolish areas. Under a rock? Honestly! "Haa haa." She laughed softly as she edged back behind the tree. No, there was nothing to be afraid of here. This stallion was clearly a slightly goofy too. Riralla was following him around and, as she expected of her ferrt friend, he had to mimic the stallions searching.
When Imreil looked under a rock, Riralla scampered up afterwords to roll it over and look too. When Imriel looked into the log, Riralla dashed inside after to investigate. He knew where Ishika was, and she was a bit curious as to what the ferret thought he was doing. Ah, well he would tell her later she was sure, in a extended and exaggerated story as they settled down that night to rest. Her little adventurer. "So you are a psychic?" She teased from her hiding spot. He sounded like he may have been back on the other side of the tree now.
The game continued on for a few more minutes. This was neither too long so it seemed tedious, nor was it too short that she would have felt that it had not been enjoyed enough. With a amused expression, she gave a small jump out from behind the tree. her eyes blinked almost immediately upon looking at him. Riralla had been right! he was very orange! Ishika's tail swished behind her as she looked at the odd things on his head. "If you are psychic then you should be able to know what my name is!" She challenged him. Her head gave a small nod of her head. "Though since I'm not, maybe you should give me your name?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:29 pm
Imriel was only dimly aware of the ferret's actions, but was unaware that the small animal was imitating everything he did. If Imriel had known, he surely would have been slightly annoyed. It was all right for Imriel to make a fool out of himself, but no one else was supposed to! A grown up stallion like him had to have /some/ dignity, after all, even if it was only in his mind. Especially in front of mares. They were too prone to getting wild ideas and running off with them, and Imriel didn't particularly want that.
"I'm the most psychic soquili there is," Imriel replied to the bushes, as his search went on, right before he 'found' her. "I just know things. Intuition and magic, you know. My father is just about the most magical soquili I know, and I have my mother's good sense and serious nature." So that second part was a stretch of the truth. Imriel didn't have any of Yei's good sense, though Grencia was a very magical looking stallion. At least Imriel had inherited something of that in his tail and head feathers. Said facial features were bobbing above as he searched, prone to getting into his eyes unless he flicked his head back. Oh, the trials and hardships of being pretty! The thought made him smile even wider.
Then the mare finally jumped out of the bushes, and Imriel got his first real look at her. She was as blue as her ferret, though her mane was startlingly purple against her neck. She was also a unicorn, leaving Imriel slightly intimidated. He expected all unicorns to be stodgy and stuck up, and even if Ishika had not been anything like that so far, he was prepared for a sudden change in attitude. Oh well. At least she could theoretically heal him if he got hurt in one of his silly games.
Oh, right, names. Names. Hmm... "My name is Imriel. I'm surprised you haven't heard of me." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, though there was no real leer behind that. Smooth move, oh great stallion.
"I come from a big herd, fairly far from here. I like to wander and see the world. And you are..." He looked over Ishika once again. Nope, he was definitely not going to be able to come up with a clever name this time.
"Er... You are... Flower.... Pouch. Yes, that's it. You are Flower Pouch." But surely he could have come up with something better than that? Imriel winced at the stupidity of the name. Hopefully she would at least like it. "Do you come from a herd of unicorns?" He was already trying to change the subject.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:13 am
Riralla followed Imriel as he finally came face to face with Ishika. The small ferret glanced up between the two Soquili, then with a small hop dug his paws into the pouch hanging from Ishika's front. She paid him no mind of course, as her little companion opened the flap and began to root around inside. So long as his sharp little claws did not dig into her hide she was fine with whatever he was occupying himself with.
This so called psychic stallion did seem to have a magical aura about him. The interesting feathers he bore for instance, and if she looked long enough she could have sworn he had something akin to strangely colored lights coming off him. Because of his clearly unique heritage, Ishika was not too quick to disbelieve his claims of psychic powers. He could just be witty and amusing as well as wise after all. It occurred to Ishika that she had, shamefully, been staring at the stallion. With a shake of her head, thus clearing herself of the urge to continue staring, Ishika spoke up. "You speak so proudly of your parents. They must be very impressive."
Finally now she had the stallions name, and she found it ironically starting with the same letter as her own."Imriel." She hummed the name softly on her tongue. It was a rather nice name, though she found herself shaking her head a little. "I can't say it's a name I've heard though. My brother often speaks of places and others he has met but he has never mentioned a Imriel." Ishika's tail swayed excitedly from one side to the other like a excited felines. "It seems for once I shall be able to share something with him that he does not know of. How exciting!" This would be a great change for her! Ishika found herself already eagerly playing over the proud moment she'd share her own small adventure with her brother, though her thoughts were not so distracted she would miss the horrible flub on the others part concerning her own name.
"Flower...Pouch?" She looked at Imriel oddly for a moment, then began to laugh. "Oh...ha ha ha...how funny! You have such a sense of humor!" His attempt to change the topic to her own family gained him a wide smile. Ishika turned her head to look back the way she had come from, and she felt Riralla pulling himself up the strap of her pouch and onto her back. The ferret flopped without comment between her shoulder-blades, a shiny stone he had dug out from the pouch twinkled between his paws as he gnawed on it. "No. My father is a unicorn, but my mother is not. My herd is very very small, it is just my parents and two brothers." She shared the information with Imriel though it had not been asked for. In addition to to that of course,s he had to correct him on her name. Ishika turned her attention back upon Imriel and she continued. "My name is in truth Ishika. It seems your psychic skills have waned a bit. Perhaps you have over taxed them today hmm?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 5:52 pm
What was that ferret doing now, and what was in this unicorn mare's pouch? Imriel eyed Riralla while keeping track of the conversation, sure that the little animal was up to no good. He loved that! This pair was no danger to him, which meant, in Imriel's mind, that they were probably friends. He was probably being a bit presumptuous, but life was short. Why not live with the assumption that people wanted to be your friend?
Of course Ishika's brother hadn't heard of him. Imriel had been hanging low for a while. Still, he had to at least pretend to be bothered, even if his eyes were following Ishika's tail as it lashed back and forth. "Your brother will be sorry he never met me! You can make him incredibly jealous with this knowledge." Imriel swelled out his chest a little in a show of being falsely pompous, then laughed at himself for doing so. It just seemed silly to strut around like an overinflated bird. He didn't have the wings to pull it off.
The ferret had come out with some shiny bauble. Imriel eyed it, not sure what it was. Gems and jewels had no significance to him. You couldn't eat them, after all.
"Two brothers? How luck you've been," Imriel replied with a wink. "And it sounds like at least one of them is a wanderer and an adventurer. Is this your first time away?" He listened to her tale of her small herd with fascination, and tested her name first silently to himself, then out loud. "Ishiikkkaaaaa," he sounded out, drawling to increase the comic effect.
"All great names start with an 'I', you know. It's a proven fact. And your family sounds a little bit like a tiny version of mine. My da is winged, and my mother isn't. But I have numerous brothers and sisters. Almost too many to count now." Imriel laughed ruefully. "Does it get lonely to be with only two siblings and your parents?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:07 pm
Ishika could feel Riralla relaxing on her back. So long as he was on her back and occupied, she would not have to worry about him getting up to something with the stallion before she had a chance to get to know him better. Sometimes Riralla's curiosity had a tendency to sidetrack all that was around him, including her! For now though she was happy to be able to focus on Imriel with her attention undivided. It appeared he was a little unhappy over the fact she did not recognize his name. Her left ear swiveled backwards and her head bobbed down a fraction. The strutting about that he performed sort of killed any sense of true indignation coming from him. "Oh I suspect he will not believe me at first. He may say I just made you up. I do have quiet the active imagination, and your surely a very unique looking stallion" Ishika spoke through her amusement. He was certainly very funny! A good nature male to be sure. Ishika grinned and fought the urge to giggle like a filly.
"If it is a proven fact, I will remember to name all my children with the letter I." She responded with a firm nod of her head. "I would want them to be great after all! Great at what though would be up to them." Ishika gently shifted from one hoof to another as she listened to Imriel's descriotion of his family. It did seem like they had some things in common! Her head lifted up some and she glanced off towards where her family had been left behind. "Well..." He mused thoughtfully. "I could say that there is little surprise when you spend your whole life with a small number of people. There is nothing relatively exciting. I have Riralla for that." Ishika paused and swished her tail up to teasingly bop her ferret friend on her back. A chitter of laughter came from him, and she felt him roll over onto his paws.
"Mmmneh neeeraaah oo aferef!" Riralla spoke, and Ishika shook her head slightly. Without even looking back she knew that he had placed his rock in his mouth and was attempting to speak around it.
"That works better without stones in your mouth Riralla" She gently chastised him. With a huff, the ferret sat back down on her back and pulled the stone out of his mouth.
"I said, Ishika wants to go away!" He replied with a firm nod of his head.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
