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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:34 pm
  "Ahahahaaa!" A spirited laughter rang through the forest, bouncing off the trees with such vigor that it was likely the whole world would hear before it faded away. Meribia couldn't contain her humor, it was surprising that she was still standing. Anymore and she would have been rolling on the spongy earth. She and her father had been exploring, looking for good, flexible branches for their latest project. Whenever she was bored she would wander back to help with building new and improved inventions. Having found that two heads and two mouths were better than one as far as construction was concerned, Grindery was always ready with a new idea for her to join in on.
This time they were building a toy, partially her idea, that would fling things a short distance. It would be great for kids, she told him, and while he hardly cared for children beyond what she and her sister had once been, he admitted that the idea was an interesting one. An easy to amuse child could be captured for hours, chasing after a pine cone or acorn only to bring it back, set it down to be tossed again, and continue the cycle. Only a flexible branch would be able to throw things a good distance, and so here they were.
It was in this search that Grindery had spotted a particularly good looking prospect. Reaching up, he had grabbed the branch in his mouth, tugging to try and free it from the tree. In that instant, another spindly branch swung down from above, smacking him across the face and flinging his glasses right off and onto the ground.
She had checked to make sure he was alright (sort of) before the laughter took over. He could only roll his eyes at her, bending down to retrieve his shades.
"Are you done?" If there was anyone in the world that Grindery truly loved, that he never judged, that he always held in good regard, it was his daughters. Even he only showed mild annoyance at her antics. Snatching the glasses in his mouth, the stallion turned to her as the last vestiges of hard laughter tears dried up in her eyes. He could struggle all day with trying to get the glasses back on his face, not one of his favorite things to do. But with his daughter here it was simple. As soon as she calmed down, that is.
"Yeeeeah," The word was drawn out with humor. "Sorry dad, sorry, sorry." One last giggle left her maw before she reached forward and snagged the shades right out of his mouth. He only snorted lightly and leaned the short way down to her to make it easier. In practiced movements, she slipped the glasses back over his nose and even gave them a little push to position them right where he liked. Stepping back, she observed her handiwork with a smile. "There we go."
"Can we get back to it, then?" The stallion turned away, glancing at the branch he had wanted before, debating the best way to get it down without getting slapped again. Meribia watched, hushed. She knew her father wasn't much of a joker, so she felt a little bad, but not overly. She knew he wasn't mad, he was just into his work. Grindery was a determined inventor.
"Can I get it?" The offending hidden branch was just barely visible, shielded by leaves. She wasn't quite as tall as her father, but if she reared up just a bit, she could grab onto it. Stepping past him, she steadied herself and jumped up, grabbing the branch in her mouth. As she came back down, the branch came too, without complaint. Glancing at her father, branch-in-mouth, she grinned. That was the go ahead for him to grab the one he had been going after earlier. If all went well, he wouldn't get smacked by any other hidden branches.
"Good job," he commented shortly, giving her a tiny smile before he turned back and grabbed the branch from before. Nothing ninja'd out and hit him this time and after a bit of tugging, the branch came free. It was longer than they both had thought. "This should work well," he got out around the branch, glancing at his daughter. "That one looks good, too."
Slinging his longer branch across his daughter's back, Grindery stalked off in search of more flexible branches for their project. Meribia toddled after, carefully keeping the one balanced on her back, with hers still clenched between her teeth.
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:35 pm
Once a good number of flexible branches had been gathered, the father-daughter team headed back out of the forest. Every once in a while they would have to slow or stop to pick up a branch or two that fell from Meribia's back, but all in all she was a good and careful carrier. They made it back to their work site within the hour.
After dropping her load next to the pile of strong, unbending branches that they had gathered earlier, she stretched out her neck and back. Now was the time to start sizing everything correctly and it would take a bit of strength. She was no pushover, but there was an honest hope that her father would see to snapping the stronger branches. After carrying the flexible braches all the way here, she was feeling a little stiff.
Of course, she was still ready and willing to help prepare the branches to be sized. One more good stretch and she was picking up the thick branches and laying them side to side from longest to shortest.
"What do you think, are we going to need a grounded base?" Despite her earlier joking, she actually sounded rather serious now that they were getting down to the real work. There was an assumption in her mind that they were likely building a stable, unmoving machine this time. A toy with a moving part, especially one that was meant to fling things, would do much better stuck into the ground. Otherwise it could easily end up flinging itself across the grass instead.
"That's right," Grindery assured, taking a good look at the branches his daughter had lined up. "We don't want it flying away in case something goes wrong." After giving all the branches a cursory glance, he picked one at a perfect size and raised his hoof. With a huff, he slammed down on the first one larger than his chosen branch, snapping off the excess. Meribia looked pleased. Her father had chosen to do this part of the job after all. And she didn't even have to smile innocently or dig out the puppy eyes.
"Start framing out the base." The stallion's words urged the young mare into action. "Rectangular. Use the smaller branches to cap off the ends."
"I'm on it!" she exclaimed. The sound of a sharp snap and a sideway glance earned by her enthusiasm followed. For a moment she looked sheepish, but then she picked up one of the larger branches and began to lay out the base of the toy. Four thick branches eventually made out the rectangle. She canted her head, examining the work. Everything looked straight. Good to go. Tentatively, she took one step and then another, positioning her front hooves atop the branches. Using the strength granted to her by her hyena bloodline, she forced her weight down until all of the sticks were wedged down into the earth.
As she trotted off to grab two shorter end caps, Grindery moved over, carrying one of the branches he had been chopping at before. For a moment he examined his daughter's work. It was definitely satisfactory. He placed the branch between the first and second of the base just as she came back, kicking to end caps along with her.
"Look good?" she questioned, grinning.
"Good."
A little laugh left the mare's mouth as she started moving the end caps into place and he went to gather more center parts for the structure. Once they were positioned, she stomped the end caps halfway into the ground, far enough that they were stuck, but still high enough to act as some sort of protection for the layers of structure still to come. This would hold them all in place.
After a while, the two had created a structure three layers high and were ready to begin creating the part of the toy that would actually do the flinging. This would be the fun part. Meribia was already excited! Grindery, on the other hand, looked like he was doubting something.
"I don't know if the top layer will stick through a toss. It's not held down by anything." And it was true. The end caps simply weren't tall enough to reach and hold them in place. "We should at least try to hold them back. See if you can find some vines, I'm going to look for sharp sticks to use as stakes."
The younger nodded her head; she saw what her father was getting at. She moved back into the trees. Vines were not always the easiest to find, at least not tough ones. This wasn't the jungle, after all. Still, it took only a few minutes before she came across something she thought might work. Grabbing the end of a hanging, leafy vine in her mouth, she tugged and tugged until it finally came loose from the tree. It was rather long and fell all across her. If she could have covered her head, she would have.
"This is better than I thought!" She mumbled around the branch, trying to pull any straggling ends off the ground so she could carry it back to the worksite. It was then something caught her attention. A rustling noise sounded not once or twice, but three times from behind her. Ears shot around and soon her head followed. "Hello?" After a minute, there was no more noise. "Strange..." But she shrugged. It was the forest and there were other things living here. There were a multitude of things it could have been.
Stepping into the clearing, she saw her father waiting with four sharp looking stakes at his hooves. She quickly trotted over and, with a bit of effort, had the rope unwrapped from her form and on the ground. It would need to be cut down to make two strips, but it looked like there would be enough.
"I'll put the stakes in the ground, you start wrapping the vine." Grindery maneuvered two stakes into his mouth and proceeded to the device. It they crossed the vines across the top, it might make the structure stronger. So he stuck one stake on each side of the box at opposite ends, just in time for Meribia as she came carrying the cut down vine.
Carefully holding in her mouth, she wrapped one end around the first stake until it was tight, threw it across their stacked box, and did the same with the other end, being sure to keep the vine tight across the top. It already looked sturdier, she thought.
With a bit more working, they had vines crossed in an X across the stacked branches. Now it really was time to build the throwing mechanism.
"Is there any vine left over?"
"Plenty."
"Cut some down so we can tie a few flexible branches together."
As Grindery picked three good looking branches and stomped them down to size, Meribia took up the last of the vine in her mouth and chomped it down to two pieces. Together, they tied the three branches at each end, leaving a good bit of vine hanging down from one side. After they both decided it looked alright, the stallion took it over to the base, staring down at their had work for a moment longer.
"It should fit in here," he muttered around the branch before huffing and struggling to squeeze the new attachment into a small crack between the thick branches. It worked well, with a bit of effort. He stepped down on the flexible branch creation, bending the three back so they weren't so straight, but would still be able to pop up enough to fling something forward.
"It's done!" Meribia exclaimed, trotting around the machine with obvious happiness. "Now we just need something to test it."
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:38 pm
 Mourning Bell had been moving through the forest since early in the morning, looking for nothing in particular, just needing something to keep his mind occupied. He hadn't expected that late in the afternoon he would find something even larger than himself rustling around. She hadn't noticed him, though, that's what he thought. And when the horse finally left the area, he moved to follow her, interested.
What would a Soquili need with a vine? The unknown pink mare looked as if she had been very set on what she was looking for. The wolf found himself wanting to know why.
When he finally found the clearing she had exited into, he was surprised to see not just her, but a larger male who looked surprisingly like her. Bell canted his head. What were they doing, huh? What? Ears perked forward. Luckily, he had good hearing.
"What should we use?"
"An acorn might be too small to find once thrown. Maybe a pinecone would work? It would fit."
"You're right. I think that's a good idea."
A pinecone? What were they going to do with it? Maybe it had something to do with that weird contraption at their hooves. He had no idea what it was, but now he wanted to know. Bell was probably too curious for his own good, but he turned and swooshed back into the woods to try and find a pinecone for them. He was closer to the ground, he was better at sniffing things out, so there was no way a horse could find something faster than he could!
Within minutes he had a small pinecone clenched between his teeth and was trotting back. Without abandon, he padded into the clearing and straight into the line of sight of the Soquili. They each turned their heads.
"What's that?" The mare lowered her head down to the wolf. Mourning Bell raised his head, as well, showing off the pinecone in his mouth. "It's a pinecone, dad, check it out! Did he hear us talking?"
Before her father could answer, Bell dropped the pinecone and took it upon himself to do so. "I did. You needed this, right?"
"That's right. Hey, thanks!" It didn't seem that unusual to Meribia to have a wolf walk out and help them unsolicited. Although Grindery seemed a bit suspicious. As the mare picked up the pinecone and took it to the machine, the stallion raised a brow at the striped wolf.
"What's your name?"
"Mourning Bell."
While the larger animal still seemed unsure, he shrugged. Nothing bad was happening, at least. Maybe it was like him to be suspicious, but his daughter still looked completely unperturbed as she pushed a stick into the ground to tie the flexible branch back until launch.
"I'm Grindery. And that's my daughter-"
"Meribia!" She shouted over with a small laugh.
"Meribia."
Mourning Bell started walking over to the mare and the contraption and soon Grindery followed.
"What is that?"
"A tossing toy," she answered, setting the pinecone on top of the pulled back flexible branches. "Once I untie this vine, the toy should toss the pinecone. It's a good thing for kids, huh?" She smiled as she pulled the vine away from the holding stick and let it go. All three creatures watched in anticipation as the branches whipped forward, sending the pinecone soaring a short distance.
"It worked! Woohoo!" Meribia was dancing. Bell watched for a moment, then trotted after the pinecone. He found it in the grass and retrieved it, dropping it at the side of the machine.
"Good job," Grindery said, smirking ever so slightly.
"Thanks, dad! Thanks, Mourning Bell! Good job, everyone!"
While Grindery wanted to point out that the wolf had done nothing to really help, his daughter already seemed attached to him. Well, he supposed he could keep quiet for once. Just for her. At least he could say that their machine had been a certain success.
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