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 Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:19 am
Late evening was upon him and the night was quickly approaching. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem as his family spent most of their time active in the dark. However, he had wandered far from his swampy home over the last several days and Atal'ai quickly found himself along the shores of the ocean. The air didn't smell right, salty, fishy...not the usual dank and musty smell he had grown accustomed to growing up.
He stopped and briefly turned his attention to the setting sun, noting it was nearly gone and soon he'd be in complete darkness save for the moon. Snorting, his attention turned back to the strange land around him. Perhaps he could make use of something here...even to just take back home to mother.
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:49 pm
Darkspine stood at the entrance of her cave, taking in the sound and smells of her ocean. The salt air was welcoming and the crash of the waves stilled the usual anxieties of he soul. In the distance, she could make out the form of a horse, but not one she was used to seeing on her beach. No one ever came here without a reason, unless they wanted to see the monster.
Sneering a bit, she stepped out of her cave, knowing that the horse on the beach was a stranger and not one of her few friends. Fine, then. If a monster they came to see, then a monster they would get. She strode deliberately toward the other horse, hissing and fanning out the fins along her back and tail, hoping to look vicious and drive the intruder away.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:16 am
Atal'ai stopped to investigate a small pile of seaweed collecting on the sand. He nipped at it briefly before pulling back and shaking his head. Fascinating stuff. It was slimy...yet somewhat thick in some areas, with odd little air pods attached to it. He began to lower his head again to pick it up when a new sound caught his attention. Hissing.
His ears turned toward the sound before laying back against his head in warning. He looked back up and at the mare behind him. She too was...unusual. She reminded him of a kelpie his mother knew, but at the same time, was vastly different and like nothing he'd ever seen.
"What....are you?" He asked, turning and moving backwards slightly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:37 am
Darkspine tilted her head a bit, fins lowering. He wanted to speak to her? Most ran away. "I.. I'm a kelpi. You're not like other horses that have come here." She moved to the side slightly, long, large tail dragging in the sand. "Not at all like the others. Why did you come here?"
This stallion had her interest in the way any horse did that did not flee from her presence. She had very few friends and it never ceased to interest her when a horse wandered onto her beach and did not seem to think she was... too monsterous. Clearly this male was wary, but he had not yet ran, and that was a credit to him. So far, anyway.
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:19 am
He eyed her up and down several times, moving even further away from her. "You're no kelpi I've ever seen..." he murmured. Atal'ai noted how she seemed to back down slightly, especially with the questions she was asking. He didn't want to trust her though. Not yet anyway. How did he know she wasn't going to turn on him the second he turned his back on her, or showed any hint of 'kindness'. He snorted and shook his head, oh how he hated that word and the thoughts with it.
"I'm only here because I'm far from home. I'm making the most of this trip and collecting strange and new things to return with...not that it's really any of your business what we use them for..."
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:41 pm
The naga watched him back away, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. So, he was afraid after all. This amused her, but also, oddly, upset her. She was used to intruders being wary of her, but she was tired of being alone, too, of being a monster. "I'm from a small herd. We all look like this. Different."
As the stallion looked her over, she studied him in kind. He wasn't like the other horses that visited and something about him seemed strange. "Where is home and who would you show your new treasures to?" It was hard not to be curious as she so rarely spoke with others. "I could probably show you interesting things to return home with, for whatever reason you would use them."
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 12:30 am
Atal'ai seemed to sway back and forth a bit where he stood, as if he was debating staying or turning and leaving as quickly as he could. He still managed to take a few more steps back, keeping his eyes on her, but ultimately deciding to stay once hearing she possibly had things to offer him.
"Like what...?" He asked, glancing around the beach and surrounding area. He still wasn't sure where she had come from originally. He only had to assume the ocean at this point since there were no noticeable signs other than a large amount of rocks. "Voodoo. Well...of sorts. Mother is far greater with it than my sister or myself..." he muttered, jingling the skull and other little trinkets around his neck.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 4:57 pm
"Voodoo?" Darkspine asked, tasting the odd word. "What is this voodoo?" She moved away, long tail twitching. "Come, then. I will show you things that might be useful." With that, she sauntered down the beach toward where she knew shells and sealife usually washed up.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:56 am
Atal'ai hesitated to follow, watching her get a good distance in front of him first. After a moment longer, he decided to tag along. It didn't take long before he found that he had caught up, rather than staying behind her, he was now walking beside her. So far she didn't seem to want to hurt him...in fact she was sharing locations in which to find things he may want or need!
"Voodoo...is....magical rites that my mother taught me, my sister and her child." He paused for a moment thinking further on how he can describe it to her. "We believe in particular spirits...mother serves them in a way, with...sacrifices and the like." He finished, looking over at her.
"It's very important to us. I came to collect new things to take back for rituals, potions...possible healing remedies as we've exhausted our supplies in the swamp."
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:38 am
"There are plenty of seacreatures and shells that wash up on my shores. Sometimes there are plants from the deep oceans, too," the naga informed him, staying in step beside him. "I don't know if these will be useful to you, but you're welcome to them if they will help." She shrugged a bit, the fins along her back shuddering from the movement. "I have never heard of such rites or gods, but it does sound interesting. How did your mother learn of this voodoo?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 1:21 am
"She won't speak of it." He muttered, catching sight of the movement of her fins and watching for a moment. "...we believe it has something to do with...a gamble, a bet...something she made. A pact, I suppose, with a Kalona who knows of it." He shook his head at the thought. "It's not really open for discussion among the family, it's just something we all know and do. Those that want nothing to do with it, get nothing from us." The stallion finished with a smirk, eyeing her for her thoughts and reactions.
He paused when another large clump of seaweed met his legs and looked down. She was right about there being a lot that washed up. Her knowledge of the area, if anything proved useful, would be a great resource to the family. Atal'ai looked back up at her again, idly wondering what it would take to convince her to be on their side, beliefs or not.
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:16 pm
"Your family sounds very tight-knit," the naga answered, watching the stallion. "My herd was like that before we were invaded. I have not seen another of my kind since." She sighed, giving a small shrug that rippled down her back fins.
"I suppose you'll want to see the beach now?" Darkspine asked, noting his reaction to the seaweed.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:04 am
"We are. I know that...Amani was shunned for a short time due to the way he is in comparison to the rest of us. You could say we're...normal." He said, smirking slightly, thinking about his nephew with the strange bird claws. "But he's proved his worth to all of us."
He turned his head to look at her again, taking her in once more. She really was something else. "It's a shame you've never seen others like you since then. ....I can't imagine it can be too hard to find you. You do look...different." He gave a small nod and turned his attention away from her looks again to follow her down to the rest of the beach.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:40 pm
Darkspine nodded as she walked along. "We are so few now that we tend to keep ourselves hidden." She looked back at him. "Even from each other." She walked a bit further on then looked back again. "Your family prefers conformity? What do you do with those that seek individualism?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 1:26 am
Atal'ai snorted at the mere thought of non-conformity within his family and herd. She had to be joking at thinking of such a thought about them. Then he thought back to her previous questions and his mind reeled once more, thoughts and ideas going every which direction. She really knew nothing of the world outside her own. At least that's how it was coming off.
"Mama doesn't allow for it. She will sooner disown us than let any of us stay if we refuse to accept who we are..." He mumbled, having watched his mother more than once lay that fact into the family. After a short time, he laid his ears back and began quietly talking to himself...briefly forgetting the company of the strange mare.
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