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 Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:58 am
**Roniel's Carmilla appears on p2 and Svanbjorn appears on P.3**  The chill in the air had grown more noticeable in the past few weeks. Kayleena's outlook on the season of winter hadn't changed at all. She disliked the cold that came with the seasons changing. Yet she could not mask her excitement at the snow that lay on the ground; most of the time it drew a childlike wonder from the pink mare. She cavorted happily through the snowdrifts that formed naturally. Ever since her unfortunate encounter with another of her kind, an usdia, Kayleena had kept a quiet profile. The mare had thought long and hard about what might have turned the encounter sour but nothing came to her mind. So she dropped the unpleasantness of the meeting and concentrated instead on living her own life as she could.
Kayleena jumped over another snowdrift and laughed merrily as she did so. The drift was a little deeper and bigger than she had estimated and soon she was shaking snow out of her mane. She wasn't upset and continued jumping over the drifts that she came across. The mare was paying more attention to her game than that of her surroundings. Considering though that she'd not seen anyone in this area for days though had led to her decision to act as she did. Breathing heavily Kayleena scanned the horizon before dipping her muzzle into the snow. She crunched a bit of the snow into her mouth and enjoyed the refreshing liquid that soothed her parched throat. One of the added benefits of snow was that it turned to water so easily. She'd never be thirsty during the winter. Her head came up as she finished her drink before kicking out her back legs playfully. Kayleena watched the snow fall back to the earth in silence. Life was perfect it seemed.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:05 pm
Daimhin was in the unlucky position of being the one in charge of the Mahapadma "long patrol" for that week. The long patrol was something that Samsara had assigned them to make sure that no one was encroaching on their territory, not to mention as a way to scope out potential targets. The long patrol took Mahapadma members away from the group for days and involved doing a wide circle around the area and taking note of any other soquili encountered. Normally Daimhin enjoyed these patrols and the time they gave him to think and plot new schemes. That had been in the warmer months. Now that it was cold and snowy, it was miserable.
"I don't know why Svan couldn't have done this," he muttered to himself while forcing his way through a particularly deep patch of snow. The cerynei/kalona had wings and could have easily flapped over the worst of the difficult terrain. Daimhin had to slog his way through it on the ground and it was no easy task. To make matters worse, no one was doing anything in this sort of weather but hunkering down and waiting for it to be over. He hadn't seen another soquili even from a distance since it began snowing and doubted it would change anytime soon.
Grumbling, he moved on. He thought longingly of the long and warm summer days that were months behind them. While pondering this, he noticed a puff of snow being flung into the air. He squinted. Something was thrashing around out there. It was probably some small animal, maybe a playful fox. A glimpse of a pink figure revealed the identity of the stranger. It was an usdia. From this distance he couldn't tell anything else. On a day when he wasn't quite so bored he would have ignored the usdia and kept on his way. Today, he knew that the usdia was probably the most interesting thing he would spot on the whole trip. He started heading toward her, making out more and more of her features as he drew closer. His breath caught a little when he noticed the orb on the end of her strange tail. ... Was she what he thought she was?
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:08 pm
Kayleena was once again enjoying her game of jumping in the snow. She had caught her second wind as it was. A smile graced her features as she once again found herself buried in a drift that was much larger than she was. Giggling to herself Kayleena struggled with the weight of the snow against her flank before pulling herself free. It had taken a few more minutes this time to extricate herself and she glanced back at the hole she made with a little bit of concern. If it had been any deeper and if she didn't have this much energy bursting through her tiny body; she could have found herself in a truly precarious situation. Maybe it was time to stop playing in the snow for today.
Turning around and starting off in the direction that home lay at the moment movement flashed out of the corner of her eye. What was this? Craning her neck around Kay watched the much larger Soquili with a semi-cautious eye. She'd never seen anyone since arriving in this area so why was somebody out now? A quick flash of worry graced her features before it disappeared. The stallion didn't look like the friendliest sort but who was she to judge. Kayleena assumed an on-guard position but it was all for show. She was not one to fight. Her tail whipped back and forth in the snow behind her making a half-arc. She let her voice carry towards the stallion, "Good afternoon."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:13 pm
She definitely was a pokesoq. What had started as a boring time-waster of a mission was suddenly the best thing to have happened to him all month. "Good afternoon," he replied while stalling for time. He didn't have a plan. Daimhin normally would have come up with several different elaborate schemes in advance of such a meeting. Now that he was thrust into a situation without any planning he felt lost and awkward. He had to have the little usdia mare for his own. He'd capture her and bring her back no matter what he had to do!
"Well, this is some snow, isn't it?" He fell back to one of his old standbys, the genial stranger act. That would be a good one for setting her at ease. "Be careful you aren't swallowed up by it!" He gave a small chuckle. There. That should allay some of her suspicions.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 10:47 pm
Kayleena was pleased that she'd gotten a pleasant enough response from the much larger Soquili. Conversation always worked better between two individuals if both actually spoke. Kayleena was attentive as the stallion asked about the snow and then passed on his warning. A sound that was almost laughter came from deep inside her chest. The on guard stance that she held melted away and she was chuckling along softly as she remembered her near miss just moments earlier. "Believe me. I know. You might not have seen it but the snow almost did swallow me. Being as short as I am it can be very harrowing."
Kayleena gaze the stallion another looking over. She didn't recognize anything about him and generally since keeping to herself she'd not had a chance to meet any other potential Soquili residing nearby. Maybe this stallion was a neighbor. The ice was essentially broken between the two.
Time to break it even more, she thought.
"I may be mistaken but I don't believe I've seen you around before. It's not a problem if you don't live in the area. I am merely making an observation. I'm Kayleena by the way. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:37 pm
What a lovely trusting creature. Daimhin loved it. One of the first things that parents taught their foals was to be wary of strangers, but most adults didn't bother to be fearful of the unknown. He noticed that she was asking questions, gathering information. He didn't mind answering, but would ask a few of his own in return. "My name's Daimhin." He doubted she'd have heard of him and didn't have an alias ready.
He had already managed to get his initial surge of rampant excitement under control. He knew he had to be calm and collected. He might not have a plan, but he would get much further without one if he could think straight. "I'm not from around here, no," he admitted to her. "My herd is about a day's walk away. I'm out here just..." He thought quickly for a reason. "Just getting away from things!" That was an excuse that Carmilla used for her frequent disappearances. He internally thanked her for providing him with an easy line to use.
"What about you? Your family live around here?" The answer to that question could mean the different between victory and defeat. If she was alone then he might not have to drag her off at all. He might be able to convince her to come along with him...
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:12 pm
Daimhim was right in a sense. Kayleena had heard no mention of him before. There was no reason to feel uneasy except for the chance that she could easily be stepped on. Kayleena was usually very careful not to get under the hooves of Soquili larger than her. Better to be wary than end up with multiple contusions that would require care to ease the pain. Instead Kayleena gave the stallion a smile before she found her voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you Daimhin." It honestly was a pleasure to meet him.
Kayleena realized that the conversation had shifted a little. As far as she could tell Daimhin wasn't being evasive with his answers. The excitement in his eyes had dimmed a little as he talked about home. It left her wondering just what sort of things he was trying to get away from. Curiosity killed the mare it seemed. She ran through his answer again before realizing that he had mentioned a herd. Now that was something that Kayleena had never experienced. Herd life. "Sadly I've never experienced what it's like to live in a herd. Except for a few random encounters I have been alone on my own. It's peaceful in a way but it can be rather lonesome. You have to find ways to spruce up the quiet times."
Kayleena realized that she was rambling. No ... more like she was pouring her heart out to Daimhin. It had been bound to happen. She'd been on her own for too long it seemed and now she just wanted to talk the ear off of this stallion.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:39 am
Daimhin would have cackled with excitement if it wouldn't have scared off the mare. The situation was utterly perfect! A wonderful little pokesoq all on her own in the wilderness. No family to cling to or to be protected by. She was the perfect target, one that he couldn't have hoped to find even if he had been searching deliberately. His eyes glittered as he watched her. She would belong to him soon enough!
"It might seem a little forward of me-" He was too excited to work his way up to the topic slowly. He really wasn't being subtle on this sudden mission. "But perhaps you'd be interested in meeting my herd?" If she agreed, and he hoped fervently that she would, he could just so happen to leave out the psychotic nature of the Mahapadma until it was too late. She wouldn't escape once she was in his clutches, he was sure of it.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:16 pm
A chance to meet a herd?
Kayleena's ears pricked forward betraying her interest. She could see how a herd interacted together. Daimhin was dangling a tasty offer to her by presenting this opportunity to her. She scuffed her hooves in the snow as she debated with her own options. To leave this area sounded tempting but she'd grown used to the tranquility that she found. But on the other side was the lure of seeing herd life with out being chased off for being too nosy. Kayleena was torn.
An idea formed in her mind. Maybe she could go with Daimhin and see his herd. It couldn't harm her if she chose to do so. If she didn't like what she saw she could always return home later.
"I'd like to see your herd Daimhin. Most times I've been chased away when I wanted to see something. Herds don't seem to want anything to do with me. You are the first to offer this to me."
Kayleena fell silent as she admitted this. Her gaze flicked downwards toward the ground and a bit of sadness reflected in her movements. It was hard to realize that she wasn't always welcome.
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:55 pm
"Chased away?" Daimhin's affront was entirely real. To think, he had searched for years for pokesoquili and some people were just driving them out into the wilderness. He hrmphed with stringent disapproval. He was going to benefit from their idiocy, but that made it no less offensive. "Maybe they took a hoof to the head as a foal or something," he said with obvious disdain.
He stepped closer to her and leaned down so his face was on level with hers. "I can promise you that you would never be chased away from my herd." It was the opposite, he wouldn't let her leave if she tried to. Maybe she'd even find that pleasant if she was torn up by too much rejection. She could be his little treasure, and he'd never let her out of his sight!
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:16 pm
Kayleena tried to smile at Daimhin's attempt at humor. She was still intrigued as to why the stallion had offered what he did but Kayleena felt a need for a little bit of companionship at the moment. Daimhin certainly seemed friendly enough and wasn't that the main thing. The pink mare could sense no tension in the air. Wasn't that a good sign? Surely Daimhin's intentions were honorable.
Kayleena watched carefully as Daimhin lowered his body so that he was on level with her shorter frame. She took a nervous step back as she realized just how large in size he was but she didn't bolt for cover. His words reassured her and she gave a soft sigh before glancing back at the snow she had been playing in before. To leave this all behind; but herd life? She was being torn in two and the indecision was mirrored in the shuffling of her hooves. "I must admit I'm a little hesitant to agree Daimhin. I have never been one for journeys," Kayleena sighed as the decision was finalized. She could always return at a later time. "So when could we leave? Is it very far away? Do I need anything?"
Her return smile to the stallion was that of an eager student ... easily pleased.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:11 pm
"We could leave now," he suggested. Hastily, he amended himself. "We could wait, but if any more snow falls, we'll freeze on the way there." Daimhin was no weather shaman but there where enough white clouds in the sky to make another storm seem plausible. It would be difficult to keep up the act seamlessly for as long as it would take for her to waffle around. She might even change her mind if he let her think for too long.
"You wouldn't need anything unless there was something you wanted to bring." He'd help carry her things himself if it meant getting them moving before she caught on. He kicked at a pile of snow in an attempt at a playful manner. "If you don't like it, I'll bring you right back here again. I promise." Honest soquili believed that everyone else they met was honest too, and she seemed like an honest soquili. He was counting on her assuming he was innocent without otherwise proof, instead of the other way around.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:22 pm
Kayleena gave Daimhin a curious look. She didn't have much in the way of possessions, just simple knick knacks. Mostly the items had sentimental value but if Kayleena was being honest to herself most of the items would probably be overlooked by another Soquili. She had stashed them away in a hollow log and only went back to check on what she deemed her treasures on rare occasion. It wasn't good to be seen traipsing back and forth to her stash all the time. Then it would look suspicious. Kayleena's bright blue eyes met Daimhin's teal ones and she gave the clouds above them a long stare. The wind was starting to gently tease Kayleena's mane around her body. It was cold enough that she gave a small shiver.
"I don't have anything that I need to bring. Just myself I guess."
Kayleena moved to stand at Daimhin's side. She'd give this a trial run. It'd be nice if she could fit into this herd of the stallion's. "I will hold you to that promise Daimhin. I just hope that everything will work out."
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 5:47 pm
"Don't worry, I'm sure that it'll be all that you hoped for and more." His chuckle was the slightest bit ominous though he tried to stifle it quickly. As a distraction, he started stomping his hooves, running briskly in pace. "If I stand still for too long out here I'm a little worried I'll freeze solid!" He figured that could be accepted as a bit of cheerful exaggeration.
"Would you like to talk more as we walk? I'm not really dressed for standing knee-deep in snow, I'm afraid." His uniform he wore was purely decorative. He wore it the whole year round, only taking it off to give it a quick wash from time to time. There was about a fifty percent chance that he had just blown his cover, he thought. His lack of planning was really showing, as was his excitement at things going well. He really needed to tone himself down a bit somehow.
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 6:00 pm
Kayleena's gaze sharpened on Daimhin's larger body. There was just no way that the stallion could freeze more easily than she could. She was at least one-third his size. Disbelief was etched in the expression she wore as well as in her body language. Still as short as she was maybe something with the stallion made him feel the cold much more than she did. Kayleena didn't know. Her musings were on the silent side. Kayleena took one last look at the land that she called home. Somewhere deep inside her heart Kayleena felt a pang of uneasiness at leaving.
Was it the company she was keeping? The usdia mare was going to go off gallivanting across the countryside with a stranger. Common sense and logic had for a moment temporarily fled Kayleena's mind. She snaked a covert look at Daimhin before sighing softly. "We can start out now Daimhin if you are cold. I don't mind talking and walking at the same time."
There was something laced in the tone of her words that surprised Kayleena. She could not put her hoof on it readily at the moment. She'd just have to try and puzzle out what was bothering her at a later time.
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