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 Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:03 am
 Aquitaine had watched over Agave as he finally drifted off into sleep. The rest would do him good, allow the paste the time it needed to fight the infection, let the wound begin to close. The less he moved the better it would be. But she knew that he would not stay down for long. At some point after Agave had fallen asleep Aquitaine had left the grove, seeking out Gaul and asked him to watch the area overnight. When questioned why she told the goat she would explain later, but for right now it was important to keep the area safe. Honestly Aquitaine doubted anything bad would happen here, but it was best to be on the cautious side. Plus the knowledge that there was a guard out there kept Agave from getting up and trying to guard the area himself then it was for the best. Returning to the grove she checked his wound, careful not to wake him before settling down to sleep as well.
The meadow was large, filled with a sea of green grass and flowers of nearly every color. Gaul was trotting along with her, eating as much as he could, joking about how terrible the grass near the beach tasted. The pair was out having fun, exploring the lands and Aquitaine wondered if there would be anything new to learn today. One could never know when they would stumble upon a new source of knowledge.
A growl and a roar echoed out behind her. There was no time to react as the panther landed on her back sinking it's claws into her.
The nightmare had come back again and Aquitaine shifted in her sleep, trying to escape the panther in her dream. He leg kicked out but nothing in the dream changed. The panther landed on her and sunk it's claws deep into her hide.
Gaul came racing toward them, trying to knock the panther free. He didn't succeed but the panther did turn it's attention to the small goat. His claws raked down Aquitaine's side as he shifted off of her. But this was the part where the nightmare played out differently than it had in real life. Aquitaine swung her head at the panther trying to protect her friend, the panther changed targets again, too quick for Aquitaine to react to and latched onto her neck.
Aquitaine thrashed more, trying to escape the crushing jaws of the panther. A scream erupted from her lungs. "No!" And then she was awake, fighting away the last remnants of the dream. She looked down, almost fearful to see the panther still clutching to her neck, but he was not there, the only sign of the attack was on the scars that dotted her hide, most of which she managed to cover with her long mane. Her heart pounded, her breathing was deep and fear filled eyes gazed around the grove. When they settled on Agave laying not too far away she hoped her reaction to the nightmare had not woke him up. Getting to her feet quietly she shook her head, casting away the last shreds of the dream and then tried to busy herself, collecting the shell from the hollow in the tree so that she could get some water for Agave.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:24 am
Agave wasn't sure how long he had been asleep but when he started awake at the sound of Aquitaine's scream he knew it was close to dawn. It was the darkest part of the night and as such the most dangerous. Rather then jump up and dash into an unknown situation however he opened his eyes into slits, so that their glow wouldn't immediately draw attention to the fact that he was awake while he searched the darkness for the shadowy figure of an enemy. Aquitaine was awake, she had bolted upright as though being attacked by something though as far as he could tell..there was nothing there.
A nightmare he realized, he had seen and heard the nightly cries of many on the mountain in his lifetime. Slaves reliving their capture or his mothers torture, even some warriors cried out as they relived the horrors of battle in the night. Agave had never had nightmares - for whatever reason his mind had never seen fit to torment him with this problem regardless of how many terrible things he did. When Aquitaine got fully to her feet and turned to get something from the tree Agave opened his eyes fully. "Do you dream like that often?" He asked. Nightmares from his experiences only came from terrible things and a part of him was wondering what horrible thing had happened to Aquitaine that would be terrible enough to haunt her in such a fashion. On the other hand perhaps it was his arrival which had brought it on - was she worried about his mother coming here? It was a suitable worry though he was fairly certain they were safe for at least a little while. The fight had been fierce, they too would have injures which needed to heal.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:33 am
Agave's voice startled her. She had hoped he would sleep through her cry of terror. Slowly she turned around to face him. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry." He needed his rest and here she had gone and woke him thanks to her nightmare. She waited a moment to answer his question, she hated to admit to having nightmares, especially how frequent hers were. It had been one of the reasons she had moved away from her parents, because they were so worried about her over the nightmares. But nothing she had done so far had made them stop, she wasn't sure they ever would. The attack had been such a frightening experience that even now she didn't like venturing too far away from home and rarely wandered without Gaul's company. "They happen quite often." She admitted and then walked over to him. "Let me check your wound." It wasn't that she was avoided talking about it anymore but since he was awake she might as well check on it.
Part way through the night she had woke and placed a new paste covered leaf on his shoulder. Lifting the edge now she saw the wound was looking a bit better. It would still take a while to fully heal, but in a couple of days he could be up and walking without too much pain. "Does it feel any better?" She asked him, taking a step back. Her mind was still a bit foggy from sleep and the nightmare but she could at least see he looked a bit better, the rest had done him a world of good. Would he tell her if he was in pain? Likely not, but she would continue to give him the berries that helped to fight that over the next day or two just to give him an easier time resting and healing.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:52 am
"Yes." Agave told her truthfully as she asked if he had awoken him, he was however unaware that answering her so bluntly might make her feel bad, it was merely the truth. "But I am used to awakening near this time, it is the typical time for a guard change." He went on to explain why he was so untroubled by being awake. The rest he had gotten after a fulls nights sleep had made a marked difference in the stallion, the swelling in his face had started to retreat somewhat and while he knew that it would still be tender for a while at the very least he could talk and eat and drink without to much discomfort.
"The muscle is tight but the pain is less" He responded to her question about her shoulder. The tightness in the muscle bothered him - he feared that the cut might have gone deep enough to damage the muscle in some fashion, he supposed he would only know the answer to that question once he started walking around.
In any case he was not intersted in his own hurts at the moment - but hers. "Many in my mothers regime had nightmares." He told her - of course that was probably a forgone conclusion considering the type of place he had come from. "Some found it helpful to speak about them, others were only cured when they went back and faced whatever it was which had started them." Of course for some that was impossible, the slaves for instance could not face what had hurt them - to do so would have been rebellion and a quick trip over the cliffs.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:26 am
Aquitaine frowned slightly. She really hadn't wanted to wake him up because he needed the rest. And his explanation didn't settle too well with her either. It was something he would need to give up, his guard duties, in fact there were a lot of things he would need to leave to give up or change if he wished to truly exist in this new life, away from the mountain, away from his mothers control. But did he want to change? Aquitaine was almost certain he did. Agave had after all escaped from the mountain and someone that didn't want to change would not leave the life they had lived. Still she did wonder if he would be able to change, to adapt to this new life. And more importantly, what would happen if he couldn't. She could not bare to think of him returning to his mother to play the role of loyal subject...if his mother even let him come back other than to be given a death sentence.
Giving her head a slight shake Aquitaine dismissed those thoughts and concentrated on Agave as he spoke of his wound. It was good that the pain had lessened but a tight muscle could be the sign of an underlying problem or a simple crap. "You may have strained it sleeping, or perhaps your body isn't used to so much rest." She paused for a moment and then continued. "Let me know if it gets any worse though." If it did then she would need to figure out what was wrong with it and possibly rely on her weak healing powers to fix it.
A shudder ran down her spine at the mention of his mother. She couldn't help it, though she had never met the mare seeing what she had done to her own son attested to what kind of monster she truly was. Aquitaine wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about what caused her nightmares, it was bad enough reliving it so many times during the night but having to tell Agave didn't sit well with her. She gave her head a firm shake. "I know I could not go back and face it." She wouldn't want to even if she could, but the chance of the panther still stalking that meadow were slim, skinwalkers didn't always stay in one spot for long from what she was told about the breed. With a sigh she decided it couldn't hurt to tell him. "A lot has happened since the last time I saw you. I move away from the parents, though they are just down the beach, I learned how to use herbs for healing because my natural healing is weak..." She paused knowing he didn't like her admitting to that weakness but it was true, there was no way of getting around it. "And I have had some terrible things happen as well." Her eyes lowered to look at the ground. "I was out one day, walking with Gaul just enjoying the nice weather, out of no where this panther came out of the grasses, I knew so little about fighting that I had little chance of escaping with my life. But Gaul helped, he and I fought the beast off but I was hurt pretty badly. I managed to escape, run away before collapsing. I was lucky a healer came upon me or I likely would have died." Aquitaine closed her eyes for a moment pushing the frightening encounter away. "I relive that day so many times in my nightmares, sometimes it plays out the same and other times...the panther kills me." Slowly her eyes lifted until she was looking at Agave.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:51 am
"Perhaps.I will trust your judgment on these things, I am no healer." Agave remarked when she spoke of what be wrong with his shoulder. He truly hoped that she was right and the problem turned out to be a simple one, one that would be worked out on it's own in time. "It is true I am not used to sleeping for a full night laying down." He added both to give her more information as well as to reassure himself that there was another perfectly logical reason for the tightness.
When she described what had happened to her in their time apart Agave listened quietly, and while he frowned when she once more insisted on speaking of a weakness he did not interrupt. When she finally got to the heart of hte problem he was relieved..she had fought and been beaten do to lack of skill..oh of course it was terrible that she had been badly hurt but what could one expect when they ran around without proper combat skills? It only solidified his knowledge that the area needed to be fortified...and he mentally added combat training for Aquitaine and..whomever this Gaul was to his 'to do' list when he was better. "That is easily fixed" He told her in a confident voice "When I am well I will simply teach you how to fight, then you will not have to fear such things any longer and your nightmares will go away with that knowledge and confidence. It will be my payment to you for your help in healing me"
Of course it never occured to agave that she was helping him simply because he was her friend, he thought of her as a friend too - but where he had grown up even friends were payed and owed when favors were given and he was sure it was the same out here. Nothing was free - even friendship. The thought that she might not wish to learn how to fight never entered his mind either - it was just a skill that he assumed everyone should have.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:05 pm
A soft smile played itself across Aquitaine's lips. A few months ago even she had not been a healer. True she was the child of two unicorns but her mutations had nearly robbed her completely oh the right to heal with her natural powers. She could use them in a pinch but too much use and she would more often than not black out. Hence her reliance on herbs to do nearly all the healing she needed for others sake, and sometimes her own. "That will be something you will need to get used to, is getting a full nights sleep." That could be the first step in his reformation from his old ways, but Aquitaine wanted to make sure he did adjust, even if it was only minor things here and there at first she would show him that he didn't always need to be on alert and ready to take down whatever happened to be on the other side of the bush.
A frown tugged her smile away and she gave her head a shake. "I have learned to fight since that day Agave. I hate it but I had to learn to defend myself if it ever happened again." The chance of getting attacked by a skinwalker twice in ones life was likely very small. "I don't think more training would help me any." And then because she didn't want to offend him in any ways she said. "I appreciate the offer though." And she really did, the fact that he wanted to help her was great...until he mentioned it as payment for her helping him. "Agave, you don't need to pay me for healing you. I would have done the same thing for anyone else I found injured. You're my friend, and seeing you recover is payment and reward enough for me."
Giving her head a small shake Aquitaine looked around this small grove she called home. "I should get you some water, I am sure you are hungry." He needed to eat too, but honestly she wasn't sure what he would eat, plants like she did, or something else. She hated to ask such a silly question but she had to know, she couldn't let him starve. "And you need to eat, those berries won't do much but help block out the pain, you need food is you want to heal quickly...though I don't know what to get you."
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:54 pm
"So it would seem" Agave remarked, though to be honest sleeping for so long made him feel a bit guilty - oh sure he was healing at the moment and so had a bit of an excuse but surely there was something that needed to be done around here...patrols or chasing off encroaching neighbors or collecting herbs perhaps? Only he suspected that Aquitaine was more interested in the healing herbs then the ones his mother had used. He had actually escorted Supreme on enough herb trips that he recognized a great many of them on sight - he had no idea what they were for but he knew which ones to collect. When he was capable perhaps he would offer to help her with that. It was a menial task, back home it was suitable only for slaves but he thought perhaps Aquitaine would be pleased if he wanted to do something so..calm.
Of course his thoughts on that matter were interrupted when she reacted so badly to the thought of him teaching her how to fight..in fact she said she hated fighting, Sure Agave didn't always like the reasons behind his previous fighitng, but he found the tactics and thought behind it exhilarating...plus it was really the only thing he was good at. Somewhat crestfallen, not only because someone had already beaten him in teaching her - and he doubted that she had learned from anyone as good as he was, else why would she still fear this creature that had attacked her? - but she also stated she would have healed anyone she ran across, he wasn't special then, as he had been kidding himself he was and it was only a reminder that he had no idea what he was doing out here in this world. No doubt she said such things to everyone she healed. "Of course you have" He stated "How silly of me to think otherwise" He stated laying his head down and closing his eyes in dismissal of the conversation.
When she spoke again a few moments later Agave refused to open his eyes, preferring instead to only flatten his ears and mutter. "Grass is fine." Despite his looks - and she wasn't the first one to ask such a question - many of his mothers slaves often wondered the same thing - Agave ate plants the same as most other Soquili. Only the spiders were predators - and they could hunt for themselves,
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:14 pm
Aquitaine's eyes narrowed but Agave's wouldn't have seen, for he had closed his eyes in an attempt to end the conversation. "That's not fair Agave. You think I was wrong to seek out anothers help in order to learn to fight? I had little choice in the matter, who else could have taught me?" Her father knew how to fight but she had felt odd going to him to request more lessons when he knew she didn't enjoy them. So she had gone outside the family for help and had found someone to teach her more than just the basics. Sure there was still plenty to know about fighting but Aquitaine didn't like violence in any ways, and felt content with what she knew of defensive skills now. "You think I should have waited for you to come here and teach me? I couldn't let that much time go by between the attack and learning how to defend myself. Besides..." Her voice cracked for a moment letting her emotions show. "I didn't think you would ever free yourself from your mother. I thought I lost my friend for good Agave."
Not waiting to see what he would say to that Aquitaine turned, quickly scooping up the turtle shell and trotted out of the grove. She needed time to clear her mind, helping Agave would be a huge undertaking and he wasn't making it any easier on her. Aquitaine hurried to the stream and set the turtle shell down at the edge, allowing the slow moving water to slowly fill it up. Here away from Agave, away from her home, her herbs and everything else she could take a moment to collect herself and her thoughts. She shouldn't have gotten upset with Agave, his world was so different than her own that it would take time for both of them to adjust, she would need to learn to deal with his quirks in a better manner and he would need to understand that things happened differently around here. She took the opportunity to get a drink herself, as she waited for the shell to fill up. Grass would be the next thing to collect unless Agave planned to eat the grass he was currently laying on.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:33 pm
Agave's face remained stoic, as though he hadn't heard her and her comments, he let it look as though he had fallen asleep or something. Of course anything could be farther from the truth and his ears swiveled slightly as he heard her trotting off. He could have tried to tell her it wasn't not waiting for him which had upset him - of course she should have gotten help from someone else in the meantime - but honestly he didn't think she would understand. How would she understand that training her fight would be something he could share with her, something that he could give back to her when she was so clearly going to have to show him a great many things.
It was infuriating to feel so powerless, so out of his depth to be reminded at nearly every turn that he didn't belong here. But what choice did he have? It was either adapt or return home and he knew what awaited him there. She spoke of fearing she had lost him and yet..Agave was afraid he might loose himself in this process, He had already given up his home and his life...and by the sounds of it he would need to give up a great many of his hobbies as well. What exactly was that going to leave him with? What did Soquili do around here to keep themselves occupied on a daily basis? They didn't train apparently and they didn't guard, which had been his great time consumption's back home. What was he going to do with himself? He didn't even know what he liked to do beside those two things because he had never been given the opportunity to explore such things. Mulling these thoughts over in his mind he regarded Aquitaine's abode in the growing light. Maybe he could learn to pick flowers..he vaguely recalled her talking about doing so when they were foals - it seemed dreadfully dull however.
In the meantime he was going to have to apologize to Aquitaine he realized, he had not meant to take his frustrations out on her, and she was doing a great deal for him, he owed her more then a surly temper.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:46 pm
A heavy sigh escaped the blue mare as she realized she had overreacted. Agave was making a huge step in his life to leave his mother, come here for the help she had promised to give him and what had Aquitaine done? She had gotten upset with him. It was a foolish thing but somehow they had both ended up out of the element and upon realizing that restored to what came naturally, Agave had gotten snippy and Aquitaine ran away. Aquitaine needed to adapt just as much as Agave did. But perhaps this was what they needed to do together, for without each other they would likely fail. She needed someone who was confident, could help her in things she wasn't good at, such as fighting, and this event was just what she needed to mix up her life just a bit- hopefully in a good way for once. Whereas Agave needed someone to show him that anger wasn't the best or first solution to go to, that things were vastly different here and to show him how to still live a life that gave him meaning without suffering from his decision.
With her mind cleared and a new perspective on the situation in her thoughts Aquitaine picked up the water filled turtle shell and began the long, slow walk back to the grove. This work made her jaw hurt as it wasn't natural for her to carry something like that but she was willing to do it to help Agave. Some time after she had left Aquitaine entered the grove once more and set down the turtle shell in front of Agave before stepped away.
She should say something, to let him know that she wasn't mad at him, that she too had overreacted to the situation. "Agave...I..." What could she say, that he was right, well he was and wasn't in a way. That she had been wrong to say those things. It was so hard. "...this is all so new to me." She finally said, hoping he would understand what she meant. He challenged her in ways she had never been challenged before and it would take time to adjust to that among other things. "I think it would be nice if you could teach me how to fight. As long as you understand I don't enjoy it, but I do realize it is something important everyone needs to know." Surely there was plenty more she could learn about the subject and maybe it would help to get rid of her nightmares, anything was worth a try.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:00 pm
By the time Aquitaine had returned with the water Agave's temper had quieted somewhat, in truth he knew his frustrations stemmed not only from the differences his new life was going to force him to make, nor even from the knowledge that he lacked what were were considered even basic skills by most of the Soquili here...a great deal of his ill temper was simply from being cooped up. He was simply not used to spending so much time staying still in one place, nor to being as wounded as he was...a part of him was still perhaps a bit upset over loosing his fight in the first place.
"No" He told her "I owe you an apology, I should not have treated you like I did and certainly you do not have to learn something you do not like just because I think it's a good idea." Things were new to him too - but he wasn't yet willing to admit that sort of weakness, even to her. "Maybe..maybe when I am well I can help you replace the herbs you used in healing me instead, I know most of them on sight even if not what they are for." He stopped talking before he revealed how he had learned such things - Agave didn't think Aquitaine would be pleased to hear that he had learned it from escorting slaves around. It would probably just upset her again. With his apology taken care of he turned his attention to the water, drinking steadily. Perhaps if he rested quietly enough she would let him up for a while..if only to graze somewhere nearby.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:10 pm
A faint smile crossed her lips as he apologized for what he had said and the way he had treated her. She knew he wasn't used to things like this and so was willing to accept his apology and know that in the future they would both think before reacting in similar ways as they had earlier. "Thank you." And she meant it. His apology was the first small step of many he would take, and she would be right there with him to help him along the way. For that's what friends were for after all. "I do want to learn Agave, not just because you think it is a good idea. I may not like it but there are things in life we won't like but we do them anyways for a purpose. I never want to have such a close call again as I did with that skinwalker, so anything to prevent that from happening again is a good thing." And it would give Agave something to do that he was good at, make him feel a bit more useful, even if she wasn't his typical student type.
Aquitaine stood there quietly as he drank and then nodded. "I think that would be good, we could gather the herbs much more efficiently with two of us working at it." And she would need to restock several of them by the time Agave was done healing, that wound on his shoulder was large enough that it was quickly eating through her stockpile. "I was going to get some grass for you...but if you think you can walk a bit we can go out into the meadow." She offered, both as a peace offering and a way to let him up and about knowing he wouldn't enjoy staying her without some freedom. "It will also tell me if your muscles tightness is just a cramp or something else." She was certain it was just a crap, from the extra time at rest, but the sooner she found out otherwise the sooner she could try to fix that too. "There's a meadow just on the other side of the grove we can go to to graze."
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:38 pm
It seemed that his apology had made her happy and for some reason seeing that was enough to make swallowing his pride to say them worth while. He was also pleased to hear that she would accept learning some combat moves from him regardless of what she thought about it, perhaps if he thought about how to approach it he could introduce her to things in fighting she might enjoy..there was far more behind it then simply violence for the sake of violence, there were theories and tactics and other things which might appeal to her intelligent mind - and if he had to pick plants with her in exchange, well he was willing to do that. Healing plants were important to have around.
When she suggested they he could try to go out like he had hoped the stallion wasted no time in getting to his feet before she could change her mind, he carefully kept any sort of grimace at the pain this caused from his face in fear that she would change her mind and demand he lay back down, to keep from swaying as unused muscles felt kind of jelly like he locked his knees and gave her a determined look. "I will go and graze, there is no need for you to fetch food and it will allow the spiders time to go off and hunt as well."
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:57 pm
Aquitaine frowned slightly. She had nearly forgotten about his spiders, creepy things that they were, but she supposed it was something else she would need to get used to, for as long as Agave was around then so too would his spiders be. She watched him carefully as he got up but he seemed to be managing well considering his injuries. While rest was important to healing so too was keeping the blood circulating and going for a short walk would help with that. With a slight nod Aquitaine led the way out of the grove. She kept her pace slow knowing Agave was feeling pain even if he didn't show it and he needed to be careful not to rip open any of the healing his shoulder had done so far. As she had mentioned it was only a short walk to the meadow and when the trees gave way to grass Aquitaine paused for a moment before continuing forward. Ever since the incident with the skinwalker she had hated entering meadows.
She walked a short distance into the meadow before stopping. Here there was plenty of grass though given the fact that fall was fast approaching it was not as lush or green as it had been the months prior. But it was still good to eat and would provide them both with the energy required. Glancing towards Agave she watched him walk. "Is that muscle still stiff? Or has the walk loosened it up a bit?" If it had loosened then the stiffness would have been nothing more than a cramp due to not using the muscle for the time he rested. Lowering her head Aquitaine cropped at the grass, she couldn't focus all her attention on Agave, he may be her friend and her current patient, but she too needed to eat to keep up her strength. Her dragon let out a rumble, though it was one Aquitaine recognized as something close to happiness, the hair beast truly enjoyed basking in the sun and so standing here out in the meadow with the suns rays beating down on her back the creature was quite content.
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