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 Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 9:29 am
Was she that deluded into believing that what the batwalker had promised would have been true? Should she have trusted him at his word? Tsunami shook her head and eyed her surroundings. She couldn't fly. No, that wasn't true. She felt too ashamed of her heritage. She had been led astray just like another member of her proud herd. What would she be in for if she returned, broken inside, as she was?
It was better to walk. Time would also be able to heal her various scratches. She'd refused to use her own healing magic on herself as the wounds gave her something to focus on. She was worried about one of her wounds though. It seemed to have become inflamed in the passing days. It was out of reach of her horn so even if she could heal it ... it was impossible to do so. Tsunami gave a quiet sigh. She didn't recognize any of her surroundings.
Her companion truly was her life line. Its gentle urgings continued to give Tsunami the strength to place one hoof in front of the other. Her heart lay torn asunder in her chest as her gaze once again shifted to glance behind her. Why had this happened?
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:04 pm
For a blind soquili, Rezo got around surprisingly well on his own. His hooves were skilled at finding the path beneath them and following it. Even if he couldn't see he used the world around him as his guide. Every living being made some sort of sound. He used these sounds to help him paint a picture in his mind of his surroundings. He desperately longed to be able to see the birds that sang so prettily and was determined that some day he would. No matter what it took, some day he would see the world instead of just imagining it.
He continued upon his sightless way. He had heard rumors of a unicorn elder that lived about these parts. Perhaps an elder could succeed where so many other unicorns had failed him. One edge of his mouth pulled upwards in a bitter half-smile. He somehow doubted that even an elder would be able to cure his sight. He had already been to powerful and renowned healers and mages, both soquili and human alike. Why would this one be any different?
From his own bitter darkness, he heard the sound of hooves. Someone approached. Rezo stopped, his tail jingling with the change in movement. He waited to see if the stranger would grow nearer.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:27 pm
What terrible luck was this? Tsunami's ears caught the sound of jingling combined with the sound of hoof steps. She cast a wary gaze behind her almost afraid that she would see the familiar form of Jayden coming up from behind her. She flinched before realizing that there was nothing behind her. The sounds that she was hearing were coming from in front of her. There was a bend in the path and the mare couldn't see what she would be walking into. Tsunami paused in her motion and debated if there was a way that she could avoid whomever she had stumbled upon and sighed deeply when she realized that there was no possible way to step around this dicey encounter.
Raising her head she pressed on in the same direction she had been going before stopping. The jingling had stopped almost as if her mysterious figure had stopped as well. Tsunami held her breath and pressed forward. Her eyes were semi-frantic as she rounded the bend and almost immediately she stiffened her posture. There was a unicorn stallion standing before her. Tsunami's eyes closed momentarily before she opened them again. She took in the stranger's appearance before noting the closed eyes of the stallion. Would those eyes open and pierce through the shreds of dignity that Tsunami wrapped tightly around herself? At a time like this it'd be so easy just to fly away. Her wings shuffled before she tucked them tightly against her sides. Could she merely pass this unicorn without saying anything? She wanted desperately to try. She edged her front left leg forward before stopping. Her brain screamed at her to just continue ... but Tsunami remained frozen, locked in place. A soft sound of despair escaped her as she stood there.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:37 pm
Each soquili breed had their own subtle variation of smell. From what Rezo could pick out of the chill air, it was some sort of wind. As she approached he mutely turned to face her, inclining his sightless face in her direction. Was this stranger friend or foe? It was too early to tell... but by the small sad sound that escaped her, he didn't think she would harm him.
She was hurt. Whether they were wounded in body or spirit, the injured had never failed to find their way to Rezo. He didn't know what fate drew them to him, but he had built his reputation as a wise sage and a healer based upon his treatment of them. This seemed like another time when he would encounter a pained soquili just due to chance. He could heal them of their wounds, but he could never heal himself. It was the greatest irony of his long life.
"Hello there," he said, his cool voice carrying far in the quiet.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:48 pm
Tsunami shook her mane. She didn't want to reply to this stranger. It was a conflicting situation. Something prodded at her consciousness that perhaps not all stallions were like Jayden. Besides weren't unicorns supposed to be healers? Tsunami glanced down to the general area that she knew the worst wound she'd received lay unattended. She closed her eyes in denial. She had to say something. He already knew that she was there.
It was the sightless gaze that was focused on her that gave her a little bit of a chill. Tsunami didn't know if the stallion was merely toying with her but she gave a soft sigh of resignation. Her voice, when she spoke, was tremulous. She was nervous and it wouldn't be hidden by false bravado. "Good day. Might I pass?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:59 pm
"Of course you may," he replied smoothly. Just from her voice he could tell a lot about her. She was frightened, but trying not to show it. He doubted that she had family or close friends in the area. If she did, where were they now? Any soquili that was able to would immediately retreat to those that they loved in a time of trouble, as this mare was obviously experiencing.
"But is that really what you want to do?" Though soothing, his soft voice was more authoritative than gentle. "I can heal you if you are hurt."
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:18 pm
"But is that really what you want to do?"
What a ridiculous question. Of course she wanted to pass. Tsunami took a few steps to the side in order to do just that when the stallion's next words hit her ears. Her head whipped back to stare at the stallion as she registered what he had said.
"I can heal you if you are hurt."
Tsunami's gaze shot up at to stare at the stallion. He was offering to heal her. Why? Would he want anything in return? Tsunami gave a small shiver. She did not want to place her trust in anyone else in case she ended up getting hurt again. She glanced down towards where she was physically suffering before sighing. It would not do well for her to keep going and develop an infection that could harm her later on. "Is there anything attached to your offer?" Her voice, once soft and unsure, seemed hardened. She'd been deceived once and didn't want to repeat the experience. Her eyes filled with tears that refused to fall.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:40 pm
"No, not at all." He tracked her motion, turning his head to watch her almost as if he was able to see her. Some soquili found him unnerving with his accuracy, to which Rezo had only ever smiled. "I am Rezo, the Red Priest." He paused to let the name sink in. Many soquili had heard of him and his healing ability. If she had too then it might ease her worry a little.
"I have healed kalonas, unicorns, and even usdias. I only ever take what is given freely." There was nothing that he could ask for his services that he could possibly make use of. He traveled and his home was far away. He had no use for trinkets or other tokens of admiration.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:53 pm
If Rezo only knew that the name didn't carry any meaning to Tsunami. Being from a herd that frowned on association with non-winds it would have been rare that Tsunami would have heard Rezo's name, even in passing. And even when she was traveling alone she had kept mainly to herself until she had run across Jayden. Tsunami shook her head. She needed to get the batwalker out of her mind. Perhaps the first step to find success in that manner would to rid herself of the physical marks that he'd left on her body from the attack. She gave a soft sigh. She had not spoken to any other Soquili for a long while. The mare paused her thoughts as she took in Rezo's appearance. He'd given his name and apparently his title to go with it. She should reciprocate.
"I am known as Tsunami."
There - she had taken the first step in reconnecting with others but she wasn't exactly thrilled about it. The idea that Rezo would not charge or ask for anything for this healing had Tsunami's mind in turmoil. She needed the attention and Rezo was freely offering it. Why shouldn't she accept?
"Rezo, I think I should take your offer."
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:26 pm
"Tsunami." Rezo gave a half-smile as he considered her name. "A relentless rush of water. Interesting." He wondered what sort of parents would name their child something like that. Tsunami was a less bleak name than something like Plague or Destruction, but he still associated the word with a certain amount of devastation... or power. Would the mare have her own power that lived up to that?
"Be still then, Tsunami, and I will heal you." His horn began to glow as he approached her. A red aura surrounded it's silver core. This was one of the reasons he had taken up the mantle of "The Red," even before he began to wear his sweeping red cloak.
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Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 2:59 pm
Tsunami might have been a little surprised at the knowledge that Rezo displayed with the very apt description of what she had been named after. It was common for all blood related members of the Thunderbird herd to carry names of the destructive forces of nature. Stormfall had carried on the tradition when she had bestowed Tsunami with her name. Of course shortening it to Sunni as a nickname seemed to have been her mother's own private little joke. The thought alone brought Tsunami reeling back to the present. Rezo had closed the distance between them.
It was a feeling of uneasiness that pressed down on Tsunami as she saw the strange reddish glow from the stallion's horn. Tsunami could not help but twitch as Rezo continued towards her. The nearness of another stallion had her body tensing and her mind screaming at her to flee lest she get hurt again. She tamped down on the crazed commands before closing her eyes. Perhaps if she could not see Rezo's final steps toward her she could attempt to put herself at ease. It didn't work. Her breath caught in her throat as she came to realize that the sounds of Rezo's steps had stopped. He would be right in front of her then. Drawing on all the courage that she possessed Tsunami willed her body to remain as still as Rezo had instructed her to be only moments ago.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:18 pm
The growing warmth of her body and the soft sounds of her breathing guided Rezo to his current patient. Once there, he lowered his horn to her. It was almost as if the wounds called to the healing energy of his horn. He was guided to each injury by that ebb and flow. He could not see the injuries healing but he could sense that they drew less upon his magic. When one seemed to require no more energy he moved onto the next.
"These are no simple scrapes," he murmured thoughtfully as he paused at one. She didn't acquire these injuries by tripping or something simple like that. "If I may ask, what attacked you?" If there was something dangerous in the area then he would like to know about it before he encountered it. He was not as defenseless as a blind unicorn might seem, but he was no match for a full-blooded kalona or a skinwalker.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:37 pm
Tsunami tried to ignore the sensations that she associated with healing. She could feel the wounds closing and it always sent a small shiver throughout her body that she wanted to ignore. Having a wound grow smaller and close itself up felt as if there were something living and wriggling on her skin. As each of her current wounds closed, Tsunami tried to let the mild annoyance pass without comment or action. It was how she would have let the encounter pass between herself and Rezo but there was that one question that had to be asked.
Tsunami sucked in a surprised breath. Of course her injuries weren't simple scrapes. Each one spoke of her struggle against Jayden's betrayal. The mare remained silent for a moment. She didn't want to respond to the inquiry that had been made. However it could help her in the long run ... couldn't it?
"No. They aren't simple scrapes. Each wound marks the betrayal that one certain individual has inflicted on me. I was foolish to believe his words. You ask what it was that attacked me ... it was the father of the children that I've now lost. He stole them away from me."
With this Tsunami's strong facade fell apart. There were no tears or hysterics from her ... but something had changed. By speaking of the betrayal to a stranger ... it became more and more real.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:46 pm
Rezo pulled back briefly, his face set in stern disapproval for the one to commit such acts. Though he could be considered a somewhat dark and twisted individual himself, there were still some things that he couldn't abide by. He had healed mares harmed by their mates more often than he liked to consider. This one might be the most seriously injured one he had come across until now. He weighed what he might say, and eventually set himself back to his task of healing her.
"I am sorry to hear that," he said mildly. "Do you have family that might help you regain your children?" If the stallion was harming the mother this way then they would not be a good father either. Violence like that riddled a spirit like worms through an apple. Those sorts of stallions were rotten to the core.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 7:00 pm
Tsunami caught the expression that Rezo wore albeit very briefly. He seemed to consider his words before seemingly not finding any. His horn continued its work as Tsunami thought over the situation. The quiet words of support or remorse struck deeply inside Tsunami's mind. Drawn back to the conversation Tsunami gave a small sigh.
"I don't know whether or not I could fall back and ask for support in this case. I don't wish to draw them into this conflict. My family has felt the sting of betrayal before and I don't want them to incur that feeling again. I know that I wouldn't have the nerve to ask for help. The father of the baskets is something that I'd never seen before. Have you heard of skinwalkers that turn into bats?"
Tsunami was surprised that she was confiding in Rezo. What was it about the stallion that had her opening up? She was still trying to be cautious about what she revealed about herself.
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