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 Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 1:07 pm
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Earlier that morning, Ignazio had followed his sister out of the familiar sandy dunes into the shadowy green borders of the ancient forests cupping their desert homeland. The cool darkness beneath the trees was terribly unfamiliar for the little colt who was used to wide open spaces and blistering heat. He found himself glancing up every few minutes and was unnerved by the intertwined boughs that obscured the sky. Still, he dutifully followed his sister, she was technically younger by a few minutes but there was no doubt who the dominant sibling was. Ignazio absolutely adored Kynreeve, and there was no way he was going to let her wander off into a potentially dangerous unknown without him there to watch her back. It wasn't that Ignazio was a coward, far from it, but he didn't know how to respond to such strange surroundings, it was a shock to his senses. As a result, his imagination was running away with him and making him much more skittish than usual. He was sure all manner of unpleasant creatures would be lurking in the shadows, waiting to sneak up on them, undetectable until they reared up for attack. He felt a cold shiver touch his spine as they passed through a particularly dark copse of trees, it felt as though they were being watched. Ignazio glanced up through the branches, there was little more than an hour of daylight left, he didn't like the idea of spending the night out here. "Kynreeve... Perhaps we should turn back, I'm not really sure what you were hoping to find out here, but I don't think we're going to find it today. Perhaps we could come back tomorrow..." Not likely. There were all manner of more interesting places to explore closer to home, or at least still within the badlands. He could handle anything they might encounter within the desert's borders. Danger he was used to, but he preferred to see it coming first, this fear of the unknown was making him jump with every small noise.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 8:02 pm
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She hadn't meant to be a creep. She had told herself not to follow them. But they were intriguing. She couldn't help her curiosity, and as always she couldn't stop her feet from wandering. The way they shied from bushes and glared up at the treetops as if they were a sort of prison was interesting to her. That was odd about them. But their physical appearances drew her in, made her want to know them. She didn't mean to eavesdrop. She told herself to stop listening to their conversation. But her large catlike ears picked up their words with ease and they perked at the mention of skinwalkers. In all her time in the forest she had never seen one. They were never something that she worried about or feared, but perhaps that was because she had never seen one. Risti giggled lightly at the "eep" of the other filly and at the nervousness of the colt, causing her own flesh to crack a little.
She looked at it skeptically, becoming a little nervous of its decent down her leg. Stop that. She pleaded with the curse that affected her body. Now was not the time to break down. Not when she wanted to introduce herself to these newcomers of the forest. She wondered where they were from, they were obviously not familiar with the forest. Perhaps if she could introduce herself she could convince them to take her to their home, wherever it was. The breaking continued down her legs, deciding to be merciless to her begging. It ended suddenly at the tip of a hoof in a loud c***k that echoed through the forest, alerting the newcomers and the rest of the forest to her presence.
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Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:57 am
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Ignazio winced at the unwelcome use of his childhood nickname, sometimes sisters were so embarrassing. It did manage to make his thoughts less morbid for a few moments though, at least until his mind registered the last part of Kynreeve's question. "skinwalkers?!" he squeaked, peering around with eyes as wide as dinner plates. He swallowed hard and managed to calm his racing heart, "I don't know," he admitted nervously, "I suppose they do live in forests now that you mention it...." he trailed off with a sullen glare, "...-but I think we'd have seen some sign after all this time if there was one nearby, we've been crashing around this area for a while now."
He nearly jumped out of his skin at his sister's startled reaction to something on the forest floor, his senses were on high alert when a barely audible giggle reached his ears. "Kynreeve, quiet!" he snapped, suddenly all authority, he stepped in front of his sibling protectively and listened hard, trying to identify the source of the noise. A loud c***k seemed to come out of nowhere, his entire body was trembling with barely concealed fear now, but his mind was cool, silently running through every attack strategy his father had ever pounded into his children's heads. "Who's there?" he called out tentatively, if he could get whatever it was to show itself, it would lose the element of surprise.
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Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:40 pm
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After Ignazio told her to be quiet, she quickly pulled herself together and was able to hear the strange 'clink'. Ignazio had stepped infront of her as a shield, but she knew what to do. They worked best as a team, she turned and put her back to his, now they could see in all directions. They worked as a unit, and used both their eyes and ears to watch for danger and search for the source of the noise. It was a strange kind of noise, Kynreeve had never heard anything like it, it didnt sound like stone or wood, or anything organic. The fear of the unknown seeped into her bones and made them tremble. Her legs wobbled under her already skinny body, and refused to be tame. They knew they weren't alone, they had felt eyes on them from the moment they entered the forest, now they trembled and waited for whatever it was to reveal itself.
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Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 9:22 pm
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Great, now you've scared them. She thought to herself and to the breaking. She didn't want to move, didn't want to risk it in case the breaking was not finished bullying her. She hated how it held her back all the time. When she was sure it would not continue any further, she shuffled forward from behind a particularly large tree and into their field of vision. She was surprised they hadn't seen her yet, her yellow pelt was usually a signal for her siblings and for her parents of her whereabouts. That was another curse she was sure she had been gifted, but she didn't mind it so much as the breaking.
"Oh...hi there," she said lightly, acting as if she hadn't noticed them the whole time. She was enough of a freak without being a stalker as well. She smiled at them, hoping they would realize that she really meant no harm to them. Perhaps they would run away from her. That would be a pity. She had very few friends here, the ones she had met had continued wandering on. She understood that need, so she never asked anyone to stay. But it was a pity when they left. Soon, she would leave too. She knew her time was coming, she wandered further and further each day. It was becoming a necessity for her, almost a therapeutic event.
"You're new around these parts?" she suggested, trying to interrupt the awkward silence between them without being too obvious.
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 9:13 am
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Ignazio felt Kynreeve shift to guard his back, his mouth twisting up at the corners in a resigned smile, his sister was not one to stand back and let her brother fight her battles, regardless of how much he may want to. A brightly colored filly suddenly stepped into his field of vision, looking as surprised by their presence as they were by hers. She was very... feline in appearance, from her ears to her long flexible tail and cracks radiated across her back, legs, and tail. He winced a little in sympathy, thinking they must be very painful, but he there was no blood to be seen on her and she didn't seem to be suffering. "Hello" he replied warily and tried on a weak smile of his own before shifting back a couple steps surreptitiously until he was standing next to his sister instead of in front of her. Another foal didn't seem like something his sister would need protection from and he found himself growing shy in the presence of this stranger, and wouldn't it have to be a girl. Girls made him nervous, he would almost rather it had been a purewalker.
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:58 am
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Kynreeve spun around to see the stranger, She was relived to see it was not a skinwalker. Her ears and tail were suspicious but she had normal looking feet. She immediately cringed a little when she spotted the strangers coat. The fair colors usually meant Badieh or at least Rasheeka (her least favorite group of the sand culture) but perhaps the fair colors didnt mean the same thing in the forest. After all, the forest wasn't exactly lacking in resources, perhaps the folks here didn't fight over them as much.
Regardless, Kynreeve still carried the stigma, and raised her head as if to look taller or larger. It must be obvious that they were foreign, why else would she ask if they were new? Kynreeve remained uneasy and didnt want to be taken advantage of. She knew girls made Ignazio nervous and he was acting typically in the presence of one, shy, guarded, and unsocial. Kynreeve stepped forward to make her presence, she spoke clearly. "This place is new to us, who are you?" Kynreeve always tried to make herself sound tougher than she appeared to be, so her question sounded a bit accusing.
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Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:22 pm
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Her ears perked at the colt's response and she smiled, he seemed to be nervous so she tried not to stare. Her tail twitched at the response of the female however, and she frowned slightly. "I'm Ri. I live here...for now," she said, looking around at the forest and then back at the two that stood before her. She smiled despite the somewhat off-putting response she had just received. Perhaps she had known she was following the whole time, and in that case Risti didn't blame either of them for being a little hesitant.
"Do you mind...I'm just curious...why are you here?" she asked finally. They seemed to be looking for something, but for what she did not know. "Are you lost? I can help you, maybe," she offered innocently, hoping they would let her come with them to wherever they were going.
She wanted to go where they were from, wherever that was. But that didn't seem to be what they were looking for. Her cracks widened a little as she took in the details of their appearances more accurately now that they were closer to her and now that they weren't moving as much. She smiled at the dark colors, slightly wishing she could be a little less bright herself.
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Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:13 am
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The filly seemed kind enough to Ignazio, although he still felt nervousness humming down his spine. Kynreeve was alright and already carrying on a conversation with the other foal, he privately felt that his sister had simply been born without fear. Ignazio couldn't abide strangers or females other than Kynreeve, they brought forth a paralyzing shyness that was difficult to overcome until he could observe them for a while and feel more comfortable in their presence. The shyness abated if he sensed danger, either for himself or more often, his sister, and was replaced by a fierce defensiveness. He sometimes felt that Kynreeve was the source of his courage. Of course the little colt was unaware of how much progress he was making at dealing with strangers as he grew older and his self assurance and resolute nature continued to blossom, but it was the sort of thing that was hard to observe within oneself. "I'm just following her." he explained, his voice taking on a long suffering tone as he rolled his eyes in the direction of his sister. He shoved his shyness down and tried to shove a little steel into his backbone, he tried to emulate his father's boldness, it was a little easier when he simply acted like someone else.
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Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:43 pm
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"Ruins?" her ears swiveled excitedly at the word. It sounded adventurous and exciting. Although she couldn't say she'd been there, she was sure she had heard of it somehow. Or perhaps she had seen it through the trees in passing. She wasn't sure, but she wanted to go there now. Surely if it was worth it for these two strangers to venture here, it was worth it for her to investigate.
"I've never seen any ruins...But I can help you find them," she said hopefully, smiling again at Ignazio as she was aware of his gaze upon her and as he explained that he was following the filly. Then she returned her attention to Kynreeve, asking for permission to come along with them with an excited expression. If they decided to go on alone, she'd probably go anyways...but it would be fun to have some company. She often wandered separate from her family and at times it could get little lonely.
"Why are you going to the ruins?" she asked curiously, her head tilting slightly. There was something about the mention of them that peeked her interest, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Aside from everyday exploring and adventure, there was something exciting about these two strangers and their journey to the ruins.
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Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:15 pm
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Kynreeve appeared to be put off by Ri's cheerfulness. She is usually put off by others in general, and prefers to keep to herself. She is a bit taken back by Ri's friendliness. It was something Kynreeve rarely came across. She was told to be wary of others, and thought in turn others ought to be wary of her. So to have someone be so open and eager to help welt strange, Kynreeve was awkward and didnt know how to react.
and how could this filly help them find the ruins if she had never seen them herself? But perhaps she knew something they didnt?
She had no idea where to start looking for the ruins, but she had hoped to find treasure of some kind. If they agreed to let Ri help them, then Kynreeve would want to stick to it. They had been wandering for quite a while and could see Ignazio was reluctant and wanted to go home.
Kynreeve looked back to Ignazio for some sort of input or support.
"If we go, what ever we find there we could bring back to dad." assuming they find anything at all, but she wanted to temp Ignazio to get his head in the game. If Kynreeve was going to go looking for ruins in a strange place, with a strange filly, she wasn't going to do it without him. and this was their last chance to turn back
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Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 3:39 pm
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Ignazio made some show of thinking about that for a while, his little face twisted in concentration but he could see how excited Kynreeve was about finding these ruins. While he wasn't keen about spending the night in the forest with a stranger, he couldn't help but feel a little thrill at the risk they were taking... And it would be nice to bring something interesting home to their father for once, who likely didn't even know they were missing. Warrick had been gone for a few days again, working he said, but Ignazio had a feeling his father was hiding something from them. It stung that Warrick left them alone so frequently, they had no mother, and with their father gone often as well it sometimes felt like he and Kynreeve were alone in the world. "All right." He agreed finally, "We've been out here this long, we might as well finish what we started, but where do we look next? I feel like we've been wandering in here for ages and I haven't seen a sign of anything like the falcons described." Ignazio was, at this point, dubious that these ruins even existed. He thought the birds were probably having a good laugh at a couple of gullible youngsters.
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Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:33 pm
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She blinked innocently at them while waiting for an answer, looking from her to him as they discussed their plans. When the colt finally gave an answer she grinned excitedly, assuming that meant she could go along with them. She hadn't received an official answer, but she was excited to go with them nonetheless.
"How about we go that way?" she asked, indicating with her tail towards a small break in the trees, "I thought I saw something through the trees way up that way, but I heard my mother calling me back before I could see what it was."
She moved towards them a little, only to pass the pair and head towards the direction she had pointed towards. She looked back at them with a smile, her tail swaying behind her. She knew the female was not all too fond of her...perhaps the male would talk some sense into her. But he didn't seem too excited either. She could only hope that their curiosity was as great as hers and that it would overcome their hesitation towards her. To her, there was something familiar about them, there was something that connected them all. She didn't know what, but there was something there.
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