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 Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:44 pm
 The unicorn mare had kept to herself all winter as was her habit, shunning even the company of her children. She had felt slightly bad for doing so; it had been evident the last time she had seen her son Vatsa that he needed to talk but she had been mired in the low mood that had clung to her since her relationship had ended.
She had finally shaken some of the gloom away, especially when her companion Shveni spoke to her in the most severest of words, trying to get her to see that she needed to stop dwelling on the past and mend fences with her children. Sohalia had realised that the vixen had spoken wisely, and had finally been drawn out of hiding. She wasn't sure where to start but she would track down Vatsa first, and then she would look for her second son and her daughter.
She had set out on a steel-grey sky day, the air felt heavy, as though it would snow. So far though it had yet to fall, and she moved quickly, her hooves striking the cold hardened ground. Occasionally she would cross over stretches of frost-rimed grass, the blades crunching underhoof. She hoped that this was the last cold snap of winter, she was looking forward to the spring and warmer weather.
Eventually her path took her to a stream. The water was mostly free flowing, though the edges were partially iced over, and she looked along it, trying to find a place to ford. She picked a spot that seemed narrower and started to splash across, wincing at the cold winter. She was climbing the opposite bank when it happened, her rear right hoof slipped back and broke through the ice, sinking into the thick mud just underneath. Sohalia let out a whinny of pain and suprise; the mud was clinging to her hoof, and the ice was sharp against her fetlock.
She dug her free hooves into the ground, but for now she couldn't lever her hoof free, and she huffed her wavy mane from her eyes, annoyed with herself and the damn mud, wondering how she was going to get herself loose.
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:34 am
Majesty had been wandering and minding his own business as was normal. He wasn't very far from his home and human family but he was just far enough to feel isolated. His only company was his fox friend Freedom who was some several yards away rooting around in the brush. To him, it was funny how comfortable he'd become around the fox that had only come to be his companion in the past few years. After all of the trauma of his former mate and the whole mess of trying to remember to raise the one son he had after all of it as he should be raised and not succumb to the numbing depression. Sometimes gifts of love and comfort came in small packages, or at least he supposed. Freedom had walked right out of a bush on one of Maj's worst days, snapped at him for being a stupid a** and then hadn't left. He smiled at the smaller creature as they clipped across the frostbitten vegetation. If he hadn't had the love of his friends that past few years, he wouldn't have come out sane.
Maj and his companion weren't very far away from the stream so when he heard a strange crack not far off he cocked his head to listen. It wasn't uncommon for the ice around it to crack and he loved all the noises water made so he listened. What he didn't expect to hear next was the whinny and scream of a distressed mare. His eyes rounded and he was instantly weary of helping yet another female because of how well that ended last time but his goodness of heart supersede the urge to flee. He whistled to Freedom and quickly picked up his hooves toward the noise. It wasn't more than a few minuets before he came upon a black unicorn mare, stuck in stream. The jagged ice was poking at her leg and he could only guess that she was stuck in the mud. "Lady, would you like some help?" He'd tried to make as much noise as possible in his approach as to not spook her.
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Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:03 pm
Sohalia hadn't meant to let out the whinny, but the shock and pain had taken her by surprise, so it was the loudest noise she'd made for some time - and of course it had been noticed by a passer by. Worse still, he had come to investigate the noise and now she was being stared at in her predicament by a strange Soquili and his familiar.
'I am quite capable of helping myself.' she said in a soft, but icy tone, her voice had always been quiet but had become even more so with lack of use. Her front legs were shaking slightly as they were holding all her weight, and she was trying to prevent herself from slipping backwards with the one free rear hoof by digging it into the mud bank of the stream.
She wondered how long he would continue to stand there for a brief moment, and then concentrated on getting her hoof free from the ice and mud.
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Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 1:32 pm
He blinked at her twice, three times. He hadn't bee expecting a warm welcome but even he could feel the icy wind and venom coming off her voice. If he was honest with himself, a warm welcome probably would have made him weary. As it was, he wanted to grin. Cold, ice mares did not steal your heart and stomp on it after you helped them. No the irony that she was stuck in ice was not lost on him. "I fear, Lady, that you're wrong. You're slipping and your shaking. If I leave you there you'll slip, fall, and then all four of your feet will be stuck. I can't let you freeze, even if it might be a fitting death for you."
He was not stupid and he let her know by hinting that he'd heard the tone in her voice. It was quiet but he'd heard it. "Now, just a second." Nimbly he trotted back from where he'd come several feet and then ran and jumped the stream. Landing on the other side like he'd done it a thousand time...which he probably had. He walked up to face her. "Climb onto my back and grab hold of my mane. I can help pull you out. Be careful not to cut your leg on the ice." He was not asking for permission, he knew she needed help and he was going to give it. He didn't care if she wasn't grateful or if he'd never see her again. To him, sometimes you did things because they needing doing. That and kindness and helpfulness where inherent to him.
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Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:11 pm
Sohalia rolled back her upper lip at that little jibe; what did he know of her? Just because she was in trouble that meant she was supposed to gush in a manner more fitting of a filly, and exclaim all kinds of gratitude for offered help when it wasn't asked for?
'I am fine.' she shot back, though all evidence was to the contrary. She was sure she could feel something warm on her trapped hoof, and that meant the ice had cut her and she was bleeding. Which wasn't good. Her ears were flat back against her head, and her breathing heavy - quite frankly she was panicking and she needed to swallow a rather sour pill and take his help.
The mare muttered a curse under her breath, and as he manouevered himself into position in front of her, she dredged up what little extra strength her shaking limbs could managed and scraped across his body until his mane was in reach. Clamping onto his mane with her teeth, she clung on as best she could, and waited for him to pull, knowing it would hurt as her hoof was pulled free.
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 1:28 pm
He watched quietly as her expressions moved from one displeasure to another. Not that he really cared if she hated him in the end but he really couldn't just leave her there like she seemed to want him to do. "If you were fine you would have pulled yourself out without my help and either left without giving me a second glance or sending a hard jibe my way."
With his head slightly turned and his back end lowered to make it easier for her to climb on he watched to make sure she wouldn't slip further. When she was finally scrambled up and they'd worked together to get he into place and with a firm clump of he mane in her teeth, he lifted himself back up to full height, turned to wrap his neck around hers to help anchor her and then began to move forward slightly and pull. He wasn't as strong as some soquili or even his adoptive brother but she was at least smaller than he was so it wasn't too hard. "It will be alight." He said quietly to her against her neck and then pulled hard. After a few seconds there are an audible noise as the mud released her foot and he continued to walk several feet up the bank. When he was sure she was free and they were far enough away that she would not slip in again, he lowered himself gently down to a tucked laying position with her still sprawled on his back. "There. I'll go now." Which was her prompting to get up since she clearly didn't want him there.
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 9:08 am
Sohalia felt the fine fool for needing this strange stallion's help; but she supposed to herself that it was the price one paid for becoming a virtual hermit and never venturing from the small area she had called home. She had lost her strength, her stamina and it seemed her common sense as she was sure she would not have waded across partially iced water before she closed herself off to the world.
Once stallion had stopped moving - and from what she could see it was a way from the slippery bank edges, so he had at least common sense - she got off from his back, spitting out mane hair and getting on shaking legs...well three of them at any rate. A long hissing noise escaped through gritted teeth when she tried to put weight on the injured rear hoof, forcing her to raise it again. She gave a little hop forwards, intending to escape from his company with so much as a backward glance, but had to stop after the first feeble attempt.
Had she injured a front hoof, she felt this would be easier, she could bear her weight down on her rear legs and hop forward with the single first but putting weight and hopping on the rear was much harder, and she was asking for movement from limbs that needed rest. Sohalia sagged, and sank to the ground, breathing hard as she did so.
'Spirits..' she growled, making the word sound like a curse, her mood, whilst not light as air when she had set out, lowered further, and she felt her throat tightening as her frustration threatened to boil over. Calm - she needed to calm herself, and she wished Shveni were here.
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:02 pm
He tarried and watched from his position on the ground as she tried to get up and walk away..but she couldn't. She'd not only gotten the foot stuck but sprained it or something. She'd freeze or get eaten if he left her here, but she didn't want him to help her further. "You cannot walk Lady. If I leave you something might come along that's not as friendly as I am and take advantage of your slowed pace." I would be easy to send Freedom back to village for help, he was watching quietly from the bushes. But Majesty didn't know how she'd react to the human healer or even his partner or her mate.
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:10 pm
Sohalia shook the mane from her face, some of the hair tangling around her white horn, looking him square in the face, her sapphire eyes speaking volumes about how she felt - her pain, her mistrust, and her inability to ask for help even when she needed it.
'I can walk..' she replied, all evidence to the contrary but still, she could not fail to keep her icy facade up, it was her only protection against everything, including getting her heart broken again.
She did give a snort though at his assertion that he was being friendly; granted he had helped her from the stream but he hadn't been what she would call 'warm'.
'You've been as amiable as I've been.' she said, turning to try and examine her cut fetlock.
'So, as friendly as you? I can deal with..'
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:21 pm
He raised an eyebrow at her, she was a fiesty thing, he'd give her that much...if more than a tad bit bitter. "Funny that you don't consider bumping into me luckier than bumping into something else. I don't have much to hurt you with. But there are things in the forest that do. Would you prefer getting eaten over accepting the help of a stranger who will not harm you?" Even to his own ears, he sounded ruder than his normal self. But she really hadn't given him any room to be polite or his normal self for that matter. Perhaps he did think, at least in the back of his head, think he did deserve a thank you for his assistance.
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:33 pm
This was getting peculiar..and vexing. Why was he still here? He'd done his hero bit, swooping in and giving assistance, even when it hadn't been asked for. Grudgingly she admitted to herself (yet not out loud), that he had helped, and she had needed it right then.
But that was done, and she still wasn't being friendly, or appreciative - or maybe that was what it was. He was hanging around hoping for her to bat her lashes, and thank him in her sweetest tones. He'd have to wait a while for that to happen. Was she thankful? She supposed she was in a way, it had really hurt with her hoof trapped. Could she bring herself to express it to him? Well, that was the question, wasn't it?
'No? You can hurt me with words..you can hurt me with your presence, or lack of it..there are many ways a male can hurt me, even if he doesn't touch me.' she said, the words spilling out before she could stop them. Sohalia blamed her wound, she was feeling vulnerable and that would never have come out normally. She snapped her mouth shut, and turned away again, wondering what she was to do.
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:57 pm
Aha! So there is was, the root of her ice queen tendencies. In her he suddenly saw a kindred spirit but she'd also hit a button. If she thought she was the only one who'd been hurt by others through no fault of their own, she had another thing coming! "Perhaps I wouldn't because I've also been hurt in such a way myself and don't feel like inflicting such pain upon another. I almost lost my son that way." There, that sounded more like himself. Candid and honest and calm. He got up and walked over closer to her, she couldn't escape after all. "Tell me your name please. I dislike giving you the title Lady when you don't seem to fit or want the title. My name is Majesty." With his eyes he willed her to look at him and answer honestly and without the hard exterior. He sensed that she not only needed a flank to lean on to walk right now, but also a friend.
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:58 am
Sohalia stared at him, gauging his words and his expression, wondering if it was just a line he was feeding in her in order to gain her trust. It was a while before she spoke again, picking her words carefully, not wanting to appear as if she were any less guarded, but wanting to show that she could understand..possibly even empthasise if they were in each other's company long enough.
'Trust can be easily shattered, and rebuilding it is the work of a long time. I would wish not to lose family bonds of my own through pain of loss.' she let out a short breath, almost a sigh.
The unicorn mare looked at him with a hard to read expression.
'I guess I deserved that..in a way. I didn't ask for a title..but I don't think I am less of a lady for acting out in pain. You could not be called 'sir' by me right now, even if your name suggests I should.'
Well, if he wasn't going to give her another moniker, she supposed he should have her name.
'Sohalia.' she replied eventually after another long bout of silence.
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:52 am
She thought he was lying. She could read it in her body language. He was at once infuriated and intrigued. What could happen to a mare that would make her so bitter, hard, icy and unyielding? That and if they really had had similar experiences and he could go through the same thing without coming out of it a Jackass, why couldn't she? He wanted to help her but he also kinda wanted to spit on her at the moment. She was being thorny, unthankful and distrusting and those were all qualities that probably would have made him walk away from her without a second glance...but she was helpless and he was powerless to stop himself from trying to be helpful. It was simply what he was. He snorted at the conflict in his head. "I know the story very well. I dug myself into a hole of depression so deep that I ignored everyone that loved me. I hurt others simply because I was hurting. Forgiveness for my actions has not been easily won." He tried to keep the anger out of his voice. She really was ticking him off by playing the ice queen.
He waited for the answer to her name because it was all he could and he was good at it. He had always been patient and calm so he used his inherent abilities. Her answer made him raise one of his heavy black brows. She supposed she'd deserved that? Understatements were obviously one of her specialties. Kindness and chivalry had been ingrained into him and she'd responded with malice to both. She deserved a rock to the head. Maybe it would knock some sense back into her. "I would prefer never to be called Sir, thank you." And he waited again through another long pause as she finally gave up her name, as if dragging it out was as painful as her injured foot. "Thank you."
He took one deep breath to try to rid himself of the irritation he felt for her. He could not leave her here, as much as he wanted to. "There is a bridge not far down the stream. If you lean on me, you should be able to hobble. If we are careful and persistent we should be able to get to my village and it's healer before night. I also might be able to get a cart to carry you some of the way if I have my fox friend help. I know you do not want me here but I cannot leave you. Skinwalker and Kalona are not just a words and you would be easy pickings. It's my help or a cold death. What do you choose?" Truthfully he half expected her to choose death, for all she made him feel like the spawn of a demon.
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:07 am
Sohalia's curiosity was vaguely roused by his words, but he had sadly mistaken who she had meant when she spoke of trust. She had meant them for him, she would not trust another male so easily again, and if he knew the whole sorry story of her past he would not let any sort of anger slip out - though she knew her nature could be trying as Shveni let her know often.
'Forgiveness..' she murmured, moving on the ground, and then regretting it when she disturbed the cut fetlock and pain lanced along her leg. She sucked in a breath, and thought to herself, shutting the stallion out again for a moment. Her sons, her daughter..she'd never told them about the death of her own mother, that her father had been to blame and that despite all her misgivings due to her past Sohalia had fallen in love only to be abandoned. Of course she was cold and bitter. She might still live, but it was a life of fear. She was afraid of being hurt, but her children - she had to find them and explain why she had not been the warm and open mother she should have been to them at least.
'Then I won't.' she replied, dragging herself forcefully from her thoughts, and becoming aware of Majesty again. She could not see why he persisted in staying by her side, she had given him not the smallest encouragement, and had been difficult to him the entire time. Had her little vixen companion been her she would have probably received a sharp bite to the rump. Shveni kept her affairs to herself, but the vixen would have appreciated help given when it was obviously needed. The mare flattened her ears back. Maybe she would have to accept his help..but then she focused on what he said and panicked.
'No, no village..' she said, adrenaline from her fear giving her the impetus to get to her hooves, though she couldn't move as she hadn't rested long enough. Shaking with exertion and fright at the thought of being anywhere near two-leggers, she eyed Majesty.
'Another way.' she said.
'I'll let help..but not - those.'
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