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 Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 8:12 pm
 Pachu'a stretched and rolled his shoulders. He loved Winter. It was near about the only season that actually made him feel good, not that he was likely to show it. Something about the wet cold of snow always calmed him. He liked snow, always had, as long as he could remember. Of course, the cold icy weather had one other fringe benefit. Most Soquili and Familiars stayed inside where it was warm. In caves around fires, in a lean-to, in whatever... He neither knew, nor did he care. It meant he was less likely to be bothered and pestered and chattered at endlessly.
So all in all, winter worked well for the standoffish Soq. That he enjoyed the cold made it all the sweeter. So for once he was actually in something that almost resembled a good mood. Maybe. If you closed one eye, squinted the other, and tilted your head just right.
So of course, what does any Soq do when blessed with solitude he so craves? He thought. A lot. Most of the thoughts were of the snow and the cold and how glad he was to be alone. But sometimes... other thoughts crept in. Thoughts of Soqs he had met who he hated, who scared him. And even worse, sometimes he would think of others he had met... who he hadn't hated. Like Lian. Like Calamity. Like the one with the garden. All of whom had left him or moved on.
And that was fine, he stubbornly reminded himself. He liked being alone, he didn't need anyone. He didn't need friends, he didn't need some silly mare prancing about like she was still the foal he had found abandoned, and why would he even think of the other? He had known her for...what? An evening? He helped her fix her wing, and that was it. Why should he wonder if she found a healer, if she was okay? It wasn't his obligation anymore. He helped her, she left, that was the end of it. He was alone. And happier that way.
He pushed through the snow whenever thoughts like that circled his skull, and let the cold numb them away, returning his measure of peace. He huffed out and watched the shapes that his breath made in the air, and once again the joy of solitude filled him. He was alone. And that was good. That was free.
He knew the spring thaws would come eventually, and there were only so many mountains he could hide on without encountering others who claimed those slopes as their own. Eventually he would have to face the warm weather and the chatting annoying Soqs of the world, but for now... for now he had a cold clear winter's day.
He found a stream, the top of which was iced over. A strong kick of a front hoof cracked a hole, two more kicks had there was space enough to drink. The icy water filled him and invigorated him, filled him with peace. If he had magic, if he had just one wish, it would be for a silent world, always set in winter...
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 3:56 pm
 The winter caused most of the trees to wilt and left the land of the Earth looking bare. The Angeni pushed her wings and soared through the sky. But it would help make her general search that much easier. She didn't dislike this winter that occurred each year as she as told. But at the moment she needed to find those that helped her, those that allowed her to learn from that. She had met most of those and thanked them for everything they had done.
She had to learn that she couldn't always prevent bad things from happening but she herself wasn't the one that caused that, it wasn't something of her doing. They just happened and it's allowed her to find that inner calm the others in heaven told her about.
And it was at that point that she saw him. That...That stallion. She halted in mid air and hovered. He was the first one that had helped her, the one that kept her wing from being permanently damaged. She exhaled, she thought of him often, out of everyone she met Calamity had wanted to see him again, this was the time right?
She lowered herself and descended to the ground, her hoofs landing with a gentle thud.
"Uh... " She started, he was getting himself a drink. The older stallion was dignified... "P-pachu'a..." Her voice was soft and unsure. He might not have wanted to her, but this was something she knew she needed to do.
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 4:23 pm
At the sound of his name, his head jerked up. Lian? There were few Soqs who knew his name, and of those only one or two he could think of that might use it. When he spun, the mare he saw wasn't Lian, but there were some similarity around the shape of the wings.
He remembered her. He saw so many soqs day in and day out, more than he wanted to really, and most of them he couldn't place again, but this mare he could. She had been quiet. She had been able to understand that he communicated without the crutch that was words. She could have called his attention without his name... but names were one of the very few places where words were needed, and as such... they had a certain power for him, a certain resonance. So her calling him by his... when he had never given it...
He blinked at her, head dipping slightly, ear twitching in question. Many questions, too many to sort in his own head. How did she know his name? How is her wing feeling? How did she get here? Why was she here? Why did she call his attention? Was she in need again? He watched her body and face for answers.
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 12:31 pm
Calamity hoofed the ground and looked at him with little expression. She suddenly felt on the spot, well she was when it comes down to it. He didn't look like he's changed much. Though she had clearly startled him. She lowered her head in apology to that before she walked forward into a little more lightly. Her wings flexed to show that the one that had broken was healed, it wasn't perfect, but it worked just as well. Her ears twitched and she leaned forward, stretching her neck to let her nose lightly touch the side of his in a form of affection.
It was strange, now that she was with him, she had realized that she missed him the most out of everyone she had met. And she wanted to stay in his company for as long as she could. Her glowing eyes had an almost haunted look to them, but they showed him kindness and affection.
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:29 pm
Pachu'a watched her, taking in her response. She lowered her head, was she apologizing for startling him, for being gone so long, for vanishing? Not that she needed to apologize for anything. It's not like he had ever expected her to stay and she was free to come and go as she pleased. Her saw her come forward slightly, wings lifting a bit. In another, that could have been hostile, but there was no hostile intent in those eyes or that face, showing him something then. Her wings did not QUITE lay the same, but he saw that the one he helped was whole and healed, of not perfectly aligned. Ah, that was what she was showing him then. Since she had clearly flown, no footsteps behind her landing place, he knew it was functional, so was she trying to show him that it wasn't perfect? Or that it was as good that it was? Or just, showing him what things were and how they stood? Then her ears flicked and she touched her nose to his, surprising him. A thank you? Something more?
He looked into her face trying to figure it out and for the first time felt confused by someone communicating his way, wordlessly. Usually he could read other Soqs so well, but for some reason... she was throwing him. Maybe it was they eyes? He couldn't honestly tell, but...
He had to react. He couldn't not, the problem was, how? How did he respond when he was unsure what she meant? Well, she had touched his muzzle, either as a thank you or a greeting or... something. So... he nodded once and gently touched his muzzle to hers, then stepped back, watching carefully for her reaction.
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 5:12 am
A faint flush crept along her cheeks as Pachu'a stepped away from her. He seemed like he was in good health. Though she had clearly startled him showing up like this. She got that reaction a lot. Calamity reached behind her pulling him out an apple. She placed it on the ground and nudged it toward him.
It was winter here but it wasn't closet to the dessert, the apple trees were in full bloom there. She hoped that would be an acceptable gift. The mare cleared her throat softly, why did she care so much about what this stallion thought of her? She glanced at him and then away, back again and then away again. She wasn't expecting him to say anything, he was a stallion of little words.
Maybe that's what she had liked so much about him. After he had accepted the apple she would feel herself puff up with a bit of pride.
"May I... May I, stay with you?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:06 am
Pachu'a watched her as she flushed, wondering why she had reacted that way? Had she meant something more than greeting or gratitude with the touch, and had he just given her some signal that he too felt more? She made no sense, he couldn't read her the way he could read others, and that bothered him. He wanted to know what she was trying to communicate. It was almost, almost tempting to use words...
NO! He would not be lazy. He could figure this out, he just had to be more observant, that was all. How could he ask that of others, were he not to be willing to make the effort himself. He would not resort to any crude short cut of speech. Not him.
He watched as she set down an apple, and wondered where she could have gotten it from. She cleared her throat, and he realized that the apple was some sort of offering to him. Gratitude, perhaps? However, he had thought that about the touch, yet her flush seemed to indicate that he had misread that situation. So what then?
He noticed that she kept glancing at him then away. Was she waiting for him to eat the apple? Well, she hadn't been horrible company thus far, and for whatever reason, the apple seemed to matter to her. He considered, then leaned to take a bite, figuring he would nose the rest back to her, and they could share. An amicable gesture that none could misunderstood.
He nearly dropped the mouthful of fruit, however when she spoke. The voice registered first, but before anger and disgust could rise up in him, the actual words sunk into his mind. He stared at her, the apple falling from his open mouth.
Where had that come from? What did she mean... stay with him? For the afternoon? Mutual warmth until the winter faded? He didn't need the warmth, he liked the cold but... but some fillies needed to be warmer, right? He knew her bones were weak already, maybe feathers didn't insulate as well as hide did. Well, he couldn't deny her warmth... even if she was a chatterbox, he couldn't just let her freeze. And she did speak less than other mares he had met... so maybe he wouldn't hate her company too much, and then in the spring she would leave him. Everyone always did. So he was a convenience or a need. Well, he could live with that. He had helped others that way before.
He closed his mouth wondering why it was still open and nodded once before flicking an ear, indicating that she could stand beside him if she needed the warmth. He then glanced around, looking for a dry cave for her.
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:15 pm
The mare wasn't looking for just the warmth for winter. She like most of horses had a winter pelt. She was hoping to stay with him, maybe it wouldn't be forever, but she'd never know until time started to pass and they had spent time together.
With his approval she walked around him to come up along his side, letting her body brush and push against his and she nuzzled her face against his neck. Her wings closed in against her sides. She exhaled the breath that she had been holding. She really didn't know how the stallion would react to her asking that. Not just the talking part, but the asking to stay with him.
And with that, Calamity spent the rest of the day sticking close to her male companion. Not too sure what the future would hold for the two of them. But inwardly happy that she had his company…
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