A winged mare lifted her face from her meal and shook her head. Verity was so glad to finally be away from the desert, and the beach was a nice change of pace. True, she hadn't gotten to see much of it yet, but it was a good distraction from the search for her mother. She looked around her. The afternoon sun warmed up the sand as she watched the river flow to the mind boggling thing that was the ocean. Verity wondered if she'd ever get tired of the view.
She turned her head back and looked at the remains of her lunch. It had been a rather unlucky male pelican. Verity didn't often eat birds, but this one had had the misfortune of being filled with enough bravado to try and scare her away from a small tidal pool she'd been passing by. Unfortunately for him, she'd been on the lookout for something to hunt, and he'd not proven much of a challenge. She was grateful for the meal he provided though.
Using her tongue to lick the blood off her lips, Verity wondered if she should take care of the remains before or after getting cleaned off. Giving her mane a good shake, she decided on before, and started dragging what was left, mostly bones and feathers, to a better spot than some wet sand.
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 4:43 pm
The salty air filled his lungs as he walked along the beach, the water splashing as he strode through the knee deep water. Today the ocean was calm, but he knew how quickly it could change, especially if a storm rolled in, but today the sky was clear and a beautiful blue so he knew it was safe to be in the water. His multiple eyes scanned the sand ahead. Like most days everything was quiet, the only sounds being the occasional call of a seagull or the splash from some aquatic creature jumping about in the water. They were all sounds that he enjoyed hearing, along with the smells of the ocean and the grit of the sand beneath his hooves. This was why he loved the beach...well that and the fact that his family lived here. Only on the rare occasion did he venture away from here and that was usually when he was helping his mother collect herbs or gathering something else that they needed.
Enjoying the warm sun on his hide Eadric considered going to visit his grandparents. His grandfather was still teaching him the finer points of reading the clouds and the sky to predict the weather and he looked forward to the next lesson. These thoughts were interrupted by a rumble from his tail. Eadric stopped immediately and glanced back at the monstrous head that graced the end of his tail. It wasn't often that it made a sound but when it did he knew something bothered it - or on occasion it did it just to annoy him but that was usually whenever he was talking to someone. The tail heads nostrils flared and it moved slightly. Curious Eadric scented the air as well. At first all he could smell was the ocean and he continued to walk, but then he caught a faint whiff of something else. It took him a moment to realize what it was. Blood. Was his uncle out here?
Curious the stallion left the ocean waters and walked down the beach at a trot. It took him a few moments to reach the source of the smell but it was not his uncle. Instead he found a mare dragging the carcass of some poor creature along the sands. He looked the mare over, she had traits of a Kalona and yet she also brandished a unicorns horn. Though he was curious he knew better than the rush at anyone with Kalona blood, as they were often violent in nature. "Hello." He called out, hoping to get the mares attention but he remained a short distance away, just in case she turned to violence at his intrusion.
Ears twitched upright, before her eyes turned in the direction the greeting had come from. Verity had to keep herself from cringing as if she had done some great wrong. Why did it seem like more often than not, she was found during, or right after a hunt? Even worse, he had been downwind, so she hadn't smelled him at all. Not that she would have been able to through the smell of the creature she was carrying in her mouth. Releasing her jaws from around the luck-less fish gobbler's neck, she turned her head to face the stallion fully.
He was large. He was black. He had twice as many eyes as she did. And that... thing on the end of his tail looked angry. Verity wished she had washed her face first. Was this his territory? At any rate, she decided it was best to be polite, in case that it was. "Hello. Is this your territory? I've never been out to the ocean before, so I wouldn't know." As she spoke, she found that something was tickling her lips. Poking it with her tongue, she realized it was a feather, stuck in her teeth. Oh. Great.
She-Ra of Etheria
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:58 pm
So far it looked as though the mare wasn't going to attack, but he wouldn't let his guard down just yet. His father and mother had warned him that times those who are normally dangerous will play nice just to win over ones trust, let them get close and then they would pounce. Because of this he would continue to be cautious and alert until he determined the true nature of this mare, whether this was her true for or whether she was hiding something more fearsome. One thing was for certain, the carcass had been her meal, as the blood on her nose and lips were evidence of that. But again, that could be just from her Kalona blood, the need to eat meat, much like his uncle. The main difference was his uncle had no Kalona blood while this mare had plenty, if it wasn't for the unicorn horn then he might have believed she was a pure blodded Kalona.
"In a way it is." He told her and then went on to further explain. "My family lives on this beach, three generations worth. We don't tend to get many visitors out this way." There were the occasional Kelpi that came ashore now and then, and the odd wanderer brought in by the lure of the ocean waves. But mostly he saw just typical beach creatures, crabs, seagulls, turtles and a few seals. He glanced out at the ocean, but never lost site of the mare thanks to his extra eyes. If she were the type to attack an unsuspecting Soquili then now would be the time. "It is a good day to visit the ocean," He told her as he swung his full gaze back towards her. "The water is calm and not all that cold thanks to the summer warmth." He paused and then continued on. "I am Eadric." He gave a small dip of the head in greeting, now was not the time to forget his manners. "Who might you be?"
Fortunately for both of their sakes, Verity was not the kind to attack unless provoked, so the thought of attacking him when he turned away slightly didn't even cross her mind. When he didn't look like he was disgusted or appalled at the rather obvious fact that she had killed something and ate it, she relaxed. She was so used to others freaking out or snorting in disgust at the very idea that she ate meat from time to time, that when someone didn't react that way... Well it was a good change from the norm for her.
Listening to his explanation, she got a better look at his tail. She had never seen anything quite like it. She thought, perhaps, it was a family thing. "Three generations? Do you live in a herd?" She knew large families often stuck to herds for safety, so perhaps that was why he hadn't met many visitors. "Is it? Maybe I can dip my hooves in later..." She didn't actually know how to swim, but it did sound nice to get wet. It would also be nice to get that feather out of her teeth, as the more she talked, the more it brushed against her upper lip, making her feel like she needed to sneeze.
At the sound of his name, she blinked and dipped her head as well. "My name is Verity."
She-Ra of Etheria
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 11:08 am
"I suppose you could call us a herd, but really it's just family living in the same area. Actually we kind of are spread out. My grandparents live that way." He motioned down the beach with his nose. "My parents, siblings and myself live over there." He once again gestured with his nose but in the opposite direction. "We are spread out a bit between us but close enough that we can easily visit one another if we chose." And a lot of the time they would visit each other every other day or so, such was the way of growing up in a close nit family group. It's one of the reasons he rarely left, because everything he needed was within walking distance.
He glanced out to the ocean and then back to the mare. "Yes. I'd say it was the perfect day to visit the ocean for the first time. The water can be surprising relaxing once you get into it." If it weren't for all of the things that kept him busy he could see himself spending hours in the water, simply enjoying it. But he wasn't the type to sit around idle throughout the day, so he tended to take a quite dip first thing in the morning and then one late in the evening to cool off and relax his muscles. Occasionally he would take a mid day swim but that was generally on the hot days when he needed to cool off. "Would you like to go to the water?" He asked. It was one thing to talk about the ocean but it was another to actually experience it.
As she told him her name he smiled slightly. "It is good to meet you Verity." It was a strange and yet nice sounding name.
As Verity listened to him tell her about the family he had here, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. It reminded her of how much she missed her father, as he had been been the only family she had ever known. Pushing the thought aside, she nodded her head. "I see. You must enjoy living so close to them all."
She blinked, and then glanced between the remains of her lunch, him, and then the ocean. Accept his invitation now, or take care of the bird... She mulled this over for few seconds, before deciding that a dead bird wasn't going to be going anywhere, so she would put it to rest later. After all, she was quite fascinated by the ocean, and in the way the small waves crashed on the shore. "You know, I would quite like that. Lead the way!"
"Likewise, Eadric." she replied, allowing her normally carefully neutral face to be graced by a small smile. His name made her think of something sturdy. Which is how he looked, at any rate.
She-Ra of Etheria
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2014 10:44 am
Eadric gave his head a nod. "Very much so. My family is my life, I couldn't imagine not having them around." They were a source of information, love, protection and everything else Eadric needed in his life. One day he would strike out on his own so to speak, but even he knew that would mean just moving to his own patch of beach a short distance away from where his family currently lived. That way he would still be able to visit them as often as he wanted to but would also have some privacy for when he needed that.
A smile grew on his lips as she took up his offer to go down to the water. The ocean was half of the reason why he would never leave this type of life. He loved the water, the calming sounds of the waves, the plentiful resources that could be found under the water as well as on the beach itself. Not to mention the swimming. The swimming was the best part of living on the beach, it served as a means of relaxing, cooling off, reliving sore muscles and just having fun. "This way." He said with a tip of his head and began to lead her down the sand towards the waters edge. It was so calm today that it almost looked as if one could simply keep walking once they reached the blue water. But he knew that wasn't the case. He couldn't help but walk into the water until it brushed his knees before stopping and turning to look at Verity. "It might feel cold at first but after a few moments you won't notice that." He waited for her to enter the water. He had entered first to make sure he was there to make sure she didn't slip or fall.
Verity secretly hoped he'd never have to imagine life without his family. When she was young, she had thought the same about her own father, and losing him still hurt her deeply. It wasn't something she would wish on anyone... Except maybe her mother.
Verity followed behind him, and slowed slightly as she approached the water. She wasn't scared, but she was weary of going in to quickly. The sand beneath her hooves felt like it sank more than it did higher up, or even in the desert. She put one hoof fully in the water, and made a small 'eep' sound, as she pulled it back out. The water was colder than she was expecting. Shifting her wings closer to her on instinct, she made her way into the water.
To her credit, she only stumbled once. Falling against Eadric's hindquarter, she righted herself as quickly as possible. Once she was up to just above her knees and she felt stable, she looked all around her, as she was curious about just about everything, from the way the sand looked beneath the water, to the water itself. "This is nice!" She closed her eyes as she relaxed and took in the sea air.... Only to open them suddenly as a very strange something brushed against one of her legs. Her reaction was predictable, and she moved her legs trying to figure out what it was, and if it was dangerous. "Gah! What was that? Something's in the water!"
She-Ra of Etheria
Mal dedicates this post to the very first time she entered the ocean, and found herself attacked... by seaweed. Haha.
Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 1:34 pm
When she slipped and fell Eadric was glad that he had been there to catch her. He knew all too well how slippery the bottom of the ocean could be. That sand might not be too bad but any rock, shell, piece of coral and anything else that had a relatively smooth surface became dangerously slippery after only a short time under the water. Even with all the time he and his family spent in the ocean every now and then one of them would step on something and slip, but for them they knew how to swim so it wasn't all that big of a deal, but for someone like Verity who had never encountered the ocean before it could be bad. "Are you alright?" He asked once she got her balance again and seemed to find herself on solid footing once more.
She seemed fine but he watched her closely to make sure she didn't loose her footing again. Things were going well until she suddenly began to kick and yell. "Woah, calm down." He said and stepped closer to her, wanting to be there in case she fell once more but also looking to see what it was that was bothering her. His eyes quickly scanned the water and found the culprit. Seaweed. He couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at that even though he instantly felt bad about it. "It's just a bit of seaweed." He told her calmly. "It drifts up on the current occasionally to the beach. It won't hurt you." He stepped closer now and lowered his head into the water, grabbing the seaweed and then with a flick of his head tossed it up onto the beach. It landed in a pile of wet pile of green onto the sand.
With the seaweed taken care of he turned his gaze back to Verity. "See, nothing to worry about." No harm would ever come to a visitor of the beach if he could help it.
Verity settled her wings after she steadied herself again. "I'm alright." Her hoof had caught what had felt like a piece of wood, but she was able to recover herself quickly, thanks to Eadric.
Verity had to force herself to calm down. She hadn't meant to react that way, and it really was the illogical way to behave. But that thing had just felt so... strange. So when Eadric told her that this seaweed wouldn't hurt her, she forced herself to take a few deep breaths and stop thrashing. When he stuck his nose in the water to pick up the offending plant, she had to fight to regain her dignity. She'd been freaked out over a plant. A plant. She couldn't blame him for chuckling. Though to be fair, she'd had no way of knowing... Looking from his face, to the ground, and then to the horizon, she tried to cover her rising embarrassment with a question. "So what all is out there?"
She-Ra of Etheria
Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 4:02 pm
He smiled when she confirmed that she was alright. She looked to be fine, just a little shaken up after her encounter with the seaweed but he wanted to check. "Don't worry," he said now that the crisis was over." You are not the first, and likely not the last, to have their ocean experiences rudely interrupted by seaweed." He had a few unpleasant experiences with the slimy plants before, but he had known that they were out there and hadn't been scared by them, but trying to get it off once wrapped around ones leg could be a challenge.
He followed her gaze to look out across the ocean's surface. "I wish I could tell you, but even I don't know all of the secrets that the ocean keeps." He gave a soft chuckle before continuing. "There are plenty of fish and various types of plant life that can only live in the ocean. There's shells and coral, sea snakes, crabs, dolphins, all kids of creatures. I known only a fraction of what is truly out there. I would imagine that Mers would know much more about the ocean than I do, but even they they might not know everything. The ocean is a secretive mistress and she only tells you what you what to know when and if she feels like it." Eadric did wish he could explore more of the ocean, but even with all his swimming experience he knew it was not possible for him to explore it's deeper parts. "She can be incredibly temperamental too. One moment being calm and then next throw large, destructive waves onto the beach, before returning to calmness once more making you wonder if that storm even happened." The storms could be dangerous but they were also spectacular to watch.
She felt a little better for having heard that, and she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Well, at least it didn't manage to cause any harm." She said jokingly.
As he talked, Verity pondered what he was saying. The ocean was beautiful, but it was difficult to comprehend how it could be so vast, and how they could know so little about it. Then again, there were many mysteries in the world, and the ocean seemed to be a place holding many of them. Were there vast creatures out there, that she couldn't even imagine? Best not to ponder on that, since she knew she'd probably never see them. Though now she wondered... "Can you predict when a storm might be coming? Further inland, I can sometimes tell if it's going to rain by how the air smells.... But that's not always a sure thing."
She-Ra of Etheria
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 6:20 pm
He cast her a wide smile. "You were indeed lucky in that respect. Seaweed may look like an innocent plant but it has a devil's heart in it. There have been a number of unwary swimmers who have been taken down by it's mighty grips." He tried to hold his laugh in but failed miserable. Laughter burst fourth from Eadric for a few moments before he shook his head. "I jest with you. It can cause you no outright harm other than a bit of a fright if you aren't expecting it's touch."
At her question he gazed out once more across the expanse of ocean before them. "Some can. My grandfather can read the clouds, winds, scent and other such things to tell when a storm will come rolling in. He taught my mother and uncles such a skill when they were foals, and he also has been teaching myself and my siblings." He turned to look back at Verity. "But even with our knowledge of what signs to look for a storm can and has sneaked up on us before. Sometimes they are gentle ones, a bit of rain and wind. But every now and then they will be harsh destructive ones." Those ones he disliked, because it made the groves they called home a danger to stay in if the wind picked up too much and yet they also couldn't chance to leave those groves until the fury of the storm passed. "We do out best to try to look for the signs well in advance. I am still learning how to predict storms, but my limited knowledge on it has served me well so far. It can be difficult at times, the heavy scent of the sea can often hide the first signs of a building storm so we keep a regular eye out on the sky and the ocean itself for other clues."
