Foliegh had a good feeling about this. Sure, he'd had his doubts at first. What Soquili wouldn't when they were forced out of their comfort zone by the one force they couldn't refuse? In Foliegh's case, that force had been his daughter, his beloved little Aleda, for who he would do anything. When Aleda had come to him, full of zeal and determination that they both get up and get out into the world, he'd been dubious. Indeed, there was no way he'd even have listened to her arguments if he didn't love her so much; he'd been a slave to routine since he was a small foal, and he loved his home. Why would he want to go anywhere and see anything else? But somehow, she had managed to talk him around, and he had dutifully set forth to see what there was to see.
At first, he hadn't seen what the big deal was. Yes, there were pretty places out in the world, but weren't there pretty things at home? He lived in a meadow up in the higher foothills, where the grasses and flowers grew lush and thick. There were large old trees to nap under, and several beehives around to lull him to sleep, and a smallish but still serviceable pond. His days had involved wandering around the meadow, napping here and there, grazing, napping some more, occasionally enjoying a visit from his daughter...it had been blissful. Yes, the world also had meadows and ponds; it probably had beehives. But they weren't his, none of them, and they never would be.
But as he made his way down from the foothills, he'd started to see new things, different things. More creatures, some he'd never seen before. Streams that later became rivers, massive lakes. The flowers changed, and the types of grass. What had started out as grudging submission to a beloved daughter's request had slowly started to morph into something new, something he enjoyed. Perhaps there was something to this 'exploring the world' thing, after all.
The second part of the assignment had been a lot harder. Aleda had pushed for them to explore the world for one reason, and one reason alone: to meet other Soquili. For some reason, Aleda had decided that they were socially unfulfilled. Worse, she had decided they were
romantically unfulfilled. She wanted to find a mate for herself, which was fair enough, but she had also decided her father needed a mare in his life. Since he'd been happily alone since Aleda had been a foal, Foliegh didn't agree with Aleda, but once again, he was a pushover where she was concerned. So he had promised to do his best to try and meet new people, and keep an open mind.
And so he had; after all, it wasn't his fault that Usdia seemed to be few and far between along this route!
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