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 Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 1:13 am
 Quick, hurried steps brought Eden closer to her destination, the gardens' splendor passing in a variegated green blur at the corners of her vision. She called out greetings to the flora as she went, already mentally charting the fastest route. Afternoons were generally hers to do with as she pleased, a time to reflect and further her training on her own time. But lessons had run late that day, her da's soft, rumbling words ferrying the sun across the sky. He'd finally noticed her fidgeting and excused her with a sigh that was fast becoming familiar. How a sound could sting, she wasn't fully certain. But the hurt had fallen away as she'd increased her speed, let her legs stretch out to their fullest and her body hum with barely restrained enthusiasm.
Eden knew that her father generally disapproved of her venturing toward the outer limits of the gardens. He had walked it with her all of once, pointing out to her the uncultivated portions, carefully explaining the function of the briar wall that separated them from outside influences. She had discovered the weaknesses in the wall's defenses on her own, a few patches here and there where someone of her size could slip through. The filly paused before one such oversight now, puffing with exertion and weighing her culpability against the sight that lay just a few feet outside. The right thing to do would be to tell her da, let him seal them up properly so that nothing could go in or out. Eden chewed at her lower lip, then angled her head to consult the roots that wrapped her frame. "Next time?" she asked, voice high and hopeful. After a few seconds they gave a short, reassuring squeeze around her chest. Yes. With a grin, she ducked beneath one thorny tendril, then twisted around another nest of the biting plants. Something scraped the tips of her horns, wood grating on wood and threatening to bring her to a standstill. But a quick shake of her head and she was free.
The world outside the gardens was sheer chaos, nothing of her father's elegant touch to be found. It had unnerved her the first time, to see such wilderness, to have heard stories about the kinds of creatures that moved through it. Careless, hostile beings with no higher aspirations, they lived unremarkable lives and died unremarkable deaths. Avoid them at all costs, Grigori had intoned seriously, and she had taken him at his word.
But a warning was not an explanation, and over time her curiosity had turned into a bone-deep itch. Why were they to be avoided? Couldn't her father educate them, as he did her? And how could the Barren be so close to their kind in image, yet lack some essential element? Every time she began to phrase such questions, Grigori turned her away with more sharpness than usual. It felt like walking through a labyrinth, high hedges and false branches hiding a secret at its heart. But she wasn't brave enough to stay the course, not with all the dead ends. The only option left to her had been to look outside the tangled discourse for her answers.
Still, there was no way to spin her search in a positive light, at least not as far as her father was concerned. All the more reason to keep her little outings to herself. A quick backward glance showed her that the wall was gone from sight, and a thrill of discomfort zigzagged down her spine. It had paralyzed her the first time, the thought that she might not be able to find her way back. But with the sun still out and Grigori's teachings fresh in her mind, the possibility seemed remote. With a bracing breath, she kept going forward, watching for landmarks that had steered her well in the last few weeks. A left by the beech trees joined at the base and twining together in an almost-loving embrace; straight past the boulder shot through with pink quartz, looming larger than even her father could boast.
When she finally arrived, Eden took care to make sure her customary spot was well-concealed before settling in, tired legs folding beneath her only too readily. The sunlight slanting through the patchy canopy kept the time for her, and she referenced it occasionally while she waited, nosing at the thin stalks of grass. It wasn't long before a rustling caught in the shell of her ears, and she had to lock down on the impulse to move and improve her view. A snout emerged from the ground first, sampling the air delicately before a head followed suit. Golden eyes surveyed her surroundings with care before the vixen pulled the rest of her body up and into the fading light. She made a slow circle, inspecting the area in detail, her stare passing over Eden's hiding place. Apparently satisfied, the fox gave a long, languorous stretch, her black legs splayed out in front of her.
But Eden's attention was snagged by a whisper of motion just inside the darkness of the den's entrance. They had yet to grow into their thin, sly faces, youthful cheeks and forehead rounded by fluff that grew redder by the day. She watched as the kits spill out of their den, scarcely daring to breathe for fear of alerting the vixen of her nearness. It took them a few moments to adjust to the light, and then they were off, yipping and play-biting at each other, tripping over their own paws more often than not. Their mother kept an eye on their antics with an air of good humor, even when her tail became the subject of their tug-of-war. Warmth suffused the young filly's chest at the scene, something soft and calm replacing the jitters that had plagued her since she'd left the sanctity of the gardens. Her body relaxed, easing into the cradle of her roots, and they supported her without question.
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:06 am
 One would think that traveling alone for so much of one's life would allow them to become accustomed to the feeling. Perhaps it was that traitorous part of his mind that always craved acceptance and a sense of belonging that made it so thorns of loneliness pricked so sharply at him. In any case, such feelings were not foreign for Diriel. He had learned to abate them, sometimes fleeing with the aid of distractions both small and great. Other times he would simply bury the feeling deep inside. He'd grown skilled at that. A thick coil of scales rubbed against his back, and Diriel paused to acknowledge the large serpent that had chosen to accompany him for whatever reason, finding comfort in the gentle squeezes it offered. His gnarled mouth twitched upward in a faint smile before the stallion continued on, uncertain of where, exactly, he was going.
Did it really matter in the end? He had no home. It was why he wandered, mindlessly searching for something that very likely didn't exist at all. He had met a few rare Soquili with strange oddities that set them apart from others... but their traits only seemed to enhance their beauty, gifting them with strange tails, feet, or odd and immaculate horns. Diriel knew in some cases that these others didn't have it any easier than he did.... but still. It was hard not to be bitter, even if he kept it locked carefully away.
There was a sharp yip that suddenly drew his attention, one hoof still raised mid-step as he watched a mother fox quickly chase her young back into the den for safety. No doubt she'd seen him approaching. Diriel knew a mother's instinct to protect her offspring was paramount--except, of course, in his case. Crushing a sigh in his lungs that would never slip off into the outside, the stallion resumed walking, careful not to near the den in case the vixen felt it necessary to drive him off.
By eyeing the den, he very nearly stepped on a small filly instead.
Jerking back with alarm, Diriel's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the foal, panic rendering his mind blank of any coherent thought. He forced himself to swallow, the saliva scraping down his throat like sandpaper before he spoke in a croaking sort of whisper. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." He instinctively was angling his face away from her, not wanting to frighten the filly out of her wits. That was when he spotted the roots clinging to her own form. He'd missed them initially, the earthen color of her coat masking the organic matter held snug against her sides.
Shock filled him until he felt numb, staring at the filly with disbelief. Roots? Truly? She had... roots?
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2016 10:01 pm
The residual warmth on her back and the peaceful scene unfolding before her increased Eden's drowsiness, eyelids drooping over coral-colored irises. A yip of alarm tugged her rudely back into wakefulness, and she lifted her head on impulse, brow crinkled with concern. Had the vixen seen her? Eden's expression fell as she watched the family dive back into their den, the mother with her mouth full of fuzz as she hauled the last runt inside. But there was little time to mourn before a shadow fell over her, cool and strangely dappled, like a tree on the move. Eden shrank away from the hoof that hovered precariously near to her hiding place, but it stopped short and drew sharply back. Grateful for the reprieve, she chanced a glance at the attached stallion from beneath rosy lashes, and a gentle awe teased the last of her fatigue away.
He was smaller than her da, more slender and delicately-featured. The heartwood whorls that made up his skin distracted her momentarily from all else, stare tracing the patterns they made until she was dizzy with it. His face was almost serpentine in its flourishes, the stretch of his jaw unlike anything she'd ever encountered before. But the tree was what ultimately drew her focus, braided into his very form and birthing a fleet of saplings along his spine. Not one of the Barren, not even close. She grinned at his soft voice, pleased to find it suited him. And that he seemed interested in her, too, though she couldn't imagine why.
Her da had advised courtesy if they met one of their own, and so she scurried upright and bowed her head slightly, the roots at her throat peeling away to allow for freedom of movement. "S'okay!" she said after a beat, voice cast purposefully bright to reassure when no further words followed. Maybe he thought he'd hurt her? "I was hiding. Um. Not from you. Just 'cause the fox moms don't let their kids out when they see someone else is around." She strode closer to him, tongue caught thoughtfully between her teeth. There were no eyes observing her gravely from the branches of his tree, no flowers or beaks to be seen, and yet it was lovely in its own way, a perfect extension of the one who bore it. "Your tree's pretty," she offered, tail swishing eagerly. "I thought I'd grow a tree, too. Keep checking my roots for buds or blossoms, but... nothing yet. My da would really like me to have one," she added, a note of somberness coloring her tone. Grigori never mentioned as much, but he had originally been the one to examine her root system for signs of growth on a regular basis. She'd only picked it up after he'd stopped.
The lull didn't last long, however, and soon she was back to filling the silence between them until it sloshed over the brim. "Did you grow yours? Or find it somewhere? Was it a seed? I know a lot about seeds. Da has all kinds. He makes some of them himself. Sorta. Can you see me?" She switched tack without a break for breath, already squinting up into the dark gashes where his eyes should have resided. He seemed to follow her erratic movements easily enough, but other senses might have been at play there. His ears, for example. "My da's got all kinds of eyes in his flowers. S'different from having flowers in your eyes." A sinuous movement near his flank had her peering around, and a new kind of delight entered her voice when she intoned in a mock-whisper, "Is that a snake?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 4:40 pm
She was an animated little thing, no hesitation in her voice or movements as she approached him, and Diriel instinctively shied away, not wanting to frighten her. She clearly hadn't caught a good glimpse of him, drawn in by the tree upon his back, perhaps. It alone did not appear too awful--at least, until one caught sight of the roots burrowing into his hide and flesh, gaining nutrients from its host. His suspicions were confirmed when she commented on it, and Diriel couldn't help but angle his head to catch a glimpse at her expression.
A tree. She wanted a tree? Her father, too? The stallion's head was swimming from the force of such a revelation, and in truth, his mind was completely blank. He almost missed the change in tone, but with such a bright, youthful voice, it was hard not to notice when it dampened suddenly. Soon enough it had picked up once more, and Diriel found himself staring at her as owlishly as a stallion could.
"I... I was born with it." He stuttered, resisting the urge to find something to brace himself on. Seeds and plants with eyes? Childish whimsy or truth? He was inclined to believe her, not sure why she would tell him such a thing if it wasn't true. "It was smaller then, but it grew with me." The filly flipped between subjects as easily as a fish took to water, while Diriel floundered hopelessly in an attempt to keep up. Fortunately, she latched onto something he had some knowledge of, almost having forgotten his companion until her whisper had him start with surprise.
"W-What? Oh..." Having been summoned, the snake easily glided around the base of the tree sprouting from his back, slithering through his mane to lazily peer over the stallion's shoulder at the foal instead. "Um. Yes, it is. He isn't venomous, and he won't hurt you." What she must think, of this stranger barging into her home carrying such a companion. "Your... your father, is he near? He may not like seeing me with you..."
Could he blame him? A watchful, attentive parent was something expected when a child was present. Even now, he uneasily cast his gaze among the surroundings, wondering if he should slip back to the safety of the trees. If her father wasn't present though... well, he needed to make sure she was safe and not out here on her own.
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Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 11:44 pm
At the stallion's response to her initial flurry of questions, the filly nodded a bit glumly, having expected as much. A guardian tree so flawlessly matched to its bearer could have been nothing other than a native of his flesh, not something introduced long after his birth. And it had grown with him, not stalling for time, nor craving sunlight or water. She turned her chin down to regard her own roots, plain and practically invisible against her coat. It would have been nice to hear otherwise, but Grigori had always warned her against false hope, and here was a tangible result of such teachings. As though sensing the downswing in mood, the roots tightened around her slightly, a faint pressure that she recognized as an attempted embrace. They weren't a tree, or a shrub, or even a lone, lovely flower, but they were her and hers all the same. If only Grigori made allowances for such things.
Still, she couldn't find it in herself to resent this soft-spoken, faltering creature his blessing. He seemed... uncertain, even off-balance in her company, and very different from what she'd come to expect from her father. His serpent friend suffered from no such shyness, however, and she grinned widely when its sleek nose pushed through the heavy fall of his braids. The gleam of its pale, scaled hide was very becoming in the last splash of daylight, and it seemed strangely at home on the terrain provided by the dips and planes of the other's body. "Hello," she crooned at it, craning her neck to bring their faces nearer, but not quite touching. Diriel's reassurances didn't goad her to come closer, intent on giving the reptile its due respect. "You're very handsome, just like your friend. My name's Eden. What's yours?"
She would have waited patiently for an answer, but the guardian-bearer's reminder saw her drawing sharply back, a spike of alarm drilling into her chest. She raised her eyes skyward to confirm her fears: already the last hints of sunset scraped toward completion, a few shreds of orange clouds all that remained. Eden made a distressed sound in the back of her throat, whirling in place and trying to remember where the path home lay. "No, no, no, he's gonna be really upset with me," she whimpered. "Not supposed to be out after dark." Technically, she wasn't supposed to be out at all. Grigori would have long since realized that his daughter wasn't asleep in the glen he had sectioned off for her, and the prospect of weathering his displeasure made her roots constrict painfully. "I have to go home. Right now. But...I don't know-"
The rapidly fading light found her hard-pressed to recall the exact path, and she turned to the stallion in her panic. Surely he knew the way? A guardian-bearer must be able to sense another of their kind so close by, and he had come from roughly the same direction she had walked. "Can you help? There's a rock, a big one, with, um. Pink vein-y stuff. And beech trees! Two of 'em, all spiraled together. Once I see it, I can find my way back. Just gotta get through the wall." She fidgeted on her feet, watching him expectantly. "Please?" she tacked on hastily, remembering her manners with another jolt of shame. Bad enough that she had disobeyed Grigori's orders, but being discourteous to one of their own would land her in even deeper trouble.
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