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 Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:06 am
 This place... Roamer thought as he stepped through the bog on his own for the first time. This place needs my help...The thought neared despair - about as close to it as Roamer had ever gotten in all his travels. He could smell the stench of the poisoned water, heavy in the air like a cloak. It smothered this land, made it bubble with its unnatural stink. Only through sheer power of will could he force himself to stay, to wander through this horrific graveyard of dead trees. And yet, he knew, everything that repulsed him so about this place gave him reason to stay and to help it heal. Roamer chose a slow, somber pace as he made his way through the bog. Every so often, he would spot something that made his heart jump - something that looked like life. But every time, he was mistaken. On his rump rode Magma, the new cockatrice companion he had been granted by Brightheart. The bird was oddly quiet today, hunched as deep into himself as he could manage, every feather tucked to his body. "Maybe a little rain will help wash the smell away?" Roamer suggested. He drew upon his fledgling power and summoned a drizzle above them, hoping it would at least dilute the putrid smells wafting toward him. "I wonder if we'll find anyone else out here today."wc 209
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:39 am
 Calelha really did not want to be in the bog at all but something deep inside told her that is was time to us the gift the Grandfather Tree had given her. "What better place to start then the scarcest place in all Vykeli?" her muse quivered inside her. Ya she had no idea what she was here either but her had made the point in the question. Calelha moved slowly every step taken with care. The smell was almost more then she could possible imagen; making her gage every time a bubble of green bog haze popped. "Are you sure you are being called here?" her new familiar, Dakotah, asked in his normal grumpy voice. She decided not to asked that question after all they had spent most of the morning arguing about it. Well Dakotah most argued, Calelha just nodded and lesson but she had walked to the bog anyways. Walking over to a fallen tree Calelha decide this is as good a place as any to try her new gift out. The log would serve as a great growing place for any spores that would live which would help the bog heal. Or at least she hopped so? Taking a deep breath in she relaxed as spores releases in a mustards yellow cloud that quickly disperse in the air and descends onto the fallen tree. "What a strange feeling." she says and then a drizzle starts. "What the heck did you do?" Dakotah calls out form her back as the water soaks them both and then disappears almost as quick as it begin. Calelha knew that the drizzle had nothing to do with her and she begins to look around. "It was not me Dakotah? Maybe it was a bog rain cloud?" But she knew better the water that had fallen form the sky had been fresh and not toxic like bog water. There had to be someone around her but the bog fog was think and hard to see through. Giving up on sight she called out into the fog. "Hello is someone out there?" She waited for a reply hoping however was out there was a friendly someone. wc:363
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:28 am
What a pleasant surprise. Roamer's ears perked right up at the sound of the voice, and even Magma seemed to unclench himself a little bit to peek about for the source of the words. Maybe this place wasn't so doomed after all. This meant that other noulicorns were coming to brave these horrible lands, all in search of ways to help heal it. The thought was uplifting. "We ought to introduce ourselves. Kindred spirits, and all," Roamer suggested. He altered his course to head toward the voice, and was pleased to see the doe and her familiar not too far away. "Hello," he greeted her. Though his greetings weren't nearly as excitable as Ysalone's, he had learned from his traveling companion and had found himself sounding friendlier and friendlier as the days passed. That was probably a good thing. Roamer didn't want to his spend all his life as a surly loner. "It's quite the pleasant surprise to see another of us out here, noulja. I'm sorry about the drizzle, I didn't mean to get you wet. I was trying to wash away some of these smells."wc 209 + 187 = 396
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:57 am
A chocolate champagne sabino immerges form the bog fog with a very colorful cockatrice riding on his back. Calelha had not seen a cockatrice yet but she had hear of them form others that traveled the Homewoods. This one had to be the most colorful familiar in all the Homewood. Calelha though as they approached. Shacking the rain form her main and tail, she smiled brightly at the buck. "Oh its no..." "You should really watch where you drop your rain clouds." Dakotah said cutting Calelha off and glaring at the buck. Calelha looked down embarrassed for the scuttles behavior but she was still working on his grouchy demeanor. Still looking down Calelha says "I am sorry for him he tends to be on the grouchy side of things." "Do not apologize this buck dumped rain on us." Turning to her scuttle she snaps " Well you could use a bath anyways." Which shut the scuttle up right quick. "Again I am sorry for him." she smiled at the buck hopping he would ignore he companion. "My name is Lady Calelha but most just call me Calelha. Oh and this is Dakotah." she indicates with her head. Calelha was honestly just glad to see another noul out here. One because somenoul else had clearly felt the call to heal this area. And two because now she was not alone with the grouch in a scary place like the bog. wc:238
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 1:45 pm
"Mmmm... the scuttle scale has spirit, doesn't he?" Magma rumbled from atop Roamer's withers as they approached. The cockatrice spoke in a voice that was surprisingly deep, and it boomed in a way that was rather unexpected for a small animal like himself. He had untucked himself now that the drizzle had lightened some of the smell and sat proudly as he watched their new companions. Roamer chuckled and shook his head apologetically. "You're right, Dakotah. I do apologize," he said in a kindly tone. There was a twinkle in his eye as he turned to Calelha. "My name is Roamer, and my friend here is Magma."He turned to look at the bog around them and managed to stifle a sigh. That ever-present sense of muted horror at being here was one of those things that lingered in the back of his consciousness and came to the forefront once in a while, every time he chose to think about his surroundings. "Have you been to this place before?" he asked. "It's our first visit, and we only just arrived."wc 209 + 187 + 180 = 576
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:11 pm
"Spirit I will that feather brain spirit." Dakotah mumbled under his breath which earned him a glare form Calelha. In turn he hide behind her hair not that she was going to do anything to the scuttle but even he knew he was being a dire rats bottom. "Roamer that's a nice name." Calelha thought as he finished introducing himself and his familiar. "Please do not mind him. He is really just a grouch and you are just doing your part to heal this place." she indicated to the toxic bog they where standing. "And the drizzle did help the smell..." Calelha takes a big breath in and coughs "...well some." She adds with a smile. "Oh no this is my first time here as well." she answers. "Honestly it is super scary here and if I had not felt a pull to the place I would be as far as I could be form this place." She was not sure why she was confessing her fear to this complete stranger. Maybe the bog air had gone to her head but she was and it was to late to take the words back. Clearing her throat she asks "So what brings you to these parts?" her muse hits her forehead and say "Duh same reason you are here." But once again to late to take it back so she smiles and waits for a reply. wc:235
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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 5:10 pm
"A feisty one," Magma said, his short chuckle deep and hearty. He fixed Dakotah with a twinkling stare, obviously amused by the scuttle scale's words, and puffed himself up just a bit, shaking some of the drops out of his feathers. "Oh, don't provoke him, Magma," Roamer said cheerfully. It wouldn't do to let their familiars get into a shouting match within moments of meeting, after all! The buck smiled, looking around him with what seemed like hope in his eyes. "Maybe there's cause for joy yet," he said as he scanned through the rows of dead trees in search of something better. It was all in vain, he knew, but there was a vision there, an idea of what the future could be if they all worked hard to heal this place. "I do agree. This place is... depressing? Slightly horrifying?" That wasn't quite enough to describe what he felt, but it came close. "The only thing that keeps me here is knowing how much help it needs. Would that we could just avoid it forever, but I guess that won't help this bog or us."The buck paused for a moment to consider her question, and then he smiled. There was an optimist hidden inside him, he had come to realize. It had always been there, hidden under the guise of a fanciful adventurer. But the truth was, he traveled the way he did because he believed that he could help make the world a better place. It was why he did everything. "I had this hope," he said finally. "That all of the hard work I put into healing this place would yield some good results in our lifetime. I'm here to get the ball rolling, I guess."wc 209 + 187 + 180 + 291 = 867
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 2:17 pm
Dakotah watched form Calelha's back giving the colorful bird an icy glare. He remand quit it though mostly because he did not want to upset Calelha any more then he already had. Deep deep deep down he really liked his new companion and did want to please her. Calelha lessoned has Roamer answered her silly question. "Hope wow." she though in a very dreamy way. She had not before seen the bog as anything more then scary. It did not help that she had grown up with the tails of traveler to fill her mind with scary thoughts of what the bog might hold. But as she stood lessoning to this bucks hopefulness for a place as scary as this she found herself filling with hope for the environment around her as well. "Wow I had never thought of it that way. I know my gift is to heal but to make a difference...that would really be a dream come true." she said in a whimsy voice. This buck truly had a char about him the Calelha had never noticed in a buck before. Shacking her head she really was starting to think the bog air was getting to her. ]"Like a buck would ever think of her that way." She thought with a mental eye roll. She was the strange mushroom watching noul. The only one that ever really understood her was her sister. "So..." she started and then stopped. Hanging her head she realized that she was not to sure what she wanted to say or if she should say anything at all. "Maybe ask a question about his family?" her muse eagerly offered hopping form hoof to hoof in excitement "But that might be to personal or forward." she told herself so she stood quietly looking around at the ground before her, will butterflies danced in her stomach. wc:311
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:06 pm
"Healing," Roamer echoed, eyes bright as he nodded along. "Well, healing certainly does make a difference. Not everyone can do what you do and help others when they need it the most." He suspected that any act of kindness like that helped their planet in some way. Without greed and with plenty of care for each other, Vykeli would start to flourish again. Roamer was quiet for a moment, listening for the rest of her sentence. When it didn't come, he seemed to notice that she was nervous, or perhaps simply too excited to come up with another topic. Too surprised at meeting another noul out here, maybe... though his eyes suggested that he might at least have an inkling as to why Calelha was really being quiet. "What about this dream come true?" he finally said, curious. Hopes and dreams had a way of revealing quite a bit about a creature's nature, he though. "What kind of difference are you looking to make?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2020 7:57 am
Calelha perked up when Roamer asked her about her dream and what difference she would like to make. Her sister had been the only one to ever ask her a question like that. Her mother and father did not really care since they had her life all planned out for her. "I dream of a world where all of Vykeli's lands and creatures live in peace and harmony. I want all the foals to live with out fear or hunger." She was sure all of nouls had the same dream but sometimes she could see it so strong in her mind as if it was already here. Thinking on the difference she could make she was not to sure really. She did not have much confidence in herself. But if she was talking to her sister she would say "The difference I hope to make someday is not just with my gift but with my heart and the love I have for Vykeli. Sure noulicorns care for Vykeli but not man can find the beauty in say a mushroom as it slowly grows form the decaying ground or tree." she said all this with her eye closed. When she opened them again she searched Roamer's face looking for any signs of judgement or disagreement. Ridding the wave of strength form her words she asked she was not really trying to change the subject; she just wanted to know more about this strange and fascinating buck before her. wc:247
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:12 am
Roamer nodded understandingly as Calelha spoke. It seemed they shared an appreciation for Vykeli and a desire to see it be the best land and best society it could be. There was something to be said about finding a kindred spirit when it came to matters like these. The buck felt tremendously lucky to have stumbled upon on in a place like this. "What a lovely thing to wish upon Vykeli," he said in answer, nodding thoughtfully this time as he pondered it. "I think mine is similar. I particularly hope that one day, in generations beyond ours, that all creatures can live without knowing how damaged this place was once."Ignorance was bliss sometimes, and there was nothing Roamer wanted so much as to know that one day, his children's children would bask in ignorance of the destruction and damage the Others had wreaked upon their planet. What a lovely thought. "Do you travel much, then, Calelha?" he added, curious.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:37 am
The thought of children made Calelha blush. Turning her head way she truly hopefully Roamer did not see that. "Doe get it together." her muse sculled her. She was right though. Roamer was very attractive on the outside sure but what Calelha like most in a noul was the mind and the heart. And this buck before her was the total package. It was interesting to Calelha that Roamer hoped that someday future generation would not have to know about the type of world they current lived in. She understood why any noul would want that and in some respect she did to but she also hoped the knowledge of the destruction would stay true in every nouls heart so that future generation would not become complacent with their world. "I hope that the young generation will only know peace as well. But I also hope that the knowledge of the what can happen when we do not care for our world stays true in their heart as well." She had been raised around privileged nouls her whole life and she had seen what having everything you wanted could do to a noul. She even had one brother herself that took for granted many of the things he had over others. It was a sad thought really. And so much of Vykeli still had to be healed. Shacking the thought away, Calelha tried to perk back up so she could answer Roamer's question. "Oh sadly I have not traveled that much yet no. I and still very knew in my gift. And my mother and father are pretty over protective of my sister and I." she said will a smile remembering how her mother had wanted to send her sister and her to the Great Tree with and escort. Thank the Great Tree Cattleya was more out spoken and would have none of it. "How about you are you well traveled?" she wondered in equal measure. wc:326
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:40 pm
"There's a... special kind of privilege in complacency," he agreed. "Maybe it's not the best, but it does mean that they've not had to grow up with any worries whatsoever, and that ideal seems... nice. It's not very practical, though, is it?" The way he said it suggested that he'd almost betrayed one of the pillars of who he was. And indeed, Roamer was quite the pragmatic creature, always thinking about what made sense. His entire life was led in a stripped down manner, carrying with him only what was necessary both physically and emotionally. For him to think in such idealized ways... it didn't feel natural to him. He knew it was a dream, but it seemed like such a good dream. "I've spent most of my life traveling," he answered. "Ever since I was old enough to head off on my own, really. It's a part of me, I love seeing new places and working to heal it all. Even places like this." It had been enough years of being on the move that Roamer suspected settling down into life at the Homewood would be difficult. He'd seen the lovely, easy life that nouls led there and knew it wasn't for him. His legs were too used to moving, taking him places he'd never seen before.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:48 am
Traveling sounded so very exciting when Roamer talked about it. It made her heart jump at the idea of seeing the world they were working so hard to heal. She had not had the chance to do much of it as a foal. Her mother and father did not feel that foals needed travel to be a successful high class doe. She had spent a lot of her time traveling in her studies though. The more she learned about the forgotten things of Vykeli the farther she would go. It probably why she had grown to lover the single organism. Though the though excited her it also made her feel sad. "What about his family? Did he have a family? Did he want a family?" " Why do you care that dreamy buck is not interested in a strange noul like us?" her muse piped up. The silence stretcher on and seemed a little awkward but then Calelha got the confidence to ask him one of the many questions in her head. "Do you have any family to enjoy your travels with?" "Subtle Calelha really subtle." her muse rolled her eyes and sculled. "Would you stop." she sculled her muse back. "Plus I can not keep talking to you and him at the same time." That seemed to have the effect of her muse she wanted because her muse sat down and shut her mouth. Satisficed with that she put her attention back on the buck before her. wc:246
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:12 am
Roamer smiled. Both of his parents had had wanderlust when they were younger, but both had settled down in the Homewood by the time they had got to be his age. Seeing a little bit of the world had been enough for them, and they'd managed to make a place for themselves as scouts once they stopped to form a family. Now, both of them were past their prime and quite enjoyed their comfortable lives, surrounded by a handful of friends with whom they could visit the water holes and chat. "No, I don't," he answered, smiling. "My parents live in the Homewood, and apart from them, I don't have much family. I do travel with a friend, though. Kind of a protege who's learning how to do all this from me."The relationship between him and Ysalone was strictly collegial, that of mentor and mentee. She was almost - weirdly - like a daughter, although certainly their ages weren't that far apart. But Roamer took great pride in the young doe's achievements, and every time she proved herself more capable than she seemed, he felt like he had done something right. "And you? You said you had a sister. Does she travel with you much?"
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