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 Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:35 pm
Afternoon. The sun had begun to sink in the western sky, but as Zaphiro tilted his eyes skyward, he could tell that he had at least a couple more hours until he'd have to start searching for a place to spend the night. Not that he had an aversions to roaming about during the night, but when one was in an unfamiliar place it was always best to play it safely. And for Zaphiro, this truly was an unfamiliar place.
Trees loomed about him, their leafless branches standing out starkly against the gray-blue winter sky and reminded him of just what it was that he hated about the woods. Even though he could clearly see the sky, he felt surrounded, trapped. But after tearing a muscle in his wing during the last windstorm, he was grounded until he found a unicorn or it healed on its own. That didn't mean he had to enjoy it, particularly when it meant having to walk home from who knows where amidst who knew what sort of Soquili.
Oh well. It wasn't like he didn't know how to walk, and walk he did.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:59 pm
Giggling to himself he leaned against a tree and nosed at the bundle of herbs he'd stolen. The two leggers had chased him out of their settlement and his flanks were still stinging from the few rocks that had hit him but he had his prize. They'd had such a large amount he couldn't see why they were worried he'd taken the bundle. They wouldn't miss them and he needed them.
Putting a hoof on the bundle he nipped a few leaves off and gobbled them down. The sharp flavor spread over his tongue and a few moments later the tingly feelings started to spread though his body. His vision blurred slightly around the edges and he started giggling again. Nothing in the world was better than his favorite herbs.
Who needed to eat that nasty dry grass stuff when you had this? Never mind that he was almost skin and bones and could probably be broken by a stiff breeze.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:03 pm
From the first moment he heard it, it was as though every hair on Zaphiro's was standing on end. And how could he be expected to react any differently, given the unearthly sound that was suddenly surrounding him?
Never had he heard such laughter; high-pitched it was, with an edge that could be likened to insanity. Like the giggles of a deranged child, or worse...though to be fair, he had no idea HOW worse, since he'd never encountered true madness himself. But that giggling; if he would have had to associate a sound with a mental state, this would have been that moment.
Zaphiro couldn't do anything about the crawling feeling, nor could he do anything about his hair. What he COULD do, however, was figure out where the hell that ungodly cackling was coming from. And it only took a moment for him to determine what direction before he was heading through the trees on the trail of laughter.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:29 pm
He munched down another bit of the bundle he'd stolen and shook his head. That sent the colors of the world around him blurring perfectly. Picking up the bundle he wobbled for a moment before he straightened up and headed away from his tree.
With the herbs fuzzing his mind the little scrapes on his rump where the two leggers had it him with things to chase him away had ceased to hurt or at least if they did hurt his mind wasn't registering the feeling as pain.
He rather liked the feeling and after taking a few steps he stopped and reached around so he could rub his nose against one of the cuts.
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:16 pm
If he'd been going by sound alone, Zaphiro would have indeed run into trouble when suddenly and inexplicably the laughter cut out, gone with as much forethought as it had arrived with. But with the giggling now gone, the blue stallion paused for a moment, wondering if continuing on was a good idea. After all, the disturbing laughter was gone, so there really was no need for him to keep going...
No. He'd started off in spite of having visions of a madman dangled before his eyes, he wasn't going to chicken out just because he'd been handed a valid excuse. Besides, there were other signs to track by; things like sound and scent, or even sight.
As it turned out, sight was the most helpful of all. He'd barely come to the decision to continue his search when all at once his object was in sight, though Zaphiro didn't know it; a black and green stallion, one so emaciated he looked downright skeletal, stepped away from the trees and into sight. Zaphiro wasn't exactly sure where the other stallion had come from, but his journey must have an arduous one for him to look so frail. All thoughts of tracking down the mysterious laughter fled as he stared at the new stallion with a combination of shock, horror, and pity, and he was instantly on the query.
"Are you alright?" Might as well start with the basics!
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 1:47 pm
It took a moment for the sound of the other stallion to filter into his mind. When he did take notice his head tilted to the side as he turned to look at the blue winged one.
"Okay?" He giggled again. "Better than okay. Perfect." His eyes were slightly glassy and fell almost imedietly to the gold brushed across the one infront of him. "Hehe .. shinny"
His tail flicked slightly as he straighted his head up and shifted so he didn't have to turn at a strange angle to look at Zaphiro.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:06 pm
Zaphiro was taken aback. He'd been looking for the source of the giggling, but to find it so soon in the form of this discouraging creature hadn't occured to him at all. But there was no mistaking it; the darker stallion had merely giggled once more before Zaphiro realized he'd found his man. Or rather, his creature.
But something was wrong. That giggle, for one thing; the eerily glazed look in the strange stallion's eyes for another, and never mind the emaciation evident in the protruding ribs. This was a sorry specimen of stallion if he'd ever seen one, but damned if he knew what to do now that he'd found him.
One thing was certain, though; the other stallion was NOT okay, no matter what he said. Perhaps he simply wasn't feeling well?
Cautiously, Zaph took a step closer to the other stallion, moving with the deliberate intent of not spooking his companion. Ignoring the shiny comment for the time being, he eyed the other stallion for mere moments before his gaze fell on the bundle held by the other. "Pardon the inquiry, friend, but do you need a hand with your burden? It seems as though you're having troubles with it." Not the most delicate of phrasings, but it got the point across.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:17 pm
He had started giggling as Zaphiro moved toward him. The gold on the other stallions body blurred in his vision and he had started to wonder what would happen if those wings were flapped.
He'd almost asked but the blue stallions question caught his attention. His eyes crossed as he looked down his nose as the bundle in his mouth. He stared back at the other for a moment before he backed up warily. "Mine!" He barked from around the bundle.
He'd just won his prize and wasn't about to let some one else have it even if they were bigger than him. It was his food and they could go get their own from the two-leggers.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:25 pm
For some reason, Zaphiro suddenly felt as though he were talking to a child. That possessive 'Mine" certainly contributed to that impression, as did the protective way the black stallion now seemed to be curled around the bundle. Well, the last thing Zaphiro wanted was to get in a tug-of-war with a child-stallion over mere plants! For all he knew, the scrawny stallion might be a hellcat when it came to fighting.
Or he could break like a twig at the slightest touch, which would make Zaphiro feel extremely guilty. Either way, it was not an ideal situation.
So he was quick to dissuade his companion of the notion. Raising a wing placatingly, he spoke with the patient and soothing tones of an adult to a wayward foal. "It isn't my intention to steal your greens, friend, I was merely trying to be polite. Rest assured, I myself have eaten recently enough to have no need of your lunch."
Though the black stallion obviously did, given the high visibility of his ribs! But that got Zaphiro wondering.
"I'm sorry, did I intrude on your lunch?" No wonder the other stallion seemed annoyed.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 11:46 am
"lunch?" His possessiveness over his bundle forgotten for the moment the stallion pondered that word lunch. Setting the bundle down on his back, balancing it carefully, he turned back to the other as he muttered to himself. "lunch, lunch, lunch ... lunch!"
His eyes widened after a moment. "I know what lunch is." He nodded quickly. "Don't eat lunch ... lunch not healthy." Lunch was probably what the black stallion needed but after so man years of eating almost nothing true food seemed to have stopped agreeing with him. Small bits of sustenance from his herbs and feel good plants and the occasional meal here and there when his body forced him were enough.
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:12 pm
Obviously this was a case of misnaming. How could lunch be unhealthy? Though then again...
Zaphiro's eyes ran over the pronounced signs of hunger that the stallion displayed. If he thought that eating was bad for him, then that might just explain why he looked more like a skeleton than a Soquili. But how had the other stallion gotten that idea, and how was Zaphiro to correct him? Leaving him as he was was simply out of the question at this point, so Zaph needed to think quickly.
Might as well start out by setting him at ease. That in mind, Zaphiro gave the other stallion a warm smile, completely ignoring the bundle and focusing his attention on the black stallion's face. "You're right, of course; it's horrible to stand around talking of things like lunch when we haven't even introduced ourselves yet! I'm Zaphiro." And with that, he flipped him a slight bow.
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:30 pm
Why were names important? They weren't important since it wasn't like anyone remembered his anyway. "Obesquim ...." No one ever pronounced it right either but that wasn't his problem that was theirs.
Shifting slightly his eyes focused, or as focused as they could, onto a leaf that fluttered to ground. It had almost looked like bug falling in his blurred vision. Shaking his head he noticed the small bite of his snack he'd taken was starting to wear off.
Huffing he chewed another bite off his plants and giggled again as the drugs infused into his system. It always felt wonderful and perfect and he'd have to find more later since this little bundle wouldn't last long.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 4:46 pm
Obsequium. Obsequium? Was that his name, or was it just a random word? Either way, Zaphiro was starting to get the impression that something was amiss with this stallion, something more than a simple lack of sustenance. Hell, he was acting downright loopy. He must have been out in the sun for too long, or something.
But he was going to act on the assumption that Obsequium was actually the other stallion's name; if he was correct in his assumption about mental capacities, then he wasn't sure that he wanted to stay around. But he didn't feel like cutting out yet, so...acting on the assumption of names it was!
"Nice to meet you, Obsequium. What brings you out into the woods?"
Hopefully not...whatever it was that Zaphiro was starting to think. He was getting a weird vibe from this stallion, damned if he wasn't.
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Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:52 pm
"They chased me out of their camp ... just wanted tasties." He reached around himself and nosed one of the cuts on his flank. "Silly two-leggers didn't want to share. Should share. Suppose to share." He snorted slightly as he chewed on a leaf.
He thought nothing of his words or what they could make others think. That wasn't his problem and the idea that he was strange never crossed his mind. In fact most things didn't cross his mind for very long.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:59 pm
Talking to Obsequium was rather like talking to a foal; no point of view other than their own. And in this case, the comparison was easier to make than usual, perhaps due to Obsequium's rather abrupt and simplistic use of language.
But that made Zaphiro wonder...
Listening as the other stallion spoke, Zaphiro's gaze had wandered to the bundle that Obsequium seemed so protective of. He had to be referring to it with his cryptic words, but what could it possibly be that a Soquili was willing to risk injury and offense to obtain?
That curiousity led him to ask what was for Zaphiro an extremely direct question. "What is that bundle, anyway?"
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