|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 7:22 pm
 The sun was rising, the morning mist was clearing, it was going to be a beautiful day. The stallion watching the clouds go from intense shades of red to pink to yellow sighed and turned his mind towards a larger problem.
Why did Soquili insist on coming all the way out here? After all, there was little to be seen on the mountain, save some trees that refused to die, rocks, and an almost everpresent fog.
Well, yes, the sunsets were beautiful and the sunrises nothing short of heavenly, but the horses that came up were...well...less than. It wasn't, he rationalized, that they were bad creatures (except for Kalona, those he could do without in any way, shape or form) but their presence, on the whole, just completely detracted from the image he was trying to preserve.
Admit it, he sighed to himself. You just want to feel superior. Moltres sighed again. His conscience was right, as usual. He just wished it could be...well, less right.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:26 pm
 Exploring was definitely fun.
Kindle had explored the forest and rivers, plains and creeks, and now it was time for the big event. Orange eyes glanced up the rocky path ahead of her, and determined hooves of fire made their way up the path, her gaze set at the peak.
The young mare had yet to explore and discover the secrets of the large mountain, but today was as good as any day to find out. Her father had dutifully warned her of the dangers of slipping and falling down the slopes and jagged edges, but she knew she was more graceful than her silly father or her strict mother. She'd be fiiiine, she was sure of it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:31 pm
Moltres was deep in contemplation of what it meant to be Angeni and how he shouldn't allow that to make him feel superior to other Soquili when he heard hoofbeats.
Someone was coming up the mountain.
The sun had risen high enough to remove all trace of magic from the sky, rendering it as normal as ever. As normal, Moltres supposed, as the horse coming this way. He had a few options on what to do about that. He could just fly away, but that would be cowardly. He could turn and wait to confront the stranger, but that didn't suit him.
He decided to just ignore the fact that someone was coming and refocused his attention on the horizon, as if searching for something he couldn't quite find.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:46 pm
Humming to herself, Kindle continued the trek up the mountain, attempting to ignore the difficulty it was becoming, trying to move her hooves up the less than smooth pathway. The path that had seemed so friendly before now seemed ruthless, as the rocks began to break up and grow higher, and her hooves struggled with managing her weight up onto the edges.
She'd make it up to the top, she was determined. So many Winds and flutters could do it... horses and their silly wings. She didn't need any wings to be able to make it up some silly mountain. Kindle was her mother's daughter, and that meant no giving up!
Her hoof paused in midair from taking her next step, as she thought she heard the sound of gravel being crunched, as if underneath another footstep. Had someone already beat her to the top?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:52 pm
Moltres tried not to grind his teeth as the hoofbeats paused. He could be the most patient creature in the world...if someone was waiting on him. The shoe was on the other foot though, and he wasn't pleased about it.
He remained in his carefully studied pose, staring intensley out at the open vista below. He could almost catch a whiff of whoever was about to join him...
...if they ever got up here! Unable to help himself, he shifted his feet slightly on the gravel, wincing inwardly at the unneccessary noise. Shame his wings just weren't built for hovering.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:26 pm
There was that noise again!
Kindle's head jerked up, and she attempted to search out the cliffs and overhangings of rocks above her head and path. All she could make out was bright light, no doubt a glare from the sun. As much as resistant to fire as she was, the sun still did a wonder on her eyes, if she stared up at the sky for too long.
Cursing to herself, she shook her head and concentrated on moving upwards. She'd prove she was as good as any flying creature; she'd make it to the top. And if it was a kalona or something awful like that waiting on her... well, she'd just have to face that problem when it faced her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:49 pm
The scent was getting stronger. It was probably a good thing that, for all his elevation, Moltres was downwind of...of the mare.
It had to be a mare, didn't it? That really was just his luck. He twitched his tail and shuffled his hooves again.
Was he really going to just pose here to impress a mare?
Well...yeah. He was a stallion, after all. His instincts wouldn't let him do anything else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:02 pm
Kindle let out a small shriek as she lost her footing, her back leg waving frantically in thin air as she attempted to regain her balance and control of the situation. Once she assured herself that she was standing on firm ground did she continue on.
Her eyes kept glancing up at the ridge above her. She knew someone was up there. That noise had been far too similar to that of a hoof or paw than it could be of some breeze passing through.
She felt a chill go down her spine as her mind chose the moment to recall just why her father had told her to keep off the mountain, aside from the dangerous cliffs and edges. Mountain lions.
"Maybe I should turn back..." she thought to herself, and glanced at the direction from where she had come from. Her head got dizzy from looking at the distance she now stood between the mountain and the ground beneath her. "Or... maybe I should keep going up, and the other side'll be better to travel down?"
Turning back around towards the peak, Kindle peered out again at the overhanging.
"If there's a lion up there... you'd better shoo! I'm a big scary kalona, and I love to eat lions!" she hollered out, figuring if she could attempt a low enough booming voice, that she could scare off whoever it was that was lurking above her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:08 pm
A Kalona! Great. Just great. Now he was stuck here and a kalona was coming...
...wait. He wasn't completely sure, having never met a Kalona, but he didn't think they would announce themselves like that.
And he'd heard her footing slip. At least, he was pretty sure that's what the frantic scrabbling in the gravel was. If it was something else, he didn't think he wanted to know. Anyway, didn't Kalona have wings? In which case...why would she be walking up if she was able to fly?
Then again, sometimes one had the urge to do something the "hard" way...
Moltres sighed. Now he was just talking himeself in circles. He hoped she'd just get her soon, whoever she was, so that he could stop driving himself crazy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:06 pm
Her dark colored head slowly peered up from below the rock she was looming under, and her orange eyes quickly squinted as they fell upon the fiery being. She felt herself let out a gasp as she looked over the large stallion standing on the rocky platform.
What in the world was he?!
Thankfully, he wasn't a lion after all... but he was firey, and large, with even larger wings. Was he friend or foe?
Kindle snorted and rose higher, climbing up onto the platform where the stallion stood. She wasn't about to let him figure out how startled she had been of his presence, and, after all, she personally had nothing against things with fire on them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:29 pm
Moltres stood on the ledge, pretending to be looking out at the view. When he heard noises confirming that the mare was up there with him, he turned his head enough to focus one brown eye on her.
Black and orange and fire. That was his first impression and it was relatively favorable. The fire in particular intrigued him. She wasn't bad-looking at all. But...
"A Kalona, hmm?" he asked dryly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 4:00 pm
Kindle had enough sense to glance to the ground, feeling a bit embarrassed at the... lack of kalona-ness she presented herself to be.
"Well..." she started, trying to think up a quick reply, "well.... I'm far worse than a kalona!"
Her eyes gleamed against the reflection of the bright flames flickering all across his body, and she bared her semi-sharp fangs. "I'm even MORE evil... I'm a Nightmare!"
Which of course, was only partially true. Yes, she was half-Nightmare, thanks to her mother, but, compared to a kalona, Kindle was no match. But this... fire horse didn't know that. And she'd use that to her advantage, should his intentions be anything but good.
She snorted once again, and pawed at the ground with one of her flaming hooves, shooting sparks as she did so.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:05 pm
He was surprised to see that the mare actually did have fangs of a sort. So...something she'd said had to be true. He'd never heard of a Nightmare though...it was something to look into. Though, perhaps, not right now.
He did notice the flames and the sparks though. That, at least, he could relate to.
"Just calm down," he suggested, his own voice quite level. "A nightmare you may be, but a Kalona you're not. So stop trying to scare me." His tone suggested that it would be a long time before she succeeded in that endeavor.
"So, miss nightmare, what's your name?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:48 am
She took a step back, quickly remembering the edge of the rock of which she was standing on, and moved forward once again. This stallion hadn't launched himself at her, though he did not seem very intimidated by her words either.
"K..Kindle." She said finally, her mind silently cursing herself for stuttering. What proper Nightmare (okay, okay half-Nightmare) would do something so pathetic as stutter?
Unable to hide her curiosity, she questioned, "You're not going to hurt me... are you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 5:39 pm
He sighed. Did he really look that intimidating? Or was she just afraid? Ah well, he'd probably never know.
"Now, Kindle, why would I hurt you?" he asked as smoothly and calmly as he could. "My name is Moltres. I'm an Angeni. We don't go about hurting others."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
