[SRP] Playtime - (Aitumn + (foal) Mecriana)
Things had begun to settle down a bit, and the stallion had taken another trip to relax around Shrilal while Cressida minded the fruit. However, he would not be gone long, for those paranoid thoughts still remained. Plus, Zak was likely to show up when he least expected him to, and that did not bode well for Aitumn, Cressida, or their growing fruit. How much closer was it to hatching though? Soon hopefully, for Aitumn did not like waiting while at any moment their enemy may strike.
With swift hooffalls that came quickly, Aitumn made his way around trees and pairs of nequus with their own growing fruits. It was simply amazing how foals came from trees, and he imagined once he got more time, he come up with a story just about that. For now though, he was content to lope around Shrilal for a brief period of time before he returned to the tree and Cress.
Oh goodness, how long has it been since she's seen practically anyone closely looking like her father? Many, many days! Not to mention she was hungy, and very, very bored. The hungry she could take care of by grazing around her tree, but the boredom just would not go away. No matter what she did, or how long she chased her shadow around its base and through Shrilal, she just could't shake the feeling of restlessness that plagued her. There just had to be something to do around here.
With a heavy sigh and a shrug of her delicate shoulders, Mecriana happened to glance up at the right time when a moving brown and black splotch caught her attention. Focusing on the moving creature made the filly realize that the Stranger she had met awhile ago just happened to be in the area. "Hey Mister!" she called out excited, prancing in a little circle. Hopefully he'd hear her, and hopefully he had returned to make good on his promise to play with her.
Aitumn happened to be in mid-stride when a familiar voice and a familiar choice of words struck him all blind-sidedly. Pausing just long enough to capture which direction it was in, the stallion halted his lope and turned to the direction with sweeping eyes. It couldn't be, was the filly really still there after all this time? Perhaps now her family was with her.
Spotting her not too far off, Aitumn scanned the general direction for anyone that happened to be in that area with her. He came up with short of nothing. Odd. Deciding to inspect it out for himself, the sleek blood bay Jala stallion headed for her direction at a brisk trot, until finally he was able to stop just near her tree once more.
"Forgive me for my rudeness before, but my name is Aitumn." He'd ask for hers, but at the moment he was rather busy trying to find out if her parents happened to be in the area. Perhaps he had just overlooked them from that distance before?
Sweet! He had heard her call out to him, and now he was coming over to talk, or well, hopefully play. She was slightly disappointed however when he did not give a reason for being out near her tree, but was distracted by the name giving before long. "Oh, Aitumn, not Mister. Well, my name's Mecriana", she boasted, sticking her chest out boldly as she did so. No cowering away for her, nuh-uh, no way.
But now it was time to come to serious business, the business of playing of course. "So, Mist- uh, er, Aitumn, I was wondering if you came out here today to play with me? Like you promised you would? Its awfully boring out here." And that it was, without a doubt, the most boring place in the world for the small foal. Sure she could graze on grass and keep herself fed, but there was only so much for her to do while she waited for her father to return. And when he did, she had decided to give him a stern yelling at about sticking to the rules of a game. Gosh, he must have gotten lost or something out there! Stuff like that made her never want to leave Shrilal at all.
For a moment he was almost baffled, trying to remember just when he might have said something about playing a game with her. Come to think of it, he really didn't remember much about their meeting at all, but then again that had been almost right after incident with Zaknafein. Ugh, this wasn't good at all. Clearing his throat slightly, the blood bay went on. "And what game did you have in mind for us to play, Mecriana?"
Maybe hearing her answer would help to jog his memory a bit. That is, if they had even decided on a game back then. To think, he'd promise something like that without even remembering it. Certainly that was aggitating to the blood bay stallion, for he prefered to pay his dues on-time. Hopefully he wasn't late with this little promise.
Now that was a good question. The filly wasn't entirely certain about just what she wanted to play, but that didn't stop her from answering right away. "How about this: I try to catch your tail, and you try to keep it away from me?" She remember how long it had been before, and the urge to just catch it came to mind once again.
His tail? The stallion gave it an unconcious flick as he weighed his options. Normally he didn't care much for it, as it was simply just another apendage for him to use at his disposal to convey how he was feeling. Did he really care if some kid came around and nipped it? Not really, he supposed. "Alright, but some basic rules. No pulling the tail too hard", ouch, "and if I can make it around the base of your tree ten times that means I win." Couldn't make it a game without a bit of a competetion now could you? Plus he figured, he might as well keep the filly entertained while she waited for her parents to return.
"Awesome!" Okay, no pulling his tail too hard when she caught it, and she definatly couldn't let him get around her tree ten times. Then she wouldn't win, and she didn't like not winning. That wasn't very fun at all, she had discovered. Backing up a few paces and settling into a ready position, the filly flapped her little wings and said, "Okay, I'm ready when you are!" She just hoped he wasn't too fast for her to catch.
The blood bay grinned at her enthusiasm to start the game, and set off into a brisk lope toward her tree when she said she was ready. "Alright then, try and catch me!" The stallion's midnight tail went up like a flag, raised above the ground and billowing with every rocking stride he took. Of course he was taking it slow enough to where she'd stand a chance, but not quite slow enough to where she'd actually catch him just yet. Where would the fun be in letting her get it too soon?
The filly gave a whinny before she took off after him, partially tripping over her own hooves as she attempted to catch up too much, too soon. Running fast seemed awkward to her, little did she know that was due to her strides befing too close together and not stretching out long enough to make a successful run. Nonetheless, Mecriana chased Aitumn around the tree several times, sometimes getting close, and others not even close to reaching out to grab a few strands. She noticed however she suddenly seemed to catch up to him very quickly, and gave a short burst of laughter. "Gotcha now!" she taunted.
The stallion decided it was time for him to slow down and actually give her a better chance at catching his tail, and go figure, almost as soon as he does so the filly happens to catch up to him right away. In some ways it was surprising, others not so much. "Heh! I guess you do!" He feighned a few heavy breathes to pretend he was tired, and slowed down a bit more, only twice around left to go until he'd win the game, and he was hoping that wouldn't happen.
Flicking her ears back in a desperate attempt as she reached out with her neck, set Mecriana into a determined mindset. She was definatly going to get that tail! And finally, as she just rounded the corner once more, her teeth grasped onto the ends of Aitumn's long tail and she couldn't help but be over joyed. "I did it!" she declared as she spat the strands out and grinned at her large play buddy. This had been fun- a large yawn escaped her. Not again.
Aitumn slowed cautiously, not wanting to allow her the chance of tugging at his tail unnecissarily. Although when she spat it out he huffed as if he was bothered by the fact she won and shook his head. "Wow, I guess you're much faster than I thought you were. Good job." Not to mention tired, he thought as he spied that yawn of hers.
"Yup!" she boasted with an even bigger grin, followed by another yawn. Man, now she really was starting to feel tired again. Drat, and she was hoping to play the game again too. Oh well, maybe next time. "We can play again some other time Aitumn, I'm too tired now." And with that, the filly flopped back down onto her side right next to her tree without so much as another word spoken.
The stallion snorted amusedly before shaking his head once more. "If you say so. See you later, Mecriana." Probably. It might be a good idea to come by every once in awhile to make sure she wasn't permitately alone or anything like that. But he was certain her parents were around her somewhere. With a flick of his long midnight tail, the Jala stallion began to head in the other direction once again, soon to return to Cressida and the tree.
