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 Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:04 pm
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Ignorance and Bliss
Ethan, Cricket, and Tkoli :: Complete
 Ethan had scarcely been away from his mother and on his journey for a week when the reality of the situation began to settle on his narrow shoulders. Certainly, there was still a skip in his step and wonder in his eyes at each and every strange and unusual sight that he encountered, but it did seemto be such a large world. His head had been filled with curiosity at what lay beyond the green valley that he and his mother had made their home since he was still in his basket. On clear days, he could make out towering mountains and thick green forests. But he had never been allowed to stray very far from his mom's watchful eye. Now that he was traipsing through said thick forest, he began to realize that it was much more than just the lovely vision from a far. The ground was uneven and all the little rocks and fallen wood hurt his hooves. The underbrush was dense and scratched, and his horns would frequently hook on low branches if he wasn't paying careful mind to the way he was going. But still~! This was certainly an adventure, and all good adventures were met with hazards... right?
Still, despite the fact that he yearned to explore, and wanderlust was boiling in his blood; despite the fact that he often muttered to himself that his mother probably fussed over him or nagged him more times than he had freckles in his coat... he missed her. Of course - he would never dare utter that. He'd not been gone long at all! But still. It was a very different matter being out in the great world all by himself without even another to talk to. And that, under all his talk of adventure and seeing the world, was one of the big reasons why he had left home to begin with. His mother had said that he wasn't ready to meet others yet... maybe when he was older. Well, he was older! He was taller than she was now! ... He just apparently had not had the fortune to pick the right direction as he had yet to meet another soquili, and the rabbits weren't exactly much for conversation.
But, as Ethan was grousing to himself, he caught a twinkle of reflected light through the trees and his ears pricked at the sound of lapping water. He broke through the treeline to find a beautiful, crystalline lake. Smiling triumphantly - he was thirsty after all - he trotted forward and bent his head to drink the cool water.
Cricket hummed off-key to herself as she nosed about the lake. Springtime was her favorite time of year, and there were new flowers growing every day! Plenty to take back, to lay on the rock, and wait until they got crispy and would stay nice for a long time... or, at least, until Cricket accidentally smushed them. And the fresh ones smelled so good, and some of them tasted so good, and...
Thus occupied, her muzzle buried in the thick new grass and flowers, Cricket didn't even notice the approaching Soquili until he was right close - only a few feet away, over the bushes. She lifted her head, a bundle of clover in her mouth, and peered curiously. "Mhi!" she tried to trill around the stems, adn stepped delicately through the bushes.
Then she spotted him, and her ears went flat. She darted backwards with a squeal, spitting clover everywhere. "Augh! Fire! Foe! Invaders! Heeeelp!"
The mare ran around in a tight flaily circle, then stopped, looking at Ethan with dinner-plate wide eyes. It was fortunate that the other Soquili wasn't actually hostile; Cricket would have been a very easy snack otherwise.
Ethan had been so focused on the clean lake and refreshing drink after the long, uncomfortable trek through the woods that he had completely overlooked the fact that he actually had company until her voice called out to him.
Excitement clutched Ethan - there was another soquili here! Right here! After about a week of travel, he'd finally meet someone new! However, as he lifted his head from his first few mouthfuls of drinking to greet the mare with what he thought was a friendly smile, she began to backpedal in fear!
Ethans' eyes widened in shock, his expression not wholly unlike the strange mare's. What was going on? Did he do something wrong?
"Whoa!" Ethan called to her plaintively. "I'm sorry! Is this your lake? I didn't mean tuh... uhm... intrude!" He lowered his head and his ears adopted a practiced hangdog expression, perfected from many lectures from his mother when he succeeded in doing something wrong.
Cricket's ears flicked a little bit upward - just a hair, though she didn't come any closer to the strange Soquili. "You're not gonna eat me?" she asked, plaintively.
"Eat you?" Ethan asked incredulously with a c**k of his head and a scowl. "Why would I eat you?" He was now thoroughly confused. His mom had warned him, amongst her other justifications why he shouldn't leave home, that the world could be a dangerous place. But soquili eating each other? Was that the reason that she had wanted to raise him so far away from anything interesting?
"You're not gonna try to eat me are you?" He asked in turn with an appraising look at the dainty mare.
Cricket blinked at him, then giggled. "No, silly! Not unless you taste like clovers and grass!" She sobered quickly, though, and skittishly pranced to the side, getting a better view of this new Soquili while still maintaining a healthy distance.
"'Cause..." she said after a moment, thinking more about her words than she usually did. "'Cause you have horns an' pointy hooves and..." She tilted her head and sidled over a bit more. "Your tail's all naked and stuff. You're... you're not a Kalona?" She shied back a bit further at the word.
Nevermind that if he had been a Kalona, Cricket probably would have been food by now.
Ethan didn't think he tasted like clover and grass, although he had never exactly tried, nor really given it much thought before. He chuckled a bit, his posture relaxing as it seemed that the mare, despite startling him, was far from aggressive. Quite the opposite.
Ethan looked down at his hooves and back over at his tail. "What's wrong with my horns and hooves...? And my tail ain't naked.... It's... sleek" He waved it around. Ethan rather liked his tail. While maybe it wasn't as effective at swatting away bugs like his mom's was, it was flexible and he could wrap it around things.
At the term, he shook his head, befuddled. "Kalona? What's that?"
Cricket blinked again - she didn't know much, but here was someone who knew even less than she did! "Kalona! Y'know... um..." She paused, trying to think of a way to explain. "Big twisty horns like the ones you have... naked tails, pointy teeth, stuff like that! They're bad! They eat other Soquili!" She pinned back her ears and tossed her head. "And they're nasty and tricky and mean... um... I guess you're not mean..."
Ethan listened skeptically to Cricket as she described Kalona to him. "I've never heard anything like that before." He answered. Surely his mom would have told him if that were true.... right?
"Have you ever seen one of these 'kalona' before?" He asked. He'd heard of evil spirits before - wolves and mountain lions and other animals that could be dangerous. But a soquili eating another one? That sounded pretty silly to Ethan. Sure, not all soquili might be very nice - he could buy that - but eating? "Sounds like something someone made up to scare foals." He finished decisively.
"Yes, yes!" Cricket shivered from her nose to her tail. "It's true, all of it. I know Soquili who had herdmates and family killed by a Kalona!" She sidestepped and inched a little closer to Ethan. "I promise, they're real... and dangerous... how come you don't know about them? Where did you come from, anyway? You're asking to get eaten, with an attitude like that!" Her eyes were round with concern.
Nevermind that Cricket herself was frequently 'asking to get eaten' by her own cluelessness; this was serious business!
Ethan's conviction wavered. She certainly seemed to believe what she was talking about, even if she might be a bit removed from the incident in question. "Killed...?" He echoed nervously.
He looked down at his hooves again. What if it were true? He had left home to explore the world, see where he fit into it... and find his dad. He didn't just want to live in the valley forever with just his mom. He thought maybe if he found his dad, he could start figuring out where he belonged. But... what if his dad were like one of these Kalonas that Cricket talked about? Ethan didn't want to be mean and eat other soquili. Surely.... whoever his dad was... he wasn't like that.... right? After all, his mom wasn't eaten. Then again... she also never talked about him. He was lucky that he managed to get his name from her once when she was sleepy.
"I don't suppose you ever heard of a soquili called Dyson Graves, have ya?" He asked.
"Yeah," Cricket said, with a long, whuffling sigh. Her ears perked at the name. "No... I don't know anyone called that. Are you looking for someone? Maybe around the two-legs herd place..." For a moment, she wondered if that was the right thing to do, if she might be leading a Kalona (or part-Kalona) right to where her friends were, but she threw that idea out quickly. If nothing else, Kalona were mean, and Ethan wasn't mean at all. "I can show you, if you want. Maybe the Soquili you're looking for is there somewhere. There are so many herds around, I don't know all of them."
"Ah well." He sighed as well. "And yeah... I'm looking for my dad, actually. Though... I've never met him before. All I have to go by is his name. That's... kinda why I was looking for him."
He considered her suggestion. Around two-legs? "You think so? I've never actually seen a two-leg before. My mom said that she used to have one, though! That she rode over here across the sea to where we live now with a bunch of two-legs on this big nest-thing called a ship!"
"And wow... lots of herds? I'm from East of here... I've never seen that many other soquili before. It's been kinda lonely, actually. I never got to play with other foals."
"Wow... you are from far away!" Cricket stared, astonished. She'd heard about 'ships' and things, but she'd never met anyone who'd actually been on one! Once she'd tried to jump into one of the two-legs k'nooz, but it had broken under her hooves and she'd gone for an inadvertent swim. "Never got to play with anyone? That's so sad!"
Clearly, Ethan needed help. Cricket nodded, decisively. "Okay! I'll take you there. Wow, I'll have to show you everything about everything! Eat some clover," she added, bending to tug some of the greenery up into her own mouth, though she did it a little slowly to make sure he could see how to do it. You never did know! If he didn't know about Kalona Soquili and didn't get to play with others... what else might be missing from his education?
"Well, I never got to ride on one - my mom was already here by the time she had me. Well... not here but closer to here. About a week's worth of walking that way." He nodded in an easterly direction.
"And yeah... I mean... I played with my mom... but she wasn't as much fun. She said that there weren't a lot of other soquili around where I grew up. I think she kinda liked it that way, but it was pretty boring."
Ethan's ears pricked at the invitation. "Really? I'd love to see it!" He answered with honest enthusiasm. He was out to explore the world, after all!
He looked to where she gestured. "Mmm, thanks for spotting it - I'd had my fill of leaves from my walk through the woods. Even new spring leaves get tiring after several days of nothing else." He plunged his muzzle into the clover patch and took several enthusiastic mouthfulls.
"Nuffing bether dan new clofer" He said around a full mouth.
 Oh, good, he knew about clover. And how to eat. Satisfied that Ethan wasn't going to drop dead of malnutrition, Cricket chewed and swallowed another tasty green mouthful before straightening up again. "Mkay, let's go! It's over this way!" She pranced a bit into the bushes, then looked back to make sure he was following.
Swallowing his mouthful in one awkward gulp, Ethan trotted to catch up with the mare. "Okay!" He called back with a swish in his 'naked' tail. Ethan, in his enthusiasm, didn't give a shred of thought as to how this may not be the best idea in the world. Just because he wasn't exactly the definition of fierce Kalona didn't mean that Cricket's friends would be as understanding.
Cricket led Ethan happily back to her herd's favorite place, a lowland meadow near the river. The winter snowmelt flood had receded and left behind rich soil that now hosted an abundance of fresh grass and other delicious plants. "Tkoli~!" Cricket called out, ears, head, and tail held high as she pranced, proud to show off her grazing grounds. "Tkoli, I made a new friend!"
The okapi Soquili raised her head from her grazing. "Oh, you're back - find any nice cl- Cricket!!" She reared and darted to shove herself roughly between Cricket and Ethan; the younger mare stumbled back, whinnying in surprise at this sudden rough treatment. Tkoli flared her nostrils at Ethan. "Get out!"
"Tkoli!" Cricket stumbled, trying to get around the older mare and back to Ethan, but Tkoli was far less clumsy and effectively kept blocking her path. "What are you doing? He's my friend!"
"He has cursed blood," Tkoli snorted, stamping one foot on the ground and scraping up a coil of turf. "You should not associate with Kalona. One drop is enough to taint!"
"You're wrong," Cricket protested, and gave Ethan a desperate look. He was nice, wasn't he? He was her friend! What was so wrong with him?!
Ethan's eyes wandered with interest over the lush lands that Cricket called her home. Ethan wasn't looking to settle down by any means - he had just left his own home! - but seeing all these nice places, well, it was a welcome change from the woods he had been tromping through. He was just licking his lips at the tender spring blooms and had opened his mouth to compliment Cricket when the older, striped mare interjected herself between the two of them.
The grin fell off of Ethan's face faster than it had the time he had discovered cacti. His ears pressed back against his head and he backpedaled to the edge of the clearing. "Whoa! I'm sorry!" Ethan pleaded. This was different than the start he had given Cricket. This mare was hostile, scared, and seemed much sharper than the sweet - but simple - mare he had just met.
"C... Cursed?" Ethan stuttered as he looked as if he'd been kicked in the gut. "No... you have to be mis'taken..." he protested, stopping as his rear end hit a rather unyielding oak.
"You're not welcome here! Go back and slit the bellies of your own brood." Tkoli charged Ethan, then darted back to prevent Cricket from running towards him. "You can't trust him. Get back!"
"Why not? He's new! He's... we're friends, we just came this far, so he could... meet other Soquili..." Cricket's eyes were wide with distress.
 "A trick to reveal the location of our grazing grounds. Foolish!" Tkoli nipped at Cricket's flank; the younger mare squealed. "You've put us all in danger!"
"No..." Cricket shied and gave Ethan another desperate look. "He didn't do anything!"
"I'm not waiting until he does to run him off," Tkoli snorted, pawing angrily at the ground.
"Ethan..." Cricket looked over Tkoli's back; she wasn't tall enough to block her view of the young stallion. There was no kind of cunning or tricksiness in his eyes. Just fear! "No! I don't care, Tkoli!" She pranced to the side and tried to break past the older mare. Tkoli nipped again, but Cricket swerved and in a rapid sidestep of hooves she was through. "I don't believe it!" She reared as Tkoli charged her this time.
"Foolish!" The other mare danced back, though, uneasy about going any closer to Ethan now.
"I don't care! He's my friend! We'll... we'll find his father! We'll show you that he isn't what you think he is!" Cricket whinnied and galloped up to Ethan, stopping in front of him, her sides heaving. "We'll... show her, right? Ethan?"
Ethan couldn't find the right words to say. He wasn't even sure if there were right words to say given the circumstances.
"Hey... leave... leave her alone!" Ethan whinnied as Tkoli turned her hostilities on his friend. It wasn't fair. This was his fault, she shouldn't be getting into trouble because of him!
"I'm sorry... I'm not going to hurt you! I don't want to hurt anyone!" He whimpered.
And he really hadn't meant to cause a conflict between what he could only assume were herdmates. "Cricket... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." The words were just tumbling from his mouth. "I don't want to get you in trouble, too! You... you don't need trouble like me." he sniffed self-depreciatingly. What she had said earlier had been the truth. He did look like one of these monsters. Maybe... maybe more than looked. His eyes were suddenly watery and itchy.
Tkoli merely glowered at the pair, a gaze as firey with unforgiving anger as any Kalona's.
"No," Cricket said, firmly, though she was panting and there were small flecks of foam at the corners of her mouth. "Tkoli always thinks she's right." And usually she was, but... "She's not right. Not this time. It's not your fault! None'f us can help how we were born, right?"
Something Tkoli had said, many times, to a young filly who had been teased for being 'stupid'. Cricket glanced back in time to see one of the older mare's ears flick, just for a moment, but the other Soquili did not change her stance.
"I'll help you," she mumbled. "Nobody will have a problem with you being around then, right?"
Despite the massive blow to Ethan's confidence, and the scariness of the striped mare, Ethan was touched by Cricket's show of support. "You're right, Cricket!" Ethan said, finding a pit of strength. He couldn't be a monster. Either... either they were misinformed - exaggerating how bad they were .... or his dad couldn't be like that. He knew he didn't have evil in him like Tkoli was talking about!
"I don't know what you've been told, Miss Tkoli... I'm not like that." he said, eyes stinging, but a steadiness in his voice. He turned to Cricket with a serious smile. "You don't have to do this, Cricket... you have a nice home here... and I don' wanna make you leave it... But... " He looked back into the woods. "If you really wanna help me... well, I ain't one to turn it down."
"I'll come with you," Cricket said, throwing caution to the wind and letting her emotions reign. What Tkoli was doing wasn't fair, and poor Ethan needed somebody to explain to other Soquili if they were all going to be like that, and not give him a chance! "That way, I can talk to others if they get nasty at you..." She shot Tkoli a guilty look.
"I'm going," she called out, raising her voice.
Tkoli watched a moment longer, then turned and walked away without another word.
"Heh..." Cricket drooped a little, then shook her head and turned back to Ethan. "She's mad, but she'll get over it." Secretly, Cricket wasn't quite sure of that, and there was a growing feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was being stupid again, but she couldn't turn back now. "We'll find your dad... and we'll have a big adventure on the way, huh?" She gave Ethan a bright smile that was only a little faked.
Ethan gave Cricket a genuine, but solemn smile. "Thank you." He breathed.
He risked one look back at the striped mare, trying to express just how sorry he was to her with a glance. Scaring her, makin her feel threatened in her home... and taking her friend away from her.
Then, he turned with another smile to Cricket, sniffing a little but summoning another equally forced smile. "Yeah... an adventure, Cricket. You're absolutely right."
He was honestly glad to have someone closer to his age traveling with him that wouldn't fuss over him quite like his mom. It was a big scary world out there.... and apparently other soquili would be the ones finding him scary. It would be nice to have someone on his side. A real friend.
He walked evenly away from the clearing, risking sidelong glances at Cricket a few times before finally speaking up, though it was barely above a whisper. "... thanks... this.... this really means a lot to me, Cricket."
Cricket grinned, and gave a hard mental stomp to the warning thoughts in her mind. "S'okay... I mean, you don't have anyone... you need somebody to show you the way, right?" She paused, though, and turned to glance back at the meadow for a moment. Tkoli was nowhere to be seen.
After a moment, she turned and kept going. "Besides, we'll go see... the best places! Big mountains, big meadows! And you can see all the different kinds of Soquili... there's mers and kelpies in the lake, and wind and flutter in the skies..." She didn't mention Kalona; she didn't want to run into any of them. Maybe Ethan was okay, but if what Tkoli had said was true... she thought Ethan didn't really have any Kalona heritage at all. She'd just been wrong. Tkoli had been wrong too. "And the Angeni! They have so many wings... some of them have horns, too. Maybe your dad's an Angeni," she added with a grin, sidling to one side and bumping Ethan lightly with her shoulder.
Yeah. An adventure. She was good at adventures... right?
"Well... I've got you with me now, right?" He smiled again. "And it sure sounds like you know your way around!" He hoped so at least. But... even if not... two were more likely to find his dad than just one! Not to mention he'd have someone to talk to. A REAL friend. The smile broadened.
"wow..." he mused at her description. It sounded so unreal! "Soquili in the sky?" He breathed. Maybe this would be a real adventure after all. "You really think my dad might be an Angeni?" That sounded amazing. Could it really be true?
He didn't want to believe his dad was a monster. He wasn't a monster. And yet his conviction wavered. Things his mom had said were now reverberating in his mind. His mom had told him that he was a good son, and that it didn't matter who his dad was or that he wasn't around. That he was his own soquili.... Hm.
"Yeah... yeah, you've got me." Cricket grinned and paused on the top of a small rise. "We'll find him, don't worry... he could be an Angeni, or all kinds of things. There are so many sorts of Soquili in the world..." She'd been jealous of them a time or two. Envious of Euterpe for being able to fly, wising to be a mer so she could fly under the water...
But now she was going on her own adventure. Something she never could have predicted when she woke up that morning. "Anyway, who your dad is doesn't mean anything about who you are, right? Inside? So if he is an Angeni... that'd be really cool. If he's not... then you'd still know who he was, and it'd still be cool." She nodded, then turned to look over the view, her ears pricked. "So... where to first?"
"I know you're right, Cricket. Who he is... well... it won't make me different. Mom's virtually said as much to me. That everyone's their own soquili. The spirits give everyone an equal chance to do good or bad and make their impression on the world. An I believe that. I mean... I don't think that meeting my dad will change me... whether he's an Angeni or..." He hesitated. "... you know." But despite Ethan's optimistic words, there was a hesitance as he admitted the possibility.
And in truth, while Ethan wasn't aware of his mom's motivations, he was very lucky that she believed in such. She believed that each colt started with a blank slate in the spirits' eyes, and so she couldn't believe that her son would be born evil, despite his father. Her beliefs were tied very strongly to traditional Celtic values. He was her son, and she taught him respect for others - mares and stallions alike, and for nature and other tenants of right and wrong from her value system.
"But I want to meet him. Look at him in the face and know he's my dad, you know? I want to see what kind of stallion he is. I know what I do in life is my path... but... sometimes it helps to see where those who came before ya went. "
Ethan paused beside Cricket at the rise, overlooking the vast forest, mountains in the distance. He looked back Eastwards, the direction that he came. He'd made quite some distance since he started on his journey. He couldn't even see the lush valley that he had called home. It felt... strange. Good in a way, but there was a clutch of nostalgia. He hoped his mom was okay. Then he looked West - and into the unknown. "It's a big world." He mused to her. "Lots of places to look for him. Lots of soquili to meet, and adventures to have." He smiled to her. "I say we go West. Into the unknown!" He posed overdramatically for a moment before faltering sheepishly. "That is, unless you've already explored West."
"It doesn't matter - it's unknown to you, right?" Cricket hesitated a moment longer, then smiled. "C'mon, let's go!"
She cantered down the hill.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:10 pm
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Wild Blue Yonder
Ethan, Cricket, and Maharet :: Completed
One thing, Ethan mused to himself, that wasn't covered in the stories of the great adventures, was just how much walking was involved. Not that Ethan minded a good stroll, but there was a world of difference between walking from sun up till sun down for days on end.
Granted, there was so much amazing scenery - sometimes, when he emerged out of a copse of trees to an overlook, it took his breath away. The flowers were blooming, now, too - colorful bouquets that blanketed the fields. There was such a variety he saw, too - more than just the familiar types that grew around his home.
He never imagined how big the world was. And having someone traveling with him was fantastic. He and Cricket could talk to pass the time, play games.. He'd traveled for a week on his lonesome - away from his mom - it had been the longest time he'd spent alone in his life. He wasn't regretting being with someone again for a moment. Cricket was silly, lifted his spirits, and really made him think it really was possible to find his father.
Unfortunately, the past day it had been raining. Rain, rain rain. His blanket was sopping wet, but he didn't want to leave it behind. His mane stuck to his neck and pieces kept winding up in his mouth, and it was hard to see more than a few dozen feet ahead.
Finally, the sun was beginning to crest out from behind the stormclouds, casting a magnificent rainbow across the valley before them. Ethan paused, smiling with wonder. It was moments like this that made leaving home a decision that he couldn't regret.
Maharet drifted along, ears pricked, her tail swishing along with the anxiety that thudded along with her nervous heartbeat. Her eyes were also alert, scanning her surroundings as she moved. She'd stayed under cover during the rain, occasional large plops of rain falling onto her back and wings from the leaves above her.
Once it had stopped she had left the shelter fairly swiftly, hooves causing the ground to squish slightly underneath her weight. She unfurled her wings, shaking them and folding them again as she looked around before heading off.
Time went past without seeing a single Soquili, she couldn't smell anything either, other than the freshness and the damp on the air, and so she began to relax slightly, enjoying and taking in her surroundings properly, rather than merely looking for Kalona-shaped silhouettes. She paused at the crest of a small hill, looking across and down at the open area ahead.
As was her habit, she stood for a period, carefully looking, seeing where the tricky to negotiate areas might be, the shadowy parts that might hide someone, or something, and more importantly if she could see movement.
All looked clear as far as she could see, so she cautiously left the hill and travelled into the Valley.
Cricket whuffed and blew a soggy strand of mane out of her face. "Rain is nice, but now the ground's all soggy and squishy and good for accidents." She shifted and listened to the sound of mud squelching under her hooves. No, they would not be doing any running today unless they absolutely had to. "Let's be- oooooooooh~!"
She stared in delight as the rainbow unfolded above the valley. "Ooh, I've always wanted to run up a rainbow! But I never found the end," she added, with a sigh. "They go away too fast, and I can't run quick enough because it's always wet. I wish they didn't like rain so much. If one'd only show up when it was nice and sunny and dry, then I'd be able to get it! I'm sure of it!"
Ethan grinned at Cricket as he placed a hoof carefully on the marshy ground. "Yeah. Lord knows I don't need more of a reason to slip and fall." He replied sheepishly, remembering his last slipup.
The ground squicked and squelched with each footfall as he plodded out into the meadow, eyes on the brilliant display of color. "Yeah..." He echoed. "My mom used to tell me stories about grand treasure buried at the end. I could never catch it, either, though." His mother likely regretted having told him that story, too. When Ethan was still a little foal, he had nearly fallen into a ravine when he wasn't looking at the ground and instead trying to chase down the rainbow's end.
He was about to ask Cricket how close she had gotten when he saw what first looked like a piece of the rainbow itself moving down the side of the hill and into the meadow. Brilliant blues and violets painted a dark shape that was moving cautiously across the plain. But no - it was not merely a moving bit of color - but as Ethan squinted, he could make out the shape of a soquili against the brightening sky. Ears pricked at the thought of meeting someone new, he moved to intercept the unknown soquili.
Maharet flicked a hoof, a spot of mud flying up and landing 'splotch!' onto the ground. An ear flicked, and her nose wrinkled a little. Rain was good, good for the earth and the plants, but it wasn't any good for appearances sake!
She shook her mane out, the faintly spiky ended 'do flaring around before settling. During doing that she thought she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and she froze, her gaze sliding into the direction she thought the others were approaching from.
Where do I go?! she thought wildly, the slight calm that had settled over her swiftly leaving, panic wiping out any of the plans she'd made for a possible retreat when she had first scouted out the Valley.
So she stood there, trembling, her wings open and covering her face. In a moment of supreme silliness Maharet decided that if she couldn't see the two that approached her, they wouldn't see her.
"Ethan? Where are you going?" It took Cricket a moment to spot the other Soquili. "Oh!" Her ears pricked with interest and she trotted after her friend.
As they grew closer, Cricket realized that the other Soquili had wings - and that it was shaking. Uh-oh... She flicked a quick glance at Ethan. True, she couldn't blame this new colorful Soquili for that reaction, since hers had been about the same, but now she knew how bad it made Ethan feel! "Hey, hi - you're really pretty and colorful! I like your wings!" Cricket babbled, in an attempt to soothe the wind. "I, uh, I'm Cricket, and this is Ethan, and... and we're not going to eat you! I don't even like you! Um. I didn't mean that... well, no... I did... um... I... I mean... I don't like... eating... stuff that isn't... isn't grass... and you're not... not made... um... of... grass...
...
Um." She stumbled, and ran out of words.
Ethan trotted up to the mare with a quirk to his head. What was she doing? Were those wings?? Ethan's eyes widened.
"Oh wow..." He breathed as he looked over the pinions that now obscured the mare's face. He didn't quite catch exactly why she was hiding behind them until Cricket began to placate the new soquili. This wasn't some sort of game like he had originally hoped.
"oh..." Ethan's ears lowered and he took a few steps back. "No, no - of course not. I just saw you across the plains there. I've never seen someone as colorful as you before. Or with... well.. wings. Can you really fly with those? I mean, I've heard of other soquili with wings - but I've never seen them!" Maybe a friendly attitude could bring her out of her feathered shell.
She certainly was striking looking. And the wings looked just like a bird's! Only much bigger of course. Ethan so wanted to take one of those feathers in his mouth to examine it more closely. But something told him that that probably wouldn't be the best of decisions if the mare was really frightened of him.
 Well that hadn't worked very well; they were still both there and now they were talking to her. The first to speak was obviously a mare, Maharet spread her pinion feathers and peered through the gaps, seeing that she was a grounded, looking normal as could be. Though she was babbling something about grass and eating, but really, she couldn't exactly judge. She was after all a grown mare trying to hide behind her own wings.
She moved a wing a little, and was not exactly reassured to see the other standing there.
'Kalona!' she uttered the word in a squeak of a voice, edging across the grass so that Cricket stood in the way of herself and the male.
She'd spied his horns, and the pointed teeth, he really only lacked the wings. If he was, did that mean her Grandmother was somewhere around as well? Didn't these things travel in..in packs or something? Through her scattered thoughts, she realised that he'd carried on talking. Going on about her wings.
'Wings..yes they are wings.' she managed, her pulse still pattering away but confused by the seemingly friendly tone she didn't yet bolt away.
'I can fly.'
Well, not exactly right now, she'd probably fall to the ground in a worried heap if she tried flight.
'Fly.' she repeated, still feeling rattled.
"What's your name? My name's Cricket," Cricket repeated, feeling slightly flustered herself. This was so~o awkward! "Ethan's my friend. He's never really seen the world, so we're seeing it together." She sidled over to Ethan and gave him an encouraging nudge. Maybe if he told a little about his story it would calm the other mare down a bit.
If not... then it might be better just to keep going. Cricket resisted the urge to toss her head in vague irritation. She couldn't blame this mare for her reaction, but she just hated the way it made Ethan feel, every time it happened. Was it doomed to happen every single time? That wasn't a happy thought at all!
Ethan's face fell as his suspicions were confirmed at the utterance of that word from the bewinged soquili. His head lowered and his tail wrapped dejectedly around one of his hind legs.
His thoughts were, probably for the first time, mirroring Cricket's. Would everyone new react to him like that? Cricket, Tkoli, the strange soquili he'd ran into, and now this pretty one with wings. He was worse than a misfit - to them he was a demon. Cricket had been able to be convinced of his genuity - but how many others could step beyond what they'd been taught? And worse, was there this darker side looming somewhere inside himself? Ethan didn't want it to be true. Ethan didn't want to be evil. If Cricket's reassurence that maybe his father wasn't a kalona after all were true, why did every other soquili that he'd met assumed that's what it was. If it looked like a duck....
"No no! Please!" Ethan cajoled. "I'm not a kalona!" Maybe it was true. He didn't know. At least, he knew his mother wasn't a kalona, and he didn't act like a kalona. He hoped that she didn't fly away. He'd love to meet a new person - ask her if she'd seen Dyson Graves....
Maybe the rains had wet her wings down like a bird's.
"My name is Ethan." He continued encouragingly, following suit after Cricket.
Maharet slowly lowered her wings, folding them away. Her heart was still pounding, but because of the presence of Cricket her most extreme fears were receding - slightly. She still continued to glance around herself, looking out for the merest hint of spiky wings coming this way.
'Maharet,' she replied softly, letting her gaze fall on the mare, noticing the warm brown and the white curls that made up both tail and mane. She seemed calm, relaxed even in the stallion's presence, and they appeared to be travelling together. What if it was a trick though? Approaching with another that he'd tricked into believing he was all gentle. Her thoughts chased each in circles.
'But you look..' she started, then fell quiet again. She didn't want to antagonise this..whatever he was. Everyone could say they weren't a Kalona. She could say it. But really it was only slightly true. No matter how she looked, it was in her blood through her mother.
'I was told. Signs. What to look for.' she started to try to explain.
'My mother. Her mother. Is.'
Maharet found herself trembling once again, and had to make a concerted effort to calm down.
"Ethan didn't even know what a kalona was until I told him," Cricket said, earnestly. "I was scared at first, too, but we're just exploring the world. Looking for Ethan's sire. Seeing everything! But if you're really scared... we don't want to scare you..." Her ears flipped back a bit. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
Ethan nodded emphatically along with Cricket. "'S True!" An ear flicked back as she mentioned his appearence. "I... really didn't mean to scare you. Please... I'm sorry if I startled you. I really don't want to hurt anyone." Why was it that having a physical feature meant something so strongly about his personality? His beliefs? His mother raised him well.
"My mother is just like Cricket here... well... maybe not JUST like her. But no horns like mine or wings like you or anything like that. She had curly red hair and a freckled coat like mine. She told me that Soquili came in all shapes and sizes... I didn't know that certain shapes were worse than others."
His brow furrowed as he listened to her talking quietly, almost seeming as if it was half to herself, and in broken, confusing sentances. "Your mother..? I don't understand. You mother is what?"
'He is lucky then.'
If that was even true of course. Maharet wondered how anyone could blunder around the lands in ignorance of the Kalona, but she herself was unaware of the existance of Skinwalkers. It was probably just as well, she almost lived in a state of mild panic because she expected her dear grandmother to find her at any time. The knowledge of creatures far worse would have likely sent her into hiding, a lifelong recluse.
She swallowed, giving a short nod. They didn't seem to be about to attack her right that moment so she made a decision to stay. Her teal eyes looked at Ethan again, her ears flattening. Maharet would have to explain herself so that he understood, but it was hard to think of her relations, let alone talk of them.
'Not my mother. My mother's mother is a Kalona. She tried to kill my mother. The Kalona..she does not know of us. Mother says she would kill us if she did.'
"Oh..." Cricket's ears dipped back further. "No wonder you were scared. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone about you. We're not looking for kalonas! I don't want to get eaten either!"
At least, she hoped they weren't looking for kalonas.
"Oh.." Ethan chimed in with Cricket at the foreboding declaration from the mare. Ethan had only recently learned of Kalona, and yet everything sounded so horrible. One going out for blood for its own grandfoals... cannibals, terrors... Ethan stared down at his front hooves.
"R... Really? One would do something like that...? Her own progeny?" Ethan got a sinking feeling - like his stomach was trying to take residence in his back legs. Here he was looking for his father, which most people he met seemed to be pretty certain was one of these Kalona. But maybe they were wrong! None of them seemed to have actually met a kalona personally, just heard from parents.
"But that means... you're part Kalona yourself, right? You say your dam's dam is a kalona?" That was a respectable porportion. Ethan couldn't be any more than twice that even if his father WAS a full blooded Kalona. "You seem friendly... Is that where the wings are from?" He asked, honestly curious.
Maharet gave Cricket a wan smile; it was her sentiments exactly. At Ethan's question she looked at him, managing just not to tremble this time and nodded;
'I wish I was making it up, but my mother even still has the scars. It was why she warned her children about Kalona's. I am always afraid that one day she will find me. Or another will find me and tell her where her daughter's children are.'
She gave the tiniest of unwilling nods.
'I suppose. Small part.' here she lifted a hoof a fraction of the way above the ground before lowering it again. Maharet shook her head vigorously at that question though.
'No! My wings come from my mother, and her's came from my Grandfather. Her's are feathers, his are feathers. My own father has no wings.' she never even wanted to think that in some way she might show some of her Kalona lineage. It was one of her greatest fears - well after being found and eaten by her Grandmother that is!
"Ohhh... no wonder you were scared..." Cricket drooped. Now she felt bad both for making Ethan feel bad and for scaring Maharet! But she shook her head and tried to shake the guilty feelings off as well. "But we won't tell anyone."
She glanced over at Ethan, then back at Maharet. "What was your dad like? He was... part Kalona, then...? Was he any different than normal?" She still hoped that Ethan's dad wasn't really a Kalona, or maybe like Maharet's own sire, only part... but she couldn't stick her head in the sand too deeply.
"Then... you think she's looking for you now?" Ethan shook his head, confused and concerned. "Why... why would she hunt you down just to.... " He swallowed. "k... kill you?"
"And I'm sorry - I didn't mean to insult." Ethan continued. "I had heard Kalona had wings, and well... " He trailed off. But that was encouraging, right? Even if Ethan WAS part Kalona, it didn't necessarily make him evil... right? Maharet certainly didn't seem evil.
Maharet gave Cricket a small smile, although she didn't entirely trust either of them completely, they didn't seem to be about to lunge at her with murder in their eyes. Her defenses were slowly lowering, though she would continue to be alert.
She shook her head;
'My father? He is a grounded, it only comes from my mother's side.'
She gave Ethan what amounted to a shrug.
'Right now? I don't know for certain. But I know she meant to kill my mother, and she's always been vocal in her dislike for those who don't eat flesh, or are predatory.'
She rustled her wings.
'We should move really..' she suggested meekly.
'A static group is easier to spot from the air.'
"So... you can be part Kalona and not be a bad Soquili!" Cricket beamed; she'd taken a chance on that being true, even if she didn't want to believe that Ethan's sire could very well be a Kalona, but here Maharet was living proof. Even if Ethan's sire was really Kalona, Ethan would still be okay! "I knew it, I knew blood wasn't the only thing that mattered." She pranced a pleased circle around, then nodded energetically. "Okay! Do you live here? Do you know where the end of the rainbow is?" Cricket tilted her head to one side and gave Maharet a hopeful look.
"I can't imagine what it would be like to fly.." Ethan mused whimsically. "I mean... I've chased birds before, and my mum told me that there were some soquili out there that could," He continued disjointedly, "so I used to pretend when I was chasing them that I was flying alongside them."
He shrugged self-consciously. "I guess because hearing her talk like that, I just assumed that Soquili came in a lot of different shapes and features. I never knew that there were 'bad' traits." His ears drooped. "But... yeah - like Cricket says - that's really, really good news to me."
But at Maharet's explication, he quirked his head. "Eat flesh?" Despite Ethan's teeth, he'd never questioned the lessons his mother had given him about which plants were good to eat, and which ones weren't. She told him that some plants would hurt - like the ivy that had the leaves growing in sets of three - or the red berries that would make a stomach hurt. Aside from the bugs that just kind of sometimes got mixed in with the greenery, it had never occurred to Ethan to eat meat. A forked tongue flicked along one of his elongated, pointed fangs.
"Sorry if we're keeping you from somewhere." Ethan glanced up at the skies as well, but saw nothing but the distant clouds and majestic rainbow.
Maharet nodded thoughtfully;
'I would say so yes. My mother is a lovely Soquili..even though her teeth frighten me sometimes.' she scuffed the ground with a hooftip. It was a little foolish but true; Maharet didn't like seeing her mother's finely pointed canines as it reminded her of her Grandmother.
Maharet gave a little smile;
'I like flying,' she said somewhat shyly, giving her wings a little rustle. Flight was such an advantage, when she got really scared and there was room to manevour she would take to the sky.
She nodded, her eyes going a little wide.
'My mother said she tried it when she was younger at her own mothers insistence, but she stopped when she grew older. The kalona, she eats it all the time.'
She shook her head to both questions;
'The end of the rainbow? No I wouldn't know where that is.' the question confused the mare and her brow furrowed as she tried to work out what Cricket meant.
'I live in the area, but not exactly here.' she looked at Ethan, then away again hurriedly after noticing the strange tongue so as not to stare.
'No, not really, I only meant that us standing right out in the open wasn't a good idea.'
"Oh... that's right, you can just fly up the rainbow if you wanted to. You don't need to know where the end is." Having resolved that, Cricket nodded firmly and pranced off towards a nearby copse of trees. "Sorry about all the questions. My friend Euterpe can fly, but if I ask her about rainbows she just starts singing and never answering." The mare sighed and rolled her eyes.
Ethan nodded, and trotted towards the treeline, making sure that Cricket and Maharet kept up with him.
"You knew someone else who could fly, Cricket? Wow." Ethan made a gawky little leap, squeezing his eyes shut and for a moment let the wind rush by his face. " I mean... being above everything... looking down on the ground and seeing so much! It must be like standing at the top of a mountain, only like galloping with the wind in you face... No wonder you like it, Maharet."
"We've been traveling." He continued as they walked towards the treeline. "I think I mentioned... looking for my sire. I don't suppose you've ever heard of a stallion named Dyson Graves?"
Maharet followed, stopping once her whole body was covered from aerial view by a thick canopy of tree leaves. She relaxed again a touch, standing with one leg bent at the knee, her hooftip resting into the ground.
'I suppose I could,' she ventured.
'I've never really though about flying when there was a rainbow in the sky. Maybe next time I see one.'
She looked at Ethan;
'Have you travelled far?' she asked, shaking her head at the same time in answer to his question.
'I don't, I am sorry. Does your mother not know where he is then?'
It was likely a rather silly question, she was sure the stallion had probably asked his mother first. She couldn't think of anything else to say though.
'How is it that you have never met him then?'
That was a slightly more sensible query and she smiled inwardly at saying something that wouldn't make her look a complete twit.
"Oh, you must! Tell us what it's like when you do, and don't forget to taste it," Cricket added, with a nod. She'd always wondered about that, too. Water that reflected rainbows didn't taste any different from normal water, unfortunately.
The rest of Maharet's words were for Ethan, so Cricket ducked down and snatched a bit of greenery from the ground. Mmm, snack.
Ethan screwed his eyes upwards as he thought on Maharet's question. "Uhmm... I've been travelin' for about three weeks now. Mostly Westwards. I come from this big green valley. Sides me and mum, there weren't any other soquili there." He scraped his strange three-segmented hoof against an exposed root.
"Mom... well... I got his name outta her once, but that's all she ever said. I don't think she really meant ta tell me that even. I don't... well... I don't think that it was 'zactly a lasting relationship.." his ears drooped. "I don't know the details... But Cricket's been helping me look!" He tried to end on a positive note. "I traveled for about a week by myself before I met her. Traveling alone can get really lonely."
"Thanks for talking with me, Maharet." He continued. "And for staying around to listen despite... well..." His tail flicked. "Things."
'Oh, I am sure I will..' Maharet looked at Cricket for a moment, wondering how she was meant to 'taste the rainbow'. Rainbows weren't something you could eat were they? She rustled her wings and looked back at Ethan.
'What will you do if you do find him?' she asked, curious. She was glad she knew exactly where her own mother and father was, and who they were. She couldn't imagine not knowing one of her parents..though she would be far more happier if she didn't know all she did about her grandmother!
'That's okay, I am sorry I was funny at first, but I think you will admit that given the circumstances it is understandable?' she nodded.
'Are you two moving on again?'
Cricket nodded. "Yeah, we're going to travel until we find Ethan's sire... or until we've seen the whole world, whichever comes first." The mare tossed her head playfully, making her mane flourish in the morning breeze. She really wasn't sure how big the world was, but surely they'd find Ethan's dad before they ran out!
Ethan nodded along with Cricket. "Thanks, Maharet. It sure was nice to meet you. And an honor." He smiled charmingly, trying not to show the pointy teeth that made her nervous. "And well.. I guess we'll keep doing as we've been doing: keep traveling, keep asking around. And hey... I've already met some great Soquili on the way, and seen some beautiful places." He nodded to Cricket.
"I guess... when I find him.." He trailed off, thinking. "I guess it kinda depends on what he's like. But I want to know him - see him for myself, and talk to him face to face. See what kind of stallion he is. Maybe... I dunno.. maybe it will give me some perspective on my life. But I hate not knowing my own sire."
Ethan took a breath, swished his tail, and looked out of the treeline across the meadow, the moist grass shimmering in the emerging sun. "I guess, speaking of, we best be on our way, huh, Cricket?"
Maharet nodded in understanding. She would do the same if she were him..and oh, alot braver than she was!
'It was really nice to meet you both.' she said, giving them a little shy smile each. She was genuinely pleased to have meet them both, even though Ethan had scared the daylights out of her at first, on reflection after talking, he was very nice.
'I wish you luck, I hope you find your father before too long.' she said, looking at Ethan. She turned to Cricket.
'And, I'll try and taste the rainbow and let you know what it's like if we ever bump into one another again!'
Maharet decided she would see them off from this spot under the trees. She was cautious once more, and would wait long after they left before moving off herself so that no one watching would think there was another about.
Cricket beamed. "Thank you! I'll be sure to come back and get the answer from you, okay? Don't forget! Bye bye, friend!" For she was a new friend, wasn't she?
This trip was turning out quite well, really. She gave Ethan an affectionate nudge. "Where to now, huh? Which direction?"
"Good bye, Maharet! And good luck with your troubles. I hope that things resolve well for you."
And with that, Ethan was off again with Cricket, striding fearlessly across the open meadow. "Where to? Well... West I suppose! It has been a good direction so far, and we have yet to run out of it!" With a grin, he set off at a canter, trying to maintain his footing in the slippery grass.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:12 pm
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Heartsong
Euterpe and Maracuja's basket
 "Sing a song of springtime, of summers drawing nigh... sing a song of birds and feathers dancing in the sky..." Euterpe crooned as she skipped along, banging her hooves on rocks and logs for emphasis. Today was an excellent singing day, bright and clear, brimming with inspiration, and this forest had excellent percussive elements! There had been a fallen oak a few minutes ago that had been wonderful for the chorus.
Humming as she waited for the next verse to come from the muse, Euterpe trotted into a clearing - then stopped moving, abruptly. Oh! A basket! Someone had left a basket!
She'd never tried to use a basket in her songs before, since the two-leggers didn't like her pounding on their things, but this one was unattended... "Sing a song of baskets lying all alone, of songs and tunes that hide in log and leaf and stone..." Euterpe bent down and tapped lightly on top of the basket with one hoof, awkwardly keeping her ear close to catch the subtleties of the sound.
She was not expecting to hear a sudden skitter, the thud of a heartbeat, the unmistakable sounds of life. The mare drew back sharply, her ears canting backwards. This wasn't some abandoned human basket... it was a Soquili basket! There was a baby in there.
For the first time in a good half-hour, Euterpe's song trailed off and stopped. "Um. Sorry," she told the basket, quietly, then paced backwards and called out. "Hello? Hello~o? Anyone... anyone here...?" Heaven forbid the basket's parents think she was trying to hurt their baby!
But no answer came, even when Euterpe trotted around a bit outside of the thicket, and she returned to the bright basket with her brow furrowed in concern. The scent of other Soquili around the basket was extremely faint. Nobody but herself had been here in some time... days, maybe...
Who would leave their little one...?
Not by choice, surely.
Euterpe carefully laid down next to the basket, a little awkward. "Um. Hi... hi there?" She nosed at it lightly, and was greeted with another vague sound from within. "Where's your momma, huh..."
It was quiet a moment longer. Euterpe sighed. "I'm sorry... but... I guess I could watch you? Until your momma comes back?" She couldn't abandon the basket. And a bonus, she realized, her ears rising with interest - this was very much a captive audience!
Hmm....
She whuffled, then lifted one hoof to drum lightly on the ground, rhythmic, like a heartbeat, before beginning her song. The words flowed easily into her mind.
"Listen to your song, child
Listen to your heart,
Follow what it beats for you,
Measuring each part...
A song that only you can sing,
tale only you can tell,
a story stirring deep within,
listen to it swell...
Every moment listen well,
let it be your guide,
secret pathway, hidden gift
flowing from inside...
Tiny foal-ling, hold it dear,
every note and tone,
follow what your heartsong says
and you'll never be alone!"
Euterpe smiled and fluttered her wings, pleased. The basket rustled again, and for just an instant she fancied she saw a pair of little eyes blinking at her. Had the lid poked up for only a second?
Maybe she'd imagined it. She nestled up close and angled one wing over the basket. "Anyway... I'll sing for you until your momma comes back." And if she doesn't... then I'll teach you how to sing myself.
Won't that be fun?
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:13 pm
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It's Coming Out!
Tkoli, Euterpe, and Maracuja
All was peaceful over the riverside meadow, the one with the greenest green grass and squashy ground from the river's winter flood.
All was peaceful... until...
"HOOOOOLY CROW!" The whinny startled several birds out of their nests, to say nothing of the sudden charge through the morning mist. Euterpe was a purple blur as she raced through the meadow, tossing her head in vague panic. "Tkooooli! Crick-" Oh, no, Cricket was gone. She remembered. So that left... "TKOOOOOOLIIIII~!"
The okapi-patterned mare snorted and got to her feet, having settled herself under a tree on a dry rise overlooking the meadow. Normally if someone came charging through like that she'd fear for her life, but Euterpe found something to holler about almost every day. Yesterday it had been a particularly interesting snail. "Calm down! What is it?!"
Euterpe barreled up the rise and skidded to a stop, her sides heaving. "The! The! Basket! It's! Moving!"
"Oh? Is it?" Tkoli's ears perked in genuine interest. "Where is it? We have to welcome the little one into the world." Perhaps the inhabitant of the basket would make a good addition to their... extremely small... herd. Things had seemed empty since Cricket left.
"Uh. Um. Back there." Euterpe tucked her ears back and gave Tkoli a sheepish look. "I didn't move it."
"You didn't- oh, brother." Tkoli snorted and leapt into action, charging down the hill herself, sticking carefully to the edges of the meadow so that she wouldn't have any chance of slipping and falling. She could hear Euterpe following her.
Sure enough, the basket was under Euterpe's favorite tree, the hollow one that made 'wonderful percussive sounds!' according to the music-obsessed flutter. And sure enough, it was wiggling energetically, the wicker creaking under the attack from its occupant.
"I told you! I told you!" Euterpe panted as she ran up, then put one hoof on the basket's lid. "Can I open it?"
"You... you don't just OPEN them! You wait! Patiently! They open themselves!" Tkoli gave Euterpe a look as if she were crazy.
"Oh..." Euterpe drooped. "You know I'm no good at waiting, 'koli."
"Well, you'll just have to learn. We can't risk hurting it," Tkoli snorted, then folded her legs under her and laid down to watch. After a moment Euterpe followed suit.
The flutter swayed from side to side, humming under her breath, then began drumming one hoof on the ground.
"Must you do that?"
Euterpe gave Tkoli a sidelong glance. "Yes." The other mare rolled her eyes.
 Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the basket swayed, then suddenly the lid pushed up and slid off to one side, revealing a tousled and brightly colored head. The foal blinked blearily at the sudden bright light of dawn.
Euterpe jumped up with a squeal. "It came out!"
"It?" Tkoli got to her feet and walked over to the open basket, then peered down at the little one as Euterpe eagerly nuzzled the tiny one's muzzle. "He. A colt!"
"Ooh, he's so lovely. Like a flower," Euterpe cooed. "What'll we name him?"
"I will name him," Tkoli said, quickly. Heavens only knew what Euterpe would name anything - she didn't want to even give the other mare a chance. "Hmm. His colors remind me of a flower I saw once on my travels..."
"Yeah? Yeah? And?" Euterpe nodded eagerly.
"... Maracujá," Tkoli said firmly, then nodded herself. It seemed to fit.
"Oh! That's a nice name. Little Maracujá," Euterpe cooed again, nuzzling affectionately at the colt's cheek.
The freshly-named Maracujá sneezed and fell over.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:14 pm
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Dark Side of the Moon
Cricket - In response to 'Neath the Light of the Moon
Cricket was dimly aware of Ethan getting up; the mare roused a little, and opened her eyes just enough to see the stallion padding away from her. She didn't make much of it at the time, just closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep; Ethan had a million reasons to get up in the middle of the night, and most of them certainly didn't involve her in the least.
However, a good hour and a half later, Cricket was stirred awake again by the hooting of a nearby owl. She opened her eyes to check on Ethan, just in case, and found him still absent. Cricket got to her feet with a whuff of surprise, then nosed around where he had been laying. The grass was cool now; he had not returned.
Where is he? "Ethan!" Cricket hissed, hoping to catch his attention without alerting unsavory night creatures to her presence. "Ethan!"
Nothing. No reply, and no sign of him.
The mare's ears flicked back, and she shifted uneasily. Where on earth had he gone? She shook herself, gathered her courage, and padded in the direction she had seen him go earlier.
Here and there were hoofprints, the odd three-pronged left forehoof marking them, unmistakably his. But where on earth had he gone? Cricket slunk through the darkness, every night sound and wind rustle making her flinch. Had something happened? What was going on?
Finally, after a good fifteen minutes, she heard a sound on the wind - his voice. Ethan! And not a cry of pain or anything, either. Her heart lifted, and she trotted briskly towards the source. There was another voice on the wind, too, but she didn't care that much. All she cared about was that Ethan was here, apparently safe and happy.
It was only good luck - or bad luck - that she saw them before they saw her. Ethan, and a mare she'd never seen before, deep auburn with stunning barred wings. A new friend? What were they do-
Oh.
Oh.
Cricket stared for a moment, then slunk back into the shadows, unseen, numb.
Oh.
She crept slowly backwards, her hooves making barely a sound on the grass, until she judged herself far enough away. Then she turned and ran, full-tilt, her ears pinned back, as if something terrible were chasing her, stunned and more than a little scared of the sudden intensity of feeling inside of her. Her heart was pounding, and it felt as though it had fallen into a cold pit.
Ethan...
She stopped on the edge of a hill that was too steep to safely run down at that speed, her head drooped, foam flecking her sides. He'd crept away from her and-
But she was his best friend-
First friend-
Nobody, except his mother, knew him better than she did-
Except for that mare-
Cricket tossed her head wildly, trying to shake the thought out and away. She folded her legs under her and curled into a small ball of hurt, as best she could.
Why did she care so much? Ethan could do what he wanted-
But up until now, he's always wanted to stay with me.
Cricket swallowed, hard, and pressed her eyes shut tightly.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:15 pm
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At the Dawn, Where Dark Meets Light
Ethan and Cricket :: Completed
Ethan was in high spirits by the time he trotted - with a skip in his step - back towards where he had ever so long ago lay to rest with his traveling companion, Cricket. The sun was cresting over the hills now, the fuzzy violet dawn light starting to sluggishly seep across the land. Had it truly only been earlier that night that he wandered off and found himself in the embrace of an angel?
He had expected great adventures on this journey. He had expected to find himself - to see the world, find his father, and perhaps as a result of those things, truly leave his nursery grounds and become a stallion in soul as well as body. Ethan had always been sheltered before he left on his Great Journey, and when he reached adulthood, the wanderlust pulled at his soul. The world called to him. Adventure, the unknown, and the secret promise of great answers to questions he wasn't even fully aware of. And tonight, he felt he had unlocked one of those great mysteries. Truly, no one could call him a colt any more, right?
His tail lashed confidently as he trotted to the shade tree to find Cricket.... gone?
His head cocked. That was strange. Where had she gone? Had the night left her restless as well? He snuffled at the still downtrodden bed of grass. Her scent was there, as was his. Thankfully, there was no smell of predator.
He saw hoofprints in the earth, both his as well as hers, and began to follow.
Had she gone looking for him? They seemed to follow his for a while before angling away and over a few grassy hills. He was trotting now, concerned. What had happened? Ethan didn't even realize, as he cantered along the trail, that his actions the night before had completely left his mind, replaced with concern for his friend.
He finally found her, lying in a small curled ball at the base of a hill.
"Cricket...?" He called out softly, worried. Was she hurt? Or just sleeping?
Cricket's sleep had been the sleep of the emotionally exhausted, and it took her a moment to wake up. Ethan? He's back- and that made her remember why he had left, and what he had been up to, and why her legs felt strained. Her heart fell into her stomach all over again.
But he was here now, looking at her with such concern, the same warm and open care he'd always shown her. Surely she was just being silly, petty... but it had hurt, last night, in a way she hadn't ever known before.
He wasn't trying to hurt me, she told herself, and even though she knew it was true, there was still a spiteful and angry part of her that didn't quite believe. Still, she couldn't possibly make him sad. She'd done so much so that he wouldn't be sad...
"G'morning," she said, with an over-exaggerated yawn, trying to hide her own confusion. What was she supposed to do now? She barely understood her own feelings. Instead, she smiled and got up, though the hard run had taken its toll and she flinched as her muscles protested last night's ill treatment. "Um. Did you sleep well?"
"Hey Cricket.." Ethan nickered with a c**k of his head. "Uhm... well... I... well.." He stuttered, her inquiry reminding him very suddenly of his escapades that night. A dopey grin found its way back to his face even as he scuffed at the dew-moist grass with his strange hoof. "I... well... Didn't sleep a whole lot, I guess." His eyes flicked back to Cricket, remembering his concern.
"Did you not sleep well? Did you have a nightmare or something?" She had apparently gotten up after he left and moved over here, after all... "I didn't wake you up, did I?"
He trotted forward, youthful enthusiasm and energy meant that staying up all night had yet to catch up with the stallion, and after his wild ride the night before, the endorphins meant Ethan was anything but sleepy. At least for now. "You up for continuing our journey? Where do you think we should head today?" His voice was also encouraging. Ethan saw it as motivating, hoping to shake away whatever bad dreams had come to visit his friend in the night. He didn't even think that his enthusiasm might actually make things worse...
Cricket's ears flicked back just a tiny bit at the mention of not sleeping very much, but she caught the movement quickly, put a stop to it. "I... a little, um. I saw you go away, and then when you didn't come back I looked around but-"
She just couldn't confront him. Couldn't do it. He didn't know that would hurt her; she hadn't even known until it happened that it would! And if he got angry and left, she'd be all alone, so very far from home. The idea of taking on the wilderness solo was suddenly very scary indeed.
All of those things were logical, but the angry and spiteful bit was still kicking up its hooves inside of her. "... couldn't find you," she finished, awkwardly. What was she supposed to say? Hi, I saw you and that other mare, and I realized that I maybe... maybe... No, she couldn't say that, because she wasn't sure where to go after the maybe. Instead, she just looked at him, shifting awkwardly. She had never been good at hiding her emotions. She had never had to try before.
If Ethan noticed that anything further was amiss with Cricket, then he didn't show any indication thereof. Now that Ethan had found his 'lost' companion, worry was replaced with relief, and ultimately the shining optimism that had kept Ethan going these many weeks. And on the heels of Ethan's encounter the night before, his bouyant energy seemed absolutely unsinkable. The thought did cross the young stallion's mind to share with her the story of where he'd been, but there was a fragment of a voice in the back of his mind that reccomended against sharing such a story with a female friend. So instead, Ethan let his good mood carry into his energy for their shared journey.
"Well!" He chipped enthusiastically, "It's a good thing that I found you, then, huh?" He pranced up and nuzzled her in an upwards direction. "Don't worry, Cricket! I wouldn't leave you, And if you get lost, I'll find ya!" His words did seem very sincere, if absolutely oblivious to Cricket's pain.
Cricket stiffened a moment as he nuzzled her - now that she was aware of those confusing feelings, the touch felt electric, the words exactly what she needed to hear-
If only she'd come to the muddled realization without having seen what she had, having her core shaken! "You... you would? Really, you would?" she asked, quietly, an undercurrent of desperation in her tone. How she needed that reassurance!
He's leaving with me, the spiteful bit of her crowed. Not with you. Whoever you are.
"There you go!" Ethan chirruped as he saw her pulling herself together. "And of course I would!" He added with a bemused shake of his head. "Why? You must have had a pretty nasty nightmare, Cricket. We've been traveling together for... what? A month now? Course I'd come back for ya! You're my friend!"
He hesitated for a moment, concern briefly flitting across his face again, "You... do still want to come with me... right? I mean... I know it's been a lot of travel, and sometimes it's slow going... but I mean... you've really made this a lot of fun. I don't know if I could have made it this far all by myself..." He scuffed at an exposed root with his deformed hoof, leaving a few scratches in the bark. His wide wonder had carried him that week or two before he found Cricket - the first other soquili other than his mom he'd met - and they'd been virtually inseparable since then. He remembered how dull and plodding the trip had been up till then, even amidst the fascinating new sights, and the beautiful scenes that peppered an otherwise long, lonely trip.
No, no - she was being silly. This was Ethan, and he was her friend, her best friend... "Yes, of course I want to come with you - where else would I go?" Cricket said, quickly. "We have so much to see..."
She took a deep breath. Nightmare. Maybe the whole thing really had been a nightmare, after all. Maybe she sleepwalked over here... maybe... "I... guess I did have a bad dream, maybe. I thought you ran away... with someone else, and left me alone..." She whuffed, and sighed. "But you didn't?" she added, hopefully.
The bashful, sheepish smile was back on Ethan's face at Cricket's direct questioning.
"Well, I dunno if it would constitute a bad dream.." Ethan hedged. "But I'm sorry if I startled ya. I had just gotten up to stretch my legs. I couldn't sleep very well for some reason, so I went to go find that lake we saw. And I met someone there!" His tail flicked.
"But... I mean... well... she was... real nice. But we have an adventure to go on! I haven't found my father yet, after all!" Ethan had NO idea how selfish that statement sounded.
Selfish it might have been, but that particular aspect was one of so many others that it was lost in the muddle of Cricket's mind. Apparently, it hadn't been a dream after all... but he hadn't known it would hurt her, surely, not when she herself didn't know... but he wasn't telling her straight... but why WOULD he just up and say 'hey, I had a really great lay last night'... ooh, Tkoli wouldn't like her thinking crudely like that...
She shook her head, hard. "Yeah. An adventure! Of course." They could go far away. He'd never run into that other mare again. They'd be together. She was coming. The other mare wasn't. She...
... was crying, she realized, with a sudden start; Cricket quite visibly flinched as she became conscious of that fact. "Ethan," she whispered, forcing the words past the lump in her throat, "I'm sorry, I... I'm confused, but you're... my best friend and I... followed you last... didn't mean to but... saw... 'msorry... please... stay with me..." The hiccuped words petered out into a full-blown, wibbly, highly embarrassing sob.
Ethan's mouth fell open when the sobbing started. What had he done? Why was she crying? His ears pressed to the back of his head and he was quickly by her side, soft muzzle nosing at her wettening cheeks. "Hey.. hey, Cricket!" Ethan stammered. He'd seen his mother upset before, and he had always been the only one to console her, so he was not completely inept with a sobbing mare, however, it was never a situation that made Ethan any kind of comfortable. And it certainly didn't help when Ethan was the source of the problem.
"Cricket... I... ohman... I'm sorry.. I... I didn't know you were there..." He couldn't make himself look her straight in the eyes. He felt embarrassed, on the spot. But he hadn't really done anything wrong, right? He and Cricket were friends - Great friends! But .... but what? "Of course I'm your best friend." He chimed in. "And of course I'm gonna stay with you."
He huffed in confusion and sympathy. "I didn't mean to upset you, Cricket... I.. I was just... having a good t-.... I was just... meeting... er..." He felt like his tongue had swollen and become thick in his mouth. The words just weren't coming out right. How did he set things straight?
"Cricket..." He tried to start again, but didn't know how to continue. His hazel eyes searched hers askingly.
"Don't... don't ask me to 'xplain... 'cause I can't," Cricket said, but she let him nuzzle her tears. "I was scared... just all of a sudden..." She struggled to find the right words. She'd always been able to talk, a mile a minute, whenever she wanted - why couldn't she get it right now, when it mattered? "I was afraid you'd go away..."
... that you didn't love me? But she hadn't known she loved him - she wasn't even sure now... Cricket stamped her foot. "I'm sorry," she said, her ears drooping. "I want you t'be happy."
He shook his head, his messy curls tossed over his eyes. "I... you don't have to explain..." Mares didn't seem to make sense to him sometimes. His mom could be the same way - not making sense when they were upset. But he had learned that trying to reason wasn't always the answer. "I'm here... okay?" He smiled for her, not hiding his enlarged canines. "And the only place I'm goin', well, you're goin' too."
"Just because I..." He shook his head and tried to start over. "I mean... I figured... we may not do everything toge-" he huffed, dismissing that attempt, and tried a third time. "It... didn't mean anything." He finally finished, shaking his bangs from his eyes.
"Yeah," Cricket agreed, after a moment. "I'm going too." She forced herself to stop wibbling. Everything else was too confusing, too awkward, to really pay attention to. "'m sorry," she mumbled, again. "We're so far away from home..."
"no... it's okay, Cricket... I understand." Even if he didn't really entirely. He tried to make it sound like he did. "You're... not mad at me, are ya?"
His tail swished behind him.
"Hey... why don't we check out what's over that hill, huh?" He tried to distract her from the awkward conversation.
"Yeah... yeah... that hill, and the one after that, and the one after that, though I might want to take a break for a bit after the second one." Cricket's ears perked, tentatively. Maybe they could just... agree to be awkward, for right now. "Um. Race you!"
She leapt into a run, swishing her tail to bat his nose as she darted past.
A grin found its way back to Ethan's face as relief bloomed in his chest. A change of subject, a race. Perfect. He didn't have long to dwell, however, as Cricket was off.
With a flick of his tail to spur his movement, he kicked off of the ground and into a gallop. "Now YOU'RE the cheater!" He called ahead good naturedly as he attempted to catch up.
Adventure, the unknown, and Cricket willing to move on past his accidental offense. The day was already looking brighter.
Now... to discover what was over those hills....
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:15 pm
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Change on the Wind
Flip, Rapture, and Ampheres
 A cool breeze danced over the meadow and the woods, bringing with it the scent of autumn. The leaves were beginning to turn now, just a little, but soon they would come in force.
His first autumn.
Flip sighed, and shifted a bit. The leaves rustled in the trees above him, their undersides barely colored by the strange glow that hovered around the mare sleeping on the ground. Rapture's breathing was even, and the soft pulse of the odd light moved in time with each breath she took.
He'd only ever meant to keep her out of trouble, to take her under his wing when he realized what a strange and... broken... creature she was. And yet here he was, watching over her. The mother of his children. He hadn't really intended that, either. It was not a romantic bond, not exactly. The children had been meant to ground her, give her something to focus on other than her strange dreams.
It hadn't worked.
"Mmmm sleepytime, Mister Bubbles," Rapture sighed in her sleep.
Flip shook his head, then looked up at the sound of movement. A moment later, Ampheres - her, no, their son - stepped through the underbrush into the small thicket. The young stallion nodded solemnly at his sire. "You are right. The world is changing."
Flip just nodded back. He had never seen the turn of autumn before, but his own sire had. There had been stories of winter snows, the whole world made different, cold, strange. Would that appeal to Rapture? She had apparently climbed into the mountains in search of her dreams before. Had there been snow there? He did not know.
Ampheres glanced down at the sleeping mare as well, a rare affectionate look coming over his face. "She sleeps well. Mother of our dynasty."
Flip snorted, quietly. "What dynasty?"
Ampheres did not move, the soft glow of his own light wreaking further havoc on the shadows. "This world is not the way it should be. I know this. She knows this. Islington..." The words trailed off. "But we can change it. Just by existing, we change it."
"True," Flip acknowledged, wondering at the odd turns of thought his son was capable of. "But how will you change it?" Changing the world was a dangerous proposition. Too often it turned to violence - but he had schooled his sons. Hadn't he? Ampheres might be grumpy and cold, but he was not a cruel being. He hoped.
"By flowering, yes. A glorious flowering of light and steel." His words turned into a soft croon, the tone not unlike Rapture's sing-song when she was having a hard time focusing on the world. "You planted the seeds, Father. I must thank you for that."
"A dynasty, hum. A great family all shining like you, like Islington. Is that what you want?" Flip considered this. "And then what, once you have that?"
 Ampheres finally looked up at him, and shrugged, the movement making the glow fizz around his mane. "We will Be. By Being, we Change. Oh, don't worry," he added, with a laugh. "I will wage no wars. But what I see, what Mother sees - it exists. It must exist. Even if it is only in our minds, we can find it, drag it into reality. Just... by Being."
Flip glanced down at Rapture. "Perhaps." It was an interesting proposition, that much was true - but Flip was careful, always. "How many of those bright children will share your views? Will they be able to resist the temptation to destroy what is different?"
"Hm." Ampheres smiled, the expression odd on his face. "Perhaps."
Flip let out a long breath, then folded his legs and laid down next to the slumbering mare. "Mold this world, then, as you will. But I will have no bloodshed on my hooves, on the hooves of my herd."
"Too messy, indeed," Ampheres replied, then bobbed his head and slid away into the night.
"Mmm... Mister Bubbles?" came a plaintive sound. Flip looked down and saw that Rapture's eyes were open, if clouded with confusion.
"Shh." He nuzzled lightly at her cheek. "I'm here."
"Good..." Her tongue lapped at him for a moment before her eyes drifted closed again, and she snuggled up to him a bit before falling asleep once more.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:16 pm
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The Plasmid Children
Ampheres and Islington :: Completed
Ampheres sniffed at the air, looking for a particular scent - ah, yes, there it was.
Ozone.
He had never met a Soquili besides himself, his mother, and his brother who produced that scent. It came from the arcs of energy that traveled with them always, and it was unmistakable.
And where are you, brother? Islington had roamed away from the fledgling 'herd' - herd at least in Ampheres' mind - and gone astray - in Ampheres' opinion. If his plan, the one his sire had tacitly approved of, was to succeed... well.
He'd need Islington, too.
The young stallion trotted down into the squelchy mires below, splashing through the water and muck without paying it much heed. What did he care about a little damp? If this was where his brother chose to be, so be it.
Islington stood still as a stone beside the place where a spring came bubbling up out of the marsh, a rill of clear water spilling out and down, rapidly muddied by the muck around it. He liked to watch it. Nothing remained clean in this world.
A sound and scent interrupted his meditation; a steady splashing approached, confident steps. The crackle of ozone hung in the air, unmistakable. His mother, or his brother. He turned to wait for his visitor, ears coming up. He liked so very few Soquili, but he liked his family. Blood would tell.
A faint buzz and a quiet splashing was all the clues Ampheres needed to zero in on his brother's location. The other stallion was standing still near a small spring, his light reflecting on the muddy water, flashing on the clear before it too was made filthy by the swamp.
Ampheres frowned. Perhaps that was a sign, a metaphor- he shook his head. Best not to think of portents now. "There you are, brother," he called out, pad-splashing up to Islington with a whip of his tail. "I have much to tell you. I have learned much from my observations... as have you, perhaps?" He tilted his head to one side. Islington certainly had been staring at that spring, but he was no foolish lesser Soquili prone to stare at anything for no reason. There must have been some purpose behind that action.
"I am always learning. I never stop learning," Islington replied, his tone gentle. He lifted his head, shook his mane. "See how the water is clear there, muddied as it seeps outwards. This water around my hooves, that too was once clear water. It begins pure, but it is inevitable. That is all right. It is the way of things."
He took a deep breath of the humid air, huffed it out in a long and peaceful sigh. "You do not frequent the wet places, brother. What brings you here?"
"The way of things..." Ampheres mused, then lifted his head. "I have spoken to our sire and to Mother. We are... something new, Islington, something different on these shores. We are special. Do you see it when you close your eyes, brother? The visions of a place beyond this one? We are its messengers. We are the proof that such a thing can be real... and I believe I have found a way."
He took a deep breath. "Growing. We will not be like the water." He stamped one hoof for emphasis. "We will not grow muddy as we spread outward, but pure, bringing vision to life as we emerge. Even as our sire brought us into the world, spreading Mother's vision... so, too, must we. A herd. Can you see it, shining with light and metal?" Ampheres' eyes were bright.
 Islington tossed his head, but with excitement, not negation. The vision Ampheres spoke of was a vivid one, coming easily to life in Islington's mind's eye. Pure and glowing. Sleek and powerful. A way ... a better way ... He tossed his head again, mane whipping around his face. The buzz of the energy that always hovered around them sang in his ears.
"I see it, brother. I see it," he said reverently. "We will make it so. Purity and light! Oh I see it, and it is golden. Mother will be happy." Islington's eyes glowed bright with his happiness. This was right.
"But not with violence," Ampheres added, to temper his zeal, bring himself back to earth. "Father was quite firm on that front, and I agree. We will not bring the masses down on our heads with such actions. The first generations... we will leave that struggle to our children, our children's children." He smiled, the expression not entirely pleasant. "Otherwise we will be muddied, wiped out. Like the pure water." The stallion dipped his head to sniff at the spring, even take a quick lap right from the center, where he could feel the pressure on his tongue.
"I believe Mother and Father will reproduce again," he added, offhand. "The seeds must grow strong."
Something strange and dark flared behind Islignton's eyes, but passed quickly. "We will teach our children, teach them well, let them pass the way on and grow strong," he agreed calmly. "It is good. We must increase the flow of purity before it can purify the muddied places."
"We will have siblings?" he asked, sounding pleased. "Siblings and nieces and nephews. A family."
"We will grow, and we will learn, and we will build - two-legs cannot be the only ones allowed to do this." True, they had hands - but with their herd, no, their new race coming to the fore, who could deny that such power to manipulate and change the environment might not come into their possession someday? His tail swished back and forth, pleased.
"Not now, not just yet, but I hope soon." Ampheres' ears pricked up, and he whuffed. "A proper herd that nobody can deny. Four can be ignored. Six, seven, not so easily... but the two of us, we will have to find proper mares. Ones that can enrich the line, not muddy it."
"We will succeed." Islington swished his tail placidly. "We cannot but succeed."
"Have you any candidates?" he asked. "They must be beautiful and strong. Intelligent and devoted. Right-minded. A proper herd, strong and bright and beautiful."
Ampheres shook his head. "I had to seek Father's counsel, first, to confirm - and to speak with Mother." Their meeting had been quite brief, but they had touched noses and their sparks had jumped between the two of them, and that had been enough. "And yourself?"
"I have been much a recluse." Islington preferred the quiet wet solitude of his marsh to the company of others; but for this shining vision, he would venture out. "I will speak with Father and Mother also." He tossed his head again. Dry land and the scent and sound of other Soquili. Perhaps a mate, if he found a female amiable enough, a companion of the heart and mind.
"Indeed you have. I'm sure Mother has missed you, Father too. She would come to this place, if she could." While Ampheres all but worshiped his mother, he had to admit she was fragile of mind, and his sire's gentle guidance and protection vital to her safety. A precious vessel. "Will you come back with me, then?"
"I will come. Thank you for seeking me out, brother; I have been meditating long, and needed the reminder that there is a world beyond this place." Islington lifted one front foot, shook the mud off it. That would be a good first step towards purity.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:45 pm
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