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 Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 12:13 am
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 12:39 am
Mojave woke with the rising of the moon. Nothing new about that, just the same old routine on a new evening. The heat of the day hadn't quite dissipated with sundown but it had been oddly temperate for the last few weeks. There had been a soothing breeze during the day that he could hear whistling by the mouth of the cave he shared with his twin brother. Looking over he saw that Sahara was gone already and felt his elongated snaky maw rise into a smile. He was glad his brother could finally go off by himself and be his own person. It was still a bit jarring not to always have him around but it was a big step and Mojave was proud of his twin.
Rising from his still warm nest among the piled up sand that lined their cavern he shook his whole body feeling particles of the desert fly off in all directions. After his shake he stretched his muscles a bit by prancing in place, feeling his big paw pads spread to connect with the sand and stay above it rather than sink into it. He opened his maw wide with a yawn before snapping it shut, tongue flicking out for a moment then back in. He was ready.
Starting off from the cave at a dead sprint he ran over the sands, tail held taut so the rattle didn't give away his position. He snuffled about here and there, snacking on the occasional scorpion or small lizard he managed to catch. Sniffing around for any threats or visitors. After romping among the sands and probably expending way too much energy than he should he came to a stop and drew in a deep breath, scenting the water not far off. He smacked his mouth a bit feeling how dry it was and figured he could use a small drink.
Little did he know he'd wandered well out of his territory and into someone else's. There was a family at the oases but with the good weather and the rains filling the places up he could only expect that he wouldn't be alone. So carefully he crept hoping not to alert the others nearby and dipped his head for a deep drink from the refreshing resource.
Word Count: 382
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 1:28 am
Kaius couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, pawed at the ground with his hoof to try to make it more comfortable, snorted and huffed and grumbled, but he was just too full of energy for any of it to matter. His older sister, Grear, finally had enough of his restlessness and moved away to settle closer to their father, Carlisle. Without his sister, there was nothing to block the cool breeze from ruffling up his hair and fur. Even though it felt good against the contrast of the desert heat, it still made him shiver, a little chill running down his spine. He wished his other sibling was awake so they could play, but a curious glance in their direction told him she was sound asleep. Ugh! There were so many interesting sounds at night; didn't she want to explore them too? His family could be so boring sometimes. He rolled back up to his feet, looking around to see if anyone else was awake to spot him -- but none of them reacted beyond the steady rise and fall of their bodies as they slept away the night.
It wasn't like he was doing anything bad, Kaius thought to himself. He was just going to get a drink. He was allowed to get a drink! Just because it was getting darker didn't mean he couldn't. Anyway, this was their territory, right? He could go wherever he wanted as long as he stayed in the oases. Still feeling like he was getting away with something he shouldn't be doing, Kaius quietly crept away from his sleeping family to explore his home in the dark.
Of course, he didn't make a beeline for the water. He got distracted by a small lizard he hadn't seen before, and every time he tried to get close enough to examine it, it would scurry away from him. This morphed into a little chase across the grass, until eventually the lizard found refuge in a thick bush of leaves. With a small giggle, Kaius stuck his head into the bush, trying to push the leaves aside with his horns, but it was to no avail; the lizard had escaped and the game was over. He was actually thirsty now, so he finally made his way towards the water -- only to freeze when he saw a stranger already drinking from the lake. Startled, he jumped to hide behind a bush, though it wasn't quite big enough to hide his body. He stared at the stranger with wide eyes, a mixture of fear and curiosity swirling within him. He'd never seen anyone like that before. They sort of looked like an ulun'suti, but they had paws -- and, more importantly, Kaius could see through them! "Wow," he said aloud, curiosity finally winning out over all his other emotions. He shook his head to try and get his hair out of his face to see the strange stallion better. The front of his body was in sight, but he was reluctant to come out from behind the bush fully just yet. "Are you real?"
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 1:49 am
Mojave startled a little bit at the sudden sound to his right. He'd not seen the tiny creature wandering his way so entranced was he by the refreshing drink. The sudden noise had caused him to spit out his current mouthful of water. 'Gross...' He thought, before turning to look at the partially hidden form. Though hidden was not the perfect word for it as the bush was relatively small and the form slightly too big. Big ears flicking forward he examined the small one with his mismatched eyes before he finally answered, keeping his voice low, "Goodness I don't actually know... Am I real? Possibly." He grinned at the tiny one trying to show he was friendly. Secretly he was amused that despite all his attempts not to bother the family nearby he'd managed to attract their attention anyway. Oh well, damage done. "It's a bit late for tiny ones like you to be out and about isn't it?" He asked while wracking his brain to recall if he'd seen any other foals out this late. He was always out after dark so he didn't really know what folks did during the daytime. Far too hot for his liking...
Word Count: 200
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 2:08 am
Kaius' ears flicked back at being caught out after his bed time, but he took a few steps out of his hiding spot regardless, too curious for his own good. "Well... I was thirsty! And I couldn't sleep, but then there was this cool lizard I saw, but it kept running away when I got too close. And then I remembered I was thirsty again, so I came here and saw you." He paused there, tilting his head and squinting at the stallion, trying to figure him out. "Kinda. I can see things through you, which is weird -- and cool!" Kaius hurried to add, realizing calling someone weird was probably a mean thing to say to someone and he didn't want something else to get in trouble for. He had so many questions, and he hoped the stallion would stick around long enough for him to ask them. He also wanted to poke him with a stick to see if it would go through him or not. If it did, would it feel weird? If it didn't, Kaius didn't think the stallion would like it very much. Maybe there was another way to find out if he was real or a mirage. Or maybe he was an imaginary friend! Excited by the prospect, Kaius couldn't help doing a little wiggle. "And anyway, I live here, so it's okay for me to explore around! You can still get a drink if you want though. My family is nice, we don't mind." While it was true, his family also probably didn't want him talking to strangers without another grown up around. He decided not to mention that part. Besides, he seemed nice!
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 2:27 am
He listened raptly to the rambling from the foal, wondering how they could talk so fast without stumbling over their tongue. Goodness knows he'd bitten his own snaky tongue more often than not when he got excited and talked too fast. Another grin split his face as he was told he was both weird and cool for being partially see through. He'd never really thought about that part of himself, it was just a fact of his species. His entire family before he'd left with his brother had the same traits so it was nothing new. He really needed to start thinking about the effect he had on others being as strange as he was. "Nah I'm definitely weird, this I know well." He chuckled, "Oh yeah where I come from we were all like this. I guess I just forget sometimes since I don't often meet folks out here. Usually just me and my twin brother."
He felt his ears lower a bit when the little one said that he lived here and was allowed to wander about but they perked back up when the foal said his family wouldn't mind and was nice. "I'm glad that your family won't mind me stealing a drink. I didn't even think about where I was going as I ran tonight. Just got caught up in it. It's fun to run around out here when its cooler." His tongue flicked out for a second, then back in. No scents caught him off guard or felt strange so he figured it'd be fine to relax. He laid himself down in the sand putting him at more of a height with the foal before he continued speaking, "Anyway my name is Mojave, what's yours?" He was always game for making new friends after all.
Word Count: 300
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 2:57 am
Kaius' eyes widened when he saw Mojave's tongue flicker out. He'd never seen a soquili with a tongue like a snake before, either! Feeling much more at ease from the relaxed disposition of the stranger, Kaius felt himself relaxing more too, and he trotted up closer and tried not to stare too much. His mom said it wasn't nice, but sometimes he just couldn't help it... especially right now! "My name's Kaius! I like running too. Usually I sleep at night, so it's best in the morning before the sun makes everything so hot again. But it's rained some recently so it's been better during the day sometimes, too!" He had a different name before Kaius, but no one used it anymore. He liked the name Kaius much better; it felt more like who he was, and made him happy.
As close as he was now to Mojave, it was getting difficult not to reach out and poke him with his hoof; Kaius only just barely resisted. He could see that Mojave's eyes were mismatched now, though; one snake-like, and the other looked more like his own eyes. Curious, he couldn't help but ask, "was one of your parents a snake? I've seen a snake before and you kinda look like one, but way bigger, and you have legs and big ears. My mom has big ears too, but yours are a lot bigger than hers. I bet you can hear everything!"
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 3:15 am
He rolled the name over a bit in his mind making sure he got it right the first time he said it, "Kaius is a nice name. Fits you." He nodded along with the foal as he talked about running around just before the dawn when it's nice and cool. Living in the desert could be rough, though the cooler weather thanks to the spring rains was certainly welcome. Back where he was from they didn't get rain much at all so it was certainly a new experience. He liked it though. It was calming listening to the droplets hit the sand. "The rain really has made a difference on the area. I hope it sticks around for awhile honestly. I could get used to it being cooler out during the day." He grinned goofily, head tilted to the side a bit.
He was caught completely off guard with the last question honestly. He actually stopped and had to think about it for a bit. "You know you're not the first to ask that actually. I guess I'm certainly a unique sight around here, but nope. My mom and dad looked just like me. A bit fluffy, a bit scaly. Where I'm from we all looked like me just in different colors." He chuckled a bit, "I can definitely hear a lot. Like did you know that your lizard friend is right behind your back leg?" He had heard the little critter scuffling around behind the foal and was waiting for just the right moment to tell him. "Want me to teach you how to catch them?"
Word Count: 267
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 3:48 pm
Kaius couldn't help but stand up a little taller when Mojave complimented his name, feeling a giddy sort of pride. His mom had helped him come up with some new names, but ultimately it had been his decision and he was really proud of it. He wondered if one of Mojave's grandparents was a snake. Or maybe someone in his family, like a great great great greeeeat grandmother wished on a star! That's why his brother Mateo had paws and was almost Kaius' size even though he was a grown up, and his sister Grear had flutter wings and pale hair. His brother Tiberius looked more like mom, but he had lots of pretty colors on his fur that they didn't. Yeah, that was probably it! Then they had lots and lots of kids so that's why there were so many like Majove in his homeland.
"What!?" he shouted in surprise when Majove pointed out the lizard was behind him, whirling around just in time to see the lizard as it scurried away to avoid getting crushed beneath his hooves. "Whoooooa, you really do have super hearing! I didn't hear anything!" He looked back at Mojave with pleading eyes, even though the stallion had been the one to offer to teach him. "Yeah, I wanna learn how to catch lizards! Please, please, pleeeease!" Kaius was an omnivore like his mom, but he'd never hunted anything before. His family tended to prefer mostly plants, and so did Kaius, but it would be so cool to bring a lizard home to his family that he caught all by himself. Maybe they'd let him keep it as a pet!
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Posted: Fri May 20, 2022 3:41 pm
Mojave smiled a pleased smile at Kaius. He loved teaching folks to do new things and was happy his new friend took him up on the offer. Raising from his spot in the sand he shook a bit to remove any clinging sand then said, "Alright then! So the easiest way to catch them, slippery though they can be, is to harry them into a corner then go for the tail." He stopped for a second remembering something, "Ah right, some lizards can drop their tails to escape predators like us who want to catch them, so if that happens you won't be able to catch them alive likely, but I can point out which lizards can do that and which don't so you can catch most of them easily."
He trotted off into the desert, intending not to go far so Kaius' parents didn't worry if they woke and found him gone. There was a small outcropping of rocks that would be the perfect point nearby. If he recalled correctly there were plenty of lizards out that way. "This way!" Mojave called to Kaius not walking too fast so he could follow.
Word Count: 193
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2022 7:13 pm
Kaius listened raptly to Mojave, not wanting to miss a single thing he said, not wanting to miss any of the important parts. He'd stepped on a lizard's tail once by accident and it had ran away without their tail, and he'd felt really bad. He just wanted to look at it, and was afraid he'd torn the tail off himself by accident! But to know the lizard was able to do that on purpose was a relief. Maybe he hadn't hurt it after all; it had just been scared! Kaius could understand that. If he had a long tail he would be scared of someone stepped on it too. Especially if they were so much bigger than him.
He followed along with Mojave eagerly as he led him to the rocky area near his home, eyes already darting about to try and spot any lizards. He knew sometimes they liked to lay on the rocks under the sun. Did some like to lay under the moonlight too? He stopped when Mojave did, sticking close by his side. "What do we do next? Do you see any?" Kaius whispered, though it would be hard to guess as much from the volume of his voice, which hadn't changed at all -- only his raspy tone.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:04 am
His keen eye flickered over the scene in front of him looking out for any lizards in the moonlight. He was almost worried for a second when he didn't see any immediately and thought he might disappoint his new friend with a failed hunting trip but there at last a handful of them in a small pile with bloated bellies from a day's hunting. He grinned showing off his sharp teeth with snake like fangs. With a whisper to his voice he responded, "Mhmm... Just over there by that pile of rocks." He raised a large paw off the ground and pointed with the nails. "If you study them carefully you'll see they're sleeping off their daytime meals so should be an easy hunt even for a beginner. So what you're going to want to do is approach carefully but swiftly and go right for the tail. This particular species, if I'm identifying them correctly, don't have the ability to drop their tails when startled." He crouched down a bit and motioned with his head for Kaius to go first.
Word Count: 180
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 4:22 pm
Kaius couldn't see as well in the dark as Mojave, so he had to squint a little until his eyes adjusted and he could spot the pile of lizards. He wiggled his body a little in excitement, tail swishing behind him, eager to put Mojave's advice to use. Kaius couldn't make out the details enough to identify them as a good kind to catch in the future, but that wouldn't matter -- when he caught one he'd just examine it again in the morning when it was light out! With Mojave's encouragement, Kaius crouched down and crept closer to the pile of sleepy lizards, inching towards them so as to try and not wake them up. If he got close enough, all he'd have to do is lean down and grab one. That should be super easy! It was hard to resist trying to show off for Mojave, though. Unable to help himself, he leapt towards the lizards with a shout of "GOTCHA!" as he landed right next to them. Unfortunately, his teeth snapped closed around nothing when he tried to grab one of their tails. In a panic, he forgot about trying to corner them in the rocks, and ran around for a few seconds snapping at tails as the lizards scurried off to hide. He looked back at Mojave in disappointment, ears flattened back against his head. "They were all so fast. Can we try again? Maybe they didn't run far away..."
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:50 pm
Mojave watched in fascination as the foal lunged with a shout and how quickly those fattened lizards scattered, with the foal hot on their heels snapping wildly. He definitely hadn't expected that to be the way it went but first timers were always ungainly. He saw teachable points and catalogued them in his mind.
When Kaius turned with his ears pinned and such a disappointed expression on his face Mojave smiled softly. "Don't be so hard on yourself Kaius. Lizards are surprisingly fast!" His grin split wide, which was quite wide on a strange soquili like Mojave, "You bet we're gonna try again. I saw which way some of them went and with their fat bellies they're gonna want to settle down again quickly. Follow me!"
Mojave led Kaius out across the sands, following the faint skittering trails in the sand. He didn't think for a minute how far they were going bent as he was on making sure Kaius caught a lizard tonight. As they walked Mojave showed Kaius some tricks using desert mice as an example. The tail was long enough to be similar, even if the mice squeaked in anger at being captured then released by a big predator like him.
Finally the duo reached where the lizards had settled down again. This time their burrows were close so they'd only have one more good attempt at it. He crouched down a bit so he was close to Kaius' ear before whispering, "Okay I see them, they're right over there..." He pointed with his paw again in a set direction. "This time what I want you to do is to creep as close as you can, taking small soft steps. Focus your attention anywhere but the lizards, but keep your eyes on them. I've found lizards can sense intent, so if your intent is elsewhere you'll be able to creep closer than usual. When you're close go straight for the tail and bite down to hold it in place!" He nodded sagely, hoping the foal understood what he meant. "You got this, I know it!"
Word Count: 348
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2022 9:03 pm
Determined to get it right next time, Kaius paid close attention to everything Mojave taught him with the mice, even if it did make him giggle a little when they squeaked in protest. This was serious -- he didn't have time to be giggling! He was here to learn how to catch a lizard, and he wanted to prove to Mojave that he could do it! His ear twitched a little when Mojave whispered into it, but he listened closely, staring at the lizards and trying to decide which one he should go for. Mojave's encouragement filled him with confidence, and he nodded, ready to make his strike. He was a lot quieter this time as he crept up on them, trying to both keep his attention on the lizards but also pretend to be interested in something else. It wasn't an easy task for a foal to do, and while Kaius couldn't quite pull it off in his eagerness to succeed, he was lucky that a few of the lizards were asleep or otherwise too tired to sense his intentions. A few perked their heads up, but Kaius had his sights on a closer lizard that hadn't noticed his approach yet. Just a few steps closer and...
He managed not to shout when he jumped this time, closing his teeth around a tail and lifting his head up in triumph. Immediately, the rest of the lizards scattered away to hide, and when Kaius realized he was holding a wriggling lizard's tail in his mouth he whirled around to look at Mojave with wide eyes. "I did it!" he said -- or, at least, attempted to. His words weren't very clear since he had to keep his teeth closed in a firm grip, but he laughed and jumped up and down before trotting up to Mojave to show him his prize. "Look, look!"
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