Sabin's Teepee

[Sabin Duvert]

Of Gods and Goddesses...
Soquili Involved: Quetzalcoatl and Brigitte

Unorganized thoughts tumbled in and out of Brigitte's skull. Like so much smoke, coherent thoughts were difficult for Brigitte to grasp onto for very long. Memories were so difficult to disentangle from delusions or imagined scenarios, and time was almost impossible for her to keep track of. When she was hungry, she would n** at the straggly weeds that grew out of the graves that she lingered around like a mist on an early morning. Sometimes, she would find a particularly tasty treat like the brightly colored peppers that sometimes sprouted here... or even seemed to appear from nowhere with the scent of Others clinging to them.

When Brigitte slept, she would collapse into a heap in the corner of the burial ground, and to all but those who were familiar with the creature, she appeared like nothing more than a part of a horse skeleton in a particularly dark patch of shadow. Brigitte's dreams were hardly different than her waking thoughts. Flashes of imagry that drifted through her mind. Sometimes it would be a familiar skeletal face of a stallion and a strange, pained feeling of loss. Sometimes, it was a hot firey heat, horns, and wings.

This patch of ground was the closest thing to a home Brigitte knew. There were dead that slumbered deep in the ground, and that made her feel like she belonged here. When she was in a place like this was the only time that she could even hold onto those thoughts at all. While she couldn't recall why she felt such a need or responsibility, it was the only thing she had. It was a feeling deep in her bones that she had a reason, and that she was important, even if she wasn't privvy to the reasoning herself.

And right now, for some reason, the "Powers" had woken Brigitte from her rest, drawing the swirling shadows over her skeletal frame, and set her walking. They guided her far from the gravesite that she normally felt at home; the place where her thoughts seemed less tangled and jumbled about in her skull. But who was she to argue. Foot by foot, she padded down the forested slope of the mountain, mumbling to herself in tones that only the mad could possibly construe as words.

Meanwhile, brilliantly colored wings beat in an even motion, carrying with them a soquili of almost unmatched regalitry. Quetzalcoatl was far from the land that he had called home. Unlike Brigitte, while he was fully capable of remembering every grizzly detail of his home and why he had left, he chose not to dwell.

He had not been in these Northern lands long. The skies were drier, chillier, the lands less lush and thick with life. And worst of all, he did not seem to be known here. It was truly an offront to the majestic Angeni. Once, he had been worshipped as a god to his people. Here, he was a stranger.

A flash of color and shine of metal caught the attention of the bizarre mare, and slowly, she craned her skull upwards and let her burning orbs fix on the shape that soared high above her. At first, with the range of colors, Brigitte thought she might be seeing a moving piece of rainbow. But the, with the flap of distinct wings, perhaps it was a bird.

"Wut yoo Birdy Bird doin' flyin up so high above me?" Brigitte called upwards. She couldn't rationalize why, but something drew her attention sharply to the shape. It had a hint of something familiar to her, despite the fact she was somehow certain she had never seen it before.

A chilling voice drew Quetzalcoatl's attention back to the ground, and with a c**k of his head he dipped a wing to circle around for a second look. At first, it was hard to make out what the noise had come from - it looked like a flash of white and red in a dark patch. However, a second glimpse revealed the outline of a soquili, and baleful eyes set in a bleached white skull. Interested (and overconfident) Quetzal began a slow descent to find out more.

It was coming her way. Instinctively defensive, Brigite opened her jaws to let out a wailing moan, the shadows coiling around her as the ghostly faces that swam in and out of the patterns seemed to echo her warning. But despite her unearthly bellow, the skintillating shape continued its descent. However, while Brigitte normal reaction would have been a string of obscenities if not outright hostility, something about the soquili - she could see now that that was indeed what it was - struck a deep chord within her. Again, the familiarity. Brigitte was normally only anywhere close to cognizant in a place of burial, the same affect seemed to be settling on the dark mare in his presence.

Undaunted by the screech, Quetzalcoatl touched down with an immaculate landing. Two glwoing embers regarded him from what looked like a skull with only swirling shadows in the shape of a horse's head beneath. This was no mask that she wore. The soquili - if that is what it could be called - seemed to be death incarnate; bones held together with a medly of dark spirits.

Quetzalcoatl was far from unfamiliar with death - even before he had witnessed the slaughter of his people. When he had been worshipped, offerings had been made to him, lives of animals taken in his honor, binding their spirits to him, and offering him their meat. Quetzalcoatl was very respectful of the dead - as even then they served a purpose. He understood that it was not an end, but merely a transition. And yet this soquili, it was like she was poised at that point - not truly dead. Not truly alive, and yet both at once.

He said no words. Not yet. Instead he spread his wings, gifting her with the the honor to witness his full splendor.

Death. It clung to this colorful soquili as it did a graveyard. While the only physical remains on him was the pelt of a great spotty-cat, to Brigitte, he smelled of sweet-blood - the blood that never washes away.

The obscenities melted away on Brigitte's voice, replaced with an intrigue. One of those random smoke-thoughts wandered through her mind. A firey stallion.... a skull-faced stallion. Memories? Why were they butting in now?

She shook her head. "Who be you... color-sparkley sohkee? You do be smellin' nice."

Well, the natives certainly didn't speak well. But there was an otherworldliness to this mare. Some deep-seated power in her chest that he hadn't seen in this land, or seen at all outside of the other Angeni from his home. It sent chills down his spine. He kind of liked it.

"Behold, Native! I am Quetzalcoatl, Deity of the Southern Jungles." He introduced himself humbly.

Brigitte scowled before belting out a rocous laughter that sounded like nails raking across a chalkboard. Mocking faces seemed to form out of the shadows that formed her hide as her withers shook.
"God of de South he says. Kettle Cattle he sez. Well Mista Kettle Cattle, I no be impressed. You be goin' back to dem Suthr'n Jungle." It was probably the longest set of words Brigitte had said in a long itme that didn't include vulgarity.

This, Quetzalcoatl had not expected. Mockery?! How dare she. Did she know who he was? Of course she did, he told her. So why in the name of the Heavens was she laughing at him?

He stiffened, flicking his wings, sending a few brightly colored feathers floating to the ground. But as he opened his mouth to tell her off and was about to lift a hoof to emphasize his point, he felt that chill again, that aura of something ELSE. Could... she be like him, despite her lack of grandoise wings? Not all of the Others like he from his homeland had wings. This was a strange land, there may very well be strange other spirits here.

Still, None outright mocked him. "You tread on trecherous grounds, Dark One. Even for one such as you. Why should I Stay my hoof from dealing out the punishment that such an action demands?"

Brigitte was hardly intimidated. Her shadows drew up, exposing bony front hooves. "You be posin' and talkin wit dem big words. You no know what YOU be delin' wit, boy." As her whithers shook and the shadow-faces took on a more sinister edge. "Maman Brigitte, she teach you to have respect for you Elders. You should be knowin better dan to tread on she who keeps eye on de dead." The words weren't even bothering to pass through her mind before spilling from her mouth, nor would she likely remember them after this conversation.

Quetzalcoatl would never have admitted it, but he was taken a back. She and he had much more in common than he presumed. And for once in the Angeni's life, he was slightly cowed. Had he been the one to go too far?

"Apologies should shower from the heavens, my lady. I did not know who I spoke with. These are strange lands, and I did not expect to find one such as you here."

Brigitte sniffed. "Good. You no be ********' wit me, boy. I send da crawlies after you, singe your soul wit mah eyes. You think one who be knowin' death like you woulda given two thoughts b'for opening yer yap."

She looked him over. "'Specially a big boy like you."

Quetzal shook his wings back again, looking her over again. In a strange way, as odd as she was, she reminded him a lot of his home. Meeting another powerful soul like her, and the skulls...

A very different chuckle rumbled through his chest. "You know, where I am from, I would occasionally give a very special blessing to particularly devoted followers..." It had been so long since he had those... another thing he tried to not dwell on...

"You think I no be woman enough to handle a big-head stallion like you?" She snorted. "I be more a woman under dese shadows dan you ever saw." Brigitte was far from an innocent - especially around aspects of death where her thoughts grew clearer and longer. She liked being around him. It was like being back in her cemetary. So when he unfurled his wings again and began to walk slowly away, she found herself matching his hooffalls and walking in the shade of his wings...  

[Sabin Duvert]

The Coming of Seance
Soquili involved: Taraxippus, Arcana, Anju, Seance, Grimoire, Megaera

Taraxippus would never have admitted how concerned he had grown about the safety of his foal, especially not with Arcana's new "bundles of joy". Foul irony is what it was. Foul irony that it was his success in coupling with Izusa (a finer mare he had never seen - wicked and strong, hotblooded and fierce) and the subsequent attention from their father that drove her away to her own dark suitor. And yet, she had carried her foals to term (three - just like he), nestled them in their baskets - and they broke free of their wicker prisons all within the time that he was standing sentry over his own. She would flash him maddeningly smug smiles, though Taraxippus was careful to not let it show in his features. But she knew. She had apparently only just enough of their father to enjoy a bit of gloating over him. But she would see, soon enough.... hopefully.... soon enough. He had nurtured this basket - probably the only genuinely unselfish caring he had done in his lifetime. And it still pulsed with life - be it tenuously, but he credited it to its shadowy nature - he had never witnessed his own birth, after all.

So Taraxippus waited with baited breath every day. He would leave from time to time, leaving the basket only with the few in the herd the he trusted - Anju, Megaera, Alecto and sometimes the human Sabin. He would hunt, tear his frustration out of the hide of a young doe or fierce hog - reliving his meeting with Izusa.

And then one afternoon, when he returned to the herdgrounds with his belly wonderfully glutted with a young bison that had foolishly strayed from its family, he saw Arcana's young daughter, Grimoire, irritatingly close to the basket. Megaera, apparently, was nowhere in sight. There was a small grey hoof placed very deliberately on the rim, the shadows of the basket itself seeming to draw away from her. There was a very strange look in her eye - as if her thoughts were a long distance away, and a smile pulling sharply at her mouth. As he saw weight begin to be transferred to her hoof, Taraxippus dashed forward with a bellow.
Her eyes widened and she seemed to snap back to the present sharply. She carefully removed her hoof and set it before her, looking up at him with an innocent expression. "I'm sorry, Uncle Tara. Megaera had become thirsty and I told her that I would watch over your basket for her." She smiled sweetly.


Taraxippus didn't believe the filly for a moment. He had not gone out of his way to spend time with Arcana's brood. He had his own concerns, and had no desire to deal with little Arcana's affairs. He had written off her foals - except for perhaps the horned blue colt - after seeing them. However, he was quite familiar with the malice he had seen in Grimoire's eyes. Had she been doing anything but threatening his basket, he might have been impressed. But there were few things that could summon a genuine emotional reaction from Tara, and she had crossed the wrong line.

"Go back to your mother, Grimoire." He snapped, sharp fangs snapping the air. "Do not think me as thick-witted as Megaera. If you come near my basket again, I shall snap your little neck." He seethed.

Grimoire stopped, blinked in suprise. "Uncle Tara..." She said with an incredulity to her voice, as if she'd been physically slapped. "I know that Mother says that you're foul-hearted... but to threaten a little filly like me? Really. Why do you need to do something like that? Grampa Anju I am certain would not be impressed by having to pick on the weak to feel stronger." She shook her head, backpedaling deliberately. "I'll leave, but I only had your best intersts in mind after Megaera had to go."

Taraxippus might have been mistaken, but the filly looked even smaller and more vulnerable than she had from a distance. She was still quite young - far from grown, but still...
He shook his head, almost doubting what he had seen, but watching her with eagle's eyes as she retreated back in the direction of where Arcana had been raising them.

It was about then that Megaera returned shaking her head, mouth still dripping with water from the river. "Hoo. Those fruit that Grimoire found sure tasted strange." She was mumbling to herself. "Oh! Tara, you're back. Glad to see it. Well, I best be leaving you alone with your foal." She smiled kindly. She'd taking quite a liking to her 'big brother' - especially after he'd been so kind with her when she'd wound up pregnant.

Taraxippus thanked Megaera, saying nothing to the further ire that boiled in him at what he had heard his simple sister mumbling. Taraxippus was quite sharp, and the ploy that the still quite young filly had pulled. He grumbled to himself, settling down around the basket with a doubly keen eye. Why had she done that? They were herdmates. Granted, the animosity between him and Arcana was probably not much of a secret - but Tara wouldn't hurt his sister. Mock her, make her feel miserable, but unless he could draw some sort of benefit from it, probably not hurt her. Was Arcana threatened? Had she sik'd her daughter after Taraxippus's basket in order to stay at the center of Anju's attention with the youngest foals? No... Arcana wasn't stupid. And probably not incapable of thiking of that possibility, but she was far too soft to make that decision. Had Grimoire really acted out on her mother's mute frustrations..?

*
*
*

"Tara!..... TARA! Wake up!"

Taraxippus woke with a start to Arcana's shrill voice penetrating his ears. He lifted his head suddenly from where it had rested on the violet basket. "What?! What is it that demands my attention that you must rouse me from my sleep?" He seethed.

"Grimoire came to me crying that you had bit her for watching over your basket! How could you!? She thinks so highly of you, and for you to attack her like that!" Arcana was trembling with fury.

... And it was a fury that was certainly genuine. Taraxippus flattened his ears, giving Arcana a glare that rivaled the ones that Anju had given her with three times the number of eyes.

"Then Grimoire was lying to you, little Arcana." Taraxippus growled. "I know that the concept of a lie might be difficult for you to grasp. But not everyone is as simple and straightforward as you, little bug."

Arcana stomped her little silver hoof. "That isn't funny, Tara! Why would Grimoire lie to me?! I know how mean you can be - but to a little girl?? You just stay away from her!" She flicked her tail.

Taraxippus had no doubt in his mind about Grimoire's deception. Had he a doubt to Arcana's claims about the parentage of her foals before, it was rapidly dissipating. He got to his feet, looming protectively over his basket. "You are tupped by a Kalona, then you need to be prepared for the results." He snarled. "Keep an eye on your brood, they are your respon-" His words were cut out as the shadows of his basket began to rapidly whip about.

His eyes dropped to the basket and he took a few steps back as the wicker seemed to be distorting. It was difficult to tell the shadows from the wood when, all of a sudden, the purple shadows seemed to swell near the top of the basket and then, like a butterfly emerging from a coccoon, the indigo shadows spilled out of the container and formed into the shape of a small unicorn.

Arcana's words fell from her mouth at the sudden arrival of the little filly. Her anger doused, she looked down in wonder at the unicorn who was trying to find her footing. Her timing couldn't have been better. "Oh my goodness, Tara!" She said breathlessly."

Tara lowered his nose to meet his filly's, the arguments, the suspicion and ire against Grimoire forgotten for the moment. She was here. She was finally here. She was every bit as ephemeral as he and his father - her shadows violet. She was....

"So pretty!" Arcana chimed in in delight, and not withought a grinning titter at Taraxippus's expense. "And the daughter of a Kalona, huh?" She grinned, savoring this moment of amazing karma. There was not a Kalona feature on the little unicorn.

"She is." Taraxippus mutterd, but not giving Arcana the satisfaction of even a glance back in her direction. While dainty, and, well, purple, and perhaps lacking the horns or wings he had hoped for... she was his. She was his future, and she would learn from his example. From his words. He could rear her in his ideals. And someday... something amazing would be in store for them. He was building his influence - planting his seeds. Even though she was "just" a unicorn like him - there was something to be said of a deceptive race... She had his blood, and the blood of a true Kalona. She couldn't be anything but perfect.

Arcana snuffed indignantly at the lackluster response from her brother. She couldn't even seem to get his attention with an ironic insult. "well. We'll see what Father has to say about it." She persisted confidently. When Taraxippus said nothing to that either, and instead watched in pride as the filly found her feet and stared in wonder up at the dark shape before her, she flattened her ears with a scowl, and went to go announce/"tell on" her brother to Anju.

Arcana, however, would find herself disappointed again when Anju's reaction was not the derision she had hoped for. While there was skeptism when he watched on the new addition to his family from afar, there was also a narrowed eyed smile. She looked back and forth between the violet foal and her father who stood next to her in the shadow of the trees, not making his presence known.

"Our family grows." He said simply, and it did not even seem to really be directed at Arcana. "The shadows spread." And with that, he melted back into the woods, leaving Arcana with her frustration.

 

[Sabin Duvert]

Wild Blue Yonder
RP with Ethan, Cricket, and Maharet

RP originally located HERE

Ethan and Cricket continue their adventure and encounter Maharet, a wind soquili with a well-earned fear of Kalona, on a rain-soaked field





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.
 

[Sabin Duvert]

Look! A Walking, Talking Rainbow!
RP with Quetzalcoatl and Faer
Quetzalcoatl meets Faer


RP located HERE

 

[Sabin Duvert]

The Proud Wind Family
RP between Maelstrom, Wild Wind, Windstorm, Vortex, and Balrog



RP located here

 

[Sabin Duvert]

Dahlia's Baskets
the arrival of Dahlia's two baskets, and discussion with the father, Aureate


RP located here

 

[Sabin Duvert]

Untitled Foal RP
RP between Firestorm, Windstorm, and Vortex



RP located here

 

[Sabin Duvert]

Birthrights and Boundaries
RP between Firestorm and Shinoma, and also with Balrog



RP located here

 

[Sabin Duvert]

'Neath the Light of the Moon...
RP between Ethan and Hunter Brown

Ethan couldn't sleep. Why, he didn't know; he had been walkin ALL day, although the terrain wasn't particularly rough. They had passed the wet clearing beneath the rainbow after the rains had stopped and they had met Maharet, and continued through a sparcer woods. It mind-boggling just how big the world was when for all his foalhood he had been confined to one (at that point he thought large) meadow.

But it was so envigorating this travel - meeting new soquili, seeing new places. Even after a day of travel, Ethan wasn't tired. He was restless. He was thirsty. And Ethan had never had much of a problem getting around at night. He knew his night vision was better than his mother's, but never had given it much thought.

So with a grunt, and a glance at Cricket, who seemed to be snoozing peacefully, he picked his way out from under the treebranches and went to try to find that pond that they had passed a little ways ago.

*
*
*
This is just what I needed. Ethan thought to himself as he took a deep drink of the cool water. The night was cool, there was a little bit of a breeze, and things seemed so pretty. Peaceful.


Her wings worked hard, putting a plesant ache as the stroked the air, a gracefull movement that sliced the air and sent her slideing through the currents with musceled grace. She climbed... higher and higher... the clouds were sparce but a plesant coolness against her body when she climbed higher to the starts, brilliant green eyes narrowed. Her lungs burned as the air thinned, pushing herself to the limits... and then there she was... at the peek , the clouds floating far below.

She smiled, the travil was worth it.... She closed her eyes, a sigh escapeing her body, the gems scattered across her body shimmering brighter with that one sound, the silken folds at her sides fluttering in the air.

And so she fell, her long wings streached out to her sides, folded slightly at the second joint, her feathers spinning madly in her hair as she fell back to earth. She rejoiced in the rush of air at her sides, feeling completly at the mercy of gravity, her body spinning like the falling leaf of a tree. Her bridal and saddle had tassles and golden leaves that shimmered.... and she oppened her eyes, seeing the ground rush up to meet her. She snapped her wings and pulled herself up at just the right moment to dart across the earth, her legs curled like a leaping deer, her hooves inches from the ground as he wings skimmed her through the air.




A whisper of feathers caught Ethan's attention and his head snapped up from the river. He squinted, amber eyes scouring the skies. What was the noise? Then he saw it - a shape against the sky, its silhouette cast against the moon. And then.... His eyes widened in fear ... it fell! Spinning madly, plummeting towards the ground. It was like watching a bird shot by a human's arrow. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze, then ration came back to him and he sprung to movement.

"OH MY GOD!" He whinnied, leaping towards her, and trying to keep his long legs from tripping overthemselves despite the sudden movement. "I'M COMING-" He yelled, just as her wings unfurled and her fall angled sharply to a graceful glide only feet from the hard earth.

Poised, breathing hard at the crest of the slope that led down to the pool at what he had thought moments ago was a soquili falling to her death, he now stared at, awed.


<>  

[Sabin Duvert]

Where the Wind Whistles
RP between Cloud Runner and Avalon



RP located here

 

[Sabin Duvert]

The Dark Side of the Moon
RP solo of Cricket and her reaction to Ethan's recent... activities

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.  

[Sabin Duvert]

A Real Family..?
RP between Arcana, Spellbound, and Kamiki

The days seemed to melt into one strange conglomeration to Arcana since having her foals. Things were tense between her and Taraxippus since they had both come home with baskets. Not that they hadn't been tense in the past - but this only catalyzed things, putting them in almost direct competition for Anju's approval. Tara had always had it, and Arcana couldn't understand why he had to still be so snarky. He accused Grimoire of assaulting his basket - the idea was preposterous - and sometimes she felt like she just couldn't get through to Diogenes. She had wanted so badly for the foals to be a magical fix to all of her problems. Even though the salvation had come in the form of the massive kalona, everything had seemed to make sense.

But... Lycaenidae was quiet, seeming to almost be in her own world, Diogenes had never been exactly 'loving' - and she saw more of his father in him than she cared to admit. He was snappy, especially as he got older - even to his own mother. And Grimoire was generally so sweet, but without any kind of announcement, she would often go off for a spell, and not speak of it. They had all gotten so big, now too - full adults in their own right. And none of them seemed to need her any more. Which just left Arcana feeling empty. Was she a failure as a mother? Had in choosing their father based on the expectations of her own father been a bad idea?

Arcana realized she needed to clear her head. She felt so lonely even when surrounded by her family. They barely talked to her - and Anju seemed to care more about her foals than her. She felt that Taraxippus and Megaera hated her...

These feelings had been building and compounding in her for so long. Finally... as Taraxippus returned from a hunt with his little Seance and shot her a triumphant, mocking glare... it was too much. Arcana got to her hooves, and without a word, without letting Taraxippus gloat or letting herself watch her reactions, she spread her butterfly wings and leapt into the skies.

She went up this time - not in the direction that she had run into him - no.. she went up the mountain where the air got clear and thin. Maybe this time she could find something to help the world make more sense that woudln't wind up hurting her more in the end..



Kamiki and her son, Spellbound grazed lazily on the side of the mountain. The heat was uncomfortable for Kamiki who was born high in the mountains, but Spellbound seemed to revel in it. The heat warmed his wings and gave him the kind of energy Kamiki hadn't had since she was a young foal herself. She could tell Spellbound was getting antsy as she chewed slowly on the summer greens. She gave him an approving nod and the fluttercorn took to the air, flying in long, graceful loops around the field.


The flight was a catharsis of a sort just by itself. Pumping her little wings, zipping through the air in the warm early summer skies... it helped. It was a release of sorts - it cleared her mind and let her focus on the movement instead of her problems.

Then, in the skies ahead, she saw another dark form with a flash of purple.

She slowed, wary at first. There was no telling the attitude of this other soquili. And her interactions with others outside her family group was always a scary thing for her - she had been taught since a foal that she should keep a brave, intimidating front...

Arcana took a deep breath, and flew forward. To turn away would be to show weakness - Anju had drilled that into her.


Spellbound was always happy to meet new Soquili. He looked down at his mother and smiled before zipping over to the newcomer. "Allo there!" he called, circling above her. He dropped down to her height to get a better look.


Arcana's ears shot back instinctively at the sudden arrival of the newcomer. It was hard to puff up and look scary mid-flight, though. And as soon as she got a full look at the stallion, the breath caught in her chest and she nearly lost her air. She'd never seen another soquili quite so like her before. He was dark furred, but beyond that he had the spirial unicorn horn and the butterfly wings.

"Hello..." Arcana replied nervously as she looked him over.


Spellbound fluttered around her, also instantly intrigued by the other fluttercorn. There was something... about her that made him stop. "Hello," he replied. "Haven't seen you around here before?"


Arcana shook her head slowly. "No... I've never flown this way before." She responded softly, brows furrowed as she watched him. But he did look so strangely familiar. "Is... is this you herd grounds? I... I am not tresspassing, am I?" She knew that Anju could be viciously defensive of their family grounds.

"Oh, well maybe technically..." the stallion laughed, "But you don't look very threatening." He tossed the mane out his eyes to get a better look at her. "Are you sure... we've never met?"

"Spellbound?" Kamiki came up behind the two of them, a shocked expression on her features as she looked at the pair. The other mare... she couldn't...? How did she smell so much like Spellbound...

Arcana shook her head, feeling nervous. She really wasn't sure how to act around friendly soquili. She felt bad about being boisterous and aggressive like she had been taught. But then... Anju wasn't looking over her shoulder... "I'm pretty certain not. I... would have remembered meeting someone like you. You... you have a horn, and bug-wings like me!" There was a ghost of a smile.

She turned quickly when she heard another voice, tensing subtly. Was this some sort of trap? But then no, a soft, velvety looking winged unicorn approached, looking... more curious than anything else. "H... Hello..?" Her ears flicked back and she looked between the mare and stallion.

"Bug wings?" Spellbound chuckled, "It's called a fluttercorn..." his voice trailed off as he saw the expression on Kamiki's face. "Mom?"


"What's your name?" Kamiki pleaded. "Who are you parents, little one?"

"Fluttercorn.." She repeated with a smile. "Yes... I do like that better."

She cocked her head with a furrow of her brow. There was a note of desperation in the mare's voice. And there was something about her. Something that settled her, helped her relax and lower that guard.

"My name is Arcana..." She spoke. "And my parents? Well... I.. never really knew my mother. But my father is Anju." She spoke carefully, confused.

"Anju?" Kamiki shook her mane, "I have heard Tisiphone and Ahawi speak of this Anju..." She looked back over the mare. "You do not look like spawn of such a creature as he? Did he tell about your mother? How old are you my dear?"

"Mom," Spellbound prodded. "What's going on?" She was acting surely peculiar.

"Yes, I live with Alecto and Megaera, Tisiphone's sisters..." She nodded, her silvery mane shining in the light at her movements. "And... well... no, I suppose not. He... always was so disappointed in my lack of family resemblance." She didn't know why she was being so frank with the mare, but speaking to her just seemed to come so naturally.

"My brother looks much more like him. Shadowy. He said our mother was a white unicorn. But... I'm not sure where my wings came from. I was born a few seasons ago... it was fall, I believe." She paused, looking over her face. "...Why?"

"A white mare?" Kamiki's eyes narrowed. "Does your Anju have four eyes?"

Spellbound just shook his mane. "Like Sumi-e?" He shifted uncomfortably. "What are you implying, Mom?"

"Four eyes? Oh no! He has six!" Arcana said with wide eyes. "I've never seen another quite like him. Not even our family."

She looked between the two of them again. It was like they knew something that she didn't. "What... what are you two talking about?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"My brother, Sumi-e, " Spellbound said, "He's white, has four glowing red eyes. I never knew where they came from. You and Dad never would say anything. You both have wings and he didn't..."

Kamki nodded. "We never... we never knew what happened. At first we thought it was just a cruel birth... but now I wonder..." she looked back to Arcana, her wings, her hair. "I think something happened... "

Arcana's mouth opened and closed. They couldn't be implying... but Anju... And Taraxippus... she never fit in. All this time of trying to fit in... Dyson and her foals.... She took a quivering breath.

"You.... can't be saying.." She looked at Spellbound. "Your son... his brother was white with four eyes..." It... it just seemed to make sense. "Who... what is your mate like..?" She could barely speak above a whisper.

"Azure..." Kamiki breathed out, "You're almost a spitting image. He's got a black coat, hair and mane the color of sapphires, and wings... brilliant blue framed in black..."

Spelbound's jaw was slack. "She's shaped just like you, mom," he finally said. "Her jawline, her frame..."

Arcana's eyes widened progressively as she described Azure. "It.. it couldn't be..." She whispered. And then, her adopted sister Megaera... Psyche. "Oh my.. Oh... Oh My!" She shook her head.

"Megaera... she described a stallion just like that. He and she... well... she had foals, one of them stayed with us - Psyche. Anju... father said... she was like.. an 'improved' version of me." Her eyes were moist now and there was an obvious stammer in her voice. But if what this mare was saying was true, Psyche was her sister.... and this mare... her... "mother..?" Her voice cracked as emotion overwhelmed her. All this time... all this time...

"Magaera?" Kamiki exclaimed. "Yes, Azure has fathered foals with a mare with that name."

Spellbound pawed at the ground. "So there...was a mix up when we were baskets? Sumi-e stayed with us... and Anju took this Arcana?"

"It must be.." Kamiki looked back to Arcana. "It all...it makes sense. You're... you must be my daughter..."

For several moments, Arcana was silent. It was too much to take in. Horrible. Wonderful. Anju was so distant, so disappointed always. Taraxippus hated her, looked down on her. She never liked hunting, scaring other soquili. She wasn't like them after all - it wasn't some defect... she was just ... raised by the wrong family. "You're my mother...?" She echoed finally, looking back up at the dark mare. "And you... You are my real brother?" Not some mean, spiteful, manipulative thing like Tara.

What could have happened? It... it didn't really matter. What was done was done. She just wished that she had found this out sooner. They seemed so...nice.

Arcana rushed to Kamiki's side, pressing her face into her neck. "I... Wish ... I wish I had known!" She sobbed.

The moment Arcana buried her face into her neck any and all doubts dashed away. It felt too right... the way she looked, smelled, moved... it all was there. She knew in her heart this was her daughter, and she nuzzled back. A mystery had been solved, and a tear slipped down Kamiki's face as she mourned the time she hadn't been able to spend with her daughter.

Spellbound gave his own whinny, and handsome but dopey grin on his face and he nuzzled his way into the group hug, running his nose over Arcana's shoulder.  

[Sabin Duvert]

At the Dawn - Where the Dark Meets the Light
RP with Ethan and Cricket

RP located HERE

Ethan finds Cricket after his Moonlit Encounter...




Original RP Link: Here

Sabin Duvert

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?

Sosiqui

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?"

Sabin Duvert

"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 enthsiasm 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...

Sosiqui

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.

Sabin Duvert

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.

Sosiqui

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.

Sabin Duvert

"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.

Sosiqui

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.

Sabin Duvert

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.

Sosiqui

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.

Sabin Duvert

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 hazzel eyes searched hers askingly.

Sosiqui

"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."

Sabin Duvert

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.

Sosiqui

"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..."

Sabin Duvert

"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.

Sosiqui

"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.

Sabin Duvert

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 goodnaturedly 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....


((Do we want to wrap this one and start a new one? Or use this as a segue into them exploring some sort of unique territory? smile ))

 

[Sabin Duvert]

O Restless Warrior
RP solo with Balrog (happening during the Firestorm, Windstorm and Vortex RP above)

Balrog stood poised on a familiar rocky outcropping that overlooked the foal grounds in his herd's territory. It was a location that Balrog often rested, watching over his family and herdmates. He took his position as protector of the herd incredibly seriously, and this was the best place to keep his eyes on the young foals without them knowing that they were being watched over.

It was also a location that Balrog often went to to think. Here, the voices of his herdmates were subdued below the whistling of the wind. The air was clear, and so were Balrog's thoughts. When he felt troubled, this was where he went. When he needed a new perspective on things, this place was his sanctuary.

Thus, with the seemingly blissful few months that his herd had been reveling it, it was unusual that he would come to this place to think. Something was troubling the stallion. And for a time, it did not come to him. What could possibly be wrong? Stormwild was finally satisfied with his decisions - she had - reluctantly admittedly - sent away her own son Sequoyah along with the other lesser "members of the herd". She had even come to accept Firestorm as their own, even though he came from another mare. Firestorm was full of energy - he could see his own spark of strength echoed in the colt. He listened carefully to his preaching, and he would certainly carry on his ideals. His elder daughter Maelstrom had found an ideal mate in the form of Wild Wind - and they had sired two perfect daughters - strong, bright, and every bit the fiery ladies as their mother and her sister.

For the first time, their entire herd was full of strong, capable, airborne soquili. They were proud, of the best lineages, and mobile.

SO...... what? What was he doing with this? He had realized his dream - they had the perfect herd by every definition he had given. So what was he to do? He and the other members of the herd had kept predators at bay - no cougar dared to hunt in his territory. Even the howling of wolves did not reach the alpine meadow where the foals slept.

Things were.... too easy.

They were strong, and they were relishing in the sound sleep of the powerful. But would that in turn not make them soft? If there were no enemies to best, no predators to escape, then might they themselves grow soft?

Balrog snorted, stamped at the stone with a smoldering hoof.

He was bored. The purest answer.

There was so much potential in his herd, but what was there to do with it? The thought of using it to protect the weak was laughable. It stood against everything Balrog believed. They had no need of expanding their territory - the land here was rich enough to nourish all their members, and expansive enough for all to find a comfortable place to rest and graze. Even during the winter, none had truly gone hungry. Seeking out a challenge in the form of another herd would be foolhearty, and Balrog was no fool.

Slowly, Balrog leaned against the rocky cliff with a heavy sigh. He had dreamed of this for all of his life. And yet... when he had everything he could ever ask for... he found himself suddenly directionless.

"Where do I go from here...?" He asked the whistling winds, letting them carry his inquiry to the Spirits above. "Now that I have the strength, the purity that I have sought.. what do I do with it? Where is my next challenge?"

He grew bolder.

"Is there none that can challenge our strength?"

Perhaps he would regret his words. But Balrog desired, no, he thirsted for a challenge. For a true test of his mettle and strength, and that which he had brought together.  

[Sabin Duvert]

You're Strong... I Like that!
RP with Dyson and Masquerade

RP located HERE
Dyson encounters another Kalona (even though it's just a little one)..