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 Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:45 am
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dustfeather Just human...he wonders how alike they are to soquili. If they're intelligent, like the animals...well, they'd have to be. But it's a different kind of intelligence. Even Jewel can see that, in the limited time he's been near them. The thought makes him vaguely uneasy, for a reason he can't pinpoint, and he files away the information for later. There's time enough to think about that.
He inches closer, but not close enough to be touched, and far enough away so that he can easily flee if needed. His muscles are rigid, ready to go...and he doesn't understand why. Until, suddenly, an idea comes to him. "Wambli...what do these creatures eat?"
Harperking
"Eat? Well, usually there is something cooking in a pot by the fire. Sometimes there is flat stuff that tastes kind of like corn, I like that! And berries and fruit. Anpo will sometimes eat fish or other meat that she hunts, but she always pays respect to the spirit of the creature who allows itself to walk the Spiral Path for her," Wambli wondered if he would like a treat. Maybe he was hungry! She began nosing at Anpo's carrysack, knowing that there was unually something good in there.The warrior laughed at the mare's action, so familiar and normal in such a setting! She reached in and found a piece of flatbread and a bit of dried apple. She carefully divided them into two portions, placing them on the ground and stepped back to see what the stallion would do.
dustfeather
That's why he's so edgy. This little creature is a predator...a slightly pathetic one at the moment, but a predator nonetheless. It's a meat-eater...and a grass-eater, it seems. So not wholly predator. The unicorn nods, thoughtful. Spiral Path...I'm not certain what that is. Perhaps Fawkes knows.
He takes an involuntary step back, forcing himself not to flinch as the human woman sets the food on the ground. But curiousity overwhelms him, and he's soon sniffing at the bread and the apple. The apple he knows, and he takes it daintily and munches, trying not to froth too much at the muzzle. But the bread is another matter. "Tell her thank you, please. But what's that?"
Harperking
The windmare looked up from where she was eating her snack and quickly swallowed her mouthful.
"That's the flatstuff I was telling you about. It's not as good as sweetcorn, but it tastes sorta like it. They make it at the village." She was glad to see that Jewel was relaxing around Anpo. She really wanted him to like her Talker!Anpo smiled to see her offering accepted. She could hear Wambli's sofy whickerings and sounds towards the stallion and wished she knew more of the language of the soquili to know what was being said! With careful silent steps she moved backwards a bit, then sat down, content to sit and watch what would happen next.
dustfeather
Dubiously, he takes and eats it, tynig to be polite. But he finds that he actually likes it. It's dry, but the taste to i is...different. Several crumbs fall from his lips, but he manages to get most of it down without looking too much of a fool.
"It's good," he admits, casting a quick look at Anpo. He'd like to thank her, but he's not quite sure how...nor does he want to get very close to her. Ah! He knows, now...he'll have to recruit Fawkes later.
Harperking
"There are other good things about the village, too. We have fun there." she glanced over at him. "Sometimes Anpo and I will go on travels by ourselves, though, and that is good, too. I like to see new places and to experience new things."
dustfeather
For the first time, the unicorn looks up, to take a good look at the sprawling village. It's like nothing he's ever seen before...the bizarre structures, like trees, litter the area. The scent of burning is in the air, too, from campfires....
"New experiences are good to have," He says, absently, thinking of his own travels. "I left home to find new things...and I've discovered new types of Soquili, and new ways of living that I didn't think were possible. You're more myths and legends to us at home."
Harperking
"It's funny how what we think of strange can be commonplace to someone else. It's like when I found that I could fly. Rikka seemed to think it should have been something I should have always known, but it was totally new to me!" Wambli stepped in to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jewel and leaned in to him a little.
"I would like to get to know you, and become more than just a myth to you" she said softly.
dustfeather "Sometimes it just takes someone to show you the right way," he says quietly.
His heart does a happy little flip at her words, and he nuzzles her shyly. You already are. As true as it is, it sounds terribly shallow to his inner ears, so he doesn't say it out loud. Instead, he says something that seems completely irrevelant: "Do you know how my people believe the first soquili came into being?"
Harperking
At his soft touch, Wambli's heart felt like it would just pound right out of her chest. Her skin where his had rested against hers was warm, and she knew that this was one of those moments that she would cherish forever.
"I don't, but I would love to hear it. It would be interesting to see if it differs from the tale that Anpo told me when I was younger"
dustfeather Jewel began, pleased to oblige.
"Well...this story starts as many of our others do. Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was nothing....
In this void of nothingness, the rih - the Great Spirit, the queen of them all - opened her eyes to the world, and woke from her slumber. She blinked, and light and darkness spread out across the dead earth, bringing with it life. Plants of all kinds sprouted up over the lands...trees and flowers, the like of which noone has ever seen before...every kind that's ever existed, and that has ever existed in this time.
The rih saw the wind in the trees, and the sunlight on the flowers, and the moonlight and starlight across the waters of the oceans, and was pleased.
To enjoy this world, she created all animals: not just the birds of the sky, but also the wolves of the plains and the cougars of the mountains. They scampered and played and loved, and she saw it, and was pleased.
And lastly, she created four children in her image, and gave them the charge of watching over the world. She took her fistborn aside, and said unto him:
"My firstchild, I grant thee the powers of healing. Your horn shall purify the air and water, and give life to those on the edge of death. You are the child of light, and you shall be blessed with gifts beyond all others."
And then she took her secondchild, and said unto her:
"My secondchild, I give you the gift of wings, so that you may better understand and look after the winked folk who have been my friends. Look after them well, and take pride in them."
And she took her thirdchild, and said unto her:
"As for you, my thirdchild...I give thee the gift of flight without wings," the rih said. "You shall have less than the others, but only in the ways that do not matter. Because of this, you will be more true, more loving of life, and more forgiving. Rememer this, for there will come a time when your less blessed siblings will need your aid."
Jewel falters, suddenly stopping.
Harperking
Wambli shook her head, surprised at the sudden stopping of the story. She had totally lost herself, not just in the story that he was telling her but in the sound of his voice. The very way that he formed each word entranced her in a way that no other had.
"That was lovely, Jewel, please continue!" she asked him softly. She gave his neck a gentle run with her poll to thank him for what he had already done. |
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:13 am
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It's still dark out: the moon is setting, and dawn is flickering reluctantly on the horizon.
A slightly shimmering apparation moves in and about the teepees of the village, moving to and fro and as it ducks it's head to scent the air. Ah: this one, this must be it.
It deposits something on the ground slightly to one side of the entrance, as if it were worried about it getting stepped on by someone just out of the teepee. The creature's head raises, and in the faint glow of dawn's light, a horn can be seen atop it's forehead.
Jewel smiles faintly, and his tail gives a quiet swish. Hopefully she'd find it, here, and she'd know enough to give it to Wambli; just to be sure, he gaves a soft little nicker, to alert whoever might be inside to his presense. In another moment, he's gone again.
Outside the teepee, there's a single object on the hard-packed earth.
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 8:40 am
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Anpo woke at the sound of a soft whicker outside the teepee. Normally she would have not been awakened by the normal village souds but this one had been different. It was a melodic sound, not quite the same as the usual soquili vocalizations she had grown use to. Sitting up she could see that Wambli, too, had awakened. This had been one of the rare nights that hr windsib had decided to stay inside with the Sioux woman. The mare's alert form was a shadow against the pale light that was beginning to glow against the teepee walls, heralding the coming dawn.
Standing, the warrior stretched then opened the flap that covered the teepee entrance. She taks one step outside, then stops in surprise, seeing the object lying on the ground. She grins suddenly as she also sees the faint trace of a cloven hoofprint nearby.
"Hau, Wambli! Come and see what the night has brough! I think you have an admirerer nearby" Anpo says in a warm tone.
Wambli pokes her head out of the teepee and also stops, her eyes growing soft and wondering at the sight before her. She lowers her nose and sniffs at the bloom, then looks up to see if the giftbearer is around. Turning to Anpo, she picks up the rose gently and places it in the womans hand then nudges her, clearly meaning for it to be placed in her mane.
Laughing, Anpo obliges her friend. "Go find him, windsib. Follow your heart to joy" she says in blessing.
With a neigh, Wambli Zikala goes to do just that!
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:09 am
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Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 4:50 pm
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RP between Foalen and Wambli involving a gift for a special friend!
Wambli carefully walked down the soft forest path that led from the bay to the village. The sleek black and gold mare had spent the morning along the shoreline, playing in the water with some of the other soquili. As she walked she thought back on the gift of the beautiful rose that Jewel had given her. She had never seen a bloom as lovely as that one and the scent had lasted for days. Anpo had taken the bloom and hung it in the teepee to dry like the winter herbs so she still had it to remember the gift and its giver.
"I want to do something for him!" she said to herself, startling a nearby robin into flight at the sound of her whicker. "There has to be a gift I can give him, but what?" Jewel was so different from the other soquili, it would have to be something very special indeed. Not just to match his beauty, but to show him just how much she cared for him.
As she came over the small rise in the path that marked the edge of th forest Wambli paused. Looking down she saw many of the village inhabitants out and around busy in various tasks. With spring on the way life was returning to the village, the winter sleepiness being replaced with new energy and excitement. Seeing one familiar form, Wambli had a sudden idea. With a glad whinny, she trotted down the hill and into the village.
Her nimble hooves made a merry beat on the ground as she made her way all the way through the village to a decorated tent on the far edge. Sitting outside was the shaman, Foalen, intently working on beading and stringing feathers together. She slowed as she approached him, and stood respectfully watching while he finished the one he was working on. Only the whisking of her tail against her legs broke her silence while she waited.
The bright day along with the cheerful productive mood that surrounded and suffused the area spirits and thus villagers themselves filled Foalen with contentment as he sat working on some talismen he had promised he would hand out to some of the warriors who were currently planning a big hunt. It would be a dangerous venture and it couldn't hurt to have the spirits go with the warriors young and old alike.
In the quiet between one breath and the next he sensed a presence. Glancing up he smiled giving the darkly beautiful mare a the sign for greetings he had seen Anpo use so Wambli would know that she was welcome.
"Welcome little bird," Foalen said for form's sake if nothing else. Though as the words passed his lips he realized that the lovely bird like soquili before him could hardly be called little any more. She had grown amazingling in the past few months and now she even had chosen a mate for herself. My how fast little ones grew.
Having strung the last bead on the feather he was working on he tugged on the leather cord to be sure it was snug and then lay it down on the blanket beside him. Sensing that the wind child seemed to be waiting for him he sat back on his legs giving her his full attention.
"Is there something I can help you with?" He said adding the signs along with his words. He didn't know if she would understand them, but it was likely she that she picked up a great deal from her warrior woman friend. And she was far more likely to understand the sign than she would his words.
Wambli's soft ears flicked forward as she listened to the words the shaman spoke. She understood most of what he was saying, and whickered a low laugh to see him trying to use the hand signs that Anpo had taught her. She didn't know he knew those!
Stepping closer she gently nuzzled the feathered talismans he had been working on , then lifted her head so that it was on a level on his own. She turned her head so she could look out at him with one liquid eye. After a long moment, she concentrated then in a soft whinny said, "I would like one of these for Jewel, please."
She had no way of knowing if he would understand her, but hopefully the Spirits would help him. Ayita had said that sometimes it almost seemed like he knew what she was saying.
A quick step back gave her room to manouver. Spreading out one brightly patterned wing, she reached around and tugged at one underfeather until it released. Carrying it proudly, she walked back over to the shaman and lay it softly in his lap.
As he waited the shaman found his eyes atracted to warm red brown of Wambli's luminous eye. Her gaze was direct and he could sense that she was deffinatly trying to comunicate to him. He had an idea of what she might want after she nuzzled the feather talismen but he had to keep from rubbing his ears in disbelief when she actually spoke to him. Perhaps it was the lessons he was reciving in the soquili launguage from the tribal elders, or maybe it was simply that her spirit so strongly wanted to get the message across.
However it happened didn't really matter. The fact that she was requesting help from him did and greatly. It was one thing to be called upon by the ones he served to render aid and comfort and still another to be called upon the by the scared creatures of the great spirit. Greatly honored he gave her a sign saying as much revrently collecting the freather from where it had landed. "It won't take long to make, if you wish to wait here. Ayita has told me there is a good shade tree just over to the left." Foalen explained in motions and signs. "Otherwise your welcome to watch."
Delighted that she was understood, Wambli shook her head to let the shaman know that she would wait. Her innate curiosity would allow for nothing less! She watched his every movement, wanting to know just how such a thing was made. Though she had seen Anpo doing beadwork many times, this was so different that the young mare was entranced by each step of the making.
Selecting a thin but strong cord of leather the shaman deftly wrapped it around the shaft calling upon the spirits to both the giver and reciver of this talisman that neaither of the two should come to harm. When the shaft of the feather was covered Foalen turned out his selection of beads carefuly going over them to find just the right ones.
His hands paused over the gold one that matched Wambli's coloring, that would be perfect. Setting it asside Foalen continued to spread the beads out looking for another two. When the light caught on the soquili's bracelets and the shaman's eyes were drawn to the red stone nestled there he smiled. The red beads would match the redish tone in her eyes as well.
Gently tucking the rest of the beads away Foalen picked up the feather once more this time securing the beads in place until he was certian they would stay put. Then he tied the end off and then he chanted over the feather one last time for good mesure.
When he was done he held out the feather to the waiting Wind soquili to see what she would think.
When the shaman held up the completed talisman Wambli was so excited she danced a little in place, spreading her wings in joy. She quickly realized that taking flight in such close proximity to the human wouldn't be a good idea, and furled her wings and neighed her happiness instead.
Ducking her dark head, she grasped the leather thong in her mouth and accepted the decorated feather from Foalen. This would be the perfect gift for Jewel - and with it being her feather he would know it was from her. Hopefully he would like it as much as she did her rose!
A sudden thought came to her as she turned to walk away, and Wambli stopped. She placed her precious gift on the ground then turned back to the shaman. She stepped in front of him and carefully knelt on her front legs, then placed her cheek along side his and blew very gently into his hair at the base of the neck. It was a special honor that was reserved for occasions of great importance to her. Then, with a soft whicker, she stood and spread her wings again. She choose one long secondary and carefully pulled it loose, then placed it at his feet. With a quick wink she turned and picked up her talisman and trotted off, intent now on delivering it.
Gratifed by the mares acceptance of the talismen he had made for her Foalen found himself ducking as her wings snapped open showing her feelings as surely as the wag of a dogs tail told his. Amused Foalen was happy when the winged soquili decided to voice her pleasure rather than dance it out in front of him. The idea of watching her sky dance was very attractive though it would do a great deal of damage to the talismen, beads and feathers he had set carefully around himself.
The shaman held very still as Wambli's breath tickled the dark strands of hair not bound by the braid he customairly wore. Foalen was amazed and touched at such close contact with a soquili that was not his own charge. He was further surprised when she offered another feather to him and accepted it with do revrence.
Still holding the feather the shaman lifted a hand in farewell his dark eyes perhaps a little mositer than they had been before the mare had appeared. Though he was not at all unhappy for he chanted quietly in a rythmic manner as he went back to his work.
As soon as she was clear of the shaman's work area, Wambli took to the sky, her strong wings lifting her easily to tree height and the above the trees. She circled the village, getting her bearings before heading inland to the glade where she knew Jewel often stayed. It took but a moment for her to reach that place, and furling her wings tightly she came to a quick landing, the talisman still clenched tightly in her teeth.
"Oh! He isn't here today!" she said to herself, as she circled the glade, trying to figure out where he might have gone. There were too many tracks for her to tell which direction he may have gone though, and she finally gave up in frustration.
"There has to be a way," she thought, "I can't carry this around for long." Looking aroung the glade, she saw a low hanging branch and had a sudden idea. Walking over , she reached up and hung the talisman from the branch. The feather swung lightly in the breeze but did not come loose. She smoothed the ground beneath the talisman with her hoof, the made a single, clear hoofprint in the middle of the cleared space.
"Now Jewel will find it and know for sure it is from me!" Wambli neighed happily. And with that thought in her mind and love in her heart, she once more took to the skies and headed back home.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 2:21 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:04 pm
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Ice_Dragon_Demon
Ice_Dragon_Demon
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Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:12 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:07 am
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:31 am
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:32 am
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Ice_Dragon_Demon
Ice_Dragon_Demon
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Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:54 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:26 am
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Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:31 pm
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