[IC] =Silencer & Ling's Teepee=

[Xiao Ling]

"I am scared sometimes," replied Chenoa to her friend as she stopped in front of the mountain. "But if you spot any animals running to their homes or the forest is quiet the a hunter or two is nearby. Because I am too big to hide myself anyway so the best way is to see where the animals are heading. The direction where they are heading means that there are no hunters in that part of the forest and it is safe," she continued.

"This is the mountain area. Everything you see here is covered with snow. We'll climb this one today," explained Chenoa as she turned to the shortest mountain in front of her. The mare then cantered towards the mountain slowly so that her friend will catch up. "If you reach the top of this mountain then you can enjoy the scenery of the mountain as well as seeing where we live. For me, the scenery of the mountain is lot more beautiful that the one in the forest. And if you're lucky, you can see the northern lights, it's really awesome."

After some time cantering, the blackbuck mare finally reached the top of the mountain. Here, the wind was blowing strongly and the environment was very quiet and calm. "And also, very few people live here. I guess it's the weather that causes humans not to live here. The hunters will never hunt in the mountains, so this place is very safe, but cold."

Chenoa walked towards one end of the mountain and looked down slightly. She saw the thick forest she visited earlier as well as Maralah's teepee. She then turned to Yue and called her. "Look, that's where we live, if you can see the teepee and the lake," she said together with a soft laughter.  

[Silencer Wolf]

Yue'er nodded at Chenoa's advise, storing the bit of information away in her mind for future use, if she would ever need it. It wasn't a long canter before Yue found her looking up a rocky ledge of a small mountain. Looking over at Chenoa, the mare's ears swivelled forward, and she took a tentative leap following a gentler slope, whinning a little for Chenoa to wait for her.

"Northern lights? What are they?" Yue asked as she moved on, her golden hooves cloppering against the rocky terrain. The next few moments were silent as the half-dragon concentrated on scaling the mountain, following not-so-closely behind her friend who seemed to be doing the same without breaking a sweat.

Finally, after some time, the mare emerged victorious on top of the mountain (whew!). Yue shook her head, her breathing deeper and faster from the earlier exercise. At Chenoa's call the mare cantered over to her, and looked down in the direction her friend mentioned.

"Wow..." Yue breathed, and let out a whinny as she spotted the familiar teepee, and lake. "Yes, I see it!"

Yue'er laughed, then turned her attention to the beautiful sight before. "Everything is so small..." she half-whispered in awe. Even the huge lake looked smallish, and the village beyond are but tiny speckles from where stood she. Were they really that high up?

"Oh look!" Yue whinnied suddenly as she caught sight of a tiny moving figure, and an ever smaller being flying high above it. There was no mistake to whom those two were, and Yue's heart did a strange flip as she pointed them out to Chenoa.

"There's Tuari, and Dynasty!"  

[Xiao Ling]

"It's difficult for me to explain right now, but you'll see them one day. You can get the best view from here," explained Chenoa as she was observing the 'small' world.

The blackbuck mare laughed slightly after hearing her friend's statement. "Yes, everything's small when you're at the top of the mountain. Luckily, we're on a short one, the wind is not as cold as the taller ones. You won't get a good view like this when you're on a taller one too, so it's not worth our time to climb one now," she explained, turning to her friend.

As Chenoa turned around to look at the other side of the mountain, she was stopped by Yue who called out. The mare quickly turned back and looked down and saw it too. "Yeah, I saw Dynasty too!" she exclaimed excitedly. "But I can't see Tuari, he's like a small dot to me," she murmured, bending her head down slightly.

"And we have to go soon, it's getting colder here," said Chenoa, trying her best to get a better view at Tuari but failed. "This time you choose. We still have the beach and the desert left to go. There are more places to go, but we'll focus on these today."  

[Silencer Wolf]

Yue'er craned her neck around as Chenoa spoke, gazing silently at the taller mountains behind the ones both of them were standing on. The mare returned her attention to the sight before them, and nodded in agreement. "Yes, I see what you mean..."

Closing her eyes, Yue took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, enjoying the cool, if not slightly thinner, mountain air; not that she noticed it was any different. Leaning forward, she watched silently as the buckskin stallion below went about his own business, oblivious to the two on the mountain.

Yue's gaze followed the moving figures until they disappeared from her sight. The mare stood and admired the scenery before her for a coumple more seconds, then turned to Chenoa, her face slightly dreamy due to gazing down from such a height.

"My choice?" Yue furrowed her brow and pondered for a while. "I guess the beach would be nicer. I don't like the desert, it feels... empty." Yue said, shaking her head and pawing at the ground slightly.  

[Xiao Ling]

Chenoa nodded slightly after hearing her friends answer. "Beach it is, then," she said enthusiasticly. "Follow me. If we're quick, we'll reach there before the beach gets hot. We'll gallop this time if that's fine with you."

After that, the mare turned and started galloping down the hill slowly. The wind was getting warmer and warmer as she galloped down the mountain. She sighed and smiled for now she was not as cold as she was at the top of the mountain.

The blackbuck mare galloped and galloped, looking back occassionally to make sure that her friend is alright. "We're almost there," said the mare, slowing down.  

[Silencer Wolf]

"Fine with me," Yue'er whinnied and took off after Chenoa, taking care not to slip and plunge - or rather, roll down the mountain like a piece of log. Thus, her descend was more like a skid, half sliding and galloping, sending rocks and find grit flying behind her. The tip downhill was rather bumpy and it jolted her bones so much that, by the time Yue reached the foot of the mountain, she felt as if all her joints have come loose, and her bones thrashed.

However, Yue did not stop for long, and after kicking her legs out in a rather odd sort of dance to discard the feelings of broken and jolted bones, the mare reared slightly and took off full speed in a gallop after Chenoa, feeling hardly tired at all.

Which was a rather good thing, as they went on their way for quite some time before Chenoa announced that they were almost at the beach. Behind the blackbuck mare, Yue whinnied an acknowledgement. She wondered, in her mind, if the beaches in the land were similar to those in her hometown.  

[Xiao Ling]

Chenoa smiled and continued galloping until the sound of the waves can be heard. She slowed down as both of them were getting closer and closer. Upon reaching, the blackbuck mare stopped under a coconut tree to rest for a while before the journey continues.

"This is the beach, it's a good place when the weather's hot, but watch out for crabs and other small inhabitants while your walking on the sand. Some tend to attack without you noticing," Chenoa explained, enjoying the sea breeze blowing towards their direction.

"You can walk around the beach if you like, the sand is soft for us to walk on. I'll join you later after this break," said Chenoa, fearing that her friend would be bored.

As the mare stood under the tree talking, she did not notice a small coconut falling. The coconut soon hit her back and then to the ground. Chenoa jumped as it hit her and moved aside, before sending a coconut a hard kick.  

[Silencer Wolf]

"Okay."

Yue'er uttered a nicker to Chenoa to bid her good rest, then made her way towards the waves in a slow canter. The mare stopped a little way into the water, enjoying the cool rising and receeding seawater lap against her much worked feet.

Yue nickered to herself and canted her to the side, letting her cream mane fall to one side and out of her face. The mare then looked around her, taking in the the sights of the beach - the sand, vegetation, rocks, sea; petty much everything, really. After she has had her sightly fill, Yue turned to face the sea and closed her eyes, letting the breeze caress her entire being.

It sure was wonderful being at the beach. Slowly, the mare felt herself relaxing, and she let out a dreamy sigh as she thought of the good times she had spent at beaches like this in her hometown, with.. yes, Wu Shen.  

[Xiao Ling]

The coconut which was kicked earlier by Chenoa somewhat cracked a little. At first Chenoa did not notice about the liquid flowing out of the slit of the coconut for she was busy shaking her leg. After seeing the liquid, the blackbuck mare decided to try a little and it taste sweet. Chenoa shivered a little and smiled slightly before calling her frend to enjoy the cocnut liquid.

"Hey Yue, come and try this out. It's sweet but nice and refreshing," called the mare to her friend loudly.  

[Silencer Wolf]

Yue snapped out of her daydream as she heard Chenoa's call, her ears pricked and focused on the cource of the sound. Opening her eyes slowly, Yue waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the light, then turned and cantered towards the blackbuck mare, still a little dreamy from before.

"Oh, what's that??" Yue asked, blinking at the hard-shelled... thing on the ground. The mare gazed at Chenoa for a moment, before approaching the fruit. Leaning down, Yue took a polite lick from the milk still dripping out of the slit, and loved it. It wasn't as sweet as other fruits, but like Chenoa said, it was rather nice and refreshing.

Yue took a few more licks at the coconut, then raised her head and gazed at Chenoa admiringly. "It's delicious!" she said, nickering. "You're amazing, knowing so many good things."  

[Xiao Ling]

"Well...," said Chenoa, feeling a little flattered over Yue's praises. "The truth is, I don't know what this fruit is. I just kicked it because it hit me on my back and it cracked. Since it's so nice and refreshing, maybe we can bring another one back and share it with others? Who knows one of them will tell us what this is," continued Chenoa, turning her head towards a coconut near the sea.

Before she could run and fetch the coconut back to the land, the coconut had already drifted further towards the sea and in no time it was out of sight. "Too bad," she thought, before turning back to her friend. "I guess we can't bring one back now," said the mare as she walked towards Yue. "The other one got away, we'll have to see whether there's another ripe one or we'll have to come back the next time to share it with the others."

Looking up to the sky, Chenoa realised that it was getting too late to continue the tour. "I guess we have to go back, it's too late to continue since the last destination is the desert. We can visit that one some other day if you like," she said. "I can't wait to tell everyone about this. Did you like the tour? I hope it wasn't boring or and plain."  

[Silencer Wolf]

"I see," Yue said, laughing. "Well, that's even better, isn't it? You've discovered a new fruit... food, thing, that both of us don't know about." She continued, chuckling.

Yue nodded her head at Chenoa's suggestion just then. Looking around, she spotted one near the sea. Like her friend, the mare galloped after the coconut only to fail to retrieve it. Looking slightly disappointed, the mare turned towards the rows of coconut trees, frowning slightly. Well, they don't look the sort to drop a fruit with a kick...

"Well, we certainly can't reach the fruits at the top, and I don't think kicking the trees will do any good either..." As soon as the words left her mouth, another ripe coconut, from the same tree Chenoa was resting under, detached itself from the latter and fell to the ground with a soft 'thup'. Yue cried out in delight and raced towards the fruit, rolling it away from under the tree in case more should decide to jump.

"Look, we got lucky! Its brother decided to fall off too!" Yue cried, laughing as she rolled it towards Chenoa. The mare shifted her gaze to the sky too, and nodded.

"It is getting late." The mare mumbled, before turning to her friend. "How time flies. I didn't realise we've been out for so long." At Chenoa's question, Yue nodded happily. "Of course I do, it's a wonderful trip! I didn't know there are so many great things here. Thank you for showing me around."

Yue smiled, one of pure sincerity and gratefulness.  

[Xiao Ling]

"I think it's best not to kick the tree, kicking the fruit is painful enough," warned Chenoa. She did not want her friend to injure her leg because of a kick.

Chenoa turned quickly as she heard a "thup" noice from a distance. So, a coconut had fallen off the tree. The mare was excited as the coconut was rolled towards her direction. "Lucky! We can share it now," she exclaimed, kicking slightly due to excitement. "Hopefully Maralah will be in to help us and we'll share it with everyone in her home. If not, I guess we'll have to hop around to move," she said, laughing.

The mare smiled for her friend enjoyed the tour. "I'm glad that you had a great time and enjoyed yourself. We really have to go now. Come on, follow me," she said, leaving the beautiful and peaceful beach, where one can see the sunset.  

[Silencer Wolf]

"It's that hard? Ouch." Yue then laughed, picturing both of them hopping all over the place just for the sake of cracking open the big new fruit.

Reaching down towards the coconut, Yue picked it up by the stalk with her teeth and trotted after Chenoa in the direction of Maralah's teepee as the sun started to set, casting its beautiful evening rays on the land.  

[Xiao Ling]

... two weeks later

The Disappearance of Yue

The day was getting darker as the sun disappeared from the sight. Chirpping of the crickets and birds can be heard for the birds were going back to their nest from a distance not too far from the lake and a teepee beside it where a native american girl called Maralah resides. It was unusual for this native girl to tidy her teepee at this hour for it was too dark for her to see. After tidying, she yawned and went into her teepee to sleep. "Good night everyone," she called to the soquilis without looking out.

Chenoa neighed back as the girl bid her goodnight. Without waiting for the other soquilis to call back, she bent her neck down and closed her eyes. A few moments later she opened her eyes and looked around the surrounding. Where was Dynasty and Yue? They should be here by this time. Feeling worried, the mare walked around to search for their friends but it did not success.

At first Maralah did not notice the difference and went back to sleep. She then opened her eyes and felt something strange. She could only hear one soquili neighing back to her instead of three. Maralah then quickly got up and ran outside with a small torch lighted up. She looked around and saw a pair of eyes going towards her. Feeling frightened, Maralah pointed the torch at the eyes. With the help of the lights, Chenoa was revealed slightly and the native girl sighed in relief and stroke the mare. "Oh, you silly girl! Don't frighten me like that in the future," she said, laughing slightly.

Chenoa neighed and stomped the ground slightly in urgency. "Dynasty and Yue are missing!" she said in soquili language. "We have to find them," she continued, tugging Maralah's cloth slightly and walked towards the forest.

Maralah did not understand a single word from what Chenoa said. She was planning to search at the edge of the lake when she was tugged by the mare. The girl the finally understood what Chenoa was talking about. "So you want me to go to the forest to look for them with you? With my walking speed I guess we'll have to take the whole night to find them," she said, stroking the mare's back. "I'm sure they will come back soon. Just go back to sleep, it'll be more dangerous if we go and look for them. There are predators everywhere and I'm sure one of them will kill us for food.

Chenoa was about to protest when she heard Maralah's explanation. The girl was right. There are many predators out there at night and the mare was not strong enough to fight them. It would be better to leave them and went back to sleep. Who knows they will be back soon like the girl mentioned. With this she calmed down and licked the girl slightly before going back to sleep.

"Good girl," said Maralah as she was licked. "Just go back to sleep and stop worrying about them." The girl then returned to her teepee and before entering it, she blew the torch hard and the lights went out and the girl went back to sleep.