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 Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:36 am
After eating the berries Prism waited for Aquitaine to do her inspection. At least this was a slight distraction from waiting for news of his foal. The pain in his leg was bad, but not stop doing everything kind of bad. He knew, from what Aquitaine had told him before, that initially any use of his leg would cause pain due to the lack of use and from the muscles and bones healing. With time the pain would lessen and eventually go away. "No, the pain isn't all that bad." He finally said. "I think I can walk a ways still." Perhaps even more than he was thinking at this time if the berries and herbs did their job.
Hearing hoof beats, Prism looked up to see Ipswich returning. His eyes immediately went to behind her, concerned that she was running too fast, but there was no foal behind her and that nearly broke his heart. When she announced that his foal was alive and that it had followed someone out of there he nearly cried. Actually, a moment later tears began to roll down his checks. So his mistake might just have a happy ending. He looked at the scraps of the basket, recognizing the colors and subtle patterns on them as that from the basket he last saw days ago. "Thank you." He said to Ipswich fighting back his tears. "I still regret what I did, not telling you sooner, but it seems things might have worked out." He wanted to go and find his foal, but he was still in need of a healer to tend to him, so that was out.
Aquitaine nodded. "Then we shall continue on until you need to rest for the night." But what direction they would travel would depend on the news that Ipswich brought back. Speaking of which, she turned at her daughters return. No foal followed the younger mare and there was a moment when Aquitaine thought that bad news would come. But then her daughter announced that the foal was alive. This was great news. While they had no idea who had found the foal or what their intentions with it were, at least seeing tracks meant that most likely the foal was safe and being taken care of. "This is good news. How old would you say the tracks were?" She asked her daughter, curious to try to figure out how long ago the foal emerged from the basket.
Turning her attention to Prism she noted the tears. "I am sure whoever found your foal is taking care of it for you." She told the stallion. "This is incentive for you to get better, so we can track down your foal." She knew there was a chance that they would never find the foal, no matter how long and wide they searched, but Prism needed something to strive for with his recovery.
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:54 am
Ipswich considered her mothers question for a few moments before shifting her feet slightly "It was hard to say - I found the tracks in the mud beside the stream and once they got into the forest they dissipated completely on the leaf litter, but maybe a few days? It certainly wasn't really recent..but I think your right, whomever took the foal is probably taking good care of it - they weren't in a rush when they left and there were no signs of a struggle." She offered. Ipswich wished that she could offer more information but she wasn't a tracker, not really and she lacked more then just the simple knowledge she had already been able to deduce.
"How is your leg? Did it withstand the climb okay?" She finally asked as she hadn't stuck around when they reach the top to find out.
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 11:18 am
"Yes, I must get better to find my foal." Now that he knew his foal was alive, he felt that push to live again, to heal, become strong and then become the father he needed to be for his foal. He would need to fully recover, then he could search the lands for his foal. At least he had a single clue to go by, they were headed North, according to what Ipswich had found with the tracks. Taking hold of the pieces of basket Prism carefully placed them in his mane. He had used this trick to carry a few light items in the past, so he figured it would be a safe place to carry the basket pieces.
He turned his attention to Ipswich. "The pain is bearable. The herbs your mother just gave me will help." The knowledge that, a few days ago at least, his foal was alive and traveling with someone lifted his heart. He wanted to know if it was a filly or a colt, whether it took after himself or Poppins and everything else he could learn about his child. It would not happen today, but soon he would be able to start the search. Getting back on his feet, which seemed easier than before thanks to the berry and herbs kicking it, he looked at the two mares. "Where do we go from here?" While he wasn't looking forward to more walking, he knew it would do him good in the long run, strengthening his leg.
Aquitaine nodded. If the tracks were a few days old the foal and adult could be quite some distance away, and with Prism still on the mend they couldn't exactly wander the lands at the moment. It would stress his leg out too much and it could lead to permanent damage. "They likely took the foal someplace safe to care for it. But they could be days away depending on if they live close by or if they were a wanderer." But they had the starting point for the search when the time came.
Turning her attention back to Prism she assessed the stallion as he stood. He looked sore but was willing to keep going further. And he was now determined to heal. The want to heal, in her opinion, could decrease the time it took one to heal. "The best course of action is to take you back to our home, like we had originally planned. You still need time for that leg to fully heal and to regain the strength back in it. If you are to find your foal, we must tend to that first. After that the search can begin." She paused looking North for a moment. Somewhere out there was Prism's foal. "We will go at your pace, don't stress your leg too much or the healing time with lengthen. It will be quite the hike to our home." She set off slowly, starting the next leg of their journey, the next step to Prism's recovery.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 10:22 am
Ipswich nodded along with her mothers plan - it was indeed the best bet as far as she could see - while she knew that Prism wanted to look for his foal she also knew that there was no way they would be able to catch up with whomever had found it with his leg messed up..and if they ran into trouble what would they do then? no getting him healed up and then going from there was the best choice by far.
"The ocean will be a nice place for you to gain muscle strength in your leg without straining to much as well..it will speed your recovery time a good bit." She encouraged Prism knowing that such things would be important to him. With one last glance behind her at the ravine she fell in line behind her mother and Prism as they started the journey to the beach.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 10:32 am
It took them several days to make the journey home, but Aquitaine was happy to see that Prism's leg was holding up to such use shortly after she had healed it with her magic. It showed that she had indeed channeled enough of her power into the break that it sped up the healing by a lot. Finally with their home in sight Prism could truly rest and recover. "There is it." She announced to the stallion. "Those trees are where we make our home. They create a nature break from the beach and meadow. Nearly everything we could ever need can be found within a short walk of our home." It was one of the reasons she had decided to stay here after she had grown.
"Ipswich, why don't you run ahead and make sure there is a grove cleared for Prism to stay in." She suggested to her daughter. The journey had been long on all of them, but she had been so proud of Ipswich and how she had helped out. Her daughter might not have found her direction in life yet, but she had so many skills at her disposal Aquitaine knew she would be good at whatever she chose. "And if you see your father let him know we will be having a visitor for a while." She knew Agave would be fine with Prism staying, but it was always nice to have a bit of warning about such things.
The journey had been a long one, but finally Aquitaine had announced that they were there - or darn close to it. He stopped and looked up towards the trees. It looked like a pleasant place to live and nodded as Aquitaine spoke of the plentiful resources to be found in the area. It had been hard to leave the area of the ravine, mostly because he knew that somewhere out there was his foal. But the knowledge that someone had found the foal, and was hopefully taking care of it, eased his mind a bit. Still the sooner Aquitaine saw him home and to full strength then the sooner he could go out looking for his foal.
"It looks like a nice place." He said as he started off again. The long travel had been hard on his leg, but soon he would be able to rest it more regularly and give it the strengthening it needed to see him through the coming search.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 11:23 am
Ipswich didn't think she had ever been more happy to see the beach again. Once in a while she thought it was boring and would dream of leaving it - but these trips with her mother only made her realize that she loved the beach far to much to ever leave it for very long. In any case she was more then willing to run ahead and find her father and get a grove ready for Prism.
Catching sight of her green father as she raced by she yelled at him "Hey dad! Mom brought home a patient!" Before continuing on to the groves.
Agave had been watching his mate and daughter approach for quite a while, alongside Aquitaine was the limping form of another - a stallion based on the scent he was catching in the air. It was easier to see this then it had once been..and made even easier by the others obvious injury. It was hard to be jealous or feel threatened by someone who was so obviously hurt. Shaking his head slightly as his daughter rushed by Agave moved forward to greet his mate and check out this new patient.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 11:32 am
Aquitaine smiled as her daughter rushed off. She could tell that Ipswich was happy to finally be home. Her eyes moved to the green form of her mate coming towards them and her smile grew. With Prism limping beside her she closed the gap between them and nuzzled Agave as she came to a stop. "I missed you." She told him before looking towards Prism. "Prism, this is my mate Agave." Her gaze turned to her mate once more. "He will be staying here for a while so he can recover from a broken leg." She could fill him in on the greater details of how they found him and his already long road to recovery later.
Knowing Prism wouldn't have a lot of energy left she motioned towards the trees. "Just a little bit further and you can rest that leg."
Prism watched as Ipswich took off and then turned his attention to the approaching Soquili. His eyes took in the green coloring, but what truly caught his attention when the stallion was closer was the spikes all over his body...and did he have multiple eyes as well. If he hadn't already come to accept Aquitaine and her odd looks he might have tried to get out of here as quickly as his limp could carry him. As he was introduced Prism nodded to the stallion. "Your mate was kind enough to offer me a place at your home while I recover." And then he tacked on. "I will only stay as long as I need to. I don't want to impose anymore than I already have." His gaze shifted to the trees a short distance away. It would be good to get off his leg for a bit. While the walking would help rebuild the muscles, it had also been almost more than he could manage. But he wanted to push himself to heal as fast as possible so he could go find his foal.
"I look forward to resting." He finally said, pulling his gaze away from the nearby trees.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 11:49 am
Even after all this time Agave still found it difficult to completely reign in the lessons of his childhood, the impulse to puff out his chest and threaten this newcomer with violence and harm if he should pose a threat to his family - it was silly and outdated and he wasn't that sort of stallion anymore..but once in a while those possessive ugly feelings still reared their ugly head. This stallion was weak, he would be a drain on their supplies, he would take up a good portion of Aqutaine's time which was all the more precious given how long she had been away this time, he could be working for his mother and it would be so easy to just..do away with him.
But he wouldn't and really he didn't even want to, he had a choice now and he choose to take a deep breath of his mates scent and nuzzle her, her sweet voice chasing away any lingering ugly thoughts like the light chased the shadows each morning. "I missed you too." He told her softly, waiting with his muzzle pressed against Aquitaines neck until he knew the possessive, ugly thoughts of before had been chased out of his eyes before turning to look at this Prism.
"You are welcome to stay for as long as you need." He told the other graciously, a tone that he had learned from the mare beside him. Without her, being gracious would be a treasure he would have never known.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 11:57 am
Aquitaine smiled at her mate. She knew he occasionally struggled with her being away, and from lingering thoughts of his past, but he was doing so good now in his life. They had worked long and hard to get him to the point he was at now. But now, with Prism here to watch over, she would not be traveling for a while, outside of the occasional herb run. But if Prism kept up the positive thinking and worked hard every day, he would be fully recovered in no time.
"Let's see if Ipswich has that grove ready for you." She suggested. They had traveled quite a distance these last few days, and it was time for him to be rewarded with a good long break from walking. Aquitaine began walking towards the groves, making sure there was nothing on the trail that Prism might trip over.
Prism nodded as Agave spoke. "I appreciate that." While Agave didn't look like the most welcoming Soquili, he could head the sincerity in the stallions voice. Even so, he did not want to overstay his welcome. Aquitaine had already gone above and beyond for him, and he could only hope that one day he could repay her, repay her family for the kindness that they were showing him.
Following Aquitaine he was looking forward to just laying down for a while. The herbs he had taken earlier in the day were helping to block out most of the pain, but he knew he was at an end of his strength. Sleep would likely come easy today, as his body was exhausted.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 6:38 am
Agave dipped his head in acknowledgment of the other stallions words, while the thought of a stranger staying with them still bothered him somewhere in the darker recesses of his mind Agave found her could ignore those nagging thoughts. This was important to Aquitaine, without healing she simply wouldn't be the Soquili she was and because of that Agave would support her in any way he could along this venture.
Letting the other's take the lead Agave fell in behind the group as they made their way to the groves.
"I have everything all ready!" Aquitaine called out as she saw the group approaching "I even added some new fronds so that you'll have a comfortable place to stay, once you've rested we can show you the way to the watering holes and grazing areas." She went on, moving out the way so that Prism could make his way in.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:03 am
Aquitaine smiled at her daughter as she led Prism towards the grove. Their area had several extra groves that any passerby could use if needed. They were rarely used, but she tried to make sure that they were in useable shape at all times. It took a few moments to get to the grove but Aquitaine could see it was in fine shape, thanks to Ipswich's last minute cleaning and sprucing up. "Here we are." She said turning to Prism once he had followed her inside.
She looked towards the fresh pile of fronds. It would make a nice bed for him, soft and yet supporting on his leg.
"Thank you." He said to Ipswich after she had spoke. "I would like to see where everything is once my leg has been rested a bit." Knowing where to find food and water would be important to his recovery. Following Aquitaine into the grove he nodded his approval. It was a decent size. Enough for him to lay down comfortably, even move around quite a bit without worrying about the trees being in his way. It was more than he was expecting. But then again, in the days he had been with Aquitaine and her daughter he had learned that they went out of their way to make him comfortable. "It looks very comfortable." He limped over to the pile of fronds and lowered himself down. The bedding was soft, but not so soft that he would have a hard time getting up. "This will do nicely." He said with a smile
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:15 am
Seeing that everything was taken care of and knowing that having them all stand around and stare at Prism would be awkward Agave bumped Aquitaine with his nose to let her know he would be nearby before slipping off to handle other things. There was no point in sticking around while his mate ensured the stallion was settled and with dusk coming on shortly he wanted to double check that no one had followed the injured stallion back to his home -some habits were just to hard to break and really he wasn't sure if being cautious was one that he should ever try to break.
"I'm going to go and find Eadric." Ipswich told her mother once Prism had settled "Let him know there's a guest using this grove so he doesn't try to build something in t or something." She said with a sigh, it was a good excuse to go and find her brother but really she just wanted to say hi after being gone for so long.
"Just call if you need something!" She told oth her mother and Prism before nodding her head to them both and trotting out of the grove.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:29 am
Aquitaine glanced over her shoulder at the nudge and nodded to Agave. She understood why he wasn't sticking around. At this point there wasn't much to do but to get Prism settled and leave him to rest. "Alright." She said to Ipswich as the young mare also made her exit. Now that left just her and Prism. "Eadric is one of my sons." She explained to Prism as he settled down. "Casimir is my other son. You may see them when you are up and moving around on the beach." There was only a small chance to he would see Casimir, but she thought it was important for him to know just how many others lived in this stretch of land.
"Is there anything you need before I go?" She asked. It had been a long day for all of them, and while she knew Prism was eager to rest, she wanted to make sure he had everything he needed before he went.
Prism watched Agave and Ipswich go. Seeing Aquitaine's family together like that, it made Prism's drive to get better and find his own foal grow more. Turning his attention back to Aquitaine he shook his head. "No. The only thing I need right now is rest." His body was sore and tired from the long journey here, but he didn't mind so much.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:31 am
Aquitaine nodded. "Then I shall leave you to rest." She moved to the edge of the grove before looking back at him. "I will not be far away, so if you need anything just call out and I will come." With that she slipped away, heading to the grove she shared with Agave. Her travel pack needed to be sorted through and resupplied with herbs.
Watching Aquitaine go, Prism shifted on the fronds until he found a comfortable spot. Slowly he closed his eyes, eager to sleep after such a tiring few days. The last thing he thought about was his basket, his foal that was out there somewhere, before he drifted off into a deep sleep.
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