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 Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:00 am
Cast list:     Quote: It was long before Blue Whisper first met Arudia, before he was lost and confused in the woods of Dream Valley. And it happened on a normal day like any other. An explosion shook the house. On a typical day, rather. There was little normal in this herd, but they were all used to it. It was part of the cost of living with Azure, and they loved her, so it was worth the cost, or so they thought. But none of them could have predicted the cost that day. Quote:
Blue had been sprawled out on the floor, reading a magazine.Quote:
Sunillia was in the well lit kitchen, feeding the birds, and thinking about what she would make for dinner. It was a fairly domestic scene. Until the third explosion. Quote:
Tarin poked his head out of the workshop. It was kept well away from the main house, for reasons such as this. He gave Sunilia a weak smile. “Ah, sorry,” the young kirin apologized bashfully.Quote:
“Why should you be sorry?” Sunilia asked, rolling her eyes and snorting a bit. “Did you blow up the table?”Quote:
“How did she know the table was blown up?” came a voice from inside the workshop.Quote:
Tarin sighed and glanced back, his mate looked so cute when she was perplexed. Quote:
“I’ve gotten used to the sound of clay shattering,” Sunilia said dryly.Quote: “But everything I use is made of clay,” Azure said, blinking. “How did you know it was the table?” Quote: “Because this is the third time today?” Tarin said, chuckling. He went back in to fix the table. Quote: Azure looked around outside some, blinking. “Bright,” she commented. Quote:
“If you ever came outside, you’d be used to it. In fact, that’s a brilliant idea.”Quote: "What's a brilliant idea?" Azure asked her sister. Quote: "You coming outside and getting some sun. You spend all day in that crowded lab bit your beakers and potions. Rejoin the living!" Quote: Azure blinked at her older sister, Sunilia. "But I am with the living." Quote: "And we're glad you and your mate are so close," Sunilia chided, "but the rest of us miss you too. Right Blue Whisper?" She called in to him.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:07 am
Quote: "Uh, yeah, sure, whatever you say," Blue called in, sounding bored. Quote: "BLUE WHISPER!" Sunilia scolded. Quote: He got up and trotted over, sharing the large kitchen window with Sunilia so he could see Azure. "Kidding, kidding," he said softly. "Of course we miss you." Quote: "That's better," Sunilia huffed. Quote: "Some one has to help set the table," Whisper said with a grin. Quote: "If you're not going to help, go clean something!" Sunilia snapped Quote: "See?" Sunilia said, "Family. Now get inside and be a part of it." Quote: Azure laughed and started to nod, when something caught her eye. "What...." Quote: Azure strode up to her sister and reached past her for a dangling vine. Quote: "Azure?" Sunilia asked, hoping to snap her sister out of the trance like state she sometimes got into randomly. Quote: "How long have we had this?" Azure asked. Quote: "Had what?" Sunilia asked, exasperated.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:17 am
Quote: "Azure, honey, that's a vine," Sunilia said, straining to be patient. Sometimes it was hard to remember that her sister had a genius IQ. Quote: "I've been looking for this!" Azure said, getting excited. Quote: Sunilia sighed. It was going to be one of those days, apparently. "For that vine?" Quote: "Yes!" Azure said triumphantly. then she blinked. "What? No.. I mean yes, this vine... but not this vine... but this vine..." Quote: "She was looking for a vine of that type, but not that specific vine," Tarin translated, coming back from the workshop. Quote: "Yes!" Azure said, her face lighting up. Literally. Quote: Sunilia sighed. "Tarin, I don't know what I'd do without you. No, I do know, what I don't know is how I'd hide the body." Quote: Tarin chuckled. "Then I'm all the more glad to be here." he nuzzled his mate. "And you'd miss her, you know you would." Quote: "Of course I would!" Sunilia snapped. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It wasn't Tarin she was annoyed with. And she really was trying to be better about her temper. Quote: Sunilia snorted. "Is my temper really that short, or are my siblings really that frustrating?" she asked him. Quote: "Some of both, I'd think," Tarin answered both diplomatically and honestly. Quote: "Tarin?" Azure asked. It was one of those times it was hard to tell if she was reminding herself who some one was, or trying to get their attention. Quote: He nuzzled her softly. "I'm right here love," he said gently. "What is it?" Quote: "the table?" she asked, nuzzling him back briefly.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:30 am
Quote: Tarin shook his head and sighed lightly, blowing air through her pretty mane. "All fixed, Azure," he assured her. Quote: Azure nodded once and drifted back towards her workshop with the vine. Quote: "She's lucky to have you," Sunilia noted, watching Tarin drift after his mate. She honestly wasn't sure if she had actually intended for him to hear. Quote: "Not nearly as lucky as I am to have her," Tarin answered, walking back. He had faith that she wouldn't blow herself up in his absence, so long as it was brief. After all, plants had to be treated and reduced before being added to a potion. That was one thing she was never vague on, he craft. Quote: Sunilia chuckled lightly, though her eyes were wistful. Quote: "Sunny?" he asked, using her childhood nickname from her siblings. The odd thing was that now that they were all grown, he was the only one allowed to use it, and he hadn't even known them then. Quote: She shook her head softly. "Must be nice, is all," she said softly, not wanting her siblings to over hear her. She loved them, with all her being, she loved them. She couldn't, however, talk to them about certain things. Oddly, her sister's mate, she could. He was more like a best friend then a brother in law. Quote: "Being that single focused?" Tarin guessed. Quote: Sunilia shook her head. "The both of you. Being that in love. Must be nice." Quote: Tarin smiled warmly. "It is. And you could be too, you know." Quote: Sunilia shook her head. "Not while they still need me," she said softly. "Azure has you, and while I would like to think that I am still needed, I can admit that you could probably handle her if I went to have my own life. But Blue... Whisper's as much a kid as she is in some way. Until I see him happy and taken care of, I'm a spinster," she said. Then she shook her head. "Don't you go pitying me, Mister Tarin, don't you dare. I love my siblings, I love my life. Getting wistful once in a while is not the same as being resentful. I know this is my choice, and I wouldn't change it." Quote: "Never said you would," he said gently. "And I never said there was anything wrong with being wistful, or with your choices. It's not like we're growing old rapidly. Whisper will find some one, and so will you. When it happens, it happens. Surely Azure wasn't looking for a mate when she found me, and neither was I." Quote: Sunilia nodded a bit. "Anyway, another reason I can't land a mate yet," she said with a rueful grin. Quote: "And what would that be?" Tarin asked Quote: She snort laughed at herself. "My temper. Until I can leash that, I'd find some one, fall in love and chase him off with my sharp tongue."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:53 am
Quote: Tarin shook his head softly, and smoothed back Sunilia's hair. "Or perhaps you'll find a mate who loves who you are, sharp tongue and all." Quote: "Sharp tongues cut. He'd have to be a masochist." Quote: "Or have a thick hide, and enjoy a good challenge. Sunny, you'd never be an easy mark, but ponies appreciate more what they have to earn. And not only will a guy have to work to earn your affections, and to prove he can survive them, he also has to not be scum. I claim big brother in law rights to pummel him if he treats you badly. Of course, I'm sure that you'll have it well in hoof before I get there." Quote: Sunilia laughed warmly. "Thank you for that." Quote: "Nothing to thank, it's the truth," he assured her. "Of course, with a sharp tongue..." Quote: Sunilia eyed him, recognizing the turn his tone had taken. He was going to tease her, the angle was obvious, but she still did not know his target. She couldn't beat him to it, she couldn't ignore it, she couldn't change the subject, so she sighed and walked into the trap. "Yes?" Quote: "you better hope he's a vampire," Tarin said solemnly. Quote: "A... vampire...?" she asked, feeling some what dim. It wasn't often that she felt stupid. She didn't much like the feeling, but it was tempered by the fact that she cared for Tarin, and he for her. Quote: "Yep," he said with a nod. "A vampire." Quote: "I don't get it," she admitted, a thing her siblings would have been shocked to observe. For once she was glad they weren't anywhere near. "I'll bite," she said, then winced at her own choice of words. Quote: He chuckled, he didn't even have to set that one up. "A vampire," he explained, because they would have to like the taste of blood." He grinned. Quote: Sunilia stared at him, still not getting it. "Why would he have to like the taste of blood?" she finally asked. Quote: "Because of your sharp...oh!" he said, eyes wide, the picture of startled innocence. Quote: She didn't buy it for a second. It was one of Whisper's favorite expressions. Quote: "I'm sorry," he said, even more innocently.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:04 am
Quote: Yeah, she really wasn't buying it, and her expression told him so. At least she hoped it was. Quote: "No one ever taught you how to kiss?" he asked, seeming in shock. Quote: Her eyes went wide and she didn't know if she was blushing or had paled. "YOU LITTLE BRAT!" she roared. Quote: Blue whisper dodged under his bed. He Didn't know what he had done to upset Sunilia, but it had to have been bad. He tried to think back if he had left anything gross in the kitchen. He hadn't. Didn't stop him from shuddering. Quote: Tarin laughed as he dashed away to the workshop. Quote: Sunilia tried pushing her way out of the window by sheer brute force. She was going to PUMMEL him! However large the window was, it was not large enough to admit a full grown pony through it. Quote: Hearing her crash around, and still unable to fathom what he could have done wrong, Blue Whisper began contemplating escape routes. Quote: Tarin, laughing, ducked in to see what his mate was doing. Quote: Azure was smiling at some pale blue fog in a clear clay beaker. Clear clay was very very hard to make, as it was borderline glass, which was outside his expertise. Azure had, however made something ages ago to amplify his abilities for short bursts. Quote: Tarin smiled and nuzzled her. Quote: Azure giggled and very nearly dropped the flask. "Not now," she murmured. Quote: "What are you working on, love?" he asked. Quote: "Pain medication, to make ponies forget how much pain they're in until a healer can reach them." Quote: "Why not just make a healing potion then?" he asked, "If they're going to have to carry this around anyway?" Quote: Azure shook her head. "Healing potions have to be tailored to the individual wound, illness, poison, and pony."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:24 am
Quote: "I've seen a lot of generic potions for sale," he mused. He did not think his mate was lying, clearly, and he doubted there was something she failed to grasp about potions that mass manufacturing ponies grasped, so clearly, he was missing something. Quote: Azure shook her head again. "Those are fine, but by being able to pander to such a wide verity of variables, they are inevitably weaker. After all, taking a cure for stomach pains when you do not have them can actually give them to you. This however targets the mental capacity to recall the physical sensation of pain. But it's still hard to make it work, since different ponies' brains are different." Quote: He loved her. Every moment of every day since he met her. But he did have to admit, if only to himself, that he loved her most at times like this. In her workshop, surrounded by her brews and elixirs, here she was at her most lucid. In this context she could put him into the dirt mentally, could out scholar anyone. And if the trade off for that was that she was a bit vague and easily distracted outside of the lab, well then, that was fine. It gave him a chance to be of use to her. Besides repairing the things she blew up, anyway. Well, progress was not made without risks. So long as she was safe and unhurt, he'd happily repair the table a hundred times over. A day. "What do you still need?" he asked. Quote: She made a popping sound with her lips. "Not sure. But something. It's unstable right now." Quote: "Will it blow up?" he asked, eying the swirling mist apprehensively. Quote: "Hmm?" she asked as she fetched down a bowl of blue powder. "Oh, possibly. Maybe even probably. But it should only take out the table." Quote: "Again?" he asked, doing his best to keep his tone light. Shields. Shield magic. Why couldn't he have shield magic? Anyone so closely involved with an alchemist should know some way to protect her... Where was Kokie when he needed him? Quote: She gave him an unsure but game smile. Quote: In the house, Sunilia had calmed down. It wasn't like she had actually been angry. But still. Some moments he was a comforting shoulder, an ear, a confidant, and some moments he was a bratty little brother. Just like Blue. She huffed and decided to vent her anger on him. She strode into the front yard. It had been his chore to weed the lawn. She was sure he hadn't done it yet, but for fairness' sake, she had to actually look and find proof of his sloth. Not so much because she owed it to him to be fair, as the fact that there was nothing more irritating then working up a good rant, just to have it undermined by facts. Quote: Blue Whisper heard Sunilia slip out the front door. He bolted for the kitchen as quietly as he could. The plan was simple and formed in an instant. Out the back into the yard, past Azure's workshop, into the woods, and hide out until morning. Give her a chance to cool her head. Sure, he'd catch it for ducking out, but she'd be calmer then. Quote: "Opps?" Tarin asked, paling. Opps... could mean a lot of things. Quote: Azure looked up at Tarin. "Recall how I said possibly?" he asked. Quote: "About it possibly blowing up?" he asked, licking his lips nervously. Quote: "Yeah," she agreed. "About that."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:34 am
Quote: "I recall..." he said, wishing she would get to the point. Quote: "It's not a possibility anymore," she told him softly. head tilted. Quote: He sighed in relief a bit. It was moments like this that let him feel he understood exactly how Sunilia felt. "That's good." Quote: "That it's not going to blow up," he said. Usually she was lucid here, but he supposed she had her moments of each in either place. But why was she looking at him like he was a few points short of a passing grade? Quote: "I never said that," she said slowly to him. Quote: "You said it was no longer a possibility." Quote: "That is correct," she verified. Quote: He groaned a bit. "What am I missing, my love? Clue a kirin in?" Quote: She shook her head a bit, as if she was disappointed in him. "It is no longer a possibility, because it has become a certainty. The mixture is going to combust." Quote: "Can't you stop it?" he asked, alarmed. Quote: "Would have if I could have, but as I could not, I will not," she said. Quote: "Would if you could, but you can't so you wont?" he asked weakly. Quote: "That's what I said..." she said, eying him again. Quote: "how soon?" he asked with a groan. If the explosion didn't kill him, this conversation very well might. Quote: "Until the explosion?" she asked, to verify.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:46 am
Quote: "Yes," he confirmed, tightly. Quote: "Oh, any moment now, I imagine," she said. Quote: "Then why aren't we running?" he asked, alarmed. Quote: "Oh!" she said, blinking. "That would be a good idea, wouldn't it?" she asked. Quote: That was what she lost lucidity on?! "Come on!" he called, booking it out of the lab. "How wide will the blast radius be?" he asked as he ran. "Just the table?" he asked, figuring that was too much to hope. Quote: "It may reach the edge of the house, into the woods a bit." Quote: Tarin had to remind himself that he was not a pony prone to cursing. Quote: Blue Whisper saw Azure and Tarin racing away from the workshop. They didn't seem to notice him. That could only mean one thing, an explosion was imminent. Which meant the heat would be on Azure, not him. Perfect. New plan. Get into the woods before the kaboom. The explosions never went that far. Then after the explosion he could make his way back safely, ask if everyone was okay, and not be in trouble. Perfect. He still didn't know what he had done wrong anyway. Quote: Tarin tore around to the front of the house. Quote: Azure ran close behind him until she stopped.She thought she had seen something. Had that been Blue Whisper heading for her workshop? He shouldn't be there! Why shouldn't he be there? Oh yeah, he'd mess her stuff up. She started back. Quote: "Azure!" Tarin called, skidding to a halt as he saw her stop. Quote: "Blue what?" he asked. Normally he'd play twenty questions until he had figured out what had called her attention away, but now he just wanted to know if it was important or not. Quote: "Blue what?" she repeated, trying to remember. What had she seen? she looked around. Quote: Tarin groaned. "Come on Azure!"
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:08 am
Quote: Azure nodded. She saw a pretty blue flower and headed for it. Quote: "Azure, this way!" he called. Quote: Azure turned and followed him. Something was bugging her, at the edge of her mind. Something about A gas cloud, her brother, her lab. She almost had it, almost. Quote: He saw Sunilia and stopped beside her panting. Quote: Azure pursed her lips. Almost.She almost had it. Her brain felt foggier then usual. She thought it did anyway. It was hard to remember how it usually felt. She supposed that made sense. Feelings were hard to actually remember. More often, ponies imagined how they would have felt, rather then remembering the exact feeling. Quote: Sunilia looked up from the almost disappointing lack of weeds. Not only couldn't she yell at Blue, he had done such a good job she had to think of something good to do for him. She was really bad at that. She blinked, seeing the panic on Tarin's face. "What happened?" she asked, alert at once. Azure was with him, she hadn't heard an explosion... "Where is Whisper?" Quote: "Blue!" Azure said. She could almost, almost remember, almost. A scent tickled her nose and she sneezed. Quote: Tarin shook his head. "Haven't seen him, I think he's inside. Azure's latest explosion is going to blow any second." Quote: Sunilia narrowed her eyes, ready to call Blue to get his tail down and out this instant. "how bad?" she asked tersely, snapping out the question at Tarin, knowing he would more likely give her an answer that wouldn't take an hour to decipher. Quote: "She said tot he edge of the house and woods maybe. Blue's windows face the other way, and we should be fine here." Quote: Sunilia sighed and relaxed a bit. "Shield magic, you couldn't know shield magic?" she asked Tarin. Quote: Tarin opened his mouth to reply. Quote: A muffled WOOMF issued from the workshop. No fire, no pyrotechnics, no big loud destructive explosion. A sound not unlike Nightcrawler of the Xmen bamphing about. Quote: Tarin risked a glance around the building. Quote: There was a huge cloud of blue smoke issuing from the lab, but the wind was blowing it into the woods. It passed through the trees, away from the house. Nothing in its' path seemed harmed. Quote: Sunilia sighed, joining Tarin, watching that. "We'll go in through the front and close the windows, but it seems harmless enough for once. Lets head in. I'll let Blue know it's his turn to set the table." she headed in through the front, well away from the seemingly innocuous smoke.Quote: Tarin nodded and lead Azure inside before he went around and shut the windows. Quote: Sunila made her way to Blue Whisper's room. The door was wide open, but he was no where in sight. Sunilia checked the house but he was really nowhere at all. "HAS ANYONE SEEN BLUE WHISPER?!" Sunilia called out in the tone of voice that should have brought the boy out of the woodwork. Quote: "Not since earlier today," Tarin said, coming over. Quote: "I am going to kill that boy," Sunilia growled. "Playing his games when... unless..." Quote: Tarin shook his head, jumping to his mate's defense at once. "He's probably playing some trick or other. Azure got a wiff of that smoke before we fled, and she's fine. We'll get him after it clears out. Quote: Azure sat down... Something about Blue and smoke. The smoke was blue, but that wasn't quite it... Quote: Blue Whisper looked around the woods as a heavy blue smoke settled around him. It made the air oddly cold and moist. He shuddered and ran to get out of it. He would be running the same direction as the smoke, that would just figure, he thought to himself. He kept running until he felt ready to collapse. But thankfully the smoke was gone. He dragged himself to a stream and sipped from it, taking stock. He was hungry. It had to be nearly dinner time. Blue blinked as he realized he had no clue what he wanted to eat. How odd, he couldn't recall what he liked. He wondered who he could ask, since that was such a peculiar thing to forget. He looked around and realized he was quite alone. Whisper shuddered. Had he always been so alone? He felt suddenly lonely and homesick, which was odd... because he couldn't remember his home. He gave a small soft whimper. Blue whisper pulled himself to his feet. He had been heading this way before, maybe that way was home. He started walking deeper into the woods, hoping that familiar sights would jog his memory, but nothing looked familiar at all. Shuddering, he made his way into the night. Quote: Back home, Azure sneezed and gave up on remembering what ever it was that she had supposed that she might have forgotten.
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