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 Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 12:59 pm
Laughing merrily, Wildfire finally left the company of her father with a flick of her wild locks and a wayward grin. For a long time now she had seen a day like today coming, where those who 'worried' about her would attempt to corner her in some secluded grove and lay down their interpretations of 'life' and 'love.' Silly really, she loved her family and she loved her friends... she just wasn't a personal subscriber to the peculiar brand of blind devotion that appeared to come over the older generations. What need of a stallion did she have when she was more then capable of caring for herself? What void would some stranger fill by his mere presence, when she had her sister Seresai and her mentor Toujours to rely on when emotions ran high? These days the young chestnut mare had more to worry about then satisfying the whimsies of hormones and some strange social blueprint. The winter thaw was coming, and with it the Flooding of the coastal plains, when the little stream that their camp bordered became a small river. This year, rather then move, the Elderwillow soquili had forged a new agreement with their two leggers (painfully translated through a language similar to charades) where the soquili would assist with the building of a more permanent camp out of danger from the river's flood. Which meant Wildfire, as the sole soquili in the group gifted with the knack for interpreting nature and figures, was responsible for monitoring the progress of the thaw and coming up with a suitable countermeasure when the time came. Given that, today had been a rare day of leisure (Seresai had offered to fly up the mountains and take some measurements,) and her father had lept at the opportunity to corner her. Even so, she recognized his good intentions and laughed his worries off, promising only to 'think about his words' and saunter off with a chuckle. It was all so silly...!
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:02 pm
It was rather interesting, the way that two people could be told the exact same thing and react to it in two completely different ways. Indeed, there probably weren't many young adult Soquilis in existance that hadn't gotten 'the speech' at some point in time from their parents; the exact wording of 'the speech' varied from parent to parent and largely depended upon the social situation of the parents....but it tended to involve procreation, grandchildren, perhaps the importance of future generations, and in many cases finding a 'nice young mare/stallion'.
Raphael had not been exempt from the speech, though he could consider himself fortunate that he had his own parents to deal with, rather than some others out there. Having been past the first bloom of young adulthood when they'd found love in each other, Zaphiro and Hienna were hardly inclined to hurry their own children to early matehoods. Instead, they had stressed to their three children the importance of respect, mutual afffection, and most importantly true, substantiated, and well-founded love. Zaphiro and Hienna had been a love match, and their dream for their children was for them to find the same.
As the eldest son, Raphael had listened, nodded, then continued living his life as he always had; keeping an eye out for his younger siblings, especially his sister, Gemma. Always close as foals, they had maintained their bond into adulthood, right up until an obstacle of the most amiable sort had come between them; Gemma's love, Leon.
Unlike so many older brothers, Raphael had been accepting of the relationship, even when he had learned of Leon's questionable parentage. Gemma was happy, and Leon had proved to be a most pleasant stallion, truly deserving of Gemma. But even as he smiled and wished his sister the best, Raphael had been wondering exactly what he was to do now.
Having lost what in many ways had been his primary purpose, Raphael cast about at first for something new to fill the void, then finally realized that he was thinking too small. What he needed was a chance to clear his head and figure out a few things, specifically by going on a journey. Perhaps time away from the familiar would help him sort out his own priorities.
So he'd kissed his mother and nodded at his father, hugged his sister and bid his mostly silent brother adieu before starting off into the world. Thus far, things had been uneventful, but he was optimistic.
If nothing else, this new land he'd discovered was pretty!
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:59 pm
Naturally, (at least to Wildfire) the rare 'day of leisure' eventually became something of an obstacle course when she decided to cross the borders of the herd lands and meander her way down towards the clearings and the great plains. Earlier in the moon cycle, she had heard a fascinating story from Seresai's brother Tiarnan about some bizarre species of beetle that rolled about on the plains transporting little balls of dung. Sadly, as with her father and her elder brother, Wildfire enjoyed watching things shake, move, and rustle... and the stranger the object was, the longer it held her interest and piqued her curiosity. So the prospect of beetles that moved dung around for no apparent reason (if one was to believe the star-eyed Tia,) was too interesting for her to pass up.
Of course the park-like interior of the Elderwillow camp was easy to traverse, and even though the forest became dense and forbidding near the borders, she had gone on enough patrols with her brother and Toujours to know the best routes. So her estimation on time was fairly reasonable... she'd go explore a little and observe the strange beetles.. then be back in time for dinner.
Well, it had been reasonable at the time. Currently she stared with some frustration at a rather steep gorge with a small rocky stream at the bottom, debating how best to cross, unable to contain the small expletive.
"Well shoot."
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:38 pm
When one had always been in possession of something, it was hard to imagine life without it. Legs enabled one to walk and run, horns to heal, wings to fly; ground-based obstacles were nothing to one that could simply take a running leap into the air. Raphael could consider himself fortunate in that he had 'the best of everything'; from his unicorn mother, he'd inherited a horn and the ability to heal; from his wind father, he had wings to cross the sheerest cliff faces. In physical blessings, he had the trifecta.
Consequently, it was easy for him to write off challenges like a river or a gorge. As long as his wings were working, he could make it just about anywhere. However, he was still a gentleman and did not look to hoard his advantages and abilities; anyone who he could assist with hid gifts, he would. That was the first thought that crossed his mind as he flew up to the gorge and, glancing down, spied the brown mare standing on the edge. From the air, he couldn't see her expression, but as she was facing the gorge, he could only assume that it was, in some way, being problematic. Perhaps she needed to cross?
From his aerial vantage point, Raphael could see a place where a fallen tree half-covered the gorge; leaving a short enough gap for even a foal to leap with enough of a start. Tucking that information aside for now, he gracefully spiraled down towards the mare, landing a modest distance away from her and inquiring in a calm tone, "Excuse me, Miss, is there anything that I can do for you?"
From his parents, Raphael had learned the value of politeness and chivalry, and would sooner cut off a body part than ignore a mare who did, or might, need assistance. At the same time, it was not his place to burst in and assume anything, or to startle or confuse. A calm voice and good manners was all that he needed.
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