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 Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:59 am
 
"You can't catch me!" The white filly sang as she bounded across a stream, away from her darker colored brother.
"Yes I can, Callie!" He called back, jumping over the same stream and landing in a heap upon the other side. Quickly righting himself, the young colt raced after his twin as fast as his legs could carry him. The filly had stopped a few yards away, to make sure he was indeed chasing her, and giggled as she saw him fall, but she soon turned and dashed around a small pond. The young colt, however, crashed through the pond instead of around it, causing water to splash up and fly off in different directions. He caught up to her, grabbed one of her short tails, and gave it a gentle tug. "Tag!" He said after letting go, and bounded off in another direction. Callie giggled again, and cantered off after her brother as fast as she could.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:00 pm
Storm had not been a fool, leaving or not, she'd heard everything that passed between the two of them - and it was just as she'd thought. Funny how seers knew these things. So, infatuation or not, she was done with Melantho, as best as she could make it. In fact. . . she had a little something planned for the black if she didn't stay out of the way.
Love turns like liquid to anger.
Storm, or no storm, something had to flick her anger back around. At first she thought it was Melantho, somehow in front of her - it was impossible, but then she realized that this Nequus was much smaller and male.
A sigh of relief escaped her throat and she let out a nicker. She could see them now, two young Reya foals. What age exactly, she couldn't tell, but she intended on talking to them, and directing them in whatever direction they needed.
Which is to say - warn them about the Katilenuck.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:17 pm
 Apparently it hadn't been quite fast enough.
Melantho watched silently from the cover of the trees, wondering how long it would take the seer's mind to detect her. Aku was a long way off, hidden high in the trees and out of trouble. Just her and Storm now, no matter what the golden mare thought of her -
Or not. She almost laughed at the sight of the foals playing nearby. There was always someone, wasn't there? Well, perhaps it was for the best. Storm couldn't possibly have a problem with these two yet, and the less chances she gave the mare to get angry the better. She didn't fancy fighting her. It would be close, too close, and might result in one or both of them being seriously injured - even killed, for that matter, because she knew Storm's temper wouldn't let her stop short of anything.
For now, though, she stayed quiet and watched. If she could glean something about the seer's business on the mountain then so much the better, but if not...well, she was prepared for the worst. She didn't expect a warm welcome after choosing Aku's side.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:33 pm
The two young foals didn't notice the light rain that was falling, just as they didn't notice Storm until she'd nickered to them. They both stopped abruptly at the sound, and the sudden stop caused Damon to topple over onto the grass. Calliope, ears perked and short tails twitching, loped over to the brightly colored jala, stopping within a few feet of her. "Oooh, you look pretty," she exclaimed, commenting on Storm's gold colored coat. "Have you come to play tag, too?" She asked hopefully.
Damon had stood up again while Callie approached the mare, and he followed suit, although stopped a foot or two farther from the horned jala than Calliope had and listened to his sister before he spoke. "Ooh, yeah, you should come play tag with us!" He said excitedly, ears perked and wings outstretched. Neither of them had learned what the purpose of their wings were quite yet. They were both ignorant, as well, of Melantho's presence far off in the woods. They studied the mare before them closely, noting her distinct coloring as well as the horn on her head. As young foals, they were both completely ignorant to the stereotypes as well as the normal features of each breed. They still didn't know each of the breeds by name, nor by sight. Storm's ichsa horn, which was odd for a jala to have, was considered pretty by both of the foals, who had no idea that it shouldn't have been there in the first place. "Will you please come play tag with us?" They both asked in unison, standing side by side now, ears perked, their eyes bright and hopeful. It would be so much fun if this new mare would play with them.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:44 pm
"Well, I don't think it would hurt much," Storm smiled warmly to the two. She glanced to the glade behind her and grinned.
"I'm going to those trees there to count, you better be hiding." She gave them a wink and trotted her way over - unknowingly the direction of Melantho.
It didn't take her to long to realize that the trees in that particular spot were shaped in a very strange manner. She pinned her ears back, but didn't want to alarm the foals, so kept going forwards. She'd find out whatever it was.
A good few minutes later and she was face to face with the person she had been trying to avoid. Sighing lightly she took her place in the tree, and began to count loudly - ignoring the fact that not seconds away was Melantho who was much closer than she would have liked.
She didn't bother to look for Aku, her only guess was that he was somewhere nearby, fuming at her presence.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:59 pm
And now the game of tag was expanding. Aww. She wasn't about to interrupt them. Let Storm come to her when she would, and she'd take her as she found her. Melantho was in the mood to explain, forgive, hopefully mend some wounds. If the golden mare decided to be unpleasant again, though, she'd get what was coming to her. No more Miss Pushover.
Thoughts of the red mountain sprang into her mind, and she tried to get a glimpse of it through the trees. She'd have to be careful up there, particularly if the Katilenuck were as fanatical in their hatred of the Reya as she suspected. She'd heard stories about them of late, mostly from Jacques (dear boy) whom she'd met on her way through Shrilal. Aku had liked him, as she'd suspected he would, and she'd been rather sorry that they hadn't had time to stay and talk longer. The snowbae and Storm were polar opposites, just about - it had been a refreshing change.
Could they all be like that, though? Surely there had to be some who silently doubted the herd doctrine. There always were. She remembered the ones who had refused to serve in Meleager's herd army: her father hadn't been pleased, but he'd been forced - as a good number of them were popular Nequus - to let it slide. But then again, his herd hadn't kept slaves...
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 3:14 pm
They both gasped when Storm agreed, their eyes shining as they grinned up at her. This truly would be so much fun. But, hiding? That would be hide-and-seek, not tag, but neither of them brought it up, so neither of them said anything about it. No matter, hide-and-seek was just as much fun. Plus, both were starting to tire of tag, anyway. "Oh, good!"
"Yay, thank you!" They both exclaimed, Damon first, and then Calliope. Then they both turned as fast as their small bodies would permit without toppling over, and fled as fast as their spindly legs would carry them towards the towering trees nearby. Weaving around ponds, lakes, and streams, the two foals reached the trees within a couple of minutes. They both stopped and turned simultaneously, to ensure that Storm wasn't watching, and with excited giggles they dashed behind two of the nearest trees. No, the mare would never find them there. How could she?
"She won't find us now!" The colt said with an excited giggle, hardly able to keep still from his excitement. As it was, his tails and wings were constantly twitching and moving. It was so much fun playing with Calliope, but an adult nequus had never played with them before. The excitement was almost unbearable.
"She will if you keep talking!" Callie said with an exaggerated sigh, pouting at her brother. The trees were fairly far apart, so neither were whispering, but rather talking quite loudly so they could hear each other. It didn't occur to Callie that Storm would hear her too, and not just Damon. "So keep quiet so she won't!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 3:21 pm
Storm could have laughed herself to death right then. The foals were absolutely wonderful. In fact, she could have stayed here forever and lived with them - there wouldn't be anything wrong with it at all. Unfortunately there was that pressing concern in the back of her mind. To be that innocent again!
"I hope you didn't talk half as much when you were little," Storm chuckled softly, loud enough for Melantho, but probably not for the children. She didn't know how good their ears were.
She said nothing else, "Ready or not!" Coming out from her 'counting position' she scanned the area with her eyes. Honestly, they weren't exactly camoflauged anyways.
"Now where could they be?" she mused unconvincingly as she peered about.
She searched around for a good few minutes before she returned to the spot Melantho was and gave a wink, clearly all arguments were forgotten in the next five minutes.
"Well!" she exclaimed. "That's not who I was looking for! You're not rainbow poka-dotted." It was an invintation for Melantho to come out an join them - or at least to say she didn't have to cower behind her tree and wait for 'soft Storm to forgive her'.
Then she looped her way back towards the foals, and spotted a little swishing black tail.
"Ahah!" she said, pouncing in its direction. "Gotcha." She carefully shoved out her nose to knock the male lightly on the shoulder. "And your little sister too," she added, tagging the female with a wink.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:59 am
How good's your reading, Storm?
It was an idle thought, but she wondered, stepping out into the open, if the golden mare ever used her seer powers to adapt to people. Terrible waste if she didn't - and of course, if she wasn't reading carefully, or just didn't care to, she might miss the opportunity to avoid some mistakes. Heavens above, Melantho thought fervently, Storm had better not try to forgive her. That'd be a bit much, especially after how she'd been treating Aku...and her, for that matter. No one seemed to be safe from that temper.
The foals, up close, almost made her want some of her own. Almost. She chuckled at their abrupt discovery. "Oh, dear. You're a bit disadvantaged with your colours, aren't you? Easier to spot. But aren't you handsome, though? Come on, come out here and let me get a proper look at you."
She wasn't worried about Katilenuck wide patrols for now, if there were any. Aku would spot any danger from his vantage point long before it arrived, and she knew he'd even brave Storm to get the news to her.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:28 pm
The two foals silenced quickly when Storm wondered aloud where they were. They remained silent for several moments before they exploded into a fit of giggles, unable to hold them in any longer. "See? She can't find us anyway!"
"But she will if you keep talking!"
"No she won't!"
"Yes she will!" The young filly stomped a small hoof on the moist ground, pouting at her brother.
"No she won't!" He retorted, pouting right back at her.
"Yes she will!"
"No she--" Before the young colt could finish his reply, Storm had snuck up on him and nosed his shoulder. A small, high-pitched 'eep!' escaped him as he jumped away in surprise, which was a mistake as it caused him to topple over onto his side. He stared up at Storm, his chocolate brown eyes filled with surprise and shock. "She did find us!"
"I told you so!" The young filly said matter-of-factly, closing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at her brother. When she opened her eyes, however, they came to rest upon Melantho, which brought a smile of surprise and delight to the filly's face. The young foals had been too busy bickering to have noticed her earlier. "Oooh! Another pretty girl has come to play! Will you come play with us, too?" She inquired excitedly, bounding over towards Mel.
Damon noticed the newcomer as well, and with a grin he jumped up onto all fours and followed his sister. "Oh yes, please, come play with us too! It'll be even more fun!"
"What's your name?" Calliope asked suddenly, peering up at Mel with her curious blue eyes. "I'm Calliope!"
"And I'm Damon!" The colt said proudly, twitching his thin wings. "What's your name?" He asked of Storm, since Calliope had asked Melantho's name. It wasn't that he'd rather ask Mel her name, he didn't care which he asked. It was more that Calliope had more manners than he, and he realized when she asked Mel her name that it would be polite to ask names instead of continuing on without them. After the reminder he hurried to fix the problem by asking Storm her name, as he didn't want to sound rude.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:46 pm
Storm, however, wasn't rude, and she'd decided to stay out of Melantho's thoughts. Well, take that back, she was so infuriated that she couldn't put herself into the mind of the damn black's mind, or anyone else's for the time being, and aside from the motherly nature for the foals - she wished the world would leave her the hell alone.
"Storm," she replied absently, as if she remembered to be angry again. It seemed she couldn't be happy for too long in the presence of others.
She needed to break something, badly.
"Oh-" she worried. "Oh, I'm afraid I don't have much more time to play. I'm busy you see - adults are always thus." In fact, she needed to be going right now, but there was a set up here.
"But this beautiful lady would surely love to join in your game," she gave them a wink, and left as she always did - with no option.
There, that should keep Melantho busy for a time. Long enough for her to get way, way away. Maybe she wouldn't go to Katilenuck just yet. Maybe. . .
She let the thoughts slide over her as she picked up the pace and took for the skies.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 6:59 am
And the Jala was off. Had she read the truth, or simply balked and fled? Melantho didn't care. Storm would have to sort herself out from now on - she wasn't going to play to her the way she wanted any more. And even if she had gone to warn the Katilenuck, there would be some way around. She might have to wait, but eventually she'd see why Fyhi tel Oren had featured so strongly in her visions. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she chuckled at the exuberant foals.
"You're very kind to call me pretty," she answered. "And of course I'll play with you for a while. But I'd better warn you, we can't play here for long. You two shouldn't be so close to the red mountain - there are big, nasty Jala up there who would take you away and make you work for them forever. There'd be no more rich grass, no more sweet apples, no more fun and games. I don't want that to happen to you."
She wondered why Storm hadn't warned the children off. Hah - perhaps she'd thought twice about the Katilenuck and their ways. Perhaps she'd decided, given the events of recent times, that Reya were scum after all. It wouldn't surprise her. The golden mare seemed to be given to such knee-jerk reactions.
"For now it's all right. We're safe. My brother's in the forest, and he'll run and tell us if there's anyone coming. But we can't stay long, so don't run far! Concentrate on hiding well, and - this is important - do it quietly. Okay?"
Her cheerful, encouraging tone of voice and twinkling eyes concealed another purpose. Hiding skills, learning to be still and silent, would serve them well until they were old enough and strong enough to defend themselves. There were no parents in evidence, and someone ought to teach these two how to survive. Eden was paradise, it was true, but sometimes even paradise sees trouble.
"I'll let you two start running, then I'll close my eyes and count to twenty. Ready? Go!"
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:02 pm
"Aww..." They both murmured in unison, disappointed that the pretty golden mare wouldn't play with them anymore, but their spirits lifted as they heard the promise she made to them that Melantho would play in her place. "Okay! Goodbye pretty miss Storm!"
"Yes, goodbye miss Storm!" The two young foals called after the golden mare, then turned their bright eyes upon the black reya before them.
"But you are pretty!" The little filly insisted, peering up at Melantho. "You and Damon look alike, except he has rainbows all over him like I do!" She said proudly, prancing around in a circle around Damon and their new playmate, as if the rainbow designs she shared with her twin were a source of pride for her. "Who?"
"What are 'jala'?" Damon asked, looking up at Melantho, his soft brown eyes full of curiousity as he and Calliope listened to her explanation. "But I don't want to leave the grass and apples to work! That isn't fun! I want to play games with you and Calliope!" He insisted, his small wings and short tails twitching in agitation.
"Yes, and I don't want to leave those things either! I want to play with you and Damon, too! Why would they take us away, though?" Asked the little white filly as she watched Melantho, confusion and dismay appearing in her eyes. "We don't want to go with them up to their dirty, dusty red mountain. Why would they bring us there?" Neither of them wanted to continue playing just yet; an explanation of the behavior of these jala was what they really wanted. Instead of racing off to go practice hiding, as Melantho had suggested, they both plopped their rear-ends down on the soft, rich grass beneath them, and peered up at their new friend curiously. "Would you please tell us about the jalas?" Asked the two foals, their voices in unison.
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:13 am
Well, it was probably best they were properly informed. Relenting with a sigh, Melantho settled herself on the grass and thought. "Hmm, all right. Now let me see...where to start?"
She thought of Jacques, starting at the beginning, and decided to follow his example. "A Jala is a Nequus, like us, but without a horn. They have feathers on their wings and one long, flowing tail each. They're often very beautiful, but like all Nequus they can be cruel. It's said that a long time ago, seven Jala were born with special markings - each one looked as though they were crying, with tears spreading under their eyes. These seven Jala were the first Katilenuck, and it's the Katilenuck who live on the red mountain now. They believe that...do you know what a goddess is? It's a creature of great power, a female one, who is said to watch over Nequus. All the races of Nequus are named after gods, those are the boys, and goddesses. Jala was a goddess, and so was Reya - that's us. The Katilenuck believe that Reya, the goddess, killed their goddess Jala. That's why they hate us in particular. Now Storm, she's a Jala, but she's not a Katilenuck. That's why she didn't hurt you."
She had thought about mentioning where Storm was going, and perhaps throwing in some speculation about why, but she eventually decided that it would only confuse the issue. She didn't need to introduce the foals to the concept of betrayal just now.
"I said that they take other Nequus away and make them work. That's mostly true. But they probably wouldn't do that to you two, because you're Reya like me. If they saw us, they would be more likely to try to kill us instead. They hate us that much, you see, that they think it's okay to kill us - they think it's good to kill us, even. So if you ever see a Jala with tear-marks under their eyes...run. Run and hide, and hide quietly until they've gone." She gave them both a very solemn look. "Do you both understand?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:40 am
The both of them stared up at Melantho as she spoke, their ears alert, their eyes riveted upon the mare, and they listened intently. Jala? Goddess? Katilenuck? Reya? What was all this about? After she had finished her story, the foals sat there for a few moments, letting all that they had heard sink in. "But.." Damon began with a frown, a look of confusion on his young face, "why do they kill us when we haven't done anything?"
"Yes, why would they do that to us? We've done nothing wrong. Why should they hurt us for something someone else did long ago?"
"Yes, we understand," they said together after another pause for thought. The look of confusion remained on both their faces, however. "So.. The feathered ones with no horns are okay, as long as they aren't the ones that cry?" The young filly asked, trying to sort things out. "And, we're reya?" The foals studied the black mare in front of them, then each other, memorizing the important features.
"So reya have a curved horn and thin wings, and lots of tails with no hair?" The colt asked, looking up at Melantho with a questioning gaze, to see if he was correct. Remembering something suddenly, the little black foal looked up at the larger black mare. "And we hide good! We pick good hiding places and we're quiet! Aren't we?" He added the latter part after a pause, his tone questioning. Didn't they hide well?
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