Welcome to Gaia! ::

.Basket Duty :: Orion and Imperio.
.Date :: Jan. 26, 2007.
.Type :: Formal.


The sun shone happily in the sky, its light running across the barren area. The air hung with a cold chill, the sun's light warming the environment slightly. A black basket sat innocently on the ground, a few feet from a barren winter tree.

Orion prodded the basket curiously with his nose, snorted at it thoughtfully. 'Figures that I'd get stuck with 'basket-duty' today.' The basket shook ardently at Orion's prodding, unsettling the loosely packed dirt below them.

"Oi," he said to the basket. "Next time give a guy some warning, would you?"

The basket shook again, bouncing almost happily at Orion’s response.

"Jeeze," Orion said, grinning, "Energetic little guy, aren't you?" He poked it gently with his right hoof, amusing himself with the lively shake the fiery basket gave in return. "You'll cause hell when you get out of there, ya know? Don't worry about it though, kiddo. Uncle Orion will be here to show you the ropes." He folded his legs underneath his body as he curled around the calming basket. His tail flicked as he laid his head down, readying himself and the basket for a comfortable nap. "Go to sleep now, bud. I'm tired and you kept half of the teepee up last night. I'll poke and prod at you more later."

Imperio shook his basket once again in contentment as he settled down, content on keeping his 'Uncle' Orion's company for the rest of the day.

.Do Huskies Eat Apples? :: Demon and Apple-oosa.
.Date :: Feb. 9, 2007.
.Pages in '[PRP] Do Huskies Eat Apples?.' :: 1.
.Type :: Formal.
.Status :: On-Going.


'Snow. It was finally snowing,' Demon thought, his neck craned upward as he watched the light crystals of snow fall from the darkened sky. The clouds aboce him were a ominous gray, the sun hidden beneath their layers. It had only started snowing, but a thin layer of the ice had already covered the ground, clinging to the yellowed grass. Demon smiled to himself, resisting the urge to ('ungracefully') run around in the snow like a uncouth colt.

--------------------

Apple lifted his head up and looked around the area. Looking up at the sky, he stuck out his tounge to catch the snow that was falling. Looking around not seeing anyone, the stallion lept out into a full gallop with a loud whinnie. As he ran, apple looked around to see if there were any other animals that he could talk to. Apple always acted like a colt, and he loved it.

--------------------

Demon's head shot to the direction of the incoming sound, his ears perked forward in alert. His eyes scanned over the snow covered area, searching for signs of movement. His started slightly as a gray stallion came into sight, the light coloring of his hair almost causing him to blend in with the shadows of the snow. His eyes trailed down to the markings on the stallions side, the bright red hair contrasting deeply with the rest of his body. He wondered for a moment whether calling the other over was worth it, finally deciding that he might as well. 'I haven't annoyed anyone in awhile.'

--------------------

The large gray stallion gazed around the area, until he saw a black and white figure. Squinting his eyes, it looked like this thing was a soquili and it was looking at him. Slowing down to a slow canter, Apple looked at the other Soquili. It was a stallion like himself! Trotting over to the unfamiliar Soquili, the stallion smile and greeted the other, "Hello there."

--------------------

Demon looked at the stallion calmy, his lips turning into a gracious smile. "Good afternoon," he said smoothly, ending his words with a polite bow. "My name is Demon. How do you do? Might I inquire your name?" He preened silently as he shifted to move his hair out of his eyes. His eyes ran over the stallion's, swiftly noting the floor length maine and tail. Both were a slightly untidy, the top fraying in split ends, he noticed, but that wasn't uncommon among stallion. 'Some just don't understand the importance of good hair care,' he thought pompously to himself.

--------------------

The stallion had a small smile on his face as he watched the other stallion bow in greetings. Nodding his head in short bow like motion, Apple flicked his ear at the sound of the other stallion's name. "My name is Apple-oosa, but you may call me Apple." He said with a slight flick of his tail before continuing, "I am good, and yourself?" Looking at the other stallion's markings he reminded Apple of a wolf.

--------------------

"Good afternoon, Apple. The pleasure is yours." He stared off to the side with a smirk before he answered again, "I'm brilliant, as I always am. After all, how can someone as beautiful as myself not be wonderful." Demon sighed dramatically for effect. "My prowess is just emphasized by the snow, is it not?"

--------------------

The stallion listened to the other, but didn't really listen to himself brag about how good he looked, instead Apple was looking around the horizon wondering if he would find a friend of his. "I guess." He said trying not to be rude.

--------------------

Demon ignored the stallion's tone, already used to Damascus' monotone to downright rude tones whenever they were forced into the company of each other. He simply smiled tauntingly, "Of course, of course. You must simply be so stunned at my brilliance to form coherent words." He flicked his head in a gesture. "It seems I have that effect on people. Oh, the disadvantages of being perfect."

--------------------

Letting out a soft chuckle at the other stallion's personality. Maybe he could get to like this stallion as a friend? Shrugging a little, he nodded. "It is quite impressive." He agreed nodding his head a little before listening to the stallion's last comment. "I wouldn't know any of the disadvantages, for I am not close to being perfect." The stallion said with a soft smile on his face.

--------------------

Demon smiled at the stallion. Apple was interesting and obviously not easily annoyed. Most stallion, by Demon's experience, would be fighting the urge to strample on him. "Of course, of course. Not many are, after all." He gave a smug smirk. "Therefore, you should feel treasured to be in my presence for this time. May my radiance touch your soul."

--------------------

A small chuckle slipped from the stallion. "I guess I should feel treasured." The stallion said with a nod as he looked around a bit. Ears swivling around at a few noises being made, Apple smiled to the wolf colored stallion.

--------------------

"You should," Demon said pompously. "I'm such a shy creatures, after all. I can't grace everyone with my beauty, sadly. Such a loss to the world."Demon shared a small smile at the stallion's good temper. 'Not like many others, I presume. Maybe he'll be a valuable acquaintance.'

--------------------

"I am." The stallion said with a small smile on his face. "Yes, it is a sad loss to the world." Apple said with a slight nod of his head.

A small smirk sat on the stallion's face, he liked the way this stallion acted. Not everyday did he meet a stallion that was so sure of himself.

.Snowy Night :: Nixsi and Ares.
.Date :: Mar. 05, 2007.
.Pages in '[PRP] Ares and Nixsi.' :: 1.
.Type :: Formal.
.Status :: On-Going.


The white coat of a well-built stallion entered an open glade, his pale form almost reflecting the light of the silvery moon. His cold eyes moved over the lands as they traveled over to the small stream that ran through the middle. The main attraction, he stretched his wings for momentarily walking towards the cool waters. He assumed the waters were cold after all, the breeze was chilly. A light snow fall had started and the flakes were landing in his braids dappling them. He let out a soft breath and watched as it fogged the air. It was a nice night, though it was snowing and there was a small breeze the coolness didn't seem to bother him. He took a step back and arched his neck to quench his growing thirst. He wondered if anyone else ever traveled out this late, he wouldn't think so. It was probably very early morning, around oneish perhaps. He did not know, but it was so calm and peaceful it was very... relaxing.

--------------------

A white and pale blue coated mare snorted lightly as her hooves dragged her on through the night. Her eyelids flickered shut for longer than a standard blink every now and then; however she continuously shook her head attempting to rid herself of the weariness. Her shiny blue and silver mane was swept this way and that as gusts of freezing air cascaded by the mare. She shivered slightly; causing her tassels on her halter to sway back and forth haphazardly. Torrents of snow descended upon her already soaked coat; stinging her body with each flake. Of all nights I find myself completely lost on the one night when a winter storm chooses to emerge. The mare whined to herself; horribly upset and tired. Her eyes flashed upward, staring into the darkness of the night. Suddenly the mare stumbled and fell; releasing a harsh whinny that pierced the air.

--------------------

The stallion's eyes narrowed as the wind picked up and the snow thrashed at his sides in almost a rage. Seeing as he had slept into mid day today he wasn't the least bit worn-out from sleep and the bitter cold was making it easy for him to stay awake. The dangers of the cold were no place to fall asleep for most of the time you did not survive. The snow grew denser, and clung to his already white pelt as a second coat. He flexed his wings, circulating the blood whenever they started to grow weak or numb. He continued forward until a sharp sound echoed into the night. It was another and in these nights not many survived. He knew that, he had seen many frozen bodies the last winter from one blizzard, but that had been worse than this one. The outside was as cold as his heart and he didn't particularly know if he wanted to aid this stranger. His callous eyes wandered as he strode into the direction it came from. This time the wind was at his back as if it were guiding him forward.

--------------------

Nixsi lay in the snow for a few minutes; her breathing ragged as she tried to shake her self from the impending shock of her fall. The mare shook her head; her body was aching yet she didn't seem to be hurt in anyway. The snow was now falling faster and with thicker flakes of snow; she knew she had to get up and keep moving otherwise she would be buried beneath the storm. Carefully she stood and took a few tentative steps; all her legs seemed to be working properly. Nixsi stood for a few minutes shivering; the wind was streaming towards her in a fury of ice. A few pleading whines escaped her throat and she continued stumbling through the snow; her head turned away and her hair blocking her face.

--------------------

Ares watched the female stay in the snow, she stayed there. He wanted to know if she was going to fight the storm, he was disregarding the bitter weather quite suitably in his opinion. He watched her as she moved forward and her expression as she moved. He knew why she fell, the ground was frozen and it was almost impossible not to fall or slip occasionally. He wondered what possessed her to be out this late in this type of weather. He was always testing himself, seeing if he was worthy to live. It was the way he was taught by his adoptive unikalona mother. He didn’t know her excuse. He didn't blame her for the occasional whimpers he heard through the thickness of the wind. His ears flared back as it started to pierce his hearing. He walked closer to her, his cruel eyes watching her.

He whickered to her; he could lead her to thicker woods where the trees could block out the wind and some of the other dangers of the weather. That and if they went there they'd be even closer to the mountains in which he could find her shelter in a cave. He wouldn’t have cared but the fact she had gotten up rather than laid down and given up proved something to him. He seemed to succumb to the weather himself, but the fact was he was still moving and surviving. He just wasn’t letting it take him over and kill him, nor letting it bother him. He had been through far worse and he wasn't going to let some insignificant storm have the better of him.

--------------------

The mare closed her eyes as she continued attempting to press on through the snow; shivering violently. Nixsi heard and whinny and was utterly confused at first; so many thoughts raced through her head. Where did that noise come from?, It was probably just the sound of the wind swishing quickly through the trees..., No soquili would be out this late... I must be dreaming...; the mare sighed. Defying her last thought she opened her eyes and squinted through the white snow and the black veil incasing everything else. There was a figure standing close by to her; however they blended in almost completely with the snow... Nixsi's azure eyes stared at them in confusion; wondering if they were really there or not. Perhaps it was a ghost... the figure was white with black patterns upon their coat. Nixsi closed her eyes again; expecting the creature to disappear when she reopened them. When she did though the figure was still there; standing in the snow staring at her. Nixsi wondered what it was doing; yet she was in such shock that she couldn't iterate any words and continued to stare.

.Morning Snow :: War and Brannon.
.Date :: Apr. 15, 2007.
.Pages in '[PRP] Morning Snow.' :: 1.
.Type :: Formal.
.Status :: On-Going.


War's black hooves led her carefully through the soggy terrain that was a lush meadow in the summer and a frozen white plain in the winter. However; being early spring the weather was still undecided and unpredictable. It had snowed merely a few days ago and melted just the previous day; leaving the land in patches of muddy puddles with patches of brown grass every so often. Yesterday had been a warm day and War had awoken early; planning to journey to the river where she hoped the grass would be the greenest and perhaps where her wolf companion would be able to conjure himself a meal. To War's dismay; yet to her content, the morning was frigid and the sky was covered by a gray veil. The mare's medium blue eyes gazed upward and the mare grinned; it was going to be snowing shortly. War loved the winter and the snow; however she was heavily annoyed by it becoming warm then cold for weeks on end. The snow never lasted long and of course the ground was annoying to walk across once the snow melted. War looked behind her to her wolf trailing behind her; Admiral noticed the mare watching him and he growled menacingly at her. Polar had just given the wolf a bath last night and to his disdain his perfect coat was becoming all muddy again. War tilted her head and spoke soothingly to her friend. "There there Admiral; you know Polar won't get mad at you for having a dirty coat and I'm sure she'll give you another bath tonight." Admiral perked his ears but did not feel completely comforted by the mare and let out a small whine. War sighed and shook her head; continuing towards the river which was close by. The mare trotted the rest of the way to the bank and lowered her muzzle to quench her thirst before moving to much on patches of green grass sprouting up. Admiral slowly pursued the mare and when he reached the edge of the river he lowered his head and began to sniff wearily for tracks of any animal which he might be able to acquire.

--------------------

Unlike War, Brannon was the kind of soquili who really wouldn't mind of the seasons were to go as follows: summer, fall, spring, repeat. He disliked the cold and everything else associated by it. The river in which he so lovingly lives nearby is lifeless and frozen, difficult to find drink, and the hunt for grass is never pleasant when slipping and sliding around loose snow and ice [nor is the taste of dead grass when fresh is not found]. No, no, winter just wasn't his forte at all.

As the snow melted in the past couple of days, he found himself hopeful with thoughts of spring, warmer times, some life in this frozen world. However, this morning when he woke, his dismal sigh huffed true in puffs of visible vapor: it's reverting back to cold, and the snow that had just a little more to go until completely melted, will surely rise again. The gray sky and the silence around him promised it.

Raising himself up, he looks above to the skeletal branches, just now the bulbs readying themselves for bloom. I hope you wait a little longer, he thinks to himself, or your flowers will go to waste in this storm. His eyes continue to browse the skyscape until they rest on what he was searching for; a tall, fluffed figure with its head neatly tuck behind a warm wing. When he gets to the nesting tree, he gently kicks it, allowing a firm vibration wake his feathered friend, who shrills in annoyance.

"I know, I know. We need to find a better place to rest, Johdan. It's going to snow again, and this part of the river is already clean out of resources. Come on." The hawk ruffles its feathers and jumps off the branch, spreading his wings to slowly glide down until his talons reach the stallion's back to rest on. Brannon winces, but realizing he deserves it for waking the grumpy bird up, heads south in hopes for better vegetation and water.

Unbeknownst to him, that is the general direction that War and Admiral have made their stay for the day.

--------------------

Admiral began sniffing his way down along the river bank; picked up upon the scent of a chipmunk or some other small rodent that had come to the river earlier. The wolf continued pursuing the trail; hoping that he would be able to catch the animal. War kept a weary eye upon her companion as he continued further away from her along the river bank. The mare knew though that Admiral would be able to find his way back to her; even if she did choose to drift away from the river. Nevertheless, War was rather content at the moment chewing on the tender bright green grass as a morning snack. Soon she finished eating and brought her head up to scan the area for Admiral. The mare was unable to spot her wolf and decided that she would take a nap until he returned. War looked about for a tree on a slightly elevated hill or something so the ground wouldn't be moist. Noticing a decent looking slope close by and she made her way towards it. The sun was just beginning to warm up the day and the temperature was steadily increasing; the mare lat down upon the hill and curled up. Shutting her eyes she began to sun bath and shortly she had fallen into a light slumber.

.Heat Wave :: Imperio and Keahi.
.Date :: June 3, 2007.
.Pages in '[PRP] Heat Wave.' :: 1, 2, 3, & 4.
.Type :: Formal.
.Status :: On-Going.
.xxx.


Imperio reared on his hind legs, letting out a shrill neigh into the open summer air. The temperature had been constantly rising the last few weeks, bring the clear azure sky and the pounding heat of the sun. Imperio loved it. He lived in the heat and as he gave a gallant leap in his spirited sprint, he wished he could leap into the air and fly.

His grin never left his face as he ran, going nowhere particular but running for the sake of running. Summer was when he thrived, and his mood was heightened more than usual, and not even Demon's grumbling and moody temperment could ruin such a wonderful day.

And as Imperio ran through a wild patch of flowers, petals and pollen blowing past his ears, he didn't think the day could be anymore perfect.

--------------------

The mare's blood-red gaze scanned the horizon, watching in amusement as the heat waves obscured her normally perfect vision. She tossed her mane gently as she turned to gaze at the cloudless sky, and marveled at it's purity. It was completely umblemished, bearing no trace of the billowing puffs of white that normally obstructed it's rolling waves of clearest blue. She gave a small contented sigh, her eyes travelling down to rest on the meadow in which she stood. The flowers had flourished in this heat, coming to the peak of their existance under the nuturing light of the sun and sending their pollen to start life anew.

Keahi's long neck arched gracefully, to place her nose closer to the flowers about her hooves. She let the scent of a particularly large flower, burnt umber in hue, waft into her nostrils, and her eyes closed with pleasure. A smile had begun to curve the corners of her lips when dirt joined the pollen in her nose. Her nose crinkled, her head shooting up and her ears back. She shook her head stubornly, trying to rid herself of the temptation... and failed. She sneezed.

--------------------

Imperio gave a start as he heard a sneeze, the noise almost echoeing around him. He skidded to a stop, digging his hooves into the grass to slow himself down, dirt and grass flying past him as a result. As he came to complete stop, he brought his head rapidly to the sides, searching for the source of the noise.

Seeing no one in front of him, he gave an exicted whoop. 'Wow, maybe it's a ghost! It didn't know that ghosts could sneeze that. Then again, why can't they. But why would a ghsot sneeze? If you're dead can you get sick? But why would a ghost get sick?" Did they stay out too late and catch a cold?' Imperio thought rapidly, his mind already drifting from the sneeze itself. He started trotting along, whistling as he contemplated whether a ghost could be able to hold a spoon to take cold medicine.

--------------------

Keahi's nose wrinkled, her eyes expressing disgust at the sneeze. Her ears flicked back and forth as she rose her head and peered none-too-kindly at the sky, wondering if perhaps something up there plotted to ruin her good day. The mare's gaze returned to the earth and she looked about, tail swishing leasurely.

She heard him first: a piercing noise, cutting through the air, though light and cheery... a whistle. She looked to her left, and spotted the stallion trotting through the meadow.

There was something in him that reminded her of herself: he was black, with firey markings... she blinked, and trotted forwards to investigate. Was that some form of bird on his rump...?

--------------------

Imperio froze as he heard footsteps come from behind him, his mind racing at all the possibilities of what may be behind him. 'Oh no!' he thought frantically. 'It's a ghost! Maybe it knew I was thinking about it and decided it wanted to come for revenge! What to do what to do!'

His tail swished back and forth on the ground as he tried to collect his thoughts. He shifted a bit to the left before changing his mind and headed to the right. 'But if I run will it get even more angry? Maybe I should just try to talk to it, but what if it's a mean ghost.' His face twisted into an expression of distress, his inner turmoil practically tangible.

Finally, in panic, he yelled, "Please don't eat me, Mr. Ghost! I'll feed you cold medicine, I promise, just don't eat me~!"

--------------------

Keahi froze mid-step, stunned. She slowly lowered her leg, blinking. Mr. Ghost? She peered down at her body, and wondered if what she had thought was pretty decent actually looked masculine... and then realized that since the other was turned about, he could not have seen her. Her hoofsteps? Was the fall of her feet... masculine? She lowered her neck, and peered at her hooves... Wait. Don't eat me? Her head shot up, and she snorted indignantly. She was no Kalona! She had never felt the desire to chew upon flesh, nor did she think she ever would! Unlike her elder sister, she would never consider lapping blood or taking another's innocent life.

Those thoughts propelled her forwards, and she cantered past him in a flurry of movement, wheeling about to face him head-on. "Excuse me, but I have no intentions of eating you. Nor am I a Mr." Her lids were lowered, a fierce glare in her red eyes. Her neck was stretched out slightly, her ears folded back. Even though she tried so to be fierocious, the picture that came to mind was still that of a small kitten trying to puff itself up to scare away a predator.

--------------------

Imperio almost stumbled as he opened his eyes at the quite feminine voice. His first thought was that the ghost was female, and that he didn't know ghosts were solid. And kinda glowy. And kinda looked like him.

Imperio managed a panicked gasp. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know if you were a Mr. or a Mrs. Ghost and I sort of assumed. I'm sorry~" He bowed his head a few times in apology. "Are you a good ghost then? I mean, you said wouldn't eat me but does that mean you jsut don't think I'd taste good?" Imperio almost looked affronted at the thought. "I assure you that I'm probably very tasty."

He gave a huff before his mind caught up with his mouth. He laughed nervously. "Not that you should eat me that is. No, no." He faltered, stuttering as he continued to rambled. "I mean, I'd be terribly bland if eaten alone?" he finished weakly, hanging his head in defeat.

--------------------

Keahi's jaw dropped, all the hard lines she had imposed upon her face falling away. She quickly remedied this however, and assumed her normally good-natured expression. But she was not so quick to catch her thoughts...

A ghost. He believes in ghosts. No, he believes I am a ghost... in broad daylight? Don't ghosts normally come out during the night? Shadows, full moons, and whatnot? Not to say that ghosts actyally do exist. No. Just... considering the possibility. Yes, temporarily agknowledging the fact that something might be true for the purpose of arguing against it. Or... not. She cast a suspicious glance about; was that a shadow...? No. No clouds. Can't be a shadow. Jumping at shadows! Look at us now! Hah. But... ghosts don't cast shadows... do they?

She shook the thoughts away, mind scrambled by the onslought of questions she wasn't quite ready for. She peered at the stallion in front of her, and decided it was time to straighten a few things out.

"I am not going to eat you. I am sure you taste very good, but not to me. I don't make a habbit of engaging in canibalism. Nor any other sort of -ism, for that matter." She sighed, a small smile touching the corners of her lips. "I am also not a ghost..." she nudged him with her nose, to show that she had a solid form "... as you can well tell. My name is Keahi."

--------------------

Imperio narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Not a ghost?" He shimmied closer cautiously, placing his face merely inches away from the mare's. He studied her for a moment silent, unmindful of her personal bubble. Only when the mare nudged him with her nose (which he responded to with a rather girly yelp) did he spring back, convince that Kaehi was indeed quite corporeal

He let out a large sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I really thought I was going to be ghost chow for a bit there." He ducked his head, his lips turned back into a sheepish grin. "Sorry?"

He flicked his tail a bit as he straightened himself. "Kaehi, huh? That's a cool name~" He gave a slight jump and kick in happiness, acting like a young colt. "My name’s Imperio~ Like, like..." He wracked his brain to think of some type of analogy to go with his name. "Uhh... I dunno actually." He laughed, embarrassed, as his grinned widened.

--------------------

"It is quite allright. No harm done." She gave another reasuring smile, though felt even as she did that her smile fell upon a mind that had already moved on to new things. Her thoughts were confirmed when he moved so swiftly on to compliment her name, and then to give his own.

"Imperio. That is a nice name as well." She inclined her head in confirmation of her words, a twinkle forming in her eye. "Like... Imperial? Nobility? Everlasting? Eternal Flames?" she prompted, wondering where this day would lead her.

--------------------

"You really think so?" He jumped in happiness at the thought of him having a nice name. "You're so nice~" He gave a childlike grin, his glee radiating off his expression.

"Imperial? I never thought it that! Wow, you're so smart to think of that. And it's such a big word. Big words are cool, ya know? I like them but when there are too many my head starts to hurt because I can't keep up." He pouted at the memory of his last attempted conversation with Demon. "I tried to use big and fancy wors once time," he continued, "but everyone just laughed at me because I couldn't say them right." He gave her some puppy-eyes, as his tail swished back and forth. "How mean is that?"

--------------------

Struck with the sudden feeling of talking to a young foal who hadn't noticed that his body had grown up and so still acted young, Keahi's kind smile never faltered even as her mind wandered onto other things.

Although the cactus and other desert plantlife would flourish in such weather, what of the forest-dwelling types? The ferns, who needed shade to survive? The moss which thrives on mist? Even the cactus themselves needed a little water. She cast a glance at the hot sun, feeling slightly guilty that it should give her such pleasure when it could very well be killing off the very things she had come to love.

Her gaze turned back to Imperio, and she rejoined the conversation at his mention of big words. At this she let out a laugh, and though one might expect such a sudden show of joy to be quite harsh, it was not. It contained a musical tone, one which would be pleasing to even the most trained of ears, warm and full of joy. As her laughter died, she looked at the stallion before her with a twinkle in her eyes. "Imperial is no bigger then everyone, for both contain 8 letters. Perhaps you meant 'lesser-used words?" She rose her eyebrows in question.

Keahi felt just a tad out of place, what with Imperio being so outwards with his expressions of joy. She looked covetly around, and let out a tiny jump of her own- just the barest lifting of her back legs. She looked back to him, pretending as though nothing had happened- although now she felt much more comfortable, as though she had balanced his joy.

--------------------

Imperio blinked confused. "Imperial is no bigger than everyone? Everyone?" He looked around, trying to figure out what 'everyone' Kaehi was talking about. "But.. there's only me and you here?" He tilted his head, his confusion still blatant. "Everyone, everyone," he chanted, still looking back and forth in the empty valley for someone else. 'Maybe she means animals? Like mice and snakes? But I don't see any little furry things around here so they have to be hiding. But how can Kaehi see things that are hiding.'

He suddenly gasped as though hit with a sudden revelation. "Do you have x-ray vision?" he questioned excitedly. "Do you, do you? Is that how you can see little rabbits and stuff in the ground? WOW. How cool is that~?" He gave his tail another excited flick, his ears twitching in his frenzy. He didn't notice her slight jump, his mind working rapidly at under the revel of someone being able to see through things. "Oh, wow, oh wow. How cool~" he repeated. "I've never met anyone who could see through the ground! What's it like, what's it like?"

--------------------

Keahi stared, all pretense of being completely unphased by the other's foal-like mannerisms gone. It was one thing to have a childlike view on the world, to look be light and bouncy and have not a care, to believe in things just because they provice answers to questions that may seem difficult to believe have any less then completely magical answers. It was quite another to be so stuck in such a state of mind that you were not even capable of setting out the tenses of the parts of speech. She gave a small sigh, her lips twitching into a smile. She considered pretending to have X-ray vision, perhaps just to amuse him... but no, lying was not an acceptable course.

"No, I do not have X-ray vision, however dissapointing that might be. What I meant was simply that Imperial has eight letters. I- 1. m- 2. p-3. e-4. r-5. i-6. a-7. l-8. And Everyone has eight letters as well. E-1. v-2. e-3. r-4. y-5. o-6. n-7. e-8. Therefore, what you reffered to as a 'big word' was no bigger then a word you were very comfortable with using, and so it is not the size that daunts you rather the fact that you may not know it's meaning." She had the feeling that a verbal spew that long might have lost his interest halfway through, but felt better for saying it. After all, if he was able to pay attention, then he might have actually learned something.

She had watched as he had jumped about, as his mouth had moved so quickly in order to keep up with his wandering mind, and yet the similarity had not clicked until that moment... he was acting as she had as a foal, when her mind shut down and all her energy was funeled through her body.

As a foal, she posessed so much energy that she either had to be constantly occupied with a puzzel, or cantering about in circles and zigzags. She was now capable of channeling her energy into either thoughts or physical actions, always careful to never let herself become to riled up for fear of hurting herself or others. But as a foal, if her attention slipped for even one minute from the latest puzzle... ZOOM! She was off.

The only difference was, for Imperio, all that pent up energy had nowhere to go but the hooves and the ears and the mouth. He was an entirely physical being.

--------------------

"Ohhh~" Imperio said, understanding finally hitting him. He scrunched up the side of his mouth in concentration as he listenened to her talk, trying to keep up with all the numbers and letters. He mentally ticked them off in his head, 'I, M, P, E, R, I, A, L. Eight. E, V, E, R, Y, O, N, E. Eight.'

The light bulb went off. "I see!" He nodded vigourously as she finished talking. "I get what you mean now! And yeah, that's it. I guess it's really not a big word at all, but I don't really hear anyone use it. I wonder why," he said, going off on another random tangent. "I mean, it's a really nice words, after all. It must get lonely when no one uses it. I mean, I'd feel lonely if I was a word and not many people used me."

Kaehi was looking at him strangely, and Imperio just grinned in response. He was used to funny and rather lost looks when he talked to people. He really didn't mind, it was actually rather amusing for him. Sometimes he just keep talking and talking and talking just to make the other person go 'Wah?'. He giggled inwardly at the thought.

--------------------

Keahi smiled, looking for all the world like a weary teacher who's just discovered a star pupil lurking beneath the features of the class clown. "Exactly!" She returned his grin in kind, somehow managing to make the normally goofy-looking expression quite regal... for all the world that such a thing was oxymoronic.

She blinked, then mentally shrugged; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

"Yes, it must be quite the lonely word. Imagine how jealous it must be of words such as 'the' and 'it' and 'he' and 'she'!" Keahi widened her eyes, to show shock. Perhaps such things would be the way to communicate with Imperio? "Oo! I bet if it could, it would make itself a more commonly used word! You know? Like, just change! Like that!" Keahi flipped her head in a jerking motion, sending her hair flying, before returning her gaze to Imperio. "But... then... it wouldn't be itself anymore... and then would it be sad? Or would it still be happy? ... Wait... can words feel? Oo! I bet, every time we use a word, it gets happy!" She smiled, giving herself a mental pat on the back for successfully talking herself in circles (and then a slight zigzag) as the stallion seemed so fond of doing.

--------------------

Imperio beamed at her response, feeling proud of understanding her speech. It made him all happy and bubbling on the inside when he finally got something that he didn't before.

He brightnened up even furhter at Kaehi's response. Finally, someone who understood the way he thought! He felt the excitement building again, and he couldn't repress another lead, flick, and twitch of his ears as he moved in closer to the mare.

"I know! Doesn't it just make you feel so bad for those words that we don't use that much! I'd use them a lot more too but then if I don't use them right, they'd probably feel embaressed, and I don't want them to feel embaressed. After all, then they'd probably hate me, and I can't deal with being hated. Being hated is bad, bad, bad."

He gasped again, being struck with another line of thought. "You don't hate me Kaehi, do you, do you?" he asked frantically, a pitiful whine emitting from the back of his throat as he ducked his head like a hurt puppy.

--------------------

Keahi had been nodding solemnly in agreement, her brow furrowed as she listened to his thoughts. "Yeah, and I bet the hate of a word is viscious. Grr!" she growled in a poor impression of a wolf or some other dangerous creature, only able to hold the pose for a second or two before it fell away.

He was... quite... close... Keahi stared, slightly cross-eyed, at Imperio's nose.

Her eyes uncrossed and widened even further at his question, and her ears swiveled backwards slightly before perking forwards again as though she was trying to see if she had heard wrong. "No! I don't hate you!" The beginnings of tears in his eyes disturbed her; she did not want to see this slightly childish yet intelligent (sort of) stallion-foal cry!

A part of her that Keahi had previously been burrying voiced it's protest towards her simple mannerisms, but that voice was quickly quelled when Keahi mentally engaged in a pillow-fight with it.

--------------------

Imperio brightened instantly, his tears disappearing with another happy flick of his tail. "Really? Yay!" If possible he would have hugged her like he saw the two-leggers hug but he didn't know how since he had four hooves intead of those weird flesh-y limb-y thingies two-leggers had.

"Oh, oh, oh," he said excitedly suddenly, his previous and rather brief spurt of melancholy long forgotten. "Kaehi, Kaehi~" Imperio had a thing for repeating everything, feeling that it made it sound like it was important and that you had to listen because if he was saying something more than once than it was obviously important. Right? Right.

"Do you like chickens?"

--------------------

"Yes, really." She laughed, relieved that he had recovered so quickly. Despite the fact that she would have previously found herself quite immune to other's emotions, able to keep the moods of others and herself fully seperated, opening that door to the slightly silly foal that slumbered beneath her intelligent exterior made her own mood entirely dependent on that of the others around... which, at the moment, was only Imperio.

And so, when he became excited, she felt her own excitement highten. Her ears strained forwards, one front leg raised, her entire head following the movements of his eyes.

She blinked at his question, picturing a white squawking bird flailing about with feathers flying everywhere. "Well... I guess, yes. Yes, I suppose I do! Though... the animal, right? Feathered, small, squawky, orange beak, beady eyes? Not like cowards?" She peered at him curiously, her head angled slightly so she could view if full-on.

--------------------

Imperio nodded rapidly. "Yep, yep. Those fluffy white birds that squack and stuff." He gave a heavy sigh suddently, his ears dropping in sadness. "I feel really bad for them though. I mean, they're birds and have wings but they can't fly. How depressing is that? It's like penguins but at least penguins can swim but chicken can just kinda sit their and squack and lay eggs."

Imperio looked wishfully at the sky. "I'd be depressed too if I had wings and wasn't able to fly. I mean~" He grinned, looking at Kaehi with sparkling eyes that shown from dreams and wishes and happiness. "Wouldn't you just love to fly~?" He laughed, though it came out more of a boyish giggle. He reared up slightly onto his back legs, his head high aganist the slight breeze as he let out an excited whinny.

--------------------

Keahi considered this for a moment. "Well... they can hover... sort of... and the roosters can fly really short distances, right? But yeah, it would suck to just lay eggs all the time." Her nose wrinkled as she considered that. It would be so boring! Just sitting there... then PLOP, egg 1! More sitting. PLOP! More sitting. PLOP PLOP! Sit PLOP Sit Sit PLOP Sit PLOP PLOP Sit sit PLOP ... she resisted the urge to dance to the rhythm the sit/plop sequence created.

But why was it even necessary to resist such urges? Shouldn't one be in complete control of one's own actions? Why do we have those urges? Do they originate in the mind, or somewhere else? The heart perhaps? No, the heart does not send commands, rather recieves them and carries them out dutifully... perhaps it is that we each posess an inner thinking process, one which sets out what we should and should not do in every situation imaginable? But then why are we surprised? If we really did know how to react to every situation imaginable, even on a subconscious level, then there wouldn't be such things as surprise... because to know how to react to something, you have to know what that something is...

Keahi shook her head, clearing the thoughts. She had allowed herself to go back into her normal, introverted thought process, and had momentarily forgone the more fun way of looking at things she had rediscovered upon meeting Imperio.

"Eh? ... Oh, yes! I'd love to fly!" She had backed up a pace when Imperio reared, not quite trusting him not to accidentaly hit her with one of those flying hooves. "What color do you think your wings would be?" She stared at him, eyes bright.

--------------------

Imperio was delighted to find someone who would love to fly like he could. Uncle Orion already could fly, and others like Demon never really took time to talk to Imperio. He grinned as he settled down a bit, all four hooves firmly planted on the grass. "Woudn't it be just great! To be up in the sky with the clouds and the birds and all the other stuff that can fly~?"

He pasued at her question, wondering what color he would want them to be. "Hmmm~" he said, his noise scrunched cutely in his deep concentration on the question. 'Well, my body is black so would my wings be black? But that makes it kinda boring? What if my wings wanted to be hot pink? That wouldn't look very good but wouldn't me wings have the choice? But aren'y my wings part of me so then the choice would be mine?' He gave a little mental cry of distress at his inner turmoil.

'Okay, Imperio, think, think. Use logic. Ohh~ Logic kinda reminds me of logarithms. Eek, oh, off topic. Wings, wings. What was the question again?'

"Orange!" he said finally, going with the first color that came to mind. 'Orange is good. Yep, yep. I mean it's bright and colorful and better than hot pink. Not that hot pink is a bad color but hot pink wouldn't look very good on me, would it?' Imperio thought, his mind wandering again. By the time the last syllable was out of his mouth, he was already contemplating what he'd look like if he had hot pink hooves.

--------------------

Yes! To soar with the eagles, to chase after butterflies, to feel what the inside of a cloud was truly like! That would be grand. Nay! That would be awesomefully exciting! She let out a giggle, which she quickly surpressed. She hadn't spoken those words aloud, and so Imperio might become confused if she were to suddenly laugh.

Keahi grinned at his decision. "Orange wings would look great on you!" She pictured him soaring through the clouds, turning in circles and flying in a generally bee-like pattern which held no true path and served only the purpose of the amusement of the one flying in it. Her imagination-Imperio continued flying about, closing his eyes in bliss and letting out a whoop of joy, before plumetting towards the earth; he had forgotten to beat his wings. Before he hit the ground, he flapped furiously, and once again he was flying off, laughing at the world.

She peered at her own body, then grinned mischeviously. "You know what?" She looked about as though to check if anyone was watching, then brought her head in close and whispered. "I'd want wings of fire! Though not actual fire, of course. That would hurt! Just, fire-colored. Deep reds and oranges and a bit of golden-yellow!" Her eyes twinkled as she pictured what a brilliant pair of wings those colors would make.

--------------------

Imperio broke out into a delighted smile at her comment. "Really, really, really? You think so~?" He jumped, trying to twine his head back to see his body as he tried to imagine orange wings on him. He twisted his neck, his feet following as he started turning around in a circle. 'Aww,' he thought, continueing his dizzy spin and futile attempt to properly se his back, 'I can't see my back at all~'

He almost jumped at Kaehi's words, so content on attempting to see his own back (which he couldn't manage, much to his disappointment) that he almost forgot that he wasn't alone. He shimmied closer to her, excited at her grin that reminded him vaguely of his often-plotting Uncle Orion. "Fire wings?" he said, his eyes flying forward in excitement. "WOW. That would be so cool~ I mean, red and orange and yellow and all those pretty colors like the SUN," he said, his words fluctuating from a random murmor to an passionate shout.

--------------------

Keahi twisted about, bending her neck and touching her chin lightly to her rump. As she twisted back, an almost smug gleam shone in her eyes; she could reach her back. Her smile was confident, her head raising a tad as she felt slightly superior... for a moment at least. Then, she was drawn back into their rapidly firing conversation by Imperio's enthusiasm.

"Ooo!" She peered up at the sky, searching for that shining object called the sun. When her eyes found their mark, she almost wished she hadn't; the blinding light was too much for her, and pain flooded her senses. She snorted and pawed at the ground, blinking quickly and looking away. She shook her head for a few more moments, tail swishing irritatedly, before she was able to regain her compsure. "... mm... Oo, if you had sun-fire wings, if... when you were up there flying..." she started to look up again, but then remembered the blinding light of the sun and kept her gaze on Imperio instead "... someone on the ground would think you're a second sun! Blazing all brilliantly and the like..."

--------------------

Imperio gasped in excitement at the thought of being compared to the sun. "A second sun~? WOW. That would be so cool. I mean, I like the heat and the sky but I never thought I'd be bright, bright, bright like the sun. After all, it is the sun." He emphasized his last two words, as though Kaehi didn't know what sun he was talking about. "But, but" he said, his excitement faltering, "Wouldn't the sun be mad then? It has been the only sun for a long, long, long time and then suddently is has competition." His eyes widened at a sudden revelation. "Would the sun hate me then?" His eyes teared slightly, glistening as he held back puppy-like tears. "I don't want the sun to hate me~" he whined, his lips turned downward in distress as he reared slightly.

--------------------

She shook her head swiftly, the almost-violent motion causing her ears to flap against her head. "No! The sun might be happy! You know, a friend?" She widened her eyes, gesturing towards the sun with her knows instead of looking at it as she normally would. (That lesson had been re-learned! xD) "It must be so lonely... up there, all day... and then it has to go away all night while the moon is out... it doesn't even get to play with the moon, because as SOON as the moon comes out the sun is gone! They miss each other, by only a few seconds!" Her eyes teared up slightly. "... at least the moon has the stars to play with. The sun only has the clouds, and they're always moving away!"

That is... if the sun could even feel. It was, after all, a very large ball of gas... but certaintly something that could hold a whole universe around it would have to have some sort of consciousness? Ahh, well... she would save such throughts for a day on which she didn't have an exciting stallion-foal to speak with.

--------------------

Imperio gasped, sincerely amazed at the thought that the sun would be lonely up in the sky. After all, he had never thought about how the clouds always move and the moon moving and them always missing each other, and Imperio wondered if maybe the moon was sad that it always missed the sun, but then he thought that perhaps the moon didn't even know since it had the stars, but that made the moon kind of selfish didn't it? Imperio felt his head hurt from all of the thinking.

"Wow, Kaehi~ You really are smart. I think you're the smartest Soquili I've ever met, even smarter than Uncle Orchu." He nodded rapidly in emphasis, an easily recognizable habit he formed everytime he became overexcited. "Maybe I will be the second sun one day, that way the sun will never ever get lonely because I can fly up and talk to it, and we can be good friend. Maybe then, Kaehi can join us and we can talk and eat berries and applies and other sweet stuff together. Right, right?" His eyes lit up at the thought of having snacks with the sun, his tail already flicking back and forth as he failed to contain his happines.

--------------------

Keahi blushed at that, though no-one would have ever known; her ebony skin did not allow the slightly pinkish tone to show. However, other body language (such as the way her eyes were somewhat downcast and her head drawn in a little to her neck) could have eventually led a keen-minded Soquili to the logical conclusion. "Ohh... I don't know about that." She couldn't help but be pleased at his praise, though she felt almost guilty because of it. Was it right to feel good at being called more smart then someone's mentor? And what would she do if she couldn't live up to that claim? If she suddenly became dumb, and...

She let herself become distracted by his latter words.

The mare let out a laugh at that. "But does the sun even eat berries and apples and other sweets? Maybe it only likes oats and hay!" She shook her head, answering her own question. "No. No-one, whether Soquili or Sun, could not like apples." Satisfied, she peered at him curiously. "You wouldn't... happen to know where any good apple trees are around here, would you?" The talk had caused her stomach to demand food.

--------------------

Imperio shook his head violently to each side in blatant denial of Kahi's modesty. "No, no, no." He moved closer to her, so he was merely inches away from her nose as he stared at her. "Kaehi is the smartest Soquili. She is, she is." He started nodding again, staring at her ardently to make sure she knew that she was the smartest because he said she was the smartest she had to be. Imperio's logic was infallible, after all. "Kaehi is smart," he continued with a (slightly) more subdued smile this time, his eyes still alight. "So don't think otherwise, okay?"

"Hmm," Imperio said, once again distracted by the idea that maybe the sun doesn't like sweet things. He almost rowned before the rest of Kaehi's words caught up to him, and he nodded in agreement. 'No-one hates sweets,' he thought, 'no-one~' At her mention of an apple tree, his stomach grumbled, causing Imperio to duck his head sheepishly. "Hehe, I guess I'm getting a bit hungry now. Food~" he said, wishfully. "Let's see, apple tree, apple tree..." He started walking in circles, his head darting left and right as he tried to rememeber where was that apple tree he was at earlier today. "It was..." he started, staring in the direction of a flower patch before he rememebered that he walked past that really big pine tree to get to apple today. Or maybe that was yesteryday. Or was it even a pine tree? "Wahhh~" Imperio said, turning to Kaehi with a look of distress. "I know there is one around here somewhere but I don't rememeber where~ It was either over there or there or there~" he said rapidly, his head turning slightly as he pointed to each direction he mentioned.

--------------------

Well... If Imperio said so... Keahi barely suppresed a grin as she pictures herself with a crown made of apple-leaves, standing on a box that said 'World's Smartest Soquili' and then in tiny print underneath ''Cause Imperio says so!' A grumble from her stomach brought her back to present-time.

Keahi watched as he circled, then tossed his head in all directions. She regreted it an instant later when her head began to spin, her eyes unable to focus as she attempted to do so on the blurring form of the stallion in front of her. It took a while for the words to sink in.

"Hmm..." She pouted slightly, though the look was more suited to a human face than that of a horse. To have to search all that land would take so long... "Are you sure you don't remember?" Keahi stares at Imperio with woe-filled eyes, peering upwards at him through her lashes.


--------------------

"Um, um, um," Imperio said, stuttering as he tried to dig through his mind for the location of the ever elusive apple tree. He knew he had passed by it today because he distinctly remembered stopping and munching on an apple on a lower branch and that he had thought it was really red and really really shiny and really really really tasty.

His eyes darted back and forth across the field under Kaehi's gaze, as he felt the pressure build. She was looking at him like that, and what if Kaehi hated him afterwards if he didn't remember? Imperio knew that he'd just die if Kaehi hated him. He just had to remember where it was~ He could practically feel some random ticking in the background, waiting for him to answer.

He ran through the day in his head. He had gotten up bright and early, nipped on Arctica's hair to wake her up, ran away from the evil brush or doom that the two-leggers chased him with, ran down the mountain in escape with Uncle Orion using that really really dark path that had a lot of plants on the ground, stopped by that pretty bush with pink flowers--

His head shot up. "THAT'S IT!" he said excitedly, his tail shaking back and forth as though he were a puppy. "It's thatter way~" He pointed his nose to their sharp right, in the direction of a rather fragrant patch of peonies, where he could vagely make out a colorful patch of trees in the distance.

He looked back at Kaehi, his face shiny with a profound sense of accomplishment. "Yay! I actually rememebered!" He could have danced, happy that he remembered something that he thought he didn't remember and that now he and Kaehi could eat apples together, something he hadn't ever done with her before. And they were apples. Apples plus Kaehi equaled a very happy Imperio.

--------------------

Keahi paused a moment, slightly stunned that her 'look' had actually inspired Imperio to remember anything at all, let alone the location of an apple tree. She had never had quite as much success when utilizing techniques normally used only by extremely attractive yet whiny mares... Beginners luck! Yes, that was it. Hah.

And now they could munch on apples! Could a day get any better?

Oh, yes, apples! "You're a brilliant, intelligent, wonderful stallion for remembering!" She reached forwards and nuzzled him quite quickly on the neck, then turned and trotted off in the direction he had pointed. She stopped after a few strides, turning back to look at him. "... Aren't you coming?"

--------------------

"I am?" Imperio asked, his head tilted with an adorable look of confusion crossing his face. Then he broke out into a smile. "I am!" Imperio did a little jig in celebration, shaking his body to some unknown beat that rang only in his mind. 'Yay! I feel smart!'

His eyes gave a delighted flick at Kaehi's nuzzle. It was like a HUG, except Soquili couldn't hug because they didn't have arms to hug. Imperio nodded mentally at his observation. He had tried to hug Arctica once when he was a foal after he saw the two-leggers hugging, and it didn't work very well: they just ended up in a really big pile of legs and hair that took an hour to untangle. He learned his lessons: hugs don't work well when you don't have arms. But a nuzzle is like a hug, so that meant that Kaehi didn't hate him and that she was happy as he was that he remembered. Yep, yep, yep. Imperio felt a bubble of happiness burst through him, and he gave her an (overly) enthusiastic nuzzle/hug back.

Imperio jumped at Kaehi's prompt, his tail swishing at his sudden movement. It had taken him a moment to realize where Kaehi was going, because even if they were talking about apples did that mean they were go now? But since Kaehi was walking, then they probably were. Or so he figured. If they weren't going to apples, then he didn't know where they would go, but he figured that since Kaehi was smart they wouldn't get lost. "Yeees~" he called, trotting up to follow her, little dancing (and imaginary) apples following in his path.

--------------------

Keahi did the one thing she had not done since she had been a foal: she giggled.

Oh, sure, she'd laughed... tittered, even... let her joy be known to the world through a musical and floating sound. But never giggled. And what had prompted Keahi's giggle?

Why, Imperio's over-enthusiastic nuzzle, of course!

The mare could not help the grin that lingered on her face as she looked about for the promised apple tree, walking forwards at a pace that was easy to match. Her ears were perked forwards, swiveling every now and then to point at Imperio.

"Sooo... Race ya there?" Keahi winked and started off at a trot.

--------------------

Imperio's ears shot up automatically at the thought of a race. "Race, race, race? Where? When? Now!?" Imperio did a little prance, kicking his hind legs in pure excitement. "Race~"

He gasped in mock shock as Kaehi started ahead already. "Hey~ No fair~" he said, his bottom lip jutting out into the oddest pout. "You got a head start!" He quickened his pace to catch up, his eyes shining against the sunlight. "Race! Whee~ Imma beat you~"

He started running, moving swiftly past Kaehi as he turned his head to give her a challening wink. "Let'sgolet'sgolet'sgo~"

--------------------

Keahi laughed, the sound carrying to the high heavens, and rushed after him. "I'mcomingi'mcomingi'mcoming!" She responded, mimicking his happy tone.

The mare's hooves pounded the earth, her speed that of a gallop. She soon drew almost even with Imperio, but there she lay at a standstill; neither falling behind nor racing ahead.

The apple trees were coming up fast as the pair sped towards them. The wind began to blow in the opposite direction, as though the poor apple trees had pleaded with the wind to make the two go away.

--------------------

'Yay,yay,yay~' Imperio thought with a grin as he sped along the grass, his hooves beating against the ground in an almost rhythmic beat. He loved running, the wind flying through his hair he shot forward. A nice run was just what he needed after just standing around and talking for so long. Not that he didn't like talking with Kaehi, no indeed, but he always felt best when he was up and running and playing and doing something.

He felt his muscles strain as Kaehi matched him in speed, yet his grin never wavered. What fun was a race if you always won? He laughed, his voice lost in his movements. He had almost forgotten their destination already, the fast approaching apple trees looming closer and closer.

Belatedly, Imperio thought that he'd better start slowing down soon as the trees were a lot closer than they were a few seconds ago. Unfortunately, stopping was one thing that Imperio hadn't quite perfected yet.

Imperio closed his eyes tightly as he shot his front legs out, digging them into the ground to slow his movements. 'Don'tcrashdon'tcrashdon'tcrash,' he chanted in his mind, hoping that he's stop before he slammed into another tree.

--------------------

Keahi kept grinning as she raced alongside Imperio, her nose even with his shoulder. This was fun! As an adult, she'd come to the assumption that observations and takings notes on other living creatures, learning of the world around her through hours of standing still and simply watching others go about their lives... was the way to go. Now, she knew that just living was fun too! Let others observe her and take notes on how to be truly happy!

She laughed as Imperio dug in his hooves, picking up her feet even higher just to oppose him in mannerisms, and pulling ahead. She looked forwards... and the laughter died quite suddenly. Her eyes widened, and she gave a yelp of fright, as she careened into the cluster of trees and twisted about, attempting to avoid braining herself on one of the lower-hanging limbs.

--------------------

Imperio was vaguely aware of the fact that Kaehi had just successfully paunched herself into a dense pack of green things that had leaves and brances. However, that vague awareness managed to translate itself into Imperio's brain as 'Woohoo! That looks fun. Let's join in!'

Therefore, as Imperio (unsuccessfully) slowed down, he took the oppurtunity to give himself a good kick foward and follow Kaehi into the demon trees of doom that were obviously swallowing her.

'Swallowing her?!' Imperio thought suddently, worry grasping him. "I'll save you!" he said valiently, as another branch swacked him across the head, giving him a mouthful of leaves at the same time. "I shall not let this evil--!" Imperio paused as he tried and failed to jump over a large tree root, sending him careening downward and into the dirt.

Imperio flopped, his limbs twisted as remaining bits of leaves slowly drifted down to land on his flank. He coughed, a stray leaf coming up from the back of his throat. 'Ew.' He gave his leg a twitch, amazed to find himself uninjured. 'Kaehi!' his mind screamed, and he frantically tried to stand up to find the mare. 'Oh no! Did the tree eat her? What do I do, what do I do~ Do I try and eat the tree in revenge or will it eat me then? No, I must be manly