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 Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 5:07 pm
Hathi was b-o-r-e-d bored. He was antsy and itchy and so, so bored, and that meant he had to make that everyone else's problem - namely, his son's.
Matthius was his constant companion, and had been since the day he'd popped out of his basket. They were best friends more than father and son, which was how Hathi liked it - friendship was much, much easier than fatherhood. Thank goodness Matthi was old enough to more or less fend for himself now; Matthius had always been mature, even as a colt, but when he was younger, Hathi had had to do more to keep both of them alive.
Now, Matthius could handle himself - handle both of them, often as not. Matthius was usually the one who handled things like food and shelter--which, hey, about that...
"Where are we gonna sleep tonight?" Hathi asked into the silence that had stretched out between them. Matthi just snorted at him, and Hathi frowned in confusion. "What? Did I forget something? Are we, I dunno, expected somewhere or something?"
Matthius was so sick of playing babysitter that he thought he might scream. Really, actually, scream - yell at his father for the first time since he was a teenager. In spite of Hathi's many somewhat...irritating...qualities, he did love his father, and that usually was enough to help Matthi grin and bear it whenever he had to be the adult between the two of them.
Maybe it was because somewhere along the way, Hathi had stopped even pretending to contribute to the relationship in logistical, practical ways. Matthius could remember a time when it had been both of them together who decided where they would go, why, and how long they'd stay, what they'd eat and who they might meet along the way. It had at least felt more like a partnership then - something that had been exciting to Matthius as a newly-fledged adult. It felt like his father trusted him to make decisions that impacted them both.
Was there such a thing as too much trust?
"I don't know, Dad," Matthi ground out, keeping his temper in check - at least for the moment.
"That's okay!" Hathi said brightly, not wanting Matthius to feel bad, or like he'd disappointed him somehow. "We'll find somewhere. We always do!"
"We?" Matthius echoed, before he could stop himself. "We always do?" He whirled to face his father, who would've looked less surprised if Matthius had grown a second head. "That 'we' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, Pops. Do you really think it's 'we' that watches out for us all the time, keeps us both out of danger?"
"I--I don't kn--"
"Exactly! You don't know, because you don't do anything. I do. I'm the one who has to do everything! And you know what? I'm done." Matthius hadn't realized it was true until the words were out of his mouth, but there they were, true and bald in the light of the setting sun.
Hathi looked stunned. His father had never been short of words, but faintly, Matthius wondered if this was the first time Hathi had ever been actually rendered speechless.
"Find your own place to sleep tonight," Matthius decided, brushing past his father to head toward the woods. "I'll find you tomorrow." He barely bit back a 'probably' from the end of his sentence; he wasn't that mad at him.
Hathi was frequently confused, but he couldn't remember ever being as confused as he was in this moment. Where was this coming from? What was Matthius even talking about? Should he follow him? Hathi didn't want to get yelled at, and Matthius didn't seem like he wanted to talk to him - at least not right now, not tonight.
Hathi shifted anxiously from hoof to hoof, watching as his son walked away from him.
"I love you!" Hathi called after him, doing his best to keep the desperation out of his voice. "I'm sorry!"
"I love you too," Matthius mumbled, honestly not sure if his father could hear him or not.
He found that he didn't really care at the moment either way. He didn't hear his father chasing after him, thankfully - that would be embarrassing for both of them - and the further he got from Hathi, the more he felt the tension in his shoulders, the tension that felt ever-present since he could remember, start to slip away.
They had never been to this forest before, and now that his mind wasn't so clouded by anger - just lingering, simmering irritation - Matthius stopped to take a deep breath in. It smelled incredible here, with new scents tickling his nose as he let out a deep breath.
Maybe, just this once, he could explore and have some fun all on his own. He leaned his head down and began to sniff experimentally at some of the nearby plants - he hadn't known plants could come in colors like these.
There was probably a 50% chance at least some of them were poisonous...but he never got to take any risks, what with following his dad around all the time.
So, tonight, just this once - that was a chance that he was willing to take.
((wc: 863))
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Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 11:13 am
The echo of two stallions trudging through the forest, carried on the wind. The tone of one, polite, the other, full of angst. If any critters heard, they hid, unsure if the noises meant someone dangerous lurked. Whereas if there had been real dangers lurking nearby, the two would have alerted them of their location! Luckily, the only one in ear shot, is a flutter lounging in a tree. Myscelia Petalwing, keeper of this side of the woods. How interesting to hear the seemingly male voices come closer to where she lay. Turning her head to the side, she noted that one left, and the other headed even closer to her.
Myscelia grinned and arched an eyebrow as a golden boy came into her garden. She lay still, observing, as she is oft to do when someone comes close. Not everyone would get a greeting, unless she felt inclined to give it. Should someone notice her, she still might not respond, if it didn't feel warranted.
As the blue winged flutter leaned down to sniff her plants, she stretched a paw out, intrigued. The very tension in his shoulders, seeming to wane just a bit, or so she thought. A male under emotional duress? Her favorite!
Myscelia purred out a greeting, softly, attempting to not startle him. "Smell the purple star cluster flowers, to your right. Mmm, tell me what you think?" Their fragrance one of a cherry-like scent. Her one outstretched paw, kneaded at the air below it as she spoke. Although possible for her to be in fae or flutter form, she is in her full-size soquili form as she lazes on a branch. A particularly large branch. Though she is still petite in size, and the branch does not bend with her weight.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2024 1:30 pm
Matthius started in surprise, letting out a disgruntled snort as a feminine voice floated down to him. He'd been so caught up in his feelings that he had forgotten to pay attention to his surroundings. He mentally kicked himself; if he had gotten attacked the second he left his father's side, Hathi would never let him hear the end of it.
But it didn't seem like this female was going to attack him. As she stretched her leg out - pawed feet? - Matthius arched one eyebrow and followed her direction, hesitated a moment, and then obediently leaned down to sniff the flowers she indicated.
"Tart," Matthius said, tilting his head slightly as he took another whiff. "More fruity than you'd think," he added, looking from the flowers back to the Soquili. "What are you doing in a tree?" he asked, unable to focus on his anger at his father when such a baffling image was before him. "How did you even get up there?"
((wc: 165))
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2024 4:38 pm
Myscelia Petalwing observed, watched, as he sipped the scent of the flowers below. "Their nectar possesses a tang as well. A pleasant tingle on the tongue." she nods at him.
Listening to his question, she tilts her head to one side. "Simply, I flew up here, where I waited for you." she played with a wink. As a flutter, she had flitted up here, then popped into her medium size, to perch on the large branch. A precarious thing to do for most, but Myscelia is nimble, well balanced, and an excellent judge of the right branch. Good thing she's as light as a mountain cat, or she'd never pull it off.
Stretching a paw out again, flexing her toes, then curling them under, she asks back. "Would you care to join me? In a tree, or somewhere even better?" she mused with a smile and a wink.
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2024 7:09 pm
Matthi raised his eyebrows slightly - he had seen females behave like this around his father, but never toward him. He was flattered. And nervous, suddenly, with his heart seeming to take an extra beat between the breath he took in and took out.
The mare was... very pretty. Stormclouds still lingered on the edge of Matthi's mood, but in truth, he had been fully and completely distracted by her unexpected presence. He had thought he'd stormed off to be alone, sulk, and eventually track his father back down and talk it out with him.
He was suddenly realizing that that wasn't the only way the night could go.
"If it's so pleasant," Matthius said, trying to get his voice to hide the tremor of nervousness that he was positive the mare could hear, "why don't you come down here and have some with me?" Matthius hesitated a moment, then leaned down and neatly bit a small bundle of the flowers into a makeshift bouquet, which he held up to her.
"And then," he said, awkwardly around the flower stems, "you can show me someplace even better?"
((wc: 190
total: 1218 ))
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 2:16 pm
Myscelia laughed, a tinkling sound. A shy guy, trying to be bold in his words, and go along with her offering. She has a soft spot for the shy types. Really, all types were okay with her. Each held a special place in her open heart.
"Well then." she says as she pops into flutter form, and flits down to the stranger below. Flitting over to his ear, she says her name, a mere whisper on the wind in her petite form. "I'm Myscelia Petalwing, and I believe the pleasure is all mine to show you a place even better." she says, as she floats down to the ground like a gentle leaf. As soon as she lands, she stretches back into her full size. Still coming up short next to her stranger.
"I am parched. A drink before we go...Mr.? What shall I call you on this eve?" she says with a velvet tone to her voice. Buttering her words as she lays them out for him. She watches him as she picks up a orb shaped clay bottle, with a smaller round neck, strung with a braided blue cord to match her aesthetic. "This is my special brew of nectar and rice spirits. I brought it tonight, not wanting to drink alone. I'm so very glad you came to join me." she says as her eyes glow, framing her inviting smile.
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 9:05 pm
Matthi couldn't help but smile as he watched her transform - beautiful, just like her words in his ear, which sent shivers all up and down his lean body.
If Matthius had been raised by a normal parent, it's likely that they would have told him not to accept food or drink from strangers. But Hathi had never met a stranger - only friends - and at any rate, that night, all Matthius wanted to do was relax and forget his troubles. Any distraction would have done the trick, and the fact that it was such a pleasant distraction made it all the better.
"Matthius," he said, raising an eyebrow at the bottle she offered him. "And I think I'm starting to be very glad about that too, Myscelia Petalwing."
He tried to take a cautious sip of the drink she offered, but with it being around her neck and not wanting to make their sudden close proximity awkward, he ended up taking a rather large gulp, instead. Matthi couldn't help but let out a light cough as it raced its way down his throat. It burned, but not altogether unpleasantly, and it made his tail swish in excitement or apprehension, he couldn't quite tell which. It felt like the liquid was shooting through him like a star in the sky, but in a good way - he'd already completely forgotten what had brought him to these woods in the first place. He'd never had such a drink before, and he could already feel it warming his body, from the tip of his ears to the bottom of his hooves.
"I...like that stuff," Matthi decided matter-of-factly, pausing when he heard his own voice; it sounded silly to his ears, and he couldn't help but laugh. "And I think I like you, too, Myscelia Petalwing."
((wc: 302
total: 1520))
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 7:43 am
Myscelia looked at him through lowered eyelids as he took a sip. Gazing up at him with a smile that lifted one side of her delicate lips. The flower sake cool, with a tingling bite. Easy on the palate, but quick to do it's work. The sweet taste deceptive to those unaccustomed to her brew. It wouldn't make you pass out senselessly. It would however, release the mind from whatever might hold it back. One sip, an invitation to enjoy everything the forest had to offer. A few more sips, and you might accept what Myscelia had to offer as well. What exactly did she offer? A night to relax, release your worldly tensions, and escape into your dreams. Sometimes, one sip is all a stranger would take, then be on their way. This Petalwing didn't ever impose on those who only wanted a short stay outside the grotto. Forever bending to what others desire, like the trees branches sway in the wind.
"Matthius." she butters out his name with a silver tongue. "Would you like more?" More of the drink, and more of her time. Offering both with one phrase. Gingerly, she flutters a wing to the side of his face. "My drink is even smoother the second time you take a sip." she offers to him.
After a second sip, she is free to lead him to her home. An oasis, or a grove of fantasy. He'll be coherent enough to enjoy the walk through the woods, along a winding maze. The way forward has many paths, but not all lead to the entrance. Part of the illusion to confuse yet delight along the way. So he'll be more focused on his company, than the way in. This is to protect their secluded spa, so none may find their way in intentionally.
She waits for him to take a second sip, then skips off to the maze. "And I think I like you too, Matthius." she says with a giggle as she ducks behind a wall of vine and bush. Whispering into the night for him to follow. She'll keep her pace where he can see a part of her before she slips around a corner, and edge, a hall. Giggling, and speaking to him, to bid him her way. When they reach near the end, her words will be right behind him. A fun game to start the night. When he reaches the end, she intends to reward him with a soft kiss to his cheek. She can't wait to see his sake tinted blush, and offer him more sips through the night!
By sip three, you'll be ready to start your dream, but come morning, you won't remember a thing. Your body will remember it for you. Happy bliss, her goal for Matthi's weary soul.
Fin~
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