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 Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2021 4:19 pm
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Gisli stopped beneath a looming tree with high branches, leaning somewhat against its trunk, resting and evaluating. He had decided that he needed to strike out on his own and forge his own path, find his own family, but so far he hadn't found much of *anything* in the weeks since he left Brynhildr's side. He hadn't supposed it would be easy but he also hadn't thought it would be this **boring**. He sighed. Unless he set out to find a herd he had no idea how to find other Soquili by any way except for chance, and chance seemed to not be on his side.
The thought of finding a herd made him anxious...the only one he'd been near was rather fanatical about retaining members and keeping stallions flightless...a thing he quite frankly found to be repulsive. Gisli treasured his soft, gold-tipped wings. He and his mother had left the herd they were considering living in when they kept insisting that his wings be clipped if he were to stay. And while he was grateful to his mother for standing with him and ensuring his freedom, he also knew that their paths were not so closely entwined that he should follow her, or ask her to follow him, and so here he was - alone, herd-shy, and curious, with waning enthusiasm for actually finding anything resembling the life he'd envisioned for himself.
So he peered around, wondering if he should keep following this narrow path he'd happened upon, go back the way he'd come, or leave paths entirely to wander aimlessly. The pros and cons seemed to be equal for all of them at this point, but the mental list he was building fell away as he heard a twig snap nearby. [292 words] |
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 6:19 pm
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Ezekiel was equally on his own, having broken away from the only home he had ever known and now wandered the lands by himself. It was lonely. He was lonely. But he should have done that long ago. Despite how much he kept telling himself he wouldn't have gotten out on his own had the little boy not helped him, he still beat himself up from time to time for staying there and not even trying.
Unlike Gisli, but also similarly, Ezekiel had been kept captive against his will, trapped where he had been by humans who'd raised him from a young foal when they snatched him from his mother. They raised kirin and unicorns to train up their healing powers before killing them with the purpose of selling off body parts. Some were kept as breeding stock, if they proved more useful to pass on their abilities to the next generation. Ezekiel might have been one of those lucky stallions had the little boy not set free all the animals being kept locked up, disappearing into the night with them all as the camp burned down to the ground. The memory of it all still made him terribly nervous at night, jumping at every shadow and paranoid of every sound. He only felt comfortable when he found somewhere up high to sleep.
This nervousness found him today, as the scent of another was getting closer and closer to the spot where he had been grazing on a patch of clovers. The Soquili getting closer didn't smell dangerous, and Ezekiel didn't have any memories of cruel equines in his past. Just of cruel humans. But one never did know, right?
He debated just running, but they would hear his hooves as they beat heavy on the ground in his escape. Maybe if he stayed really quiet, they would just leave him alone.
But as he stepped back a bit, a branch caught under a back hoof and snapped. Instantly, his whole body went rigid, waiting for the retaliation to his stupidity. Nothing happened. So he squared up his shoulders and forced a bit of confidence into his body, edging closer, pale eyes seeing through the soft pink of his forelock. He poked his head out from behind a bush that had been blocking his view, turning his head slightly to get a better look at the equally bright stallion who had joined him in the forest this day. He took note of the double pair of wings. The smaller set tucked behind the ears. The set on his back hooves. The flowing feathers covering the pale hooves. All those were Angeni traits. Angeni were nothing to fear! Ezekiel had never met one, but he had heard tales that they were always kind and wise. He shouldn't hide.
Stepping out where he could be seen, he bowed his head respectfully, making his movements slow and closing his eyes.
"Good day!" he greeted, a little louder than he had intended. He raised his head back up, blowing up at his long forelock to get it out of his face. A little softer, he added, "I, uh...Don't often have company." |
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Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2021 7:00 am
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Gisli blinked in surprise as another stallion stepped out of the thick brushy foliage nearby. He must have really been deep inside his own head, following his train of thought quite intensely, if he hadn't even noticed the signs of an entire other Soquili nearby. Either that or this stranger was incredibly good at staying hidden. Well, either way it seemed that his carelessness was not going to be of negative consequence this time, and he felt lucky. The softly colored stallion in front of him had lovely feathered wings and a stunning unicorn horn, and was making his body language plainly non threatening. Gisli realized as he evaluated the Soquili in front of him that he found this stallion quite handsome, and was a little envious of his softly gradated mane. To have a soft rainbow of hair as you flew through the air must be quite a glorious thing! Nervously, he cleared his throat and returned the greeting. "Good day," he said softly. "Would you like company? I do not have to stay, after all, especially if you prefer to be alone." He did not want to intrude on the other's territory or solitude. After all, Gisli himself sometimes would rather be alone instead of forced to interact with anyone else, and especially hated when he felt like he had to shift from alone to interacting with others unexpectedly. But privately he hoped that his company would be welcome, because he really was searching for others that he got along with and it would be wonderful if this serendipitous meeting was the start of something wonderful in his life. (271)
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 8:01 pm
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"Oh, no, no. By all means, stay. If you want." Ezekiel swallowed, trying to relax his shoulders and hold his head confidently higher than it currently was. He really couldn't help it. He wasn't sure how one behaved around Angeni. A lot of the younger equines didn't seem to think much of the regal breed, but he was old enough to know better. He remembered the other foals and yearlings in the pens with him, talking about the Angeni. Some of them had been old enough when snatched that they had memories of their parents telling them tales of the many-winged equines. They had powers beyond anything other breeds could comprehend. unique to each one. It was a little terrifying, to be honest, not knowing what kind of magic and spells they possessed.
"I wasn't really doing anything special to want to be alone," he added, his tail swaying behind him as he fidgeted. He kept his hooves planted firmly on the ground, to stop from also pawing at the grass. Good impression. Make a good impression.
But what did he say? Even on a good day, Ezekiel wasn't the best at conversation. Wild Soquili were such a strange thing to him, having spent so much time in captivity with others like him. He still wasn't sure how one should behave out here.
Maybe just a little friendly chitchat, for start?
"I was having a meal of some delicious clover if you were hungry," he offered, stepping back so he didn't trample too many of them, now that there were two of them.
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