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 Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2026 5:57 am
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2026 11:50 pm
January  For those soquili with a green hoof, it is almost time to harvest before the summer sun wilts crops. Does your soquili partake in any farming or gardening? If so, what do they plant? How do they care for their garden? Do they work solo, with familiars or are they part of a herd or family who work together? Are they farming for food, are they gardening flowers, do they grow herbs for medicine or are they trying to conserve or restore a damaged plot of land?
If they don't farm or garden, why not? Do they not have the skill? Have they killed every plant they've tried to keep alive? Do they want to learn but don't know where to start? Maybe they can reach out to a farming or gardening soquili to get some tips! If they don't farm or garden, how do they eat? Do they live off the land and forage for food or are they hunters?
Write an RP responding to the above prompt telling us about how/why your soquili farms/gardens if they do. Or why not if they don't and what they do instead. Word Count 1,572Hyacinthia - 603Glimmer Glitch - 301Heliotrope - 419Summer is always the best time to garden, the mushrooms from the spring are almost ripe and the down trees from winter were well primed for colonization for fall and winter crops. Hyacinthia walked her underground garden taking mental notes of all the tasks she hoped to complete tonight. As she counted the cups of some of her favorite varieties she had an odd sense of not being alone. In the distance she could hear echoes of more than one someone moving outside her cave. Unfazed and unworried, she worked her way to the entrance. ’If they're here to visit I should go greet them,’ she pondered. ’And if they're just passing by I could use some more rotten logs for processing. It got darker as she moved up the cave. Heliotrope was on her last bit of sanity, not that she had much to begin with. They had been traveling for months, and on several occasions they went backwards, in circles or lost each other. She spent every waking moment trying to keep her father moving in the right direction. At night the familiars took turns on lookout. On more than one occasion Glimmer Glitch wandered off on Spike's watch. Cats, even cactus cats, are lazy and known to sleep whenever they wish.
It was hot and she was tired. She gave the cave a skeptical look. "Spike, are you sure this is the right place?" The cavern hole was small and resembled a large mouth with sharp rocky teeth jetting out of the ground and ceiling. She heard soft snores from her back. Spike was out cold. "I guess this is as good a place to rest for the night as anywhere. Sounds good Dad?"
Glimmer Glitch wandered up, wide eyed, staring at the giant whale before him. "What big teeth you have. I wonder how I taste." He turned his head around waiting for the ferns to answer, but like always they flailed at him disapproving. The oddly spiky one stretched his leaves talking to the big fern 'or is she a small tree', he wondered to himself.
"This should be it." Spike stretched lazily. "When you enter there should be a tiny stream," He licked his paws. "And if you follow it, deep into the cave, you should find a pool of water." The licking sounds got louder and louder. "Somewhere around there, there should be what he needs but," his tongue wandered behind him making more disturbing noises, "I'm not sure what exactly does it. Could be the water, the rocks or a spirit of some sort. It's a mystery,” He paused, not really wanting to say it. “or a tall tale."
"She is definitely a tree fern." Glimmer announced randomly aloud, completely unaware that he had only been thinking about it earlier. "Cavern of Dreams, is it just behind the mouth? Shell we skip on inside now?" He started weaving his way towards the cave, swaying to and fro.
"Dad, it's almost dark. We should wait till morning." Heliotrope tried to reason with him. The heat was getting to her making it harder to think.
Ches flitted by. "It probably couldn't hurt to check out the cave, at least a little bit before we lose the sun." He moved around quickly looking around. "Plus, caves are cooler. I'd love to get out of this heat." He landed and looked at her seriously.
"This is true. I think we could all use a little bit of cool air and cooler water." She sighed. "Dad," she looked at him seriously. "The rules are this, we only go as far as I say and we rest for the night! Spike, you will sleep on top of Glimmer and if he moves you better use some claws, otherwise you'll be sent after him alone. Dad, do you agree?" Peripeteia caught up, joining the tail end of the conversation.
 Glimmer nodded, turning to the spiky fern. "A spiky wake up call, should I wonder deeper into the whale? That sounds wonderful. Shell we Tree Fern?" Glimmer bowed his head low to his daughter.
Hyacinthia watched the odd group from the shadows. She had been returning to the surface to get some rotten logs to feed her mushroom garden when she was surprised to find an odd group standing at her door step. A purple stallion who could barely stand and was obviously in a state of mindless madness, a cat-like mare with a tail that twitched and moved in and out of existence, a literal cactus cat, a small song bird and a mutant bunny. 'They don't seem to be here to cause trouble.' She thought to herself moving deeper into the darkness to watch them. Hyacinthia had lived most of her life in this cave system. The stream provided water. The cavern provided a year round protection from the elements and the rocks in the depths glowed with a warmth that filled her with joy.
Glimmer trotted in behind his daughter. "This whale is quite different inside than I thought it would be. How odd. Everything's so bright.” His eyes focused through the darkness. “And the most beautiful creature is hiding here within." He smiled at the darkness where Hyacinthia was hiding. "Why hide, my sweet blue bird?" The ferns rolled their eyes thinking he was crazy but they couldn’t see the world the way he did.
Walking out of the darkness Hyacinthia looked sheepishly around the entry to the cave. “It would seem you see things a bit differently than your friends. My name is Hyacinthia. I was just coming up to find some rotten logs for my mushroom garden. The heat really helps them flourish.” She smiled, not taking her eyes off Glimmer.
”And a voice of a bird to match. I’m Glimmer Glitch, the tree fern is my daughter Heliotrope. The spikey fern is Spike and the shooting star is Ches. I know Peripeteia is here somewhere, she’s a forest spirit. So calm though I find it hard to see her most of the time.”
One by one the group reintroduced themselves to Hycinthia. “I apologize for accidentally invading your home but Spike here,” she pointed in his direction, “had heard a rumour about this being the Cavern of Dreams. A place that might be able to help my father navigate the world, more clearly.
Hyacinthia looked around taking everything in before leading the group deeper into the cave. “It’ll be dark soon but that’s the best time to visit the deepest parts of the cave. I’ve had people visit from time to time looking for the Cavern of Dreams and most of the time they find something that helps them.” The deeper they went the brighter it started to get. The water ran under her hooves, a gentle trickling stream. The walls opened up to reveal a strange underground garden with a quite blue lagoon in the middle.
“If I didn’t know better I’d swear I walked into the way my father sees the world.” Helio gasped looking around. The crystal walls glowed oddly blue and mushrooms and ferns scattered along the path around the little lake.
”What makes the crystals glow like this?” Ches flew around taking a close look at everything.
”Your right Heliotrope, this is exactly how I picture your father seeing things. It’s just so trippy.” She said hopping behind the group.
”Are all the mushrooms edible?" Glimmer asked, looking from one to the next. “Lots of varieties I’ve never seen before. And you grow all of these?” His eyes were clear again. Spike laid lazily on his back watching water drip from the ceiling and make perfect rings in the cool wet water.
”All the ones in here are edible. But they're not quite ready to harvest yet. I have a few other areas dedicated to medicinal or recreational varieties in harder to reach parts of the cave system.” She watched Glimmer looking closely at all the different shapes, sizes and colors they came in. “The best sleeping area is up ahead.” Moving slightly uphill they left most of the moist slippery floor behind. “I'm not certain if it's the water or some sort of healing minerals from the rocks but for some this place helps them. Hopefully it can calm Glimmer’s,” she searched for a good word for it, “deliria."
The floor got softer and made her tail fully appear before coming and going again. Her cat eyes rolled back in her head. She shifted her paws over the moss that covered the floor. “I can tell why this is the sleeping room. I've never felt anything so,” her fur stood on end for a moment before dropping, “soft.” Her cat-like nature was hard to miss.
Spike smiled, watching Helio's true nature show through her tough exterior. Hopping off Glimmer he kneaded the floor calmly.
”There are no extra tunnels out of this room and I normally work in the mushroom garden at night so there is no need to worry about Glimmer wandering away. Relax and we'll talk more in the morning.” She smiled at the group before excusing herself. If she hurried she could still grab the rotten logs to start incubating them before there was a chance for Glimmer to stir.
”Good night Mrs blue bird.” Glimmer said quietly, finding a comfortable place to sleep. The soft moss hugged him, like he was sleeping on a cloud.
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2026 11:54 pm
 Fall has finally come and it's about time. You're really starting to enjoy the cooler weather after this blazing summer. You've started gearing everything towards this transitional time....Only, it's false tall or as some call it, second summer. It's getting unbearably hot again. Does it seem hotter than before or is it just because you'd finally had a break from the relentless heat? How does this effect your travel plans? Do you have to put them off or prepare differently? What about your hunting plans or you planting times? Is this whole thing a blessing in disguise or are you going to have to do a complete 180 in your life to make it work?
Write an RP responding to the above prompt telling us about how this changes your plans. 750 word count minimum. Word Count 1,527
Salena - 254
Aurelia - 469
Cera - 291
Euryale - 297The summer has been long and hot but Salena could feel the weather changing. The garden was flourishing thanks to Aurelia’s help. During the day she worked in the garden together and at night she watched Aurelia discover her new form. Since Yuuki had been back she had been hidden up in her small workshop cabin working on something. Salena also got the feeling Yuuki wasn’t alone in there, which made her smile.
Today Salena decided to check on her. Carefully she knocked with one hoof. “Yuuki, it’s starting to cool off, the girls were talking about going for a walk. Care to join?A smaller than expected squirrel answered the door. “Mom, can we go for a walk?””Of course hun. Kouki this is Salena. Salena this is my son Kouki.” Yuuki nonchalantly introduced the two of them together. Salena didn’t know why she had left in the spring and Yuuki hadn’t felt like explaining it and when she returned carrying Kouki in her bag she decided not to introduce him to all the strangers that had joined them.Salena swallowed, ’this isn’t what I thought I’d find.’ She quickly recovered from the shock. “Nice to meet you Kouki.” An excited squirrel scampered past her and ran full speed down the path.”Best get galloping. He’s hard to keep up with.” Yuuki raced after him with Salena not far behind. Aurelia watched as two squirrels and Salena raced by. “That’s an odd sight.” She said mostly to herself. Not that she wasn’t just as odd of a sight right then either. She stood in her human form, now covered by scraps of clothing in a makeshift outfit. She had been practicing for several weeks on her new found power. Aurelia started out trying to fix a curse on herself only to discover that she was more herself now than she had ever been. Once she loosened up and enjoyed more of the world her fits of cursing stopped.”Oh good, Kouki’s out of the house.” Cera smiled, she and Aurelia had known about him for a while but for some reason Yuuki didn’t want Salena to know. So Cera kept out of it. “It looks like you’ve got walking down now.” Cera lightly bumped into Aurelia and Aurelia didn’t fall over. “And better balance too. Dinner is almost ready.” Cera turned to check on it. “Are you looking forward to starting the harvest in the morning?” She asked.She smiled. “I am, and I can’t wait to try these hands out. Should make things much easier.”For the first time since Yuuki had returned, the group of them enjoyed a meal together. The cool air was a refreshing change. Kouki turned in early while the rest of them stayed up late and told each other stories. Salena now knew everything about Yuuki and Gethin, and about her children. Everyone turned in and slept in late.Cera woke up to the sun being up and she felt warmer than expected. “Gahh, why is it hot again.” She wined to herself. “I thought we had passed all this.” She pleaded with the world. “Mother nature, you're so cruel!” She shook her hoof out in front of her. ”I wish,” Aurelia chimed in. “I’ve been up for hours just sweating like crazy. Guess we get a second summer.” She shook and stretched her wings, trying to get some air moving. “We were talking about packing up for a beach day. Care to join?”
 ”Now that’s what I’m talking about, count me in.” She rubbed her face against her leg trying to wake up. “I’m ready as soon as I can stand up.” The beach wasn’t partially close but luckily most of the trip was in the shade. Cera and Solena galloped at a fairly fast pace, the wind helped ease the heat.
Aurelia flew ahead with Yuuki and Kouki. They found a spot out of the sun, a large rock jutted out over the calm water of the tide pools. She lightly dipped her toes in the water while the two squirrels splashed around.
”You really should have packed more clothing to wear at the beach. Why do you think I made you so many different kinds” Yuuki chastised Aurelia, making sure not to take her eyes off Kouki who was currently collecting as many shells as he could find.
”I know, that’s why I’m staying in the shade. No burns today.” She looked at her arms and hugged her knees. “At least the offence bits are covered. Plus I wanted to bring enough food for us to stay a day or two.”
Yuuki rolled her eyes. “It will be nice not to have to travel back today and I think next time we’ll ride on Salena.” She shivered. “Flying is terrifying!”
Smerking Aurelia started braiding her hair to get it up and out of the way. “You jump from tree to tree without wings, and you're complaining about flying on something that is meant to be in the sky! I’ve seen you miss when you jump.” She stuck her tough out but Yuuki wasn’t looking. Her attention was fully on her son.
”Kouki, you really shouldn’t go that far out!” She shouted.
”Mom, it’s fine!” He continued swimming around, using his tail as a rudder.
”Is that…” she said out loud. Aurelia noticed a familiar pile of rainbow snakes and tentacles moving towards the shore. “Yuuki, don’t freak out but I think Cera’s mother is here.” She pointed towards the odd mass moving towards Kouki. “Do you trust me?” Aurelia smiled an evil smile at Yuuki who was now looking at her with a mix of panic and enjoyment. Taking that as a yes she screamed “Sea monster!”
 Euryale heard the scream from shore and swam closer to the little rainbow creature. How could she not have a little bit of fun? Its legs were moving so fast and its tail was thrashing uncontrollably.
Kouki started screaming and swimming for shore as fast as he could. “Sea monster! Mommy!” He cried, stumbling back to shore.
As the water got shallow she began to walk rather than swim and before long she was standing in ankle deep water, a bit confused by the site before her. A pale almost naked Kawani woman sat on the shore with two brightly colored squirrels.
Yuuki hugged Kouki before telling him I told you so. “Next time when I say not to do something, maybe you should listen.
Aurelia stood up walking towards Euryale. “Still scaring others?” She said, smirking at the mare.
Euryale took a step back. She had never met a human who wasn’t afraid of her. Nor had she ever been able to understand one. Luckily for her she saw Cera running down to the shore with a full size mare.
”Cera! Salena! Glad you made it. Flying is so much faster than running.” She shouted at the two of them as they got close.
Cera didn’t even slow down; she ran straight into the water knocking her mother down. “Mom,” she screeched. “What are you doing here?” Not waiting for a response Cera dove into the water to cool off.
”What in the world did I miss?” Salena came to a stop next to Aurelia looking around at the sight before her. Kouki was crying, Yuuki was hugging him and yelling at him at the same time. An odd Nixie was standing half in the water being called Mom by Cera. “Aurelia?” She stood waiting for an explanation.
”Aurelia?” Euryale repeated, unfazed by her daughter rushing off to the water. “Is that you?” She asked getting close to the human. “I thought you looked odd for a Kawani and I’ve never heard them speak anything other than gibberish. Let alone show that much skin without being naked.” She laughed.
Aurelia threw her hands around Euryale’s neck, giving her a tight hug. “It’s nice to see you. I know Cera has missed you.” She said, pulling back, shivering slightly from the feeling of tentacles and snakes on her skin. Euryale was refreshingly cold compared to the rest of their surroundings.
Euryale hugged her back, letting her snakes and tentacles free. Her human skin felt oddly smooth. “I was traveling by and I heard someone yelling at their kid not to go too far so I thought I’d help remind him why he should listen to his mother.” She looked at Kouki who wouldn’t make eye contact with her. “And I may have taken it a little far,” She said regrettably. “When I heard you shout sea monster,” she nodded towards Aurelia. “I knew I had to come ashore and apologize.”
Kouki’s face scrunched up and he turned towards her. “I wasn’t scared!” He said stomping his little feet, still unable to look her in the eye.
Yuuki frowned and crossed her arms.
Smirking, Euryale walked up and leaned down close to him. “REALLY?” she said. “Are you Sssshure?” She let one of her snakes hiss lightly in his ear and a tentacle reached towards his face.
His eyes teared up. “Mommy!” He cried. “I’ll listen next time.”
Kouki buried his head in her chest. She gave a mom smile back to Euryale. A silent thankyou.
Cool and wet surrounded her and a light pressure from the waves moved her to and fro. It was moments like this that made her understand her mother better. ’Wait?’ her brain returned to the present. ’What’s my mother doing here?’ She worked her way to the shore, unnerved by the fact it was dark now. “Mom, what are you doing here?” She asked the group.
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2026 11:55 pm
 The weather is turning but mother nature has one last hurrah in store - it seems she has mustered up a blizzard that's blown down from the mountains and over the majority of the Kawani lands. This is highly unusual for this time of year, it seems winter was not ready to let go! How does your soquili fair in this blizzard? Do they see the signs early and manage to avoid it completely? Do they seek shelter in time and wait it out? Do they find themselves stranded and in danger? Do they fend for themselves or do they help others around them?
Write an RP responding to the above prompt telling us about how your soquili responds to this natural disaster! Should you meet the requirements, the spirits may send them something to keep them warm! Word count 1,038
Nadya and Naomie - 329
Gwyneira - 352
Tahbloka - 303Nadya and Naomie hadn’t stayed in one place so long, and they were really enjoying themselves. Hawthorne Crossing had an odd flux of residents, something they really enjoyed about being here. A few, like them, traveled over the mountains from the south while others who lived deep in the woods and valleys of the mountains came here to trade or avoid the winter. On a few occasions even a few desert loving Soquilli joined them from the far side of the mountains to the north. All the variety they were used to without all the annoying traveling.
But their main reason for staying was Gwyn, meddling in her romantic life was just too much fun. “Did you see the way those two were looking at each other on the last night?” Nadya smirked.”Yeah,” Naomie sighed, wishing she could find someone to look at her like that. “Do you think they’ll survive being apart so long?” She watched the town bustling around them. The outlying groups had joined them for winter and winter was coming to an end.”I hope so,” Nadya looked at the distant mountains and an idea hit her. “Perhaps there is a way to make sure it does.” She smiled at her sister. “Tahbloka is a bit of a romantic, isn’t he?”
’I wonder if he would go after her? Surprise her?’ She smiled more ’The snow is so romantic this time of year…’ Her thoughts trailed off.”He is…” Naomie said suspiciously. “What exactly do you have in mind sis?” Her eyebrow rose out of curiosity.”Wouldn’t it be sweet, and quite romantic too,” Her smile deepened. “If he met up with her at the half way point, the cabin on the ridge.” She paused, seeing the twinkle in Naomie’s eyes. “Wouldn’t that be perfect?””That would be perfect!” She squealed, causing her side of the body to twitch and jump. “I think I saw him outside the medicine hut not too long ago.” — Meanwhile on the edge of a mountain — Far away Gwyn felt a large shiver go up her spine, her ears perked up at an odd shift in the world around her. She had left Hawthorn after signs that winter was starting to check for Aurelia. Fall harvest had come and gone and there had been no sign of the Angini she had come to know so well. But now winter was slowing and there was no sign of Aurelia. The wind shifted, starting to blow from the west bringing her back to reality. “Feels like a cold snap is about to hit.” She said to the snow around her. “Guess winter isn’t done with me yet. Aurelia, I hope you're well wherever you are.” Shifting from her horse form to her bear form she left the cliffs and returned to the caves nearby. ’If you're not back by spring I’ll go back to town.’ She thought to herself, images of Tahbloka drifted into her mind, causing her to almost run into a tree. — Later that day back at the village — Carefully Tahbloka packed his bag. He made sure that there was enough dry food to last him a week or more. He also packed some of Gwyns favorite dried meat. ’This is such a bad idea.’ He kept telling himself. ’Why did I let those two talk me into this?’ He rolled everything up in a warm blanket and tried to focus on the positive. ’I’m being romantic, this is supposed to be romantic.’ Stopping in his tracks he admitted aloud. “No this really is a bad idea. Oh well.”
He moved through town quietly, in case anyone tried to stop him, his mind was doing a good job of that already. Last year's blizzard was still fresh on his mind. The start of spring wasn’t guaranteed. The first part of the trek was uneventful. He moved quickly and carefully, following the path laid out over the mountains for travelers. The first day was easy but the storm hit midway through the second day.
’Yep, this was a bad idea.’ He kept saying to himself. Keeping his head low he pushed ahead, looking up every few feet to make sure he could still see the next marker. It worked for a time, until it didn’t. The snow went from hard to blinding. Nothing but white surrounded him. “Crap, this isn’t good. If I can’t see I can’t move.” The snow now drifted nearly as high as his belly. A familiar smell filled his nostrils. ’Evergreen sap, please say it’s a traveler's fir.’ He pleaded with the world around him.
Following his nose he found possibly the smallest traveler's fir tree he’s ever seen but he didn’t complain he just shoveled his way into its safe embrace. Here he stayed through the night and the next day. Only when the storm died down did he venture out to find the path again. Luckily he hadn’t wandered too far off.— Back on the edge of a mountain — Gwyn had waited out the storm in the cavern near the dropoff but with the smell of spring in the air she couldn't wait any longer. ’Good luck to you Aurelia, may you find your way home.’ She silently prayed, unsure if Hawthorn was still Aurelia’s home or if she had found the place she fit in. The trip over the mountains was harder than normal. The blizzards had caused mounds of snow to collect. With each cave and traveler's rest she came to she had to manually dig out the entrances. Where she could she helped those trapped by the storm, never staying long.
She approached the half way cabin carefully. There was smoke leaving the chimney which meant it was currently being used. Soquilli and other animals weren’t the only ones who visited this cabin. She circled it quietly twice before daring to enter. She lifted the door knob with her nose and entered carefully, pulling the door closed with her paw. The room was comfortably warm, the fire had been well kept and a familiar horse sat near the fire smiling at her.
”I couldn’t wait for you to return.” Tahbloka tried to smile confidently.
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