hop, skip, jump | azzuen - Printable Version +- HELOVIA || The Way to the Sun (http://helovia.com) +-- Forum: Out of Character (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Archives (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +--- Thread: hop, skip, jump | azzuen (/showthread.php?tid=1178) |
hop, skip, jump | azzuen - Official - 08-12-2012 Ktulu March 13th, 2012 at 10:12pm It was a completely new sensation for Ktulu, being able to walk without limping horribly and not having the constant, dull ache in her legs that came from them being deformed. She had actually resigned herself to the fact that she would just be a lame girl as Zawodnik had called her just before the Tides were invaded. His careless insult had successfully shattered her already fragile self confidence and nearly eliminated her desire to be a strong warrior when she was grown. Now that her legs were straight she felt like a completely new being. She was brimming with confidence and her hopes and dreams seemed to be reaching new heights. The filly squealed suddenly, her hind legs flying out as she bucked at nothing. As soon as her hooves touched the sandy ground she was running, her small hooves digging into the loose sand as she flew along the beach. The last time she had run was when she was running from Isilme, barely ahead of the attacking shades. She had been terrified and in so much pain then. Now she wasn't. She was happy. Excited even. Her father had made it out, from what Kimber had said, and her legs were fixed. She couldn't wait to find her dad and show him. Ktulu's direction changed and she ran from the beach into the water only to turn and run back to shore because of the coldness of the water. Once back on shore she stopped and shook herself then looked around. She needed to find her sister soon so they could search for their parents together. First, however, she wanted to continue running and playing and enjoy it for the first time in her life. ooc:|| i dislike starting thread, hence the crappiness xP Azzuen March 15th, 2012 at 6:12pm The beach that lined the great ocean was peaceful for Azzuen. The gentle, constant thrum of waves lapping at the sands helped him to maintain his inner focus. He was lost in thought, his indigo gaze staring out over the waters. The sea breeze cooled his muscles, but the Sun warmed his dark hide otherwise. Breathing in the sea salt air, he pondered over many things. He still wondered where his brother was, but held a confidence now that he would find him soon. Always he kept an ear out for Kri, her call would summon them all together, and then they would organise and plan a way to infiltrate herdlands to call their own. But until that time came, he would stand vigil, and continue with his training. Stretching his wings upward, the feathers spread out as he tested his reflexes, all the while simply standing upon the beach. His wings were a sight to behold, with their tribal markings upon the dorsal side, and a white stripe lining the first primary feather of each. The small smudges of tribal markings above his eyes were a genetic gift from his father, meant to identify a warrior of true strength and resolve – though Azzuen felt like he hadn’t proven this to anyone in the physical means yet. A sharp squeal cut into his concentration. Abruptly his wings returned to his sides, bulky though they were. Cranium turned and pinpointed the whereabouts of the sound. Linking himself to his magic, he immediately enhanced his sense of smell, and spent the next few seconds trying to identify what it was that made such a sound. He found the scent of a female, that he was sure, and he could tell it was not a Pegasus. But then it became a bit fuzzy, A mix? he wondered curiously. Naryl, his mother, would have berated him for not slaughtering the crossbreed of her two most hated species straight away. But time had altered Azzuen’s attitude, he had received harsh ‘welcomes’ from equines of all shapes and makes, and while he preferred the company of his own species, he was not likely to be openly violent towards all of the others any more. He had even greeted and helped those who could not fly through the Threshold, especially those seeking refuge from Isilme. All of the species felt the devastating blow of the destruction of those lands. He wondered if this filly might have been through similar, given the hint of Isilme that tainted her scent. Returning his senses to normal, the stallion watched the small one frolic upon the sands, even allowing a small smile to grace his lips as he recalled behaving much like that just recently, with Cassiopeia. Oh, to be young, and to be able to enjoy life just because you could! His deep baritone echoed from his muzzle as he summoned a neigh from his lungs, trying to convey within it that he meant no harm to this small creature. Rocking his form forward, he entered a canter straight from a standstill, a slow and steady beat, though it was quick enough to keep up with the filly. Keeping his wings tight against his flanks, he hoped he did not scare the youth with knee-high stockings. “Hullo!” He said happily, slowing his pace and hoping the filly would follow suit and perhaps engage him in conversation. “My name is Azzuen, young one. Might I know your name?” Ktulu March 18th, 2012 at 11:16am Sand flew from around her hooves as she skidded to a stop at the sound of a stallion's neigh. It wasn't her father, she knew immediately. Her ears tilted forward and she looked around, crimson eyes scanning over the beach to one side of her before she turned her head in the other direction. There he was. A pegasus. She hadn't seen an adult one before. The only pegasus she had seen before him had been Kludd and he hadn't been much older than she. When he spoke he seemed friendly enough and that put Ktulu at ease. She smiled and watched him as his canter slowed. He was being careful, she noticed. He probably didn't want to scare her. That made her snort lightly and paw at the sand with her right forehoof. She wasn't scared of anything anymore. Her legs were fixed and she could run properly now. Ktulu's short tail twitched and she trotted toward the pegasus. "I'm Ktulu." She said as she began to circle Azzuen. She paused and stretched her neck out to sniff at one of his wongs. "Why do you have wings?" Kludd hadn't been able to answer her when she'd asked him the same question. He'd been too preoccupied about wanting to be a unicorn because of his mother. "How high can you fly? Can I have one of your feathers? They're really pretty." Azzuen March 19th, 2012 at 8:20pm Azzuen noted the fearlessness in the filly, and it caused memories of he and his brother to come flooding back. They were fearless, reckless, stupid and yet got away with everything, so they must have been cunning too. Whilst this filly was not necessarily doing all those things, the fact that she did not shy away from the Pegasus who was easily double her size attributed her confident stature. Happily he lowered a wing for her to sniff, curious as to what she would make of them. He took the opportunity to observe her own horn – something which Azzuen would probably never get used to would be horns growing out of one’s head – and severe lack of wings protruding from her sides. It made her look all the smaller compared to him, whose wings were large even for a Pegasus. He chuckled warmly at her questions; it seemed the insatiable appetite for knowledge was a common thing amongst the youth of all species. “I have wings for the same reason you have your horn and no wings. My parents had wings, as did their parents, and so on. The gods made us this way originally, and though sometimes we can mix, there will always be defining characteristics that make us what we are; Pegasus, Unicorn or Equine.” He hadn’t really given it much thought before, but he had lived enough life to know that what you were did not define who you were. He had suffered through enough attacks against him from those with wings, horns and dragons to know that loyalty and friendship should not be wholly defined by species. And yet, he still felt that instinctual loyalty to protect his own brethren above all else. Ruffling his feathers so that they stood on end, he extended them slightly, and gave them a quick shake. A relatively small feather dropped down from his left wing, about 6 inches in length, black in colour except for its very tip, that had a small circle of white on it. Being winter, it was a very soft feather, sleek and shiny with a bit of fluffy stuff around the root that connected it to the rest of his wing. Picking it up between his teeth he proffered it to the filly, curious and yet understanding why she might want one. “Here you go.” He said with a smile. His own mother had taken Ignatius’ horn from his deadened bodice all those years ago, before Azzuen was even born, and kept it as a medallion of her achievement. It had been kept hidden for a long time, and Azzuen could not recall its whereabouts now. Not that it mattered. “You see those clouds? I can fly as high as them and higher still if I want. Though sometimes it does get a bit cold up there!” He gestured to the fluffy white clouds that lazily drifted across the pale blue sky, his wings still half extended as he did so. There was no sensation that equalled flying. The solace one could find up there was unmatched by anything on earth. “How about yourself, Ktulu? How fast can those strong legs of yours run?” It was a light challenge to the filly, Azzuen could use a stretch of his legs, and the filly had been enjoying a good run beforehand. Ktulu April 8th, 2012 at 9:27am Ktulu listened with interest as the pegasus explained that his parents had wings. "My daddy has a horn." she said. "But my mom doesn't. And me and my sister both have horns." It still didn't make complete sense to the filly. "But where did their wings come from?" She questioned further. "Did everyone have wings? Were they a gift?" The wings, like her horn, had to have come from somewhere. You didn't just wake up one morning and have a horn sprouting from your head or wings on your back. Her questions were forgotten when Azzuen picked up a feather that had fallen from his wing and offered it to her. Ktulu stepped forward and touched her muzzle against the feather. She breathed in its scent before turning a little and offering her neck to Azzuen. "Can you put it in my mane?" she asked. "That way I won't lose it." She stood still and silent as she waited for Azzuen to tuck the feather into her mane and when he did she stepped back and looked up at him. "I wish I had something to give you in return." She said. "But I don't have any feathers and my horn doesn't come off." Ktulu looked around, but she didn't see anything of interest that she could give the pegasus in return for his gift. She sighed and thought for a bit before looking back up at him. "How about I be your friend?" Her head tilted to the side as she looked up at him. Her look turned to one of awe as Azzuen said he could fly as high as the clouds and higher, still. She blinked then grinned as he asked how fast her legs could carry her. "Faster than yours." She answered his challenge with one of her own before bolting off and leaving him in the sand behind her. Azzuen April 8th, 2012 at 9:47pm Ktulu listened with interest as the pegasus explained that his parents had wings. "My daddy has a horn." she said. "But my mom doesn't. And me and my sister both have horns." It still didn't make complete sense to the filly. "But where did their wings come from?" She questioned further. "Did everyone have wings? Were they a gift?" The wings, like her horn, had to have come from somewhere. You didn't just wake up one morning and have a horn sprouting from your head or wings on your back. Her questions were forgotten when Azzuen picked up a feather that had fallen from his wing and offered it to her. Ktulu stepped forward and touched her muzzle against the feather. She breathed in its scent before turning a little and offering her neck to Azzuen. "Can you put it in my mane?" she asked. "That way I won't lose it." She stood still and silent as she waited for Azzuen to tuck the feather into her mane and when he did she stepped back and looked up at him. "I wish I had something to give you in return." She said. "But I don't have any feathers and my horn doesn't come off." Ktulu looked around, but she didn't see anything of interest that she could give the pegasus in return for his gift. She sighed and thought for a bit before looking back up at him. "How about I be your friend?" Her head tilted to the side as she looked up at him. Her look turned to one of awe as Azzuen said he could fly as high as the clouds and higher, still. She blinked then grinned as he asked how fast her legs could carry her. "Faster than yours." She answered his challenge with one of her own before bolting off and leaving him in the sand behind her. Ktulu April 29th, 2012 at 11:22pm Ktulu ran as fast as her thin legs could carry her little body, but of course she wasn't fast enough. Azzuen's legs were much longer than her's were and he was more used to running than she was. It was only very recently that her legs had been straightened and she was able to actually run. Until then she had been limited to walking. The idea of losing didn't bother her, though. She was just so happy to be able to run and play and race with someone. Azzuen's challenge to jumping the log was unexpected, but like any challenge that was thrown her way she accepted it. Ktulu watched as the pegasus jumped over the broadest part of the long. "Using your wings to jump is cheating!" She called to him. "That's not jumping that's flying!" She would show him what jumping really was. Rather than go to the thinner part of the tree she continued to run toward the part that Azzuen had jumped over. It was much taller than she was, but she was a filly with confidence. That confidence, however, started to dwindle a little as she approached the fallen tree. She slowed down then hopped rather than jumped. The hop landed her halfway onto the log and, in response, she scrabbled her way over the log and tumbled onto the ground on the other side. The filly stood and shook herself off then pranced away from the log. Sure, she hadn't shown him what jumping really was, but that didn't stop her from being proud of herself. She had jumped her first log, kind of, and she hadn't gone to the little foal end of it to do it. Azzuen April 30th, 2012 at 6:35am The stallion regretted his actions and words now, the full weight of his challenge finally setting in. Azzuen was a reckless being, especially as a foal. Though he had sobered up a bit, clearly when inspired to act coltish, he lost some sense of responsibility. Some father I’ll be… he thought about the family he was building with Cassiopeia, how could he be so foolish? With fear he watched as the filly took on the large area he had so easily flown over. Surging forward to try and do something – anything – to help her, he stopped in his tracks with relief upon his brow as she propped herself upright atop the log. He smiled, allayed of most of the worry and tension that had built up by his own fault of action. Of course if he set a challenge to a youth, they would follow – that was what youths did. Heck, that certainly was what he and Voltaic did. Remembering times of reckless abandon as they leapt distances far too great for their growing wings to handle when colts flashed through his memory. They had survived – though there were definitely some close calls. With a great leap from his standstill position, and many hard, large flaps of his wings, he hovered above the filly. Legs tucked up to his belly so that his muzzle could duck down and lip at her tail, though he was careful to dodge any hooves that might fly up because of his actions. Laughing, he tilted his wingspan and landed again, trotting a wide circle about the filly’s prancing dance. “I’ll make a Pegasus of you yet!” He joked, pleased that she had made the journey over the log. A thought entered his mind, and with some amusement, he dug around his right wing, amongst the thickest of feathers, and clutched the wooden end of his father’s spear. Pulling it out, his tossed it so that the silver tip pointed up, then curved and fell down, so that the point was embedded into the sand. “I have a tool that when used correctly could be as deadly as the horn upon your head. It was my father’s weapon.” |