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12-09-2014, 11:03 AM
| Kipling had disliked his sheltered life of solitude – that’s why he so eagerly rushed off to ingrain himself into herd life at the slightest suggestion – but it certainly had its benefits. No one can hurt you if you never interact with anyone. No one can steal your youthful wonder and corrupt it into staid cynicism. The flipside, of course, was that there was no one to participate in your delight with you, which was terribly boring. What significance does anyone have in life beyond their connections to others? When the earthly body expires and bones crumble to dust, what matters besides whether the thought of you persists somehow through memory and history? While Kipling did not consider these thoughts on such a grand scale, he did understand that Essetia and Romul were incredibly fortunate to have each other. It was easy to see that their lives were intimately intertwined, that they would always matter to each other, that one’s absence would always be noticed and felt by the other. He had expected to feel some twinge of jealousy, but he was taken back by his genuine reaction of happiness for the pair. As Essetia explained their meeting and Romul padded along at his side, Kipling wondered vaguely if his parents missed him. “Wow… were we all—” He couldn’t quite finish the question, however, as a waterfall had appeared in front of them quite without notice (well, Kipling hadn’t noticed it, at least). Kipling watched with nothing short of awe as Essetia disappeared behind the cascade. Why had no one ever told him there were places behind the falls to see? Where exactly had the badger-faced mare gone? He heard the echo of her voice through the water, and he responded by cautiously reaching out a front hoof to poke at it. He snorted and jumped back as it predictably splashed up at him and sprayed his front half, then shook his head and tried to gracefully regain his composure. With a final glance at Romul for confidence and a thought - I hope he doesn’t tell her how dumb I just looked - he took a deep breath and flung himself through the sheet of water, landing on the other side with a loud clatter of hooves seeking purchase in the wet cave. Using his long horn to balance himself, he managed to get his legs beneath him and stood still, looking around in delirious excitement. “Wow,” He whispered again, this time under his breath, as his eyes began to adjust to the odd light that filtered through the waterfall. Water condensed and dripped from the long hairs that grew around his muzzle and eyes. He stared back at Essetia again, and a boyish grin settled over his face. He tried to shout over the water, “How did you ever find this place? This is amazing! Look at all this!” |
