Post by Therdde on Mar 22, 2010 11:09:46 GMT -5
Characters:
Rockhead - Adolescent Male Bear
Zeladoni - Female Horse Foal
- Grassy Plains -
Rockhead has been ever so slowly following his mother's path. At least, he thinks it's his mother's path. He has not seen her in many months, and the only indication that he is still going in the correct direction are the signs of animal passing too large and conspicuous to have been left by any other solitary animal, if not a bear. As far as why he is following her... The aptly-named Rockhead has minimal idea, other than that trailing along behind his mother was always sure to turn up food eventually. Not that he has any trouble in that regard, particularly. He is skinny, as bears go, but he does not seem to have ever gone to sleep hungry, and as his ambling path takes him slowly toward the mountain, his jaws split in a great yawn that is accompanied, involuntarily, by a low growl.
Zeladoni is another young creature following her dam, and is now finally in a herd of horses after months of traveling from something called a Rodeo in the East. A six-month old filly, Zel is still trying to figure out the world and her place within it. She, too, yawns and rises, stretching gangly legs and looking around. Hmf. Her mother -was- here when she fell asleep, but has probably gone to talk with the lead mare of Dorado herd. She notices a large, almost boulder-like object moving nearby and instinctively freezes. Wait, boulders don't move! She gives a small, carrying whicker to the creature, not sure if its dangerous or not.
Dangerous? At his current age, an adult horse would be more likely to seriously harm Rockhead than he would be likely to harm an adult horse, but Zeldoni is not an adult, and if Rockhead were inclined towards violence, he could certainly do some damage. However, when his dull eyes spot the horse, very little in his posture changes. He remains with all four paws firmly on the ground as he idly sniffs the air. After staring at Zeladoni for a moment, he gives a shrug of his shoulders, then continues ambling along, still roughly in her direction, but not directly toward her and certainly not in a manner of attack. She's not food, or family, and so Rockhead's interest in her is minimal, though, as he gets closer, he does yawn out, "Hello."
Zeladoni tilts her head slightly and nods, watching closely. None of the bear's body language seems threatening. and, being a rather trusting foal, Zel offers a bit of a smile. "Hello.. Who're you? I've never seen anyone like you before.." She tries not to stare, but she has never seen a bear before, so she's fairly curious. "I'm Zeladoni. My Momma is Athena, we're from the Dorado horse herd.." She trails off, not exactly sure what to say now that her part of the introductions have been made.
Well. That answers the question that had been slowly forming in the bear's thick head. If this creature has never seen one of his kind before, then she's unlikely to have spotted his mother. "I'm Rock." His voice is deep and his tone slow, matching his apparent personality, or lack thereof. Having gotten the answer to the question he had just begun to think about asking, he has nothing else to say, except... "Where do you eat?" This close to winter, and, truthfully, all year round, that's all Rockhead really cares about. His next meal.
Zeladoni nods and peers at the bear again before looking around at the grass. "Everywhere, really. I eat grass and stuff. I used to drink from Momma but she says I can't anymore.. Grass is kinda yucky tasting, but its food, so I eat it. There's some seeds and stuff all over the hay, some things called wheat and oats. They're much tastier than just plain grass, but they grow on grass, you see, so I kinda have to eat the grass too.. There's berries over by the tree there," she motions with her nose to a stunted, sparse few trees only a few dozen feet away. "They're good. There's little things called pine cones, they have little nuts inside them, those are good to eat too.." She thinks for a moment. "There's a pond near here that I could show you, I think there are fish there if you can eat fish.. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but what kind of creature are you?"
At the revelation that this creature eats grass, Rockhead's nose wrinkles. He can certainly agree with her that the taste is unappealing, though his interest is perked when she mentions berries. It has been months since he has found any berries, and if any remain, he will gladly eat them. As such, he begins in that direction even before she asks her question, which he answers with another shrug. "I am Rock. You are Zeladoni." What do species matter to him? He is Rock. Mom is Flit. Food is food. And Zeladoni is not-food. If anything, despite the clear stupidity of his answer, his tone might imply that he thinks of Zeladoni as being a bit simple. They already exchanged names, after all.
Zeladoni blinks a little and shrugs, flicking her tail before cantering over to the trees and looking at the bases of the trunks, and upon finding some, she whinnies softly to the bear, galloping back and running in a wide circle before stopping in front of him. "I found some! They're the red kind, and they taste a little sour. Momma said they're called raspberries. Can you eat those?" She's just trying to be helpful, its not her fault she's polite and excitable.
Even as young as the horse is, she is many times fast than Rockhead at his usual pace, and he finds himself actually smiling slightly at her antics. He does not answer, though, until he spots the berries himself, and then his smile widens. "Mmmm. This is food. Thank you, Zeladoni." He doesn't mind if they seem sour. It's certainly not the prime season for berries, and so they're bound to taste a bit off, anyway, but it beats braving the cold water for fish or all of the energy required to dig up some roots or catch some small mammal.
Zeladoni inspects the other trees and kicks a few pinecones in Rock's direction, hoping the birds haven't eaten all the pine nuts. Now those are -good-. She grins and returns with a mouthful of pinecones, dropping them on the ground before stomping on them, breaking the outer husks to reveal the pale beige nuts within. "You're welcome! Oo, have you ever tried these? They're really good, I think they're called pine nuts. Usually the birds get them all, or the prairie dogs. I just found some the other day, but I thought most of them had been eaten.." She blinks and goes over to the tree, rubbing her flank up against it to scratch a bothersome itch. "Stupid flies."
If Zeladoni is not food, then she is definitely a food supplier. Almost better than Mom, and certainly more focused, and there is no faster way to Rockhead's heart than through his stomach. He does not speak much as he eats the berries and the nuts that Zeladoni has gathered, and after several minutes, he flops over on his side happily. "Mmm. You have wonderful food."
Zeladoni giggles and would blush if it were possible. Instead, she flicks her tail and inclines her head and neck in a kind of bow. After the bear lies down, she idly wonders what his fur feels like. Deciding to find out, she carefully, slowly walks over and begins to groom along the bear's shoulders, flat teeth finding any pests within the fur and removing them. This is one thing she's very good at, and she figures its a decent way to make a friend. "Momma always finds different stuff for me to eat, she's really smart.. You have very thick fur, you know. I don't think you could be cold if you tried!"
"Oh, I know how to be cold. Have you ever tried to catch a fish too soon after winter, when the ice is just barely off the water? /That/ is cold." Yeah. Proof that Rockhead has some real talent, if he knows how to be cold even with all of his thick fur. Fur that, given his tone and deep laugh, he appreciates the horse grooming for him, especially along his shoulders. Some areas are just /so/ hard to get to.
Zeladoni whickers softly, nuzzling her head into the newly groomed fur, then moving along to that infernal place right between the shoulder blades, knowing how itchy that place can be. However, she frowns and wrinkles her nose a little. "Why would you go into the water if it was too cold? And no, I wouldn't try to catch a fish. Fish aren't food, at least for me. They're pretty sometimes, though. Especially the bed one with the red and green faces and really big jaws.." She finds a tick and snorts, blowing the fur away just long enough to grab it with her teeth and pull it out, head and all. "Well, that insect won't bother you any more. It tastes funny, too.." She makes a face and spits it out, a little droplet of blood on her chin. "Yuck.. Why would an insect want to eat you anway?"
"I woke up one year, before the berries grew, and the ground was still hard, but the water was free, and I was hungry. And I suppose the bugs want to eat me because I eat them. It's only fair." The adolescent bear stretches out on the ground after speaking, then rolls back up onto his paws. "But the berries and nuts tasted better than a whole flock of bugs. Thank you, Zeladoni, but I must get back to finding my own mother. And perhaps you should too?"
Zeladoni blinks and looks around, nodding. "Yes, I should.. She usually isn't gone this long.. Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Rock?" She tilts her head and smiles, standing and shaking her mane out before flicking her tail. She approaches Rock's head and nuzzles it briefly. "I hope you find your mother.. It isn't very good to be away from family for a long time. If you're ever around here again, I'm with the Dorado herd now.. A big herd of horses. My Momma is a chestnut mare.. I think she'd like you."
There are a lot of words in Zeladoni's speech that Rockhead has never bothered to learn, but, all the same, he gets the gist of her message. "If I am ever near here again, I will look for you." If for no other reason than a tasty meal and a quick grooming. Of course, that all depends on him remembering where this area is, in the first place. "Goodbye, Zeladoni." And with that, the young bear begins ambling on again.
Zeladoni watches the bear go and blinks, then whirls around and gallops over the hills, looking for her herd and mother. Hopefully the slightly odd bear will come back; she only has one other friend, a raven by the name of Vox.
Rockhead - Adolescent Male Bear
Zeladoni - Female Horse Foal
- Grassy Plains -
Rockhead has been ever so slowly following his mother's path. At least, he thinks it's his mother's path. He has not seen her in many months, and the only indication that he is still going in the correct direction are the signs of animal passing too large and conspicuous to have been left by any other solitary animal, if not a bear. As far as why he is following her... The aptly-named Rockhead has minimal idea, other than that trailing along behind his mother was always sure to turn up food eventually. Not that he has any trouble in that regard, particularly. He is skinny, as bears go, but he does not seem to have ever gone to sleep hungry, and as his ambling path takes him slowly toward the mountain, his jaws split in a great yawn that is accompanied, involuntarily, by a low growl.
Zeladoni is another young creature following her dam, and is now finally in a herd of horses after months of traveling from something called a Rodeo in the East. A six-month old filly, Zel is still trying to figure out the world and her place within it. She, too, yawns and rises, stretching gangly legs and looking around. Hmf. Her mother -was- here when she fell asleep, but has probably gone to talk with the lead mare of Dorado herd. She notices a large, almost boulder-like object moving nearby and instinctively freezes. Wait, boulders don't move! She gives a small, carrying whicker to the creature, not sure if its dangerous or not.
Dangerous? At his current age, an adult horse would be more likely to seriously harm Rockhead than he would be likely to harm an adult horse, but Zeldoni is not an adult, and if Rockhead were inclined towards violence, he could certainly do some damage. However, when his dull eyes spot the horse, very little in his posture changes. He remains with all four paws firmly on the ground as he idly sniffs the air. After staring at Zeladoni for a moment, he gives a shrug of his shoulders, then continues ambling along, still roughly in her direction, but not directly toward her and certainly not in a manner of attack. She's not food, or family, and so Rockhead's interest in her is minimal, though, as he gets closer, he does yawn out, "Hello."
Zeladoni tilts her head slightly and nods, watching closely. None of the bear's body language seems threatening. and, being a rather trusting foal, Zel offers a bit of a smile. "Hello.. Who're you? I've never seen anyone like you before.." She tries not to stare, but she has never seen a bear before, so she's fairly curious. "I'm Zeladoni. My Momma is Athena, we're from the Dorado horse herd.." She trails off, not exactly sure what to say now that her part of the introductions have been made.
Well. That answers the question that had been slowly forming in the bear's thick head. If this creature has never seen one of his kind before, then she's unlikely to have spotted his mother. "I'm Rock." His voice is deep and his tone slow, matching his apparent personality, or lack thereof. Having gotten the answer to the question he had just begun to think about asking, he has nothing else to say, except... "Where do you eat?" This close to winter, and, truthfully, all year round, that's all Rockhead really cares about. His next meal.
Zeladoni nods and peers at the bear again before looking around at the grass. "Everywhere, really. I eat grass and stuff. I used to drink from Momma but she says I can't anymore.. Grass is kinda yucky tasting, but its food, so I eat it. There's some seeds and stuff all over the hay, some things called wheat and oats. They're much tastier than just plain grass, but they grow on grass, you see, so I kinda have to eat the grass too.. There's berries over by the tree there," she motions with her nose to a stunted, sparse few trees only a few dozen feet away. "They're good. There's little things called pine cones, they have little nuts inside them, those are good to eat too.." She thinks for a moment. "There's a pond near here that I could show you, I think there are fish there if you can eat fish.. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but what kind of creature are you?"
At the revelation that this creature eats grass, Rockhead's nose wrinkles. He can certainly agree with her that the taste is unappealing, though his interest is perked when she mentions berries. It has been months since he has found any berries, and if any remain, he will gladly eat them. As such, he begins in that direction even before she asks her question, which he answers with another shrug. "I am Rock. You are Zeladoni." What do species matter to him? He is Rock. Mom is Flit. Food is food. And Zeladoni is not-food. If anything, despite the clear stupidity of his answer, his tone might imply that he thinks of Zeladoni as being a bit simple. They already exchanged names, after all.
Zeladoni blinks a little and shrugs, flicking her tail before cantering over to the trees and looking at the bases of the trunks, and upon finding some, she whinnies softly to the bear, galloping back and running in a wide circle before stopping in front of him. "I found some! They're the red kind, and they taste a little sour. Momma said they're called raspberries. Can you eat those?" She's just trying to be helpful, its not her fault she's polite and excitable.
Even as young as the horse is, she is many times fast than Rockhead at his usual pace, and he finds himself actually smiling slightly at her antics. He does not answer, though, until he spots the berries himself, and then his smile widens. "Mmmm. This is food. Thank you, Zeladoni." He doesn't mind if they seem sour. It's certainly not the prime season for berries, and so they're bound to taste a bit off, anyway, but it beats braving the cold water for fish or all of the energy required to dig up some roots or catch some small mammal.
Zeladoni inspects the other trees and kicks a few pinecones in Rock's direction, hoping the birds haven't eaten all the pine nuts. Now those are -good-. She grins and returns with a mouthful of pinecones, dropping them on the ground before stomping on them, breaking the outer husks to reveal the pale beige nuts within. "You're welcome! Oo, have you ever tried these? They're really good, I think they're called pine nuts. Usually the birds get them all, or the prairie dogs. I just found some the other day, but I thought most of them had been eaten.." She blinks and goes over to the tree, rubbing her flank up against it to scratch a bothersome itch. "Stupid flies."
If Zeladoni is not food, then she is definitely a food supplier. Almost better than Mom, and certainly more focused, and there is no faster way to Rockhead's heart than through his stomach. He does not speak much as he eats the berries and the nuts that Zeladoni has gathered, and after several minutes, he flops over on his side happily. "Mmm. You have wonderful food."
Zeladoni giggles and would blush if it were possible. Instead, she flicks her tail and inclines her head and neck in a kind of bow. After the bear lies down, she idly wonders what his fur feels like. Deciding to find out, she carefully, slowly walks over and begins to groom along the bear's shoulders, flat teeth finding any pests within the fur and removing them. This is one thing she's very good at, and she figures its a decent way to make a friend. "Momma always finds different stuff for me to eat, she's really smart.. You have very thick fur, you know. I don't think you could be cold if you tried!"
"Oh, I know how to be cold. Have you ever tried to catch a fish too soon after winter, when the ice is just barely off the water? /That/ is cold." Yeah. Proof that Rockhead has some real talent, if he knows how to be cold even with all of his thick fur. Fur that, given his tone and deep laugh, he appreciates the horse grooming for him, especially along his shoulders. Some areas are just /so/ hard to get to.
Zeladoni whickers softly, nuzzling her head into the newly groomed fur, then moving along to that infernal place right between the shoulder blades, knowing how itchy that place can be. However, she frowns and wrinkles her nose a little. "Why would you go into the water if it was too cold? And no, I wouldn't try to catch a fish. Fish aren't food, at least for me. They're pretty sometimes, though. Especially the bed one with the red and green faces and really big jaws.." She finds a tick and snorts, blowing the fur away just long enough to grab it with her teeth and pull it out, head and all. "Well, that insect won't bother you any more. It tastes funny, too.." She makes a face and spits it out, a little droplet of blood on her chin. "Yuck.. Why would an insect want to eat you anway?"
"I woke up one year, before the berries grew, and the ground was still hard, but the water was free, and I was hungry. And I suppose the bugs want to eat me because I eat them. It's only fair." The adolescent bear stretches out on the ground after speaking, then rolls back up onto his paws. "But the berries and nuts tasted better than a whole flock of bugs. Thank you, Zeladoni, but I must get back to finding my own mother. And perhaps you should too?"
Zeladoni blinks and looks around, nodding. "Yes, I should.. She usually isn't gone this long.. Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Rock?" She tilts her head and smiles, standing and shaking her mane out before flicking her tail. She approaches Rock's head and nuzzles it briefly. "I hope you find your mother.. It isn't very good to be away from family for a long time. If you're ever around here again, I'm with the Dorado herd now.. A big herd of horses. My Momma is a chestnut mare.. I think she'd like you."
There are a lot of words in Zeladoni's speech that Rockhead has never bothered to learn, but, all the same, he gets the gist of her message. "If I am ever near here again, I will look for you." If for no other reason than a tasty meal and a quick grooming. Of course, that all depends on him remembering where this area is, in the first place. "Goodbye, Zeladoni." And with that, the young bear begins ambling on again.
Zeladoni watches the bear go and blinks, then whirls around and gallops over the hills, looking for her herd and mother. Hopefully the slightly odd bear will come back; she only has one other friend, a raven by the name of Vox.