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Post by silverfall on Apr 18, 2005 21:50:58 GMT -5
(I gots lost, methinks.)
Whirl had enjoyed her stop at the inn and was now walking the streets. She was still loathe to return home, knowing she'd be in for a sound lashing.
She began kicking loose stones across the street.
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Post by spookytale on Apr 21, 2005 14:16:38 GMT -5
Ray was very busy doing nothing, and doing it like it was his job. A sound of scuffed stones drew his attention, and he noticed a young mare. It also looked like she was trying her best to...to what? Do nothing? Avoid something? Dawdle?
Well, since it was getting late, and she looked like a teen, the options were few. Though the options for trouble were many. She looked a bit familiar, like he'd seen her around town.
Ray decided to wander over. Her coat was very unusual, and Ray liked it. Besides, he always enjoyed being in the company of others that looked similar to him, it helped him feel less...singular. Besides, she might need a hoof out of a bind.
He wandered over. He couldn't help inspecting her mane - was it clear like his, or colored white? It looked fairly white to him. Interesting.
As he clopped in a beeline he reviewed what he knew about dealing with teenagers. Alas, it had been a few years since he'd struck up a conversation with one. Well, he'd learn something new then.
He paused, and kicked a stone back towards Whirl.
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Post by silverfall on Apr 23, 2005 11:14:26 GMT -5
Whirl jumped a bit when the stone returned. Realizing it had been kicked by another pony, she looked up to see him and immediately halted in her tracks. The stallion was odd to look at, being an albino, but that wasn't really what struck her, since she herself was rather odd. It was the fact he was, what, twice her age? Suspicious of this, she smiled politely.
"Hello," she said.
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spookavoidingmopping
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Post by spookavoidingmopping on Apr 23, 2005 11:44:46 GMT -5
Ray grinned, "Hey kid." Oh darn, is it ok to call teens kids? Sometimes they get uppity, since they're kids but they don't know it.
"Usually I'm one of the few loafers this late at night. Is there some place you're supposed to be?" He tilted his head and regarded her. He didn't want to sound patronizing, but he was pretty curious. It wasn't that he thought she shouldn't be there, since he didn't know well enough to say one way or the other.
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Post by silverfall on Apr 23, 2005 12:10:30 GMT -5
Whirl's smile vanished. His tone reminded her too much of her father's and she resisted the urge to flatten her ears. She knew what that got her at home. Whipped! She flinched a bit, but held her ground. She didn't know who this fellow thought he was, but she wasn't going to give him the satifaction of seeing her intimidated.
"Is it any of your business?" she said, curtly. She immediately regretted it, though. This was not her father and he hadn't done anything wrong. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap."
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Post by spookcleaning on Apr 23, 2005 13:38:10 GMT -5
Ray paused, then laughed. "Of course it isn't my business, I'm just nosey." He smiled at her, his eyes glinting.
"My younger sister used to skulk around town when she didn't want to go home, when she was about your age." He shrugged, "Maybe I act like a big brother too often."
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Post by silverfall on Apr 23, 2005 22:48:00 GMT -5
Whirl kicked another stone. Was she that transparent?
"Well, skulking about here is better than where I ought to be," she said, sullen. She bet his sister never had to put up with the switch. "My name is Whirl." She greeted him with a nod. "Of the Willhaevn House." It was her family name and she hated it.
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Post by spookytale on Apr 24, 2005 13:57:07 GMT -5
(ooc: dangit, the window closed just as I was about to hit "post" *whine* *perfect excuse for chocolate*  ) "I'm Ray," he nodded at her. "Wood you like me to walk you back? Ahah, sorry. Can't help it." Inwardly he cringed a bit at some of the rumor mill tidbits he'd filed away. If she was that daughter, then most likely she was better off here. Wandering around town was a fine hobby, from Ray's point of view. She'd be fine, until a ne'er-do-well jumped her. Not that Xanadia was unsafe, but a striking young filly shouldn't be out late all alone. If it were a decade earlier and she was his younger sister he would have dragged her home by now. But it wasn't, and she wasn't. "Not that I have a say in where you go," a crease appeared between his eyes. "As long as you go somewhere relatively safe." |
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Post by silverfall on Apr 24, 2005 20:59:30 GMT -5
(If you get chocolate, so do I! *runs off* *comes back*)
Whirl let slip a smile, but it didn't last. Where could she go to be safe?
"I'm not sure any such place exists."
She was surprised she'd said it out loud. Especially since it wasn't true. There were plenty of places where she felt safe. The deep woods. The little creek and the hidden pool. The great tree with the little hollow where she'd hidden some of her tinkering.
She had no more urge to return to those places than she did to return to her home. She supposed it was knowing her fate upon returning to her father's house, the avoidance of which would no longer ease her stomach. It was all well and good to be running in the middle of the day when the sun was still shining and the sky bright. Now that it was night, it was like waiting for the unavoidable dawn. No matter how badly one feared the sunrise, one ached to see it rise. Then at least it would be done.
"You may walk with me a little way, if you like," she said. "My home is beyond the edge of the street there, down that little pathway and around the last corner."
Her family's house was at the edge of the town, near the woods. In fact, it was a part of the woods itself, delicately-shaped by the magic of her ancestors. The main house was one very large redwood, with enormous bulbous growths bulging from its trunk. Inside of these were the rooms of her household, all of which could be accessed from a small recess in the base of the tree, which spiraled upward as stairs.
Each generation had added its own touch to the place, growing out to encompass some of the other trees and the undergrowth nearby so that it was mostly hidden from view on the road. One had to know just where to enter through the hedge row to pass. Of course the hedge only recognized certain ponies and did a good job keeping strangers out. They'd lost a messenger colt in there once, but after a few days they'd finally cut him out again.
"If you dare, that is," she added with a spark.
Rastarian would be waiting up for her. Her uncle was most unkind when she missed his lessons, but then he was never nice. Her father was likely up as well, but locked in his study. He preferred not to look upon his children, as if the sight of them would give him hives. Her mother was no better. She would have long been to bed, preferring not to hear the sounds of Rastarian's voice shouting through the house when Whirl returned. It wasn't lady-like to listen to such things.
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Post by spookytale on Apr 25, 2005 14:16:32 GMT -5
Ray snorted and trotted over to the filly. If he dares? He wasn't all that worried, it was more likely that she was the one that would have to work up her courage. Though if she tried to duck out he thought he might be able to get Lilatov to keep her safe. He'd never assuage his guilt if he let a young personage go, and some ill befell them. Not that he felt any particular tie to Whirl, but she seemed interesting enough, and therefor warranted some extra care.
"Well, I might have to explain why I've kept you. Incidentally, is there any way to stick a wooden door in place besides nailing it? There's a room I'd like closed up, with no real way for others to get in, unless they cut through the wall. The door is antique though, I'd hate to ruin it." Truth was Ray wouldn't mind breaking into his own room, and he'd get a kick out of having a place to write down his knowledge. Some of it was a little risque, and not for prying eyes. "Good of you to work as a consultant, eh?"
Sure, it was a poor excuse. Ray knew it, and Whirl would know it. But he abhored unhappy endings, and honestly couldn't help himself.
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Post by silverfall on Apr 26, 2005 19:13:22 GMT -5
Inwardly, Whirl groaned. Why did everyone assume that because she was the daughter of a tree shaper that she herself would be adept at the skill? Consulting? Her? Her family would have a hearty laugh, tell the stallion he'd been played the fool, and promise to see her punished for the audacity.
"I'm afraid I can't help you. I'm just an apprentice. It's my father you want to speak to about it. He won't be available at this hour, but I'm sure my uncle would see you now and make your appointment."
In truth, she wondered if the bastard ever slept.
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Post by spookytale on Apr 27, 2005 16:50:28 GMT -5
Ray smirked and swiveled his ears in thought. Oh well, it hadn't been that good of an excuse anyway.
"Thank you, but maybe I'll just brick it up from the inside. Keeping appointments isn't necessarily a strong point." He walked on, ruminating.
"You know," he thought out loud "if you'd been up to no good I probably would have heard about it." He looked at her, frowning slightly. "Shame." It wasn't entirely clear if it was a shame that he hadn't heard about anyone being up to no good, or a shame that she would probably get a scolding when she hadn't been up to mischief.
He walked on, changing the topic as he moved. "I've always been curious about apprenticeships. How long would yours last, anyway? Until you pass tests? You get old? Someone keels over?"
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Post by silverfall on Apr 28, 2005 9:54:06 GMT -5
Whirl had the impression that this stallion encouraged mischief, though she wasn't sure.
Someone keels over?
"I wish," she muttered. Her ears were flat and her nostrils wide. "I've the tree-shaping skills of a five-year-old. I'm don't even deserve the title of apprentice." She shook her head, shaking her white mane. "Everyone says I'm lazy. That I need to concentrate and study hard to make the family proud. I should have advanced 3 years ago, yes, by passing certain tests. My uncle would not permit it, though. Not until I showed significant progress. Which I haven't."
She bucked a little right there as they walked.
"It makes me so angry! I wish I could just pack up and leave. Take one of the big ships to a land far away."
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Post by spookster on May 1, 2005 9:42:47 GMT -5
Ray grinned understandingly, "Now that would be an interesting experience. Tends to make folks a bit mean, though."
He clopped along, trying to think things over. "You don't sound lazy, you sound frustrated." He turned his strange pink eyes towards her. "Knowledge is a funny thing."
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Post by silverfall on May 1, 2005 21:11:59 GMT -5
"Is it?" Whirl asked. "I could use a little more humor in my life." She closed her eyes, imagining her life on the seas. If only she might stow away...but she knew it was nothing but a dream. Her home was here.
"So, then," she said, opening her eyes. "What is it you do? You must have a story?"
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