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 Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 9:15 pm
Standing on his perch, as he always did, a young Outrider kept watch over the hinds below. His grey face seemed to be far off, though his eyes followed the movements of the herd. It was a trick he had picked up after a short while of keeping the post. He could pay attention to the deer he swore to protect, watching their daily lives and looking for the abnormal, while he let his mind cast off into some unreachable place. He was a dreamer by nature, making it pretty difficult to keep his thoughts strictly on the here and now. Perhaps it wasn't the best habit, when he really should focus everything on his post, but it kept him entertained. It could get pretty lonely up on that stone, after all, and he needed something to keep him sane.
His dark eyes followed a few new fawns with their mothers and he sighed. As an Outrider, he almost felt that he wasn't complete without a harem. At first, he hadn't minded it terribley. He was new to the job and needed to focus his energy on getting into the groove of things, as opposed to sparring with his peers. He had sat the last Anlach out, watching bucks his own age and older joust beneath his rock, dreaming of the day he'd do something like that. Of course, he didn't expect a very large harem. Just one hind would be fine by him. The instinctive need to put his genes into the future pool was a strong one, and even just a single offspring from one season would work. Seeing as he was one of the younger males of the ranks, it only made sense that his harem would be small. At least, compared to an Outrider like Brychan. Now that buck had a rack, all right.
There he'd gone again, putting his entire mind into his thoughts instead of only partly. He pullsed himself away from the topic. It wasn't a pleasant one, anyway, and his energy was better put on watching the hinds. He might even start making a list of the unclaimed females to watch for at the next Anlach. Yes, that'd be a good way to pass the time. With another sigh, the Outrider focused on his post once again.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:55 am
Ever since the last time she had gone up to the little hills where the Outriders stood to watch and protect the herd as a doe, she had found herself minding them more. As a fawn she had always thought little of the faraway silhouettes of stags with heavily impressive heads of antlers standing so high up looking down at the herd. Back then, they had simply been... there. A part of life that she knew and embraced but it was so much a part of her everyday life that she had rarely remembered that those deer up there were actually a part of the herd, and were, frankly, deer. And then as a doe, she had studied them more closely, many thanks to her strangely rebellious nature, and she had spent a lot of time much closer to the hills than she really should have been. Sometimes if the light was right she could almost catch the glint in the Outriders' eyes, and back then, they had seemed stony cold and uncaring. Intimidating, to say the least, but that assumption had changed ever since she had last gone up and met Sergie.
Sergie had been the complete opposite of what she had expected. So much so, in fact, that she would even go to the lengths of willingly calling him fun, like a 'real' deer. Or perhaps he was the only one of all the ranks of Outriders that was like that, but somehow Drystan doubted it. She had grown up so much since her last visit, and with growing up had come a creeping common sense that she had really never thought she would have. The common sense to know when to stop, perhaps, or to know when what she was doing was completely and utterly un-hindly. Now that had been a surprise. Tegwen, she wouldn't have been surprised, but herself... Even as a doe she had been a bit of a hot-head and boyish. It hadn't changed too much since then, but something had.
Today was as good a day as any to go up, she decided rather impulsively. Dyani was most probably off with Danica grazing under some shade with Danica's two new calves, or something else that hinds loved to do. With a pang, she realized that she herself was one as well now. She often had to remind herself that she wasn't, in fact, a boy and that she could hardly think of other deer as 'hinds' and herself as 'something else'. She couldn't see how it would work. She shook her head. Now what was with all the hind thoughts? She lifted her head up and squinted against the sun, looking for one hill in particular. There standing up on a hill that had become quite familiar to her now through many hours of absent gazing, dark against the brightness of the sun, she knew Sergie stood watching them all as one of the Outriders. He couldn't be still new at the job so that Captains came regularly to check on him. So she would go there. And off she went.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 8:54 am
The buck's thoughts slowly drifted back to that which all Outriders think about. This time around, however, he realized something with a slight start. He didn't long for a harem in the usual sense. It was natural for buck and hind to be seperated from eachother unless they were breeding or he was checking up on his progeny, but that was not what Sergie wanted. Well, in a sense he did, but he also wanted a little bit more. He wanted to see his harem from time to time, and not just from the stone. He wanted to visit. Is that what all Outriders did? He thought back to the days and days he had logged just watching the herd, and remembered clearly seeing some of the more distinguished of the ranks checking up on their youngsters and hinds from time to time. Now that sounded more like it.
Putting that thought to rest for the long run this time, the grey Outrider sighed contently and watched the herd. A black figure was moving away from the group, a very familiar black figure. He couldn't help but smile a little as he watched the young hind make her way away from the rest of the herd. She didn't seem to long for the social stimulus of her fellow female. Perhaps that would change with time. Perhaps she would end up spending more time with her twin? The two were quite the odd couple. Whit as snow and black as night all at once. The stag's eyes followed her until he realized she was actually headed this way. He hadn't talked o her since she was just a doe, and the idea of seeing her again was a warm one. "Morning!" There was no fear of a Captain checking in this time around, so he felt relaxed enough to call out to her.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 3:25 pm
Mostly she thought it was just her, just her that didn't much enjoy the company of hinds. It was different with Tegwen, sure, for in the black hind's mind Tegwen did not exactly go under the label of "hind" but something else. Something more like "twin" that sounded much better in Drystan's head. Perhaps, one day, that would change, but somehow she couldn't quite see how it would, or could. Once she had grown up the things she had done ever since fawnhood had begun to seem set in stone and unchangeable.
She noticed suddenly that there was no snow, unlike the last time she had gone up and met Sergie. Not having to plow through the thick whiteness made the journey considerably easier and she was definitely in a much better mood than the last time she had gone. "And there I was thinking you hadn't seen me!" Drystan grinned made her way carefully up the last stretch of the hill so that she stood on the crest of the land as well.
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:41 pm
As she made her way up, Sergie took a moment to admire the fierce hind she had become. The last time they had chatted, she was just a doe. The changes in her now were both physical and mental. Her personality radiated from her, as opposed to the last time he had seen her walking his way. Last time, she hadn't been to keen on interaction. Now, however, she came up to his post with a grin. A warmth bubbled in his chest at that smile, and he couldn't help but mirror the expression. "You must've forgotten; I can always see you." His gentle smile changed to a sargastc smirk as he motioned his antlers in the direction of the herd.
Those antlers came to his mind as he did the motion. They had grown a little since last seeing Drystan. A stagly pride wedged itself in with the warmth in his chest, and he took on a pose that best showed off the rack. If an Outrider had a weakness, it was his antlers. His pride and joy; besides a harem and calves, of course. "You look great. A bit taller since our last chat, but all the more stunning." There was a twinkle in his eye as he complimented her. The first time around, he didn't know if it would make her uncomfortable. Now, however, he was certain she could handle having a compliment thrown her way. It was surely not the first time.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 3:52 pm
She could see that Sergie had changed a little since they had last met. Larger antlers, perhaps? She tilted her had to study them for a moment. Yes, definitely. Larger antlers was what it was, and obviously Sergie knew. He was a stag, after all, and from what she had learned so far, stags loved their antlers. It was a little like a hind loving her offspring, although perhaps it was just a little different. But all the same, she knew a stag's antlers were his pride and joy. "Oh, yes, I forgot about the unbelievably over-inflated ego of a certain Outrider I know." She rolled her eyes to added to the sarcastic effect and giggled.
"So I'm not the only one who has grown, eh?" She nodded at his antlers. She had on an amused little smile and her green eyes sparkled. Well of course she had noticed.
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Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 3:13 pm
The stag fiegned hurt and lowered his head. "You wound me." He shook his antlers a little, an over dramatic frown on his features. He chuckled a little, only able to hold the look for a few moments. Well, at least it had lastd a little while. He was quite pleased she had noticed his antlers though, catching her gaze on the rack. They weren't as large as some of the higher ranked Outriders, but they were large enough that he was proud of them. After all, they were what heled him defend the heard, and at Anlach they were what would win him spares with his fellow stags for a harem and future offspring. They were everything to a stag, they were the world.
"How's the family?" He nodded over to the herd casually. He knew full well that the Lord of the Herd had sired more little ones this past Anlach, and he was also certain that his last group had grown a little since he last saw the black hind. she didn't seem too much of the family sort, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be happy to talk about them. She was close to her sister, at least, so it was a conversation starter.
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Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 4:29 pm
She grinned at his words. Well, it was true, she decided with an inward laugh. She had yet to see or meet an Outrider that didn't have pride. Although perhaps saying they had over-inflated egos was a bit of a stretch. "The family?" She echoed, her gaze following his nod. It still awed her at how far away everything seemed from up here. "They're pretty good. Tegwen's good, I know that. Sei and May, they've grown quite a bit. Don't stick around Dyani much anymore. And Danica has her hands full with those two little tricksters of hers - Jehan and Jensen. Although they really are cute." She nodded at the recount of her family. Yes, life was good within the herd.
"What about you? How've you been? Antler-growing aside, that is," She added teasingly.
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 9:07 pm
Sergie was glad to see Drystan happy while talking about her family. For a moment, he considered his own mother, and whether or not she had had any new calves or fawns this past Anlach, but quickly lost interest. He'd never developed a very strong bond with the hind, even when he was a small calf. Back then, he wanted nothing more than to head butt around with the other calves, and then sit quietly by himself at Larn until the old storyteller was ready to spin tales about Herne and Starbuck. Those were the days, he mused, those care free months beneath the willow trees and down by the stream. Sometimes he wondered about the mothers down there, and if they never really left that care free state of bliss. Perhaps they didn't, since they got to play around and socialize. Then again, taking care of the little ones must not be very easy. He supposed then that all adults ended up leaving bliss, perhaps never to find it again. At least, that's what he thought at the time.
"I'm glad. Sounds like quite the happy bunch." He winked at her after the light tease and shook his rack proudly. "What else is there besides antler growing, anyhow?" He shook them more, purely for show now. "Actually, since you asked... I happened to chase off a fox the other day." His demeanor altered slightly; he was standing taller now, more proudly than before. It hadn't been hard to chase the fox off, really, and the fox hadn't been much of a threat. After all, there were no babies all the way up here. Still, though, he was proud.
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 10:18 pm
The way his entire body seemed to puff up with pride when he announced his triumph over the fox was enough to make her burst out laughing. More out of politeness than anything, though, she did her best to keep from doing so, which resulted in a somewhat wonky smile spreading over her muzzle that she fought to chase away. For a moment she said nothing as she struggled with the laughter, so she nodded and widened her eyes slightly. Then, at least for the while, the laughter subsided and she found that she could talk once again. "A fox? Wow," She nodded again. "Saved the life of some lucky youngling, I suppose?" She grinned.
((Oh dear, I'm so full of lose... D: What a teeny post. BUT considering I haven't replied to any RPs in a week, its goooood xD))
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