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Recovering
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Topic Started: Jul 5 2013, 12:24 AM (440 Views)
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Alonia
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Jul 5 2013, 12:24 AM
Post #1
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Alonia awoke in a rather large tent that she had recently received as a gift from a local chief after she lifted a boulder off of his son who had been trapped by its weight. Luckily, no one had been seriously injured during the short time the child had been trapped, but there was no doubt in her mind that it would have remained as it was for much longer. She looked to her side and saw a still sleeping Ezera rolled up in her own sleeping bag and looking rather comfortable. She had been traveling with Alonia for quite some time, and had been a great friend and companion to her for all of this time.
She was a great asset for helping tribes who were having issues with wildlife attacks, as well as fending off raiders and those who would wish to do them harm on their travels. She had also been learning the healing arts from Alonia, but it seemed like she was not quite ready to begin mixing herbal remedies just yet. Other than that, Ezera was just an exceptional traveling partner, keeping the walks entertaining and the nights warm. They were also there for each other when they required the touch of something a bit more intimate, though these exchanges never felt like more than two strangers having a one night stand.
At least, that was how it felt for Ezera, for Alonia, she had actually began to have strong feelings for her companion, feelings that Ezera was aware of, but was still unwilling to return for fear of commitment to the relationship, or fear of feeling that way towards someone else. Regardless of what drove that fear for her, Alonia felt the need to remove it from her so that she could grow as a Zebra, and for both of them to grow closer than they even were now.
Though right now, the only thing that needed to happen was getting Ezera out of bed. Alonia leaned across the tent and planted a kiss on her companion's cheek, "Wake up, sister," she said with a smile, "We are only a few miles till the next village."
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Ezera
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Jul 21 2013, 08:38 PM
Post #2
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Some nights had been long: Full of emotional uncertainties, second guessing, a dash of regret mixed with confusion. The closer she had gotten the more unsettling it became. These nights were the nights the two had spent close to each other, feeling each other. It was something that was dreamed of. But whether it was a pleasant dream or the spawn of a nightmare was yet to be determined.
Other nights were like the last: Quiet, secluded, lonely, with all the same feelings. Their touch remained in Ezera's mind, and they were only a few meters apart. She felt the tent shrink around her on those nights, felt that they were on top of each other. It was all just confusion, just more than usual. She was good at hiding it.
The kiss planted on her cheek followed by the voice would've have felt soothing. Well, she wanted it to feel soothing. She felt as if it was supposed to, it was meant to be; It might have been the tone or the action, or that she truly wanted it. She never listened to her mind, Ezera had to act as herself, the 'Battlecross' as the mercs way back when knew her as. Ezera felt requirement to act this way, it's the only way she knew how.
The hybrids eye popped open, seeing Alonia's face looking down onto hers. "We should be moving then." She then got up almost immediately, almost rushing to increase her distance from Alonia. Her magic began to spark as her things began to be collected and stowed in her pack.
"We can eat after everything is prepared."
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Alonia
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Jul 21 2013, 11:21 PM
Post #3
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Alonia sighed as Ezera got up, it had been the same way every morning for quite some time now. Alonia would try to awaken her in a comforting manner, but Ezera just shrugged it off and tried to get away from her as quickly as possible. At first it was discouraging, but now it had become routine, an annoying routine, but routine nonetheless. Alonia got up and started to pack up her things, a process that took a bit longer for the purebred zebra than the unicorn hybrid who could easily use her magic to help her quickly gather her gear. It took about a minute longer for Alonia to be outside the tent as she started to pull the stakes out of the ground with her shamanic powers as she watched the structure tumble to the ground. The pair packed up the tent and placed the various pieces in their traveling packs before Alonia pulled out two grain bars out of her pack and handed one to Ezera as she started walking.
"This village has been known to be plagued by drought over the years and is in need of constant Shamanic intervention to keep alive," Alonia said in between bites as they walked through the plains, "Many have said that just letting the village die would be far easier than having a rotation of help coming through, but we keep coming by because it is a spiritual vortex. Supposedly, any prayers whispered here are sure to be answered regardless of how unbelievable that request might be," Alonia said as she looked back at Ezera with a smile, "Though there isn't any definitive evidence of that."
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Ezera
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Aug 1 2013, 02:26 AM
Post #4
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It took all her force to shake off those dreams that caused her such fear and stress, it rattled her psyche every night. The further away from it the better, even if it all was just a big band-aid over it. Ezera would've done something nice, helped her pack or something along those lines, but felt more like an irritant than having the adverse effect. The hybrids mind cooked up the safest route for her was distance for this morning, it was rocky enough, and knowing herself too well, she'd only make it worse. Silently taking the offered food she looked low at the ground ahead, listening keen to Alonia as she watched the plains wisk in the low breeze.
"I would say that's more myths spun from generations than anything." Ezera said as best she could without bursting the aura of pleasantness Alonia gave her at the moment, her words always did that, always soothing the beast that was. There was safety in that. "But you and I have seen our share of astounding magics, and a part of me can say that such a thing could be possible. But wishes are one thing, magic is another. I think that's the difference."
This town did intrigue the warrior, it was a burden to her people, and yet they still helped it limp along, another bandage. Selflessness is a strong feeling in Zebrica, a feeling Ezera would've been strongly against two years ago. But she knew suffering now, the ponies had suffered that fate, she's seen it with her eyes. A fate as such could never be allowed to fall onto her people, no matter whom it may be. And Ezera wouldn't only say that, she thought that, believed that.
The village could be seen some as the duo rose over an incline of the earth, the dirt changing to a much more dusty and brittle context. "A drought here would be awful, I feel it in this earth." She looked below her, dirt being kicked up in examination. "There should be something to help with, maybe not as rough for my kind of help, but help nonetheless. Lead on, sister."
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Alonia
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Aug 3 2013, 12:43 AM
Post #5
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Alonia nodded just to signify that she recognized Ezera's opinion on the place. She was not surprised that a warrior like her would not be particularly attached to their Gods and holy places such as here. Being a Shaman, Alonia had a certain connection with her patron god and she could always feel a strange presence whenever she approached a place like this. She could feel a tingling in her bones and she always felt like her powers had much more strength than normal whenever she was at one of these holy locations.
Alonia smiled when Ezera noticed that the earth here was different than the earth in other places, "The earth screams here," she said as she walked over the cracked ground beneath her hooves, "It is in pain from all of the cuts that have come from having no water flow through here. Each crack is like a wound, but the earth here does not bleed so there is no way for the wound to heal. That's why myself and others like me keep coming back here, to heal those wounds as well as to bring relief to the suffering of our brothers and sisters who live here. It is unfortunate that this village was not blessed with flowing waters or an available oasis, but that is how the world works sometimes."
The village came into sight not too long afterwards. It was a medium sized village when compared to others like it and had many huts and tents placed throughout along with a market where they sold exotic fabrics and jewelry. There wasn't a whole lot else to the place that made it stand out from other villages when it came to the appearance of the structures. The difference came when one looked at the Zebra there. Almost all of them were painted in some way as a ceremony for their prayer, and many of them wore large necklaces that acted as prayer beads. Most of them didn't even acknowledge their presence, too caught up in their fanatical worship to even take note of their saviors as the pair walked through.
Alonia approached the center of the village which was relatively empty save for a large, nearly empty well, "They dug this long ago," she said as she set her pack down and began to dig through it until she found what she was looking for, "Back then the water flowed freely from a large underground lake that seemed to never run out of water. One day, the flow of the water began to slow and the zebra here began to worry. Over a long time, a layer of hard earth covered the lake and stopped the flow completely unless a Shaman helped the water out of there," she said as she pulled out three paints, one blue, one orange, and one green, all of them were pastel in nature, "The first shaman who performed the ritual painted themselves to help with their prayers. It became a tradition for all of the future shaman who came here to do the same," she said as she pushed the paint and brush over to Ezera, "I would like it if you helped me with this step, if you would like to of course."
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Ezera
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Aug 29 2013, 03:14 AM
Post #6
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Ezera entered the village, Alonia at her side, admiring the townsfolk masked in their ceremonial paints. She hadn't dealt with the spiritualistic side of her culture much in her time, she found it really interesting. Her roots were really unknown to her, which was troubling, which is why she paired up with Alonia. She was so intune with everything, with nature and all. Ezera wanted to learn how to be like that, and appreciate her people and their power more.
"Of course I would Alonia, preforming this thing is why we came all the way out here." She levitated the some of the small jars of paint, pulling some of the liquid out of it. "Now how do we go about doing the paints. Similar to the locals? Or do we need to do something special?"
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Alonia
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Aug 29 2013, 03:36 AM
Post #7
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"The paint is similar to the local's in nature," Alonia said with a smile, "The only difference is that I require more symbols of the natural elements," she said as she started to draw each of them in the dirt, "Earth, win, fire," she paused and drew the final symbol larger than the others, "And water, that is the most important one. The final symbol I require is for the Heart, or the Soul, or the Spirit, whichever you would prefer to call it," she said with a wave of her hoof as she drew the final symbol, "Other than that, ceremonial lines and dots that are similar to theirs are used to connect the symbols and allow the ritual to take place."
She started to point to symbols and to places on her body, "Earth and fire should go on my left and right shoulder respectively," she said as she turned and pointed to her haunches, "Wind and Spirit will be placed on my haunches, and Water," she said as she pointed to her forehead, "Will go on my head and will be larger than the other symbols for that is the element that I need to call upon the most. I hope that's enough instruction for you," she said as she closed her eyes and waited for the feeling of paint flowing over her coat, "We should start right away."
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Ezera
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Aug 29 2013, 03:46 AM
Post #8
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"I understand Sister." Ezera said wit ha sense or urgency. Alonia seemed to want to get underway as soon as possible, which worried the hybrid somewhat. She pushed the feelings aside as she levitated the pools out of the jars and began to paint onto Alonia's canvas. It seemed simple enough, after a couple of looks to some of the locals, she seemed to understand the way the paints must flow. They symbols were the trickiest to accomplish, they were more complex than the simple lines.
Slowly she made her way up to Alonia's head, bringing the lines up her neck and over her cheeks, finishing up with the water symbol. "There!" She exclaimed with satisfaction, "This should suffice enough."
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Alonia
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Aug 29 2013, 03:58 AM
Post #9
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Alonia opened her eyes, not bothering to even inspect herself and trusting that Ezera had done a good enough job fixing her up for the ceremony. She turned back towards the well and stared into the bottom of it as she started to softly chant the words that her elders had taught her for this exact occasion. The words were barely audible to Alonia herself and were considered too secret to fall on the ears of others outside of any Shamanic order. After about thirty seconds of chanting, the paint on her haunches started to light up as the energy of those elements started to flow into her, the light twisting and turning through the lines that Ezera had painted until they eventually got to her head. At this point, she was completely illuminated and was nearing the end of her chant.
Upon speaking the final word, she opened her eyes to reveal that they were glowing as well, a bright blue that sent light all the way down the well to the very bottom. Soon enough, the sound of rushing water could be heard throughout the town as a trickle began to flow into the well. The trickle soon became a steady flow, which then became an almost unruly torrent of water that shot up to the top of the well and shot high into the sky. Droplets of water began to rain down around the village, and with that, Alonia's body returned to it's normal state as the water washed away the paint on her body.
She blinked twice before falling backwards and lying on the ground, looking to Ezera with a smile on her face, "It's a pretty exhausting ritual," she said with a small laugh, "Go ahead and have a drink, the water is a fresh as it comes and is rather cool on the tongue."
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Kamau
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Sep 1 2013, 09:45 AM
Post #10
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Kamau blinked a few times in surprise as he saw the sudden burst of water firing upward. At the least, he thought that it was water; the earth-tone zebra was a little further away from the village, so he wasn't certain. He hadn't even been planning to stop there, since he knew it was in a place with little water, and he hadn't wanted to impose, but...
"...Is... is she there?" It had to have been a Shaman that made that happen; there really wasn't any other explanation he could think of. Making sure his art supplies were safely in his bag so they wouldn't get wet, Kamau picked up his pace, making his way into the town and catching a drink from the falling water, feeling hopeful.
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Ezera
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Sep 22 2013, 04:57 PM
Post #11
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Ezera took to the ground and sat next to Alonia, her head looking upwards as the water washed over her. It found its way into her eyes, her head came back down, eyes stapled closed as she rubbed them. "It is very pleasant, the heat here seems almost otherworldly." Ezera commented as she took a swallow. It really was as cool as promised.
"So, now that there seems to be water, what's next?"
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Alonia
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Oct 8 2013, 01:24 AM
Post #12
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"Now," she said as she sat up a little bit and watched as the rest of the town started to slowly wake up out of their respective trances. Their eyes fluttered open and the flow of their words slowed from their mouths as the water washed the paint off of their coats leaving a mosaic of colors on the ground around them, "We wait for them to realize that we've done God's work and saved them from their eternal drought. They will thank us and praise us and hopefully give us a good meal and a soft bed before sending us on our way. Basically, we enjoy our time in this little homemade oasis and decide what our next move is going to be."
She got off the ground as the other Zebra started to pull water out of the well, "Perhaps I will let you lead me to our next stopping point," she said as she looked towards Ezera, "I'm sure there's somewhere you've wanted to go instead of following me around and helping me do my duties. I can take a bit of a break if you have somewhere you would like to see," she said as she looked at the pastel stained ground, "There are quite a few beautiful sights in this Land."
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Kamau
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Oct 8 2013, 02:01 PM
Post #13
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As he began entering the town, Kamau noticed the paint washed on the ground... quite a beautiful sight, really. The brown zebra made a mental note for an idea for a future painting as he walked through, looking for the source of the water.
As he got closer, his eyes widened. "...Alonia?" That had to be her. He was coming from a side... he remembered her face. Beautiful...
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Ezera
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Oct 8 2013, 08:45 PM
Post #14
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Ezera hadn't minded simple traveling on with Alonia on her path, she quite honestly didn't really have any other duty any where else. It was the curse and the gift of being an untied Zebrican, the freedom to travel to horizon but it is a trek without purpose.
"Staying here for a night instead that tent we have would be a nice change." She said before looking around at the townsfolk parading almost in their fresh water. As she turned she saw one particular zebra that lacked the ceremonial paints like the others, there was none running off his body and nor was there any puddled into the earth. The distance was kind of too far for the hybrid to see clearly, between the rain and the other zebras lining the path, but his figure was oddly familiar, and his coat brought a ember in her throat. Ezera didn't know why, so she ignored it.
Ezera turned back stammering to her companion. "But... I don't really see the, need for me to be anywhere else. I don't really have anything mind, at all really."
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Alonia
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Oct 9 2013, 04:39 AM
Post #15
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Alonia smiled at her friend, "Well, if you don't have anywhere that you would want us to go, then I suppose that we'll just have to continue to our next destination," she said as she looked into the sky, "The High Shaman of my order will wish to speak with me soon, so we will most likely have to take a trip to my home town of Erutan which acts as our usual meeting spot to see if she has any requests from herself or some of my brothers and sisters in the Order."
She then noticed that Ezera had spotted something that must have been out of the ordinary, which probably meant something that would usually be perfectly normal given their current, vibrant circumstances. She turned in the direction that her partner had been looking only to see a familiar face. He looked like he hadn't changed a bit since that fateful day in Ponyville, "Seems that a relic of the War has decided to return home," she said under her breath as she thought of a way to greet their former prey, "I do not know if you remember his face, but I know that you have seen him, that Zebra from Ponyville, the one we were hunting when we first met."
She looked back to Ezera, "I did not truly think that he would return, and if he did, I did not expect to be alive to see him again. This is not something that I had planned for, but I'm sure that he has been hoping for this day for a long time," she said as she looked between Kamau and Ezera, the Zebra she saved and her companion, "If memory serves me correctly, he does have... certain feelings for me."
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