Wandering

She seemed to be watching him and waiting for something. She also looked a little irritated and it was starting to make him nervous. He wanted to cower down and step away from her stare, but stubborn male pride forced him to stand upright and look right back at her.

I'm getting kind of hungry. I think there are some peach trees nearby. Will you join me?

He hoped that she liked peaches. He was fond of them himself.

Peach trees? Well, at least he was showing initiative.

With a slight shrug, she lifted her head higher and set her sights on the peach trees nearby. They would be a refreshing treat...

Sure, why not.

With a flick of her ear she started over, a small battle waging in her mind. In the end she decided to stick around for a bit longer. He was a better alternative than, say, Shiro would be right now. All that light, lovey romance of his would rub in all the wrong ways.

You never did say what brings you out here.

He wasn't really giving her much of anything, in the case of conversation or games. He didn't even seem to be moving much, no minor flick of an ear or shift of his weight to betray his inner-state. In fact, he seemed to be all too hollow; a Serian shell, completely lacking dimension. It was rather sad...

He quickly trotted after her. He couldn't help but wonder what made her so irritated. My bonded made me go explore, get out of my home. He jumped up and grabbed a peach, savoring the sweetness.

Do you like peaches? I'm rather fond of them myself. He tried to think of something they could do. Suddenly, he got an idea.

What are your bond mates like?

'Let's see if Moon Blaze is correct in her stories.' He thought to himself.

My - my bond-mates?

He took her by surprise with the question. Perhaps he wasn't as simple as he had seemed. There may be a soul left in there after all.

The concept of having been so damaged as to lose all personality, any sense of self or trace of a true soul - well, it just disgusted her. She suffered to the point of insanity and still wasn't so hollow.

But then, perhaps he wasn't either. Not if he was beginning to reveal this curiosity about tastes, about others of his kind.

Buying herself a moment, she snatched her own peach and quickly spat out the seed, whickering out a snort as juice dripped down her chin. Mmmm.

I do enjoy peaches, yes. It's been a while since I had one; they're not a favorite, yet it does make for a rather good change.

Frolic grabbed another and scratched up against the tree, gathering her thoughts. What are her bonded-mates like...

My bond-mates are... Well they are my bond-mates. They're different. I have quite a few. Caustic, the strongest of us all, he's come by and merely sat with me before. He has to come with our bonded, so she can fix the death he trails behind him; half my rain forest would be dust if not for that, with as much as he's visited. You get used to his presence, after a bit. He tends to... To have an acidic tendency on just about anything. Everything you think you are, everything you wrap yourself up in, he erodes that until there's nothing left. Nothing but the very stone of your core. No sense of identity, no illusions of self image. It's merely his nature. He's bitter, jaded and corrosive; and I like him the best.

She shrugged, blinking the thought-mist out of her eyes as he nibbled on another peach and regarded this SunSpot before her. Hmmm. She'd never really thought about what the others were like before. It wasn't surprising that Caustic was the first to come to mind. She had spent the most time with him, even more than Sparkle or Sign; the only one she'd been with more than him was her bonded.

She knew he wasn't one to mate, or she might have entertained the thought of seducing him into her circle.

Too bad. They would have handsome foals together.

And this time, she would get it right.

He winced and flicked an ear back at her description. Moon Blaze didn't speak much of Caustic. Only that if you ever saw him walking the same path as you, turn tail and run as fast as you can.

Are the others as... hard as Caustic? He sure hoped not. Because if Moon Blaze got her way, he would be seeing a lot of Songhue's other Serians.

She grinned; she couldn't help it. He seemed uncomfortable with her description of the stallion, a fact that amused her. It was more than likely thanks to the warrior that she was well enough to be here to begin with.

No, not as hard. They're different. A mare named Sign has visited me a few times as well and she's the softest, most mothering creature I've ever known. She even fusses after our bonded. It's been a long time since she's come to visit, though. It doesn't really fit with the home-body impression she gave me. Path is more of a mix; she's fairly hard, very strict, but she keeps an eye on everyone. I mainly got a distinct sense of disapproval from her, though she was patient enough not to call me weak. I hear she softened up considerably after she had her son.

She shrugged, apparently thinking nothing of it. There's more, quite a few at that. And None of them are really like any of the others. It's nice having such a large herd at home, all the same; they stood by me all this time and I'm rather close to each of them. I know they, at least, are a part of my future.

Kicking the tree, she dropped one more peach and started walking towards some more trees a little ways off, restless and wishing to move. He'd follow or he wouldn't; though she wasn't going to simply ditch.

What of you? Do you have bond-mates? What's it like at home?