Re: Blazing Storms
Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:32 pm
Flint snorted out a sigh as the others drank, glaring at the trees in the distance. As he waited he had little to occupy his mind; he couldn't contemplate a lightning light or his bond-mate's stubbornness as neither were currently presented. He was alone, for the moment at least, and could find no proper distraction from that.
It wasn't hard to realize that he was more than angry with Hybrid for pushing himself, perhaps too hard. It wouldn't be hard for him to slow down himself, moving at an easy, ambling pace instead of his usual smart, purposeful one. And it wouldn't be hard to simply ask the stallion, honestly, what he was thinking when forcing his body as he was. But both of those things had been rejected, opting instead for mockery and an outlet to his anger.
He had already been angry. He stayed angry, in general, constantly. Deep down he felt a tickling once again, almost like ashes churning under the cinders of a flame. And again he slapped the sensation from his mind, hiding. Only to find himself angrier than ever.
If there was no shame in asking for help, why was it proving so impossible for him to do that very thing? Something was definitely wrong.
No, he thought, snorting to himself as he turned to glare at the insubordinate trio by the water, There's nothing wrong. It's fine. Fine.
Flint was not the kind of stallion to tolerate namby-pamby soul searching crud.
Hybrid, however, figured things out. He naturally picked apart anything he felt needed it, a habit he had quickly picked up and stuck to with his elemental powers. He had to figure it all out, to understand every last little micro-detail, before he could master his skills. And he was indeed a master of lightning now, proving that this processes worked for him. It was such a deeply ingrained habit that he found himself doing it with almost everything - thinking, understanding, learning, expanding. He could, normally, hold his head high with pride, confident in this fact.
At the moment, he let his head droop down over the stream, his nose barely brushing against the water. He was not feeling very proud; only beaten and ashamed, two sensations that were quite alien to him. This was frankly an unacceptable development, making him close his eyes and allow sizzling sparks to jump from his nose to the water; water was a wonderful conductor of electricity. The electric current was delicate enough for him to easily guide it through the shallow stream, spelling the word "broken." That's what it all came back to, with him. He had been broken, abandoned and picked up again. He couldn't remember too much of that without a terrible blow to his pride, so he didn't. But he couldn't so easily block out the effects of it; he had to bend his pride and accept, without shame, that he had been broken and would need time to get back to his full strength. His 'old self,' as they said, only he didn't know who his old self was.
He could still hold his head high, while he recovered. He was still a master in his talent, still held a strong heart. He had a new home that he loved, a bonded that he played with, and he could mark any progress with this recovery as a success, something else to boost his ego.
Yes, he was weakened. It was a challenge. But he would recover, and he knew this, and he could take pride in it, as opposed to being ashamed of being weakened in the first place.
It was, as his bonded said, all about perspective. For a creature with such an odd name she certainly had some good things to say.
"So this Shamrock knows of my new bonded," he asked, lifting his head with a snort and glancing at the others. "That's rather ironic. Your bonded is Vineda, did I hear that right? Oh yes, I've heard of her, just about everyone in my realm has met her. They all adore her, you're very lucky. Though Path thinks she's too thin and needs to eat more."
He chuckled here, glad that he had the moment to rest and turn things over in his head while he drank. He felt much better, though it was a struggle not to let Flint's action bother him. He did care for the mule-headed creature..
He had to grin at the thought. Every time it crossed his mind he found himself wondering what a mule was, exactly.
"Ready to head West, guys? We found this place after some kind of steep hills, so I'm curious what waits the other way."
Flint snorted and stepped beside them as he heard this, gritting his teeth absently. He was angry, but it wasn't right to take it out on them. The discomfort over these trees that were so very close seemed to add to that anger, though he could at least see the source of it as discomfort in that case.
Flint had one long path ahead of him, a fact that both he and Hybrid knew had nothing at all to do with the length of the forest.
"Alright, look-"
"No, Flint, now it's your turn to listen. I can allow you to be pissy with me, considering how I've seen you act when you're home, but you need to freaking relax here. I'm not sure what's up with you, how your mind works, or why you even invited me to come along, but I do know that until you get yourself straightened out you're in no shape to be bossing or sassing others. Got that, hot shot?"
And with that, he turned away from the stallion, ducked his head as if to give the others a friendly nudge, and started back down the hill at a rather slow and comfortable pace. There was no lightning this time; it had just been a precaution that Flint had demanded, but as they could see well enough not to hit a tree without it, especially at this pace, Hybrid left it alone.
Flint's spikes were tensed into a straight position as Hybrid turned away and dismissed him. It was taking all of his self control not to lose it and simply attack the stallion out right. It would kill one of them if he did, he knew that. There were very few ways that lightning was not deadly, if Hybrid reacted in time, and if not then his body would not survive the blows he would give.
That, however, was not what stopped him. His pride was. He wouldn't lose control, he wouldn't shame himself in that way. And he wouldn't go running home, either.
For the moment, as he fell into step beside the other three as Hybrid walked with their new friends instead of ahead, all he could do was try to keep control of the inferno inside him. And hope that it would burn itself out before he was consumed.
Hybrid glanced sideways as he joined them again. He could see how tense the stallion was and to him it was rather clear that something was seriously wrong. The irony of Flint pushing himself mentally, forcing himself through things instead of dealing with them, wasn't exactly lost to the scaled stallion that had tried to push himself physically and force himself through things instead of dealing with his limitations.
It worried him, though. They were both extremely stubborn.
"If there weren't as many trees I could teach you guys a new game. I can connect lightning bolts in various ways, making images just for fun. I could make some and let you get a quick glimpse before trying to recreate it. We could use sticks or claws or hooves to draw in the dirt, like a guessing game."
Flicking an ear, Hybrid arched his neck and tilted his head curiously as the cool air caressed his hairless body. The mist was beginning to thin out a little bit.
"What do you do in your free time? Play, or something else?"
It wasn't hard to realize that he was more than angry with Hybrid for pushing himself, perhaps too hard. It wouldn't be hard for him to slow down himself, moving at an easy, ambling pace instead of his usual smart, purposeful one. And it wouldn't be hard to simply ask the stallion, honestly, what he was thinking when forcing his body as he was. But both of those things had been rejected, opting instead for mockery and an outlet to his anger.
He had already been angry. He stayed angry, in general, constantly. Deep down he felt a tickling once again, almost like ashes churning under the cinders of a flame. And again he slapped the sensation from his mind, hiding. Only to find himself angrier than ever.
If there was no shame in asking for help, why was it proving so impossible for him to do that very thing? Something was definitely wrong.
No, he thought, snorting to himself as he turned to glare at the insubordinate trio by the water, There's nothing wrong. It's fine. Fine.
Flint was not the kind of stallion to tolerate namby-pamby soul searching crud.
Hybrid, however, figured things out. He naturally picked apart anything he felt needed it, a habit he had quickly picked up and stuck to with his elemental powers. He had to figure it all out, to understand every last little micro-detail, before he could master his skills. And he was indeed a master of lightning now, proving that this processes worked for him. It was such a deeply ingrained habit that he found himself doing it with almost everything - thinking, understanding, learning, expanding. He could, normally, hold his head high with pride, confident in this fact.
At the moment, he let his head droop down over the stream, his nose barely brushing against the water. He was not feeling very proud; only beaten and ashamed, two sensations that were quite alien to him. This was frankly an unacceptable development, making him close his eyes and allow sizzling sparks to jump from his nose to the water; water was a wonderful conductor of electricity. The electric current was delicate enough for him to easily guide it through the shallow stream, spelling the word "broken." That's what it all came back to, with him. He had been broken, abandoned and picked up again. He couldn't remember too much of that without a terrible blow to his pride, so he didn't. But he couldn't so easily block out the effects of it; he had to bend his pride and accept, without shame, that he had been broken and would need time to get back to his full strength. His 'old self,' as they said, only he didn't know who his old self was.
He could still hold his head high, while he recovered. He was still a master in his talent, still held a strong heart. He had a new home that he loved, a bonded that he played with, and he could mark any progress with this recovery as a success, something else to boost his ego.
Yes, he was weakened. It was a challenge. But he would recover, and he knew this, and he could take pride in it, as opposed to being ashamed of being weakened in the first place.
It was, as his bonded said, all about perspective. For a creature with such an odd name she certainly had some good things to say.
"So this Shamrock knows of my new bonded," he asked, lifting his head with a snort and glancing at the others. "That's rather ironic. Your bonded is Vineda, did I hear that right? Oh yes, I've heard of her, just about everyone in my realm has met her. They all adore her, you're very lucky. Though Path thinks she's too thin and needs to eat more."
He chuckled here, glad that he had the moment to rest and turn things over in his head while he drank. He felt much better, though it was a struggle not to let Flint's action bother him. He did care for the mule-headed creature..
He had to grin at the thought. Every time it crossed his mind he found himself wondering what a mule was, exactly.
"Ready to head West, guys? We found this place after some kind of steep hills, so I'm curious what waits the other way."
Flint snorted and stepped beside them as he heard this, gritting his teeth absently. He was angry, but it wasn't right to take it out on them. The discomfort over these trees that were so very close seemed to add to that anger, though he could at least see the source of it as discomfort in that case.
Flint had one long path ahead of him, a fact that both he and Hybrid knew had nothing at all to do with the length of the forest.
"Alright, look-"
"No, Flint, now it's your turn to listen. I can allow you to be pissy with me, considering how I've seen you act when you're home, but you need to freaking relax here. I'm not sure what's up with you, how your mind works, or why you even invited me to come along, but I do know that until you get yourself straightened out you're in no shape to be bossing or sassing others. Got that, hot shot?"
And with that, he turned away from the stallion, ducked his head as if to give the others a friendly nudge, and started back down the hill at a rather slow and comfortable pace. There was no lightning this time; it had just been a precaution that Flint had demanded, but as they could see well enough not to hit a tree without it, especially at this pace, Hybrid left it alone.
Flint's spikes were tensed into a straight position as Hybrid turned away and dismissed him. It was taking all of his self control not to lose it and simply attack the stallion out right. It would kill one of them if he did, he knew that. There were very few ways that lightning was not deadly, if Hybrid reacted in time, and if not then his body would not survive the blows he would give.
That, however, was not what stopped him. His pride was. He wouldn't lose control, he wouldn't shame himself in that way. And he wouldn't go running home, either.
For the moment, as he fell into step beside the other three as Hybrid walked with their new friends instead of ahead, all he could do was try to keep control of the inferno inside him. And hope that it would burn itself out before he was consumed.
Hybrid glanced sideways as he joined them again. He could see how tense the stallion was and to him it was rather clear that something was seriously wrong. The irony of Flint pushing himself mentally, forcing himself through things instead of dealing with them, wasn't exactly lost to the scaled stallion that had tried to push himself physically and force himself through things instead of dealing with his limitations.
It worried him, though. They were both extremely stubborn.
"If there weren't as many trees I could teach you guys a new game. I can connect lightning bolts in various ways, making images just for fun. I could make some and let you get a quick glimpse before trying to recreate it. We could use sticks or claws or hooves to draw in the dirt, like a guessing game."
Flicking an ear, Hybrid arched his neck and tilted his head curiously as the cool air caressed his hairless body. The mist was beginning to thin out a little bit.
"What do you do in your free time? Play, or something else?"