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Post by Person on Feb 15, 2013 1:26:15 GMT -5
[The 47th of summer; if somepony wants to jump in somehow, you are by all means allowed, though I planned this as a monologue in several parts.]
As the steam slowly rose from his freshly-brewed morning tea, Silent Storm rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his hooves and loosed a long yawn. His body felt much better rested than before, but his mind still groggily stumbled through chain of thought. He'd had another nightmare the night before; it seemed all he had nowadays was nightmares, and not even a dreamless night gave him relief from the disturbing visions.
in addition to the nightmares that haunted his slumber these past weeks, there had been something else; a gentle tug of sorts like a thread was tied around his legs and pulled him toward the Everfree, but deeper than merely the outer forest. This was from somewhere much more coated in darkness. Whenever he went flying to clear his head, he somehow always unintentionally ended up circling around the middle of the dense wood, allowing the air currents to carry him about without much effort on his part other than merely keeping himself aloft. He sometimes catching an occasional glimpse of menacing creatures through the canopy of leaves below, creatures that were not meant to be there in Equestria.
After a soft blow across its warm surface, Sil took a sip of his tea. It had always kept him calm during the days and hours of living in the hostile neighborhood. Granted, they weren't hostile to one other, merely cold to the outsider in their midst. He sometimes wondered if he would be happier somewhere else, but always ended at the conclusion that anyplace with anypony would supply the same grouping of issues, so he might as well tough it out and try to fit in with everypony as best he can.
Another draught of tea slipped passed his lips and Sil set down his mug at the coffee table he had been sitting next to and rose. He'd gotten up later than he normally did and it was nearly noon now. He yearned to go flying today, but as the weight holding down his left wing constantly reminded him, he wouldn't be able to for at least another day when he met with Kai again.
The pegasus moved up to the wall across from the fireplace and ran a hoof across the carved and stained surface. It was the first of the several wall carvings he'd done throughout the house, finished about a week after he moved into the cottage. It depicted a stylized image of Cloudsdale with the architecturally advanced steeples in the foreground and the Light Spectrum Display Synthesis Facility, otherwise nicknamed the "rainbow factory" to the rear.
Sil remembered all the time he lived in that city in the sky, with most of his time consumed with schooling and sparring, a major pastime of the pegasi. He suspected the stallions and colts of Cloudsdale liked sparring merely because, in practice, it was both a form of fighting somepony without a chance of punishment by an authority. Bullies saw sparring as a way to pick on the weak without fearing the teachers, and Sil had learned quickly that efficient use of your strengths and protection of your weaknesses was the only way to not get immediately and painfully crushed by your opponent, as had happened several times before he began to get a feel for dodging and countering blows.
Glancing to either side of the gray stone bricked fireplace, Sil saw the two carvings finished shortly after viewing a full moon on a particularly clear night from the cottage roof. He couldn't get the image of it from his head as it was somehow burned into his memory, so he took that image and channeled it through his hooves. A moon surrounded by stars was inset on the left, and a sun surrounded by radiating beams of light was likewise carved on the right. His woodworking skills weren't the greatest, but it gave him something to set his mind to, something to get his hooves moving. The many rays circling the sun and the small detailed stars had taken a substantial amount of time to make, having individually carved each one.
Sil let his mind slide into a sub-active state as he sat down on one of the beanbags again, thinking of the events that occurred the previous day, the party the following, and the eclipse that still hung in the sky, blocking the sun's brilliance. He occasionally sipped his tea which was now lukewarm after sitting out for so long. Time slipped by, and soon his mug was empty.
It was now early afternoon, so the gray-green pegasus fixed himself a simple sandwich consisting of bread with olive oil and parmesan cheese along with a fresh tomato plucked from his garden, which he planned to eat plain, but rethought himself, diced it with one of the kitchen knives he seemed to rarely use, and combined it with an amount of spinach leaves, bell peppers, hot peppers, onion, and a sparing squirt of buttermilk ranch dressing to make a delightful salad. The collection of veggies was polished off in a very short amount of time and after a quick cleanup, Sil wandered to his small garden out back to tend and take care of it, as he did most days.
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Feb 16, 2013 2:57:41 GMT -5
[As promised, here I be.]
Usutora was in a cheerful mood. Not only had his heist the previous night gone off without a hitch, but also, Kai had finished putting the lights back together in less than a day, despite having all manner of other things he had to do, and to top it all off with a cherry, He was granted another opportunity to meet up with Sil before trying to find Miss Rarity. So far, it was a pretty good day.
He arrived at Sil's home, and knocked a few times at the front door. As he waited, his eyes drifted down to one of the higher steps leading up to the door. It seemed as though Sil hadn't yet collected his paper that day, so he picked it up. After a few moments had passed, he knocked again. This time, while he waited, he looked at the headline, and smiled. His escapade had made the front page. How lovely.
Sil was taking a while to come to the door. Kai had told him that the two of them had made it back to Whinnyapolis on the train, and had parted ways. Usu began to wonder if he was all right...
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Post by Person on Feb 16, 2013 21:15:32 GMT -5
Silent Storm pulled another sprig of parsley from the small patch to the left of his garden and placed it in his gathering basket near the dill with his other gatherings. Moving on to another patch containing tomatoes and peppers, he tested most of the fruits by prodding them with a hoof, then picked a grouping of ghost chilies and several tomatoes from the terraced plants they grew on, thinking he should make some pico de gallo later for a snack. He placed an orange and a green pepper among the red tomatoes and chilies, considering the dip's color palate shouldn't be monochromatic. His ear twitched and the peg thought he heard a tapping from somewhere, but it was a fleeting sound so he thought nothing of it.
Stopping to think for a moment, Sil remembered the ingredients he had in his pantry. An onion, some leftover ground fire ruby from the pasta, tortillas and some homemade burrito filling which contained refried and otherwise beans, rice, and what remained of the deer he'd caught several weeks ago, remained unused there, so it seemed all he yet needed was some lettuce. There was still spinach in the house, but Sil found it lacked the crunch required for burritos and tacos. He snatched a head of the leafy green veggie from the far end of the garden and plopped it into the basket.
Sil carefully placed the full basket onto his back, steadying it with his wings. It had a slight tilt to the left since he couldn't fully extend that wing on account of the brace. He started to make his way through the garden toward the back door, key awaiting in his maw to unlock it.
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Kiernan
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Tua Culpa, Culpa Mea
Posts: 384
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Post by Kiernan on Feb 17, 2013 2:53:32 GMT -5
[If we're doing that scene we discussed now, I grant you permission to actually do the auto-hit. Wait for the trigger, though. If we're doing that scene later, rather than now, I retract said permission, and ask that you tell me when you want to enact it.]
Sil didn't seem to be answering the door. So, since he hated waiting, and also since he had already been in the house, and wouldn't be in for very long, he decided to pick the lock.
He took a moment to look around, and make sure nopony was watching. Thankfully, there seemed to be nopny around, but still, Usu picked the lock as quietly as he could, being careful. It took him a minute or two, but he managed to open the door and close it without a sound.
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Post by Person on Feb 17, 2013 21:16:34 GMT -5
[Of course we are, I may even turn it into a short comic if I'm bored, but I believe it requires some necessary buildup first. ] Silent Storm reached the door and shifted basket of produce from his back to his hoof as he leaned over and unlocked the door with a clearly audible *click*. He'd been told before that the old locks he had were rather unmanageable with the keys and took several moments to open, but he'd never had any problems with them. Perhaps he was simply lucky. Sil pushed the door with his muzzle and it opened with a loud creak. I should really get that oiled soon, he thought to himself, then replaced the basket onto his back and sauntered into his abode. Once the door was closed and locked once again, he made for the kitchen to sort his grown goods, but remembered he hadn't made his bed that morning, so he set the basket down at the foot of the short staircase which led to his bedroom and attic. After ascending said staircase, Sil chuckled to himself, remembering how the primary adversary of Mister Akaitora and himself had been stairs the previous night. It hadn't been silly then, but in retrospect, having your enemy be stairs was ridiculous. The pegasus continued to made his unruly bed, humming to himself as he did so.
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Kiernan
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Tua Culpa, Culpa Mea
Posts: 384
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Post by Kiernan on Feb 18, 2013 3:02:01 GMT -5
Usu looked up and down the front hallway. He didn't see Sil, but he reasoned that if Sil wasn't in the first place he looked, he could be in a different room. He left the dagger and the paper on the table in the main living area, but instead of leaving, he wanted to make sure Sil was okay.
Since Sil didn't answer the door, it was likely that he was out back, in his garden. Usu decided to make his way there, to make sure...
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Post by Person on Feb 19, 2013 22:59:43 GMT -5
[sorry for the delay, I had stuff and things and impending doom.]
Once Silent Storm has completed properly fluffing his pillow, he replaced it upon the crisply tucked sheets. The tidiness of it all just made it that more fun to send into complete disarray when he went to sleep in it; like building a tower of block just to knock them all into a chaotic mass on the ground. Order was pleasant sometimes, but watching it fail was so much more amusing. He left his bedroom and walked down the flight of stairs with the hint of a smile on his lips.
Sil reached the foot of the staircase and picked up the basket in his maw. He walked into the kitchen, placed the produce on the table adjacent to the pantry. He carefully sorted out each of the herbs, gathering each in a pile then putting each in its respective container of the spice cabinet. The vegetables his sorted by type and size, then placed those in the pantry as well, placing the largest near the back and smaller ones closer to the front.
After his organic booty was put away, Sil discovered he was quite thirsty and stuck his muzzle in the ice chest, searching for something to wet his whistle with.
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Feb 20, 2013 1:55:34 GMT -5
[It seems to me that Sil hasn't met with the local regulatory authority on Sanitation and Food Safety. He's not using the FIFO Method. If he was selling that produce, the government would shut him down so quickly...]
Usutora scowled The fact that Sil wasn't out back meant that he either wasn't home, or he couldn't come to the door. Worry filled his mind as he imagined several cases in which Sil could have been injured, impeded, or incapacitated on his way home. He had a broken wing last time he had seen him, which would only make him an easier target for thugs or muggers on his path. Even thieves would find him an easy target, though all the thieves Usu knew would never actually hurt another pony, short of taking their money. Even the far more likely chance of Sil not being accepted by his neighbors would seem that much more difficult.
Usu took a deep breath. Mayhap Sil had just contracted a cold while they were walking through the chilly night air. Mayhap he had simply arrived home late, and had slept in. There was still a sporting chance that Sil was home, but Usu hadn't seen him because he was upstairs. So he made his way inside and up the flight of stairs, to the bedroom.
[You know, I've been wondering about the layout of Sil's house. I should be free on Saturday, if you'd like to build it in Minecraft, or something. Or you could draw the layout, I guess. Either-or, or neither. Up to you.]
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Post by Person on Feb 20, 2013 23:23:24 GMT -5
[When I read this I'm imagining a Scooby-Doo esque scene where two people are following each other around unknowingly.]
Undecided on a choice of beverage, Sil exited the cozy kitchen with the now empty basket between his teeth. He sauntered to the back door and gently set the basket to the left of the door, leaving it as a reminder of the fresh produce ha hadn't picked yet, and must do so before it gets overripe.
On his way back to the kitchen to give himself another mug of tea, or perhaps a sweet cider, Sil trod upon a particularly skew old floorboard and it creaked as loud as a cicada's chirp. He quickly retracted the hoof and vowed to have that refurbished, or at the very least silenced. He arrived at the kitchen again and put a kettle on the stove, patiently waiting for the water to boil.
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Kiernan
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Posts: 384
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Post by Kiernan on Feb 21, 2013 0:38:54 GMT -5
[Does that mean I can be old man Smithers, the creepy janitor, who used dry ice to create fog, and I'm just making it up now, so there is no real question.]
Upon arriving upstairs, Usu saw that the bed was made, and Sil wasn't in it. Me muttered a curse under his breath, Finding out that his new friend was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, another thought occurred to him, which was lucky, considering that without that thought, only the idea that Sil was lying dead on the side of the road would remain in his mind. It was an idea that was so easy to glaze over, that he had. So, without another thought, Usu went downstairs to check the lavatory, with a loud sigh.
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Post by Person on Feb 21, 2013 19:00:04 GMT -5
Steaming mug in hoof, Silent Storm left the kitchen yet again, this time bound for the living room where he'd last left the book he'd checked out from the library, titled "Past Sins". He rather enjoyed it, and wanted to continue in its enthralling plot.
He entered the living room and set his tea down on the coffee table, then froze, noticing his dagger sitting on the table atop the newspaper he had yet to retrieve. He'd left that at Kai's, how could it be here? He held the dagger in front of him, gazing at its dark metallic surface quizzically, and shifted its weight in his hoof. It was indeed his dagger, but how... Sil's mind drifted into an odd state of combined bewilderment and pondering.
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Kiernan
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Posts: 384
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Post by Kiernan on Feb 22, 2013 3:30:39 GMT -5
Usu lowered his head and shoulders. Sil didn't seem to be anywhere to be found. He stood still for a moment, until it clicked in his mind that he was moping in the middle of a lavatory. A clean lavatory, which smelled of lilac, another indicator that Sil was fairly decent at taking care of himself, but a lavatory nonetheless.
He raised his eyes, and stared into those of his reflection. The pony he saw was the epitome of sadness. You couldn't tell based on the face, that this pony had just recently pulled off a great heist, running into next to no trouble at all, the previous night.
As he walked down the stairs, he thought to himself, "I guess I should go find the body, and give him a proper burial..." He paused for a moment, a thread tugging at the back of his mind that something was out of place here. The back door was unlocked, as it had been when he exited and reentered, the kitchen was empty, the pantry door closed... What was different?
After a few moments of trying to find what was out of place, and coming up with nothing, he stepped over the basket, and made his way back to the front door. When he passed the living room, though, he stopped dead in his silent tracks. There, standing in front of the coffee table, facing the other direction, was Sil. And he wasn't dead! This prompted Usu to walk up to him, his footsteps silent and soft, though he didn't notice, since they were always like that.Then, right when he had almost made it to where Sil was standing...
*CRREEEEEEAAK*
[Thanks for the floorboard thing, it really helped this to not become awkward too early. Now, it's time for some awkward!]
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Post by Person on Feb 22, 2013 21:32:14 GMT -5
Silent Storm jerked his head at the sudden exclamation from the floorboards, his pupils reducing themselves to slits in alarm. Was it a masked thief here to steal his possessions and deface his living space? Had the guard lied and actually followed him home from the train, now in the room with him while a regiment awaited his capture outside? Was it Old Stallion Brom from down the road who was making good on his threat to run Sil out of town with sharpened gardening equipment?
There was no time to think, there was just time to do something before he was clubbed, cuffed, or assaulted with a watering hose. Seemingly out of instinct, Sil shifted his weight to his front hooves, pulled his hindquarters up and his hind legs back in a deft movement, then shoved them behind him with a large amount of power behind them. Granted, he made sure it wasn't enough to seriously injure the intruder, just enough to stun them and maybe give them a bit of a shiner. His hooves connected with somepony's face and the contact seemed to slow time slightly, lasting longer than normal, then it resumed and he heard whoever it had been fall to the ground.
"You're not getting me this time Old Stallion Brom!!" Sil shouted as he whirled around to face the invader.
Much to his surprise and great shock, it was not a cranky old stallion wielding a weedeater, but his new friend Turnkey splayed on the floor. His mind reeled, and he was stuck for a moment, too startled to react properly.
"Omygoshomygoshomygosh." the pegasus frantically rattled off, "I'm so sorry, Turnkey, I didn't know it was you, I just heard the board creak and... and... Are you hurt?"
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Kiernan
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Post by Kiernan on Feb 23, 2013 3:06:25 GMT -5
[HA!! HILARIOUS!! DID I NOT TELL YOU THAT SCENE WAS GOING TO BE HILARIOUS?!]
Usutora also felt time begin to slow as Sil's back hooves connected to his face. The impact lifted his front hooves off the wood floor, , and as his neck reached the limit on how far it could bend backward, his back hooves followed suit. His eyes were wide open, having been missed, so he managed to see the ceiling turn into the wall, and then turn into the floor, until once again he was facing Sil's hindquarters. But he didn't have time to think about what he saw, because his impact with the floor demanded his attention.
When time was once again flowing as it should have been, Sil said something that Usu had trouble hearing, and turned around, and was seemingly shocked to see him lying with his legs splayed out in four directions, a small stream of blood and a few teeth lying right next to his chin.
"I'm so sorry, Turnkey, I didn't know it was you, I just heard the board creak and... and... Are you hurt?"
"A bit, but after a few moments of rest, I should be able to stand up," said Usu. However, the playback in his ear sounded more like, "Uh bid, buhd abter a poo bobeds wesd, ah zood be aboo du sand ub." At first, he thought he may have something wrong with his ears, but then he realized, he hadn't suffered a blow to his ears. "Ah theeb do hab bwoked by dose, doe..." came out when he tried to say, "I seem to have broken my nose, though..."
Wanting to give air to the part of his body that had just slapped a wooden floor, he rolled onto his right side, keeping his head pointed down, and breathing through his mouth, so as not to drown himself. No, dying here was not much of an option.
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Post by Person on Feb 24, 2013 15:35:52 GMT -5
Silent Storm's lip trembled slightly at Turnkey's garbled words. He was afraid for his friend's well being, and was didn't know what to do as he just watched as blood began to form a small pool beneath the unicorn's lowered head. The thought that he should retrieve the medical kit in his bedroom occurred to him a bit later than he would've liked to, so he quickly scaled the stairs and rushed back down, hit in hoof.
Just as he was about to open up the kit next to Key on the ground and ask him what he needed, he accidentally trod in the small puddle of blood, getting an amount of it on his hoof. He paused at its temperature, lifting the red-smeared leg and closely examining it. He was very tempted to lick the substance away, it had been so long, after all. His mind flitted back and forth between thoughts of his injured friend and the deep red liquid, and a he stared distantly at it, a vacant expression on his face. After several moments passed, the thought of Key won, and he shook the lustful wonderings from his head, popping the white and red case open.
"What do you need?" He asked, rummaging through the box's contents, "Can you heal it with magic?"
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