[PRP] another year come and gone (Holly x Asiyah)

[`raze]

Holly, since a young filly, had always been in the care of humans. So when she had lost them in a blizzard the winter prior, survival instinct set in and Holly sought out the closest herd as possible. She exchanged stories she had heard from her caretakers for shelter and food, and she did this in her travels to find her former companions. However, with the new winter a year had passed, and the mare had to finally accept that they were gone.

It was a thought Holly often kept at bay - how she was easily forgotten and how they didn't look for her. She kicked the snow infront of her slowly and repeatedly, zoning out. She had bounced from family, herd to herd babysitting foals and developing superficial relationships all because she assumed she'd be back in the care of her people. Maybe it was time to try and make friends? She smiled ruefully at the thought. She had always approached others under the pretense of employment or service. How did one go about making friends? Did you just.... ask? She felt second-hand embarressment wash over her as the thought crossed her mind.  

[Nori Ishida]

The spirited young mare pranced through the snow, an ecstatic smile on her face. She had spent most of her life in the desert, and while it did get very cold at times and the earth might be covered with a layer of frost every once in a while, she had never seen such an accumulation of snow! By most standards, it was not much - only a foot or so - but to Asiyah, it was a huge amount!

It had been a few months since she had decided to move on, to stop waiting. It had taken some time before her sadness abated and her guilt waned but she had waited long enough, and she deserved to live her life. If her love had left her, then she clearly wanted nothing to do with Asiyah anymore and it was time to move on. If her love was lost to this world, then Asiyah knew she would have wanted her to carry on and enjoy her life. Either way, it was time to stop waiting for somebody who would never come.

Now free to live the life she wanted, Asiyah had set off to explore the world that she had only ever heard about in tales from other travelers. Her first destination was north, where she had hoped to find snow. It had taken her several weeks, but she had finally woken up to fresh, powdery snow one morning and couldn't get enough of it. She was so busy taking it all in that she almost didn't see the mare standing there. She stopped a few feet away, not wanting to startle the other mare or invade her space. She had very similar coloring to Asiyah herself, and seemed to be lost in thought. She took another step forward, hoping the soft crunching of the snow might alert the other mare to her presence before she spoke.

"Hi there! How are you this morning? Have you ever seen so much snow?!"  

[`raze]

The voice of another broke Holly from her thoughts, and the mare turned her head quickly in the direction of the noise. Only a few feet away was another mare not unlike herself. How had she been so ignorant to her surroundings? 'This is how you get eaten.' Holly pushed the intrusive, degrading thought away. The mare looked friendly enough and sounded it, wore adornments instead of claws or fangs. Holly cleared her throat and replaced her shocked expression with a look of pleasant surprise.

"Snow? Oh the snow! Yes.... Once before. Laast year, nasty blizzard. This though, this is manageable." As if to make her point she stepped towards the mare, letting her hoof sink into the snow. She snuck a glance back at the other mare. "You aren't from around here, are you? Just guessing. I'm not either." She knew she shouldn't assume the other mare's past, but everyone else she had encountered here didn't think much of it or was very used to it. Holly was not fond of the snow, but the snow meant ample work for busy families.

Suddenly finding herself embarressed, Holly looked down, mindlessly pawing at the snow. She let snow fall into where she had just stepped into, watching it crumble. She had just been in her thoughts, thinking of how to make a friend - and then this mare arrived, Was this some kind of magic? She cleared her throat nervously before shooting a shy glance back over to her. "I-I'm Holly."

Nori Ishida

 

[Nori Ishida]

Asiyah noticed the shocked expression on the mare's face and immediately regretted her loud greeting. She was glad when the mare seemed to relax and introduced herself. Asiyah beamed at her and returned her greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Holly, I'm so sorry if I startled you! My name's Asiyah. And no, I'm not from here either." She shifted a bit on her feet, wondering how far to delve into her past with this new acquaintance. She didn't want to overwhelm a potential new friend with too much information, so she decided to keep her story simple for now.

"I spent most of my life in the desert. We moved around a lot, but mostly just to other places in the desert. So, this is actually my first time ever seeing snow! I can't imagine being in a blizzard." Asiyah's gaze drifted as she tried to picture it. She had heard about blizzards before, about snow drifts that were as big as the sand dunes. She had experienced sandstorms in the desert, and tried to picture something like that, but with snow, and shivered involuntarily at the thought.

"Do you come from somewhere warmer too?" She smiled brightly at Holly, always excited to meet soquili from other parts of the world and hear their stories.

`raze