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Post by zasknu on Oct 9, 2011 11:51:33 GMT -5
As she wandered from bookshelf to bookshelf, Aestella occasionally looked back to the others, to confirm the niggling doubt that she was being too obvious. Sure enough, she spotted the others glance her way from time to time. "Oh, what did you do Aestella... they're all looking at you...". Even more nervous than before, she walked back closer the bookcases, as if the closer she got the more she would resemble those inanimate objects. "Maybe if I just stand here..." She thought, "They won't see me... Oh I've been such a fool to come here!". A quick glance out the window to the storm outside quickly quieted any notion of just fleeing, knowing that she wouldn't last long out there in the cold. With a shudder and a nervous swallow she turned back to the others, still ramrod stiff. With effort, Aestella managed to give each of the other ponies closer observation, in an attempt to become more familiar without embarrassing herself. The two earth ponies were in conversation, and had identified themselves as Apple Cider and Quillson. With a nod she looked away from, after all, names were a good place to start, right? Her gaze drifted over to the unicorn that had just reentered the room with two cups, and who had just addressed Quillson and called himself the store's owner. "He owns the store, don't do anything to insult him." She thought with a nod, thinking somewhere in the back of her mind that it might be a good idea to get his name at some point. Finally, she looked over at the most unfamiliar member of the group, seated at one of the tables in the room. As she stared at the pony that was not only a zebra, but a pegasus as well, she was overwhelmed with awe, curiosity, and uncertainty. Aestella had never been this close to a pegasus before, only seeing glimpses of them in the air while she traveled, and added to that, she had never seen a zebra before, and hardly knew anything about them. As she continued to stare awkwardly at the one others had identified as Kuruka, her mind became fixated on the stranger's wings. Listening only to the ticking of her watch, she began to wonder about the wings, about what it would be like to fly. The gears of her mind began to churn as new ideas and diagrams wafted into her mind, ideas for new projects that pushed away the concept that she was being rude with her actions.
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Post by thepatriot on Oct 9, 2011 14:09:27 GMT -5
Quillson nodded in turn towards Nimble. The pony seemed quite proud of his store, as he should have been! It had been a long while since Quillson has come across a store so dedicated to written literature. He glanced around the main room of the store once more, taking in the sight of cover to cover writings.
His eyes scanned across the room, eventually catching a glimpse of the extremely shy pony Aestella seemingly hiding behind one of the bookcases. But he'd finally set his mind on an approach. He'd come to Hoofington looking for a story, and somepony here interested him most.
Quillson trotted softly over towards the group of ponies, stopping at the opposite end of a table as the Zebra Pegasi. He'd seen plenty of Pegasi in his travels, and even come across a short list of Zebra. Their starkly different culture and living arrangements had made wonderful pieces for Quill to work with. But never before had he seen a combination of the two. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even sure if such a combination were possible.
Nodding over towards the excitingly different pony, Quill hoped to begin conversation. He made eye contact, and smiled.
"Hello there. I don't believe I caught your name when I came in here. I try to make it a habit of knowing everypony I come across personally."
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Post by applecider on Oct 9, 2011 14:32:54 GMT -5
"Thank ya kindly," Apple Cider said as Nimble went to prepare the teas. She kept an eye on Aestella from time to time, making sure the shy pony was ok. She then decided to turn her attention towards Kuruka again. Apple Cider was very interested in her as she had never seen a zebra in Hoofington or Appleoosa, much less a zebra with wings. "So, Kuruka, I guess you had to travel ta get here to Hoofington. What's life like back in yer hometown?"
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Post by kuruka on Oct 9, 2011 18:33:10 GMT -5
Kuruka watched as Nimble busied himself, performing the duties of host quite admirably. She briefly glanced at the closet full of blankets and saw Aestella staring at her... back? Kuruka clamped down on her lip. Her wings. Out of instinct, she froze as if being inspected by a predator. Don't look her in the eye, Kuruka, breath steadily, don't let her know you're afraid. As if he could tell she was in her most vulnerable position, the stallion named Quillson approached her. "Hellothere. I don't believe I caught your name when I came in here. I try to make it a habit of knowing everypony I come across personally." Kuruka met the pony's gaze and slowly let go of her chewed lip, but couldn't answer before Apple Cider asked the most difficult question Kuruka knew would come sooner or later. "So, Kuruka, I guess you had to travel ta get here to Hoofington. What's life like back in yer hometown?" Her father's advice echoed in her mind. One step at a time. Take it nice and slow. First question first. "My name is Kuruka, newly appointed militia captain of Hoofton. I believe you introduced yourself as Quillson? You must be a writer, looking at your mark." Good, she was starting to relax again. Now to the more difficult question. "Yes, I have traveled a long way by hoof to come here. The place I was raised is not so much a town than a small village. All know all. The ponies there are... friendly... as long as you live to their rules. But it is not a place that is welcoming to... my type." Don't give away too much. "The weather there is warm year-round. Some of the jungle's winter flowers would be blooming about now..." She smiled at a memory of her siblings playing hide-and-seek among the vibrant rainbow of winter vegetation. Kuruka turned back to the other ponies. "I know Apple Cider is visiting her family and knows Hoofton well, but what brings you here, Quillson?"
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Post by watcher on Oct 10, 2011 13:40:19 GMT -5
Nimble smiles as he looks around his shop, watching all the ponies talk together. "Well, if anypony needs me, I'll be putting up some more books, I still haven't gotten all of them on shelves." He goes into the back room, and comes back with a box of books in tow.
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Post by zasknu on Oct 10, 2011 15:46:00 GMT -5
Finally realizing that the shop's owner had left cups of tea out, Aestella pulled her gaze away from Kuruka's wings and slowly made her way over to a cup, gingerly picking one up and taking a sip of the hot liquid. Not expecting the heat, she almost dropped the cup and spit out the tea, but she managed to restrain herself and catch the cup with her magic. Composing herself, she takes another sip of the tea, "Bitter..." She smiled shakily, and walked back over to the bookcase she was hiding near before, taking another sip of tea and setting down the cup on a table. Turning her attention back to Kuruka, she slipped a roll of paper, a quill, and some ink from her saddlebags. Unrolling the paper, she began to sketch Kuruka's wings, looking up every now and then to make sure she'd getting the proportions right. As she sketched, she continued to sip her tea, "Feathers wouldn't work for this... some kind of canvas then? Wow... this tea is pretty good... I wonder where I could get more for myself..." Aestella continued to think and sketch, each stroke of the quill keeping in time with the ticking of her watch. Soon she completely forgot all about the bookstore and the other ponies inside, completely lost in her own little work of mechanical design and tea.
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Post by thepatriot on Oct 10, 2011 23:26:04 GMT -5
Smiling warmly towards Kuruka, Quillson nodded his head in time with her speech and questions. He switched to an inquisitive look at the mention of " as long as you live to their rules.", but quickly recomposed himself afterwards. He had wanted to ask her more about herself, considering his reason for being there in the first place. But Quillson was a conversationalist, and he wasn't about to be seen as rude if he could help it.
"That's very astute of you to notice! I am a writer, as a matter of fact. That's the primary reason I came here, actually. I'd heard rumblings about some sort of... dramatic affair in the forest. Details were skimpy, so I thought it would be better to travel to the source! Primary sources are usually the best when writing a piece."
Hoping that she would open up more about herself, Quill proposed the next question in conversation.
"If you don't mind me asking, where is it you've traveled from?"
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Post by applecider on Oct 11, 2011 7:33:26 GMT -5
Apple Cider listened to Kuruka tell a little about her home. She seemed hesitant about saying anything else, and what she did say sounded like it was not a friendly place. Appele Cider then decided to change the conversation as she sipped the tea given to her by Nimble, "Well Kuruka, I think you'll be likin' Hoofington. All the folks here are really friendly and helpful."
Apple Cider then looked around the room, seeing Aestells sketching something on the floor. Obviously something caught her attention and made her happy, so the earth pony decided to leave her to her own devices.
She then hear Quillson mention about some strange happenings in the forest near Hoofington. "What type of news are you hearin' about this affair in the woods, Quillson? I just came back here, and haven't heard about the goings on yet."
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Post by kuruka on Oct 11, 2011 19:35:10 GMT -5
Kuruka also perked up when she heard about the rumors, mostly because they were an excuse to not answer Quillson's last question. Was there something no one had told her yet? Something she needed to know? "These rumors would not be about the Everfree Forest, would they? Is there something I need to be aware of?" Though she did not show it, the thought of danger worried Kuruka. As her cutie mark stated, she was a guardian, her talent being protecting those under her charge. But she hoped, if there were any real trouble, that she would be able to fulfill her duty. The last things she wanted on her conscience were casualties. "Perhaps Nimble Mind knows something of this?" she suggested.
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Post by watcher on Oct 11, 2011 20:55:59 GMT -5
Nimble's ears pricked at the sound of his name, and he finishes putting up the few books left in the box he was working on. "I'm sorry, but I don't really know what happened, I've been inside most of my free time, working on getting this store ready for business, but I should have some newspapers over on that rack." He points to a small wire rack near the front door."I should have the latest news there, feel free to grab one."
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Post by zasknu on Oct 11, 2011 21:45:25 GMT -5
Line after line, note after note, the enchanted quill continued to scratch across the parchment writing down every detail Aestella could think of recording. In addition to her sketch of Kuruka's wings, she had started new sketches of what her new project might potentially looked like. She reached for her teacup only to find it empty. "Oh my... I didn't know I was drinking so fast..." she thought, looking up to see if Nimble was still around. Slowly, her senses came back into focus, and she realized that the others were all deep in conversation. The sudden influx of sound jarred her from her concentration, and she almost snapped her quill on the parchment. Setting down the Quill she calmed herself with a deep breath and got up from her seat. Picking up the teacup she walked slowly over to the others, with each step becoming more nervous and more wobbly. "Um... e-excuse me..." She whispered, trying to get the proprietor's attention and failing miserably. "I w-was wondering.. if I could get another cup of tea... if it wouldn't be too much trouble." Her voice barely making any sound what-so-ever. She swallowed, trying again; "E-excuse me... sir? I was w-" Her voice cut out completely, and she backed up a step. Standing there awkwardly, she waited for a break in the conversation that she knew might never come, fighting back the urge to fall back to her work.
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Post by thepatriot on Oct 12, 2011 15:18:47 GMT -5
The sudden change in conversation seemed to be working in Quill's favor. This "was" the reason he came to Hoofington after all. But the shift came sort of unexpected, and Quillson had a hard time recalling just what had brought him there in the first place. Metting new ponies seemed to have that effect on him. as he spoke, Quill slowly changed his facing from pony to pony, hoping to include them all into the conversation.
"What I've heard so far are just rumors, nothing definite. Somepony mentioned... a fight? In the everfree forest near here. Something involving an enormous monster. A spider perhaps? Now of course, monsters in Everfree aren't anything too out of the ordinary... But then there were ponies fighting on its side. As if they... were with the creature. Nopony else seemed to know too much, so I thought what better way to find out than from the source. Apparently I just missed the celebration for the success of those pitted against the beast, arriving a few days too late."
Quillson looked back and forth between the ponies, turning to Nimble as he mentioned the newspapers. Why hadn't he thought of checking somewhere such as that first? Maybe the weather had distracted him enough... Quill turned towards Nimble, approaching the pony's direction towards the papers.
"That would be most helpful Nimble! Thank you kindly."
It was on his way over to the documents that he saw Aestella return from behind the bookcases. The young pony looked terribly frightened, almost as if she was incapable of speaking. Quillson turned to her with an inviting smile.
"Is there something you had wanted to say Aestella? You look a little confronted..."
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Post by applecider on Oct 12, 2011 17:45:41 GMT -5
"Well that is news ta me Quillson," Apple Cider said, "especially the part about some ponies sidin with a creature. I don' know why they would want a creature like that. It's too wild an unpredictable ta be useful fer anything."
Apple then noticed Aestella standing as if she wanted to say something. "It's all right there, do ya need somethin?"
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Post by kuruka on Oct 13, 2011 23:17:47 GMT -5
Kuruka finally took a sip of her tea, which was cold now, thinking. From how Quillson and Nimble spoke of the potential threat, it sounded as if it was something already taken care of. Still, the sooner she became more familiar with the area, the better she would be able to protect it. She hadn't even met the rest of the soldiers in the militia yet, and wondered what they would be like. Kuruka quickly downed her old tea and poured herself another cup, this time nice and hot. "Does anyone else want some more?"
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Post by watcher on Oct 14, 2011 12:46:05 GMT -5
Nimble looked over to the pony who had been hiding behind one of his shelves, and chuckled. "You don't need to ask, go ahead and get some, it seems like Kuruka already has the kettle, I'm sure if you ask, she would gladly pur you some. He gives her a warming smile, trying to get her to be less afraid.
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