11-11-2020, 10:44 AM
<center><img src=https://i.postimg.cc/7YRbFdbf/Laurelin-table.png></center><center><table bgcolor=0b1018 style="border-color:#2c3745; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 20px"" cellspacing=15 cellpadding=15 width=600><tr><td><p align=justify><font color=7d91ab face=times size=2>Laurelin’s not really paying attention anymore after he’s said his bit - he’s watching the crowd grow and listening to all the other answers. Every time someone says treat he feels great! Like he got the answer right. But, then, every time someone says trick… he worries he got it wrong. And then a bird flies overhead and the young boy cranes his head to watch it.
And then he nearly jumps out of his skin when some of the others standing on the beach disappear. His stance goes wide and he’s suddenly Very Prepared for anything that might happen - but then something appears in front of him. A present? Laurelin is suddenly very Pro Present and thinks that this needs to happen every day.
As he steps towards it, all preparation and caution absolutely leaving his body, he finds that the present has slipped away. He glances around to see if the same is happening to the other Present-getters but he is alone.
Well.
His stubbornness outweighs any fear and he is very determined to find out what his present is so he starts walking. The ground beneath his hooves begins to splash, as though he is wading into shallow water, and the stink of it reminds him of a swamp.
As he walks, the water around Laurelin gets doesn’t get any deeper than his knees but he becomes Aware of the fact that it could be deeper around him. Especially when he thinks he hears something behind him splashing. A subtle sound, not unlike the noise something makes when it slips into the water. So Laurelin starts to go faster. Picks up a splashy trot but now <i>his</i> splashing covers up any noise from anything else that might be with him in this dark world.
He looks back, because he thinks that not-knowing would somehow be worse, and is horrified to see something horse-like emerge from the water. Something gold, blue, and white with a great mouth lined with sharp teeth like the large crocodiles he spied on one day. Something with a fin. Something moving through the water with ease. Laurelin does not know of his father, does not know anything of his kelpie heritage or the dormant traits that lie inside of him. So he does not know that this is a kelpie. All he sees is a monster. And he does what anyone would do when they see a monster - he screams.
And he runs.
His movements are made sloppy by the water but Laurelin is quick to believe that he just needs to move as fast as he can. If he falls, he’ll find out what it feels like to have those teeth pierce his skin and he Does Not Want that very much. There’s a hissing noise behind him and he tries to hurry - all his focus is on the dim form of the present before him. If he can get there, surely everything will be fine.
The hissing noise comes from right behind him and Laurelin can hear the snap that just misses his tail. Another yelp and a burst of speed and he thinks the water is growing more shallow because it is easier to move. And then his hooves strike solid, dry ground and he does not stop until he reaches the present. The excitement for it has dimmed as he turns around to see if the monster is still there - but there's no sign of the swamp. Just the beach he had been on the whole time and if it wasn't for the ragged way he was sucking in the air, Laurelin would wonder if he had made the whole thing up.
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<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cormorant+Garamond" rel="stylesheet"><div style="font-family: 'Cormorant Garamond', serif; font-size: 14px; color: #b3b7d1; transform: uppercase; line-height: 105%; text-align: center; text-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #d1d4ef;"></div></tr></td></table></center><center><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/UAFXj9dRpwo">image from unsplash</a>
And then he nearly jumps out of his skin when some of the others standing on the beach disappear. His stance goes wide and he’s suddenly Very Prepared for anything that might happen - but then something appears in front of him. A present? Laurelin is suddenly very Pro Present and thinks that this needs to happen every day.
As he steps towards it, all preparation and caution absolutely leaving his body, he finds that the present has slipped away. He glances around to see if the same is happening to the other Present-getters but he is alone.
Well.
His stubbornness outweighs any fear and he is very determined to find out what his present is so he starts walking. The ground beneath his hooves begins to splash, as though he is wading into shallow water, and the stink of it reminds him of a swamp.
As he walks, the water around Laurelin gets doesn’t get any deeper than his knees but he becomes Aware of the fact that it could be deeper around him. Especially when he thinks he hears something behind him splashing. A subtle sound, not unlike the noise something makes when it slips into the water. So Laurelin starts to go faster. Picks up a splashy trot but now <i>his</i> splashing covers up any noise from anything else that might be with him in this dark world.
He looks back, because he thinks that not-knowing would somehow be worse, and is horrified to see something horse-like emerge from the water. Something gold, blue, and white with a great mouth lined with sharp teeth like the large crocodiles he spied on one day. Something with a fin. Something moving through the water with ease. Laurelin does not know of his father, does not know anything of his kelpie heritage or the dormant traits that lie inside of him. So he does not know that this is a kelpie. All he sees is a monster. And he does what anyone would do when they see a monster - he screams.
And he runs.
His movements are made sloppy by the water but Laurelin is quick to believe that he just needs to move as fast as he can. If he falls, he’ll find out what it feels like to have those teeth pierce his skin and he Does Not Want that very much. There’s a hissing noise behind him and he tries to hurry - all his focus is on the dim form of the present before him. If he can get there, surely everything will be fine.
The hissing noise comes from right behind him and Laurelin can hear the snap that just misses his tail. Another yelp and a burst of speed and he thinks the water is growing more shallow because it is easier to move. And then his hooves strike solid, dry ground and he does not stop until he reaches the present. The excitement for it has dimmed as he turns around to see if the monster is still there - but there's no sign of the swamp. Just the beach he had been on the whole time and if it wasn't for the ragged way he was sucking in the air, Laurelin would wonder if he had made the whole thing up.
</font></p>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cormorant+Garamond" rel="stylesheet"><div style="font-family: 'Cormorant Garamond', serif; font-size: 14px; color: #b3b7d1; transform: uppercase; line-height: 105%; text-align: center; text-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #d1d4ef;"></div></tr></td></table></center><center><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/UAFXj9dRpwo">image from unsplash</a>