Life in the Mixed Flock

[fya]

On the plains side of the calm river, the grass seemed to glisten in the mid-afternoon sun. Ponytah and rapidash, tauros, miltank, and ampharos, flaaffy, and mareep dotted the horizon. It was spring. Babies were being born every day and the weather was beautiful. It was a sight that would make any gundah proud.

Cottonflash watched his large mixed flock graze calmly in the afternoon sun. He was the gundah, or leader, of this great mixed flock. And his mixed flock didn't even take up the whole plains. Other herds and flocks lived farther down the river. The plains seemed to be infinant on the northern banks. Across the river a forest was home to stantler, meganium, and other forest herd Pokemon.

But here was his reign. Cottonflash's own flock of about 25. Even a rhyhorn lived with them! The ampharos ram was a foot larger than the average, domestic ampharos, as he was of the speices of amps that lived out here. He was a little less than 6 feet and not the tallest of rams. His dark orange tail light flickered pleasantly. He stretched his golden yellow flippers and then walked towards where most of his mixed flock was grazing. A few lambs, calves, and foals played together closer to the river. One ewe kept glancing over, keeping her eye on the children.

Phos, or the sun, shown down on them. Maybe a storm would come soon. Storms delighted the ampharos, while the single rhyhorn and horses moved back towards the shelter of the large rock in with craggy edges.

These days were good.

[wynnyelle]

He grazed on the outside of the flock. A black mareep, completely black, except for his cherry-red eyes. His mother was not far from him, she was one of the few who really fully accepted him, because of his colours.

[fya]

A little afraid, one of the other mareeps approached the black mareep. His name was Rallin and he was bored. He was older than most of the other children and got bored of them easily. Maybe the scary black mareep would be nice. Only the gundah and the ramlings mother seemed to like him.

"Rallin?" It was his mama's voice. "Where are you going Rallin?"

"Over here, Ma," replied Rallin. He thought the black mareep looked cool, maybe a bit scary. But he didn't understand why everyone ignored him.

[wynnyelle]

The black mareep was not just black with crimson eyes, he was unusually large. The others avoided him because he was said to be the rebirth of someone evil long in the past. He looked at Rallin, wondering if he was here to jeer at him, shun him or what. He hated to admit it to himself, but when they did that, it really hurt.

[fya]

"Hi," said Rallin, causiosly. "I never got your name..what is it? I'm Rallin. Do you want to play?" The mareep gave the large black ramling a smile and came a little closer. He heard his mother give a snort of annoyance, but he annoyed it.

ooc: Can you make a board for this mixed flock? I checked and the force of doing that is not with me lol.

[wynnyelle]

ooc: Yeah as long as the herd's a constant one that's got a leader or leaders, etc. Sub-boards might be better suited to species-specific herds though, what do you think? {This flock seems like an amp flock to me.}

ic: :" Carni," said the black mareep. ....Play? He wanted to play? No other mareep had ever wanted to do that. " Uh...I guess we can play something." His gaze was still cautious, suspicious, unwilling to believe that Rallin wanted to be his friend. If he believed it he might be smacked by the unpleasant truth later on.

[fya]

ooc: Well it's got a leader all right...Yeah I guess it is kinda leaning towards amps. I had been thinking that it'd be a mixed flock kinda like over at Realm with Kanga's flock. It doesn't -need- its own board anyway. It's fine here for now right?

ic: "That's a pretty name," said Rallin. "Or we can just talk." Ralling had some questions. "Why are you black? You know, everybody doesn't like you because they think you're from the Horde."

[wynnyelle]

ooc: Yup it's fine here. I see a lot of species-specific threads popping up, which is good!

ic: Carni grimaced and a fire seemed to light in his eyes. " The horde. That's the one full of shadow pokemon isn't it...I'm not a shadow pokemon, I don't know why I'm black, I was always black, Mama say I was born this way." He looked at Rallin. " Why are you the colours you are?"

[fya]

"Yeah it is," said Rallin. "My mah says its where the evils live. I never thought you were from there but everybody else thinks so...me? I dunno, I guess I'm normal and boring. I look like most of the other mareep." And he did. He had the normal tough brown fleece of the mountain mareep. He had dark blue skin and his tail light was a firm red. Maybe his blue was a little darker than most, but he just blended in with the crowd.

[wynnyelle]

" Normal is something I'll never be," said Carni. " Everywhere I go...the ewes will fear me." Carni wondered if he'd ever be able to live ahalfway normal life. No, probably not. It was his curse...the curse of a black pelt.

[fya]

"Well maybe if my dah told everyone you were nice?" said Rallin. His dah was the gundah, Cottonflash. He thought that his father could make -anything- better. "He doesn't hate you. But I don't think he knows what to do for you." Rallin's mama was not the eyomah. She was just one of the ewes who had the gundah as a ram. She, unlike Rallin and Cottonflash, wanted nothing to do with a "hideous shadow lamb."

[wynnyelle]

" Maybe." Carni was unwilling to get his hopes up that easily. " It won't make the ewes want me to father their lambs come next fall..."

[fya]

"We'll figure something out," said Rallin. He couldn't really help Carni there, his own ewe friends were going to be his ewes when they were old enough. He'd never know how hard it was to be an oddball. He assumed it wasn't fun, but he'd never know how horrible Carni must have always been feeling.

[wynnyelle]

" Yes...I'm determined to figure something out too. It will happen." Carni continued to graze.

[fya]

Rallin nodded. He couldn't think of anything to say so he started to graze with Carni. He wasn't ready to go back yet, especially since his mah would hammer him with questions about what in the world he was doing over with poor Carni.

[wynnyelle]

Right then an ampharos ewe came striding over towards them. " Rallin! Come over here now."

Carni growled to himself, into the grass. He let his eyes close momentarily.

[fya]

Rallin shut his eyes. Oh boy. "Coming," he muttered. He shot Carni an apologetic looke and followed the ewe away.

HIs own mah was shaking her head. Why did her son have to go hasseling with the dark mareep?

[wynnyelle]

Carni just watched him go, and figured that would be the end of things. He saw his own mother coming over and went over to her but he refused to let himself cry.

" What were you doing with the *kuros* lamb?" said Rallin's mother.

[Pax]

It was another boring day. Duke kept an extremely lazy eye on the area from his cozy makeshift bed of flattened grass. He made it himself! But a disturbance broke the calm. The abnormally small Rhyhorn creaked up to his feet and peered across the land, setting his gaze upon the massive black Mareep and Rallin. He snorted. What was he, crazy? There were all kinds of stories Duke's parents told him about this black sheep, and none of them sounded good. He was going to have a 'talk' with the black, when they were separated by their mothers.
Still curious, Duke stomped casually over to Rallin. "Hey, Rallin," he huffed. "What's the deal with that?" he jerked his head in the black's direction.

[fya]

ooc: Oh so you're playing his mama....I thought I was lol but that's ok. ;P And Hi Pax. Sexy pony piccy ya got there. lol

ic: Rallin gave Duke a weak smile, but then jerked his head over at his mother. He mouthed 'we'll talk soon' and then focused on his angry mah. "I don't see what's wrong with him. If he's so bad then why didn't Dah make him go away?"

A miltank calf walked over to Duke and whispered to him so that Rallin couldn't hear, "I dunno what's up with Rallin..it's like he's bored of us all." Lilly had no opinion on Carni. But it annoyed her when one of her better ram friends left her and the others alone for the 'loner' lamb.

[wynnyelle]

ooc: Sure you can! I just wasn't sure. You can have him back. I just thought since she's an NPC and you weren't there *shrug*.

ic: Carni watched them talking. They never included him in their talk...he'd been right, Rallin's friendship had lasted only moments. Now what?

[fya]

ooc: Oh lol this thing with anyone playing NPCs cunfuzzles me....I tend to think of an NPC as someone in specifics char, but one that they can throw out without a care.

ic: "I don't want to see you near that..that dark anymore," spat Rallin's mother. "Your father should have banished him long ago. But I have no say in your father's ways anymore."

Ralling turned to leave. "I can talk to whoever I want. Carni's not evil."

[wynnyelle]

ooc: In some games anyone can play anyone else's NPCs. I made them that way here to make it easier to continue on a plot in someone's absence.

ic: Carni heard this and felt like his heart would burst his chest. Rallin was sticking up for him and he had no good reason to other than just being nice..

[fya]

ooc: Oh ok then. I'll still get confuzzled but I naturally am lol.

ic: "Rallin if you continue to act like this you will get yourself in more trouble," his mah said, but Ralling was already stalking away back to Carni. He reached the black mareep. "Sorry. She doesn't get it."

Cottonflash watched. THis wasn't good. He had no reason to make the black ramling go away. He was just a lamb and hadn't done anything. But it was obvious the ewes didn't like him. The gundah frowned.

[wynnyelle]

"Yeah," said Carni. " Stay with me...why listen to them, they just look at my colour and think I'm evil. For no reason. "

[Pax]

Duke nodded to the Miltank. "Yeah. What's not to like?" he grunted, then watched Rallin waltz over to Carni. "Hey! Where does he think he's going, Lilly? He could get into big trouble..." the Rhyorn looked between the two Mareep and the gundah's expression. Oh, it was such a nice day, why did it have to be ruined?! "I have a good mind to stop them," Duke growled under his breath. "Everyone's staring at them."

[wynnyelle]

Indeed, they were. Carni noticed the commotion that just trying to be his friend had caused. He had a good mind to just run away, but he was too young yet to make it on his own, even though for his age, he was downright massive. He would still be a lone mareep and easy prey for something larger and more powerful, or more numerous. Or both.

[Master Chief]

Furiko, a lonely Rhyhorn traveling the lands, moved slowly towards the large herd. "Wow.... such a large herd.... I've never seen one larger.... I only wish I could still be with mine...." he said as he slowly approached the herd.

[Ruin Queen of Oblivion]

Epona, a female Ponyta with blue fire instead of the usual red, grazed a little ways away from the herd. She had no family to speak of, she had been seperated from her original herd a year before, and had been accepted into the Mixed Flock recently. Most of the other Ponyta didn't really pay attention to her, and she was okay with that, she was used to being alone.

[Pax]

Duke was too focused to detect the scent of another Rhyhorn, and did not yet see the other come closer. Above something wrong happening, the small Duke hated commotion - and above that, panic. He sensed that anything could arise from their simple grazing, which in itself was no trouble at all... This, suddenly, got Duke thinking. If such a big dark ramling was portrayed as scary, why was mild-mannered Rallin with him calmly? Duke was braver than any Mareep!

With a heaving sigh, Duke quietly marched up to Rallin, constantly giving Carni a wary eye, until he was close enough to talk. "I may not know exactly who you are," he said courageously, with a hint of nervousness. "But you can't be what I'm told. So I'll ask up front. Who are you?" he asked as kindly as he could. The dark Mareep was as big as he was due to both their abnormalities, so maybe this wasn't such a bad thing..