[END] Wandering Ghosts [Pile of Secrets/Makeshift]

[Maxx D]

Makeshift was perched on a little hilly outcrop, looking over a nice well-travelled trail because it was one of those days when she was too lazy - it was too hot to move. It was a good spot for...birdwatching, she told most people, whoever noticed her looming over.

Today, there were not so many 'birds'. There was, however, in the distance, the bobbing of white locks impossible to miss. She squinted.  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

The heat was oppressive- one of those humid days that waged active battle on the soul's tenacity, the sort of day that simply wreaked absolute havoc on one's mane. But Pile of Secrets hardly noticed; the sun's assault was merely an undertone in the chord of torment that weighed upon his heart. As usual, the acha was on the move; traveling as always, looking for any sign of either his father (damn his eyes!) or his mother (the poor soul). The lifelong quest had been all-consuming, but he'd accepted it as his burden to bear. His quest was his destiny; his destiny was this quest. They were one and the same.

Of course, that didn't make it any easier. Physically, he felt ready to collapse, and emotionally... well, the constant migration wasn't really coupled with a sense of wanderlust. Settling down wasn't an option, and he had to admit that the loneliness- the deafening silence in the absence of other voices- did wear on the mind after a while. As he trekked, going east on the guidance of little more than a rumor, he tried his best to ignore his own misery, engaging in internal narration to occupy his mind. "As the sun beat upon his back, Our Hero dug his hooves into the mud, lifting one foot, then the other. Despair tugged at him, but he trudged on, bravely forcing his way. As the air shimmered, the blue sky provided a jarring background to his mood. It wasn't a dark and stormy night- but it should have been..."  

[Maxx D]

The white locks were beginning to slow a little, and for the first time today, the urge to move spurred in her. Just who was the owner of them? If they continued at this pace, she would be able to to scamper over just in time to see them. So she did, hauling herself to her hooves, and made her way down her outcrop to the intriguing stranger. When she got there, she was surprised to find an acha to be one battling the ground. On her light hooves, she sprung past and spun to face the white locks head-on. "You alright?" Makeshift queried. "Nice hair."  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Rearing up a bit, Pile of Secrets took a step back as he was approached, abashed at being taken unawares. He hadn't been paying attention; anything could have happened. He could have been ambushed by... well, by something. Blinking, he looked at the source of the voice; a doe. Where had she come from? He silently chided himself for getting carried away in his own thoughts. "Ah, um..." What had she said? Nice... hair? He subconsciously shrugged his shoulders, tossing his mane oh-so-slightly. "Thank you." The beat of silence was nigh unbearable; to him, it felt like an eternity. He should be complimentary in response- it was the nice thing to do. But what to say? He cast his gaze over her; an acha like himself, with a stripe of dappled sunlight on her hide. "Nice hooves," he said. "They've got fluff around them. Very cute."  

[Maxx D]

"Sharp eyes," she noted with a smile, "That's a nice little thing most people don't notice. So thank you." She twirled on her back hoof to fluff them up. "Really though, are you alright? Looking a little tired, maybe lost." She peered at him contemplatively, unsure if she was being rude. He was quite pretty.  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"My dear lady," he said with a wan smile. "I do confess you find me at a loss, though not lost. I am passing through, and have been on the hoof for some time now. The heat is wearing on me, and I fear I am losing my battle with the sun. I've been hoping for clouds, or a cool breeze, but alas, I fear neither seems to be slated for today." He nodded in appreciation of her perceptiveness; the stranger seemed keen. Perhaps she'd heard something? No, that would be silly to hope. He was at peace with the slim, slim odds of running into random strangers who could help him; it was best to think of his quest as personal, taking the odd cues where he could get them but primary relying on searching on his own. "Are you at all familiar with this territory? Perhaps you are aware of a stream or pond, perhaps- I would dearly love a drink.  

[Maxx D]

"Not lost but at a loss," she nodded, fascinated. "That's a good one. Yes, I am," Makeshift was pleased to have a chance to interact more with this handsome stranger. "It's a little muddy. Might you be able to handle it right now? You could lean on me," and she ventured a wink, "if that would ease your way."  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"My dear, it will be as the sparkling brook; my thirst is that powerful." His smile perked up at her offer; she seemed to be a kind stranger. It always surprised him when strangers were kind- though by now perhaps he should accept it, that it was the way of the world that strangers were often kind. "I think I can manage to drag myself to the water's edge, but it's a kind offer to one you've just met. At this point, I believe we should exchange names; I am Pile of Secrets, but you're more than welcome to just call me Secrets." Nobody called him Pile. At least, not that he knew of. He really hoped nobody called him Pile.  

[Maxx D]

"I like Secrets - I'm sorry mine is a little boring. It's Makeshift." She gestured with a hoof to a muddy, marshy not-a-path-at-all route. "As is that! Shortcut to a little pond." Makeshift stepped beyond the path with an encouraging smile. "Shall we?"  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"A fine name for a fine young lady," he said, following the line of that delicate hoof to damper grounds. Resisting the urge to sprint down the path towards the pond, he instead stayed in step with his newfound companion. Though the pond may have been small and may have been murky, he knelt and sipped at it as if it were a pristine mountain spring; and to him, it may as well have been. Though the taste was stagnant and earthy, it was enough that it was wet. His thirst was deeper than he'd realized. "I greatly needed that; thank you very much! I'm so glad you sprang up in front of me; had you not, I may have continued until I collapsed."  

[Maxx D]

"Oh, you're not really the broody type then!" She laughed with sheer delight at his graciousness. "You're not from the desert, are you? You mightn't have had so much problem with the heat, maybe. Or sometimes it's the humidity. That's what they tell me." She dipped her muzzle in the water, and leaned over, a little daringly, to tuck a lock smoothly behind his curled horn. That might keep him cooler.  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"I've never seen the desert," he admitted, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Like so much of my legacy, it's locked away- I will never see the swirling sands, nor feel the scorching winds as they parch all they touch. It's just as well; while I'm not particularly fond of heat or humidity, I would not leave the swamp, even if I could. I am tied here in an ineffable chase- and while some have called me broody in the past, true,"like everybody I've ever met, he noted silently, "it's simply that as I am alone much of the time, I've grown used to the company of myself. Meeting others is like a drink of cool water; a refreshing reprieve in this conversational wasteland." Emboldened, he raised an eyebrow and tossed his head dramatically; the waves of his mane fanned out and settled behind his horns and over his shoulders. Not only did it get them out of his face, but it tended to be a gesture many others seemed to appreciate. While Pile of Secrets would never admit to being a great aesthete, he did notice that she seemed drawn to his hair. Certainly there was no harm in showing off a little.  

[Maxx D]

She gasped in approval, and gave a little rousing "oooh! You're good with the hair and the metaphors. I don't mind broody, really, I have a sister like that," she said pleasantly, thinking of good ol' Oblivion before tilting her head and adjusting her tone appropriately, "but if you've been seeking something for so long, frustration is understandable. What exactly are you looking for, if you don't mind me asking?  

[Scaramouche Fandango]

He heaved a sad sigh and set his chin; dramatically, nobly, or perhaps something betwixt and between. "I seek... answers. Justice for, and justice from. My fate is directly tied to the fates of my kin; my long-lost mother, betrayed and begone; my thrice-damned father, who left her lone and loveless. He is a monster- this I know- and I must find and confront him, and have of him my satisfaction. Until then, I will never escape the burden of being half a monster, for one cannot escape one's bloodline, even if it is a legacy of darkness. While I imagine meeting him will be naught but the dawn of sorrow, I also cannot let this injustice stand. Were it only my fate in the balance, then perhaps I could- but the callousness that led him to discard my mother must have some consequence. My mother as well; she was taken from me by capricious fate. I must find her again; I must know what has happened to her." He got a far away look in his eye; he was somewhere else, the place he always went when he spoke of his family. "While I live and breathe, I cannot give up on them; they are my family, and in the end, I will find them. It is our destiny, after all- we must share it. Fate is cruel, destiny harsh; but I must persevere, for if not me, then who?" His smile took on a grim cast. "So you see, this is where my trouble lies. Unfortunately, I haven't much to go on. I never met my father, and my memories of my mother are vague at best... I never even knew her name. It's been difficult trying to find them with so little to go on, but I can't give up. I won't give up!"  

[Maxx D]

"Oh dear," she said, contemplatively and solemnly in an appropriate manner. "I've never known my mother, but certainly not as sordid as this. You are, in my humble opinion," and her head bobbed down in humility indeed, "already less of a monster because of your quest. I applaud your perseverance. I applaud your courage!" Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she wondered where his looks came from. Indeed, she was intrigued. "Have you any plans for now, then? Any leads?"