The Winged Ones

The Ka-bau kicked the sides of his cage for the hundreth time.

"Cut it out you worthless piece of.....ah, a customer. Welcome! Come in, come in. The finest Yoka-bauci are available here, you'll find them nowhere else."

The Ka-bau pinned his ears back as the sounds of the busy, dirty marketplace increased. He watched as the fat merchant ushered in more people into his market stall, hoping to rip off a few more suckers. The stallion kicked at the sides of the bird cage once more, then struggled to maintain his balance as the cage swung from side to side.

The merchant glared at the small blue equine, the Ka-bau glared back. Then the fat man turned to the woman who had entered the stall, a sorceress of some kind wearing black robes and cloak. She didn't look very happy to be there as she saw various Ka-bau in various states of health in cages hanging from the ceiling and on the counter. Some looked to be little more than bored and sleepy, others were running about in nervous circles, and of course, the blue stallion trying desperately to escape. She focused on him.

"Yeh want him? He's cheap, a bit of a trouble maker he is. Wouldn't mind getting him off my hands. Buy two, and I'll even throw him in free." The stallion kicked at his cage once more, insulted.

The woman winced as her sensitive sense of smell was bombarded by the merchant's nauseating breath. This place was awful, the animals badly cared for, though perhaps were in better condition than the merchant himself. She tried to avoid looking directly at his toothless, leering grin.

She wished she could free them all, but where would they go? Most had probably been captured as foals, and if not, were in no condition to take care of themselves for now, some never would. The stallion's eyes filled with hatred as the man tapped the cage, causing it to swing again.

Looking more closely at the cages she found one that contained two Ka-bau stallions. "Yeah, couldn't break them apart, they come as a set. Big one kind of the little one's bodyguard, the little one is the mastermind. Tried separating them and they made more noise that this one here." At that he taped the cage of the blue one again, causing the equine to stumble and fall. He chuckled.

The smaller one looked at the woman from beneath his forelock. He seemed almost sinister, while looking very cute at the same time. The larger one looked more friendly, although perhaps not the most intelligent. He was a curious fellow however and came up to greet her, sniffing at her hand through the bars.

There was a kind of hiss from a neaby cage and the woman turned to see a white mare. "Ah, she's a special one alright. Very expensive and rare. Asian myth dragon ears, feathering, facial markings, equine/feline tail, no mane, teeth fit for a carnivorous diet too. So I wouldn't stick my finger in there if I were you." He put his hand in his pocket, obviously he had learnt this from experience. "She's taken it upon herself to be the lead mare of those two. Thinks of them as part of her Drifting."

Reaching into her robes, she removed a few coins, handed them to him, and taking all three cages, left the stall as quickly as she could. He yelled at her back, saying she hadn't given him enough, or some such nonsense. As she ignored his cries, she worked on a plan to ensure that he would no longer be able to harm these and other helpless creatures anymore.

The vampiric dragon folded her wings as she settled upon the clouds of Pegasus Heights. The Ka-bau had been quite terrified when she had transformed into her draconic form, but settled down as they discovered she meant them no harm. Now she once more took the form of the sorceress from the marketplace.

"You will stay here, with the other Winged Ones. They will care for you, and nurse you back to health. Here you will be free, and no one will harm you again."

She opened the cages, but the Ka-bau did not leave. The large dappled one spoke telepathically, ~We need names.~

SunBlind looked surprised, "Of course! How could I forget." She lifted the blue one, "You shall be called Rebel, for in your rebellious nature you made enough noise to attract me to that corner of the market, where otherwise I would not have gone."

She then picked up the smallest stallion, "You shall be called Ubuge Teishoku, or Soft Colours." The stallion looked like he would have wanted a thougher, meaner name, but accepted it as it was.

Next was the stallion who had spoken. " You will be Hisui Ma-buru, or Jade Marble." He seemed very content.

The mare was then named Kumori Neko, or Shadow Cat. But she was more interested in the blue stallion than in her name. She tips her head as she looks at the stallion. ~Very strong, and quite handsome....~ she wasn't exactly subtle, and it seemed just the thing the Rebel liked in a mare. She grinned back at him, then swishing her tail a couple of times, winked at him and trotted off for she had no wings. Rebel seemed not to care however, as he flew along beside her, finally landing and using his hooves instead

The other two followed their lead mare, their Drifting now complete.

Stats
Name: Rebel
Gender: Stallion
ID: 10
Parents: Unknown....the merchant was less than reputable
January 2001

Name: Kumori Neko (Shadow Cat)
Gender: Mare
ID: KB38F
Parents: Wild
Mutations: Asian myth dragon ears, feathering, facial marking (shooting star), mixed tail (equine/feline), no mane, teeth fit for a carnivorous diet also.
June 2001

Name: Ubuge Teishoku (Soft Colours)
Gender: Stallion
ID: KB33M
Parents: Wild
July 2001

Name: Hisui Ma-buru (Jade Marble)
Gender: Stallion
ID: KB52M
Parents: Wild
Mutation: No wings.
July 2001

Grounds of Blood Market Stall

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• Text © SunBlind
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• Background was made by SunBlind from a Sue Dawe image.
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