Lost [Cactus Blossom]

Cactus stood atop one of the dunes, watching the madness below. She had grown tired of the silly little game that everyone was playing , and wandered off with her little lizard friend, who she'd named Steve. The young mare closed her eyes for a moment, seeming to get lost in thought, until the sound of heavy steps caught her attention. Turning her head, she watched as one of her brothers made his way past her, a saddened look across his face. For a moment, Cactus felt an odd rush of sympathy run through her veins, something she had never felt before. She had seen him do this before, a sort of endless wandering, the same strained look on his face.

Feeling a slight tap on her shoulder, the mare turned her attention to the lizard, wondering what he could possibly have to say now. A silent conversation seemed to happen between the two of them, Cactus shaking her head and whispering a stern 'no' ever so often. After a few solid minutes, she stomped her hood and let out a deep sigh, muttering obscenities under her breath. "Fine, I will go see what's troubling my darling little brother", she grumbled, ignoring the sly smirk that seemed to be plastered on the lizards face.

Breaking into a brisk trot, she quickly made her way down the dune, but slowing to a walk as she caught up to the colt. She could almost feel the emotions rolling off of him, and but wasn't quite sure how to address it. Cactus had always been good at reading emotions, but never really good at expressing them, so she mainly kept to herself, avoiding others. She walked with him for a few feet, pondering what to say, fumbling over how to handle the situation. Would a simple 'what's wrong?' suffice? Or should she dig deeper? Puzzled, cactus let out a deep sigh before speaking "How many grains of sand do you think covers the desert?" she asked, turning her head to look at him as they walked. She had decided to ask him that, and let him tell her on his own accord, not wanting to force it out of him if he didn't want to talk about it.

OOC: sorry if this seems random and ramblish. Cactus is an odd one

Cactus watched her brother startle a bit, and she tried to stifle a giggle. The filly had always been curious of her many siblings, but never had any real desire to actually speak to them. But Donatello was different. He struck a nerve with her, for some strange reason. Perhaps it’s because they both seemed to enjoy being alone, away from the madness that surrounded them. Then again, Cactus loved it at the same time. Watching everyone else around her, the madness unfold, it kept her entertained, most days. 

Cactus held her brother’s gaze as they walked, listening intently as he spoke. At first, his question puzzled her as well, she honestly wasn’t too sure why she had chosen to ask him that, but it had seemed better than just asking what was wrong. The filly shrugged and sighed, swatting at a fly with her long tail, as she pondered how to answer him. 

“Well, we spend every day, every night walking over it, breathing it in, hell, even eating it sometimes. Don’t you ever wonder just how many grains of sand plague the earth, or where it came from? Or how many stars fill the night sky? Sometimes I like to just sit and think about little things like that. It keeps me distracted” She smiles as she spoke, a small rush of excitement coursing through her veins. Where it came from? She wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was the fact that she actually had someone to hold a real conversation with, not just with the lizard that stared blankly back at her as she rambled on. 

Speaking of the lizard, Cactus paused for a moment to look up at her forehead, well, attempted to anyways, to see where her little friend could possibly be now. As if on cue, the filly felt some ruffling between her ears, the lizard content to be laying in the silky strands of her forelock. 

OOC: it’s finished. It’s rambly and I’m sorry. 

Cactus stood silent for a moment, zoned out in her own little world. Steve had curled himself up in her forelock, glad to find some shelter from the scorching heat. Once her brother spoke, the mare snapped back to reality, a giggle falling from her kissers. "Oh! How rude of me to not introduce you! This, my dearest brother, is Steve. Steve, this is Donnie!" Cactus tipped her crown the slightest bit, allowing the lizard to peak out from between strands of midnight colored hair, a slightly disgruntled look on his face. Cactus flicked her ears back a bit, a silent warning to the lizard, and a muttered 'Don't be rude', leaving her lips.

Cactus was like her father in more ways than one, she had been so lucky as to "inherit" her father's insanity, but not quite to the extreme that he suffered. Some days were worse than others, and that's why she relied so heavily on Steve sometimes, because he seemed to help keep her distracted, which in turn kept her episodes to a minimum. For some strange reason, the two creatures shared a bond, and it was almost like as if they understood each other. 

With a soft sigh, the young mare turned her attention back to her brother once more, a concerned expression on her face. He had asked her if she was okay, yet he clearly was battling his own demons. "I'm fine, just a little more spacey than usual today, I suppose..." her voice trailed off for a minute, contemplating whether or not to push. She hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask anyways. "Enough about me, what about you? Are you alright?"She could tell he needed someone, just about as much as she needed someone.. Maybe they could help each other? Cactus watched him intently, wondering if he'd actually open up to her.

Cactus giggled as she watched the confused expression cross her brother's face. Nobody really seemed to understand the silent bond that her and the lizard shared. Much like her father, Cactus was 'special'. She had a tendency to avoid interacting with her other siblings, but for some strange reason, she really enjoyed being around her brother. She felt like he understood her, and that he didn't view her as strange. Cactus dipped her crown slightly, letting Steve look at the colt. The lizard lifted one of his front legs, almost as if he was waving to Donnie. The young mare grinned and lifted her head once more, studying her brother's body language, trying to gauge his response to her question.

At first, he seemed perplexed that she had turned the focus back to him, but she knew that something still weighed heavy on his mind. Cactus leaned back on her hocks, and sat down, much like a dog. She tilted her head and listened to him, trying to figure out what he was telling her. It was obviously something that deeply troubled him. As he spoke, Cactus began to realize little things she didn’t notice before. Like how his twin never seemed to want anything to do with him, and how his mother always seemed to be apologetic, but not to Donnie. 

Cactus vaguely remembers the two leaving when she was young, but she doesn’t remember all the details. She remembers just how upset Mikey was. Cactus shook her head to clear her thoughts, and refocused her attention to her brother, deciding on what to say. She pursed her lips for a minute before speaking. “Well.. you can’t force them to change how they feel.. In time, I’m sure they will forgive you. But for now, perhaps it’s time to just give them some space? Let them come to terms with everything. You know what they say, time heals all wounds.”  She spoke quietly, trying not to come off as too harsh. 

After she spoke, the young mare leaned forward, and gently nudged her brother, trying to offer him some form of comfort.  Cactus wasn’t good at the whole “sharing your feelings thing”, but she was damn sure good at listening. She peered up at him, waiting for him to continue. 

jenn

Rumbunctious, gluttonous, irreverent and utterly joyful, the Larkins are back on TV - and perhaps they've never been more needed.
As we head into an uncertain winter, the upcoming reboot of The Darling Buds Of May will be as welcome as one of Ma Larkin's pies or Pop Larkin's heady cocktails.

From the moment HE Bates introduced the world to the unruly family who live in a Kent farmhouse in 1958 they've been much loved. 

ITV's adaptation of his books 30 years ago was a huge hit and made a star of Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played frisky daughter Mariette (a contraction of Marie Antoinette, which Ma liked but Pa felt was too big a mouthful), alongside David Jason and Pam Ferris as her parents.






Pop and Ma Larkin (Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan, far right), Mariette (Sabrina Bartlett, standing, top left), Cedric 'Charley' Charlton (Tok Stephen, top, centre) and the rest of the clan


'I think we can learn a lot from a family like this,' says Bradley Walsh, who plays Pop Larkin, the garrulous wheeler-dealer patriarch, in the six-part series.

'I think the pandemic has made people realise how much they miss people in their lives and want to stop racing around and spend more time with their family.'

For Joanna Scanlan, in the role of Ma Larkin, who loves nothing more than feeding her brood of six children and anyone else in the village, The Larkins reminds us that pleasure doesn't need to be prefixed by the word 'guilty'. 






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'I hate that wrong-headed phrase, as we're not meant to spend our lives on a constant treadmill,' she says. 

'We live in a society that makes it very hard to feel OK about enjoying life.
The Larkins work hard - one episode shows Pop doesn't stop all day - but they also know how to relax. 

'They know pleasure can be found in good company, having a drink and a lovely meal, a few cuddles or just being with people you love.

They take pleasure where they can and I hope viewers see the importance of that.'






Mariette (Catherine Zeta-Jones) - plus family and friends, left - in ITV's version of The Darling Buds Of May in the 1990s 

















Pictured: Catherine Zeta-Jones as Mariette in the 1990s (left).

Right, Sabrina Bartlett in the role



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The June 24 storming of the border fence around the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla saw at least 23 African migrants die in their attempt to reach the European Union -- the worst toll in years of such attempted crossings


A Moroccan appeals court has beefed up prison terms against 15 African migrants involved in a June border tragedy in which two dozen migrants died, a rights group said Friday.

The migrants, from Sudan and Chad, had been arrested after some 2,000 people, stormed the frontier with the Spanish enclave of Melilla on June 24 in a bid to reach European Union territory.

Rights groups have accused border guards on both sides of responding with excessive force, leaving at least 23 migrants dead -- the worst toll in years of such attempted crossings.

The 15 migrants had been found guilty of illegally entering Morocco, violence against the police, armed assembly and resisting arrest.

On Thursday, an appeals court in the border town of Nador "decided to increase the initial sentences of 11 months in prison to three years" against 15 migrants arrested after the tragedy, said Omar Naji of the AMDH rights group.

"It's a very severe ruling -- we had expected the sentences to be reduced," Naji told AFP.

He added that all the migrants had denied using violence.

The Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta have long been a magnet for people fleeing violence and poverty across Africa and seeking refuge via the continent's only land borders with the EU.

Since the June 24 incident, dozens of mostly Sudanese migrants have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight months to two years in prison without parole.





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