Ipomoea was bored. The summer sun had began to wear on him, beating down on him mercilessly and pushing him to find some tall prairie grass to take shelter under. As it was, it encased his body completely as he lay upon it, the tall stalks pressed under him forming a soft bed while the remainder of the grass swayed in the breeze around him, providing a mock sort of shade. It was peaceful, but incredibly boring with nothing to do and nowhere to be, allowing Po a brief span of time where he allowed himself to drift off, napping in the warm meadow.

One ear was tilted back lazily, the other flopped forward in a relaxed manner as he dozed in the sun, daydreams of quiet libraries and cool stone corridors and blessed frond fans dancing temptingly across his mind. Perched upon his forelegs was Alorus, the stellar’s jay occupying himself with the precise art of preening. He ran his beak first along one of his own flight feathers before turning his attention to the delicate wings folded upon his equine companion’s ankles, alternating his attention between the multiple sets of wings the pair were graced with.

A butterfly drifted lazily around them, its vibrant wings seeming to merely float upon the air as it circled a few times and alit upon the boy’s muzzle. With a start his eyes peeked upon, ears swiveling forward in a comical manner as he peered down the long, straight bridge of his nose to inspect the large insect.

Its wings opened and closed gently, fanning Ipomoea’s skin as he sat incredibly still as to not disturb it, utterly entranced. His focus was so great even Alorus bothered to look up, joining in critically to the stalemate before he returned to his far more important task. Minutes passed and they remained the same, Ipomoea’s ears and eyelids slowly beginning to droop once more as he lost interest in the creature. As his head bobbed the butterfly took flight, disappearing across the plains and the boy was none the wiser, already locked back into his waking dreams.

It was only the sharp peck of a beak upon his ears that brought back his consciousness, confusion at his bonded’s uncharacteristic behavior clouding his features. Alorus had hopped upon his crown, all the better to look at the incoming mare who seemed to be literally dancing among the wild grasses not far from them. Po’s head poked up from the stalks to watch her, vivid pink eyes taking in her spots and two-toned hair with interest. But it was only when his eyes landed upon the matching wings, nestled sweetly behind her ears, that gathered his legs beneath him and propelled him forwards in enthusiasm.

“Hey!!” The grass parted like a sea around him as he bounded away from the overgrown patch, racing amongst the turf and wildflowers to close the distance between himself and the be speckled mare, his avian friend huddled now amongst the flowers decorating his poll.

“We match!” A half rear was made to accentuate his point, a grin stretching across his boyish face as he joined in her dance.



@Araxes
maybe i’ll proofread this in a bit

Their excitement seemed to reflect off each other’s, building between them until more painted stallion and spotted mare with their strange little wings were dancing with no rhyme or reason to the summer day’s melody. It sang in Po’s ears, accented by the high pitched giggles spilling from his new friend’s mouth, a mixture of birdsong and laughter and rustling leaves. It felt so familiar, stirring inside of his chest and tugging at his heartstrings as if a harpist were playing along inside of him to the music. His smile stretched across his face, wider and wider until it seemed his face were apt to split in two, but his joy continued to hold it all together.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Her questions rushed past him so fast he lost track, needing a moment to gather his thoughts but not wanting to pause the excitement bubbling in the air. He drank in her words, giddy at the reflection between them, her words striking true at him. “Mine do, too! But I’ve learned how to fold them tightly, like so—“ he stopped to drop his head dramatically to his ankles, an exaggerated pause in which he demonstrated the way his feathers ruffled and pressed in tightly to his cannon bones, wrapped smartly against his leg so that they seemed to almost blend—“and walking through grasses and the like don’t make the wind so bad!” Of course it wasn’t something she could do herself, he supposed, but he was sure she had other tricks to manage.

“I’m Ipomoea, from Dawn!” He wanted to embrace her, almost as if he had found himself some family or a long lost friend, but he settled instead to offer his muzzle to her. The red lining against his nares quivered, ears held excitedly forward as he reached out to Araxes in an open display of friendship. His cerise eyes had lowered to meet her monotone pair, his smile and excitement palpable in his expression.

“Will you be my friend, Araxes of Night Court?”

It was absolutely exhilarating, the way a lazy summer afternoon could so quickly lead to new friendships bonded by odd little wings.




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@Araxes
alright time to get this thing moving, my apologies!!