She had been watching the stranger, quietly, since he first stepped foot within the bounds of the swampland. She had not intended such a thing, she was not a guardian nor a caretaker of the borders – in fact they mostly allowed anyone safe passage from the Ilati…so long as they did not venture too close to the heart of their territory.
Instead she had been collecting the herbs and plants that were good for medicines and salves, ripping them up from the earth at just as they were beginning. Sometimes, the youngest plants had different uses than a fully matured one – but she would be careful not to take too many. That was when the dark stallion had crossed her vision, simply a dark figure dappled by the rays of light that manage to make their way through the trees.
The kirin lifted her head slowly, as not to attract attention, and let her task be forgotten momentarily. She could tell from the way that he moved that he did not dwell here, for if you spent any amount of time in these murky waters then you learned how to tread so that the mud did not capture you at every turn.
Her curiosity was piqued by the stranger – and without much of a conscious effort on her part she found herself following him at a parallel, curious as to where he might be going. Her gait was smooth, effortless as if she knew all the correct places to step – the water a silencer of her movements rather than something that announced her presence.
It did not take him long to come upon the abandoned place, a hut that had been there as long as she could remember it being. Her Elder had brought her to it only once, as a child, and then she had come there a few times on her own before deciding it was boring enough to forget.
She could not help the slight quirk of her lips as she watched the stallion, as he drew nearer to the hut and inspected it. And then suddenly, his attention was drawn to her. She found herself in a cluster of nearby trees, though not quite as deep into the shadows as she normally would have been. Sunlight caught on the scales that lined her back, the litany of ebony, pearl and ivory giving off a sheen that she had tried to cover up.
Animal furs had never suited her back so she often wore the gray moss that clung to the trees, draping them across her in an effort to further conceal herself. The dark mare could not unfurl the unease that had squeezed around her heart, the first non-Ilati stranger that she had ever met. Her nares flared, her ears twisting about in uncertainty as she considered whether or not the break from the trees in a run – back towards the safety of her people.
And yet, something called her – an invisible force pushing her out from her hiding place. She lifted her head, trying to recall upon the way that she had seen her elders carry themselves. Her horns brushed her shoulders gently, as if lending their strength and she met the gaze of the man for the first time.
His question reverberated in her mind, an easy one to answer.
”Ah…no.” She said, with a little less grace than she would have preferred. Her gaze passes to the hut, if only briefly. She stands beneath the hut and its small knoll, in the safety of the swamp’s tepid water. “It’s owner… was before my time. It has been empty since I was a sapling.” She offered, feeling as though meeting this stranger had struck her with stupidity.
Her tail twitched nervously, like a cat who could not decide what it wanted to do, stirring the algae-covered surface.
”What brings you into the swamp? Aren’t you afraid of the creatures who lurk here?” She asked, unable to stop her curiosity from taking hold.
occ: sorry this is so ugly; i don't have a fancy table for her rn xD
