Today, Only wanders without much thought of where he is or where he goes - much like the day he met Florentine - he doesn't care much for where he ends up either so long as trouble stays far away from him. He doesn't know that he is being followed, that Flora is not far behind him stalking silently like a Savannah lion, that she
recognizes him. The last thing he expects is to be Known by anybody here and although it would be nice to find his lost herdmates here, he does not think it is possible. Wandering the plains is unlike anything he experienced in the Rift and so he goes and goes and goes, zigging and zagging, absent-minded about whatever is in his wake as he eats his way through the grasses until little Florentine cannot stand it.
'Only.'
He spins on his feet quickly and settles two wild, chrysolite green eyes on a face that feels all too familiar. The paranoia of being picked out of a line-up at a police station isn't nearly as scary as the girl that has chosen to encounter him at long last. How long has she been following him? At first he doesn't recognize her but that is because the darker parts of his mind are working overtime in trying to figure out a way to get rid of her.
She's smaller than him - an easy target.
She has wings though - there is a chance she could fly away from him.
She's cute - there might be a meathead not too far behind to witness his efforts to run her off.
The purple petals drift off of her hair and float across the distance between them. It only takes one of the flowers sticking to his nose to access a memory that comes lose like a can of worms. Immediately he looks beyond her in the grass and makes a cautious sweep of looking for other predators. When the coast seems clear, Only is able to relax enough to let her name flow from his lips with more ease. Suddenly, all the thoughts to get rid of her go away.
"Florentine, sans tiger. Can I say I am more relieved than anything without sounding like a jerk?" He says with a relieved sigh, he cannot help how good it feels to know above all, young Flora survived everything that happened. When the Winter Court blew up - he was certain most of those that lived within winterlands went with it. Wherever her mother, father, and tiger-striped nanny have gone, he'll save it for a less exciting day. Reunions are no place for sadness - at least not right now.
"I've learned more words since we last spoke -" he smiles. Only lets her tease him about their first encounter. It had been so overwhelming the first time that he couldn't say much more than 'Oh'. Something about her presence calms him and, for the first time in a long time, he is not worried about anything other than how she has been all this time. The image of Florentine is oddly comforting, the sweet smell of lilacs and clover blossoms in her hair, the curl of her coy smile is almost disarming.
"Florentine how have you been? Have you seen the others from our old home?" The black wades through the tall grass to close the distance between them and he reaches out to offer a gentle, friendly touch of the nose against hers. "How long have you been here? You are big."
Big.
"Not big like
big-big. Well, older."
Old.
"Not old per sei, I just mean. Well, you
know." Does she? Only cannot backpedal or flounder fast enough in front of a pretty girl.
"Oh-" He finally exhales, looking away out of frustration with himsel, hardly realizing that he's reaching full circle with what Florentine remembers of him.
.only
thief for hire
low-functioning telekinesis
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called but few are chosen.
@Florentine
