A step or two, maybe three, and she skidded slightly on the edge of the creek, gazing down below.
She was far from the Night Court, or any of the courts, for that matter, wandering about the neutral lands instead of taking any steps in to populated territory. Rather, she enjoyed the noises of the creek, the bubbling waters running over small rocks, rolling downstream almost lazily. Her ears twitched forward, and she bent her knees slightly, lowering her front half as her wings spread behind her ears. Slowly, they flapped, and she adjusted her body before she gave a hop, and landed in the water instead in a shallow end.
There was a small splash, and her mane fell in to the water beside her, her tail soaking itself as well, but her wings flapped in an eager way, ruffling and sending a spare feather or two that molted drifting on the wind.
Araxes smiled at her reflection when the ripples stopped enough for her to enjoy it, wings tucking down, and her head lowered as she took gratifying sips of water. Every inch of her posture (even her soaked belly and legs) radiated a relaxation, a secure sensation that she had no need to break. There was nothing to fear here, and all the same, she lifted her head as a fish brushed past her nose, a soft snort leaving her as it did and an "Oh!" of surprise. It gave a flick of the tail before it was gone, and she frowned.
Wandering the landscapes of this place enveloped the majority of his free time. If he was going to stay here, he might as well get to know the area.. but where the fuck was he, exactly, anyhow?
As the giant stallion troped along, he stopped short of the treeline. Nose lowered to the ground, and mottled pink lips nudged at the grass. It smelled wet, dewy, of.. moss. The distinctly earthy smell permeated all aspects of the creek and it's surrounding forest. Lifting his head up, his eyes followed the babbling brook in the distance. Oddly relaxing, he mused. His third eye closed, and Torstein was relieved to feel the tension fall from his shoulders and neck. The Triennial Eye opening suddenly used to foreshadow those with questionable intent being nearby.. however, with his arrival to Novus, he felt like there was something.. missing, maybe? It seemed to almost be guessing lately.. like something was inhibiting it from being as accurate as it once was.
In that brief moment he got lost in his own thoughts, he heard a sudden SPLASH. Eyes scanned the river, and landed upon a diminutive little mare, frolicking in the water and splashing around like a filly. His head briefly tilted to the side, and ears slid ever-so-slightly forward.
Standing roughly 100 feet from ARAXES, he contemplated briefly if he should approach. His social skills were... rusty, at best. And that was being quite generous with that statement. But regardless of his concerns, he was certain this little mare posed little to no threat. He slowly meandered up, coming from the treeline of the forest in front of Araxes.
She cavorted around, miniscule little wings flapping wildly as if attempting to take flight... ... Wait.
His head cocked to the side, one ear flopping lazily forward and eyes trained on those pint-sized wings located behind her ears, of all places. "I can't imagine you can fly anywhere with those," he drawled, his voice thick with an accent that would be hard to place.
I wander on from my meeting with Weir, my mind fuzzy and definitely not working properly. These feelings are strange to me but not unknown. Have you told her how you feel? Damaris's voice enters my mind and my ears swivel back to hear her approaching. Her paws are soft in the grass, but I know her sounds, her scent. I don't know how I feel. I reply gruffly. As if somehow I don't know what she means. But in truth, I don't know how I feel. I've just met the mare after all.. and she's so... squishy. What if she makes me go soft? Damaris misreads my anxiety as fear of showing emotion. I think you do. She says in a sing-song voice, but doesn't push the subject.
Our silent (or mostly silent) musings are interrupted by the sight of a spotted mare.. wings located behind her ears..! Haven't I seen that before..? She flaps them furiously and I wonder if she's trying to fly with them. I can't possibly imagine that working. It just doesn't make any sense! Damaris hums in agreement. A even stranger looking creature approaches her, and seems to voice that very thought. He's much bigger than I, pale, with strangely shaped and colored horns (I think they're horns?) upon his head. I'm approaching from his rear, so I don't notice if there's anything ELSE strange about him.
Both of them seem largely at peace, relaxing by the creek (or.. IN the creek). Before I can say anything, Damaris trots up and past me, announcing herself with a bark and a wagging tail. She jumps into the creek and splashes around as well. Ha! I'm surprised to see her so lively and relaxed. She's always been more cautious and reserved than I. It's good to let loose now and then, don't you think? Her voice chimes. Both of us are so much happier since being reunited. I can't complain that my companion feels like enjoying life! Though as I pull up close to the stallion, I wonder if the others will feel the same. "Damaris is harmless." I say pleasantly to the two of them.. which is MOSTLY true.
She hadn't noticed the other approaching, mostly too focused on where the fish had gone zipping up the creek. At least, not until he spoke. She didn't jump, but her head lifted immediately, and both wings tucked close to her skull, as if attempting to hide within what bits of white mane there was. An automatic reaction to his words, really, and her face felt like it was burning, blood rushing under the skin and embarrassment coiling in her belly. "I wasn't trying to fl--- oh."
Her embarrassment melted away at the sight of the other before her, and rather than keep her wings tucked, they ruffled again, stretching out a little as both ears pinned forward, her slate eyes widening slightly and her soft lips parting in surprise. The other was.. well, he was as strange as her, wasn't he? He might not have wings but he had horns, and.. well. It looked like strange bones on his chest at the moment, spines of some sort. A feather drifted down and she almost sneezed when it landed on her nose, blowing it away instead and silently thinking about how grateful she would be when the molting stopped.
"You're different." It was said in a way that was more a compliment, her lips tugging in to a smile until there was more splashing, and barking. Araxes turned herself only a little, eyeing the.. well it wasn't a dog now was it? The canine and the one that had spoken about the animal being harmless. "Damaris?" She cocked her head, one wing lifting and stretching while she eyed the animal. "What.. is Damaris?"
She was cute, in all her fuzzled glory. Kind of like a squishy, fluffy kitten mentally batting around a small ball of yarn - and for a moment, he questioned if that's all that was going on her head. She seemed far too aloof to be... particularly smart. But she didn't appear to be stupid, either.
The impossibly tall stallion watched her eyes drop from his, and focus directly on the closed spines that protected the cavity within his chest. His gaze never left her, staring squarely at the top of her head as she stared at the abnormality in shock or surprise. Switching his weight between his two front hooves, the spines visibly shifted, grinding against one another with an audible, uncomfortable sound. "You're very observant, I see." He was all too used to astonished looks.
However, he was not used to or expecting some sort of small, fuzzy black and green creature to come running up behind him. His head pulled quickly upwards, head craning to look over his shoulder hastily while, out of reflex, his back left hoof coiled upwards and close to his stomach, readying for a kick. But the kick never came (thankfully for Damaris' sake) as the hellhound trotted past him to leap around in the water. A heavy breath was blown out of his nostrils, and his leg lowered, as did his tension. Red eyes regarded the stallion that followed after the canine-like creature with a briefly unamused look. "As harmless as she may be," he griped, "it's never really a good idea to come running up on a stranger who has his back turned to you."
"Tor," he introduced himself forthrightly to both in his presence. His attention rolled back around to the spotted fem right around the time that she uttered the very intellectual phrase about the canine creature. If he had eyebrows, one might be cocked right about now... because there's now way she was serious, right?... Maybe she really wasn't all that intelligent.
Despite my words to balance the reaction they might have to Damaris, her sudden appearance is received wih a certain apprehension. Not that I can blame them. After all, a dark form with glowing green eyes would scare me, too! (Not that I'd admit to such fears, of course.) The dotted mare has a relatively calm response, wondering exactly 'what' a Damaris is. I don't respond at first, instead focusing on the near skull-shattering she might have received at this Tor's hoof. I feel my chest tighten, but she passes unharmed into the water, and the stallion lowers his leg again. I left out the breath I didn't realize I'd taken. I love it when you are happy and enjoying yourself, but be careful around strangers! I scold my hound softly, but despite my warning I know her wisdom greatly exceeds my own.
The dark beast ignores my scolding and instead enjoys her time in the water. I take in the full appearance of Tor, and the more interesting.. intelligence.. of the mare. Though she hasn't named herself, she certainly won't be forgotten anytime soon. Neither of them will. I dip my head courteously to each of them. "Of course, you're right, Tor. She's normally not so.. effusive." Big words Rosti boy, who knew you had such an expansive vocabulary! I glance between him and the maiden, vaguely feeling like I've disturbed something, but also not really caring. "I am Rostislav, and Damaris is my companion - a hellhound, specifically."
Damaris glances up at me, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. Almost as if she was a puppy again. I think back then to what the mare said about Tor looking... different. I take my eyes away from the hound and examine both of them. "In fact, dear lady, you both have attributes that may be described as... 'different.' I'd say I'm rather fond of each of them." I wonder in the back of my mind if the sincerity in my voice can be heard. Wings behind her ears, the cage-like structure at Tor's breast. Strange times, then....
WC: Tag: @Araxes @Torstein Sorry it took so long! Turns out I forgot to put it in my tracker too. Combo of that and not getting the alert = looong wait on reply Rosti thoughts | "Rosti speech" | Damaris mindspeak
