Ah Araxes. She was supposed to be in the Night Court but her little heart never seemed to be satisfied when it came to exploring. She was always the ever eager sort, one that wanted to learn new things, so it was no surprise that she was gently kicking pebbles astray as she wandered a dirt path. It wound through the trees, and her ears flopped forward, ever alert as she walked, and finally allowed herself to emerge from between tree trunks. There, before her, sprawled a wide open plain, the sun dancing bright enough to make her blink in surprise and cause her wings to flutter.
They even curled a little, resting over her head as if to shade some of the harsher UV from her corneas. When she finally adjusted to the brighter environment, they pulled away, white feathers ruffling and carefully tucking in against her head once more.
Careful steps were taken, and she meandered out in to the plain, emerging fully from the trees before trotting forward. Part of her knew she had been here before, but it had been a brief stint, just a walk through. She hadn't had the time to enjoy it like she was now, her hooves dancing under her and her eyes lighting up as she released a soft giggle.
Tossing her head, the thick braid moved wildly, flopping over her nape as her forelock got in her face, and she only puffed out a breath, moving a stray few hairs from her nose so she didn't sneeze. In the daylight this place was beautiful, pocketed with flowers and wildlife in the distance.
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.
Surprise made her squeak as she heard a voice shout, and turning her head, she saw a stallion there that she was certain hadn't been there only a few moments ago. The bent grasses though a little ways from him showed that he had been basking down in among the flora, and Araxes' ear wings flipped open, flapping a little and ruffling as if trying to make her bigger (a silly avian reaction really). "We... we match?" Her dancing had stopped for a moment in her stunned surprise, before her slate eyes fell downward as he reared a little and ---
"You have wings too!!!" It was almost a squeal and her dainty hooves lifted and fell as she danced on all four in place, pitter pattering on the grasses and flowers, and a giggle spread past her lips. For all her life, she'd only known herself to have strange little wings in an odd place, and yet, here was someone else! His were on his coronet but still, it was an odd place, and she felt absolutely giddy with the surprise of it.
"I always thought I was the only one! I-- ooohhh I'm so happy! Were you born with them too? What are they like there on your legs? I hope they don't get injured, I know mine get blown around in storms and --- and..." The spotted mare took in a deep breath before letting it out, laughing and giggling as she got her thoughts together. She felt foolish but all the same, he was excited, so she could be too!
Even so, she still danced a little, and her forelock fell in front of her eyes as her wings gave a fluff and flap. "I'm Araxes! I'm from the Night Court, it's nice to meet you!" At least she knew not to be too caught up and be rude and forget her name. Still.
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!!
