The world was white, the snow blanketing Novus and making Uzi beam at the purity of it. As she gazed over the expanse of the plain, the sound of her bonded racing up behind her made her chuckle. "Oh my goodness! The white stuff is great!!!" Neema exclaimed as she bounded recklessly through the once pristine meadow. Uzi laughed aloud, her warm chocolate eyes watching the maned wolf play and frolic.
"The white stuff is snow, my dear. And it is nice now with the sun overhead, but being caught in a blizzard is less great. That I can promise." She laughed, dancing through the snow herself. As she approached the rust and ebony canid, she swept a wave of snow over her with her technicolor wing. Yes, it was a pleasant day after a day of such intense snowfall.
"We cannot play all day, Neema. We do have more work to do in the shop later. But it is such a nice day and a pleasant break from the hard work." She remarks dryly, closing her eyes and spreading her wings over the snow to catch the rays of the sun. This was a rare moment of peace, a rare pleasure that the mare would give herself. Neema was always pushing the mare to take time for herself and let work wait. Uzi had been struggling with her return, with the changes that had happened and the pain of the losses she had occurred since leaving. Rhone was nowhere to be found, and likely didnt even remember her. She was no longer a champion of her beloved court, no longer a member that was recognized. Now she was trying to find herself again and figure out where she belonged.
"Uzuri"
"Neema"
@Kazi Notes: Here we go! I cannot wait to see how they click!
The young stallion wasn't entirely sure why he was still in this place. There was nothing here for him after the confrontation with Liam, though to be honest there was nothing here for him before that. Finding the stallion had been a plus to the trip, allowing Kazi to get some things off of his chest and finally kill off any surviving parental feelings, at least he hoped it did. He didn't need the "father figure" appearing somewhere else and thinking there was still a chance.
Since the plain was the place he had first been introduced to this land it seemed logical that it would be the way back out. Retracing steps was always the best way to backtrack. He had hoped to leave without incident or having to interact with any more strangers but it seemed as though luck wouldn't be on his side. He gave a soft sigh of annoyance but it probably wasn't worth it to try and sneak past.
The young stallion raised bright eyes to the sky at the excitement in one of the voices. Great, something small or young. He swallowed the groan of dread and forced himself to move forward and into sight. Better to get it over with so that he could leave quicker and move on with his life.
Kazi took in the sight of the winged mare and her canine companion. There might have been a time with his twin where they would have done the same as this pair, taken the time to play in the snow, but now the idea of it wasn't as inviting. He just wanted to continue on to wherever he was going to end up and stopping to act like a child wasn't a part of that plan. He stopped a bit away to avoid getting hit by snow.
"You know, procrastination is never a good practice to get into. You end up not doing what needed to be done in the first place and even further behind than you were before."
Uzuri glanced up at the voice and smiled softly. "I must say that I do agree… But there is also pleasure in taking the rare moments to enjoy life rather than slaving away in a hot forge and trying to remember where you belong in the world." She murmured softly, stepping closer to the stallion. Neema, ever the puppy, continued to romp in the drifts of snow, her vivid coat easy to spot in the sea of white.
"I apologize. Time away has made me rather lost in general and I am rather rusty with manners it seems. I am Uzuri, blacksmith for the dusk court. The crazy canine is my bonded, Neema." She introduced them warmly, a smile on her lips and chocolate eyes warm and inviting. Even with her profession change, the once champion of battle was still loathe to strap on one of her masterpieces to show it off to those she met. Perhaps when the mare had a more solid standing and a knowledge of where she truly belonged after everything… But that seemed to be an odd thought at the moment. Since returning, the multi-hued mare had dove into work, crafting all of the weapons she could think of, and even dabbling in jewelry when she had spare moments.
"Uzuri"
"Neema"
@Kazi Notes: Here we go! I cannot wait to see how they click!
Kazi hummed along with the stranger's words, considering. There was a point in them that he had to give to her. He could understand the desire to take a moment and separate from the work.
"I suppose that I do have to admit that losing yourself in the process of work could be worth avoiding." Not everyone had the same ability to stay on task for significant periods of time, nor did they have the same desire to do so. It was a different frame of mind than the young stallion was used to but the challenge to wrap his mind around it was a welcome one. Learning had always been a part of life that he enjoyed, exercising the brain while distracting himself from what was happening at the same time.
"Manners have more place in a different setting, not so much when you've been stumbled upon unawares." Kazi dipped his head down in greeting anyway. "Kazi." He glanced over at the small companion at the mention of its name, not bothering to send a nod towards it since it seemed occupied with whatever it was playing.
"A blacksmith. I see now why you needed the break from your work." It made a difference when the work that one did was a mix of physical and mental, which is what he assumed working with metals might be like. He still wasn't sure about the activity they had chosen but everyone had their own means of relaxation.
"What is it that made you wish to create weapons?"
Uzi smiled at the striking young stallion, her warm eyes twinkling. "Add in self imposed house arrest and it makes a day away even more tempting. Coming back to Novus has been more challenging than I thought it would be." She stated softly, softening her words with a smile.
When he spoke of manners, she shook her head. "I am so used to being as polite as I can be… My mother preferred that I used my manners and made the best impression of myself." She answered. "Regardless of manners, it is a pleasure to meet you." She beamed at him, taking a moment to find the canine that had bounded back into the snow to play.
She nodded at his words, knowing that it was less common to find a mare that worked metal. "That is a long story. I started as a warrior, the champion of battle… but things went crazy and I had to leave for a while. When I was gone, I found peace in working with metal and it seems that I have found my calling with it." She laughed, trying to condense all of the story into a short little blurb. "What brings you happiness?"
