A quest of Love (Dahlia & Paeony)

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony had spent a great deal of the morning looking for what he now carried with him - it had taken a great deal of searching, from one side of the meadow to the other, he'd even ventured into the treeline a ways, rustling through the brush and thickets and then it had taken an even greater amount of careful deliberation. He had had to find the perfect color, the perfect stage of growth, and of course one without any unsightly blemishes. But after all of that searching he had found it. The one. The perfect...rose.

It might not have been a quest of great worldly importance, and he doubted that many others in the herd would consider it a great use of time..but those who did not were likely those who were not in love, to Paeony looking for and finding this perfect flower was one of the greatest ways he had chosen to spend his time since he had helped deliver a foal last spring. Dahlia deserved nothing less then this perfect, beautiful dew speckled rose.

Now..he just had to find her before it wilted. A task easier said then done as she was prone to flitting about from one task to another within the herd. Still he was determinded and he would see this quest through.

 

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia was busy as always. Even though the herds numbers had shrank over the past few months, since many small groups had broken off to make their own way in these lands, she was still very much in demand for her healing. Luckily there were other healers still left in the herd to take some of the burden away from her, but honestly she didn't mind running around from one herd member to the other checking on them from the moment the sun came up to the moment the sun set. With the onset of spring and then summer the number of colds and other minor common ailments had gone down, which helped to further decrease her workload. But this time of year also mean young ones running around and those curious foals were known to get into trouble now and then and come home running with small injuries to tend to.

So far the day was quiet. Dahlia was making her way checking on her few regular patients. There was an older mare who had traveled with the herd from their old lands, she had lived a good life but now her joints ached and she wasn't able to get around as much. Dahlia always aside time in her day to check on the mare, ease her pain a bit and just give her someone to talk to.

She had been with the mare for the last hour or so and finally was done with her. Some days the mare could talk her ear off, but Dahlia really didn't mind. It was so great to hear stories from before she was born of how the herd lived in their old lands. With a smile on her face Dahlia set off across the herd lands once more, she had finished with her regular patients so now she had the day to herself, as long as no emergencies came up.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony scanned the herd with a quick eye as he trotted through the midst of them, Dahlia could be anywhere of course, healers such as she were rarely in one place for long, rather they spent their time flitting about from patient to patient like busy honey bees collecting nectar...except it wasn't nectar it was healer and they weren't collecting so much as spreading. Whatever..the metaphor still worked as far as he was concerned. In any case, while he knew that she could be anywhere in the herds territory he was also aware that there were certain places she made sure to check on every day and it seemed logical - to him - that he check those place's first.

The first few places he checked did not turn up the striped hide of his lovely Dahlia but then..at long last, he caught sight of her, on her way from checking up on that old mare no doubt. Of course with a rose in his mouth he could hardly call out to her - but no matter, it would be more fun to surprise her anyways. Picking up the pace he changed course so that he might intercept her as she came around a group of bushes, it would be the perfect place to present her with his glorious rose and so he ran ahead with the intention of ambushing her.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia's pace was slow as she walked away from the place the old mare lived in. The sun was warm on her hide, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. That bit of heat was certainly welcome after such a long winter. She and the other healers had had their hooves full trying to keep everyone healthy during those long and cold months. Honestly it was nice to not be running off her hooves trying to keep up with the demands that the extreme cold brings. Now she could, for the most part, take her time and enjoy her job more so because she could allow herself to spend some time simply chatting with her patients instead of rushing from one to the next in an attempt to get to all of them in time.

Walking along side several bushes at the side of the trail Dahlia stopped for a moment. They were full of wonderful small flowers, but on top of that there were plenty of berries as well, with more to come if all those flowers were any indication. She hadn't eat much today, wanting to get to her patients before the sun became too hot, so she paused to take a couple of mouthfuls of berries. They were sweet and she delighted in their taste. It was the one reason she didn't like winter, was the lack of berries and other easy to come by foods. After eating a number of berries so turned away from the bushes to continue on the path, humming to herself and trying to decide what she would do with the rest of her day as long as it remained patient free.  

[JetAlmeara]

What...what was she doing? Paeony tipped his head slightly trying to see through the branches - she had heard her coming and then she had stopped and seemed to be paused..doing something. Was she eating? He glanced at the bush - ha, he hadn't even noticed it was a group of berry bushes. He really needed to pay better attention to his surroundings.

In any case he waited patiently for her to finish, shifting his weight from hoof to hoof in antsy anticipation, he didn't want to leap out and startle her while she was eating, that could be potentially dangerous and it would sure put a damper on his gift if she choked on a berry while he tried to give it to her.

At long last it seemed that she had finished and he left her get a couple of steps back towards the path before he lept out in front of her with his proudly displayed gift which he presented to her with a dignified bow.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Her hooves came to a quick stop as someone stepped in front of her a few paces away. Has she not recognized the colors of the coat she might have thought it was an emergency or a younger member of the herd playing tricks on her. A wide smile crossed her lips as she watched him ow down in front of her a beautiful rose held in his mouth. This would explain why she hadn't seen him yet this morning, though admittedly some days when she was busy she didn't have time to look around to see who was nearby as she moved from patient to patient.

"Paeony!" She said in a happy tone. Stepped forward she sniffed the flower. The scent was almost magical and the color, well it was probably the most perfect red she had ever seen. "It's perfect." She said and gave his cheek a nuzzle to show her appreciation. Paoeny always seemed to go out of his way to make things special and this was no exception. "As long as nothing comes up I have the rest of the day to myself." She told him proudly while still admiring the rose.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony was delighted by her love of his rose, he had spent so much time ensuring that it was perfect and it was nice to see all that effort pay off. He nuzzled her back with true affection before pricking his ears foreward. "A day off? Really?" That was exciting and it rarely happened, she was often far to busy to take time off like this.

"Well what do you want to do?" Honestly he wouldn't blame her if all she wanted to do was go and rest somewhere, her job often kept her tired and far to busy for her own good. "We could go for a walk, maybe visit the falls..or swim...or if you want we can just go and rest somewhere, the meadow maybe? It's not to hot today and the flowers are quite pretty this time of year."  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

"Really." She told him with a chuckle. A day off wasn't all that usual for her, but a small break from work would be delightful. And she could leave the herd area if she so choose since she did get her morning obligations out of the way and if anything did come up one of the other healers could attend to it. She wouldn't want to go too far...just in case, but a nice little getaway is just what she needed.

She considered what she wanted to do. There were really endless possibilities if she thought about it. "As much as it would be nice to rest I'd really like to go do something, get away from the meadow and everything here for a little bit." But what, what could they do? After another moment of thinking about it she made up her mind. "We haven't been swimming in so long and it is a nice day for it, not too hot but also not too cold so we don't freeze in the water or when we come out of it." A nice relaxing swim with the stallion that she loved sounded like the perfect thing to do today.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony did his best to wait patiently for Dahlia to decide what she wanted to do, he didn't want to make her feel rushed but at the same time he was eager to get her away from the prying eyes of the herd before someone spotted her and ran up with some health concern or another. Of course he wouldn't want anyone to suffer because he selfishly wanted some time alone with her - but there were other healers in the herd that could take care of minor things just as well, Dahlia was just so approachable and dedicatedto her job that the others in the herd knew she would come to help them right away, emergency or not.

It was a set of admirable qualities that he respected in the mare but he was also aware that she sometimes worked herself to hard, she needed to take a break just for herself now and then. His ears pricked up as she finally answered him, dashing all of his previous thoughts. "A swim sounds like an excellent idea." He told her, motioning with his muzzle down the pathway. "And it won't take us long to get there at all, we are already on the right side of the herd even!" Which was good because if they had to walk back through the herd Paeony was sure that someone would stop them with a question or some other inquiry.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

She couldn't help but let out a laugh. Though she loved her healing duties within the herd it was truly wonderful to have some time off to just do whatever she wanted. She loved how patient Paeony was. How many times had they made plans to do something and they had to be cancelled by a last minute emergency. Some stallions would be annoyed by this but Paeony accepted this part of her life and was sometimes even there to help her deal with such cases. "Let us be off then." She said and began to walk down the path once more. He was right, the pond wasn't all that far off, why they may be able to do much more than go swimming today...barring any emergencies. But surely the other healers could manage without her for a few hours.

Her steps were light as she moved down the path. A nice relaxing day with the stallion that she loved was exactly what she needed right now. And hopefully with this warmer weather they were having the number of sicknesses would lessen for some time. It was in the colder months that she and the other healers were truly pushed to their limits keeping up with sickness and other ailments brought on by the change in weather. "It's so lovely today." She commented, it might not be the height of summer anymore but the days were still plenty warm and she enjoyed them fully.  

[JetAlmeara]

Stepping lightly Paeony settled into a prancing walk beside Dahlia as they made their way down the path. "It is quite lovely." He agreed with a warm look in her direction "I love this time of year, when the weather is just perfect all day long and there's no worries about how hot it will get or how cold it will be, it's really to bad that it couldn't be like this all year long." He remarked, idly wondering if there was such a place somewhere in the world, a place where the weather was placid and nice all year long - it would be like living in a dream world he was sure, a land of plenty where the grass never shriveled up in the heat nor died from the cold but stayed sweet and tender all year round. It sounded too good to be true and likely it probably was.

"But then I suppose the water wouldn't be quite as nicely warmed without the heat of summer to make it so and the winters might get dull without the snow for foals to frolic in, I suppose there is beauty in all the seasons in the end." He finally admit with a slight laugh.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

She looked over at her mate with a smile. "I agree. It truly is the perfect kind of weather." She knew it wouldn't last of course. Once the heat of summer passed they would enjoy this warm pleasant weather for a time and then slowly the temperatures would begin to drop, being most noticeable at night first and then the leaves would begin to change as the days cooled down and before they knew it it would be winter once more. Just thinking about made her mind race about all the herbs and other plants they would need to gather and store for the winter. Dahlia gave her head a shake, she would not think on those things right now, today was all about relaxing and spending some time with her mate.

"I think I like fall the best." She finally said. "It's so beautiful right now, but I love seeing the colors of the leaves change and then watching them cascade down in a flurry of gold and red to the ground." Plus she remembered diving into piles of leaves as a foal, it was great fun. Her gaze turned to look at her mate. "That's true. I'm sure the water would be unpleasantly cold without the heat of the summer. Each season has it's purpose and it's beauty." She smiled and turned her focus back to the path ahead of them. It was a short time later when she spotted int he distance the pond where they would be swimming. "Look there it is." She was certain the Paeony had seen it but she couldn't help but say something when the pond came into view in the distance.  

[JetAlmeara]

"Fall is pretty." The little stallion agreed with a slight nod of his head, yes the fall colors were beautiful, Paeony doubted that anyone who had seen the forest ablaze with colors could say different..but that wasn't his favorite part of that particular season. "But you know what I like best about the fall?" He asked Dahlia with a sideways glance. "The lack of bugs!" he declared a few moments later. Flies were so annoying all spring and summer..the cooler weather giving them a bit of a break was something that Paeony looked forward to every year.

Turning his attention down the trail again the stallion caught sight of the ponds glimmer at almost the same moment that Dahlia spoke of it, it looked smooth and clear and best of all there didn't seem to be anyone else from the herd already swimming. What luck! It seemed and he and Dahlia would have the place entirely to themselves! "Wonderful!" He declared out loud. "It will be a truly perfect day, beautiful weather..a free pond and the time to enjoy it!" No foals splashing around and muddying it up! Oh sure he loved foals, everyone did but they could be noisy and boisterous when all you wanted was some peace and calm.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Dahlia gave him a questioning gaze when questioned her on what his favorite part of fall was. She didn't even have time to make a guess when he mentioned the lack of bugs. "Oh you are terrible Paeony!" She said with a laugh. Of course she did agree that fall did have a distinctive lack of bugs and it was nice to be able to walk about without getting swarmed by flies, mosquitoes and a number of other bugs. But still, there were nice bugs as well. Butterflies were so beautiful to look at but like all the other bugs they became less as fall set on as they migrated to warmer climates. She wondered where they went to seek shelter from the cold winter months.

Seeing his excitement brought a wide smile to her lips. Oh it was so nice to get to spend some quality time with Paeony. "Come on, I'll race you." She gave his shoulder a bump and then began to race towards the pond. Dahlia didn't care who got there first, but it was nice to feel these all too rare moments of freedom. Her job within the herd kept her busy, sometimes far too busy, but she honestly wouldn't trade it for anything else. She loved helping others. Feeling the wind as she ran Dahlia let out a whoop of joy as she ran towards the pond.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony gave a little laugh as she declared him 'terrible', ah well if his terrible jokes still made her laugh then they were worth telling - even if they were horribly and utterly lame, not everyone could be a superstar comedian. Before he had much of a chance to come up with another silly comment to say she was challenging him to a race and taking off towards the pond.

He let her get a few steps ahead just so that he could enjoy the happiness she displayed in running, this type of carefree behavior was something that she was not able to partake in often enough as far as Paeony was concerned, it was important to let go of your stress once in a while, no matter how important your job was.

But such thoughts were making him fall farther and farther behind and this was supposed to be a race! Kicking up his heels Paeony took off after Dahlia, stretching out his neck as he strained to catch up to her fleet form.