Stranger in the Woods (Mahkah & Kroval)

[JetAlmeara]

It wasn't often that Mahkah wandered off by himself - but every now and then he just needed a bit of a break. Oh he loved his family obviously but they were all vain to a fault and the stallion found he could really only stand so much of their peacocking around before he just couldn't take it anymore.

When that limit was hit (and it was a pretty high limit as Mahkah was quite a patient stallion) he had found a quiet walk in the woods did wonders for relaxing him. Everything in the woods was so peaceful, so charming and light hearted. It was really too bad he couldn't just live in the woods all the time - but eventually , he knew, he would miss his family - no matter how insane they could be. His dream of living alone in the woods was ultimately destined to be just that, a dream.

Of course that wouldn't stop him from fantasizing about it every now and then, and maybe someday he'd find a little spot and build himself a secret hideaway just for fun. Now there was a fine idea! Thoroughly indulging in his daydream Mahkah continued on down the trail, completely oblivious to anything and everything else around him.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kroval was on a mission. The herd had temporarily settled some distance away from the pass and they needed to know what lay beyond them. Drathan was eager to move, yet being so new to the lands, it was important to gather information about the lands and the Soquili that inhabited them. A number of scouts had been sent out to scour the lands, and Kroval was one of them. He had headed west from the pass and began searching for areas where the herd could set up temporary camps, but also for other herds to plunder and destroy. This land was large, certainly larger than he had expected and it would take some time for him and the other scouts to learn it all. As long as he came back with useful information, then he would have done his job.

He had surveyed this area from the air for a time, but now walked among the paths. Having seen a few Soquili about, he decided to approach one, even if the thought of acting in a kind manner disgusted him, to see what information he could glean from them. "Ho there!" He called out to another he spotted just ahead. The stallion was fairly plain looking, but walked with confidence. Kroval believed he lived in the area based upon the way he moved, and if he was right, this would help him learn this area and see if it had anything useful for Drathan and the herd.  

[JetAlmeara]

Mahkah was somewhat startled when a voice called out, breaking him out of his inward thoughts and causing him to turn about and search for voice. My..but that was a rather large looking scaled Soquili coming towards him now wasn't it? If his voice and greeting hadn't been so pleasant Mahkah might have reconsidered sticking around to speak with him but as it were, despite his looks, the stallion didn't give off any sort of malicious aura and so Mahkah decided to stand his ground and see what the stallion wanted.

"Hello there." He returned the greeting "I don't think I've ever seen you around these parts before" He went on, perhaps the grey stallion was lost or perhaps he just wanted company while he walked. Who could tell? In any case Mahkah wasn't adverse to a little bit of small talk.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kroval let out a bit of a chuckle, it was an odd sensation, but he had to play the part of a hapless traveler uncertain of a new area. "No, I don't suppose you have seen me before. I'm fairly new to this area. And to be perfectly honest, I'm looking for a local who could possibly show me around. Don't suppose you are from around here?" He was almost certain that the stallion was given his earlier comment, but he had to ask to make sure. He took a moment to study the stallion, though made sure it wasn't obvious that he was doing so. The stallion was smaller than himself, but from what Kroval had seen, quite a few Soquili around here were of this size. It would make dominating them so much easier once Drathan got the army moving.

"Sure seems like a nice area." He added the comment as an afterthought. Regardless, he was certain he would glean some useful information from the stranger.  

[JetAlmeara]

Mahkah nodded slightly, it wasn't unusual to have strangers wandering through the area from time to time - many Soquili he had met were wanderers at heart and never quite seemed to settle down. It was a lifestyle that Mahkah didn't think he, himself, could ever follow - he rather liked having roots in the area, but he wasn't one to judge others and if they wanted to wander then so be it.

This fellow seemed to be looking for information about the area though, perhaps he was looking to settle? It might be nice to have another in the vicinity that wasn't related to him and so Mahkah didn't really see the harm in showing him around "Sure, Are you thinking of settling down in the area?" He asked "Its a pretty nice place, fairly quiet." He added as he tried to think of just what to show the stallion, without knowing much about him it was hard to decide what the other might find interesting.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kroval took a moment to think. He had to be careful exactly how he answered this stallions questions since he wasn't used to treating inferiors equally. One slip and he would need to kill the stallion. Not that he wouldn't mind shedding a bit of blood, but his mission was one of intelligence, not brute force. For now he just had to play along, get what he needed and then return to Drathan.

"Possibly." He finally said. "It's hard to decide on a place to settle when the area is so new. It sure looks like a nice place to live, but until I know more I can't say for sure." There, that sounded about right. "Perhaps a small tour could help? I'd walk around myself, but I don't know where any of the key features are that may help me in my decision."  

[JetAlmeara]

Mahkah supposed that made sense, I mean how could you know if you wanted to live somewhere if you hadn't really seen it before? Considering for a few moments the stallion decided that it would likely be best to start with the basics - Food, Shelter, Water, that sort of thing. Afterwards they could look at some of the more unique places in the area if the other stallion wanted too.

"Well theres a watering hole not far from here that most in the area use, its spring feed to nice and clear and it doesn't dry up even when the seasons are dry." He explained before pointing his muzzle in the direction they would have to go in order to get there "Its not very far and we might even run ito a few of the other locals on the way." He told the other stallion as he started walking down the path.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

There was a moment there where Kroval wasn't sure that he has said the right thing. The stallion was quiet for just a bit too long. But just when Kroval had considered either moving on or striking the stallion down, the other spoke. A watering hole was a decent enough place to start he supposed. Eventually Drathan would lead the army this way, and finding a viable source of water and food was extremely important for keeping such a large herd going. It was just the first bit of information that he needed to gather and hopefully this would lead to more.

"That sounds like quite a nice thing to have around." He commented. An unending supply of water would do the army good. He began to follow the other stallion, keen to see anything else that would be helpful to Drathan and if lucky he would start getting a head count of what Soquili were here. "I really appreciate this." He told the stallion. "It can be difficult when you find yourself in a new area. Not all the locals are the nicest." He added a chuckle at the end. Oh if only this stallion knew the truth.  

[JetAlmeara]

"Oh that's true enough" Mahkah agreed as they walked down the path "I've heard some stories from Soquili passing through and there are defintely some out there I wouldn't want to cross. I've heard thereis a mare somewhere to the north who runs an entire mountain - apparently she has venomous pet spiders and keeps slaves, and her neighbor is a mare made of like..lava or something and then there are stories of these two Kalona who think that everyone whose not a Kalona should be killed because they are 'weak' and this other herd who think all males are 'weak'...its absolutely nutty what some Soquili believe." Thankfully none of them seemed to roam overly close to where they were now and Mahkah was suddenly worried that he might have started to scare the poor guy off. Time to say some positive stuff.

"Of course there are the good ones out there to, there a herd by the beach that is supposed to be pretty nice - they heal Soquili and I guess one of them likes to help Soquli who look different feel accepted..or something and there is a herd of Knight somewhere who always fight that weird spider mare, they are pretty gruff I've heard but they'll help you if you need it." Mahkah went one. Although he had never actually met any of the Soquili he'd just spoken about it was amazing what one could learn just by chatting with those passing by.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Hearing of these individuals was interesting. Of course he expected some Soquili within these lands to be on the side of evil, but how lucky was he to be told about them during his first encounter with a native of the lands. "Really?" He asked curiously. "A mare who keeps slaves and has venomous pets. Now there's something you don't hear about every day." The Kalona weren't particularly anything to note, the species was known for their dark ways and often only helped their own kind. Still, they were something to remember as potential rivals or allies for Drathan. At the mention of the Kalona wanting to kill non-Kalona Kroval let out a slight laugh. "Try looked like your part Kalona." He said, stretching his wings. "You'd be surprised how many run from me because they think I carry their blood." It was a lie, but he knewhis wings looked Kalona enough to make it sound truthful.

Ah now he was getting some real good information. Knowing where these knights were would be helpful, and the healers as well. They could either be forced into service or destroyed to prevent helping the knights. "Sounds like a good bunch of Soquili. I'd love to meet them at some point." And rip them apart, he added silently.  

[JetAlmeara]

Mahkah nodded slightly as he looked at Kroval, now that the stallion mentioned it he did look like he could have some Kalona blood in him, those horns and wings could easily be mistaken - not to mention that he was a fairly intimidating looking fellow aside from his features. "I could see how that would be difficult sometimes." The stallion agreed, finding himself rather pleased that he had decided to speak to the stallion instead of running off when he saw him.

"It would be a bit of a trip but you could probably managed it in a day or so." Mahkah told the other when he spoke of wanting to meet the other Soquili. "Though I don't know the exact location or anything - just what others have told me as they passed through."  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kroval nodded slightly. So these knight and healer herds were not that far away. It would certainly be worth checking out. He could at least scope out the actual area and do a head count if they were as open to strangers as this Soquili was, then once he had the necessary information, he would return to Drathon and report his findings. All in all, this was turning out to be a very successful mission. But first he had to finish the task at hand, and that was having this stallion give him all the information he could about the immediate areas.

"Perhaps I can head there after I have seen this area." He idly said. "As long as you give me their general direction, I'm sure I can find them. It sounds like good 'neighbors' to have if I chose to settle down here. But first, you were showing me around, so let's continue looking at your beautiful homeland."