[PRP] Herd Life? (Kikuyu & Paeony)

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kikuyu had traveled quite a distance from her home, but she was hoping to find new areas to search for resources and perhaps new individuals to trade with. She relied quite heavily on these two things to acquire everything she needed throughout the year. Though of all of them, finding others to trade with was a challenge. In the remote area where she lived she could go weeks, sometimes even months, without seeing another Soquili. And that was why she had ranged so far on this trip.

With her she carried a small pouch that contained some items that she might need on the journey, since she didn't know what she may encounter along the way, and a few things to possibly trade. This area was quite promising looking, and judging by the number of well worn trails around, she could only guess that it was a major thoroughfare for Soquili. She was certain is she stood here long enough that someone would walk by and she could speak with them about the area and perhaps get a few nice items in the end. Stopping, she scanned the area for a moment, trying to decide which of the many trails to follow.  

[JetAlmeara]

Today was one of those days that Paeony found himself somewhat bored, his mate was busy working and he had the day off - not exactly the greatest of scheduling on their parts but oh well, it happened sometimes and just couldn't be helped. It certainly led to a long and dull day however!

With nothing else to do the stallion had decided to make a trek he had been putting off for quite some time and had gone to visit a family member in a neighboring herd, it wasn't that he hadn't wanted to see them exactly..more that he just hadn't wanted to walk so far. In order to make it home in time to spend at least a little bit of time with Dahlia he had cut the visit short and begun the long trip back home. His hooves were aching by this point and honestly...Dahlia would probably be lucky if he didn't just drop asleep as soon as he made it back!

Rounding the corner he suddenly found himself looking at a mare he had never seen before - which wasn't completely unusual, outsiders traveled this path fairly regularly but was still strange enough to give him a bit of a start. Why was she just standing there like that? Was she lost?

"Hello there!" He greet her, Dahlia would never let him forget it if he passed a stranger and didn't at least make sure they didn't need help of some sort.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kikuyu was pulled from her thoughts by another's voice. She swung her gaze around and spotted the mini stallion a short distance away. "I knew I would meet someone here!" She said a bit too excitedly. Living on her own made meeting strangers and fascinating experience. She hurried over to the stallion, and gave him a once over. "I like the flower." He had a nice long mane as well and almost told him how lovely it was, but thought otherwise. Stallions could be finicky about getting such compliments.

"I was traveling through, looking for new areas to pick herbs and find things in. And I noticed this area seemed well traveled. And here I was standing here deciding which path to take to do a bit of exploring and to see if I would run into anyone, and along you come! This is quite a beautiful area don't you think?" She couldn't help but pause long enough to look around them at the trees and the grass and everything else before continuing. "There looks to be a lot of good resources here. I think I saw a pond, or was it a small river, recently. And look how lush this grass is. Do you live around here? Or are you a traveler like me? Don't suppose you are interested in a trade? I have quite a few interesting things in my pouch if you have something useful in return." Kikuyu realized she had been talking far too much and suddenly stopped. "Sorry...I don't see many others and when I do, well my mouth seems to run off on me."  

[JetAlmeara]

"Oh well Thankyou! It was a gift!" The stallion responded to the mares compliment about his flower and he might have gone on to tell her just who the gift was from and the story behind it but..the mare kept right on talking and frankly he doubted he would have managed to get a word in edgewise as she went one - it was like an entire conversation just fell out of her mouth at one time and he blinked at her a bit as he tried to process everything she had said.

At least she seemed friendly? "No worries, it is a nice area, certainly a good place to live which I do." He finally responded once he had the chance. "I guess you live somewhere rather lonesome?" She asked, it would be strange to live without a herd, Paeony couldn't imagine it but from what this mare said that was exactly what she did. Wait had she said something about a trade? Perhaps she came from some far off land and he could surprise Dahlia with a special gift.

"What do you have to trade?"  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kikuyu was quite grateful that the stallion wasn't put off by her ramblings. Some of the Soquili she had met in the past weren't too keen on her talking non-stop, but she couldn't help it. Whenever she met someone, she just had to talk like crazy to get it out of her system before returning to a life of solitude. At his question, Kikuyu let out a bit of a laugh. "Yes, you could say that. I live on my own, many days travel from here. It quite secluded so I don't get many Soquili passing through, and when I do...well, I talk their ears off." She gave another laugh before shaking her head.

At the mention of trade, Kikuyu perked up. "Oh I have all kinds of stuff!" Lowering her head she slipped the back off of her neck and then grabbed it with her teeth, unceremoniously dumping it's contents on the ground. "Let's see here." She began to nose the pile, separating things. "I've got some bits of cloth, some rocks, feathers that can be used as decorations. I've got a few herds that grow near where I live." She pushed those to the side. "One is good for easing pain, another is useful for fever and this one," she nosed a small bundle of bright red grass, "is very effective for reducing swelling. You just soak it in water for a few hours and then drink it." She surveyed the other items that had yet to be pointed out. "Why is that there?" She picked up a small stick and toss it off to the side. "Must had gotten into my pouch while I rested, it's just a stick, nothing special. Ah! Here's something special. A string of beads." Grabbing it with her lips she carefully pulled it free from the other items. The string of beads was long enough to wear as a necklace and sported a collection of different colored beads. She set it down on the ground for him to look at. "And there's plenty more too." She motioned to the pile that still remained half unsorted. It was a miracle she managed to fit everything into her bag some days.  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony nodded politely as the mare spoke "I can see wanting to have a good conversation after spending a great deal of time alone." He agreed, though he briefly wondered why it was she didn't just move closer to a herd and he considered saying something but really it wasn't any of his business how the mare wanted to live her life so he kept quiet.

In any case he became distracted as she began to pull items out of her bag, it seemed the mare was quite well supplied and he moved a bit closer to take a better look at things. The beads immediately caught his attention, they would look quite lovely on Dahlia.

"what do you normally trade for?" He asked "A lot of these things would probably be useful to my herd though I'm not sure exactly what herbs and such they need there are a few I know they have a hard time finding...and those beads would look quite lovely on my mate."  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

She had been too distracted with sorting her items to acknowledge his comment about a good conversation. The truth was, once she got on the subject of trade, her mind became solely focused on that until either a trade was complete or the other turned her down. But it seemed that this stallion was interested, possibly in a few items, which made her very happy. "Well that all depends on the item, some are harder to acquire than others so their trade value is higher."

"I doubt they would have easy access to this." She pointed towards the red grasses. "I have only seen them ground around where they live, though like many herbs, I'm sure your herd has a plant that has similar healing properties, though the potency could be different." Her eyes traveled to the string of beads that he clearly wanted for his mate. "For the beads...I'd be willing to take something unique from the area. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, but I do like to collect items that can only be found in an area whenever I visit them." She had a decent little collection at home already from the parts she had visited. "And perhaps we can make a deal for the herbs and other items that would be useful for your herd."  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony considered for a few moments, his thoughts drifting to what he might offer this mare in return for the beads. He had a few ideas in mind but of course all of them were back at the herd...

"Well I'd certainly like to trade for the beads - but everything I have to offer is back at my herd, its not very far from here and perhaps some of the other herd members would like to trade for some items as well if you want to come and see?" He offered. If she would rather stay here then he would simply run home and fetch his items but he thought it might be nice for her to visit with some more Soquili and the herd would certainly offer her a larger group to trade with.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Her ears perked, not only was he interested in a definite trade, but he said his herd members may also be interested in some of these items. It looked like those long days of traveling were about to pay off. Who knows what treasures she might acquire from this journey. Plus she would get to have a closer look at herd life, something she knew very little about. Oh she had some ideas, but really it was hard to know exactly what it was like when she had never experienced it herself.

"Oh...oh yes, I'll come." And with that she began to quickly gather her pile of items and place them back into her satchel. She made sure to keep the beads he was interested in at the top so she could easily get them out, but if this herd was interested in other trade, she would soon find herself dumping out the contents again. After a quick double check to make sure she hadn't missed anything, Kikuyu looped the satchels strap over her neck and looked towards the stallion. "Lead the way." She moved to follow him and then realized in her excitement to trade and speak to someone she had forgotten one important detail. "Oh, I'm Kikuyu by the way."  

[JetAlmeara]

Paeony watched as she gathered up all of her trinkets and goods before leading her on down the path. He wondered briefly if her satchel ever got a bit heavy - she sure had crammed a good bit of stuff into it, but she didn't seem to be bothered by the weight if it was. Then again she was probably used to carrying it around given that she said she traveled to trade fairly often. In any case any further thought about the satchel and its contents weight was brought up short when she introduced herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Paeony." The stallion told her with a warm look "SO have you always lived alone or did you once belong to a herd?" He asked out of curiosity hoping that the question wouldn't be seen as too personal or rude, he certainly didn't want to be rude but he was a curious creature by nature and just couldn't help asking.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

"Paeony." She repeated the name, committing it to memory. She may eventually forget his name, but that would likely be weeks if not months in the future. His question made her think. Had she been part of a herd once? Her pace slowed just as bit as she searched her memory.

"No, I don't believe that I ever was part of a herd. I was raised by my parents when I was younger, along with my sibling, but even from a young age I was fairly independent." Beyond her family she couldn't recall any steady presence of other Soquili that would indicate any type of herd. "Living alone gives me a great amount of freedom. I'm not tied down to anyone or anything. Though it can be a lot of work, especially getting ready for winter as all of the gathering and preparation falls to me. I try to do it from the time the snow melts up until the first snow falls, but it doesn't always happen. Life has a funny way of getting in the way at times. But overall, it's a great way to live and I don't think I would trade it for anything." She let out a laugh then. "Well maybe I would, but it would have to be a pretty spectacular trade."  

[JetAlmeara]

"I've been told I was named after a type of flower, though it dosen't grow around here - I think it grew back where my mother lived as a foal. I wouldn't mind traveling to see one someday." He told her wistfully, as the strange thought occurred to him - of course the likelihood of actually making the trip was probably pretty low. There was very little chance that Dahlia would ever leave her job in the herd for such a long trip and as her job was fairly important then he wouldn't ever ask her too. Still it was nice to dream now and then.

"It does sound like a great deal of work." The stallion commented once she was done with her story "And I can see how it would have its perks." Though Paeony was of the opinion that it would be far to lonely for him to ever tolerate - then again everyone liked different things and as long as they were happy then they ought to be able to live life however they wanted too right?  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kikuyu nodded as she listened to him explain about his name. "It's a shame it doesn't grow around here, I don't recall ever hearing about that kind of flower before and it would be interesting to see one." Her head tipped to the side. "Why don't you travel there to find them? Does your family still live there?" She wasn't really aware that she was asking personal questions, after all, this may be the only Soquili she spoke with for weeks, if not months, so she had to get her allotment of conversation in while she could.

"It certainly can be. However, over the years I have developed different strategies that help me maximize my gathering and prepping. I know what areas to harvest for certain plants depending on the time of year. I have well worn paths to some places that grow things I use the most. I have a couple regular traders I work with to get the things I need that are too far away to travel for myself. But I also try to make a game out of things, since gathering all the time can get tedious." She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "But I always try to set aside some time to make trips like this, away from my normal routine. It helps break up the monotony of things and allows me to meet new faces and trade for new items." Kikuyu let out a soft laugh. "At least all this traveling and gathering keeps me in good health."  

[JetAlmeara]

"Oh..well, its very far away" Paeony told her, he was a bit unsure how to explain the whole mass exodus his kind had made from their old homelands "And my whole family is here now so while they would be nice to see I wouldn't want to leave them for such a long time. In any case the flowers here are quite lovely to look at so I don't feel like I'm missing out on too much."

Listening as she explained her methods, it certainly seemed like she had a lot of things figured out it was a strange combination of adventurous and habit but it seemed to work, other then being a bit on the overly chatty side the mare seemed well adjusted enough.

"Do you ever think about finding someone to share your time with? Start a family maybe?" He asked, sure he was aware that not everyone wanted to have a family of their own but he simply couldn't fathom it himself.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

"AH, well, at least your family is here with you. Perhaps one day you will get to make the journey back there to see the flowers. It could be fun." Maybe she could get the details on where his family's old home was and check them out for herself - depending on just how far away it was.

"I have...but unless the right stallion comes to me, I'm not sure when I will settle down." She let out a small laugh. "It certainly would make things easier if I had someone with me to help with all that I do each year, but I obviously also can't put those things on hold to find that special someone. And I'm not sure how many stallions out there would want this type of life...and I don't think I could give it up either." Then again, she could find herself madly in love with a stallion and find it was more important to be with him than her current life style. "It would be nice to pass all of my knowledge onto the younger generation." She mused. Which is something she would need to do if she didn't end up having her own foals, is finding a suitable apprentice to continue on everything that she does.