[PRP] Candy and Clouds ((Rocksteady and Dhanuraja))

[Katjive]

Dhanuraja was out exploring again. It was a beautiful, breezy day, filled with the soft buzzing of bees and the warm caress of the sun. But he barely noticed all the glory of the mid-morning. He was too busy practicing. His flying teacher had put a stop to his wild racing through the forest, but he hadn't told Dhanny to stop running.

And so, Dhanny was running leisurely through a big meadow, filled with tall grass that tickled his stomach and caught in his wings. About halfway through the meadow, he stopped, his wing entangled in a tuft of grass and cattails. He pulled and struggled, but it only wrapped tighter around his feathery wing. A small cry left his throat as a cattail prodded him sharply between his feathers.

"Help! Anybody! I'm stuck!"

 

[Fatal Irony]

The young unicorn was wandering aimlessly, though keeping close to her home as instructed. Her mother was understanding in Rocksteady's need to explore, but insisted on safety. The young foal agreed and abided her mother's rules lovingly, though every now and again she wandered much farther than instructed. Today was one such day and she soon found herself in some rather high weeds. They picked and prodded at her, but she continued on.

She heard the cry out and was surprised to know someone else was out there. She pushed through the thick growth curiously to find a young colt tangled in the weeds. She suppressed a chuckle at his predicament as she drew nearer. "Hold still, I can free you." She smiled at him and began tugging at the grass and cattails, trying not to pull at his feathers in the process.  

[Katjive]

Dhanny suppressed a whimper as a young filly came to his rescue. As she pulled at the weeds clutching his feathery wing, he stood perfectly still, letting her work out the knots on her own. Surprisingly and painlessly, he pulled his wing free in a matter of moments, tucking it against his back as he twisted his neck to smooth out the ruffled feathers with his nose.

When he finished, he turned to his rescuer. "Thank you...you really helped me out there! I would've been a goner for sure!" He chuckled, a big grin on his face. "You're really good at untangling knots! I'm Dhanuraja...but...you can call me Dhanny. Everyone seems to have trouble saying my name. But it's okay. That's what nicknames are for, right?"  

[Fatal Irony]

The filly smiled warmly at him. "Nice to meet you Dhanny! My name is Rocksteady. I don't think I have any nicknames, but you can call me what you like." She was distracted by looking at his wings. She'd never seen a winged soquili before. "Can you fly?" She was intrigued, but looked sheepishly away, remembering the manners her mother tried to impart to her. Rocksteady had heard so many stories about different kinds of soquili from her well-traveled mother, but to see one up close was something quite different.  

[Katjive]

"Can I call you 'Steady? I like that, and it's easier to say than Rocksteady." He grinned at her, happy to have met a new friend. "Well, I'm learning to. I can glide a bit, but I'm not too good at actually flying. I can get a little ways up, though, if you want to see," he said, ruffling his wings a bit to show them off. "Have...have you never seen someone with wings before?" His question curious, he could hardly imagine that someone could go their whole life, even such a young life as hers, without seeing someone with wings.

Of course, he knew that not everyone had wings. His mother and sister didn't have wings, after all. But everyone he knew, whether winged or not, knew of someone with wings. He was beginning to think them rather commonplace.

When she turned away, he saw the softest glint of something in her mane. "Hey, what's that in your mane? Did you get something stuck in it? Maybe I can get it out for you, as thanks for freeing me from that grass."  

[Fatal Irony]

She nodded in approval of his nickname for her. "Steady will be good! It sounds better than Rock!" She giggled. "If you want to show me your gliding, I'd be very happy," she said shyly. She blushed a little when he asked if she'd never seen anyone with wings. The truth was, she hadn't wandered far from her parents. Neither of them were winged, nor were anyone in her extensive family. She'd never even guessed wings were an option in life! "My family doesn't have wings," she said softly. "But I'm glad to know someone who does!" She gave him another warm smile. She turned to try to peer at her mane when he told her there might be something in it. "Oh! I can't see!" She leaned towards him to allow him to pick it out for her. "Thank you very much!"  

[Katjive]

Dhanny grinned. "Yay! I'm glad you like it." He peered curiously at her blush. He wondered why it was such a big deal for him to have wings. "Oh..." he said, realizing that she had never seen any before, ever. "Well, then, you definitely have to watch me glide! Because you haven't seen it before." He puffed out his little chest in an attempt to impress her even more. He was acting silly, and he knew it, but he couldn't help himself.

When Dhanny went to pick at her mane, the thing wouldn't come out! "Hey, what's this! It's all hard...and sharp!" he yelped, as he was pricked by her horn. He wasn't hurt, just spooked a bit. "It's pretty, though....what is it? Steady, did you get something stuck to your head with tree sap?" He asked, his eyes wide-eyed and naive. He had never seen someone with a horn before.