A Meeting (Rupali x Monoceros) FIN

[`Swirly]

((I'm logging this RP between me and Pale Mist))

The field was so full of snow, it was nearly impossible to get through some of the drifts when they went all the way up to her chest. She was a petite mare, smaller than many than she had met and the snow drifts were terrible. The wind was terrible. The whole mess whole mess was terrible. With that being the case, shouldn't the mare have been miserable have been unhappy too? She wasn't though, not truly. Even with how hard it was to walk she enjoyed the beauty around her. The ground was sparkling and a few brave winter birds flutter about sweetly.. Yes, there was still beauty here.

The mare stopped at a little clear area, the snow was just a little over her ankles and she enjoyed the reprieve from being nearly buries. She shook her head and let her curls spread out a bit more. They were bundled into three big bunches with orchids from her mamma decorating the intricate curls. Her body was a mass of silver swirls with a vivid blue pelt underneath. The horn of a unicorn and the tail of a lion completed her vision. Breathing deeply, Rupali smiled up at the sky and relaxed.  

[`Swirly]

Ceros wandered through the patches of snow. here in the open field the snow was more slush than anything else. But he was still completely entreegued. Having come from the desert, snow was comepletely alien to him. Finding a larger pile of snow he bent down to his knees and inspected it. As his warm breath hit, it suddenly began to melt slighty. He blinked in suprise and then smile, big and wide. He reapeted the breath and then licked the spot where it hit. It tasted jsut like water and melted insantly on his tongue, he giggled with delight.then stood up and jumped rihgt into it. Flying powder and slush filled the air and stuff to his legs. He laughed out loud, what fun he thought. This was so much better than sand.

He looked aorund for another pile, but everything else had melted. He looked to the forest. It was much more shaded and cooler in there, the snow must have been much more composed in there. And so he headed off. As he walked, his thoughts were confirmed. The snow was much much more solid in the forest, and in some parts, it had formed large mounds. He bounded to the closest one and took a bite. it was so refreshing, he beamed. He ventured even further in, looking for the largest pile he could posibly find. he looked down, only to see his hooves glowing through the snow. The affect was magical. He looked around. How beautiful the winter was in these lands.  

[`Swirly]

Rupali's nostrils flared and she lifted her head to the air much the way a deer would lift when scenting for danger. She sniffed deeply then trembled slightly. Someone was coming into the field and she had no idea who it was. She was not that far away from the teepee where her family resided, in fact, the familiar scents were a comfort so who was this person in the strange land... who was walking around here so close to someone else's territory? Very few were rude enough to walk on or close to another's land without going and introducing themselves to the leader of the herd... How peculiar.. Nobody that she knew would behave that way. Except of course for Kalonas... oh god.. what if she had unwittingly wandered close to a Kalona. Most of them had dens, but no real herd land... She shuddered to imagine what would happen when a bunch of kalonas formed a herd of their own... What chaos...

As her mind wandered over the terrible possibilities the sound of that someone coming was ignored by her quivering ears. It was not until the stallion came leaping into a pile of snow not more than twenty feet away from her did Rupali come out of her dazed trance. Oh.. oh it was a... well he looked like a unicorn.. with a horn and lion's tail and very cloven hooves. She sighed softly and relaxed a bit.. but what unusual hair he had.. it didn't hardly look to be hair at all the way it floated on his head. Straightening her small frame Ru stepped forward and then dipped her neck in a regal bow.. "Hello.. it's pleasant to see someone out enjoying the snow."  

[`Swirly]

Ceros had found his perfect pile, and having stretched down to the ground, in a pouncing position. He had jumped. With as much force as he could muster and he jumped right into the large mound, making flakes, clumps, and even some burried leaves fly. He let out a happy woot of excitment. In all the exploration and fun, his keen senses had not picked up on the scent of the mare who had just spoken to him. he whipped aorund suddenly. She had given hima firhgt. But, seeing her standing there in her formal bow he couldnt help but blush. Had he wandered onto her territory accidently? He quickly returned her bow and then looked up. "I am very sorry...am I on your land?" A loose fragment of the pile slid off from behind his left ear. "I did not notice you, I was too oblivious." Then it struck him, had she been watching him the entire time? Since he came into the woods? The thought made him blush a bit more. But his dark color did its part in hiding it. "My name is Monoceros m'lady." again he bowed his head politely and flicked his tail.  

[`Swirly]

She carefully straightened from her bow and immediately felt like a cruel witch for making the stranger feel embarrassment. Although she did not see a blush on his cheeks.. his tone did seem a bit stressed. She gave a small shy smile, one that was a quick flash almost gone before it had begun and settled herself a bit more serenely. "Oh.. oh no.. this is the grey-area between my home and another's home.. You aren't trespassing or anything like that." Her family had always welcomed those in need of a place to warm or cool themselves off, season depending. Her father often grumbled at the amount of time that was spent catering to lessers... but Jaslyn refused to be rude to any and Baldev was too much in love with his mate to deny her what she wanted. "I am Rupali.. Most just call me Ru although I'll leave that up to you to decide... I suppose it's neither here nor there to me what you do with my name." A spirited toss of her head was followed by a very soft melodic giggle.

"So what brings you to this area? Just fun and adventure or a destination pre-determined?"
 

[`Swirly]

Ceros smiled, "it is very nice to meet you Ru." Feeling a bit more comfortable he began to walk towrads her. Only now realizing the distanced they had placed between themselves was quite great. "Monoceros or just Ceros will fit for me." He smiled at her and watched her shake her head, he long braid lingering in the air. Hearing her laugh made his large ears perk up. What a sweet sound, he was almost sure she was a magnificent singer.
"Nothing of the sort acctually. You see, I was recently seperated from my herd which travels deep in the desert. IN search of them, i found myself here, in these strange lands." He bit his tongue, this was her home and he had just insulted it by calling it strange, "Im sorry I just mean...ermm...diffrent. My lands are all sand and stone, and here there are trees and such. I didnt mean to insult your home. My apologies!"  

[`Swirly]

"The pleasure is mine to meet you, Mister-- I mean, Ceros." She had been raised to be respectful to all those around and she had for along time been surrounded by those that would mainly be considered her elders. Her sister's were very daring going off on their own for long time spans.. She was too weak for that or had too much of a burning need to have a home. Sure, she traveled but she always knew where she was going and when she would be coming back home.... It made life a lot easier for her. The knowledge that Ceros had come from a land of sand and stone made her freeze up. "You're.. you're not lieing are you? My pappa comes from a place he said was a dry and vicious beauty.. Filled with sand and stone. Oasis' were around and well.. he tells the stories much better than I can."

A blush went straight up her pale cheeks and Rupali began to stutter a bit, "I didn't mean to call you a liar.. it's just that pappa has never met another that came from the land of sand... as he calls it. Were there many other unicorns where you were from? He talks too of a beautiful palace with two-leggers to serve them.. They were gods almost."
 

[`Swirly]

Ceros immediatly perked up at the thought that someone from his herd had resided here. "What is your father's name? How long has he lived here? Was he part of a herd when in the desert?" His mouth could not keep up with the amount of questions that were bieng formed in his head. "Is he familiar with the herd that calls themselves the Followers of the Star?"  

[`Swirly]

Rupali smiled and relaxed a bit since she had not wanted to insult him, "Baldev, as long as I've ever known, I believe so... and I don't know..." Her mind was reeling a hundred miles a minute, perhaps she would take him back to meet her father. No, she would have to take this stallion back to meet him or he'd be enraged with her. None ever spoke of the hot land of sand and sun.. how delicate and angry the land always seemed to be... "I'm sorry I'm not much good.. I mean he talks about home but never specific because my sisters and I would never have known what was meant."  

[`Swirly]

Ceros took a step closer. The name was not familiar to him, but his herd was large and many roamed within it. Even he, the ex-hier to the herd, did not knwo the names of all the Followers. He really becmae interested, so many ideas popping into his head. What if this stallion was familair with his herd? Could he take them back to him? Was he a traitor that had been banished? Why was he here if he was part of the herd? But even with all these thoguhts, questions and hopes piling themselves onto one another, Ceros could still see the mare's slight distress. He put his thoughts aside and looked at her. "Is something wrong? Have i hurt you in some way? Distressed you?"  

[`Swirly]

She stood quietly while the stallion seemed to be mulling her answers over, it was none of her business what was going on inside of his head and she would just set back and relax while he figured out well, whatever it was that needed to be figured out. She was beginning to feel a bit anxious about the silence when he asked her the three questions. "Oh.. oh no nothing is wrong nothing at all and of course you did not do anything to me." The mare blushed a vivid red and felt bad for having made him think that something was wrong with her when there wasn't. "I'm sorry to have distressed you that really was not my intention at all."  

[`Swirly]

"You dont have to apologize." He smiled at her, relieved he had not made her sad in anyway. "You did nothing. Sorry for suddenly spacing out on you a moment ago. if your father is, or was a part of mhy herd, he might be able to direct me back to them. I really have no sense of direction in these lands, though they intrigue me so. Everything is so diffrent form what i know. Everything." He smiled.  

[`Swirly]

"I don't know anything about pappa's herd... except that they're a long line of firm believers that unicorns are the purest race... probably because of our healing abilities. They don't do anything mean to others of course, but the belief has been there for a very long time... Uhm.. he came here because of my uncle, his brother. Uncle Harij was born with a strange genetic mutation... no unicorn horn or lion's tail even though he's from the same mother and father. He was rejected as a child and left the lands.. my father followed as the obnoxious younger brother and met my mother.. also a desert flower.. Now we all live here.." She paused in her story and another blush went up. When she spoke of her family it was easy to just ramble on and on.. but it'd be hard for her to stammer out her favorite color. "If you need help at all I'm off on a little journey around.. I can take you about and I know my father would want to speak with you.. to see if you know anything of his home."  

[`Swirly]

Ceros listened to her carefully, when she spoke about the mutated birth of her uncle it sounded a bit off. His herd, thoguh large, knew about every birth, death, marriage, pregancy, joy, and sorrow of everyone else in the herd. If a child was ever still born, the herd would know and preform special celebrations for its spirit. But when Ru spoke about her uncle having no unicorn like traits, that struck him as odd. Not just as a fact but, even if this was before his generation, his herd would still remeber such a child. Could it be possible her father was not...from his herd? Ceros didnt want to think of anything like that, he did not know for sure. He would have to speak with the father, only then would he know.
though hearing her suggestion of a tour of a part of these lands completely grasped his attention. He nodded happily, "I would be in your debt. Please lead the way." He said with a bright smile. If the stallion did turn out to be form another desert herd, he would stay in these lands for quite awhile. He should atleast get a feel for it.