[PRP backlog] Sirens by the Shore (Laurelin + Chimalsi)

[Lady_Ourania]

Lady_Ourania

Chimalsi circled a bristly patch of thicket, tail flipping contemplatively as he angled his head another way, trying to find an opening that wouldn't stick him full of thorns. The kirin's muzzle had already gained enough experience from such things, soft, velvety nostrils flaring with a stinging sensation as he tried to relocate what he'd lost. The shell was small, woven with hints of sea foam and iridescence that made it a pleasure to look upon; white on the outside with its lip curved like a vague sort of smile. The beach had been new territory, but finding such a treasure made it well worth the excursion, the same sand teasing between his scales easily releasing its delicately-shaped child to his possession. He'd carried it proudly toward home, anticipating what delight the addition would be met with, but a bird leaping from the underbrush into sudden flight had startled him into dropping it, and now the item was hopelessly entangled in a place that seemed beyond his reach.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Tsunake

It was time, she'd decided, for her to breach the comfort of the forests she'd been enthralled with for so long. Of course, it was hard to truly justify 'leaving' the safety of the trees when she carried her own, but the mare found herself curious as to what lay in these new lands. Observation was a powerful tool, and she had watched the flow of life long enough to know that it was unexpected. These thoughts glittered briefly in her mind as she heard the rustling not too far ahead, rewarded with a glitter of gold as she curiously craned her neck. A stallion--but unlike any of the few she'd ever seen. He was harsh and angled, hard and glinting where she herself was soft and vulnerable. From the spiked tufts of hair that rippled down his spine to his strange, sleek tail... Laurelin could not quite immediately place what he was. She approached quietly, a gnarled foot pausing in the air as though thinking twice of disturbing him. "You look troubled..."

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Lady_Ourania

Eyes that were naturally attuned to seek out colors of a similar, tawny shade fell on the emerging creature instantly, his frustration enough to distract him from the situation at hand and make the male alert to his surroundings. He might have gone right back to his task after the brief acknowledgment, almost afraid that the situation could somehow worsen if left unattended, but something about the being gave him pause, his tail thrashing once more before falling still. For a moment, he didn't understand what he was seeing, the tree surely some distant landmark, though its roots seemed to be wrapped possessively around the mare's midsection, her brow lit by a circlet of tiny, green bulbs that reminded him of unripe fruit. He blinked to take it all in at a glance, and the gesture felt heavy and awkward, as though he were the one encased from head to toe in what resembled bark. "... Yes." His voice was little better, the hesitation strung through it marked clearly in his own mind even as he finally tore his stare away from her, a gilded hoof scraping irresolutely into the earth. "I've lost something."

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Tsunake

She was hardly peturbed by his bright, bewildered stare, as quiet and unyielding as the tree nestled tenderly against her back, and her right hoof eventually settled itself against the dirt. He spoke and the mare found herself tilting her head slightly, surprised by such uncertainty from such a large stallion. Appearances could always be deceiving. A golden hoof pawed at the ground, effectively pulled her attention to it and away from the large, almost gaudy medallion hanging around his neck. He sounded so sorrowful, enough that the mare was silent for a moment as she considered his plight. "What is it you've lost?" She'd finally inquiry, gentle but intrigued. What could a creature made of the rarest metals even desire in the first place?

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Lady_Ourania

The hush gave him time to consider his own thoughts, holding them up and peering through the spun glass ripples, the tornado-twist fraught with holes that cracked without shattering. He was... uncomfortable. Her appearance melded the selfsame nature that was keen on denouncing any kinship to him, yet that partition simultaneously crumbled to the primitive gold that powered her in finery. Rawness, lushness, and why she had stopped to address his problems, the stallion couldn't say, did not even stop to consider. "A gift." He phrased it in an almost cryptic way, as though the item was little more than a ribbon-wrapped box, nothing she should concern herself with. His tail lifted again, swaying serpentine before swatting down a section of branches, whipping itself back again and watching the springy things shiver long enough to give him time to look underneath. No sign of it there either, and now leaves were caught in the aztec tuft at the end, some meager mimicry of her own countenance.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Tsunake

The silence is comfortable without meaning to be, this stranger's bizarre and suddenly secretive fashion only serving to inspire her intrigue. "Ah." She smiled a little then, faintly and distantly as she gazed beyond the golden beast for a moment. So he was not without feeling for another, no matter what his luxurious physique claimed. It pleased her in some way, like fitting in a particularly troubling piece into a puzzle. He must have dropped it, considering the way he roughly treated the brambles, and a soft tut would rise from the mare. "There's no need for cruelty. A bit of kindness goes a long way, even to the cruelest of thorns." She approached quietly, ducking her head so the rough horn protruding from her nose could gently ease aside a few of the thicker branches to better peer into the heart of the plant. There, something bright and beautiful--it clearly did not belong. Carefully, her gnarled hoof slipped into the worst of the snarls, mere scrapes against aged wood so the stumpy toes could gingerly fish the bauble out. Satisfied, she backed away if only to better meet his gaze. "Was this the item you sought?"

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Lady_Ourania

The expression he caught out of his periphery reminded him, puzzlingly, of the thing he was seeking, though it evaporated as soon as the smile did. Instead, it was her mild protest that drew out a reaction, making the tail in question curve, clearly asking if it was at fault when the brush had suffered no lasting mistreatment. He hadn't broken a limb, or uprooted the entire network, but the flora lodged in her spine might have caused such a disparate view. "My apologies. I'd not thought it... cruel." The words were coming without taking a side-route to his mouth, the unusual cadence to them purely his own. On the subject of thorns, he had not much to add, the small, prickly puncture wounds on his nose the result of avoidable carelessness, though he held no particular affection for them, or any of their brood. Regardless, he did not expect her to draw nearer, his shoulders shifting to grind the armor laid atop, growing abruptly stiff when she slid her face into the mess, much as he had before sense and pain drew him out again. He said nothing to stop her, a hot pulse of possession sweltering under his skin as her big, clumsy-looking hoof drew the shell out with as much grace as a lady's fingers. Then she left it, retreated a step, and he stared down at the leavings, vision tracing the perfect little lines of it, the myriad colors and fragility. "Yes." He answered her vacantly, bending his neck to pick it up while his bronze marks swam to the motion like a heat shimmer. He mouthed it, tasting brine and dirt and whatever she was, pulling it finally into his maw and shoving it against his cheek. "Thank you." It sounded like he was trying to swallow his tongue, but it was only manners to say so, and he'd been spared more jabs for her intervention. So yes, grateful, he supposed, no other feeling rising to assert a lasting dominance.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Tsunake

She might have murmured something to dismiss his apology, though was really just accepting it for what it was. He stooped to gather his prize after a single, absent note, his side rippling in a splendid way that threatened to make her dizzy before he thickly uttered his thanks. "You are welcome. Whoever it is for, I am sure they will appreciate it for it is worth--if not for the trouble you went through to collect it." The scratches on his nose were testament to his struggle, and she stood quietly for a moment as though taking him in.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Lady_Ourania

Something in the way she spoke about the gift's recipient made his gaze narrow, the run of stripes over his muzzle giving the impression of a snarl without one actually shaping it. But the paranoia fluttered out and died before it had truly achieved a bartering position, certain that his beloved would enjoy a treat from somewhere she was unable to go and see for herself. Contained in that thought was a kernel of doubt, no larger than the size of the horn that stood at straight attention on the sun-tree mare's nose, dwarfed by his elaborate ego. With the shell back in its rightful owner's care, he was free to study her at length, the light-kissed glow of her limbs, and the piercing sapphire of a gaze boring into him. Even clad in dryad attire, he couldn't dismiss her as unappealing. The kirin broke the staring contest first, glancing back over his flank to gently shake the stranded foliage out of his tail. When they were free, he swept them up into a respectable little pile and shoved them toward her in an almost courtly manner, recalling their previous disagreement.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Tsunake

Her features softened with surprise at his sudden change in expression, perhaps not understanding the sudden seeming hostility though he'd done nothing to truly imply as much. Was her mind playing tricks and games with her? She took his scrutinty quietly now, musing as he shook his tail free and unexpectedly pushed the thorns he'd dislodged towards. Another smile pulled at her muzzle for a moment, both thankful and approving even as she dipped her head to him, reaching out to gingerly collect the discarded barbs. "I am called Laurelin." The introduction is soft, almost distant as she gently pawed at the earth near the pile, eventually lifting her head. "Might I have your name before you go?"

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Lady_Ourania

He bowed his brass-spiked head to her when she accepted the nettling things with the subtle enthusiasm of one receiving a bouquet, features smooth and unbothered as they'd been all along. If his beloved possessed a mouth, perhaps she'd smile in much the same way when he came home bearing presents, the movement honest and clean. Contrition slashed the comparison quickly in half, and he shook his head to leave the severed thought to die outside his mind. Her question forced him to rearrange the tangled intricacies in his skill and the object on his tongue, situating the latter taking a few seconds longer as he pondered her politeness, if it was the same as his. "Chimalsi. It was... a pleasure, Miss Laurelin."

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Tsunake

His contrasting movements again netted her attention, the bow clashing with the almost irritated shake of his head. Still, she didn't question it, instead watching his jaws work to shift his treasure about so he could better speak. Chimalsi. "Yes... It was a pleasure." She seemed to muse, as though somehow satisfied with the conclusive statement. Only too late did her eyes widen for a moment, realizing with start that she hadn't simply sat and watched the events play themselves out around her, with she as a mere observer. No, she'd taken an active roll in aiding this strange stallion with his gift, looking almost puzzled with herself as her tail flicked slowly. Perhaps it had been his strangeness that had called her forward, cleverly ensnared by his shimmering beauty so she would act without thinking twice. Strange, so very strange. She wasn't all sure that she liked the thought, either.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Time lapse.

Lady_Ourania

The stars had come out, constellations giving expression to the sky's black face, all of eternity glowering down at him in mutual disdain while the stallion lay curled on the sand amidst bits of broken shell. His sides still ached some from remembered heaving, the breakneck run replaying in his joints as well, trying to get away from the deliberate silence. He hadn't initially understood the accusations, or at least he had pretended innocence, amazed that she could have known of his minor infidelity just from accepting the gift. Perhaps there had still been wisps of the mare that had touched it, attached like a damning signature that he couldn't smear away with reassurances. The fight had been no contest, his guilt leaving too many openings, avenues through which she could attack him with the denial of her feelings. So he was stranded out where he had spent the majority of his day, seeking out the perfect present only to be dismissed for what had happened in regaining it. His nose stayed half-buried in the sand that swept across it, miserable breath stirring the grains while he ignored the itch of tiny parasites worming into his thorn-stabbed snout.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Tsunake

The sand shifted minutely under her hooves with each delicate step, sending tendrils of wariness slithering through her thoughts as the mare roamed the cooling beach. The water was deceptively pleasant as it lapped up the shore in foamy waves, but she remember how it'd stung her nose and tongue. She shook her mane out wearily, feeling as though the gritty soil had someone gotten all in her fur during her short search, drawn to this place as soon as she'd smelled the salt from the gift she'd fished from the brambles not so long ago. A dim glow swirled about her head as she walked, illuminated by the budding fruits sprouting from the vines and horns on her head, and Laurelin paused for a moment as the light bounced off something large and prone up ahead, the harsh angles and gilded plating more than enough to jog her memory. "Chimalsi..." Came the soft note before the mare stepped forward with hesitant concern.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Lady_Ourania

He missed her approach as he had not the first time, too wrapped up in his depressive state to see the green gliding nearer through the darkness, the slight haze magnified on his golden mail until the entire area was alight in a leafy globe. The name was what reminded him that he had a physical body, an identifiable appearance other than anguish, and his eyes twitched toward her without much enthusiasm, the figure she cut the exact shape that had caused a hole to open up in his relationship. A sigh floated out of the kirin, and he returned his stare out toward the distant waves, too tired to rally anger at her unconscious role. His head felt strangely heavy to the thick neck that had supported it all his life, his brain housing his heart until his chest stopped with the self-pitying pangs of loss, everything clogged by the combination that made him incapable of reply. Maybe that was why he didn't blame her, or why he did not immediately speak to send the nature-strewn mare on her way.