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Ferra: *having left the peaceful meadow that had held her presence daily, the mare slowly traveled through the heterogenous forest. Tail swishing casually behind her, a careless air about her, she softly nosed passing by branches and other shrubs that caught her eye or stood in her path. The pungent aroma's of the woods very much brough alive her senses, only encouraging her to take her time in her mission to the mountains to explore every nook and cranny, every bend and turn of the unknown.*

Brackenhide: *The forest was a calm place, a place where he could think and wonder when he wasn't out chasing after mares. Granted, he most often found other soquili here in the forest too, since it was where he most often frequented, but that was entirely beside the point. He, as a kirin, loved the nature and the balance of life that the forest held and respected it almost as much as he tried to respect females of any species. They were, afterall, the important half of any species for their ability to bear children and continue the cycle of life. There was soft rustling on his right, so Brackenhide stopped and perked up his ears, trying to identify the source before he caught sight of it.*

Ferra: *her bright eyes followed a little family of quail who skittered quickly along the forest floor, diving under some bushes. A light grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, quite amused by their timid behavior. Pressing on, continuing her lax lolligag pace, she twirked her own ears at catching anothers scent... but did not react to it... for her eyes had caught interest in something else instead. A few mums had managed to find refuge in the less shaded sanctuary. Lowering her neck slowly, the mare very tenderly nosed the flowers, nostriles flaring to inhale the perfume of them. What a treat to find.. And how delicious they would be. Very carefully, she opened her mouth to pluck a few from the bushel to chew.*

Brackenhide: *Having stopped to listen better, he'd been able to pinpoint where the sounds were coming from but he hesitated a moment before making his way closer. He didn't try to stay completely silent, but he also felt no need to go barreling in like some ungainly brute. Calmly, he strode closer, lowering his head a bit to make himself less intimidating as he drew closer to what he could now see was a lovely young mare snuffling at flowers. Quietly but with confidence, he spoke from a few respectful strides away, "They envy your beauty."

Ferra: *taking her time to enjoy the succulent flowers, eyes easing closed to fully taste the sweet necter, her ears were the only thing that reacted to the voice; swiveling forward to catch the sound waves. Eventually she allowed her eyes to follow once her strong neck had risen to its proud upright state. Lethargically opening her eyes, letting them slide over to the male, she continued in her little feast until it had been fully chewed. Once she'd completed, eyes unblinking or moving from the kirin, she finally spoke* ..is that so.. *it sounded in a statement rather than a question, as she moved forward to lightly paw at the littered leaves that had fallen along the grounds, covering the precious little beauties.*

Brackenhide: *He was a patient stallion, and in no rush to ever make it anywhere, so he waited calmly for her to react. He didn't get much of a response, so he tried again. Another half step forward before he stopped once more.* Certainly. *It was a fact, not a reassurance as far as he was concerned,* A fair maiden of golden hair is envied by much of this world... not just the flowers. *He nodded, just once to confirm his own statement.* Though many a mare wouldn't say it aloud, they envy another's beauty even if they have it themselves.

Ferra: *an amused smirk appeared on her face, yet her eyes remained soft as she found more perky mums shyly hidden. Lowering her neck again, she simply nuzzled them, closing her eyes once more to take in their scent that she would miss ever so. Though the males words fell upon mostly deaf ears, she still replied.. yet at her own pace.* seems you know a lot about mares... *she mused, turquoise eyes peeling open as she moved forward to explore the rest of this relm. Her glowers lifted to gaze upon the towering ents, ears laying back as she allowed a branch to stroke along the bridge of her nose, and down her neck*

Brackenhide: *As she took her time to respond, barely listening to anything he said, the stallion took the same time to look her over, noting all of her spots and markings as well as her neatly braided golden mane. She was a looker, no doubt, but why was she being reluctant to accept his compliments? Most mares really didn't have that hard of a time doing so... well, other than the ones that got all defensive and negative about it.... But they always came around.* I will never know it all, but I have made it a point to try and understand how mares work. They are so different from us stallions, so much more... complicated. And I love a challenge. *A somewhat cocky grin, that he quickly tried to tone down to something more respectful*

Ferra: *her ears twitched as a few leaves fluttered from the fur there. Catching to a few scrambling and zipping about the winter plagued scene. Watching them with a grin, she had to withhold a chuckle as Brackenhide only added on to the entertainment... as if it were a play by play of the words the stallion spoke. Her pace slow and lax, equalizing to her personality, she waited quite a long while to answer to his statement, letting them settle and sink in.* really now.. *nonchalantly steps over a few delicate fungi in her path, never letting her eyes drift to him.* Interesting... *that was all she replied with, and all she would allow for him. His theory was of course skewed in her mind, but who was she to judge?*

Brackenhide: *He had never met a mare before that was quite like this one. She was so calm, so willing to take all of the time in the world to do the simplest little task or even just to react. That was even greater than patience, that was a slow and simple lifestyle. Nothing would ever be running, he felt, if she didn't let it. It was an interesting thing to think about, something that had never really crossed the stallion's mind. Well, he'd always consider 'taking things slow'... but not like this. Sure, he would consider every possibility before making a decision, and he would think twice before making a commitment to something (with the rarest of things ever getting him to do so. Commitment was something that Brackenhide did not understand, but that was a whole other story that could drag on forever). Lifting a leg, he inquired, "Don't you agree that females and males differ in many more ways than just physically? I think I'll spend my entire life trying to understand... and still not understand!" He said this all playfully, without much weight to it. This was a quest that he would have no qualms with taking years to even try complete.

Ferra: "No.." Tipping her head up to touch a smooth acorn that had forgotten to drop, and was quite plump now from the supplied nutrition of the mighty tree from which it was birthed. Swishing her tail as she paused to gaze at it, the mare continued, "We all want the same thing... we just go about getting it in different ways.." she pauses again to take a few more paced forward as another scent had caught her attention, "at different times..." stepping over a long, the females eyes scan along the shrubs that sat around them, searching..."with different lessons... traits.. and the different ways our minds execute whats before us... or what we cannot touch.." peering down into a particular bush, that seemed to look just as any other about, a minute little smile slowly curved at her lips. The family of quail had finally found refuge and safety amongst this specific bush. Babies huddled against and under their mother for protection, warmth, and comfort. It was quite a pleasing sight to the mellow mare, but she continued on after a few seconds; making sure to tread with great silence and care so as not to disturb them.

Brackenhide: *He watched the mare wander about slowly, quietly, obviously searching for something. What, he couldn't place as he was a few paces away from her and looking from a completely different angle, but he did remember her giving a very similar look to a certain family of quails a little earlier. Her pacing was not quite his style, he liked to live life a little faster than she seemed to, but it was most intriguing. Here he was, having an actual conversation about real things with another soquili. It was a strange feeling, to hold a meaningful conversation with a female. It seemed like that was not something that would ever be possible for Brackenhide to do. But he now began to realize that perhaps it was his recent choices in mares... Silently, he could only nod along to what the mare said, having finally found himself speechless.*

Ferra: Glancing over her shoulder as the male seemed to have lost his ability to speak, finally, a pleased grin tugged at her lips. Flicking her tail, she twirked her ears forward, eyes lifting to the canopy above them. A distant sound was sounding out that had drawn her to the heavens. Listening intently, she watched as a flock of geese hovered over the tree tops, honking and squaking. Their legs had extended to prepare for a landing, meaning there was a source of water nearby. Tail twitching in a sort of playful manner, she seemed to brighten by a small degree that most probably would overlook or not even notice if they did see it. Following after their destined course, she started to pick up her pace from a mild trot into a swift canter to weave about the grounded trees, and bound over the land locked inhabitants of the area. The air felt different here... it was much more strained, having tp push around all the obstacles in it's way, but more fierce. It whipped along her face in a streamline formation, making her eyes squint to prevent them from drying. Whinnying in a joyful means, the mare shook her mane and cast her head to the sky again to see just how close she was to staying at speed with the landing flock. Happily, she found she was just under them.

Brackenhide: *So caught up in his thoughts that he barely had the attention span to look up when he felt eyes on him. He caught the mare looking at him, a grin of some sort or another on her features, and yet he was still speechless. Dropping his gaze, he asked himself. 'What was he supposed to say to that?' She had last spoken a good few minutes ago, and he'd just stood here, dumbfounded and confused. Lost in his milling thoughts, the kirin flicked his tail back and forth a few times and when he looked back up, it was to the sound of her trotting and quickly picking up the pace to a canter. Before long she was almost out of his sight, obscured by the many trees of the forest. Finally finding his voice, Brackenhide called out,* But I don't even know your name! *With his neck craning trying to catch just one last glance of the mare, or perhaps a name, but by that point she was probably out of earshot and hadn't even heard his call. She had just left so suddenly, without a word, and she had left him with such a heavy set of questions to mull and try to answer. The usually perky casanova found his ears drooping, and tail hanging limply. He had never been left in such a situation, especially not by a mare! Strange things, indeed.*

Ferra: Caught up in the moment, her slight competitive spirit kindering in the race that had been ignited, the mare had barely picked up on the echo of a male's voice. But it had made it's way to her. Glancing over her shoulder, in a rather surprisingly way, she called back to him in her normal calm tone of voice, "Ferra~". After all, the woods was still and quiet. Every sound could easily be heard, and voices bounced from the surrounding bodys. But as typical conversations that males such as him had presented her with, she grew tired and rather bored of them. Staying still for too long did tend to make her a bit anxious; her natural rogue tendencies surfacing in such situations. Though she'd humor him with a name, doubting she'd ever meet him again. Or that he'd remember for that matter. By the small conversation they did hold, it seemed his mind might only have enough room for a few specific females of choice. Mostly those who would give him the time of day.

Brackenhide: *He strained his eyesight, willing to memorize this mare, to remember what she told him and to remember her for it. Ultimately, he thought that there was always a bright side to every situation, so he figured that eventually he would see the bright side, the lesson, the good part of this encounter... but at that very moment he just felt lost and alone. A first for this casanova. Well... since his mother left him, in any case. As he plopped to the ground, rather ungracefully at that, he could hear a single word far off in the distance. 'Ferra...' Easily could have been a trick of the woods or of his ears, but it would be the name that he would remember for this mare, or at the very least for this encounter. And it was not one he would soon forget. It would be several days before he would forget about the negative of this experience and return to his regular lifestyle, of swooning mares and fawning over their beauty. But in all hopes, perhaps he would at least learn that there were those mares that could handle and even stump this mare-crazed stallion, perhaps not. Only time would tell.*