[FIN] Conversation Training (Kaleidoscope, Eversong, Jarita)

[She-Ra of Etheria]

After a recent meeting with an interesting mare Kaleidoscope discovered that his social skills could certainly use some work. Too much time had been focused on his training that he had somehow overlooked the simple yet extremely important skill of talking to those around him. Ironforge agreed and so the rainbow stallion had set out to meet more new faces and work on his people skills. It wasn't that Kale was bad at talking with others, but Knights needed to be open to all encounters so getting more experience in meeting with and talking to those who were not in immediate need to his skill would benefit him greatly. Besides, if he didn't speak to anyone how would they know they he was a knight and that if they ever needed help he would be there for them.

Walking across a large meadow Kale kept his eyes open for any with whom he could converse with. And of course for any dangers than my be lurking in the shadows. He had thought to go and visit that quiet, yet intriguing mare again, but talking to the same Soquili over and over again wouldn't exactly get him very far. No, he would visit her another day and tell her of his most recent tales. Lowering his head Kale took a mouthful of sweet green grass and crewed it thoughtfully as he walked along. The meadow was pretty darn empty for this time of day so he was beginning to wonder if he would get the chance to meet anyone before needing to head back to Ironforge for more training.  

[JetAlmeara]

"Are you sure this is the right way to go?" Jarita asked for the third or fourth time as they landed in the meadow, folding her wings back and glancing suspiciously at the ground to make sure she wasn't going to step in any mud during this little rest stop Eversong had suggested. Jarita was fairly certain the the other soq was simply lost and wanted time to rethink his plans - but like all males he refused to admit that he had no idea where they were, nor ask any of the locals for directions. Typical.

She was in the middle of fuming at her purple mate when a splash of color caught her eye and turning towards it Jarita noticed the rainbow stallion not to far off "Look theres a local...why don't you just ask him here to go?" She suggested in a sweet tone, hoping that it would entice her mate to co-operate.


"Of course I'm sure!" Eversong snorted as they landed, craning his neck every which way in an attempt to find a landmark he remembered - he was supposed to have gone right at the pool shaped like a moon...or had it been left? No he was pretty sure it had been right. Maybe they just hadn't flown far enough yet.

He refused to accept that they were lost, they weren't...they were just Locationally challenged. Yes that sounded far better and he was about to tell Jarita that when she turned and started speaking. "We don't know if he lives around here..he might just be pas..." Eversong started but allowed his statement to trail off because Jarita was already off and trotting towards stranger. Muttering under his breath Eversong hurried after her.

 

[She-Ra of Etheria]

The soft flutter of wings followed by voices caught Kaleidoscopes attention and the large rainbow stallion turned to see just who had joined him. His eyes settled upon a pair of Winds not too far away. The mare was darker and had purple and orange highlights along her wings, while the stallion was mostly purple but with hints of blue and wore some type of armor and what looked to be a saddle. Before he could do or say anything the mare began to approach followed shortly by the stallion. Well looks like he would be getting some conversation in quite soon.

Taking a few steps forward he met the pair, stopping and dipping his head in greeting. "Greetings to you both. How do you fare on this fine day?" They seemed friendly so far, though the shred of their conversation he had caught earlier the mare had sounded a bit frustrated with the stallion perhaps. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kaleidoscope. And who might you two be?" They looked to be travelers as far as he could tell, though he was curious to know just where they had come from and how far they had traveled to reach their current location.  

[JetAlmeara]

Jarita smiled at the stranger and then cast a quick look over her shoulder towards Eversong with a 'See, its perfectly fine' look on her face before turning back to the brightly colored stallion she had just approached. "We fare well" She answered the stallion brightly "Except for being lost" she confessed before glancing back over her shoulder again and muttering "Not that that's anything new of course"

"I'm Jarita" She introduced herself "And this is Eversong" she introduced her mate with a slight motion of her muzzle in his direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kaleidoscope, do you live around here?" And my wasn't that a mouthful of a name to say all the time!


We're not lost" Eversong insisted with a sigh "We're just a bit turned around and honestly if you hadn't been in such a rush back at that pond we probably wouldn't be" He told the mare with a bit of a snap in his voice. It seemed that the two of them were irritated with each other. Of course Jarita had already gone ahead and introduced him to the Stallion so Eversong merely nodded to the other politely.

"Sorry to have dragged you into this" He apologized to the stallion "I"m sure we could find our way - she's just impatient was hoping you knew the area" he explained.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

As the mare explained that they were lost, and the subsequent look back at her mate, Kaleidoscope worried that he was perhaps getting in the middle of a lovers quarrel. And yet, this was the perfect opportunity to test out his diplomatic powers. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I live not far from here actually so these lands are are well known to me. So lost or not, I would be more than willing to help you find your destination." He told them with a smile. Yes, he would ensure that they found their way, and perhaps even learn a bit about them and their home range as well. Turning his attention to the stallion for the moment Kale shook his head slightly. "No need to apologize, I am more than happy to help out."

Traveling, he knew, could put a strain on pairs, whether they were mates or not, as at some point one would think they were lost or perhaps moving too slow or too fast, or that the area they came to wasn't where they had hoped they would be. "Now, where were you two planning to travel to so that I might provide you with directions?" Well so far this conversation was going much smoother than the one he had had with that mare a few days past, so perhaps it wasn't the conversation itself but the one he had been speaking with who had made him so nervous. Well now was not the time to dwell on that as he had work to do.  

[JetAlmeara]

"Oh so it's all my fault now?" Jarita questioned Eversong with a slightly raised brow. "It's my fault that your 'rest area' happened to be a murky little pond with algae all over it - forgive me for not wanting to stick around and admire the bugs!" She snapped at the stallion before turning her attention back to Kaleidoscope.

"The pleasure is all our's I'm sure" she said apologetically, really it wasn't very polite to argue like they had been in front of a strange but to be honest there was only so much a mare could take, surely he would understand. "We were supposed to be meeting some friends of ours at a grove of cherry trees in the area..but we've never actually come from this direction before to Eversong has gotten us completely turned around." She explained

"I'm not saying it was your fault...I'm just saying I might have been able to find the way better if you weren't rushing me along like there was a skinwalker after us!" Eversong retorted in exasperation. I mean really was that so much to ask for? just five minutes to get his bearings and make sure they were going the right way before being rushed off again. Obviously it had been.

"I'm pretty sure we took a wrong turn a little ways back" He offered in hope that the information would help the rainbow stallion point them in the right direction. As soon as they were going the right way he knew Jarita would calm down - she just got anxious and cranky when things didn't go exactly to plan.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kale waited patiently as the two threw a few more words at each other. Yes clearly they were under a lot of stress and needed to step back and take a breath before continuing on. Of course he also knew he was treading on dangerous grounds as siding with one would get the other mad at him for no reason what so ever. "Don't worry," he told them with a bob of his head. "It's easy enough to get turned around that I don't think either of you are at fault here." Kale could only hope they would agree with him on that.

"A grove of cherry trees huh?" Kale thought about the layout of the land around them, and after a moment remember that yes there was a grove of cherry trees around her. "Ah, I know the grove you speak of." Lifting his head to glance at the position of the sun, thus gaining his bearing Kale then turned his head towards the south west. "That is the direction you need to travel in." The couple might have eventually found it on their own, especially with the ability to fly over obstacles but by then they might be literally at each others thoughts. Returning his gave to the pair he continued. "It's several miles away, but should be not too hard to reach if you fly. There is also a mountain fed stream that runs along the other side of it so that you may drink once you arrive." That information should keep the mare happy as clearly she wouldn't accept just any watering hole.  

[JetAlmeara]

Jarita looked as thought he might think differently about that - it was entirely Everong's fault as far as she was concerned - but her mother had taught her some manners and she certainly wasn't going to argue with a stranger who was only trying to help them out. Especially when he did seem to know the area they were looking for.

Glancing towards the southwest Jarita squintd slightly as though that would help her see it in the distance though the grove was still far to away to see anything. "See, we ought to have stopped and asked for directions ages ago, we could have saved a lot of time" She remarked. She was particularly pleased to hear about the mountain fed spring and hoped it was relatively clean, though such springs tended to be so

"Of course dear" Eversong replied as Jarita told them they should have stopped to ask someone earlier - personally he had never liked bothering people about such thing but he knew better then to contradict Jarita at the moment - she was hot, tired and irritable and the faster he got her to some nice clean water an the cherry grove the better off this little vacation with friends would be.

"That dosen't sound to bad" He agreed, glancing in the direction Kaleidoscope had indicated, several miles could be easily traversed by air and they would hopefully arrive before nightfall. It even sounded liked the place would be to Jarita's liking but perhaps he could get some more information about it from the stallion. "Have you been there before? we were told it was a nice place this time of year"  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Things between the pair seemed to be settling down a bit and Kaleidoscope was thankful for that. Really this was the first time he had come across such an argumentative couple and all his training couldn't fully help him through this. But it seemed like they were willing to put their differences aside for now so they could continue on. Now on to answer Eversong's question.

"I have been to the grove several times, though I have not had the luxury to stay there for long periods of time. However it is quite the beautiful place to visit. The cherries should be mostly grown by now, though you may find a few that are quite sour still as they have no fully matured." Sour cherries, while not that appealing, were occasionally considered a rare treat to some Soquili. "You will also find plenty of shade to rest in, and a small meadow sits just to the east of the grove that has plenty of grass to eat. As well there are plenty of wild flowers in bloom there now."  

[JetAlmeara]

Jarita's ear pricked at the information "Cherries you say? I love Cherries!" the mare beamed in delight at her mate - suddenly it seemed she had completely forgiven whatever it was that had irritated her earlier. He was taking her to a place with cherries - how could she not forgive him? Sudden;y in a hurry to get there she bobbed her head towards Kale in thanks. "Thank you ever so much for the direction's" She told him sincerely before looking at Eversong with a hurry up expression on her face. Jarita wanted to get there before a bunch of other Soquili ate all the matured cherries.

Eversong looked incredibly relieved to have gotten out of the doghouse with Jarita and threw a look of gratitude towards Kale before giving the mare a warm look "I know you do" He told her in a pleased voice "Thats why I wanted to take you there." Turning to Kale he too offered the stallion a nod of appreciation

"Yes, thank you for the directions - they are much appreciated" He told the rainbow colored stallion "It was a pleasure to meet you but now I think we must be off" He went on further having caught the look from Jarita "Good travels you!" He bi the stallion before turning and trotting a few paces with Jarita before they took to the air and circled around to follow Kales directions.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kale couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as the mare suddenly seemed to forget her angry towards her mate in favor of talking about how much she loved cherries. He was glad to have helped them both find their way but was ever more so that he managed to get Eversong out of trouble. "You're more than welcome." He told them as the mare suddenly took off towards the direction of the grove. Dipping his head to the stallion he agreed. "It was good meeting you both as well, if you are ever in the area again don't hesitate to find me." Perhaps he could help them again in the future.

"Safe travels!" He called out to the pair as they flew away. Giving his head a bit of a shake Kale watched them until they grew small in the distance and then headed off again, ready to see what else he could do for the day or who he might run into.