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A Suti and his bat flew high in the skies above the tree line.
Luthias was tired and a bit hungry, he had been flying around all day. He had searched tirelessly for new treasures and even had Rook with him to help search.

"Maybe it was time for us to turn in tonight?" Rook suggested

They hadn't found anything all day, and Luthias looked rather drowsy. "Okay, but lets just make one more pass."

The two spread out a little and few lower. Luthi's clawed feet barely graced the tops of the fall trees. Rook kept a close eye on Luthias, he had lived with him long enough to understand all his quirks. Luthias was dangerous, he had a predatory switch that would flick on in a moments notice. He had once seen him go after a lightning bug with such a relentless force, he thought Luthi would have gone through anything to devour it. But it only seemed to be shiny or glowing things that would set him off. This gave Rook a small sense of security, at least Luthias was a bit more predictable.

Luthi's demeanor changed, and Rook could see he was fixated on something. His pupils dilated and when he saw an opening Luthias quickly dove through the treeline. He opened his wings and pressed them forward to catch air and slow his decent, and he landed quite gracefully on the forest floor. colorful leaves fell around him and swirled around in the mixed air.

Rook beat his wings rapidly to catch up with Luthias. He didnt have the weight or power to dive through the air like he did. It make Rook nervous whenever Luthi moved like that, and he always worried they might run right into danger.

Luthias had not take his eyes off his desired target, and he approached it calmly. He lowered his head and brushed away a leaf to examine a small blue pearl. He appreciated its soft iridescence and then delightfully picked it up with his mouth. He held the gem with his tongue and rolled it on the roof of his mouth.

Now that his urge had been satisfied he looked around for Rook. He looked up right as the bat flapped into view above him. Rook looked relived and landed on Luthi's back.

"So did you find something?" the bat asked.

Luthias dropped the pearl in response.

Rook gave it a peculiar look, "Whats that doing out here?" He dropped to the ground to take a closer look.
"Hey look there are more!" and he pointed with one of his wings tiny thumb.

Luthias continued to collect and find the pearls. He picked them up and set them in the dip between his wings where Rook kept them in place. The trail of pearls led them to a burbling brook. His stomach gurgled at the sight of the water. He figured there must be a fish or two in that stream for him to eat.

He made his way into the water. He moved slowly and cautiously as to not disturb the sand to much. He hated when it was to murky to see anything or fish. This wasn't his favorite time of day to make a catch but he wasn't going to complain.

Rook looked agitated on Luthi's back. Unlike him, Rook hated the water. Sometimes he wondered if Luthias was half fish.

Luthias made note of Rook, who was clinging to his back, and continued to scan the water for signs of life. He lowered his head close to the water and dipped his whiskers below the surface. Rook meandered his way down Luthi's back and down his tail a bit. He held onto Luthi's fins at the base of his tail and reached down to take a drink from the water.
Luthias lifted his head to watch Rook, he waited until Rook had just finished drinking, then lowered his tail to dunk him in the water.

Rook squeaked and scrambled up Luthias. Luthi laughed loudly and whole heatedly. Rook was shivering and glared at Luthias before he turned and bit him.

"Oh, ow! Hahahah, I guess I deserved that, but totally worth it." He continued to laugh, "You should have seen the look on your face!"

Rook clambered up Luthi's back and sat on is head. "Well all of your laughing has surely scared all the fish away."

Luthi's stomach growled again. Curses, now he would have to wait... He grumbled as he walked up the river bank. Rook shook, spraying water allover. Luthias sighed softly, then he heard a snap, or crunch of a leaf. His ears swiveled and both of them looked in the direction of the sounds. They realized they weren't alone out here.

Ves'tacha had made her way through the woods, finding pine cones and edible mushrooms. A few late season berries were farther past ripe than she normally liked, but they were sweet and rounded out her meal nicely.

While she was munching on a pinecone, Rani stilled, the small seeds she had found left for the moment.

"What is it?" Ves'tacha hadn't heard anything, but Rani was more sensitive to sound than the mare. Looking around, she saw the shadow of owl wings and relaxed. "Ah, don't worry, it won't stoop on you while I'm here."

Shaking her head, mostly relaxed with her large protector, but still trembling slightly, Rani looks around for herself. "No . . . I heard something. It . . . sounded like laughing. Back towards the stream."

Ves'tacha cocked her head, ears swiveling to listen. After a moment she shakes her head. "I don't hear anything, dear-heart. But perhaps we should go back and get settled for the night. That copse of trees looked fairly safe. Though laughing isn't the most frightening of sounds, perhaps it is some merry traveling singer or some such and we can have pleasant company for the evening."

Rani gathered the last of her seeds and quickly scurried back to her nest in the mare's mane. "Perhaps," the mouse allowed as it thoroughly hid itself.

When she wanted to, Ves'tacha could move with a ghosting silence. But she was tired. And the idea of laughter didn't set her on wary edge. So while she had a bit more energy for having gotten water and food in her, she still allowed herself to plod.

The broken twig underhoof was barely noticed but the silence that followed it was. Ves'tacha stilled. There was in the air the feel of presence. For all her talk of a traveling musician, Ves'tacha hadn't expected anyone to be around. But, she never minded an evening's company.

"Hello?" Her voice called out with bell-like sweetness as she moved silently forward towards the stream. "Is someone there?"

Ves'tacha blinked as she heard a voice and turned towards the sound. A small smile barely touches her face as she sees . . . She had never seen a stallion quite like that before. And for just a moment she thought to tense and run, but his voice was friendly. And Ves'tacha well knew how wrong first impressions could be.

Dipping her head in a slight bow, "Sastimos. It is good to meet Rook and kon?" Her smile doesn't grow, but seems warm. Rani, ever the cautious mouse, stays hidden.

"I did not expect to meet others this day. I have oft found shelter here in my journeys and did not know others had found the same sanctuary. If you mean no harm, you are welcome to my camp." Ves'tacha was so much more open and trusting than she used to be, so much more willing to accept others. But, when one had children as strange as her two lovely offspring, and a friend who once was more as different as their father, one learned not to judge before knowing.

Ves'tacha notices the bat and gives a very slight nod in its direction. "I hope it was not a great misfortune. He appears well. Did you manage to catch your dinner? I do not mean to interrupt. Please, I would not restrain you from your repast."

Her smile is a bit more friendly. It was somewhat obvious that the other was nervous. Ves'tacha wasn't sure why. She was fairly certain she didn't look dangerous. Perhaps if she relaxed, he would as well.

"It has been a long day of travel for me. And had I ought to offer, I would share hosting. But I have not fish nor fowl, nor even fruit or nut. I request your indulgent pardon, as I rest my weary hooves." And with a soft grace but no further hesitation, Ves'tacha folds her legs under her. He hadn't attacked yet and she hoped she could trust that. If not, she had made a potentially lethal mistake. But one couldn't offer friendship without also offering trust.

Ves'tacha startles a bit at hearing the name. For half a second her heart races before her brain catches up with her ears. The bat had said Luthias, not Lucian. Odd, the similarity. The movement of Rani burrowing deeper into hiding at the closeness of the bat recalled the mare to herself.

A slight nod to the bat as Ves'tacha finishes clearing the cobwebs from her thoughts. "There is naught to forgive, no offense has been taken. I do hope he is able to satiate his hunger upon easily caught fish."

She regards the bat for a moment, "And you are Rook? It is good to make your acquaintance, brave Rook. Have you had sustenance? Not that I have to offer, I only hope that you do not suffer on my behalf."

Ves'tacha looks to see how the fishing is going. The last of the day's light reflecting on the water as the stallion stands still in its shallow depths recalls another evening to her mind. And another stallion.

They had parted friends, but she had found more than friendship in his company for a time. That this meeting seemed so similar . . . perhaps it was an omen. Ves'tacha had no dook of her own, but she had long studied the ways of the Chivani. And it was more than the magic which made them wise. Reading of omens and portents was an important skill. But reading them for oneself was always fraught with danger.

A slight shake of her head to push the idea aside. Omens or no, this was a new meeting, not a reoccurrence of the past. Though . . . as her thoughts had drifted in that vein, Ves'tacha couldn't help but admire the way Luthias' muscles played under his skin. The clawed feet were different, but elegant.

Ves'tacha blinked and looked at the bush beside her. That was not a direction her thoughts needed to be taking. To distract herself, she called out, "Any luck?"

Ves'tacha smiles as she looks over at the strange stallion. "No, I can't digest flesh, even fish. But I have experience with those who need it. Teaching my children to hunt . . . well, I am grateful their father was there for that."

Shaking her head slightly, "If you worry that your eating habits will offend me . . . I would put your mind at ease in that regard. Please, take care of your needs, I will wait."

Ves'tacha felt Rani moving around in her mane and sighed. Turning to Rook, "I beg your indulgence, fair Rook. My friend is overly trepidatious for fear that she might be eaten. If you could assure her that you are not interested in a mouse snack, perhaps she would come out and join in our conversation."

Rani squeaked at that, "Shhh, I'm hiding!' Her voice was soft, but still, whispers carry on still night air.

A sweet, bell tone of laughter bubbled up out of Ves'tacha, "Yes, dear-heart. But we have new friends to get to know. Do please come out."

Trembling mightily, and setting Ves'tacha's mane to writing with her shaking, Rani peeked just the tip of her nose and dilated eyes out of the concealing cover of the mass of hair on the mare's neck. She blinks once at the bat before, with a squeak, she pulls back into hidden safety.

With the movements of the mouse, a few more loose beads tumble to the ground and bounce away. One rolling under a bush, the other over near the bat.