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The war might be over, but the battle was continuing to rage on a much smaller scale. It had been weeks now since the massive Kalona herd had disbanded, with the majority of the herd apparently slipping back over the borders of the Kawani lands and back to whereever it was that they had originally come from. But just because the herd was gone didn't mean the danger had passed; far too many of the Kalona herd's members had decided to stay in the region for the comfort of many.

Trevelyn had never thoughts he'd join forces with anyone again, but the common call to arms to repel the Kalona herd had been one he could not in good conscience ignore. He had fought on the side of the Kawani Soquili, participating in a couple of the larger battles and a few small skirmishes. Fortuantely for him, he was a unicorn; he'd been able to carry on much more efficiently than many of his fellow fighters. And oddly enough, he had taken satisfaction from being part of a bigger thing, even if it was just temporary.

When the Kalona herd had disbanded, Trev had thrown in his lot with some other Soquili who called the region home in order to flush out any Kalona who had chosen to 'linger.' It was stressful work at best, and dangerous work at worse; although they tried to work in pairs, there was simply too much territory to cover for that to be a practical method. As the Kalona sightings became fewer and farther between, they had relaxed their rules. These days, Trev tended to sweep on his own, checking in with his comrades to compare notes but otherwise keeping to himself. At this rate, it wouldn't be too long before he was back to his own devices, back in to the woods, alone. The way he really ought to be.

Today was like any other day; he'd been working a wide sweep towards the edge of the forest without seeing anything more dangerous than a squirrel. He could already see the daylight streaming through the edge of the trees; once he reached the border he'd be done. Maybe Robere would need some help finishing his section...

Before he had a chance to finish the thought, a great clattering of footsteps broke into Trev's awareness. Too light to be a Kalona, but definitely moving with franticness that deserved a closer look. Dropping into a lower, more stealthy stance, he quickened his pace in the direction of the hoofbeats. It sounded like they were coming this way...

Glancing out through the safety of the treeline, Trev took in the scene at a glance. A small brown mare, flutter...no, fluttercorn, he amended, coming this way at a full run. And at this distance, it wasn't hard to see why. At the sight of the hulking Kalona stallion bearing down on the small mare, closing the distance with every step, he didn't even have to think. His lip curling into an involuntary snarl, he launched himself out of the trees, running past the mare and straight into the Kalona's path.

Well, he'd succeeded in getting the Kalona's attention diverted. He certainly hoped the mare had managed to get to a safe location, because he wouldn't put it past any Kalona to have an accomplice. Though the stallions seemed to be more brash than the mares, so there was a good chance this one was operating on his own. Trev could only hope that that was the case, because he was uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was out in the open. He had always preferred to fight under cover of the trees. In the woods, wings were more a hindrance than a help; they caught on things, as did horns. In the woods, he would cheerfully take on any Kalona single-handedly.

Out here in the open was a different story. He'd still take on a Kalona, of course, but he'd be a lot less cheerful about it. Here, strategy and awareness were everything, and he sized up the Kalona as quickly as possible as he met the stallion's glare. His own voice steady and level, he said to the Kalona, "I believe you've lost your way."

Lovely. Out of all of the Kalona out there, he would have to encounter one who felt the need to be dramatic. Though if he were being honest, it seemed that many of the Kalona who had once been part of the great herd were what he would consider dramatic. Trev had wondered in the past if it was the result of being the undisputed masters of whatever domain they considered their own. A little humilty would sure go a long way in the Kalona race, it seemed.

Raising a brow at the Kalona, Trevelyn smiled mildly, revealing a sharply pointed fang. "I'll pay? Well, I've always hated the idea of being in debt." With no more warning, he launched himself in, small curved horn going straight for the connecting tissue on the Kalona's wing.

~~~~

It didn't take too long, fortunately. Trev could count his lucky stars that the Kalona had apparently been too full of himself to think that a unicorn would make the first move, and by the time he realized that Trevelyn was no peaceful healer it was too late. Trev had taken a few knocks himself; a new gash across his neck and flank was oozing fresh blood and he had a cut on his leg that would hurt later. Nothing he couldn't deal with, except for the whole 'tricky angle' thing. He'd practically have to bend his neck into a circle to be able to reach the top of the neck wound, in particular.

He nudged the Kalona's remains dispassionately with one foot, wishing he didn't have to leave it out in the open to smell and attract scavengers. But it was too big for him to move alone. Oh well; perhaps his spirit would overlook the 'insolence.'

In spite of himself, Trev smiled once more. There was a certain satisfaction that came from a job well done, if he did say so himself; the world was much better off without this creature, and that mare certainly was.

The mare...

Now that the battle was over, Trevelyn was reminded of what had started it; the small, terrified-looking mare, running for her life. There had been no time for him to see if she was injured or make any other judgements; for all he knew, she could be badly injured. He ought to see if she was alright, if only to tell her that the Kalona was something she didn't need to worry about.

Assuming she was still in the area, he amended, but that should be easy to determine. This was his woods, after all, and he knew them like the back of his hoof. Leaving the Kalona where he was, he trotted back into the trees. He could wait to heal himself until he had made sure the mare was ok; if she needed healing, he'd better save his energy.

In spite of the mare's smallness, it wasn't too hard for Trev to pick up her trail. She'd been running hard and heavy, rested for a little bit and taken off again. No serious blood loss that he could see, which was encouraging, but from the haphazard way her trail was meandering about she didn't seem to be comfortable with the woods. Or perhaps that was just the inevitable result of having so recently being pursued by a monster.

Either way, he stayed with her trail, moving silently along through the undergrowth until he was close enough to observe the mare. She was small, dainty of wing and build, looked completely out of her element and frazzled to within an inch of her life.

Probably best not to startle her, he decided, and coughed while standing a discrete distance away. "Excuse me, Miss, but are you alright? I don't mean to be personal, but I couldn't tell earlier if you'd been hurt by that Kalona. I'm a unicorn," He added, inclining his head so she could see the little horn. He'd noticed that other Soquili tended to be more comfortable around unicorns, which was a bit ironic to his way of thinking. Yes, they could heal, but they could also cause a doozy of a wound!

This wasn't Trevelyn's first time meeting a flutter, so he wasn't nearly as surprised by her sudden size change as he might otherwise have been. Still, it was ironic that given how much had wanted to avoid startling her, she had proved to startle him! Those flutters and flutter mixes certainly could make themselves small, couldn't they?

He managed to keep a composed expression on his face, as though having conversations with tiny Soquili the size of his hoof was normal. Fortunately, she had given him a suitable 'out' with her question; obviously she'd seen even less of him than he'd seen of her! Though he didn't know if he'd go so far as to call himself a 'blur.' Smiling in what he hoped was a mild and non-threatening manner, given that he was a large(er than her), unknown stallion and she'd just been through what could charitably be called an unpleasant experience, he nodded in the affirmative. "Yes, I intervened with the Kalona. You don't have to worry about him bothering you ever again."

Hopefully that was delicate enough; while he had no qualms about doing what was necessary, he definitely preferred not to speak of it afterwards! "I hope this means you weren't hurt at all before I was able to help out?"

When the mare 'grew' up into her larger size, Trevelyn took an automatic step back, preserving the distance between the two of them. It was an almost reflexive behavior for Trev; aside of fighting, he prefered to keep his distance from other Soquili. It was just safer that way, in terms of both physical safety and mental safety.

Though obviously the mare wasn't bothered by blood.

At her concerned comment, he glanced down at his own wounds with the mild interest of one who had been told they ought to find something interesting, rather than the full interest of one who found it interesting on their own. Comparatively his wounds were nothing; though now that she'd confirmed she was uninjured, he supposed he soon ought to take some time to heal himself. Her offer to help was kind, if uneffective; the inefficiency surprised him no small amount, as her horn was almost the 'perfect' uni horn; long and straight and sharply pointed.

"Please don't apologize, Miss; I was happy to have helped, and it's nothing I wasn't on guard for already. These wounds are just collateral damage; believe me, I've had worse. And I appreciate your sentiments, but seeing as how I'm not a fruit, I'm sure you'll excuse me taking care of them myself." Gesturing to his horn with one foreleg, he added, "It might not look like much, but this little thing has always been able to get me by." To demonstrate, he touched the horn to the wound on his elevated leg, which promptly and smoothly began to close over.

Well, now he was officially surprised. When she had said that she'd said she was unable to perform any healing with her horn, he'd originally assumed she just meant her horn's personal magic was weak. But apparently that was incorrect; based on her admiring look as he had healed over what was basically a minor injury, to say nothing of her flat-out question, it sounded almost like she had no idea how to make her horn heal. Curious, very curious.

As he finished the heal, he lifted his head and gave the mare, no, Whinny, a look that clearly displayed that curiosity. He appreciated that she was maintaining the space between them, and particularly appreciated that she didn't seem to be finding the distance rude or uncomfortable. He'd met Soquili like that before, who loved closeness and proximity and had made him exceedingly uncomfortable. Yet another reason he didn't do much socializing; too many different definitions of personal space!

"You're fine, Whinny." He paused, wondering how to make his explanations without sounding patronizing. He wanted to ask, for the sake of his curiosity, why her parents hadn't told her this information, but that seemed awfully personal for a mare he'd only just met and probably wouldn't meet again. Instead, he decided to go with just the basics. "You just...channel your energy through the horn, really. Touch the horn to the wound you want to heal and concentrate on your desire to heal. Bigger wounds can take a lot out of you, but that one was nothing." After another pause, he added, "I'm Trev, by the way." Less of a mouthful than his full name, that!