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Snap. Snap. Snap.

Serotia ambled through the grass, a pleased smile on her face. It had taken a while, but she’d finally gotten her sparks to reach maximum snappage, their shock value enough to make any creature jump if taken unawares. They didn’t hurt, but rather like being shocked with static electricity the sensation could be dramatic. Serotia had long since given up the idea of finding another imp to play sparks with, but the absence had given her plenty of time to practice her own sparking. And she was pleased with the results!

She hadn’t had very high hopes for today, which is why she was sparking along as she walked. If she thought she might run into someone, she tried to be a bit more careful; while there was always a lot to laugh about when she zapped someone, it was hardly a courteous way to say ‘hello.’ However, since today was so muggy and disgusting, she wasn’t expected to run into anyone and didn’t think she had to worry about stumbling onto anyone unaware. After all, anyone with sense would be lying down, or swimming, or lounging in the shade. Really, SHE ought to be lounging in the shade herself…

Sero sighed, sending out a few more sparks and watching them crackle in the air. What she would give for a pool of water to drink…

Swimming would be fun too, if it weren’t for that pesky fact about electricity and water. Darn super conductivity!

Serotia hasn’t really had any plans for the day, other than amble along until she got too bored or overheated. She had hoped something interesting would come along, but she hadn’t been holding her breath; life in these parts was hardly interesting these days. But when the timid, slightly querulous voice broke into her thoughts and accused her of intentionally hiding, it was like Christmas morning.

At first, she’d been surprised. She wasn’t hiding, just walking along in the tall grass and making no effort to hide herself. But it didn’t take much thought to realize that for a mare as short as Serotia, the tall grass was a brilliant hiding place. And with that realization, a mischievous grin crossed her lips. Dropping low to the ground, Sero wiggled a bit to the side through the grass, exaggerating the movement so that the noise was even louder before calling out, “Oro?”

It might be a stereotype, but imps tended to love mischief and tomfoolery. Serotia was no exception; when presented with the chance to tease and bait, she just couldn't help herself. Grinning, she wiggled her way along in the grass, drawing herself rapidly with her bent legs. One advantage of having naturally short legs, it was pretty easy to make them even shorter!

From the sound of it, the nervous speaker was feeling even more nervous now; it was hard to tell from down in the grass, but it sounded like they'd stopped walking. Fair enough, that just meant Serotia had a new direction to explore! So she changed direction, crawling rapidly around behind and around. Facing towards the speaker, it didn't take long for Serotia to see better who it was; a tall, pale, anxious looking mare.

Once safely behind, Serotia let out another chirp: "Meep"

Wow, talk about a successful tease. Serotia's imp impluses were in full overdrive; never before had she encountered a target who was so incredibly easy to bait! A little rustling, a little moving around, a few random noises and the mare was practically reduced to a quivering mass! Sure, some Soquili might think that was on the mean side, but Serotia herself saw it as nothing but good clean fun. After all, she hadn't touched the mare, she hadn't caused the mare to come to harm; all she was doing was messing with her a bit.

Though at the mare's 'torture' comment, Serotia did feel a minor pricking of conscience. Was that a word that someone would throw around casually? Maybe it was time to call it quits, maybe even apologize to the mare...

Well, in a bit. Because as she wiggled closer to the grey mare, she saw something she couldn't pass up: wrapped around the mare's tail was a dangling green ribbon. What, she wondered, would happen if she were to gently tug on it? Grinning, she wiggled her way forward, rapidly closing the distance between herself and the mare; as she got closer, she reached out towards the ribbon...

The mare had gone silent, but Serotia didn't need to hear anxious noises to know that her mischief was doing what it ought. It wasn't exactly easy to see through the tall grass, but she could see enough to know that the mare was still agitated. The tight stance, the pulled-in tail; it all spoke to the mare not knowing what was going on, or at least not being comfortable with it. Once again, Serotia's mouth curved up in a little grin; this was so much fun!

When she felt the mare's tail swing out and touch her, she first thought that her cover was blown. Now that she had been felt, surely the mare would be able to tell that she was slight and small; no threat by any stretch of the imagination! She was about to stand up and declare herself when the mare's jump and even tighter recoil made her pause. No way, she was still hidden?

Grinning once more, Serotia snake-crawled on her stomach right up so that she could almost reach out and LICK the mare's leg. From there, she suddenly said in a very normal voice, "Everything ok there, then?"

Note to self for future snearkery, Serotia thought with no small amount of discomfort, do not sneak up BEHIND anyone you are purposely trying to make twitchy, because you might get jumped on. Not that she could blame the mare; Serotia herself had been doing her best to bait her and make her uncomfortable! Still, having a full-sized Soquili jump up and land on you was a little, well...uncomfortable. To put it mildly!

Still, discomfort aside, she grinned widely up at the mare, regardless of how much of her face/body was visible. Some tricksters might like to work their mischief and melt away into the shadows without being seen, but Serotia liked to take credit where credit was due. Besides, she didn't want anyone to be TRULY upset, and being tormented by an unseen hoof could do just that. In a teasing, perky voice, she answered the mare's questions; "What, me? Tormenting? I think I'm awfully small to torment, and as for being under your feet...I don't really think I was there until you jumped on me, so I'm not sure on that last one. Why don't you tell me?"

Giggling in her slightly impish way, Serotia debated finally standing up, giving the mare a look at her face to face. But first...she just couldn't resist that tail ribbon! Reaching out stealthily under cover of the tall grass, she took a loop of the ribbon in her teeth and gave a light but deliberate tug.

Somehow, Serotia felt that laughing in the mare's face would be in poor taste. True, she was stoked at how successful her little mischief making run had been, but looking at the mare's facial expression and hearing the high-pitched tone in her voice, Serotia had to concede that maybe, maybe she had gone a little too far this time. So she once again smothered the impulse to laugh, schooling her features into a mask of seriousness. Still, it was only going to be a mask; there was no way she was going to be forgetting the mare's reaction any time soon!

Still, she could try to be nice, and when the mare let out a new howl of anguish, Serotia's concern was genuine. "Wow, geez, I didn't mean anything by that!" Quickly, she'd dropped the ribbon; obviously it was more important to the mare than she'd realized! Sero had no idea what the other mare meant about the ribbon ending her, but whatever that meant, it was clear she valued it highly. Best to not touch it, no matter how tempting it looked. "I was only trying to have a bit of fun, I didn't mean to make a federal case out it, you know?"