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A teenaged mare was wondering around with her eyes set firmly on the ground. Her medium length green mane falling over her nose blocking her ahead sight. She did not seem perturbed by this, but it certainly made her look a sight! Every now and then she would pause and move her face closer to the ground. Her wings would speed up from their slow flap and would slow back down if she moved on like she was disappointed. An onlooker would not know that was exactly what was happening. The female was examining the grass and various bugs in this new to her little forest.

Qiyam had broken away from his brothers to get some time alone. He told them he was headed off in search for spiritual artifacts, which was a half truth, but really he just needed a break from it all. They were talking about the "what ifs," and "remember whens," which he was never particularly fond of. He always preferred to let the spirits be his guide, especially on matters of their purpose and survival. Plus, having a scout who was alert and less distracted never hurt. He wandered near a rotted out tree stump, which was where he was currently keeping his satchel of sacrifices and spiritual herbs. He sighed, looking around lazily for more goodies to add.

Eilidh having her snout pretty much hugging the ground, could not see ahead of herself. The young mare ended up walking right into a tree. How she missed it when it's roots were right in front of her is a mystery. She let out a loud hurt noise as she fell back onto her rump. Her ears and wings laid back in displeasure as she tried to reorient herself from the knock.

The noise emitted from the small mare startled Qiyam, and he automatically when on the offensive. He made his way to the source of the noise, ears pinned and head down so anything that tried to rush him would get a taste of his horn. When he saw the flutter, however, he eased up. He did not dismiss her as a potential threat, but he also didn't feel too great about her chances should they quarrel. The large stallion quickly and quietly put distance between them, keeping her out of sight but not out of mind.

A small sniffle escaped her as she stood back on all fours. She gave her head a light shake to move her hair and test if she was dizzy. Finding she felt alright, she immediately looked at the ground where she had landed. Assessing that there were no insects harmed she looked around to get her barrings. That's when she spotted the Unicorn. Her deep black eyes elighted and she wandered closer to him drawn by his pure white coat. Her wings were buzzing on her back with her curiousity, something she developed as a child and had yet to grow out of. She was floating of the ground by the time she was in front of him. The mare had to look up to see his face due to him being so much bigger than she. "Hello~!" Her voice was radiant like the sun.

Qiyam sighed at his inability to escape the small mare. His face unwavering, he gave a small nod. "Yes. Hello." His voice was deep and toneless, his muscles tense and unmoving. One may say he appeared as much a statue as a horse. After a few moments of staring at her in hopes of her becoming intimidated and leaving, he added, "Is there anything you need of me?"

A faint blush crossed her face. "Are you really a Unicorn?" She asked in a very child-like tone. Her only sister was an Alicorn, but this was her first time meeting a real Unicorn and she wanted to be sure he was. Unicorns were said to have knowledge in healing would sometimes extended to healing plants. She was eager to find out if this one knew of plants that she might not have found or heard of.

Her question caused Qiyam to furrow his brow. It was quite obvious she'd never really been let out into the world. It took a great deal of control not to roll his eyes. "Yes," he said, somewhat sternly, "I am a unicorn." He was unwilling to divulge any more information than that to the young mare. It was quite obvious she'd have no idea about his herd or the attacks or where any others may be. He was already growing weary of her presence, but didn't quite have it in him to be rude to the flutter.

Eilidh gave him a bright smile before floating up to be more level with his face. "That's amazing!" She was all giddy now. "Do you know a lot about plants? I heard that some Unicorn's are very knowlegable on the topic." It seemed to go completely over her head that he wasn't exactly a willing talking companion.

The mare's curiosity gave Qiyam a lovely idea. Yes, this should likely get rid of the mare, and that'd be best done before his brothers found her. Qiyam hadn't seen them interact with anoyone other than him, and he had no idea of how they'd react to her presence. "Oh, plants? Yes, but only of the rarest and most useful." He nearly grinned at his cunning plan, but was able to prevent himself.

It seemed as if her whole body radiated with that news. The rarest plants out there, how lucky could she be? She quickly landed and pranced in place. "Really? Oh! Would you tell me about them?" Her happiness vibrated through her so much so you could see her shaking.

Qiyam tried his best to offer a friendly smile. "Oh, well there is this one, not horribly far from here. See, they're rare and they have incredible healing abilities. But. You mustn't pick them! Should you do that, they'll never grow back, and they'll be even rarer than before!" He nearly smirked at his deceit. "You see, they come in several shades. A pale pink, white, lavender, and on occasion even blue. They look like a two-legger's moccosin, and as I said, you mustn't pick them. You must find a way to dig them from the ground and transport them, as gentle as can be, or their precious seed inside will not survive."

Eilidh was in the air again floating happily. "They sound like wonderful plants! If I can bring you one will you show me how to properly prepare it?" The hopeful excitedness in her voice was a lot to take in. "And what direction are they most commonly found? I don't want to search in the wrong spot." She was pacing in the air looking at him with her shiny black eyes ever few seconds.

Qiyam thought for a moment before giving her direction. Naturally, he wanted to get her as far away from the herd as quickly as possible. There was no telling how much questioning he'd have to endure listening to should one of his brothers discover her. "Well, you see, it's off quite a ways... Probably at least a few days worth of walking. So should you find it, you'd take a while getting back." Trying not to grin, he simply added. "It's off that way." He nodded with his head. By the time she gave up or came back, they'd have surely moved on.

Qiyam arose with the sun, feeling refreshed but a slight bit uneasy. He allowed himself a short yawn but quickly got on his way, collecting baubles from their journey and checking on his brothers. Most of them had woken early as well, which was no surprise. Hurriedly, he began his work on the daily blessing, which was something he'd always insisted on. The spirits would continue to guide them on a safe, if not uneventful journey, he was sure. Nothing horribly exciting had happened yet, which Qiyam was quite content with.

It had taken the young mare some time to reach the location the stallion had told her about. It then took longer to find the plant for the first time. In her excitement, Eilidh forgot what the unicorn had told her about it not being easy to pick. She recalled his words after she found a fifth one, the previous four being all dead from her lack of delicacy. Her determination did not falter despite it all. This time, she carefully examined the plant over the course of a week. She even used the dead four to make a through analysis of the plant. Nodding to herself, she moved in carefully to harvest it with her new knowlegde. This time the plant stayed alive from her harvesting! Unfortunately she ruined it in her excitement and had to find another. Once found, harvested, and secured properly, she began her trek back to finding him again. After several weeks she began to recognize where they first met. She stopped here for the night vowing that on the morrow, they would meet again.

It didn't take Qiyam to forget about the petite mare after he and his brothers began moving again. He settled back into his routine, comforted by the quietness of their travel. They had come across several individuals, none of which seemed to have any idea of anything they were talking about. One acted as if he did, but he turned out only to be a raving lunatic who would agree with anything in hopes of stealing a shiny bauble or two. Once he'd been chased off, though, all was calm once more. Several days passed at their new camp before Quiyam became uneasy again. He thought once more of the mare, then of possible intruders. Staying still too long always made him uncomfortable.

Eilidh woke earlier than usual. She was too excited and anxious to sleep any longer. Not knowing if he was from around here or not, she started the day off by first seeking out the nearest population. Most she spoke too hadn't seen the unicorn she described. This was very disheartening, but in the end she found someone who'd seen the large white male. Gleefully she headed the direction she was pointed to. Night caught up with the mare fast with not a sign yet of the stallion. With a huff, the flutter shifted gears and began to settle in for sleep.

The six stallions seemed to be at an impass. The second youngest was determined to stay put long enough to question as many individuals as they could, but Qiyam and several of the others disagreed. Vira was the designated leader, though, and finally he won the argument. Qiyam sighed and shook his head, but set up for a protection ritual anyway, certain that nothing he could say would change the decision.

She had awoken later than she intended, the busy day before and lack of sleep causing her to pretty much pass out the night before. As such she started to zip through the forest as fast as her wings would let her. Much of her surroundings where a blur in her speed. When she spotted a sudden blurb of white out of her peripheral she screeched to a halt so fast that she toppled accross the ground in summersaults before coming to a stop against a tree. Her little tempory satchel seperating from her before rolling a little bit back toward where she initially stopped.

Qiyam's ears perked at the sudden ruckus he heard not too far away. Cautiously, he sniffed the air, hoping to catch a familiar scent. He found one, but couldn't quite place it... Ears now pinned, he made his way toward the source of sound, his movements calculated and his body rigid. Upon seeing a bit of white and green, he froze. Oh, no. You've got to be kidding me, he thought. Somehow, though, he knew the mare had found him. He grimaced and hoped none of his brothers had heard her fall.

It took her a second for her vision to stop spinning from her tumble. Once it did she freaked seeing her precious plant had rolled away. She shakily stood up and started to walk toward it. Had she not still been dizzy, she would have seen the very stallion she had been looking for standing just beyond her bundle. Instead though, she was focused solely on retrieving the plant before it got hurt. Her wings fluttered quickly as they readjusted from her going topsy-turvy.

The unicorn sighed at the thought of the mare having succeeded in her seemingly impossible quest. However, there it was. A small little makeshift bag, and he could only guess what it contained. Sure that she'd seen him, or at least noticed him by now, he stood, waiting. It was inevitable, yet he still wondered if he could wander away without her figuring out what he was doing. For a few moments, though, he thought about the quest, and the bag, and if she could manage to find one of those so late in the season, what else may she be willing to get for him...?

She shook her head fiercely to clear away the rest of the dizziness and when she reopened her eyes that's when she saw him. Her heart gave a little flutter as she rushed over to him picking her satchel up on the way. "I did it! I found the Lady Slipper you told me about!" She presented it to him with a happy giddy gleam in her eye. "You'll teach me now?" She practically begged him with her face flushed.

Qiyam nearly let his head drop in reaction to the mare's excited behavior. "Well," he began, "First we'd best check to make sure you found the right flower." He was secretly hoping she hadn't, as he was a stallion of his word, and would have to either agree to teach her or find another distraction to get rid of her again.

"O-of course!" Eilidh stuttered as she fiddled with removing the flower from her makeshift satchel. She was sure she had the right flower, having memorized every detail he said. Plants were her passion after all, and she one day hoped to catalog all of them and their various uses. Completely unwrapped now, the lady slipper was between them carefully preserved to keep it both alive and harvesatble for what ever uses the male knew of.

The snow white stallion bit into his lip upon the big reveal, causing it to turn a bright pink. "Well if it isn't so..." He sighed, his tail swaying idly from side to side as he thought of what to do next. "Well..." He cleared his throat. "I have always been known to be trustworthy, and haven't gone back on my word before." He looked closely at the little plant, carefully examining it. "I'll need a racoon to transplant this into something portable for me... But I'll get one." He furrowed his brow, studying the excited mare. Yes, perhaps she could be of use... "But first, if you're going to be fetching things for me, this little pouch you've got going simply won't do." He rummaged through his own satchel, pulling out a long piece of cloth. "This could do the trick a little bit better, I think." The cloth was rectangular and black, smooth to the touch, but sturdy enough to carry parcels. "Come here, er..." He cleared his throat. "I've forgotten your name... Uh... That is if you gave it to me at all." He continued on with his normal, low, toneless voice. It was all quite dramatic.

She gave him a positively brilliant smile as she squeed out her excitement. Finally, she had someone to teach her all she could want on plants and the cultivation! "Thank you so much!" She exclaimed while her black eyes watched him curiously as he rummaged through his satchel. The mare moved closer to him as he brought the fabric out. Only to have her face flush brightly at his statement. That was right! She had yet to introduce herself! The small mare bowed her head low and rushed out her name. "I'm Eilidh! Eilidh Shibuya, sensei!" Her face all the way down her neck was a brilliant shade of pink in her embarrassment.

Qiyam's dread grew with every excited action the mare gave him. What was he now, a babysitter?! His curiosity growing, he couldn't help but ask. "What does your family think about you travelling off with strangers?" He watched her closely, and upon her introduction, he became confused. Sensei? Surely she had his name confused with someone else, because he had certainly not told her to call him that, nor had he ever heard of a Sensei. He shook his head. "No. Qiyam. You can call me Qi, Q, or whatever, I guess." He was beyond socially awkward, and still wasn't sure what he was going to tell his brothers.

Eilidh looked back up at him with a confused look on her face. "You meet and travel with strangers all the time when adventuring and following your dreams. How else do you make friends?" Her confusion grew when she was corrected to call him by his name and not his title. "Qi-Qiyam," she tested softly. It was weird for her to not call her now instructor by his name, but if that's what he wanted she would respect his choice. Of course it had not dawned on her that he had no idea what sensei meant either.

Qiyam couldn't believe the gobbledy-gook he was hearing. Following your dreams? Adventuring? Making friends?! To him, life had been one huge mission. A mission to find his herd, to keep his brothers safe, to channel the spirits and ask their blessing before something bad happened. He hadn't thought much about anything else. If something was useful, it was. If not, you didn't need it. Upon hearing his name again, he nodded. "Yeah. Qiyam." He certainly wasn't the most patient of beings, and this was quite an awkward situation for him. "You're going to have to answer some questions before I take you to see my brothers, though..."