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Lessia couldn't recall the last time she'd had a conversation so neatly bordering on absurd, and that was saying a lot. After all, she was an atypical child, from an atypical family who had lived an atypical life in the company of atypical people. Yet here she was, chatting with the son of a skinwalker about his foster parents and their fears his vocalizations would attract his skinwalker mother, while pondering acquiring fish for a non-kalona to eat and making casual side references about past brutalizations. Oh, and she and the stallion had only just met.

Yet in spite of the strangeness of it all, there was a naturalness to the situation as well. Perhaps it was because of the strangeness of life so far that she was able to take this episode in stride; perhaps it was because the strangeness was a needed and necessary change of pace from the weeks she'd been spending brooding and having her hackles raised.

"Sure, I'll tag along. If there are fish in there, I think I'd like to know about it. Never been fond of the slippery things, but it's always good to have a back-up food source. And this sort of distance is no trouble." As if to demonstrate, she swept past Growl, through the trees and towards the spring. Her stride was wide and full, with no hint of a limp or hitch; however, the smoothness would be sure to deteriorate if she went at it for too long. For that reason, she always timed her hunts with care. After all, with the healing to her wing taking so long, she wouldn't be able to fly for weeks yet, if not months, so she needed to baby her legs unless she wanted to be completely laid up.

So, perhaps beating on trees was not the most effective method of course, but it had certainly helped soothe her spirits!

"And my legs are much better than they were, thanks. It's a work in progress, but you might have guessed I'm not the most patient of creatures." To put it mildly!

Lessia hadn't been kidding when she said the spring was close by; by the time Growl had caught up with her, they were already half-way there. A few steps more, and they were standing on the banks of a pleasant little spring, thickly ringed in greenery and water plants. It wasn't a large spring, which had been part of the original appeal to Lessia; it wouldn't to to try to convalesce in a heavy traffic area. She had gambled that the small size and relative seclusion of the spring meant few would come there to drink; it had been an added bonus that the creatures who did come this way seemed to be of the rabbit/squirrel/deer variety.

It was nice to have food come to her.

She chuckled as she stopped on the bank of the spring, Growl's confident assessment about eating fish right was all very good, but they were still slimy things and would always be slimy. She'd just as happily each a slug, if it came down to it. "I think I'll just leave the fishing, and the fish, to you. If there are any fish in there, I can't imagine they're numerous; if your appetite is anything like mine, one fish would go scant ways."

Having said that, she stepped aside to allow Growl better access to the water. She might not want to partake herself, but she was curious to see how he went about this fishing business!

And it was nice to have a distraction, given the unpleasant direction the conversation had wandered. She might have initially opened the door to this topic, but the wounds were still too fresh for her to discuss with any sense of enthusiasm. "Thanks; it's nice to know I'm good at acting the part of a tough one. I've always been a fast healer, though it probably wouldn't kill me to take things easier than I do. There are some things which I find much more tolerable than others, though." She set her mouth in a slightly grim line at that point, her empty eyes flashing as she thought about just what she found least tolerable.

Though that was quite enough of this topic, otherwise she was going to become very poor company very rapidly. So her last response was much more clipped: "I'm a fighter when I have to be." But that was enough of that, and she was a bit brighter in tone as she asked, "So what was it like with your foster parents? They sound interesting, and like nice Soquili to take you in."

Well...that was graceful. Or not.

Lessia had been curious about fishing, but after watching Growl's antics she was pretty confident it wasn't something she'd be trying anytime soon. Granted, she had her spade tail to help, to say nothing of her fangs and horns. If she set her mind to it, she could probably catch a fish with less fuss and a lot less muss. To say nothing of resorting to catching one by accidental squishing. Yet somehow, it seemed like trying to catch a fish via any other means would be...cheating.

Besides, that little performance had been hilarious!

It probably wasn't a good idea to laugh. She didn't know Growl well enough to know whether he was sensitive to his appearance; he might think he was quite stealthy and debonair while fishing. Or he might know he looked comical, but be self-conscious about that fact. All valid concerns and possibilities, none of which mattered to Lessia as she burst out laughing. He looked so funny, dripping with water and carrying that poor, squashed fish. She laughed until she was practically crying, shoulders quivering and nose twitching.

"Dang, that's entertaining, Growl; I might not be a fish person, but I could certainly enjoy being a fish-person watcher." Her laughter finally wound down and she dabbed at her eyes with one of her braids, then settled down to the conversation at hand.

"Sorry about that, but anyway...I was able to get some cursory healing, but at the time there were a lot more people who needed help than healers to help them. It was pretty much 'stabilize and move on' at the time, and after the fact...well, I thought the time would be beneficial. I'd gotten too used to the quick fix." Plus, she considered it as good penance for her part in the whole debacle, but that was another story.

And his was much more interesting. It sounded like he'd been fortunate in his foster parents, and that they'd taken their roles seriously. It also sounded like he was very aware of himself and his origins, along with the risks they posed. She could understand being cautious; one never wanted to consider putting one's family at risk. "They sound like very interesting and caring Soquili, Growl; I can see why you you would want to be sure about things before going back."

Yes, whatever else Growl was, it certainly wasn't elegant or graceful; not when hunting, and not while eating either. If Lessia wasn't a carnivore herself, she might have found the experience a bit...well, disgusting to watch; as it was, she found the whole thing to be comically awkward. Once again, she found herself grateful for her spade tail, her fangs, her horns, and her other various bodily features that made hunting and devouring her prey so easy. Though she did have to wonder; did she look this peculiar when she was eating?

Perhaps another time, she would test that theory. She had a thick skin when it came to being laughed at, she doubted it would break her if anyone found her manners laughable!

Lessia's laughter wound down into a few low chuckles as Growl's laughter joined in with hers, and she gave Growl a grin in response to his rather blunt comment on her laughing skills. "Perhaps Kalona don't laugh nicely, as a rule; that might be a wind trait. But my family and I have always been big on laughing, so either we're an exception to the rule, or else we just have a lot to find humorous." She smiled as he went in for another bite, though the smile waned into a thoughtful expression as Growl explained his willingness to be alone in order to protect his family. Perhaps if she'd been more willing to embrace solitude, she wouldn't have ended up in the battle. More importantly, Seyx wouldn't have ended up in the battle and wouldn't have nearly died.

That train of thought inevitably led Lessia to dark, troubling thoughts, so she was quick to grasp the conversational lifeline he offered with his remarks on appearances and family. She could laugh at herself indefinitely, but she couldn't examine herself too closely these days without either sinking into depression or breaking into a rage. "Hey, you're not that scary looking. Size is really your most formidabble feature, and there are a lot of big Soquili out there. Until you grow fangs or horns, I think you'll look a lot less threatening than some of us," she added wrily. "But believe me, I can relate to scaring off people with a look. I had a big family, but really only one other Soquili I'd call a friend. We met when we were kids, and had been inseperable for years. My sister liked to call us the odd couple, because we looked nothing alike, but we never let that bother us." She chuckled; that was putting it mildly, given that Seyx was a small alicorn stallion who barely came up to her shoulder.

"But these days, it's just me, myself and I. Seyx and I needed some space." And some time to heal.

((Note for Niss: Lessia already has maxed stats))

'Do you like being alone,' Growl had asked. He asked it in such a simple, matter of fact way, but it was a very loaded question. Because the truth was, she hated being alone. Hated it, loathed it, despised it. Aside of her hunting trips, she hadn't really been alone since...well, ever. When she was a child she had her parents, as well as Anthone and Pascale. Then she had Seyx. Throughout the years that followed, she had always had some combination of family and friend, and she had been happy.

She hadn't realized just how much she enjoyed being in company until she was alone; if it wasn't that she felt so in need of penance, she might have gone mad. As it was, she knew she had spent more time talking to herself lately than was healthy. Damnit, she missed Seyx.

Lessia couldn't disguise the upset in her voice and her body, which stiffened as she suddenly burst out, "I hate it, actually. There is no sport in isolation, no one to talk to. It's for the best, because we both needed time to heal and get past some...other things, but I hate it, I hate it, I hate it." With each of the 'hate its,' Lessia lashed out at one of the small trees surrounding the spring, splitting the trunk with the last kick and whirling to bring it down with a neat twist of her tail. Watching the tree fall over on itself, Lessia flashed back to the sight of a Kalona going down, life fading from its eyes but its mouth still twisted in a horrible snarl. A kill. Her kill. And beyond it...

She shuddered, trying to shake off the memory, as she tried to shake it off every time. So much blood; blood in her mouth, blood on her hooves. Not just the blood of her foes, but in the end, she was responsible for Seyx's blood as well.

((Note for Niss: Lessia has maxed stats))

Lessia devoutly hoped that one day, she would be able to look back on these days and laugh, or at least feel a sense of nostalgia. Right now, she hated the volatile nature of her moods, how easy it was for her to switch from happy to homicidal. In those moments, it was like she lost herself, like she had no control over her thoughts or actions. True, she had yet to do anyone an actual injury; she had enough control to reserve her rage for inanimate objects. But what if this was only the tip of the iceberg? What if, as time progressed, she lost even more control and started to lash out willy-nilly? What would that make her then?

All of these things whirled through Lessia’s mind in the instant she glanced up from the broken tree and saw the shell-shocked look on Growl’s face. In that moment, she saw herself as others must see her when these moods overtook her; a violent, impulsive Kalona. The one thing she least wanted to be.

But there was no time for further reflection. Before she had time to collect herself or try to offer up any sort of explanation, Growl had closed the distance between them and was…nuzzling her?

Not quite an expected action, and for once, Lessia was thrown completely for a loop. Truth be told, she’d never once been nuzzled, not beyond a quick nose bump. Her family was the sort to do wing hugs, or nose bumps, but not nuzzles. Their wings might have something to do with that, or their shoulder spikes; whatever the reason, Growl’s action was completely unexpected and unfamiliar. But at the same time, it was a pleasant sensation; a calming one, at that. And more than that, she never would have expected anyone to even consider touching her, not after witnessing her in a rage.

She just stared at Growl at first, words completely fleeing her mind. Stammering seemed like the wrong response, even when having an emotional breakdown. Again.

But after a few long moments, she collected herself and managed a somewhat strangled-sounding laugh. “Thanks, Growl; you’re right, of course, about the not being alone right now; but a visit is a long way in coming. I know for a fact I’m not ready, and I have some broken trees who can testify to that.” She managed a small smile, nudging at the newest broken tree with a wing before shaking her head. “I hope Seyx is doing better, but I’m not going to risk causing any additional problems by being premature about anything.” It was sweet of Growl to suggest, but it would be some time before she was ready to cross that bridge. Besides, what sort of penance would this isolation be if she ended it too soon?