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Oh, was this a challenge? One dark brow arched upwards, then Ausdauer's grin deepened. "Demonstrate? Oh, I think I can manage that, even though there are few who would argue me for the role of strong, modern woman. Or modern, or womanly at all. You have to admit, this is a pretty studly package," he said playfully, gesturing to his large, muscular body. Actually, playful as his tone was he was serious; Ausdauer had always had a bit of a frat boy's appreciation of his his own body.

At her comment about his life, he broke off the posing and shrugged. "It's a life. I guess I've never really though about it as anything else. Sometimes I run into people again, mostly I don't; it's the downside of the roving life. I have the best luck when I run into another rover, honestly." He shrugged again, thinking back on his longest relationship in the Kawani lands: with his mentor, Regelus. They'd had a rocky road together, but he certainly appreciated what the other stallion had taught him.

Then he shook himself; the conversation was suddenly getting far too somber! "But there will be no talk of this sort, not when we're on a mission to de-mud you. And since you're apparently the sort of strong modern woman who'd like a strong, something stallion to lead the way, let me show you how it's done!" With that, he flipped his wings open wide and abruptly kicked up into the air, winging his way several yards up into the air above the deep part of the stream. Having reached the appropriate height, he suddenly pulled his wings back in, tucked in his body, and dropped like a stone into the water, sending a cascade of water over the shores. After a moment his head shot up out of the water, his mane dripping and plastered to his head. "Just like that!"

If there was one sin of which Ausdauer was guilty, it was pride, hands down. He'd always been a bit of a conceited fellow, and he loved to have others looking at him with admiration. If the 'others' in question were pretty mares, then it was even better, so he preened a bit in the face of Atlas' admiring look. Sure, he knew he looked a bit odd at the moment; no one looked their best while soaking wet, especially not a Soquili known for big, fluffy hair. But even if he had the weird half big, half small appearance of a drowned rat on steroids, Ausdauer was cool with that. He knew he'd looked cool making his plunge, and Atlas' eyes only confirmed that.

So he couldn't be more pleased when she too went for the dramatic entrance, even if she'd had the audacity to call his performance a six. A six, indeed! Crazy girl obviously didn't appreciate fine art, he thought with a grin that didn't diminish even when she hit the water, sending another wave of water over the bank and Ausdauer, who was still chilling out in the water. As a dark-colored pony who tended to frequent sunny places, he'd always had a fondness for water and swimming! And from the look of things, he wasn't alone.

"I'd give you good marks for the dive, but the hitting of the water was very inelegant. I'd say...8 for style, 3 for execution, and better luck next time," he told her with a grin. "And didn't I tell you, aim for the deep part and you're golden?" Giving her drenched body the once over, he paddled over and wiped away a newly liquid bit of mud from the side of her face. "Or in your case, pinkish."

A more gentlemanly stallion might have failed to notice Atlas' blushing gape; a slightly more gentlemanly stallion might have noticed, but refrained from acknowledging it in any form. But Ausdauer had never been accused of being a gentleman, and he both noticed and acknowledged. How could he not, when Atlas was being so amusingly cute about it? He'd seen this before; the blush, the gape, the awkward shuffle...it was just so charming!

So he did nothing to subdue the wide grin that crossed his face at the first blush, a grin that followed Atlas as she waded away from him, out of the water, then back into the water several yards away, studiously avoiding looking at him the whole time. Aww, how precious; she thought she was being subtle! How could he resist an invitation like that?

Nonchalantly, he made his way back over to Atlas, his best saunter and smile in place. The secret to looking your best when you look your worst is confidence, after all! "Well, that was an interesting in and out, Atlas, but I think you'll find that staying in the water and maybe doing a little scrubbing will work wonders for clearing out that mud. Your wings will work for that, or if you're worried about them drying out, I can get it for you. I'm a very thorough stallion; you'll note that there was no mud on me when we met, in spite of me having weathered a storm. THAT is talent," he said in the same nonchalant way.

Well, if he looked like a drunk duck, at least he was a drunk duck with confidence! Whatever Ausdauer’s faults, he would never be the sort to cower and whimper, or to be easily embarrassed. Easily angered, that was a wild card; but ashamed? No, not his game. So at Atlas’s giggling, Ausdauer only increased the cockiness in his saunter, turning the steps into more of a sashay than a simple stride. He knew the game; he’d played it before. Still, Atlas was proving to be all kinds of entertaining, and he greatly approved. There weren't enough mares out there with so much spirit mixed in with their cuteness!

Giving her his most innocent look, he followed up with a casual shrug. “Suit yourself, I just thought the gentlemanly thing to do was offer. It’s a gift I have, after all; wouldn't it be selfish of me to keep it all to myself instead of sharing it? And I was not IN the forest,” he was quick to add with a wry face and a shake of his head, “I was just near it.” It would take a lot more than a little bit of a rain storm to drive him into the strangling grasp of the woods! “So, any cleanliness counts as talent on my part, not a cop-out from being sheltered. But you should tell me more about this stallion; from your tone, he sounds like a villain, but I suspect you’re exaggerating his role in the story to disguise some…” Here he trailed off, giving her another roguish grin that he quickly smothered back into an innocent smile. “Some clumsiness on your part, maybe?”

"Careful you don't get swept away, Atlas; you don't seem to have the bulk that keeps me so nicely anchored to the bottom of the stream." Like the gentleman he was, Ausdauer stifled any further comments on Atlas' flustered wandering, but he couldn't pass up one last remark about size. After all, she was a rather dainty creature, even ignoring his size mucking up the ratios! And while he would naturally go sweeping after her if she DID get taken by the current, that would be a lot of bother for them both. Best to play it safe!

Well, play it safe physically, anyway. Grinning, he allowed her to trot up nose to nose with him, enjoying both the boldness and the amusement the mare was currently displaying. So much for the reserved mare he'd first met; this one was sassy! "Yes, clumsiness, Because if there had been a villain about, which their clearly was not, he would have been a lot more mysterious and shifty, probably even setting up an elaborate trap to ensure said terrorizing took place. Since none of those things occurred but a certain mare ended up in the mud, completely unprovoked, it's only logical to conclude that the mare is a bit...well, awkward when it comes to standing upright," he finished with an impish grin. "Which makes my previous point, about being careful of the current, all that much more important, I'd say! After all, you have a bit of a track record..."

"Mental? Well, those are tough words coming from a mare who can't keep herself upright on a level surface!" Still, Ausdauer was grinning as well as he waded after and then past Atlas, trotting out onto the bank and shaking himself out. He was enjoying this this little interlude as well, but there was only so long that he could deal with water. That was a downside of being such a large, fluffy stallion; there was a lot of things on his body that could absorb...and then retain...water.

But just because he wasn't in the water didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the proximity, and he settled himself relatively close to Atlas on the bank. "So, where is that brother of yours off to today? Not that I'm complaining about the present company," he said with a polite nod to Atlas, "But last time you two sorta gave the impression of being pretty darn close. I hope everything is ok there? Not to suggest that there is any trouble between you two of course, but that everything is ok with him health-wise and whatnot. That was a pretty intense storm we had, after all, and it's possible that balance issues run in the family..." Here, he trailed off again into a grinning silence.

Well, a brief grinning silence. "I'd say clumsiness, but apparently that's a touchy word."

This was only their second meeting, so Ausdauer and Atlas hadn't shared too much information about themselves. But if they had, there would have been one little tidbit of information that Atlas might have found interesting: namely, that Ausdauer was one of those special creatures, a domained Angeni. In Ausdauer''s case, that domain was one particularly near and dear to opinionated Soquili everywhere: Perseverance! Or, as some uncharitable Soquili might amend, stubbornness. In the case of Ausdauer, this domain tended to manifest in two major ways: Ausdauer himself was almost impossible to sway from something once he'd decided to do it, and others around him tended to feel new, sharpened focus towards whatever they had decided to do.

Needless to say, it could often become a case of 'unstoppable force meet immovable object,' so there were many arguments in favor of him sharing that little bit of info about himself right away. But as Aus himself was wont to say, where was the sport in that? Besides, his powers didn't take effect unless Soquili made a decision.

For his own part, Aus had no idea what was going through Atlas' mind, though he hardly would have complained if he had! All he saw was a very contented looking mare who, dramatic gasp, felt no compunction about ignoring him. How very scandalous! "Apparently what I was saying was less interesting that what you're thinking, so feel free to carry on," he said with a chuckle. "I was asking what your brother was up to, though, if you want to consider answering."