Welcome to Gaia! ::

Nitya thought. "Well, there's no harm in trying," he replied cheerfully.

Her flopping ear and expectant expression made it very hard to focus on what he was saying. Stuffing his restrained compliments where they wouldn't distract him, he asked, "What type of tale would you like to hear? Romance, tragedy, comedy...?"

A romance with comedy on the side. Nitya felt like his meeting with Cale fit that criteria, but she'd probably notice the simil--

Cale stepped forward, rubbed her head against his face, and whispered "thank you" in his ear. As a result, Nitya's train of thought came to a screeching halt and he struggled to form coherent thoughts as a pale pink blush spread across his cheekbones.

"There once was a stallion who was oft overlooked," he started, the words flowing from his mouth like water. "He didn't have the vibrant colors and patterns of his peers. He was smart, and he was fast, but he was also horribly, horribly unlucky. This unluckiness was exceptionally potent around the mares of his herd; whenever they were around, he would trip. Even if there was nothing to trip on, he somehow found himself sprawled out on the ground and embarrassed by the twittering of the mares' laughter." A part of Nitya's mind panicked at the telling of this story--a variant of his own, but, as if entranced, he could not stop himself from speaking. He could not break away from the tale's flow. "Eventually, the stallion left his herd, seeking a home where he was cherished instead of mocked. But wherever he went, his bad luck followed him. He tripped, he stuttered, he fumbled in every possible way for an Azrein to fumble."

"One day, he got to the top of a hill, and he saw a beautiful mare. But as he went to go introduce himself, his bad luck sent him tumbling past her, down the hill and into a lovely muddy patch. The stallion sighed and expected the sounds of laughter to follow him down the hill. But instead, calls of concern rang out. The stallion was so surprised that he laid in the mud until the mare had picked her way down the hill to his side." Only the dryness in his throat allowed him to break from the enchantment of his own tale-spinning, dipping his head to the water and taking a sip before remembering that Sandar Lake was saltwater. His face scrunched up from the salinity of that sip, shaking his head in displeasure. Surely he was making himself look like a fool again...

"Yes, he is," Nitya replied. "Perhaps his bad luck had worn off?"

He made a surprised noise when he was suddenly squirted with saltwater, blinking at her before quirking his own brow. "Was that a challenge to a water duel, fair lady?" he asked playfully.

Nitya grinned. "I do indeed! En garde, Lady Cale!" With that, he swiftly dipped his hand, filled his mouth with salt water and lifted it again to squirt some at the beautiful mare.

Nitya chased after her, trying not to smile and lose his ammunition. He squirted water a few times, missing all of his shots. By the time that Cale reached the tree, he'd run out of water. He smiled at the sound of her snickers, nearly tripping a few times as he climbed to her. He approached the tree as quietly as he could, hoping to at least tap her before she scurried off again.

Nitya stuffed down his own chuckles, trying to cut down his noise levels as he snuck towards the tree where Cale's pretty green tail was flicking back and forth. He crept closer, eyes crinkling at the sound of her giggling. Sliding up next to her, he playfully nipped Cale's mane to get her attention.