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Ryan was exhausted from the heat of the day, not wanting to do much of anything. When it was this scolding out Ryan considered it a 'lazy day'. A day where you weren't obligated to do anything other than lounge around and relax. If one did to much work surely that person would over work themselves, over heat, and eventually die of a stroke of some sort.

Ryan was making his way towards the lake, needing a sip of water for his parched mouth. He felt like his tongue was so dry and bland. He needed something to cool him down and take the nasty taste out of his mouth. He managed to come down to the waters edge, not really looking because his eyes were half lidded due to the fact that the sun was shining off the waters surface so brightly. What Ryan wouldn't give for a cloud to just give him a moment of shade.

The vest wearing deer knelt down by the shallow water and leaned in to take a sip but before his tongue could dip into the refreshing water he came to realize there was a smell. He opened his eyes a bit wider and became more alert to his surroundings, noticing a green slime covering the top of the water and a strange smell that it gave off. "Ugh... w-what's this-" he paused when he saw some sort of monstrous blob floating a few feet away.

The sight alone caused Ryan to freeze, not knowing what to think. "F-fish? I-I hope..." he commented quietly and neared the 'decaying' creature. "The poor thing...." he felt bad for it none the less and looked around, picking a few flowers from a nearby plant and tossing them into the water. "Rest in piece..." he gave a small bow of his head and just stood there, watching. Trying to figure out what it was exactly, because he didn't see any gills not were there any fish he knew of that had hair on them. He was baffled to say the least.

Ryan's heart skipped a beat or ten when the supposed fish made a surprising snort. Oh yes, the young buck was frightened to death of what just happened but the thought of him possibly being able to save it poor creature made him stick firmly to his stance. Then an eye open, sending chills running up and down Ryan's spine, making him twitch uncomfortably with fear, but this thing hadn't given him threats or reason to bolt out of there. So he stayed still.

Then something emerged from the green slime covered surface of the water that surrounded this mysterious head/fish thing. Was that part of it? You mean that there's more to this fish than just what was on the surface. He stumbled back a step, unable to keep his composure for long. His expression was priceless, jaw dropped and eyes wide with what might have been tears? Gosh, he was such a baby sometimes, but he still stayed.

Speechless. That's what Ryan was. He was absolutely at a loss for all words. When a gargling monstrous noise came from the mouth Ryan jumped and swallowed hard, wondering what it was doing, but then finally he noticed that they were words. Words that he had to strain his ears and really think to understand. "B-beautiful?" he repeated, since that one had caught his attention. She seemed to be very affectionate towards the flower, lifting it surprisingly gently with that tentacle thing of hers.

So she loved the flowers? Well, he assumed that it was a she, because he couldn't very well just tell with only her head and tentacle sticking up out of the water. She rolled in the water and finally he realized that this was a Herla. A Herla just like him, but noticeably different. He took another step towards her, now that she wasn't quite a mystery to him. "I-I'm glad you were having a nice nap." He began with the slightest of stutters, trying to speak calmly though, so he wouldn't offend her. "I would love to join you but..." he eyed the green slime and raised an eyebrow. "Is all that your doing?" he asked with a nervous smile.

She seemed to be harmless for the most part, just horrifically disfigured. The sounds that came from her mouth were ghoulish and gurgling. Something that might come from a nightmare or something, but Ryan only cringed once and brushed of the fright. That was almost as creepy as when she grinned at him. All those teeth just shining at him, waiting for a snack.

Wait, maybe that's why she wanted him to go in the water. Maybe she could only swim, and she wanted him to go in so she could eat him. He shook the terrible though from his mind and scolded himself for thinking such awful things about a girl he didn't even know. She hadn't done anything yet to steer him into danger so why should he just assume on her looks? He took a deep breathe and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not really a great swimmer. Maybe I'll just dip my hooves." He walked down the shore just a little way, trying to get rid of the green slime. Once it was somewhat clear he stepped in, sighing happily at the cool sensation that engulfed his hooves. "Well it sure does feel amazing. What's your name, miss? I'm Ryan."

Ryan gave a short chuckle as she tried to give a happy smile and he didn't seem as alarmed as he did the first time. Was she actually watering those flowers? That was so incredibly nice of her. Possibly even nicer than when Ryan tried to give a deformed fish a proper burial. With Lenalee getting closer and closer he forced himself to stay still. Forced himself to smile and just pretend that seeing a monster swim closer to him in the water wasn't completely frightening. When she realized him he let out a sigh to see that she wasn't attacking him. He had to get that stupid thought out of his head.

"Oh, yes, laying down would feel lovely..." he looked down at the water to make sure the slime wasn't invading and grinned to notice that she kept just enough distance to keep the ooze from overflowing into his area. He knelt down and laid in the water, sighing at the refreshing touch of the liquid. "Mmm, it is fabulous, and hey... you were right. I'm not drowning." He laughed lightly and splashed his little tail in the water happily. He was finally starting to get the hang of listening to her. Somehow he was able to understand the words she was gurgling out. "Oh, Lenalee. Such a pretty name. It's a pleasure to meet such a nice .... lady." He decided to go out on a limb here. He still wasn't completely sure of what it was but his best guess was it was female.

The slender buck dressed in his pleasant red vest let his eyes wander over her curiously, taking in the bone chilling sight of her deformed appearance. What had caused a herla to get so horribly disfigured? He didn't feel his place to ask so he kept the curious question to himself, praying that maybe sometime soon he'd learn the reasoning of why she was like this. It didn't seem right to just assume she was born like this. Since when did herla come out looking like they were inside out?

The smiles that she was giving were starting to register in Ryan's brain as 'good' instead of 'beware'. The teeth were somewhat of an amusing thing to see as she smiled and displayed them with a sense of happiness. Even her chuckles were starting to settle with him, and he was beginning to see them as a good sign instead of 'what the eff is that sound'. Hell, even speech was getting easier for him to understand already. "Oh, well, I'm just sort of good with those kinds of things, I suppose." He gave her a great big, confident smile of his own before tilting his head. "I mean, I don't know many bucks who enjoy getting flowers thrown at them. I guess the flower thing was a bit of a give away." He smiled at her politely and gave a little nod. "You used to have a herd? Oh, hm... how was that like?" He asked because, well, Ryan had never had a herd before. Ryan had been on his own most of his life.

Ryan watched his sash drift around in the water to keep himself from impolitely staring at his her disfigurement. It wasn't that he was exactly terrified anymore, but somewhat disgusted. He knew that she was a kind girl though so he didn't want to distress her with any uncertain looks of repulsion. Her talk about her past herd gave him a mournful sort of empathy. He had never exactly experienced what it was like being in a herd. He had his father and that was all. His mama had passed away while giving birth to his siblings. It seemed the one that was to come out after Ryan got stuck or something like that. "It sounds like it would be nice to have a family. I've always wandered what it would be like to have a brother or sister....." he seemed to be tearing up but the hart blinked quickly and forced a smile. What traces of sadness that were left were pushed to the back of his mind.

This alien like girl seemed to speak up a bit more excitedly when she recalled something to ask Ryan. Her brother? Ryan wouldn't even know what to look for. Brownish skin and huge antlers? Did he look anything like Lenalee? If so then Ryan had never met him before, or even seen a beast like him. "I'm sorry, but I haven't...." he felt bad in crushing her spirit. If only he could have said yes and made her all the more happy. Perhaps he could assist her though and bring a smile back to her face. Well, a smile or a toothy grin. "If you'd like, I could help you search for him though. I'm sure he couldn't be all that hard to miss." He let his brown eyes wander back to her many orbs.