[PRP] First Encounters (Aruna and Flidais)

[Lady_Ourania]

So much of the southern landscape was overrun with forests, most of them flowing into one another until they became nearly indistinguishable. He stumbled through one such place now, muttering quietly under his breath and casting about for some obvious landmarks. Had he not passed that very same white-barked tree an hour ago? Ah, yes, there was the lewd image he'd perceived before, its features shaped by whorls and knots in the wood. With that revelation weighing on him, the stallion paused to try and regain his bearings, one ear cocked to listen. He suspected his pursuer had given up some miles back, having successfully taken his pound of flesh. The scales around his injury were growing slowly, and Aruna sent mental thanks to the eccentric, easily flustered little stallion who had attended to his wounds all those weeks prior. Without him, the scar tissue alone likely would have prevented new growth, not to mention left an unbecoming hole in his hip. Fortunately, the fleet of miniature discs were beginning to peek out of the previous wreckage, most of them matte black with the lone red or white interloper to break up the monotony. It would be a while before they reached the maturity of those around them, and he would use the evidence as an excuse to tell his harrowing tale of Kalona encounters in the meantime. Many a being had been wooed with less, of this he could personally attest.

Supposing he ever ran across another intelligent creature again. As a stallion accustomed to rubbing shoulders with his peers at all times, Aruna found the silence of the current setting a bit unnerving. Most of the southerners seemed happy enough tromping about these places, though, with nary another soul to be seen. Used to keeping their own company, he supposed. At least night was the same everywhere, and while he would never admit to a sense of homesickness, he drew comfort from the weight of the darkness as it settled over his shoulders. Now if only there were fewer blasted trees about, perhaps he'd actually be able to find his way out of this green labyrinth by starlight.

He started forward again, still sparing half an ear in case his rampaging Kalona friend decided to make an appearance. Focused on the path he'd just walked, it took him a moment to realize that there was movement coming from in front of him, a modest ways off yet but drawing closer. Aruna immediately melted into the shadows provided by another tree, this one's branches covered in thick tufts of needles that left a muffling carpet underfoot. It took some time for the other to come into his line of sight, and his misgivings receded slightly. Despite the antlers, it appeared to be a mare, her coat the deep red of crushed berries with a smattering of darker bands across her legs and muzzle. Not a predator of any kind from what he could see, though it was sometimes difficult to tell among the natives. He surveyed her from his hiding place, admiring her long, lovely legs and the beckoning lift of her tail, but also noting her preoccupation with the surrounding woods. She appeared tranquil, calm, and he weighed such temperament against the dangerous points that crowned her skull. Eventually, he slid from the eaves and deliberately posed himself in a patch of weak moonlight. Better that she see him coming than think he was attempting to sneak up on her. "Why, hello to you, milady. I hope you'll forgive my audacity when I say what a welcome vision you are, even at this odd hour."  

[Lady_Ourania]

It probably hadn't been the most tactful approach he'd ever tried - complimenting an unaccompanied mare at so late an hour. There was disarming, and then there was cause for alarm. Fortunately, the mare in question seemed more perplexed by his appearance than apprehensive at his words, her dark brow streaked with the feeling. Aruna stood still beneath her scrutiny, in no hurry to test her temperament by drawing closer without invitation. Southerners could be sensitive about invisible boundaries, after all, and he'd already had to learn such lessons the hard way. He sensed when her attention fell on his scars, a brief prickle running over the affected area that served as an echo of the previous pain. Such marks made for easy identification if relayed to someone searching for him, but there was no helping it. He could no more hide them than he could forgo flattery.

When she deigned to smile at him, the stallion grinned jauntily back, privately relieved that she seemed to be one of the more civil creatures he'd encountered. "You might say I keep odd hours, lady, though I'll admit the woodlands aren't my preferred venue for a nightly romp. Necessity sometimes drives us down the road less traveled, however, and far be it from me to complain about the current company."

He had her name without undue wrangling, and he acknowledged as much with a slight nod. Flidais. Unusual, yet suited enough to one who walked and arrayed herself in greenery as she did. "Call me Kieran," he lied smoothly, borrowing the name of one of his previous acquaintances without so much as a pang of conscience. Pseudonyms were a regular part of his travels, a simple way to confuse anyone who meant to track his movements. To the musicians who had bequeathed him so much of their time and talent, he had been Finn; the Kalona who had taken a chunk out of him had needed no introduction, and so Aruna had forgone the exercise. Still, better safe than sorry, even in a place so removed from civilization.

Flidais' straightforward mention of his wounds made his expression flicker slightly, an almost unnoticeable hesitation before he chuckled warm as wood smoke. His head turned to eye the marred flesh himself, tone slightly wry as he replied. "Ah, yes. It remains somewhat unsightly, does it not? An unfortunate misunderstanding. I have it on good authority that it should look much improved with time, and the healer appeared to know his craft well enough." He returned his focus to her, and winked at the well-wishes, amused by the earnestness strung throughout. All this saying precisely what you meant business could be a balancing act of sorts for someone with his unique proclivities. "I appreciate your concern all the same. It is a refreshing change from the last few days."

Stepping lightly along the forest floor, he considered their surroundings. The play of shadows through the trees made it difficult to see anyone coming, but he figured a Kalona crashing through the underbrush would have been sufficiently noisy warning. "If I may counter your question, what brings you here so late at night? A tryst, perhaps? Or an errand far less enticing?" She did not seem the type, but assumptions were dangerous if indulged in too frequently. Plus outrageous questions could sometimes provoke truth more easily than polite probing.  

[Lady_Ourania]

Flidais' voice seemed cast to soothe at all times, to relax any who heard it. Intentional? Aruna wondered, or simply habit borne of wandering predominantly in quiet places? In another, it would have provoked a healthy sense of wariness; the softest speakers were usually the ones that went unheard until they were behind you. But studying her in the sparse light, the kirin could find nothing dangerous about her. Too maternal, judging from her immediate interest in his injured side. Horned, yes, but also beflowered. It could have been that she was an immensely clever hunter, one who knew to hide what she was, but none of his usual alarms were ringing.

"Likewise," he replied as she repeated his fake name, not missing a beat. It sounded stranger in her mouth than it had in his, and for a moment he wondered if she suspected it to be a falsehood. His mind worked double-time while he kept his expression up, trying to find the trail that might have led her to his deception. But it quieted at her smile, her words serving to calm him further. No, she believed him. Good. That would make anything that followed much less complicated.

And she didn't appear to mind his minor flirtations, either. Her laugh, more breath than sound, pleased him. He'd been starting to wonder if his humor translated or not. "My hopes run in a similar vein, lady. Entertaining as it is to run from certain death, it isn't something I'd advocate on a regular basis. At least your goodwill dispels the rest."

She turned away, and he fell silent, wondering if he'd misspoken. But Flidais did not leave him alone for long, her backward glance laden with suggestion enough to spur falling into step with her. No warm-blooded stallion would willfully turn down a lovely creature on a cold night. And it was growing cold, he realized, a barely-restrained shiver running from spine to tufted tail. Still, he angled his ears in her direction, listening to her explanation. Nothing so distracting as a midnight meeting, then, though mention of medicine and a pilgrimage piqued his interest. The first dovetailed nicely with his other observations, her sympathetic bearing and the way she'd immediately zeroed in on his injuries.

Her admission was followed by a reference to spirits, and he carefully kept his face vacant. The real Kieran had invoked something similar during the nights they'd spent together. A local superstition, most likely, not that he was one to spit in the eye of someone else's god. "My luck does seem to have turned around, to meet two healers in such short succession," he remarked lightly. "Though I must admit to some curiosity regarding your pilgrimage, I'll say that you do seem suited to this place." Her soft steps were akin to his own, though he doubted she bore a drop of kirin blood. "It's difficult to imagine you against a different backdrop." She would have been terribly out of place up north, for instance, bright and floral enough to draw attention. Nothing green lived well in his homeland.

Her questions drew a short laugh, his mottled tail flipping in her direction so that the furred end caught her deliberately on the thigh. "Careful, Flidais, all that hospitality will earn you a permanent guest. Really, though, I must ask that you not trouble yourself over me." He used his horn to push aside a low-hanging bough, allowing her antlers to pass by before releasing it to the twang of green wood. "And I would not compromise your work, pleasant as it is to have someone fuss," he confided in a stage whisper, smirk unrepentant. The other healer had fussed, too, though the foal he'd had in tow had obliterated their chances at any extracurricular activities.  

[Lady_Ourania]

"As a stallion who does not tire easily, let me be the first to agree with that assessment," he said, a suggestive smile still tracing his mouth. Aruna had already resolved to stick to harmless flirtation, something in the mare's mannerisms warding against anything more physical. Despite the occasional flare of something akin to intimacy in her expression, and the environment around them practically begging to be utilized for a lovers' romp, the exchange felt off. It might have had something to do with her vocation: healers were a sensitive lot, and one so isolated might misunderstand that they were a brief preoccupation. Or maybe she understood that perfectly well, and had no desire to engage beyond sporadic rejoinders. Regardless of the reason, Aruna could respect that she continued to weather his company with good humor.

"I'm afraid I have no head for healing, myself. I suspect it's for the best, given my aversion to pain in general." A kirin who preferred to steer his talents elsewhere was hardly of note in his homeland, but Flidais' words implied that choice to be uncommon in these parts. Claiming squeamishness seemed the simplest deflection, not so invested in his own masculinity as to concoct an involved lie. "No doubt that it's an admirable profession; and I don't say that because I would be in a much sorrier state without it... though that does lend a keener appreciation, I suspect."

He listened to her own explanations with half an ear, a quiver of warning tickling its way across his ribs in subconscious recognition. Threat, it said, and Aruna carefully moved only his eyes to assess the situation, casting his attention outward without being too obvious. Was that a shadow moving deeper out in the forest, another's scent catching on the edge of his senses? And if so, was it something tracking them, or a creature minding its own business? Hard to tell, though the affected silence implied that they were not, at least, the same bellowing kalona who had so recently left him with a lasting mark. The stallion made note of it anyway, unwilling to be taken by surprise a second time. No need to frighten his companion with needless speculation, not without basis. If it became a problem, Flidais appeared to know these woods well enough to make an escape, though with her striking color and the wreath of fragrant flowers she wore, tracking her wouldn't be an issue.

The lilt in her voice called him back, recognizing a question that required some form of response. As with anything, Aruna had to pick and choose the narrative he wished to stick to over the course of this encounter. It couldn't be too outlandish, nor so packed with deceit that he might trip over it from one sentence to the next. But if traveling this far south had taught him anything, it was that most could be put off with a little truth and a healthy amount of misdirection.

"I wish I had something of interest to share, Flidais, but my homeland doesn't have much to its name," he intoned with just a touch of mock mourning, a real enough grimace gracing his features. "We've nothing like the greenery you enjoy here, that's for certain. More sand and stone than anything truly alive. And the people... well, it's little wonder that I elected travel over other kinds of work." He shrugged, the scales that rode on his shoulders glinting in the diffused light in case their friend was still paying them any mind. Such a gesture cultivated just the right amount of casual ambiguity he was going for, and also showcased what an unappetizing target he made. Nothing like having to crunch through scales before hitting flesh, after all. But he needed to keep up the flow of conversation, make it normal by virtue of aimless chatter.

"Now if you want a fantastical tale, you need not look too far from this place. Take, for example, a herd I encountered some months back, cut off from the world by mountainous regions, under cover of a persistent mist. I'd been lost for days at this point, mind you, turned around by unfamiliar landmarks and the weather. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a group of them after leagues of featureless fog, only for them to pay me no heed. Apparently they view outsiders as little more than illusions, and worship man-made gods as a matter of course." He chuckled to himself at that, shaking his head slightly. "It takes all kinds, I know, and far be it from me to question someone else's belief system. But it was strange, to be treated like a shadow, a trick of the eye and nothing more..." He trailed off wistfully, using the borrowed second to peer between Flidais' antlers for further sign of pursuit. "Not an experience I'd choose to repeat any time soon."