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The large stallion probably wouldn't have noticed her if her wings had not glimmered in the light. The rainfall seemed to intensify the rainbow hue of her large, delicate wings. While it was not the first time that he had seen one of these 'flutter' mares, it was the first time he had seen one near his size. The other had been such a tiny little thing.

He wasn't one to stop and stare as he considered it to be entirely rude, but it was almost as difficult to pull away. She looked so pure and sweet, unlike any other mare he had seen. He found himself questioning if she was even real.

He turned to check on the kittens that were playing nearby before he walked towards the mare. She was facing away from him and didn't appear to take notice of him as she seemed to be quite smitten with a batch of flowers. It was such a little thing, sniffing flowers, but it was those little things that let one know if someone was a threat or not. It was easy to tell that this mare was no threat.

"Nothing like a good rain to cleanse the body as well as the soul," he commented as he neared, lowering his own head to take in the scent of the flowers. He really was thankful that Spring had arrived. It was his favorite season. Everything came back to life. It was almost as if the flowers and trees were as happy as the animals around them. "I'm River," he greeted awkwardly. He was never good at the social skills but at least he hadn't forgotten this time.

Now that the thought about it, it was nearing time for him to eat. He had already fed the kittens that morning with a fish from a nearby stream but he usually waited until later in the day for himself. "Namine," he stated, trying out the name, "I think that sounds wonderful."

He smiled at the mare as if thanking her silently and walked over to the patch of grass and lowered his head to graze. It wasn't long before he felt a familiar tug at the back of his tail and he knew the that kittens had come over to see what he was up to. They always seemed curious when another soquili were nearby.

"Namine, I would like you to meet Patches and Tiger," he said with a laugh. "They are my 'little ones'."

The smaller of the two kittens turned to look at the mare, "Hello." Then she ran around to the front and whispered, "Papa River, she's pretty."

The much plumper kitten would not let go of Rivers tail and barely paid the mare any mind. He wasn't too fond of other soquilis because they stole his papa's time and attention away from him.

"I'm Tiger," the little female said in a rush, obviously embarrassed at the sudden attention. Then she ran around to hide behind River, peeking out every so often at the mare.

"I'm Patches," the larger one called from behind River. He didn't say anything else. It was obvious that he was attempting to ignore the presence of the mare but wasn't doing a very good job at it.

River grinned at the antics of the kittens. One day, he would get Patches to open up to others but he knew not to press him. It was important that he trusted on his own terms. He could tell that Tiger was already quite taken by the mare but she was often interested in other females. It must be hard for the little kitten to travel with two males all the time.

"I am not quite sure where they came from but I have an idea that it has something to do with the pale two leggers that had visited some time back. They call themselves kittens and when grown, a cat. Ifound these two in the woods several months ago"

"Our mama was eaten by a wolf", Patches interjected. "I barely remember it. She hid us in the base of a tree but the wolf kept digging and trying to get us. I remember that."

"Our mama ran out and the wolf chased her got her," Tiger agreed sadly.

"Their mother sacrificed herself to bring attention away from the tree as the wolf had not taken notice of the kittens. She was very brave." River emphasized the last part.

"Yes, our mama was very brave!" Patches agreed and took off to play in the grass.

"We had the bravest mommy ever!" Tiger yelled as she too, turned to run int the grass, forgetting the sadness that had just come over her a moment before. It was easy to tell that these kittens were still rather young.

"It is important that they remember her bravery," he whispered as he turned back to the mare. "It's so easy for them to forget and I don't think a sacrifice like she had made should ever be forgotten. They had been in that tree for two days before I had found them. I took them in and we've been a family ever since. I learned long ago that you do not have to be of the same blood to be a family." Though this was a different situation than his own as a soquili had actually adopted him, he felt the rule still applied. Who said two creatures of a difference race couldn't grow to care for one another? He certainly felt like a father to the kittens and he knew he acted like it. He would never find wrong in his actions, no matter what others might think.

"Do you have family in these parts, Namine?" A part of him wanted to change the conversation just in case she did think he was quite strange at raising a couple kittens. A bigger part of him found himself genuinely curious to find out more about the mare.

He never really thought about a name. Maybe it would help the kittens remember? He wasn't sure, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to try, "I wouldn't know what name to give her," he stated honestly, "If you think of a good one, let me know?" It would be nice if the kittens could cling to their memories...

Her comment about being on her own saddened him a bit, but some really did prefer to be on their own and she could be one of them. He had been on his own for so long that he didn't even realize he had been lonely until he had found the kittens. "I don't remember my family. From what I remember, I had fallen into a river and was swept downstream some distance. I guess I knocked my head pretty good because I woke up to an old mare tending my wounds. Her name was Marabel but I called her mom. We could not find any sign of my family and I honestly do not remember anything about them or my life before the river. I couldn't even remember my real name, but you can guess where my name comes from now, right?," he chuckled. "I stayed with my new mom until she passed on from her old age and I had been on my own until of course, the kittens. I have lived a good life."

Though his story might be seen as a sad one in itself, he had no bad memories. Anything that existed of the life before was forgotten and every thing that had taken place since then had been great.

Turning back to his earlier thought, he found himself asking, "Do you like being on your own?"

There was a small flutter in his chest as she spoke about his hair and how well the name suited him. He had received compliments about the name before but nothing that actually brought forth a similarity to a river. It was a strange feeling to encounter as he felt both proud and a bit embarrassed at the same time. He wasn't even sure how to properly thank her as the words just tripped upon his tongue so he replied simply with a smile.

The silence did not last long because he did wish to respond to the rest of what she had said. "There is more freedom with being alone," he agreed. "I enjoy it so much that the idea of being restricted to one area would probably make me miserable. I suppose I'd not be much of a family type since I'd always want to travel with them. From what I understand, most families prefer some kind of stability but I think so many parts of this land offers unique things in different seasons. If you stay in one place too long, you will miss out on so much. At least, that's how I feel." He really loved going to the lake during the coldest parts of winter and playing on the ice. The rivers never froze up since they were constantly moving. If he stayed in the woods always, he'd miss out on so much.

"I have never lived in a group or been a part of anything quite that large, but I think you're right. I think one could feel lonely, no matter the situation. I don't know if I've ever felt lonely," he admitted, "as I've always been alone. I think I was content with my life, despite being that." It was an odd thing to think about. He enjoyed talking to Namine and he certainly enjoyed having the kittens in his life but he couldn't remember actually ever feeling lonely. It seemed like he was always exploring and talking to some animal or other.

He liked the way she looked at things. She didn't come off judgmental or condescending and he liked that. In fact, she made him feel less doubts about his decisions and way of life. Home was where you made it after all, and what rule existed said that it could not travel about? The only probably that would arise was if some members of the family did not wish to travel.. but so far, the kittens didn't seem to mind. They appeared to love exploring as much as he did, if not more.

"I agree with you. I think the only thing that really matters is loving and caring for others. I don't think there's any set way to live. However, there are those about that would question my lifestyle. Sometimes it bothers me, I suppose. Knowing that there's so much in this world that seems to be negative, even cruel. I think that's part of why I tend to keep to myself. I don't want to be a part of that, or be around it."

The large stallion couldn't help but laugh at her comment. He could actually imagine such creatures doing looking down at others like that and the imagery was quite comical. It felt really good to laugh.

River thought about her previous comment for a moment before answering, "I don't think it bothers me so much, but I do worry about how it might affect the kittens. They are young yet and so easily influenced by what goes on around them, or what they hear." Even the least bit of criticism might cause so much doubt in their minds, he really did worry about it. "I doubt I could really be bothered by those looking down their 'overlong, interfering noses' at me," he teased.