[PRP]A Spectrum of Oddities (Sumi and Rokhan)

[Nyhility]

A gale of wind burst through the leaves of her forest home, the sound and force nearly violent. Younger trees bent submissively to the sudden wind, while aged and frail leaves twirled off their branches in a waltz to the earth. Not even the birds could be heard anymore, them wise enough to end their open plays and find nestly covers. This would be a storm indeed, long overdue and finally answering the call of the thirsty soil below.

Blue hair snaked out widely to the whims of the air, teal eyes squinting against the wind. Not even these woods would be a haven against the upcoming storm. Maybe a shuddering shelter, if nothing more. Setsumi whinnied, both thrilled and anxious to the smell of rain in the air. Shaking her mane somewhat out of her line of sight, the mare walked forward carefully, finding a trail to the edge of her forest where the trees thinned out. How grand the clouds must look now, rolling across the horizon like a soft and intangible tide.  

[LOLLI qAq]

The rain hit the earth and as the smell of it hitting the dry ground rose to his nostrils, Rokhan's eyes beamed. The wild-haired stallion hadn't needed to follow the winds far from his home and herd, and for that he was grateful. It gave him a much better chance to really watch the collecting clouds overhead instead of where his hooves were landing. A chance he'd taken full advantage of. And now here he stood, shoulders squared and eyes turned towards the increasingly fiesty winds and rumblings in the sky. With the first flash of lightning, Rokhan grinned and called to the skies.

"Tell me t'secrets ya be keeping, winds!"  

[Nyhility]

Whistling was heard as the winds tore through the tree fronts, searching like vines through the meadow to the curious woodlands. Setsumi pinned her ears, both from the sound and the tickling of her crown feathers. She'd be lucky if only a small batch of the feathers escaped her pelt in this weather.

Her eyes trailed across the scene before her, amazed at how the sky above looked like a depression of watercolors. Blotches here and there, then smeared forward in a hazy force of distant rain. It could be smelt from here, but as of yet the ground was still dry were she stood. The mare shook when she hear the faint but strong rumblings of the clouds, a temper to match its display. So there'd be a light show as well...

A scorch of orange on the horizan, and Setsumi thought it to be the afterglare of lightning. But a closer glance prooved it to be a soquili, standing yonder in the open. She snorted, none too calm about such a location during this weather. Did he think it wise to preach and admire the rain so closely? A wordless voice was heard; the male must be speaking. Setsumi flicked her tail before sprinting out near the other's location....though still within reach of the forest. Perhaps she could persuade him to stand in safer grounds.  

[LOLLI qAq]

After the starting theatrics amongst the rain heavy clouds calmed down for a second Rokhan shook a few stray strands of orange red from his eyes, and in so doing caught a flash of purple in the wandering corners of his sight; and, possibly feathers? Like the flashes of the lightning above his thoughts twisted through the possibilities of what could be coming at him. A large bird? No, that couldn't be it. Before he had the time to conciously make the choice to turn his head towards the interestingly colored distraction, he'd done it.

It was a mare. Quite a unique one at that, and that particular fact did not go unnoticed by the stallion. When he'd seen feathers, he'd imagined wings where there clearly were none. The sight of possible distress, maybe, made him more curious.

"There be somethin' wrong miss?"  

[Nyhility]

As Setsumi drew nearer, she was able to view more details of this escentric stranger. His mane, though soft in appearance, was a ragged mess of bangles and hues. Markings danced across his body in curvatures and thick bands. The mare could have almost mistaken it for tribal paint from the two-legged creatures. Brows then quirked, taking careful consideration to his choice of decoration. Ivory fangs hanging securely around his neck, while his muzzle was split through with natural tusks.

She faultered, both suspicious and hesitant. What soquili looked like that, without being 'owned' or of kalona blood? Though turning back wasn't an option now, as fierce red eyes turned at her. The mare ruffled her feathers anxiously. "There's no need to summon what's already here." She turned her snout to the storm clouds before looking back to the other. "And unless you are a sprite of the winds, you best find shelter soon." A distant thunder groaned loudly, and Setsumi turned squinted eyes down as thick drops of rain made their first landings.  

[LOLLI qAq]

Rokhan studyed the mare just as she was taking note of him. He was pleased to see that she did not look overly malicious, but he knew that could change. Especially with the looks he was recieving as she noticed his tusks. They were a thing of pride to him, being passed down from his Momma, but the quiet stallion knew the misunderstandings they could bring. And the fear that came with all of that. Well, at least she wasn't running from him yet; and hopefully talking to her could stop that from happening.

Following the mare's ice blue gaze, he whinnied wistfully with a soft grin. "Oi, t'be one with tha wind spirits." He said it breathlessly, his voice filled with awe at the amazement of what it would be like to be a part of such a storm. The imaginations of such power made the hide on his flanks quiver with excitement. She did have a point, though, one he was rue to admit. "Please, could ya be showin' me a safe haven?"

The question was simple enough, and the answer could be just as easy. He hoped. Either she'd point him in the right direction, or allow him to follow her to a safer location. No harm, no foul; whatever the case.  

[Nyhility]

The mare was unaware of any expressions she may be displaying, the wind strong and her amne a bothersome curtain to her view. Teal eyes watched in quiet thoughts as the ground was speckled darker with raindrops. Even that alone was an entertaining thing to behold, and she'd stay out longer if not for the nearing thunder and lightning. That fact made her squint back up at the other to see what he'd have to say on the situation. Ears perked to his noise of...what...content?

His accent was a slight surprise to the mare, if his appearance was not already hint enough of some cultural differences. Setsumi looked up at the clouds, catching sight of sickly greens and oranges. An unnatural color to the normally white substances. Perhaps those were the spirits in question? Shaking her head, she turned attention back to the other with a swift nod. "Just yonder are the woods that I had made exit upon. We'll be safer there." Flicking her tail, she turned and made a speedy trot back to her home territory, leaving the choice of land paths open for the other to choose on. Passing the first two rows of trees, the mare turned back to the scene, both for the stallion and the sky.  

[LOLLI qAq]

His hair now also constructing his view as he lowered his head to peer at the quiet mare, he strained to see her properly through his messy hair. He knew shaking it out of the way would be no good, as the stinging wind would only replace it with yet more of his mane. It was good though that the electricity coalescing in the air made the colors of her hide that much more vibrant, so as she turned and lead him towards the trees it wasn't too hard to follow.

As Rokhan moved towards the forest line at a slower pace than the male, it gave him a moment to think on her mannerisms. As well as just the befeathered female herself. She seemed so formal in the way she spoke, at least in comparison to what he was used to.

Upon reaching the mare, the stallion made a gesture of thanks in way of a bow. "I be thankin' ya," he said warmly. "The spirits be riled t'day more than I expected." That, and he just hadn't thought about what would happen to him being the single highest point on the flat clearing. Silently he chided himself for not paying attention to his surroundings and taking precautions.  

[Nyhility]

A flicker of gratitude crossed the mare's mind that the other had joined the forest. There'd be no joy in watching this weather if another had the risk of getting zapped right in front of her. Thoughts were quirked to a stop when the stallion appeared before her, having followed in her direction. Appreciative of his bow, Setsumi offered the same, if not as a soft nod with a short laugh. "'I be thankin ya?' Never heard it that way before. But you're welcome." Compared to his relaxed use of speech, hers sounded so...bland. Was that what solitude did to an individual after so long, without them even realizing?

She turned once more to where she had been before. A small hollowing in the bushes, like the curve of a basket to rest inside. And while securing, it was still low enough to not interupt the view of the storm. And if searched through, these bushes also provided some dark berries hidden in their leaves. Setsumi flicked ears to listen to the other while adjusting in the spot, keeping long tail from getting snagged. "So is this the only time you see spirits, during a storm?" She glanced from the male to the meadows, watching as the scenery turned more and more gray. "I never thought of the spirits in the weather before. Just in the blooming and twisting trees around me, growing and observing through the ages." A difference between calm and violent, eternal and brief. Setsumi quirked a brow in bemusement. "Who knew there were so many ways to percieve it."

 

[LOLLI qAq]

Rokhan waited patiently for the mare to settle, before getting comfortable himself. He took that moment of waiting to observe his surroundings better. The feel of the hollowing was comforting and made it that much easier to relax. Not that he was tense, but anxious to be around a mare that was not a part of his herd.

When she spoke, asking of the spirits in the winds, the blue stallion nodded as he took in what she was saying. "Tha spirits be everywhere," he said carefully. It was difficult sometimes for him to explain the views he had on the world and how it worked. At least how it worked for him. "It just be easier for me ta see them in the winds." He laughed as he finished, and quickly realised why it was the weather appealed to him as a medium of sorts. "I'm impatient like tha'."  

[Nyhility]

Setsumi turned careful eyes to the other as they, she assumed, settled in to observe the weather. The smell of a herd was clear on his pelt, if not moreso due to the rainy air. But not two-legged creatures. So where were the other soquili? Were they safe too?

"Everywhere?" Teal eyes blinked while ears pinned to another clap of thunder. Then her brow quirked and she tilted her head to the other. "Do you honestly see them, or are you just pulling my tail?" She bit her tongue, feeling her own lack of understanding turning into impatience. It was a horrible habit of hers, especially when meeting new soquili. And there was no need for an unfriendly ranting. Rain began to pitter patter on the leaves around them, and her feathers spazzed lightly against the sky tears. "I apologize for snapping like that. M..my name is Setsumi, by the way. May I ask for your name?"

 

[LOLLI qAq]

Rokhan smiled warmly at the mare, at least she was curious, and that was much more than most other soquili he met under circumstances such as these. Somedays it seemed the only ones who understood him were his family or the two-legged shamans of the village. Again, he reminded himself, even then they didn't understand him... He just understood them.

Putting thought into his words, he said what he wanted to carefully. "No' actually see them, no. They be tha clouds, tha rain, or like ya said; they be in the budding of a flower." He wrinkled his nose slightly in thought as he tried to find the exact words to finish what he wanted relay to her, but he couldn't. Rokhan really hoped what he'd just told her would be enough for her to ask more questions. For the moment though it was good just getting a name for the face, and it was rude not to return the favor. "Oi, I be Rokhan."  

[Nyhility]

She stood there quietly, wondering if she'd be snorted at or jested for her mood swing. But then the stranger continued to speak, without scorn or impatience in his tone, and Setsumi looked back up at the other. Ah, so he 'saw' them in the same manner she acknowledged them. The efforts of nature in such living displays, as to be called spirits of their own. Or at least that's a simplistic guess on her part. "Then...today must be a war of the spirits." It was a whisper as she turned to face the storm just beyond the woods. Who knew why they behaved so actively, but it was a display worth catching sight of.

One ear bent to the side as the stranger spoke up, and Setsumi blinked curiously. "I'm sorry, what?" She had been distractd with the faint thread of light and sound that just scarred the sky. "Ro-khan? Rokhan..I am pronouncing that right?" A nod was given for their delayed introductions. "Well, it's a pleasant surprise to meet you. And unfried by sky light as well."

 

[LOLLI qAq]

Even though Rokhan's eyes were on the storming, his full attention was now on listening to the feathered mare next to him; even then, he'd barely heard what it was she'd whispered. Seemingly to herself, maybe? He didn't want to be rude, in case it was directed at him, so he decided to aknowledge that she had said something. "It be lookin' tha way, doesn't it?" He didn't want to assume that's what the spirits were doing, but it was good a guess as any with how violently the winds shook the trees surrounding them. It was lucky for him that she'f caught him on the plains and pointed out how dangerous it was to be out there.

Apparently she was thinking the same thing, and it caught him off gaurd. He let out a thoughtful laugh and turned his head to nod directly at her. "Tha' be right," he said at her first attempt at his name. "Good company and a light show weren't somethin' I be expectin'"  

[Nyhility]

A slow nod was made, herself nearly unaware of doing so. The rain water was helping to weigh down her hair, so the strength of the wind was becoming less bother to her. Now she could see more clearly, and if she focused her eyes in one location long enough, she could see the clouds inch into movement passed the blur of dropping rain. A soft laugh was unexpected though, and she turned her neck to peer at the other with a thoughtful glance. "Yeah? You can say that again."

She paused though, thinking he actually might for some odd reason. "I mean, I had expected this storm to come. Felt it along my feathers. But I hardly thought of seeing another at the same moment." Here she assumed other soquili went into safe lurkage as well. But apparently her instincts were different from others, or this Rokhan just had different ways of reacting to situations. Setsumi nodded her maw towards the bush circling them as well. "Feel free for some berries to snack on as well. Seems this storm will last longer than expected, if it stays this intense." Teal eyes looked to the soaked leaves around them. She may even option to trail further into the woods later, if the stormfront came too near to enjoy. "I still can't believe you were right out there..."