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Lessia was intrigued.

Today, like most days, had begun with the usual sun-in-eyes wake up call; she'd proceded to track down her traveling companion of choice, the alicorn Seyx, then the two of them had done a bit of prowling around central river region. If Lessia was able to keep to her master plan, eventually she would have covered the entire landscape, from the ocean to the mountains and the desert beyond; as things currently stood, she was barely a third of the way through the forest, but that third was as familiar to her as her own backyard.

Indeed, it WAS her own backyard. Unlike many winged Soquili, she preferred to actually walk her territory; unlike many grounded Soquili, she eschewed the concept of a single, defensible 'home territory'. The world was her oyster, and she would cover it in time, one day at a time.

Seyx was an admirable companion for prowling; his inquisitive nature and boundless energy was an excellant match for her own; his laid-back and relaxed demeanor meant that he was always willing to do what she wanted and go where she felt like going. He was also her closest childhood friend, and she loved the anxiety their friendship had the potential to create among the unaware; after all, SHE looked every bit a kalona, and he...

Well, he was a part flutter, smallish, dainty alicorn who wasn't even as tall as her. But really, he was just that awesome. Mostly.

On one topic, and one topic only, they had agreed to disagree. Lessia, like her mother before her, ate meat, and Seyx could not in good conscience approve of what he saw as needless killing and bloodshed. Grass was good enough for almost all Soquilis, and even if she DID have fangs, there was no reason she couldn't manage with just grass. It worked for her father, after all!

Lessia herself was aware of all of these facts, and she couldn't deny that a part of her felt shame every time she killed. But inevitably, the need for meat would return and she would once again find herself on the hunt, nostrils wide and teeth gleaming as she raced after her prey. And besides, it wasn't like she would EVER go after a Soquili!

It was with just such thoughts in mind that she had split from Seyx in the early evening, both knowing but neither acknowledging the true reason for the separation. Seyx would distance himself from the inevitable hunt, and Lessia could eat without worry of disturbing anyone else's gentler sensibilities. Or that was the theory, anyway.

She had been prowling swiftly through the trees, dark wings wrapping her pale body for camoflague, when she'd first heard the skriek. Frenzied, panicked...definitely something in dire straits; non-Soquili or sentient, so she had nothing to be anxious about on that front. And after a short span of time, it was quiet; the stillness and lack of rushing feet indicated that whatever it was, it had lost its fight. Which meant that something had won.

Which meant, quite probably, that it would be a good idea to avoid the direction that the sound had been coming from. After all, if there was one thing that she knew from personal experience, it was that hunters didn't usually like to share. Which in and of itself was a pity; she wanted to see what it had been.

Rule number one when dealing with a kalona: never take them at their word when meeting them for the first time. This fact had been drilled into Lessia's head from the time she was a small filly, with both her half-kalona father and her pure kalona mother wanting their children to understand that just because their family was...well, nice, most weren't. The last thing that any parent would want to hear was that one of their children had been murdered, after all!

Unlike her father or either of her siblings, Lessia looked a full-blood kalonaand consequently had the least to fear from appearances alone; however, appearances weren't everything, and she had inherited her father's slightly off-kilter sense of humor and developed a somewhat reckless manner when it came to dealing with others. Taking all of these facts in stride, when the victorious killer spoke out there was a brief struggle between 'common sense' and 'common' sense.

And, as usual, Lessia decided to deal with things her own way. Never mind that she (as of yet) hadn't seen the speaker, nevermind that she knew the speaker to be in possession of a new kill. She herself wasn't going to jump to conclusions about someone else's nature when they were literally opening the door to a conversation...and besides; this way she could see what the prey had been.

Tossing back her braids, Lessia shrugged off the possible negatives of such a meeting, then purposefully strode towards the source of the voice, commenting in a slightly sardonic fashion, "Well, much as the idea of watching someone else eat appeals, I personally find lurking and watching to be a bit of a waste of time, particularly when I'm feeling pecking myself. Then again, I can't say I've any experiences watching YOU eat, so perhaps this could be the one-time deal breaker."

That said, she emerged from the trees and into full view of the other mare, leaving enough space between them to allow easy conversation but properly indicate to the brown mare that Lessia had no designs on her....deer? Yes, it looked like it had once been a stag, regardless of its current state. A very handsome kill, indeed.