[PRP]Journey Begins (Vatsa & Tuulikki)

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Vatsa clipped along, only half sure of the way he was going. It had been many months since he'd spent the night near the waterfall with the mare Tuli, and he had thought about her in the mean time, but he'd taken to wandering for a while, finding his feet as a stallion and maturing in himself. He was still very affectionate to those he met, but he carried himself with a confidence as well.

The surroundings started to look vaguely familiar the further he travelled in the direction he was going, and when he started to smell the scent of damp on the air he knew for certain he was in the right area. He trotted onwards, his tail braid bouncing behind him and soon he could hear the noise of the waterfall. He was almost there, and he started to listen and sniff around to see if Tuli happened to be there also.  

[Dixie]

She indeed was there. It had been a beautiful day and the air was warm. She had taking a liking to water when she was just a filly, she enjoyed romping in the lake that the waterfall created. She watched as fish neared the surface, then chased them off as if she were a feline creature. She dare not try to actually catch one, she wouldn't want to hurt them, but, it was like they were playing a game of tag which she would never win.

She had traveled back to the waterfall several times after her evening with the friendly stallion. He had said he'd find her again, but she had come to believe it wasn't to be. She had taken steps to journey further from her parents home, but she always returned at night fall. She had still few soquili that she could call friends and still no stallion to call her own.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Vatsa pushed through a stand of trees, clambering over and around some rocks and the waterfall and its surroundings where finally in view. For a moment the sun glanced off the falling water and caused him to blink, sun spots dancing in front of his eyes and until they cleared he stayed where he was for fear of misplacing a hoof. When they faded, he got a good look around and saw what he had hoped to see. The mare was there.

He hoped she was as forgiving as she was sweet natured, as he knew it had been a few months since they had met. He hadn't forgotten about her, he'd just been finding himself.

He walked down from the rocks, approaching the lake, his head held in a graceful manner. He wanted to look to her as somebody that it had been worth the wait for.  

[Dixie]

She didn't notice him at first, she continued chasing the fish, laughing out loud to herself as the fish taunted her beneath the surface. After a round or two more, she stopped to catch her breath. Looking around, she almost missed him. She took a double take to make sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"Vatsa?" She questioned out loud. "Vatsa?!" she yelled out to him, moving as quickly as she could to the dry earth next to the lake. Her face broke into a broad smile, he had kept his word.

She tried to gather her composure, she didn't want to seem -too- excited. She took a moment to shake her coat and mane, trying to free herself from the water still dripping from her wings and body. Once she was finished, she took a few steps towards Vatsa and lowered her head briefly in greetings. "How have your travels treated you, Friend?"  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Vatsa smiled at the mares reaction; at least she had rememberd him, and didn't seem cross to see him either. She looked as pretty as he'd remembered.

'Yup it's me Tuli,' he said, with a broad smile on his face, and he greeted her in his own special way, pressing his nose against her neck and grazing her with a soft n** at her pelt.

'I've been good,' he replied, moving back a few steps after his affectionate greeting.
'I'm sorry it's been so long since we saw each last. I was...well, I had to go discover the stallion I am.' he said, with an enigmatic smile.  

[Dixie]

All she could do was smile, "I'm just glad you came back." She hoped that didn't sound as though she had been waiting for him too long.

She closed her eyes for ust a moment as he greeted her with a soft touch. She wanted to ask him more about his journey, but she wasn't sure if that would be rude or not, she didn't want to offend him.

"I hope you found what you were looking for, Vatsa." she smiled even wider.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'Did you think I wouldn't then?' he asked lightly, wondering if she'd taken it to heart or had begun to doubt him the more time that passed since they'd seen each other last. It made him feel slightly like a heel, as though he'd been toying with her emotions. But he hadn't promised her anything beyond the fact that he would see her again.

'I think I have, I'd say my days of wandering around for months on end were over. I don't need to search any longer.' he nipped the tip of her closest ear.

'But I'm still up for an adventure..want to see how far up the mountainside we can get?' Vatsa asked with a grin.  

[Dixie]

"I had begun to doubt, but none the less, here you are!" She smiled and laughed. Adventure, yes! She had forgotten that they had talked about going on an adventure together.

"Yes!" She side stepped a little bit with excitement. She had begun to go further from her parents land, but she hadn't ventured up the mountain before. "Maybe we can find some fresh berries along the way." she swished her tail quickly, playfulling hitting Vatsa's rump with it. "Off we go?"  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Vatsa pushed out his bottom lip, pretending to pout.

'You didn't think I'd come back did you?' he said, trying to sound all wounded but failing and started to laugh instead. The truth was that even though he'd not promised her anything out loud or even to himself when he left her last time, he'd not met anyone else he'd found half so endearing.

'Hey now,' he said with a smile. He tugged her back to him, pulling gently on her mane and pressed his nose against her. A quick inhale of her scent and he was ready.

'Okay, let's see if we are mountaineers!' he looked around, seeing which direction they should head, and after a quick scout of the horizon, moved towards a path that should take them to the foot of the distant and cloud draped mountains.  

[Dixie]

She laughed as he made a pitiful attempt to look hurt, her smile getting larger as he slightly nudged her.

"I bet we are!" she ruffled the feathers on her wings quickly, tucking them in tightly around her barrel so that she didn't get them caught in any branches or plants along the way.

"Following your lead!" she chirped happily as she stepped quickly to follow in closely next to him.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'Well we'll certainly find that out won't we?' Vatsa said, settling into an easy pace as he canted down the path he had taken. It was a winding path, snaking and slowly rising as it followed the land, the heavy seeded heads of some of the long grasses fell across their way, and his legs scattered the fine seeds where they knocked into them.

'What have you been up to whilst I was travelling?' he asked of Tuuli after they'd travelled a short distance in easy silence. He really hoped she'd not just been hanging around the waterfall waiting for him, as he would feel guilty then.  

[Dixie]

Tuli followed along and canted not far behind her friend, a smile on her face. She stretched her neck up, her eyes looking around taking in the scenery as they passed.

"Well," she thought before she answered. She had been trying to travel further from her parents, she had met new soquili, she found out she was going to be an aunt again... there was a lot. "I've been going on small adventures of my own!" she replied proudly. "I'm going to be an aunt again!" Tuli loved meeting her nieces and nephews, they were always such fun.

"And you? Has your journey led you to new adventures as well?"

She closed her eyes momentarily to take in the sounds, she loved exploring new places.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

As the land rose, so the plants changed, grass giving way dark leaved shrubs with sharp little thorns. The surroundings opened up as they climbed further up towards where the grassy and gentle hill met the rocks of the mountains that towered above, and when Vatsa stopped for a moment and turned around, the view already was wonderful, the different greens of field and forest spread out like a verdant quilt.

'Look,' he said, stopping Tuuli as well so she could see.

'This is what I've been seeing whilst I was travelling. Our world is bigger than we know.' he smiled at the mare. They would talk more, and he would congratulate her on the new additions to her family once they moved again, but such sights were best appreciated in silence.  

[Dixie]

She stopped at Vatsa did, turning to see what he was talking about. The scene took her breath away.

"It's...It's beautiful!" her wings stretched just a little bit and she ruffled her feathers. " I bet it's even more stunning from the air..." she had never flown in this direction, she had always stayed over the flatlands that surrounded her parents home. One day, one day she would return here with her father to show him.

"You've seen other places like this?" she questioned as she turned to look back at him, tilted her head. "You've seen amazing things, Vatsa!"  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Vatsa nodded;
'If you like though, you can see them with me all the time from now on.' he said the words casually, as though he wasn't saying what amounted to something of a commitment. She had charmed him, and he liked her innocence and joy in the simple things of life.

'And you'd have to tell me one day, you can go up there and let me know how it looks from a birds eye view.' he turned, looking back to where they had been facing before their brief stop and carried on walking.

'An Aunt eh? That's good. I don't think either my brother or sister have made me an Uncle yet, though it's been a while since I saw either of them.' he made a mental note to catch up with his family once he knew how certain things stood for himself.