[PRP] You Again!? (Shinoma & Firestorm) [FIN]

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Shinoma clipped along, a splash of different colour against the grey-browns and greens of the trees around her. For once she was neither out hunting nor spoiling for a fight, she was just walking, finding a strange enjoyment in the sunshine. Of course, her favourite colour was blood red, but the colours of nature could be silently enjoyed...and never admitted to. Well, nature at least was true to itself.

A screeching sound above her caused her to twist her head skywards, and she watched as a hunting bird folded its wings and dived to the ground. She imagined the shrill cry of whatever little creature it had just killed, and a smile slid on her face. With a flick of her tendrilled and smoky tail she turned on her hoof and carried on walking.

As she walked, she realised she was experiencing an odd sense of deja vu - she was sure this area seemed familiar, that she'd been here at some point in her life. Then it clicked as she looked at the shape of the surrounding land. She'd wandered up here as a filly. There was another memory nudging at her as she looked around, but she couldn't quite work out what.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Firestorm's wings were pumping hard as he few towards the boundary of their territory. Balrog thought he could tell HIM what to do! Pfft. Balrog was getting to be an old stallion now, and he dind't understand that Firestorm needed to be able to stretch his wings, hone his abilities and find a CHALLENGE!

Balrog kept talking about how majestic their herd was, how perfect their herdlands. How strong they all were. But what did they do with it? Eat the green grasses that grew on the alpine valleys? Boring! Occasionally a mountain cat would encroach on their territory, but with the powerful stallions in the herd, they were not longer much of a threat. They were solitary hunters, after all, and the wolf packs of the forest never roamed this high. Sure, Firestorm had been pretty cocky after the first cat he had kicked off of the narrow pass, but since then... what?

Lectures from Balrog. More lectures from Balrog. And Nothing. To. Do! He wanted to prove to Balrog that he could take care of himself!

He remembered the last time life felt adventurous, daring. It was before he could soar as confidently as he could now - at the barrier of their territory, where the swift moving river went dashing off over the edge of the mountain in the form of a sonorous waterfall.

His heart beating with hope, he came in for a landing at one of the large rocks sticking up from the river right before the falls. He let the mist wash over him, let the fury and power of the falls fill his ears.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Shinoma heard the sound of the waterfall long before she saw it, her hooves taking her onwards down memory lane. Yes, this was all so familiar, even though she'd only seen it the once. She looked up the height of the fall, watching the water cascade down and walked towards where it pooled at the bottom of the mountain into the flowing river.

As she stood on the bank, her wings opened slowly, stretching out the smoky membrane before folding them away again, giving herself a thorough shake. There was now a name..something storm? Her head wrinkled, the remembering gave her some amusement as if the one whose name that was had been a source of some joke or trick.

Well, maybe the longer she was in the area, the more likely was to remember, and she waded partway into the river, fancying a drink of water for once.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Firestorm's eyes popped open and a daring smile stretched his face. He needed to feel ALIVE. His wings unfurled and he jumped. His wings pumped once, twice, and then he drew them in close to his body as his body went plummeting down along the falls.

The wind howled in his ears and the wind came rushing up against him like a demon. All around him he heard the crashing of water and felt the mists of the water falling along with him. Finally, near the bottom, his wings snapped back open and caught the air.

It was jarring, his body snapped back up, but the condensation of the water all around him was catching in his feathers, and unlike the time he had jumped off of the cliff above the herdlands, he felt his defiance against gravity slipping. For a moment, he thought he'd climb out of the fall, but then he dropped, plunging into the cold mountain runoff.

Thankfully, he had already stayed most of his inertia when he hit the water. He didn't go down very deep or hit the submerged rocks deep underneath. He fought his way back up, head breaking the surface with a boisterous shout of triumph, his long red mane sending a spray of water around him.

"Now THAT is living!" HE cried out - not aware that there was a pair of ears that could hear him.
 

[Sayuri_Nitta]

A motion, a flash of movement caught the corner of her eye, and she was immediately alert, muscles tensed and her ears flicked to catch any sounds from what she'd seen. She moved towards the waterfall, seeing a large something fall in amongst the rushing cascade of liquid that was streaming down the mountain and she waded forwards as the object impacted with a large splash.

'No that's falling.' she commented in a droll tone, rolling her eyes. Now she remembered the silly colt who claimed he could eat meat, and who she'd gotten an easy meal out of.

'Did we forget how to use our wings?' Shinoma said, her eyes raking over the now stallion. She grudgingly admitted to herself that his body had grown well, but he didn't seem to have gained any sense. She wondered if he'd actually become a predator, which she highly doubted. It was a shame, she thought as she eyed the sharp horn on his head.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Firestorm kicked his hooves and pulled himself throught he water with his broad wings until his hooves touched the rocky floor of the shore. Then, with a spring in his step, he scrambled up until the water was lapping at his knees.

He shook himself like a dog and then, with a wide, dopey smile he looked towards the source of the voice.

"Well well well!" He exclaimed, tail poised high as he trotted towards her with every ounce of confidence that he had had as a foal. "If it isn't Sheee-noma!" He drew her name out with a jovial grin. He shook his head again. "It's like a memory!" He looked back over his shoulders and sopping wings. "Same falls... same filly... but she's a mare now, isn't she?"

He looked her over. She was certainly taller now, but the same vivid hues and swirling flesh as if she were made of so much smoke that was being fanned by an indecisive wind.

He straightened himself, snapping his wings open with a flurry of droplets. "And I know QUITE well how to use my wings. But sometimes you just have to LIVE a little." He looked her over. "And what of you, Smokey? You ever learn to fly with those wispy little things?"  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Shinoma could rolled on the floor in her laughter, if she wasn't still unsure as to his mettle now he'd grown. Cockiness and name calling; it was as if he'd caught up to where she'd been as a filly. Maybe given time he would catch up to where she was now.

'Firestorm, yes I remember you.' she said coolly, replying as if he was a little colt still with a big mouth.

'And very observant, I am a mare. And those things over there with leaves on them are trees..' she said slowly, a slow smile on her face as she mocked him.

'Living is taking the life of another, and being strong enough to do so. But as I recall you weren't comfortable doing that were you?' she waded from the water, wanting to be on ground that she could see if he decided to challenge her.
'With great proficiency if it pleases you to know.' she said, her tail uncurling as her temper heated up.
'I'm not sure how you'd expect anyone to know your skills, flopping in the water like a wounded fish says many things but not prowess.'  

[Sabin Duvert]

"I should hope so!" Firestorm bragged as he got all four hooves now on the dry, rocky shore. He certainly had grown since Shinoma saw him last - his musculature thick like his father's, his wet fur was shimmery black in the diffused sunlight by the waterfall.
He would have been insulted if she hadn't remembered him. So even with her contrite attitude, she DID remember him.

He grinned broadly to her at her disdain. "Hey now, If I recall correctly, I was the one who killed the rabbit!" He snorted, flicking his ears back. "And since then my quarries have been far greater than bunnies and squirrels."

He cocked his head at her. "Proficiency, eh? Well, I suppose we'll have to see about that. And swimming can strengthen the wings, I will have ya know. And cool the flesh on a summer's day like this one. Or are we too snooty to throw our cares to the falls?" He grinned.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'You only did so because I goaded you into it,' Shinoma grinned back despite herself. And was this true, she wondered? Had he become a proper hunter, did the taste of blood no longer turn his stomach.

'So you're a proper predator now?' she asked, her gaze a steady, challenging one. It would be good if had become one, but she'd not have thought it would happen from when she first met him.

'Snooty?' she laughed, showing her fangs in her amusement.

'Silly stallion, letting oneself fall into water that you cannot see into is asking for a lasting injury. A true hunter cannot afford that.'  

[Sabin Duvert]

Firestorm snorted indignantly. "Goaded? It took little goading, filly. And goading does not skill impart!" His tail flicked for emphasis.

"And I have hunted many a fierce quarry!" He bragged. It was true... kind of. He had chased and fought mountain lions from their territory - and had become adept at attacking from the skies with hard hooves and sharp horn if a startling screaming neigh didn't do the job on its own. However, Firestorm HAD learned that a carnivorous diet was just not for him. He had been sick to his stomach for at least a day after the rabbit, and it never HAD tasted right. But still, the thrill was exhilirating.

"And what of you? Have you learned to catch rabbits on your own now?" He grinned teasingly.

"And I broke my fall before I plunged in." He retorted. Nevermind that he had intended on never actually plunging in - but the unexpected wasn't always bad. And he knew how to swim. The sensation had been worth it. "Maybe a true hunter can't afford injury, but life isn't worth living without the occasional risk. Otherwise, what? You get fat and satisfied and BORED. Do you just hunt bunnies and squirrels? Or do you go after challenges? Is that worth the risk of injury for the reward of a fit body and sharp mind?"
 

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'So that means your will is easily swayed then?' Shinoma laughed, his assertion that she'd not done much to get him to kill a rabbit twisted again so that he sounded like a pushover.

'If you say so,' her eyes raked him over.
'However, you look as soft as you ever were, so pardon me if I don't just take your blustering word for it. Proof is needed.' she said with a wink. Maybe she could get him to hunt again - needling him was fun at any rate.

'Rabbits are for fillies..and I am no child. Deer, boar...Soquili.' she let the last one slip out sibilantly, a look of bliss on her face as she remembered that hunt.

'And I am neither fat nor bored. And no one has yet to give me satisfaction.' she smirked at that. '
And as for challenges...well it's a great challenge right now not to be more amused by what you are saying. An injury risk is acceptable during the hunt, or battle..not being foolish.'  

[Sabin Duvert]

Firestorm snorted. "It means no such thing." His tail, still damp from his dunking, whisked the air.

"Soft?!" He poised, muscles tensing. "You are the one calling me soft? You look like a strong breeze might blow you away. Maybe you are the one who should prove it to me," he chuckled. "I am full confidence in my strenght. I have battled cougars and won." He stomped. "I've driven off lessers from our herdlands."

But as she mentioned Soquili on the list of prey that she had hunted, he looked cautious and vaguely skeptical. Was she pulling his leg? Goading him? Certainly, he HAD chased off some of the degenerate ground soquili from the borders of their herd - let them know that they were not welcome there. But hunted? No.

Firestorm, ever the thrillseeker, shook his head. "Hunting is exhilirating. But what I am saying is that you do not need to take boar or greater prey to sustain yourself. You take bigger challenges for... just that - the challenge. The thrill. There are more ways to feel that tingle LIFE than to take another's life. Perhaps I can teach you that."  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'Looks can be very deceiving,' Shinoma said, a small grin on her face.

'After all, you look like a large bird with a sharpened stick on your head.' she laughed slightly.

'Why would I need to do that? You're not someone I've set out to impress, nor do I look up to you. I would never have to prove myself to you.' the mare stared right at him.

'I know what I can do. What I can and have killed. Who I have fought. I revel in it. You may believe what you wish - bird.'

She listened to his words, wondering what exactly he thought a challenge was - going without acting pompous for a few minutes? She was idle at the moment though, and he might prove to be some further amusement.

'I'm sure you could show me something,' she replied in an offhand manner.
'Whether I'd find it interesting or not is to be seen.'  

[Sabin Duvert]

"I would like to see a bird with such strength as I. Only the mighty Thunderbird commands such respect." He held his head high. The Thunderbird was the totem of their herd, and with all of its command, power, and anger it embodied the herd's philosophy.

"So if you must call me a bird, then I shall take That as a compliment. It's better than a mist-bat, anyway." He leered.

He looked up to the falls before back towards her. "Let us see if you can command you nerves more solidly than your flesh. Let us see you take a dive from the fall's crest. And then perhaps you can put forth your challenge to me." The young stallion dared her.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'If you say so.' Shinoma replied. Really, what did he think he was doing? All this boasting without anything to back it up was really off putting. If he could prove all his assertions that would have been something.

'Given that bats are a symbol of the night, and birds are often associated with going 'tweet' and eating worms, I know which comparision I prefer.' she shot back with a sweet smile.

This was his challenge? A drop from the falls. She looked up, closing one eye to see the crest through the mist that was thrown up.

'Challenge accepted.' she said, tossing her head and moving away from the water. She cantered a few paces and took off, beating her wings hard and gaining height as she circled upwards towards the top of the waterfall. Once there, she took a careful look down, noting how the wall beneath the cascade sloped.