[PRP] World's Apart [Ikinya + Cuauhcoatl]

[Tirokio]

Oh! Life anew on strange soil caused the blood of the small mare to bubble in utter excitement. Small hooves shuffling to carry her across the sands of the shore, her bell like laughter carried in the winds as she darted away from a large wave as it crashed down nearly on top of her. Inhaling deeply as her lungs filled with the sweet salt air of the ocean, Ikinya couldn't remember a time that she'd been so...happy. Sure, she loved her home lands, and while a peice of her heart would always remain in Africa...the new land was everything she wanted and more. Grand adventure and new faces awaited her, aside from the same Usdia pack she'd lived with her entire life up till now.

Besides, she'd been running from the waves for nearly a hour now, and as her short legs began to tire the mare couldn't help but think a drink would hit the spot right about now.

"Wasn't there a lake back North...?" Ho'humming she turned her chocolate hued irises back towards the small clearing which lead further to the treeline. She knew she wouldn't have much time before finding a shelter would become priority, off in the distance an ocean storm front was slowly making its way mainland...if the storms here were anything like africa well; Usdia's didn't enjoy storms at ALL.

So, with a bounce in her short steps she began to make her way back towards the lake...maybe hunt down an apple or two before the storm settled in for the night. The grassly clearing reached up to tickle her under belly as she walked, a smile stretched across her maw.  

[mindsend]

At around the same time, another soquili dozed lightly in the long grasses below an apple tree, wings folded lightly at his sides as he lazily watched the clouds, only partially conscious as he dozed in the heavy still before the storm. The Angeni had come to try and figure out why the apples had ripened earlier in the season then usual. It was a curious sight, and as an Angeni of Learning, it was a fascinating new thing for the one called Cuauhcoatl to learn about.


Plus, frankly, some out of season apples made for a decent meal.

And so he rested, fully satisfied, and oblivious to the crunch of small, approaching hooves  

[Tirokio]

As the lake and trees drew closer and closer, Ikinya smelt the sweet scent the apples on the breeze and as if on cue her tummy began to grumble softly. "Hmmm. I'm more hungry than I thought...." The spotted little mare mulled over it while she changed direction to the taller grass around the tree, nearly dissapearing amongst the tall blades. It was no wonder she hadn't a clue of the beast of a stallion laying quietly only a few feet away, when one couldn't even see over the sea of green.

There is was...the most perfect apple she'd ever seen; giant, ruby red and glistening in the sun's bright rays. Ikinya licked her lips hungrily as even the branch was low to the ground...low enough that if she really jumped high she'd maybe reach it. Wiggling her rump while taking a few small steps back, the Usdia lunged and jumped as high as she could while attempting to snap her teeth around the delicious fruit when she was off by mere inches.

What happened next was like slow motion.

During her decent back to the ground, juuuust as her eyes drifted down to watch her footing as she land the mare's eyes widened in horror as she discovered she was landing on a giant, purple mass. "ACK!" She yelped before landing straight on his back with an 'oomph!'. Immediately she jumped out (and she could have sworn right out of her skin) and stumbled into the tall grasses before falling out of sight onto her rump. For once shrinking into a curl to be as small as possible, she whimpered out a very quick "I-Im sorry!" ready to bolt need be if this...this thing was a predator.  

[mindsend]

"aah!" Cuauhcoatl jerked his head upright, craning around to try and spot who had hit him, "H-h-hello? Who.. Who ex-exactly...Ah..."

The angeni looked around, eyes wide and feathers blowing in the soft win he shifted his wings awkwardly, slowly standing up, "Who's there? It's.. It's quite... Quite alright."


The brightly colored scholar was a good sized fellow, standing at about 17 hands tall, though he had his head lowered slightly in embarrassment, "Where are you..?"  

[Tirokio]

Oddly enough her pelt gave her a bit of a blended advantage, even with the massive stallion towering over her. Everything her herd had taught her about large creatures was to flee at the very sight of them...but gosh she'd never seen one so big! Here she thought she was impressive with her height amongst her herd but well, she maybe could reach his underbelly with her head at best.

He didn't seem like a predator...almost like he was....unsure?

God she would kick herself for this later...but the mare slowly stood out, her head popping out of the grass a few feet away from the giant, colourful stallion. Slowly she walked out from the grass into a small clearing where her animal printed pelt could be seen, and well...what a dwarf she was in comparison.

"Hello...uhm...Im very sorry for well...landing on you I didn't even see you there with this tall grass!" Ikinya managed to spew out in one breath, cocking her head up to look at the fellow before her, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.  

[mindsend]

Cuauhcoatl looked around a little more in confusion, before dipping his head down and spotting the well camouflaged Usdia, "..Oh! Oh my g-g-g-goodness, I'm s-so sorry for getting in y-your way like that."

He swallowed, glancing up to try and see why she had landed on him, and spotted the apple, "Where you trying to get this? I must have thrown your tempo off... here" He carefully lipped the apple before plucking it unharmed from the tree, holding it out gently for her, "eer oo o, owwy awow ahck.*"

* translation from lipless: "here you go, sorry about that"  

[Tirokio]

In her way? Giving him a strange look she wondered if he even realized what he was saying, she was the one who jumped...he couldn't possibly have known and gotten in her way! "Please...don't be so hard on yourself! It was an accident...really, no one's to blame." She half smiled, still weary of the near giant before her.

"Ah-AH!" She gasped as he leant up to grab the apple, her face burning below her spots. "You....didn't have to. I didn't mean to be such a ...bother." Eyeing the apple, she reared back on her hind legs and tilted her head to grasp the apple gently from his teeth; taking a bite as the other half dropped to the ground while she chewed and swallowed.

"I have to ask....are you...a god or something? I've never seen anyone as big as you..."  

[mindsend]

Eyes widening slightly, Cuauhcoatl cocked his head slightly, "Mmn... Ah..." He looked to the side. What could he say? Angeni were, in a way, spirits come to earth in Soquili form.. Or at least, so the legends and stories stated in all of his studies. Cuauhcoatl at times was unsure if his dreams where that of past lives or simply dreams. Either way, he was born to two other Angeni, who wouldn't exactly approve of this current conversation.

"I'm... Not sure. I've seen other soquili that are larger.. They say Angeni are Spirits... Or perhaps A-avatars. Though I can't remember. It may be in one of my scrolls back home... Somewhere.. I write everything down, as much as I love learning my memory is sort of j-jumbled at t-times since I learn so much.. T-the older stuff is harder to remember, so it's g-good to have a refresher.." He made a soft noise before laughing, "Though, I'm no god, I know that much. A spirit, that's still to be seen s-since I was gifted a Domain, but it has little baring on my size. It's more a case of... Being an Avatar for something.. B-but not All Angeni are.."


He lowered his head, kneeling slowly, "Mmn. you're an... Whats the name.. Ah! Usdia, correct? Usdia of the Africanus offshoot, from what I can tell. Recently introduced to these areas from the east... Either way, its.. Ah.." Suddenly away from scholarly subjects, he found himself growing awkward again, "Well it.. Wasn't.. any.. Any p-problem. I was already n-nearby.."  

[Tirokio]

Oddity indeed, at least from where she came from. Sure, there were giant creatures which roamed the land like elephants, rhino's and even giraffes themselves. Yet the first real colonization of any type of horse in the local tribes were the usdia's, requiring less water for those long dry spells than larger breeds of horse. Upon coming here, well...it seemed that with bountiful water and food that the size of everything has doubled; even tripled on her as seen in this fellow here.

"L...larger?" If her pelt was skin, the poor mare would have paled a bit at the news...larger than he? No way...."So...my appologies for my bluntness...but your an...Angeni? Which is a kind of spirit? I can't say i've ever heard of, or met a spirit before."

As he knelt though, she did feel a lot more comfortable being eye to eye with the otherwise massive stallion. "Yes, I am an Usdia. How did you know I was Afri..." Looking back at her pelt, well she chuckled and seemed to have answered her own question. "Have you ever been to Africa?"

As much as she didn't like to look handicapped due to her height...she would have felt worse if she didn't thank him at least. "Anyways...Thank you for the help....Oh! I don't think I caught your name....Im Ikinya, pleasure to meet you!"  

[mindsend]

"It wasn't j-just your pelt that gave you away --Usdia africanus tend to have Longer legs and a slightly different build then Usdia Americanus." Golden eyes closed "A-as for Angeni, That is what I am. M-many tend to have forgotten what they were before, or are born as Angeni rather then spirits, thus cannot go between the forms of Human and Soquili... I rarely do so though, so I may eventually lose the ability..."


He shook his head absent mindedly, "I doubt you required my help, It was just a case of my being there and it being easier for me to grab it for you... I'm Cuauhcoatl."  

[Tirokio]

Well, it was at least a little boost knowing she too was taller than her A...Americanus cousins! Especially if it seemed there where even taller creatures than he walking around these lands. Leanding down and finishing the rest of her apple, she raised a brow as she looked backt to him. "So...you can change into a two legger? Why don't you start changing back to one so you don't forget and lose the ability? I wouldn't mind, I lived with them my whole life!" She smiled sweetly, knowing some wern't fond of humans.

"Cuauhcoatl? Strange, but I think I like it." The little femme mused, cocking her head to the side before the strong wind blew past nearly knocking the usdia off her feet while the thunder rolled strong overhead. Shaking slightly she tried to compose herself once more "I...it was very nice to meet you...but Im afraid im not one for stroms with my size...and I need to go find some shelter..."

Keeping low (not that it was hard!) she moved to the edge of the grass, "Will I see you around...?"  

[mindsend]

Eyes narrowing slightly, Cuauhcoatl moved to walk carefully over the much smaller soquili, spreading his wings low to create a shield from the winds, "I know of a place where I was planning on Sheltering from the storm...."

He made a slight noise and moved to the side, kneeling down, "C-could you climb onto my back? It'll be easier to get there if we ran, but I'd rather not hurt you by accident.."  

[Tirokio]

Ikinya was surprised at the sudden lack of wind hitting her little frame, looking way up to see the stallion standing over her like a shield. Wings must have been convenient...but she'd imagine they'd drawf her frame! Was he offering her a place to stay? "Thats....very nice of you..." She stated in a bit of disbelief...he really was an angel, perhaps her guardian? Could very well be!

"Fly...???" Hesitant, she wondered if that was infact such a good idea...whomever heard of an airborne Usdia!? Yet as the loud thunder roared overhead, she knew that the storm was near...and even in the distance she could see the wall of rain come in from the sea. "O-Okay! Don't drop me please..." Ikinya hurried and climbed on Cuauhcoatl's back, curling her forlegs between his two sets of wings and nuzzled her head on the back of his neck as extra precaution.

"Im...ready as i'll ever be!" She called out against the wind, her small heart pounding against her chest and probably his back as well.  

[mindsend]

Standing up carefully, Cuauhcoatl folded his wings protectively as he began to trot before galloping, letting her get used to the speed before he bounded a little and, back legs coiling, spread his larger set of wings and took to the air in a gracefully smooth motion, his second set of wings still folded tight in a sort of protective restraint for the small Soquili, the soft feathers covering strong muscles as they draped gently but firmly over her body, keeping all but her head carefully in place and protected from the elements.

Glancing over his shoulder, Cuauhcoatl smiled softly, "A-are you d-doing alright back there?"  

[Tirokio]

Surprisingly, the ride was rather smooth once the pair of wings folded around her like a blanket seatbelt...so warm and soft. No wonder the two legged always wished the Usdia's of the tribe were bigger at times as this was so much easier to get around quickly! However she let out a bit of a squeak as he leapt into the air, watching as the ground became smaller and smaller under them.

"I-Im Okay!! Wishing I had the ability to become a human too right about now..." She chuckled lightly, although curling her head closer to her own body and under the wings while she said it. Perhaps she would enjoy flying on a nice sunny day, but with the winds and approaching storm it did make her a little nervous. Ikinya knew though without a doubt that Cuauhcoatl wouldn't drop her, and that gave the little mare the warm fuzzies of comfort.

"Where are we going, Cuauhcoatl?" She wondered, it seemed like quite a distance from where they were...but with wings it seemed any distance was possible.