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 Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:25 pm
 Keela was bored. She was not hungry, so there was no need to hunt, and she didn't quite feel up to flying right now. So what did that leave her to do really? Damn this rut of a lifestyle, the mare thought irritably as she walked toward a nearby stream. It's so dull most of the time. She approached the water's edge and looked scornfully therein at her reflection. While she wasn't exactly ashamed of her appearance, it didn't do much to help her blend in either. Even among other Airin she was an oddity, and it was slightly depressing at times being so different. Not that Keela ever got "depressed" anyway; she generally leaned more towards the side of anger or irritation.
... Guess I may as well clean up while I'm here. Stepping carefully into the stream, the raven mare started her little "bird bath" and began splashing water onto herself and her feathers for cleaning. It never hurt to give them a good preen anyway, and it was preferable that they be clean first.
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:47 pm
 Aoibheann had had a nice morning flight and was still some distance from home when she came across a nice little stream, perfect for a drink and a quick bath. Washing feathers was important for the peacock aririn of her family, especially since many of the family members had unusually delicate feathers that needed frequent care. Happy at the thought of a bath, she backwinged above a nice clearing about ten yards away from what looked from her distance to be a perfect pool for bathing. Once she'd landed as light as a feather on the dusty earth, she walked the final ten yards to the pool onto the sight of what had to be one of the more bizarre aririn she'd ever encountered, though Draven came close to the unusual nature of this mare in terms of being unusual.
This midnight mare who had her back to Aoibheann looked as much like a raven as a kirin, with a beak and clawed forelegs. The feathered tail and the great wings didn't surprise Aoibheann one bit, as tail feathers and wings ran in her family and her mate's family, too. The horn looked like it was one of the uncommon spiraling horns one saw from time to time, but otherwise the mare looked fairly normal for an aririn mare. Aoibheann had to smile. Apparently she was not the only one who needed a bath as the sun approached noon in the heavens, and the thought of having a fellow mare to bathe with pleased her.
Smiling, she walked forward, calling out, "Good morning to you, fellow aririn!" Aoibheann dipped her feather-crested head in greeting to show that she was a friendly aririn and would be glad to bathe, drink, and speak with this mare for even a brief time.
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 5:03 pm
Lost in her own thoughts and focused on the cleaning, Keela was startled by the sound of another's voice behind her. The mare jumped and spun around with wings held high, only to spot another Airin mare there. Oh. She relaxed from her offensive stance and folded her wings neatly down onto her back again, giving the other a brief nod in greeting. "Morning."
That was embarrassing, she thought to herself, slightly miffed both at the stranger and at herself for being caught off guard like that. Now that she was a bit more composed, Keela took a moment to take in the other Airin's appearance a bit more. Hm, somewhat bird-like like me, only far prettier. Lucky *****. "Is this your land?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:10 pm
Aoibheann smiled. "I'm sorry to have startled you. No, no, this is not my land. I often fly away from home in the mornings, to see a bit of the world and to stretch my wings so they don't get stiff. It is so unpleasant trying to fly with unused wings, don't you agree?"
Spying the mare's beaked muzzle and clawed forelegs, Aoibheann at once felt sorrow, awe, compassion, and a touch of anxiety at the increasingly bird-like appearance of this mare, who looked like a perfect cross between a raven and a kirin. She pushed aside the anxiety, leaving more room for awe, and finally asked, "Do you live near here yourself?" Deep inside, Aoibheann wanted to ask her if she had any friends, to try to befriend this mare who may have been shunned by other kirin for her bird-like appearance, bizarre even among aririn.
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:05 am
"Yes, I suppose it is." Keela watched coldly as the other mare took in her odd appearance, all the while taking note of splay of emotions that briefly showed on the other's expression. This was not an uncommon reaction really, although it did sometimes grow irritating witnessing the startlement time and time again.
When the peacock mare spoke again, Keela simply shook her head. "No, I travel around from place to place. Typically stick to forests, but sometimes I'll visit the mountains if I feel like it." Or if it was storming. Caves usually made for a much better shelter from the rain if they were available. Although rather envious of this Airin's fair appearance, the raven mare decided to herself that she at least seemed friendly enough. For now anyway. "The name's Keela by the way. And you are?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:02 am
"I'm Aoibheann," she responded with a respectful nod of her crested head. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Keela. Isn't it a bit lonely, traveling from place to place like that alone?" She smiled a little shyly. "Well, the traveling to different places sounds like a lot of fun, but doing it alone just sounds a little sad and lonely."
Now that Aoibheann was relaxing about Keela's appearance, she began to really look at Keela the same way she looked at all kirin: trying to find what was truly beautiful and wonderful about them and focusing on that. And no matter how bizarre this Keela might be, her birdlike appearance was actually quite amazing and lovely in a way that fascinated Aoibheann. She'd thought her family was unusually birdlike for aririn, but Keela truly deserved that title in a way that felt a touch miraculous, if not troublesome for Keela. At which point the motherly expression kicked in on Aoibheann's face.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:14 am
The raven mare nearly snorted at the other's question. "Well, when the choices are between traveling alone or staying in one place alone, I think prefer traveling," she replied, voice laced with dry humor.
Something about the way that Aoibheann looked at her was slightly unsettling. She almost had the sense that the mare was trying to see inside of her and pick apart her soul. And what was with that expression? She felt that she should know that expression, but somehow it alluded her. Shuffling her wings slightly, she said, "So, I gather from your question that you live with others then? How large is your herd?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:28 pm
Aoibheann smiled, settling down into her normal state of mind around mares. "Yes, now that I think about it, it would be better to travel than live in one place alone." The next question made her pause as she calculated family size for a moment. "Mmm...I live with my mate. We have three sons and two daughters, although only our youngest sons and one of my two youngest sons' mates live with us. Our eldest son lives apart with his mate and two daughters, but he does visit us. Our daughters also visit, one more rarely than the other, so...five of us, when all is said and done," she finished with the happy smile of one who was surrounded by a happy, loving family. "I take it you have not been with your family for quite some time?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:40 am
Keela listened quietly as Aoibheann casually listed of the complex circle of family that she lived with as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Then again, perhaps it was. Keela wouldn't really know. The mare's ears flicked lightly at the return question. "Yeah... you could say that," she said with a dark chuckle. "Never knew my parents actually. Hatched alone."
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:11 pm
Aoibheann's motherly instinct kicked into high gear. "You hatched alone, without parents to love and care for you?" she asked. "That's so sad! No wonder you seem so uncomfortable around others." She extended her muzzle to nuzzle the dark mare in a gentle and friendly, albeit motherly, way, walking closer to touch the raven aririn mare.
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 5:28 pm
What the heck? As Aoibheann drew closer, Keela stepped back a bit, raising her wings slightly on her back. What the heck was she doing? And what was with that strange expression that the mare wore. "Um, it's fine, really," the raven mare replied awkwardly, making sure to maintain their distance. And who the heck said she was uncomfortable around others? Sure, she was uncomfortable now, but that's because the peacock mare was being rather strange. Don't be so quick to assume things. I've gotten along just fine on my own thus far; I don't need your pity. She left this unsaid however, not wanting to risk hurting the other's feelings for whatever strange reason.
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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:37 am
Aoibheann watched the mare gently. It occurred somewhere in the back of her mind that of course the raven mare wouldn't be accustomed to motherly overtures, so she paused. "If you're sure," she said softly. She stepped into the water, and, dampening her wings with the water, splashed a bit of water playfully at the raven mare. "You were going to bathe, right?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:25 am
For some reason Keela found the light splashing to be mildly amusing. It was a nice change from their previous conversation. "I suppose I was, yes." Dipping her wings into the water as well, the raven mare returned the splashing in two-fold. "You were too, I assume?" There was most likely going to be a large up-churn of water very soon if the splashing continued in this manner. Even in play the ebony mare had a bit of a competitive streak to her.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 3:06 pm
Aoibheann grinned and started splashing back more vigorously. "Of course I was, after a long flight on a day like this when there's such a pretty pond here." Aoibheann hadn't really played this freely since she was a filly, since none of her five had been terribly given to playing in the water, and neither had her mate, which was a trifle sad, given how much Aoibheann loved splashing in the water with someone else on a hot, dusty day like this one promised to be.
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:14 am
Keela would have grinned if she could. "Well then," she replied, an mischevious glint in her golden eyes, "let us bathe." The raven mare couldn't recall ever having actually 'played' with anyone before, so in her mind this was more of a competition to see who could churn up the most water. Still, it was a rather fun competition, and quite a bit different from her usual thrill of hunting. This peacock airin was proving to make for rather interesting company to say the least. (Although, that wasn't about to stop her from trying to send a small tsunami the other's way. On the contrary, it only drove her splashing on even further.)
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