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Patience was not Ane's strong suit. It never had been, and it likely never would be. For that reason, it was rather remarkable that she managed to stay quiet for as long as she did, once the initial rant was out of her system. That being said, she had waited quite politely and patiently (barring the set expression and the one tapping hoof of impatience) until Ambroise and Elizabeth had left before making so much as a growl in Fenghuang's direction.

This was both a good and bad thing, however. True, she was half-listening to Ambroise's lecture (at her distance and his volume, it could hardly be avoided!), but more to the point she was trying to determine her own course of action. She certainly had right on her side, and she supposed that the noisy stallion might very well have been sent by divine intervention to ensure she could speak to Feng. She had wanted to for a long time...which was the cause of her anxiety now.

It was a disgusting emotion, anxiety, one that was beneath her to feel but had unfortunately been her companion all too frequently over the past year or so. Even worse, no sooner had she rid herself of it than it was coming back once again to pick and to plague, to make her feel less than she was. No wonder other creatures failed to give her the proper respect when she herself set the example!

But this anxiety was different. Perhaps it was only to be expected, given how long she had simply waited to talk to Feng without taking the time to organize her thoughts and determine exactly what she wanted to say! Grr, she really didn't care for this at ALL.

However, there was no sense in standing there like a lump; knowing him and his sneaky ways, the stallion would simply vanish into the woods again without so much as a by-your-leave if she let him! That in mind, she drew herself up to her full height and stated in her clearest, most authoritarian tone of voice, "I mean it, you know. You both look and smell like the veritable bog monster itself, hardly a guise for a proper gentleman to be about in. Surely you haven't developed a water phobia in all this time?" Pressing her lips together in distaste she eyed the stallion with thinly veiled disgust, then sighed. "Or perhaps you have. Well, Raccoon is an expert at cleanliness, I'm sure she would be able to put you in order with minimal water-usage."

She could be so very kind!

Insufferable, exasperating stallion! Here she was being considerate and kind (considering the circumstances, of course), offering HER amazingly correct opinions and HER very own, very beloved, very skilled assistant to assist with what was OBVIOUSLY a complicated process. He knew how to bathe himself? He certainly could have fooled her, what with the odor and the gunk and the....general air of disgustingness. If she hadn't heard him speak, she wouldn't even be sure it was the same stallion she'd met before, he looked so disreputable.

However, she would be the bigger person, thank you very much. Rather than rising to his bait and making a remark on the inability of SOME Soquili to behave in a properly hygienic manner, she merely returned his look with her own of cool dignity. Honestly, he was so, so...

A slight pressure at her hip caused her to pause, and she suddenly let out a soft sigh. Without turning, she knew that the pressure had been Raccoon, vaulting to a low tree branch via her back. And Raccoon being Raccoon, she NEVER invaded her Mistress' space without reason or invitation; no invitation had been given, so there had to be a reason.

Darn Raccoon, she was right. If she wanted to talk to Fenghuang, then why was she letting him rile her up? Why was she being snippy? On could catch more flies with honey than with...eww, that was SUCH a gross analogy! Who would want flies, anyway? Nasty metaphors...

Shaking off that thought, Anelisse looked away, then looked back at Feng after dropping the cold look from her face. To be sure, warmth wasn't her strong suit and she still couldn't look very approachable, but her tone was milder and her body a bit less stiff as she answered, "I would like to TALK for a bit, if you can be spared for a short while longer."

As soon as she made the request, Anelisse felt the flush coming. Darn it, she was NOT the sort of mare who humbled herself or intentionally made herself feel vulnerable, he had better appreciate this gesture! But she wasn't going to let him see that she was a bit less than herself; turning her face away, she felt that her blush was adequately hidden from view. On the other hand, the arched neck would give him a perfect view of something else: the sparkling brooch, nestled in the coils of her mane.

...Well, that was to the point. He was hardly being helpful to the situation, being all direct and blunt. As though she'd figured out what it was she wanted to say when she only really wanted to talk to him and get him to explain why he was so CONFUSING and behaved in such an irrational manner! It wasn't as though she could just start a conversation out like that!

So instead, after a couple moments she squared her shoulders and decided to go with what had always seemed the best route: Oblique directness.

"You are a very confusion stallion Fenghuang, did you know that? And why don't you sound like your cousin if you're from the same place? Do you moderate your voice to hide your accent? Or does he?"

At the time, she might have been flustered and irritated by Biscuit's knowing smiles and pointed questions, but meeting him had turned out to be pretty beneficial. Thank you for an ice-breaking conversation topic!

Granted, she didn't want to spend the whole time talking about Biscuit, but it was a start.

It was amusing to think of how very different the thoughts of two individuals could be. Had Anelisse even suspected that Feng thought her to be interested in Biscuit, her reaction would have been a mixture of amusement and incredulity. After all, Biscuit had been a fine form of a stallion, well-built and handsome as well as complimentary; but he'd also been an unfortunate shade of brown, had that difficult accent, and been far too flippant and accusatory (even if he hadn't known it himself!). A pleasant enough stallion, but definitely, DEFINITELY not her type. Her type was something much more...much more...well, regardless, Biscuit wasn't her type.

And maybe Fenghuang didn't see the point in this conversation, but as far as she was concerned, Biscuit was proving to be a good conversation-starter. So far there had been no thrown mud, no raised voices, no hostility; if she could keep her natural tendency towards suspicion and he could keep his flippancy in check, they might be able to both have a rational conversation AND get her an answer to her perplexing question.

Though she had to admit that it would be a lot easier if he didn't stink so much. If she weren't such a well-bred mare her eyes would be watering, it was so bad. For the life of her she had no idea how he could live in such a state...oh wait, she had. Not to his extent, but mares who went through grunge periods should not throw stones. Probably under that lank, disgusting hair and filth and stench there was an attractive stallion; he couldn't have TOTALLY gone to pot under there. And he probably would even smell nice, once he'd rinsed. Maybe she should ask him to wash first...

No, then he might totally up and leave. She would persevere; she was above fleeing due to odor. She would just bathe later herself so that she didn't stink herself!

For now, she would focus on the matter at hand, and hopefully in a quick fashion. That other stallion had seemed a bit too grouchy and insistent about Feng getting back home NOW. Although actually, that had been interesting in and of itself; she had no idea which of Feng's innumerable brothers it had been for SURE, but she had to guess it was one of the oldest ones. He had seemed very sure of himself, ordering Feng around...obnoxiously. Honestly, some stallions. No manners at all.

Not like their cousin, thanks much. "Really? That's a rather novel concept, picking up an accent from travel. It was a rather intriguing speech pattern, once I figured out what some of the words meant. It was challenging at first, but he was very gentlemanly and was quick to accommodate me when I asked him to speak slower."

Feeling more controlled and composed, she allowed herself to turn back to Feng without needing to worry about any blushes. Instead, she allowed herself to smile. "He was very much the gentleman, which was very pleasant for me. And very chatty, too; very open about family." She was being casual, but her success so far was a bit emboldening and giving her a bit more hope. Sort of.

"He seemed to be very fond of you."

It was certainly a novel thing for Anelisse to be talking about family, so she couldn't begrudge Fenghuang any suspicions he might have on that score. With regards to her own family she was notoriously tight-lipped; on the subject of other Soquili's families, she was often indifferent. It wasn't their fault, they just simply couldn't measure up to the perfection that was her mother.

Then again, she also didn't tend towards personal conversation, anyway. With her, conversation was casual and aloof, steering clear of anything more than compliments and pleasantries. If the other Soquili was ugly or abrasive, they didn't even get THAT. If they were attractive or suitably deferential, they would get the smile and nod. This conversation, this detour into the personal...

To be honest, she didn't know what was more surprising to her: the fact that she was conducting this conversation at all, or the fact that she remembered all of this information after all the months that had passed. It wasn't as though she and Biscuit had spent a huge amount of time together, but she could remember almost every detail of that conversation as though she had just walked away from it. But that was something that could be pondered later; right now, she could just be grateful.

Though he wasn't giving her quite as much as she would have hoped in the realm of encouragement. Sure, he was giving more than one-word answers, but he wasn't doing anything more than responding. No initiating conversation, no bringing up anything new...it was hard for her to keep the momentum, but she would continue until...

Darn it, the 'polite' way was not working. Back to her way! Looking him squarely in the eye, she inquired bluntly, "Why do you throw mud?"

As a matter of fact, there had been a method to her madness. Had she kept up with the slow track, she would have used Biscuit's information as more of a bridge to get her information. After all, Biscuit's information seemed so at odds with her meetings with Feng that it would have been a good bridge, had she only the patience to vocalize the who train rather than getting impatient and jumping ahead. But Anelisse never had been and never would be patient, the sooner that was clarified the better things would be for everyone.

Even if he was being difficult. Being laughed at was not the most helpful, and she was at first taken aback by having her question turned back on her with another question. So he was trying to get her riled again, was he? Well, she would show him how non-defensive and composed she could be, thanks much!

"What I care about is NOT the question, Mister, and answering a question with a question is not good conversational manners. I am being serious here, so I would really like a serious answer." Tilting her chin up, she gave him a determined stare, almost daring him to think she wasn't. "Why do you throw mud? What is it that made you be deliberately provoking?"

Calm, cool, and collected. She would not rise to any bait, pick any fights, go off on any rants. She would be patient and she would GET HER ANSWER, damnit! Even if he was apparently being provoking and wanted to get her riled up agan, darn stallion and his inability to be anything but provoking to her!

"And why are you so determined to avoid the question? I'll answer your question, but I'd like an answer to MY question, and I fail to see why your question should take precedence. I DID ask first, you know." An excellent deflection, if she did say so herself. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of answering first, even if she could.

Although that right there was the rub. His question had made her uncomfortable; had she known he thought he needed to rephrase in order for her to understand she would have been offended, as it was she was merely stumped.

If she were to be honest, she DIDN'T know why. It had been months at the very least, possibly even longer, but those two meetings still stuck with her, the details still rankling at her. And she had no guesses as to why, no understanding of why it was important. It just WAS, and had been ever since she'd been mud-splattered and enraged.

Ouch.

It took all of Anelisse's restraint to avoid showing just how much Fenghuang's bluntness hurt. A sharp intake of breath still managed to elude her and some color ran into her face, but she managed to avoid tears, comments, or kicking him in the shins. The desire was there, but she thought she managed quite nicely in the 'not reacting' department. She had asked him, she had no one but herself to blame for hearing something that she didn't want to hear.

But then something gave her pause and caused the color to increase. Sure, what he said was hurtful and cruel, abusive to her recently restored self-image at odds with the concept of her being a perfect being...but at the same time, there was a kernel of honest, legitimate compliment in there. It was small and as backhanded as they come, but it was still a comment. He thought that she was pretty even WITH mud, how very strange, but how very delightful!

Several conflicting emotions flittered across her mind and across her face without her notice, but after considering each she managed to compose herself and give Fenghuang what was (under the circumstances) a very nice nod. "I am, actually, and I am grateful that you were honest." Somewhat off-base and completely cavalier in his methods, but still. "And I...appreciate the sentiment, even if you were far too high-handed in your approach." Putting it mildly, but it was still basically true.

"But I don't circle, and I won't keep you from whatever you have to do. Your brother sounded insistent." That was all she was going to say on THAT subject, though if she were the gossipy sort she would have a lot to go off on after the conversation she'd gotten to hear earlier. "Go, bathe, be a dutiful son. I'll even help you out." By leaving.

Regally, she turned about to head back the way she'd originally come. Before she actually moved, though, she offered one last thing. "And to answer your question...I just did. I don't know why, but I did."