[PRP] Spunk Meets Spite (Ahote + Sitareh)

[Lady_Ourania]

Sitareh was not a complicated girl, at least not when it came to material needs. She was more than content to wander around with her family nearby, her father's watchful eyes weighing unnoticed on her scaled spine as she sniffed and picked at things with three-toed forehooves, trying to put names to the strange wilderness of a foal's first spring. Her parents gave her words when she asked for them, most of the teachings fluttering out of her head the next instant, replaced by the symphonic voices of the forest itself. But a choice few stuck, circulating as she dedicated them to memory. The only reason she remembered the title for the thing before her was because it tickled the top of her mouth to say it. Moss. It was green and foamy, and tasted a little bitter when she nibbled on a spray of it. Of course, it said its name was something else entirely, but it accepted moss under duress, and after she insisted.

"Daddy says stuff that looks like you sits on top of water." She informed the cluster on the ground, sprightly under her weight and encouraging the filly to occasionally bounce in place to test it. "But I think he's making it up. You've got roots, and momma and Hallon have got roots, and they don't float very well." She paused to take a breath and mull on the subject, deciding that it maybe wasn't the same. When she continued on, she addressed it to the patch nearest to her, the stretched state of her companion not perturbing her in the least - she was positive anything that cared to hear was listening. "Or maybe I didn't get it right. I do that, sometimes." Chimalsi had never lied to her in her short life, after all, it made no sense for him to start then. Still, the foal had plans to go and see this phenomenon for herself at some point, probably with her brother in tow. He would want to know what the watermoss called itself, and if it resented the comparison to regular floor greens. She would be only too happy to relay all of the facts and fictions to him.

Without a thought, Sitareh slipped further into the line of trees, nodding her head in brief respect to the ancient oaks that stood above. Laurelin had instilled in her a deep sense of admiration for all of nature, especially trees, the one blooming from her back a testament to the bias. She wondered sometimes what purpose they served, if her brother's whispered to him, roots cradling what scales could not. Her own back was light and empty, but her father's was the same, so she determined that it wasn't a defect of any kind. Hallon and mother were just special, that was all. They got to be what she could only hear in passing. "Do you know my mother?" She asked one particularly weathered-looking specimen, her tail flipping curiously. They always took a while to reply, but she'd learned to be patient, the answers typically worth the wait.  

[stella cinere]

A set of small ears perked above the darken log as a small creature with little wings and warbled walk remained oblivious to the curious pair of pale eyes that followed its every movement. Without warning the small colt gave a heavy snort sending the bug scattering into bush before buzzing its way out angrily. A snicker echoed across the trees as Ahote couldn’t hold it in any more, “hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha stupid bug!” The colt replied as a grin started to spread across his muzzle, if his brothers had been there they would have scolded him on how he should treat other things around him with a little more respect but their nagging voices were further in the distance. True they thought they were playing hide and go seek with him; however for Ahote it was the easiest distraction to get him out of their observant eyes. After his last little escapade his father had requested his other two brothers never to let him out of their sight but he was no fool! Ha! They were sure to spend quite a few hours circling around wondering where he had hidden only to come to realize later he was long gone.

Nevertheless he would have felt worse if he had left his sister there but she had taken the day off with their older sisters. Some odd reason the black and white mare seemed to be a little more scattered brained and insist that all the girls go on a trip, and since she was off having a little bit of fun he should too he thought. Ahote’s small legs made their way over a fallen log his eyes watched as the heavy tree sloped upwards and its massive branches seemed caught in a mesh of roots and rocks of the cragged outlook that jutted its ugly face out into the forest. Perfect little place for him to stand and look to see what else was in the forest. Quickly as his little legs could take him Ahote scrambled around to get to the slopping back of the cliff only to find that the way was not going to be as easy as he had hoped it would be. The small set of trees that seemed rooted to the edge also seemed to produce a rather large mass of vines that where neatly intertwined with one another and with their rather green vigorous look breaking through them was not an option.

Ahote stood there and glared, of course Mother Nature would somewhat step in his way of doing something fun. “Stupid weeds and trees,” he blurted out his voice ringing among the trees.  

[Lady_Ourania]

The sudden riot of speaking made Sitareh listen more closely, faintly bewildered that the tree seemed to have learned to address her fluently in her own language, emboldened by a quickness she wasn't used to hearing. The only trouble was that nothing it was saying was very nice, nor was it in response to her inquiry. Added to that, its tone was uncommon for a tree of its stature and girth, echoey with a youthful tinge where she was expecting some grating dialect. Maybe it was sick? Canting her head in wonder at its self-deprecating statement, the girl's new position treated her to a splash of misplaced tan in the distance, realizing the voice with its cutting words belonged to him. Squinting, she could barely make out the shape of a fellow Soquili, undersized and ghost-muzzled. Who was he talking to? Not her, she was reasonably certain of that. Still, it piqued her interest, mainly because she rarely saw other foals aside from her brother. Was he a friend of Hallon's? Excusing herself with a polite word and half-bow to the tree, she approached the colt where he stood balanced near a fallen ancient, apparently unimpressed with whatever was right in front of him.

"Hello." She offered with a wrinkled snout, put-off by the irreverent way he was glowering at her native land. How could he mistake the vines at his feet for weeds? The trumpet-shaped flowers might have been closed, but they were still striking licks of color against the festive green shoots. It was actually a bit of a letdown, because even though he'd been rude, she'd believed for a second that he was speaking to them instead of at them. But surely anyone with the ability to communicate wouldn't make such a simple error. That didn't mean she would disregard him completely, however. A lot of creatures couldn't talk freely outside their species, some of her family members included. It wasn't a prerequisite by any means.

"Something the matter?" The filly ventured, a look of sympathetic eagerness entering her open expression. If he happened to be lost and upset, that was understandable. Daddy could bring him back to wherever he was supposed to be, to his parents and his siblings. Chimalsi was a notoriously good finder-and-seeker, though he called it being a tracker, which she regularly forgot. No matter where she or Hallon went, he would always lead them back to their mother and the grove before nightfall. Sitareh even glanced behind her to see if the stallion was lurking about, prepared to call out to him if necessary.  

[stella cinere]

Ahote ears flickered as a soft voice responded behind him, quickly his brows furred as his lips started to edge into a curl. He thought, for a moment that it was one of his brothers and with his unfortunate luck had followed him this far into the woods. However, his tan eyes caught a glance of someone a little more unfamiliar to him a filly. Gold in color almost like the sun edging its way across the sky, no, stars, more like the golden color of the small twinkling stars that seemed to dance across the midnight sky. The scales that reflected the light in patterns like pond, and the wood like horns that sprouted from her head and root like branches that wrapped themselves around her legs made her look almost like a rather odd woodland fairy. Ahote found himself his mouth ajar staring at her for a moment trying to figure out if she was really a soquili or more so some odd creature that sprouted from the ground itself.

Shaking his head he looked at her again, “hello…” he replied closing his mouth and looking around. She looked a little bit disgruntled at him, of course than again he had just been talking to the vines that had wrapped around his well thought adventure. Maybe she was supposed to be the guardian of the land and now he was in trouble for insulting the creatures or court of her land (though saying plants where creatures where a bit odd). But didn’t she look a little young to be something that powerful? He had imagined that such grand creatures would be huge with some sort of grandiose presences about them, but she wasn’t that. Maybe she was the child of such thing? Which maybe would make things even worse, if her parents where such guardians that would mean all she would have to do is call them and he would probably end up in something deeper than he wanted to be.

“No…. not really” Ahote replied looking around again hoping not to see something larger figure appear. “I was just hoping to get to the edge of the cliff but…. It looks more like plans are a little bit of a tangled mess.” He replied giving her a bit of smile, hoping to cover up his rather odd incident of yelling at the plants earlier.
 

[Lady_Ourania]

When she couldn't immediately spot her father, Sitareh circled back to find the boy gawking inelegantly at something, and she whipped around to make sure Chimalsi wasn't play-hiding just out of view. Her tail wiggled with feline intensity while she checked the grass and loose foliage for any signs of passage, but there was no flash of amber-clotted gold to be seen, no burnished scales slithering or familiar shadows drifting closer. She turned around once more, this time to tilt her head with concern at his slack jaw. If he kept his mouth open like that, something was bound to flutter in and make a nest on his tongue. The filly was about to say as much when he seemed to come to that conclusion on his own, a muttered greeting to match her own and then sudden avoidance of eye contact. It was funny, not to mention a little strange. Laurelin had taught her it was good manners to pay attention when talking to someone, and half of that meant reading facial expressions. If he was turned away from her, how was she supposed to know what to say? Not that she was very good at it anyway, but some clue was better than none. Glancing down at herself, she realized that she was in a patch of sun, her coat glimmering to wrap her in a miniature heat wave. Maybe it was hurting his eyes? She deliberately sidestepped into the coolness of nearby shade, peering back to him for confirmation.

But he still seemed distracted, like maybe he suspected an unspoken game of hide-and-seek, too. Once his words registered, she trotted up to the overlapping vines he was referring to, craning her neck down to properly take them in. She couldn't help but grin at the way they wrapped around each other, making a series of complex ties and knots that reminded her of her parents in their more tender moments, tails entwined and voices cast low. It wouldn't have been impossible to pluck them apart, gentle and sure, her eyes following their complexities back to the original bases, but it would have been a shame to break them up when they were so close.

You should pro'ly leave them alone," She replied finally, although it was more of a suggestion than a reprimand of any kind, pulling up to look at him while she spoke. They don't look like they want to move right now. But if you want, you can find another way to get up somewhere high? I'll help." She added, figuring it couldn't hurt. She knew the forest well after being raised beneath its boughs, memorizing its varied splendors and dangers. And what she wasn't sure of, she was never shy to ask after. My name's Sitareh. What's yours?"