[PRP] While the Moon Walks Among Us (Monoceros + Marla)

[Lady_Ourania]

As a general rule, Marla had always preferred nighttime over any other, appreciating the subtle play of darks devouring lights, the slow dissolve of details into comforting drapes and softened peaks. Little known things dwelled beneath the banner of black and white dreams, kin to her mother's mumbling madness, the creatures she'd befriended back when she hadn't known what it meant to be truly alone. The fading hours gave them a chance to seize the ground, pull themselves up from the cold earth or the consecrated waters. But it was quiet now, the stars and their moon filling up the vacancy the sun left behind, feeding into the shadows where the mare stood among the trees.

The filly that had asked her here was late, which was just as well, since she hadn't held any guarantee about fishing her uncle's voice out of the echoing wells to find where he'd left his bones. It was one of the cases she genuinely didn't mind helping with, the particulars of it intriguing her rather than gaining ire. The client was young, raised exclusively by him, but mourning the loss in a firm, non-hysterical way that Marla respected. He'd been recently deceased, which was always helpful, the impressions of him still bound to their plane. But something in the air felt off, somehow tainted. It was not a good night for it, she supposed. Besides, nothing visible haunted this place except for her, and the only ties she had to it were passing interest.

Her vision was not better suited to the blackness, but she passed the minutes by pretending it was sharper. She could make out the individual hairs on the winged figures of bats as they swooped to gorge themselves on insects, see the veins on the leaves that whispered in a sleepy canopy above and behind her. She silently appraised each of these half-invented things, her heart pumping slightly faster, pleased to feel the transformation having some effect on her as well. Crickets in the grass hopped past her feet, mistaking the muted colors for wildflowers, and she graciously did not lift a hoof to disturb them. There were intangible ears everywhere that liked their songs, and she was not completely immune to the charms of the chorus herself.  

[Pale Mist]

As the sun slowly became swallowed by the merciless horizon behind him, Monoceros could feel the chill of night air on his dark pelt. He blended perfectly with the dark trees and growth of the forest. Though his horn, eyes, hooves, and glowing mane ornaments let off an eerie blue light all around him. His eyes, adapted to darkness, scanned his path in the forest. While his split hooves walked along it. A soft smile was etched into his mouth, his throat gently humming an ancient tune for travelers.
As he walked along, his cloud mane softly floated above his head and split off and evaporated into the night air. The large moon swaying with the rhythm of Ceros' stride. Night was a preferred time for exploration for the strange stallion, it ensured his companionship and provided a scenario in which he could use all his skills. Though this night longed for a friend. His large ears flicked in search of anyone else that could be about and wiling to join him.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

The bobbing fluorescence caught like fireflies in the taut web of her vision, and Marla's head turned very slowly to keep from giving away her position, ears twitching beneath the heavy shell of her adornment. Will-o'-the-wisp was the mare's first thought, lanterns that led a procession of the aimless dead making their way through the depths of her forest. But it seemed a strangely cheery color for such an undertaking, and her eyes crinkled in puzzlement, silently chiding herself for assuming. One of the hazards that came from working in conditions like she did was that her suspicions automatically leapt into morbid subjects. As the lights came closer, she was treated to the fact that the attached creature was very much alive, the tune he hummed unfamiliar, but not a dirge of any kind. Marla's first impulse was to politely sidestep into the deeper shadows and let the stallion pass. She was enjoying her solitary time, the long stretches of it that gave her the opportunity to think and listen. Besides, the living were typically a group not worth the effort of striking up an acquaintance.

It was the moon plaited in his hair that made her reconsider, stepping forward for a better look at the copy of the satellite hanging high above them, both waning in unison. Not a reflection, but a genuine miniature, complete with a cohort of stars. With that small, revealing move done, she couldn't help but give in the rest of the way. "You're not from around here, I take it?" Her voice was low, and faintly husky from the cold, studying him unabashedly in the mean time. Even without the glowing hooves and eyes, the oblivious smile on his face tipped her off just as easily. No one that belonged to this region would wear an expression like that while wandering through the woods at night. The spiraling horn that rose like a ship's prow out of the fog of his forelock indicated he was of a pacifist breed, though she did not dismiss him entirely, keeping a measure of yards between them. While it wouldn't suit her to run, she wasn't keen on a battle, either. Endearing and curative though their horns were rumored to be, they still had a honed tip for a reason. "Don't tell me you're lost."  

[Pale Mist]

It had been the forward movement of the mare that had first caught his senses and turned his head towards her rather than her voice. As his head turned slowly, more of his cloudy mane moving about, causing the celestial objects to swim. His lightly illuminated face showed his smile facing into a curious wonder. He quickly inspected the other mare before responding to her. She was a dark purple color, a short hair tail, and wore a strange, teepee like object atop her head. It caught his interest immediately, just as the gems adoring her chest did. Something was familiar about their tint in the light of his horn. His eyes quickly returned to the mare's. "I am indeed not from this area. Not from these lands all together." He stepped forward slightly, to close off some of the gap between them. "It is not this forest that has me lost, but rather these alien lands. I have ventured here on accident from deep within the desert. Now it seems that I have become unable to return to its heart." He smiled pleasantly and bowed his head, kneeling slightly with one knee. "I am called Monoceros. What might your name be miss mare?"

 

[Lady_Ourania]

The fog comparison was more apt than she'd expected, observing the phenomenon of strandless hair as the male shifted to confront her. Not easily spooked, at least not enough to startle at her voice or her unique silhouette separating from other shadows. Anything that cared to keep its skin wouldn't ignore such normal fight or flight impulses, or so she'd heard. More creatures ended up in her passing acquaintance simply because they weren't paying attention. His head must have also been in the clouds, and while it was a little embarrassing to use a pun, how could she resist? The glow to his gaze was not in his favor, making every stop glaringly obvious as it slid over the solid lines of her figure, lingering first on the mystic headdress before peering into the red, scab-like beads that glittered on her chest. The mare toyed with being irritated, lips pursing faintly with the urge, but the reminder that her own scrutiny had been just as selective kept her from lashing out, and she weathered the treatment without comment.

"Is that so?" She mused aloud, trying to envision him in a sandy place, her imagination supplemented by hearsay. That didn't stop her eyes from narrowing when he stepped forward, aware of each freckled mark on his snout, the heavy smell of him drifting to her on a chill breeze. Chummy, perhaps, but that did not ease her wariness. All these flesh and blood types were nearly as unpredictable as the Others, and she was not some moth to be hypnotized by a lights display. Still, she did not reestablish the boundary, allowing him his one step forward so long as he took no further liberties. "I'm sure you've noticed that there aren't many dunes in the area." In fact, none came to mind, the shushing canopy overhead and the pine needles beneath their hooves a fairly decent indicator. Talk about lost.

She might have gone on, but he was suddenly bending a knee, and the muscles in her neck flinched with surprise, automatically scenting the air for injury. It took several seconds for her to register what it was intended as, gentlemanly and completely inappropriate. Marla laughed, the sound cutting with mirth wrinkling her muzzle. "Really? I didn't know anyone did that sort of thing anymore. A bit outdated, isn't it?" If Chivalry had crawled out of its grave, she would have been one of the first to know. A request for her name was met with a second of hesitation, weighing him wordlessly as she once again took in the glow of his extremities, the way his own coat absorbed it while hers reflected. "Marla." She decided finally, liking it better than any alias. "I'd bow back like a good miss should, but it might upset my helm."  

[Pale Mist]

Returning back into a standing position he smiled. "Marla, a fine name indeed. Its my pleasure." Flicking an ear he laughed gently. "My herd is one filled with customs probably quite different from those etched in these lands. So your reaction does not surprise me. And to me, at least, chivalry and manners towards a mare never go wasted." His eyes glowed a bit brighter, remembering a mare from his herd he had tried to court using those manners.
"I no longer travel the desert of these lands, I have spent countless hours searching their sands for a way back to my own home, but I always turned out unsuccessful." He chuckled, remembering the scorching heat he had felt on his back during those searches. Even though the temperature had been relatively similar and his surroundings identical, it made him feel so far away from home. It was so alien to him. "I have accepted this land as my shelter for the time being, until i find a way back. I hope my presence is in no way intruding." He stated, aiming it more to her than the general Soquili.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

"Just mares?" She inquired casually, her smirk not quite dissipating in the face of his courteous mannerisms and reserved laughter. He didn't strike her as much of a woo-'em-and-leave-'em casanova, but it wasn't impossible. Even if her first impression proved wrong, there weren't many like this one wandering about, much less moving through the same hours that she did. Her name was fine and her presence was a pleasure - only the antique phantoms still tickled her ears with such proposals. Sweet, but insipid, and probably unmeant. Marla canted her head to watch a flicker in her periphery turn into incoming fireflies, drawn out by the blatantly glowing male holding up the other end of a conversation. One eye was kept on him at all times, however, and when she spoke, it wasn't to the pulsing yellow congregation. "The ones in your herd must have been fairly tame already. You'll find there are nastier womenfolk afoot in these regions." It wasn't a direct reference to her own demeanor, but she had more in common with them than she did the sugar and sand-coated darlings he'd apparently treated with in his past life. "Not that I think that spear on your head is just for show, but caution is a herbivore's best friend." More assuming, but she felt justified in that observation. They'd had predators in his desert, surely. That wasn't a recent phenomenon, unlike rudeness.

The mare found it easier to fall into a pattern of listening, still observing the insects while keeping note of his position, its proximity to herself. Lost and not looking to go back, some inverted ghost with his dusky mane and the cerulean tint he showered the area in. Was he intruding? To a point. The night had been more sympathetic when the only light came diluted from above. Now it was being forced to compete. "Hard to fault you when you're so diplomatic about it." She half-snorted under her breath, undeniably amused. After all, it had been her nosiness that had brought about their meeting, a step she regretted somewhat now, if only because it was straining her delicate sense of civility. How beasts nattered on without really saying anything at all, more preoccupied with keeping their tongues in check; it struck her as strange. "The ornament you wear in your hair - is it of any significance?" There, to the point. She wasn't some foal going to dance around the matter until he noticed her interest and explained.  

[Pale Mist]

"I think anywhere you go you will find the odd person who is wild, curious, evil, strange. Just overall different. My herd is no exception, and there were many there, not only females, that had earned their respect for actions of honor and bravery and strength. As well as wit and cleverness." he chuckled. "Tame is not the diction i would use."
There were indeed many times in his life when he had used his horn for protection, and his desert was far from being rid of pests and enemies preying on the lives on horses. "As a warrior and a man I have been taught to use my skills and wit in fights and arguments, I am strong and proud."

When the strange mare suggested to the ornaments of his mane he blinked in confusion, he often forgot about them, even though they floated almost weightlessly above his head along with his cloud mane. "Oh! They symbolize my status in the herd. I was to be the next Leader before my mistake and having lost them completely. Now, in these lands, I suppose they do not hold any physical meaning of purpose other than decoration and further illumination of the things around me." He wondered if it was the same with her head ornament; if it held some secret to its existence, or if it too had some meaning for her herd. If she belonged to one.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

His use of the word 'evil' was distinct to her ears. Not deviant, unscrupulous, or some synonym with less severe connotations, but evil. There was a chance it meant nothing at all, dropped as it was into a pool of other possibilities, but she locked on to it nevertheless, regarded him with indecision that tickled the back of her throat. If it felt more like an insinuation, she might have addressed it, but there was plenty of room for doubt to wedge itself between him and her, his tone still too light to suspect. Beyond that, he'd missed her point, the needling aspect included, but she'd nearly anticipated that. Whether it was an automatic defense mechanism or just general obliviousness had yet to be decided.

The mare switched gears, short tail flicking to dislodge a resting lightning bug. Not the diction he'd use? "Are we arguing over semantics?" A grin cracked her face at the thought, startlingly white teeth flashing under garish orchid. "Then is it strong like a bully? Proud like a martyr? It comes to the point where we're splitting hairs. But here: I'll harbor my assumptions, and you can hang on to yours for as long as we're comfortable with them. That seems fair, doesn't it?" It wasn't as though she needed some flesh-and-blood stallion telling her about the importance of being objective after stumbling out of his inbred homeland. If he wanted to change her opinion, he'd have to do more than insist.

The answer to his night apparel came as a bit of a disappointment, the equivalent of pale flowers in a virgin's hair. At least she was saved from showing the sentiment on her face by his announcement of eventual leadership. It seemed that one did not need a decent sense of direction in order to inherit that title. Curious how it related back to what they'd spoken of earlier, how significant things taken out of context were reduced to misunderstandings. Marla shrugged lean shoulders to stretch, the threads of her scarf half-alive as they waved with the motion. "We all suffer some from being out of place." She admitted cryptically, gaze flicking sour lemon from a passing insect's light. Her mind stirred up images of the filly with the dead uncle, the gleam of bones and the darkness of packed soil. A wry shake of her head cleared it, made her aware again of the male watching her. "It does beg the question of what your herd is doing without you." A leader-in-waiting would have sufficed. Unless they were content to walk around in circles, looking for the same someone to lead them until they fell to dust. On the off chance she heard their parting cries, maybe she would inform him. After all, he'd answered her questions to the best of his ability and without much hesitation. Herds. That much dependence on something so ephemeral. It made no sense to her.  

[Pale Mist]

Something about this odd mare had finally caught Ceros. He didn't know what it was, but it seemed like he had finally realized something. He wiped his smile off of his face slightly, taking a more serious tone with her. He listened to what she had said first, not responding vocally but rather with his body. he straightened up and looked at her with some understanding. Though he did not know how to respond. How she wanted him to respond.

Her next speech he did know how to respond to though. For it was something his mind thought about constantly. "My herd? Without me, I am sure they are fine. They have most likely moved on by now, declared me dead, held out the search parties, if they even sent any. I am stuck here, they are stuck back in my desert. We both need to move on now. My best guess is I do not even deserve these stars and moon any more." He turned away and stared into the darkness. For a moment he thought he saw something, but then the next second it was gone. "I might as well learn to live a different life. And that means adapting. Learning form nature and from others." he turned back to her. Her body language, her tone. Everything about her was a mystery to him. But he wanted to find out more, even if she was unwilling.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

A shift in posture had black-tipped ears flicking back in the trapped heat of her helm, other subtle changes rousing suspicions already close to the surface. Marla didn't have enough experience with living creatures to read an expression as complex as the one he was giving her, the mare's own features arranged into careful blankness while they silently reevaluated each other. Had he finally unsnarled the weave of her words and realized she wasn't some idle-minded vagabond out for a nightly stroll? Unlikely. He wouldn't have remained standing before her, answering her barbed little questions if he knew for certain. His so-called pride might have even compelled him to attack her if what he spoke was the truth. Unicorns could lie if they were so inclined, just as easily as they could spill blood when driven to it.

His reasoning was remarkably simple, no worry in it whatsoever, not for himself or his herd. She broke her granite impression for a moment to look vaguely perplexed, used to those who clung to their pasts with such vigor that it clouded what was right in front of them. Smooth indifference was next to unheard of, at least from what she'd seen as an outsider, observing at a distance and sneering all the while. And even now, she felt the analytical side of herself taking down notes, trying to decide what it was he was playing at. Nine times out of ten, he was an unwitting jester. That one minuscule other part was what continually gave her pause.

"How unsentimental." She declared in a deliberately unmoved tone, privately wavering between approval and the more typical impulse to ignore the pieces that didn't fit. Goodbyes were a kind of death, a parting that some handled and many fell apart over. But she was no fool. She saw him glance outward, peering into the dark to find something that wasn't there, perhaps waiting for someone to come and strip him of his adornments on the spot. It kindled a sense of satisfaction, a response she could categorize without creating an entirely new group. Surely it was regret, buried deep and denied, but present.

In the midst of it, she sensed him looking back at her, felt a frown shaping to break her facade. There was a suggestion there, but she couldn't make it out, chose to disregard it for the time being. "Not many are going to volunteer to tutor you, Monoceros, and nature is as harsh a mistress as they say. You may find your resolve crumbling before long." He would eventually go back to his sand fleas and his wallflower warriors, if not by choice, then potentially by accident, considering his skewed inner compass. "Survival is a tricky business. Some prefer to guard their trade secrets." And then there were peddlers of deceit, but it seemed laughably unethical to draw attention to her kind, even if they undoubtedly operated in different circles.  

[Pale Mist]

He took her words in, slowly, taking his time to respond. "If the MotherNature of this land is related to the one of my desert, than I do indeed need to exercise caution. Danger is everywhere and in everyone, ready to strike without shame or regret. Even if the peaceful land of the foal's sleep." He let a light laugh escape his quickly sealing lips. "Though, survival is not only having your brute strength and animal instincts to guide you through life. Imagination is key. Stealth and cleverness to find and corner your prey, or escape from being such. Measured amounts of muscle to grasp victory, even the skill to craft the right mask to shelter yourself from the unforgiving world. Survival of the fittest, is it not?"
his mind and mouth began to ramble, the lights on his body growing dimmer as his own emotion turned sour at memories.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

Danger was in everyone, and she might have laughed at the way he said it, so serious and dire where before his words had risen on gossamer strands of tribute to the silver disc overhead. "Are you accusing me of being unimaginative? Or dangerous? I can't figure out if we're speaking in code, or if we're philosophizing on subjects we have no stake in." It might have been both. Ghosts were inadequate mentors in that regard, fond of riddles and twisting replies, hints hidden in a garbled dialect that she'd known longer than she'd commanded her own language. Everything had a double meaning, an ulterior motive, and his frank chatter was little different. Either that, or it was truly as mundane as it sounded on the surface. The sole reason she couldn't swallow that logic was his mention of masks, the way he referenced it last as if to emphasize. Was he referring to the one she wore and shed as it suited, or another, more personal concealment?

Regardless, this unicorn was indeed the moon personified, reflecting what was around him rather than maintaining his own light. A change had rolled over the area, a cloud that the breeze could not dissipate, and it had a predictable effect. Marla observed how he succumbed to some nameless inner turmoil without a backwards glance, absorbing the company and the ambiance and letting it guide him. Her biggest clue was the tarnished glow, the blue that lit her jeweled chest like electric fire dying down until the ruby was predominant. It had never been her intention to alter his stance or drag him down to whatever plane it was that she occupied. He was not friend, was not enemy, simply a chance run-in who happened to practice questionable rituals in a desert somewhere.

The silence cloaked them longer than was called for, the medium bathing in it, soaking it in. It was the elusive scent of corpse loam that made her speak up, turning her gaze elsewhere for a time with an attitude of detection. "I am poor company for a stallion of your nature. There are other, more sympathetic beings that walk in the daylight. You would have better luck venting with them." She remarked almost offhandedly, not a kindness in any material sense. It was a way to pass him off onto to someone else, to excuse herself from further entanglement. He could translate it however he pleased.  

[Pale Mist]

Indeed it was both. Ceros found that he had not noticed his own quiet transition into the twisted language of code and twisted second meanings. It had seemed to fall on the two of them quite naturally with the help of their atmosphere and topic.
"i accuse you of nothing dear lady, a spoken thought is all. But if you do not wish me to stay in your company i shall be on my way. A gentleman knows when he is not wanted." His dry smile never to reach his glowing eyes.
"And be your opinion on me as it is, but i fancy myself to be of the gentlemanly sort. And I can make myself disappear just as i know you can. I know the way to the exit if you are opening it. But i would like to know if you really do not enjoy my company." Monoceros sensed the slight curiosity in her, and he himself felt it. This was no ordinary person and he had become fascinated.
A dark shadow of the swaying tree fell on his face and his eyes glowed eerie from the shadow. His eyes gave birth to another change, one of a deep - though still gentle - stare. He wanted to hear her answer, without any double meaning or silent little secret. He wanted to know if she was even capable of speaking in simple tongue.

 

[Lady_Ourania]

The aroma that distracted her was gone as quickly as it had come, and though her eyes had an imagination when it came to seeing things without substance, there were no obviously disturbed plots of earth nearby. A trick she'd played on herself? It was not often that she conjured up scents; nightmarish imagery and howling, scraping sounds were fair game, but her nose was typically uninvolved. Then the unicorn was speaking again, gentling her language, shearing away the edges she'd honed, and she couldn't help but look to him. He was remarkably good at that, she was beginning to see, neutralizing nastier suggestions until she came off as the lady he had dubbed her. She'd been many things over the years, that title not among them, but she resisted the natural urge to correct his mistake. Any more one-sided bickering and she would be forced to argue with her own internal monologue.

When he announced his understanding, she straightened and nodded her farewell, expecting that to be the end of their brief, intense scrutiny. Many of her conversations with the living had gone this way, with the sudden departure of the other party. Her back hoof lifted to plant further in the shadows, stopping short as he went on. The mare's ochre gaze took him in with creases at her brow, honestly baffled that he hadn't leapt at the chance to excuse himself with her blessing. Apparently, he couldn't see a golden opportunity unless she thumped him on the nose with it. She was considering a more direct statement to accomplish just that when he phrased a question, unprepared posture stiffening as a consequence. Her head canted slightly, close to toppling the headdress from its precarious angle and ruining her cultivated bearing. There was no hint of sarcasm to his tone or the light-shedding gaze he pinned her with, purely serious and patient to hear what she had to say. The first instinct that rose from the bottom of her spine was to lash out by laughing it off, following through with one final burst of spite to send him on his way. But she mulled for a moment longer, acknowledging that the suggestion was there again, still hazy and uncertain in its challenge, but getting progressively bolder. Some aspect of their meandering discussion must have strummed a chord, for she could find no other reason leading up to the penetrating quality his stare had gained.

"You're a masochist." Marla informed him, averting her face as a disinclined smile crept across her dyed mouth. "And I don't enjoy anyone's company... but you're unusual, I'll give you that." Not better or worse, but distinctly different. It could have just been that the desert had baked his brains, made him more tolerant, trusting, but that would have been too easy. Which was he truly: the happy, gullible fool he'd presented as, or this solemn statue trying to peer inside her head? "Does it matter? Your knowing, I mean. It doesn't change what I've said." They occupied opposite ends of a spectrum, even as he sailed closer to hers through some lack of conviction.