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The sun was hot on her back, the light catching on her scales as she trailed her hooves through the shallow water at the end of the lake. It was a warm day, warmer than it had been, and Tuli wasn't certain she liked it. It was one thing to laze about in the shade, but she preferred a more active lifestyle, and a black coat was murder in direct sunlight. It was why she'd taken to swimming, even though she wasn't particularly fond of the sport itself; it certainly cooled her down.

Clipping along the grass, she shook, tail flicking irritably behind her as she did. This was what her life consisted of - hunting, but only to eat, and then... filling the rest of her time with whatever caught her fleeting fancy. Nothing seemed to hold it, and she was getting bored and restless.

Damn Blake anyway, for leaving. Who knew where the hell he was, and she had half a mind to go looking for him. He was at least entertaining. That, and he hadn't seen her since she was a filly, and she'd get a kick out of biting at him with her new, stronger jaws.

Not that she really wanted to hurt him.

It was just something she did.

Yawning, she worked her jaw, shifting her weight to her hind legs as she leaned forward. At her sides, she fanned her wings out, letting water drip off the leathery webbing of them. Maybe she'd go for a fly, and see if anything interesting cropped up. She doubted it, but maybe.

Opening her eyes, she rolled them, beating her wings lightly to stir a breeze. Her mane, soaking wet and clinging to her, would dry eventually, but she ought to enjoy the coolness the water provided while it lasted.

"Damn heat," she muttered, tail continuing its agitated back and forth motions behind her as she glanced around for something to catch her eye.

Something was thudding along and ruining her peaceful moment. Ears flicking toward the noise, Tuli turned hooded eyes over her shoulder, lips peeling back into a faint sneer as she saw a stallion approaching. While she wasn't averse to a pleasant distraction from the near mind-numbing boredom she was certain she'd been about to succumb to, the tell-tale horn on his forehead and the leonine tail swaying behind him did give her pause.

Damned unicorns. Holier than thou attitudes, generally, or just too damn nice for their own good. Of everyone that could have come across her path, did it really have to be a unicorn?

Though she didn't stiffen, she did balance her weight equally on all four hooves, wings furling at her sides when he came to a rest next to her. He was covered in sweat, and a much more substantial stallion that she was used to seeing; this Tuli could appreciate, even if she wasn't exactly impressed with his genetics.

A moment passed in silence between them, her pink eyes raking up and down his form, before she flicked her tail and snorted.

It wasn't a laughing snort, and it wasn't even dismissal. It was just, ah.

"Did you want something, unicorn?" Her voice, low and smooth, seemed too gentle for such a rough-and-tumble visage. Though she wasn't openly hostile, she didn't go out of her way to be friendly, either.

Not only did she know from her childhood that a unicorn could hold its own in battle, he was a damned big boy on top of that. Tuli wasn't afraid of a fight even when the odds were stacked against her, but she wasn't going to go about picking one with a stallion whose foreleg was as thick as her neck if she didn't have to.

That was just simple survival instinct. If she was anything, Tuli was a survivor.

Tuli watched, with an odd mixture of amusement and irritation, as the stallion insulted her and then brushed her off. It had been a while since she'd seen anyone outside of her family, and they were a little too easy. Syrea could be riled by a single look these days, and Arka tried too hard to remain calm that it just wasn't worth it. So, rather than dismissing him in his turn, she watched as he drank, hiking a brow slowly while she mulled over her options.

To be ignored so easily rankled her, and she was tempted to give him a very good reason to pay attention to her. At the same time, he reminded her a little of Blake - or maybe she just missed Blake, though she was loathe to admit it - just... less talkative. Blake was talkative, wasn't he? He was one of the few she tolerated it in.

Stalking to his side, she dipped her head, taking a drink as she coiled her tail around his hind leg. It was strong and muscled, and she tapped her spade tail against his thigh, once, twice. Measuring taps.

Lifting her head, pink eyes coolly examining his strong profile, she said sweetly, "I'm obviously not a foal." She wasn't flirtatious; hell, Tuli had trouble showing affection in anything that wasn't a vaguely violent way.

Idly, she released his leg, trailing the tip of her tail above his knee, where the black met the white. "What's got you running scared?"

Tuli snorted, but didn't seem to take much offense. She was a hunter, obviously, and she wasn't ashamed of that. While her eating habits made her sister nearly green, it was a point of pride for Tuli that she could not only provide for herself but have fun while she did it; she'd learned from her parents how best to stalk prey from the sky, and from Einarr, how to capture a land-bound animal to the best advantage. Even Indah knew how to hunt, and she was an herbivore, but Syrea would not learn.

Just one more thing that grated on Tuli's nerves when it came to her sister. She considered herself so above the omnivores in the herd.

Flicking her tail away from him, she glanced around, looking bored. The birds that circled the area were high above them, and though she could catch one if she wanted, she wasn't hungry. Despite what many might have thought, she wasn't a Kalona who killed for sport. That was wasteful, for one, and she was against waste; for another, the animals recognized when the balance was shifted, and it would be harder for her to find prey if she needlessly killed wherever she went.

"Birds don't have a lot of meat on them," she said dryly, flicking her gaze back to him. "It's a lot of work for a snack. I prefer foxes, myself."

She flicked her tail, once, twice, and watched him.

Tuli had never been one to play games like the other foals did. She liked to roughhouse and romp, nibble and bite her way into the affections of others; things like water-sports and the like she had never really seen the appeal of. Of course, that could have also been because she was always the one to initiate play, so she would do it the way she liked -- she could recall Syrea demanding they play tag, though that had just ended in a fight, as many things had.

Suffice to say, when she was sprayed in the face with water, she had no idea what to do. For a moment, she just stared, watching the stallion splash into the water, and then she shook her bangs out.

Rather than wade in after him, she kicked off the ground, leather wings beating elegantly as she flew over the top of him. While she might have been at a disadvantage trying to swim after him, when she took the the sky, Tuli was fast and skilled. She circled, tail curved behind her, and debated dropping on top of him.

"You couldn't fell a buffalo," she stated, girlish voice full of every assurance of the truth that she spoke. He had that horn, and he was big, but buffalo were vicious. She doubted even she could take one alone.

After a moment, she abruptly tucked her wings to her sides, dropping into the water next to him. Her hooves may have clipped him, she wasn't certain, but she definitely made a splash, rammed shoulders with him.

Front legs kicking, she righted herself, unable to suppress the pleased sigh at the feeling of water all around her. It was pretty damn hot.

She was surprised to be kicked back, but rather than be irritated, a pleased smirk broke across her face. Whatever else he was, the stallion wasn't a complete disappointment. She liked a little spunk and attitude in a companion, and whether or not she would spend five more seconds or five more days in his company, she was enjoying it, briefly. It surprised her, but at the same time, it warmed her.

She was an odd mare.

Bobbing beside him, she leaned over, nipping at his jaw. Her teeth were sharpened to perfection, but she wasn't biting to hurt; it was friendly, though not often construed as such. "Don't get too full of yourself. You're just a little more entertaining than my reflection."

Her lips were peeled back into a smirk, bangs sopping and hanging in her eyes.