[FIN] Warm and Windy (First Light & Wood Spider)

[Darkmoon Dancer]

The air out here at the edge of the swamp, overlooking a yellow plain that quickly turned into sandy dunes not too far further, was fuller and lighter than the air in the heart of the swamp. It was thinner and softer as it rushed over the blue buck's body and wrapped itself around his limbs. But what had captured the buck's attention was how the air was influencing his tail.

His tail, which he had inherited from one of his parents, he was sure, was a cold flame that went invisible the closer it got to the tip, where it became completely translucent. The air was making it billow back and forth and dance in it's own new pattern, and it was all his eyes could focus on, and the reason for that attention was the sky: his beloved sky was as blue as his coat, and was completely devoid of clouds. It was a warm sunny day, one that would regularly result in the buck basking in the tall grasses on his back and watching the clouds float by and changing shapes as they go, but not today. Today, all of that attention focused down at his tail tuft.
 

[phoenix kiss]

Wood Spider had just come from a day of adventuring; she had found a few new plants on her normal walks, and had followed their bright red flowers through the woods, into grasslands with rustling grasses higher than her head, and now onto the brink of a yellow plain. The scent of the beach and the sun-heated sand was just as exotic as the honey-like scent of the flowers she'd found; a few of their stems were still wrapped around her tail, though their leaves and flowers were gone.

She blinked at First Light, regarded his face, and then followed his gaze to the tip of his tail -- and then tilted her head, ears swiveling around [he wasn't talking to anyone, was he..?]. The view of his tail would be interrupted by her face, its expression sweet, but a little befuddled. "--what in the swamp are you looking at?"  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

It was swaying back and forth, like a flame, but a cold one... When was the last time he had seen fire...? And his mind wandered away until his eyes re-focused on the spot where his tail had been mere moments before... only to find a face in it's place!

He blinked once, twice. Nope, it was still there. And it was speaking to him! No, no, that's not right. She was speaking to him. Wait, what?

His ears perked up and his head tilted to one side as a grin slid across his face. She was very pretty, she was. But wait, she had said something... yes, that's right. He should probably say something in response. So after a moment of silly grinning at the pretty doe in silence, he opened his mouth and politely stated, "My name is First Light"
And though this was not a response to her question, he wouldn't have known that as he hadn't really paid attention to the words she had used, as much as he paid attention to the expression on her face and the cute way that her brow had furrowed in that befuddled way.
 

[phoenix kiss]

She blinked at him, and then grinned in a delighted sort of way; this buck was really three roots short of a tree, wasn't he? She stepped next to him to see the view he had been admiring before his tail had so claimed his attention, and then switched her own tail across her flanks. Most bucks weren't quite this -- out there, and it occurred to her that this was another sort of exploration. Most of the bucks she'd met were rather more direct and to the point, and none of them -- not a one! -- had had a tail like a plume of fire.

"My name is Wood Spider -- but that wasn't what I asked." She had an easy way of speaking; her gaze slid away from the view before them [she'd never seen so much sand before!] to regard him again. "You have to show me what's so interesting!"  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

He watched the cloud-and-bark doe move until she settled next to him and he made sure to pay attention when she spoke to him again, all the while not being able to wipe that grin off his face. Was it beginning to become a permanent fixture?

It slipped a little when she mentioned that she had not inquired his name, but he quickly recovered when she looked back over at him. His tail twitches, as if he were showing it to her, "Well I was just staring at this, really... Like a little flame that's cold. Have you seen fire before, Wood Spider?" He was very proud of himself for already mastering her name, and loved that it was so easy to say. It was definitely not something he'd be forgetting anytime soon.

His gaze cast over the sands and then up to the sky as he added, "And before that I was looking at the dunes all the way out there.... all grainy and hot.... and before that I had just made it out here with the intention of staring at the sky for the changing clouds.... but there aren't any out to play today."
 

[phoenix kiss]

Wood Spider looked from First Light to the brilliantly blue sky, as blue as his coat, and then began to pick her way carefully down the hill towards the sand dunes. She had never been on sand before, and the grainy, hot sand against her hooves was a new, odd thing -- new enough that she had to drop down and roll around in it, feeling the sand work its way down through her fur to her skin. "It's hot! Like fire! Do you think the sun is fire?" She paused in her rolling to peer up at him and flicked an ear; a small river of sand poured out of it.

Eventually she stilled and had to grin at him -- as much from his expression as because she'd just been rambling like a foal. "I'm sorry, I've never seen this before -- you should come see it yourself."  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

When she strode down to the sands, his ears swivelled about to focus on her. Rolling about in the sands like a foal discovering something for the very first time, made First Light want to join her, but he was unsure of how she would react, and so he stood up and then hesitated. And to his pleasant surprise she even invited him over!

With a giddy like emotion and his tongue practically hanging out, First Light galloped over onto the sands and threw himself happily to the ground to join in the rolling. After a good roll or two, he stopped, lying on his belly and looked over at her with a look similar to that of a young 'un that just discovered something sweet.

"I've felt the sands before, and they do heat like fire. Perhaps it comes from the sun, and that is the source of our little flames all the way down here. Afterall, we don't see much sun in the swamp.... and it's very dry out here too, that has to have something to do with the fire..." He turned his head to look out over the horizon and then tilted his head, squinting at the distance. Was the air waving way out there in this sunlight?
 

[phoenix kiss]

Somehow this made perfect sense to her, given First Light's name and his tail. Wood Spider loved to explore and discover new things, even if their explanations sounded weird or mystical... after all, the Swamp itself decided these things, and she was a part of that. She gathered her legs up underneath her and stood, following First Light's gaze to the horizon. "It's all wavy over there, towards the horizon -- like your tail. Do you want to go see?" She was almost itching to go and explore, dancing in place. It would be just as nice to explore with him as would be by herself...  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

He almost couldn't contain his happiness when she asked if he wanted to go see. Tail wagging furiously, he instantly responded, "Would I ever! Let's go! I bet if we go right now we can make it back before nightfall!" And with that, he starts heading out, the only thought on his mind was that he would at least get something accomplished today if he couldn't make shapes in the clouds: he would finally venture out there to where the air wavers.

Quickly having passed the furthest he had travelled into the sands, he slows down and looks over at the pretty doe that was to be his company, and all of a sudden some very hazy images flashed by in his mind. He had seen the two of them rolling about in the sands under the setting sun... and they weren't just playing either!

He shook his head. What was that? No time for thoughts like those! he scolded himself mentally. Instead he asked Wood Spider as they trotted along, "What's that vine for, anyway?"
 

[phoenix kiss]

"Oh, that?" Wood Spider's tone was distracted for just a moment before she glanced over her shoulder to her tail. The stems and leaves of the flower she'd discovered were still tied to it, though they'd gone just a little yellow around their edges. "This is a charm!" she explained, "It protects against ghosts. They don't like the smell."

The vines and leaves had no smell. Presumably they would if they rotted, but they weren't quite there... it seemed to be all in her head. She blinked at him for a moment, and then grinned, "Maybe if we find some more flowers I can craft you one. You can't be too careful." Her tone was warm. "And what would happen if I wasn't around to drive them off?"  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

He stops when she mentions their smell and stretches over to take a sniff, but doesn't sense any sort of aroma at all. His brow furrows for a moment at the plant, and then he shrugs and figures that he's not a ghost, so why would he be able to smell it?

His eyes find hers and he sweetly answers, "I would love one, Wood Spider." His eyes get a little bit shiny and he steps in for a swift nuzzle before stepping back once, looking down at the ground and announcing, "Look! We're here!" He turns on the spot, momentarily distracted by the frantic twitching of his tail. Upon catching it, he realizes what he had just done, and then said, and then done again.

He freezes and grins at the doe sheepishly before dropping his gaze to the ground at their feet. It was very very warm here, and when he squinted he could see that the air still danced here, much like his tail does in the wind.
 

[phoenix kiss]

"Of course they don't have a smell, you're not a--" and then he nuzzles her. She goes cross-eyed for a moment, looking down at her own muzzle, before her attention swings back to their location. For a moment, she's a little confused as to where Here is -- where had they been going? -- and blinks at him before realizing that they were at their destination!

And he had nuzzled her! How exciting! And she hadn't even put on any of the special oils she'd made for love or romance.

All around them, the air dances and shivers, like leaves caught in a breeze, or like the way water trembles after a splash. She turns almost a full circle, just looking around, feeling the sun shine warmly down on her coat. The poor leaves around her tail were going to wither, and that wouldn't do... but she could fix it later, of course. Now all she really wanted to do was look at First Light again. "It's nice here, isn't it? All shivery. We should stay here, overnight, and see if it changes at night. What do you say?" Besides, spending time with him was nice...  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

First Light keeps his gaze on the ground and on the air just above the ground, swaying, dancing, shivering in the heat. That is, until the doe begins to move again. He slyly casts his gaze upwards without lifting his head and silently watches her walk in an almost circle. She was practically glowing! When she looked back over at him, he lifted his head and looked at her more directly, smiling a crooked smile.

And what a proposition! How could he say no to a face like that? Not that he would have wanted to say no, but the thought was there all the same. Straightening up, he says as calmly as he can manage while his brain spins a mile a minute, "That sounds wonderful! Sounds like lots of fun, it does!" He tilts his head, "I mean, watching the shivers... with you..." He trails off, not quite sure what he had meant to say after that, and so he shakes his head instead and adds, "I hear the nights get cold out here.... sooooo..... we should snuggle." And with that rather sly comment, the sky-blue buck sits down and adopts his most charming smile as his tail curls around his rump and then his side, as if it were calling her over.

And as if by magic, or perhaps a friendly ghost shoving them out, those hazy images floated back into First Light's mind, but clearer this time.... Perhaps it was the right time for them now....
 

[phoenix kiss]

It's a simple enough thing to understand what's going on now -- with First Light grinning at her as sly as an owl, Spider minces her way over (careful to keep her steps dainty and ladylike) and folds her legs down into a comfortable position. If they're going to spend the night and watch the heat-shimmer make the stars dance, well, it pays to be comfortable. Her tail lashed out behind her, found his, and wrapped around it.

The stars dancing would be a fine thing to watch if, well, things happened. A quick glance upwards made her smile at him -- as far as she could tell, the stars were pretty happy about what was going on underneath them.