What have we here? (Fathom and Acanthus)

[Dixie]

 

[Dixie]

Fathom licked her lips, the last few drops of blood washed away. She had just finished a small snack of rabbit, hit just the spot. Satisfied, her hunger staved, her red eyes flashed as she took in the surrounding area. It had been some time since she had run into anyone, she was growing quite bored. Her ears flickered as she heard a rustle in the distance. Curious as to what it could be, she quietly started making her way through the underbrush, her eyes searching for the the origin of the noise.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Acanthus was enjoying his first few days of adulthood, as they were his first true experience of freedom. Not to say that his parents or sister had sheltered him or anything during his time as a foal, but he had always stayed close by, within a few short fields at the most. But sincehe reached adulthood, he had began his own journey to find himself and his place in this world.

And he was becoming bored with all of this silence and... well... non-happenings.

The hefty stallion walked along, shuffling his hooves through the underbrush, hoping that finding something to do wouldn't take much longer. A few days of nothing were just about more than he could handle! At this rate, he would have to set himself on a hunting mission... or something... to keep himself from going insane.

As for the mare a little ways off, Acanthus was oblivious to her, that is, he chose to be oblivious to the almost inaudible steps off to his right. He brushed them off as some critter or other and kept walking, twitching his long tail angrily.
 

[Dixie]

After a few moments, Fathom's eyes focused in on the creator of the noise. He was a hefty stallion of beautiful colors, she noted his kalona traits, his souless eyes. She stood for a moment, watching, his tail was moving in a most unpleased manor.

From his build, she was intrigued. She put a courteous smile upon her face and tried to take a pleasant stance as she approached the male. "You seem to be having a bad day," she took a few steps towards the male, her voice kind and mannerly. "Could I help in any way, Sir?" her words coming from the tongue of a snake in the grass.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

An ear flicked over, shortly followed by his head turning to look at the approaching stranger. He looked the mare over a moment before considering her question. She spoke nicely enough, and for that matter if she turned out to be a threat he could hold his own.

He stilled his tail, if only for a few moments to respond, "No 'sirs' here, miss." A mischievous grin and twinkle in his eyes as he ducked his head a bit, followed by, "Acanthus, please. But... I don't think so. There's just so much... nothing." He looked up at her from shadowed brow and added, "If that makes any sense." As much as he was telling the truth, he wanted to see what she would say to such a statement, and if she had just been acting courteous or if she was actually interested in his company.
 

[Dixie]

"Oh, I do understand," she bobbed her head slightly. "I've just finished a meal and heard a rustle, I was hoping to find something to intrigue me, and I must say I've done just that." she bare a toothy grin at the male.

"Acanthus, is it? I'm Fathom," she took her tail and brushed it lightly over his shoulder, "Care for a stroll, Acanthus?" her little mind was turning in circles. She wanted to find out more about this stallion, what made him tick and if his other genes would be of benefit to her.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Intrigue! His ears perked up and his tail slowed to a more comfortable pace. If she understood, then perhaps she could help him find something more interesting to do. And hey, he didn't mind company either, there were plenty of things he could do by himself, but sometimes it was more fun with company.

He nodded, "Hello, Fathom." He glanced over at her tail but otherwise let it be. He deemed it innocent enough. No cuts, no slash, just a simple touch. He left it at that. Looking back over at Fathom, he nodded once more and replied, "Stroll sounds great. Please, lead the way." Oh, he knew the area more or less, but he had no particular place to be, so why not let her lead? He took the time to glance over her again, taking in the leathery wings and the lines of spikes. Quite an astonishing Kalona, he would have to say.
 

[Dixie]

She smiled, almost trying to give a shy look as he had her to lead. She began taking slow steady paces, looking back to make sure he was following along. "I enjoy a nice walk in the evening, helps to relax the mind before bed." she stated quite matter of factly.

"So tell me, what do you normally do to chase off your boredom?" She looked over and motioned to his horns, "I see you do have kalona blood. Do you hunt at all?"  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Aww! She was almost blushing! He grinned, amused. Though she was pretending, he didn't notice, he was just happy to not be alone. Alone could just get sooooo boring after a while.

He nodded, agreeing, but didn't say anything until she asked questions. Patience was a virtue, he had been told, but it wasn't something he was very good at, so staying silent and patient until it was polite to speak was something he was proud of, if only subconsciously at his age.

"Oh yes. My father is a grand hunter, and my sister's pretty good, too. Though I do it for fun and food more than sport." He nodded again, confirming his own statement. "Papa takes it very seriously. Loves the... um... 'The Hunt'. He calls it, anyway." A small hair flip, throwing his bangs out of his inkling eyes. "So I chase, hunt, eat, or fly to dissolve boredom."
 

[Dixie]

She flashed him a smile, excitement filled her voice. "So you do hunt!" her tail flicked. "We shall have to hunt together some time then!" she looked over his build again. She was sure that any animal seeing his large stature charging for them would almost die of fright.

"I hunt for food, I don't believe in hunting just for sport," she lied through her teeth. She enjoyed hunting for the kill, she knew exactly what the stallions father was talking about "The Hunt". She loved the adrenaline that rushed through her body as she chased a helpless victim through the forest or plain.

"I enjoy flying, but mainly at night." she wasn't much of a day girl, the sun hurt her eyes and it was harder to stalk in day light.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

"Yes! I would like that!" Hunting was definitely something that could be done better in pairs. He had learned that from the time he had spent with his sister. There were less windows for the prey to run away in when hunting in pairs. For good measure he threw in nonchalantly, "Oh, he does use every part afterwards. Nothing goes to waste." He didn't want her to think that her father was a ruthless murderer! Or wasteful, for that matter. But he just shrugged that off and let it be.

"Mmhmm... flying at night is better I find. No sun blinding you, less birds to run into, but then lots more bats." He chuckled, remembering the countless bats that he could snatch up in the middle of the night for a quick snack. "And the air is cooler, less... stuffy."

He followed the mare, glad to have someone to talk to. His tail continued to swish back and forth as it did most of the time, almost as if he couldn't keep it still unless he was concentrating on it at that very moment. And his ears flicked from side to side quite often too, another simple twitch that occurred.
 

[Dixie]

Fathom continued to watch the stallion's actions. He couldn't seem to stand still. It irked her a bit, but she refrained from telling him to stop. She laughed to herself as he mentioned that his father didn't waste anything. Should she tell him that she hunts and kills for the fun of it?....She shook her head slightly.

"Oh, oh yes. You should never let anything go to waste." she shook her head, "You should only kill what you tend to eat," She kept herself from rolling her eyes as she lied.

"What lines do you come from, Acanthus?" she was curious of his family heritage, what line of kalonas he came from. Hopefully they would be strong and well known line.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

His tail and ears were the only parts that he allowed to twitch more or less of their own free will, because he found that if he let his feet wander and stamp -not only would he shake the ground beneath them- his company would usually find it rather unnerving and unsettling. He'd learned that his tail and ears were usually the least offensive part to be constantly moving. But he really was trying to teach himself to keep even those still too, and he was getting better at it! When he concentrated really hard on something, they would usually slow to a crawl if not stop altogether. It was a work in progress, at the very least.

He perked up when she asked about his lines, and for a moment he was confused but he quickly figured it out and drew to his full height for his answer. "My father is a great hunter, a regular draft, big and strong, like me. He doesn't remember his family at all. We're all he's got now." A pause, as if that should mean something, but in reality he was just trying to collect everything he knew about the other half of his family. "My mother is Ariadne, and she comes from a line of beautiful flutters and ferocious Kalonas." It was a very recent decision to begin calling his mama and papa by 'mother' and 'father'. It seemed to have a better response from others than the more childish 'mama' and 'papa', especially since he was a stallion now. His sister still got away with it, but then again... no one messed with his sister!

Now, perhaps his line would not seem very distinctive, but he spoke of them with pride, especially when he mentioned 'kalonas'. His head lifted higher and his eyes shone. "I think his name is.... Parixaeus, my grandfather. And his father was something similar... Persephonix? Something like that. And I've heard talk of some of my cousins... Arka... Eir... Lorelei... Virvatuli..." He trailed off, trying to remember what he had heard about them.
 

[Dixie]

She shook her head slightly, not recognizing any of the names that he had mentioned. Perhaps they were from another area. She allowed herself to laugh lightly while looking over at Acanthus. "I see no flutter in your build, Acanthus!" he was far too large for a flutter, perhaps all of that gene had worked its way out. Flutters were small and flightly little creatures, hard to catch when they were bug sized.

Fathom continued to walk at her slow pace, she had never been much of one for small talk. She was trying to think of something else she could ask to keep the stallion intrigued enough to stay around a bit longer. Her belly full, she didn't feel like eating, but perhaps the stallion was hungry?

"Have you eaten recently, Dear?" her voice dripping with honey, it almost made her sick.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Nothing else about his family came to mind, though he did try to remember something, anything else important. But no matter, she didn't seem concerned at his lack of information.

He laughed heartily, nodding, "You're right, I have escaped the flutter genes, all I got was the muscle and size," This would have been the perfect time for him to try and wink, but all he managed was a raised head and a playful grin, proud of the genes he did inherit.

The mention of food was definitely welcomed though, he just noticed that he had missed lunch and was indeed rather hungry. "No! I... missed my last meal." A little sheepish once more, but immediately wanting to kick himself for saying something so stupid and childish. He really wanted to impress this mare, to live up to her standards.