[PRP] Unexpected Attention (Aquitaine & Pax)

[She-Ra of Etheria]

The air was cool as Aquitaine made her way through the deep meadow grasses. She still wasn't used to the feeling of the blades of grass tickling her legs, nor having to wade through the green stuff to get places. The beach would always be her home, always the place she returned to, but the beach did not have everything and so she found herself venturing out at times to gain knowledge, explore or to simply get a change of scenery for a while. All around her she could see the inevitable change of seasons starting to make it's appearance. Flowers were less abundant, the air was chilly in the morning and the evenings and some of the leaves had also begun to change colors, drying up in preparation for their annual descent to the ground. The changes thrilled Aquitaine, for it meant winter would be here before long. Many Soquili didn't like winter from what she understood but seeing the world blanketed in white was something special.

Pausing at a small stream Aquitaine bend her head down to drink some water. Had the day been a bit warmer she might have gone for a quite swim, the stream seemed deep enough for that sort of thing even if her dragon would not have approved of the activity. But she didn't want to get a chill from swimming in the cold so she contented herself with merely drinking the cool, clean water. As she slacked her thirst Aquitaine pondered the possibilities of where to go today. Perhaps she could go into the forest and try to find some apples, they were getting a bit harder to find now and it would be nice to bring some home for her parents and brothers. Or perhaps she should go hunting for herbs, it would help her keep her supply stocked - especially since winter snows would bury the plants - and it would also allow her to keep sharp on which plants were which. If she had enough time she could do both. Finishing her drink Aquitaine lifted her head, taking in a quick survey of the land. If she looked for herbs on the way to the forest for apples then she could accomplish both tasks at once before heading home.

Her mind made up Aquitaine picked her way carefully across some large rocks that dotted across the stream before continuing through the meadow. Her head held low as she kept an eye out for herbs that she needed and those that she still needed to learn about as well.  

[II Paradox II]

She-Ra of Etheria

“She’s yet, again sent me on a wild goose hunt.”
Pax groaned in irritation as he dug his hoof against the earth stirring up dust in the process. Esme, an old owl that resided close to his nesting spot had sent him out for a couple errands to run and in return he would be given a reward. Of course Pax was too tired this morning to even care about what the reward but not so much as he had taken up the task. Not a huge problem because he didn’t really have any planned for the day. He flicked his tail and swiveled his ears as he walked alongside the stream. The earth here soft against his hooves and the refreshing, cool water lapped up against his hooves as he made his way around a little bend. Esme had told him to look for a flowery plant purple in color with three leaves that sprouted out. He had long forgotten the name of the plant that he was trying to find but had remembered the description and so far none of the plants that grew close to the water’s edge seemed to fit the profile. “Great,” he muttered as he kicked a pebble into the stream. “Just perfect,” he snorted with a roll of his eyes.

Pax made his way around another bend before stopping in his tracks. Ahead, not too far was a mare…
“Well, well…” he grimaced with a raise of an eyebrow. “What do we have here?” he chuckled in amusement. Odd and peculiar she was. But a mare nonetheless. And so far away from home? He could only guess. Or perhaps lost? The grin grew on his lips as he began walking towards her. “Hello there,” he eventually called out. “A bit lost?” he asked, tossing his head back so that his mane would catch the breeze.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

There was some clover, no healing properties that she knew of but it was a nice treat. And there was some Chamomile but she had plenty of that in her supplies. Oh and there was some Jewel weed, that was something she could use a bit more of. Her head bent down closer to crop the plant off for collection when he dragon rumbled causing her to freeze, and then she heard a voice, male and probably far too close for her liking. Taking a deep breath Aquitaine abandoned the herb for the moment so that she could lift her head and gaze towards the stranger. What she saw was a large pink and white stallion, whose long purple mane and tail had both been braided. Then she noticed the horn protruding from his forehead, so he had some unicorn blood in him but certainly wasn't a pure breed. "Uh...hello." Her eyes moved for a second from the stallion, to the plant, then back to the stallion.

"No, I'm not lost." At least she hoped she hadn't gotten lost, but if she suddenly glanced around to check her surroundings he might think she was lying. Aquitaine was fairly certain she knew where she was, after all she hadn't journeyed all that far from home. "I was looking for herbs." She informed the stallion, explaining why she had looked like she was looking for something. Her dragon rumbled again, a warning for the stallion to keep his distance. Aquitaine mumbled something softly to her hair bound companion attempting to keep him calm and quiet, the last thing she needed was for him to become upset or angry with either her or the stallion. Perhaps she should tell him to keep his distance, but no others needed to learn to stay out of her personal space anyways, warning them that her dragon might attack if they chose to do otherwise would only end up with her never talking to anyone. Aquitaine might not be the most social of Soquili due to her odd looks more than anything else but she did on occasion crave a good conversation with anyone willing to overlook her appearance. If this stallion wished to talk to her then he could do so from over there.  

[II Paradox II]

She-Ra of Etheria

“Well isn’t that just a coincidence,” the young stallion smirked as he looked to the mare with a cocked eyebrow. “Because I’m looking for some herbs as well. Maybe we could both help each other since you’re not lost,” he offered the idea. The tone of his voice sounded sincere enough with a flirtatious disposition. But in truth, Pax needed some help finding the herbs that Esme had sent him out to gather. He knew nothing about plants except that some were big, small, green, or colorful and this mare seemed like she knew a whole lot about the plant life that grew around here. He was about to step closer to the mare when his ears flickered from hearing a rumble coming from…her mane? No, that can’t be right. Pax shook his head with a soft snort as he watched her mumble into her mane. Was there some sort of a furry companion lurking deep within the thick locks of her mane? Odd place for anyone to stay. But the thought didn’t dwell on Pax much longer as he awaited an answer from the mare. “So, what do you say? I won’t bite,” he crackled a chuckle. “And truly I do need some help finding some specific herb for a friend,” he told her. “She’s awfully sick and well…the faster she gets these, the better.” Esme wasn’t really sick. In fact, she was quite well but she was very, very busy. Pax hoped that adding that her friend was sick would make her say ‘yes’ even though it wasn’t the truth.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Her ears perked up a bit. He was looking for herbs also. Well she could maybe help him, while she was still learned Aquitaine felt she had a basic enough knowledge of herbs that she should be able to help him and still find the herbs she needed without too much trouble. "Oh? You're looking for herbs as well?" Her parents had told her that she should help those who needed it if she could, and certainly she was the only one around that could probably help the stallion. Still, she wasn't sure how he would react if she didn't know the herb he was looking for, but until he told her what she was looking for then she would never know.

She couldn't help but take a step back as he jokingly told her he wouldn't bite. Not exactly a comforting thought, even if she knew he was trying to make light of the situation. Her dragon sensing her hesitation let out another rumble, it's red eyes trained on the stallion. Just when she was about to tel him she wouldn't be able to help him he mentioned his friend needed the herb because she was sick. Well she really couldn't deny him help now. "Well...I guess I could help you." She said a bit hesitantly, her long slender tail flicking out behind her nervously. "What were you looking for exactly?" Hopefully it was something easy to find so she could send him on his way and get back to her own herbs.

II Paradox II

 

[II Paradox II]

She-Ra of Etheria

Ha! It had worked! So Pax wasn’t entirely telling the truth that his friend was sick, but hey…more time with the mare, which in turn made him quite happy. Plus, he would be able to find the stupid herbs. Pax could only see it in a win-win situation and quite frankly this mare looked much too skittish and nervous to be out on her own, so he was doing her some good as well. Perfect!

“Well,” cleared his throat as he looked around. “I don’t remember the name of the herb,” he said. And that was the honest truth. Esme had given him the name of the herb before he set off on the little quest, but some miles ago he forgot the name. “But I do have a description. Maybe that’ll help, yes?” he asked with a smile. Pax blinked and shook his head for a brief moment. “What about you? What are you looking for?” he asked. “We could help each other—find the herbs that we’re searching for,” he said. Actually Pad could really care less about what herbs she was looking for. She seemed interesting—enchanting, and therefore he wanted to get to know her better. “And what about that friend of yours that’s hiding in your mane? Oh, yes. I saw him. Does he have a name?” he asked, daring to take a step closer to her.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Well even without a name of the herb Aquitaine was fairly certain she would know what to look for if given a description. After all part of her herb training had not been to only know the names of herbs and what they did, but to also know what they looked like so that they could be collected easily. This would be a good exercise for her to do, and perhaps it would help her remember the herbs better. The more she learned and practiced the better she would become at this, it was the same with herbs as it was for her knight lessons with her father and her dance lessons with her mother. It would also be good to visit with Nightling again and let her know of the progress she was making, continue the lessons and let the mare know the knowledge she had passed on had helped out greatly.

"I can certainly try. Though until you give me the description I won't be of much help." She informed the stallion. And the sooner he told her then the sooner they could find it and he could get back to his sick friend. Any delay in getting the herb back could be bad, especially since he had mentioned that his friend was quite sick. "Oh...well I'm looking for a number of herbs, I'm sure we will find some along the way...but I think getting that herb for your friend should be our top priority." She wouldn't waste time when someones health was on the line. Eyes widened suddenly as he took a step towards her, which made Aquitaine take a couple of quick steps back. "It's...he's...not exactly a friend." She admitted to him quietly. The stallions boldness to come closer only irked the dragon more and he let out another growl. "And, he doesn't have a name." Mainly because everything she had picked for him only seemed to make him angry, either he didn't want to be named or she had failed to pick the right name so far. Though speaking of names she had yet to give the stallion hers, though part of her was hesitant to do so as he had also not shared him. "I'm...Aquitaine." There that was done. Now maybe he would tell her about the herb, possibly give his name as well and they could get to work.

II Paradox II

 

[II Paradox II]

She-Ra of Etheria

Boy, she was quite the skittish one. Perhaps Pax had lucked out as she didn’t seem all that interested in him but rather the herbs that he was to find for Esme. Oh yeah. Because he had said that Esme was terribly ill. What a swift move on his part. Pax snorted and rolled his eyes mentally at himself as he backed a little bit from the mare. “Someone that travels with you that isn’t a friend, eh? Then why have him travel alongside with you? Just doesn’t seem all that logical,” he said. Then again Pax wasn’t any friend of Aquitaine and he was about to travel with her—well, more or less helping one another find herbs and that sounded like a complete bore to Pax. He’d rather just chit-chat with her—get to know her better. She seemed interesting and mysterious enough to get to know.

“Right,” Pax shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself again. “The herb…Um, well…” he paused for a brief moment as he had forgotten the description that Esme had given him as he kept thinking about this mare that stood beside him and how he could ‘swoon’ her.

“It had kind of a flower to it…Um…” he looked around in hopes that the description or even the plant would just come to mind or he would see it right there in the ground. But nope, nothing of that sort happened. “How about we look over there?” he asked while looking on the other side of the stream. “Let’s start over here,” he motioned for her to follow as he made his way across the water.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Aquitaine's ears perks forward a bit at his statement. Oh if only he knew that she had little choice about not bringing her dragon along. She wasn't even sure if she could ever be free from him, and part of her didn't want to get rid of him, he was good for protection after all. But some days, she wished for even a short time, to be free from his weight and attitude. Short of cutting her mane off, which she wasn't sure would work anyways, there was no way of going anywhere without him. They were stuck together, for better or for worse. "I...don't really have a choice." She finally said, figuring it was best to just tell him her hair creature was here to stay no matter what she or others thought of him.

Her eyebrows arched as she stumbled over the description of the herb. How could he forget what it looked like when his friend needed it to get better? Here he thought it was silly for her to bring a creature along who wasn't her friend and yet he had not even bothered to remember the name or description of an herb he desperately needed to help his friend. Aquitaine couldn't help but shake her head at the idea. Sure he obviously wasn't an herb expert, but it wasn't right to forget, what if they couldn't find it and his friend ended up sicker or even worse dead because of it. Now Aquitaine wanted to find that herb even more, and she would ignore her own herbs just to get it. But his description was so vague. It had a flower on it. "Do you know how many plants have flowers on them around here?" She asked as he began to walked across the stream. Aquitaine hesitated at the bank as he crossed. "Can't you remember the color or shape? It would help a lot." Especially since some flowering plants could be poisonous, so they had to really make sure they got the right one for his friend.

After much hesitation Aquitaine slowly followed him across the water to the other side of the stream. Much as she didn't like the idea of wandering around with a stranger there was someone who needed her help and so she must endure this. "Do you remember how many leaves it had? Or where it grows?"

II Paradox II