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 Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 12:05 am
  It was quiet in this part of the swamp. Early mornings usually were, light barely filtering through the gray blanket of clouds that had settled overhead. The mists hung heavily here, predators could move like unseen shadows and most kin avoided it for fear of the unknown. It lay a little farther to the south, the swamp poured out into it and it lasted for miles before the cliffs and the ocean would begin to appear. Branches, twigs and grasses grew at odd angles from the shallow waters, and there was the odd mangrove here and there but otherwise it was an endless plain of wet, silent marshland. If one looked closely through the fog, they could see something moving...
Marrow was quietly making her way through the shallow murk, the fluff of her hooves trailing in the water as she went. This territory was familiar to her- this was home. It was clear in the way she moved, how she knew where to step. She paused, lowing her head to inspect the remains of a Rox that had become tangled among the water weeds, inspecting them to see if they were good enough to take.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 12:57 am
 It wasn't often Shiver left his cozy home; he was happy there, with his cave and his collection and his pet. But sometimes he'd bore of things there, and find himself wandering, wherever he might feel. This time, he'd gone far from his territory, far from his comfortable zone, and wasn't quite sure why. Neither did Slither. His water snake hissed in annoyance from his perch on Shiver's back as they slogged through the marsh they'd discovered. He liked water, but he hated change, Shiver knew. But he put up with it, because sometimes they found some interesting things to take home. He was about to turn his head around to console the snake, when he caught movement in the fog. "Wait, did you see that?" he whispers, his tongue flicking out, much like his snake friend's own as he peers into the mist. "I think I saw something..." he trudges forward, not exactly being quiet, but not really sloshing around, either.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:14 am
Marrow was busy inspecting the Rox's still in tact eye, marveling at how well preserved it was even in such deplorable conditions. That's when she heard the hiss of a snake, quiet but nearby. She was not alarmed, as snakes were common to the area, but perhaps she had drawn some unwanted attention...
She turned back to the skeleton...and froze when she heard the voice. Her head snapped up and she made not a move or a sound. For a moment there was silence, and an uneasy wind blew, shifting the mists. They unfurled around her, revealing her form clearly to the one that had wandered into the marsh. Was she a ghost? A hallucination? It was hard to tell...
The deep black onyx of Marrow's eyes were unreadable as she stared, rigid, at the other. Slowly, eerily, she tilted her head slightly in silent question. It had been so long since she's seen another kin...
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:33 am
((last one for the night, i'm dead tired. will continue tomorrow~)) As he moved forward, the fog was gracious enough to move aside for him, and what he saw made him stop in his tracks, and his mouth hang open. He blinked a few times, to make sure he wasn't imagining things, and after a few moments he was pretty sure he wasn't. It sort of looked like a doe, but at the same time, like a skeleton. His mind boggled and his own head tilted to the side. "Whoa...." He felt his snake slither forward enough to put his own tiny head next to his owner's, tiny tongue flicking out in silent query. Shiver's own tongue was hanging out, he realized and he reeled it in before snapping his mouth shut. She(?) was amazing.... Finally, he had the wherewithal to move a little closer, though he still stared. "Who are you?" (or What, his mind added) he quietly asked, usually not this starstruck.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 3:30 pm
The first thing she saw were the bright spots of reddish orange against the black. The colors were shockingly bright in such dim settings, and she wondered if all swamp kin were splashed with color like this. The second thing she noticed was the small snake he had perched upon his back. Ah- so that's where the hiss had come from.
Lastly, she noticed his tongue. Serpentine, long and something she had never seen before. Her tongue wasn't nearly as long, she knew that for sure. When he reeled it back it with a snap of his jaw, she noticed his eyes. Was that marvel? Revulsion? She was wary, her hooves shifting uneasily as he stepped towards her. She looked ready to bolt, tense and silently warning him not to come any closer.
At his question, she blinked, though it could not be seen in the blackened pits of her eyes. "...Who are you?" She retorted, her tone firm but borderline of a whisper. He was the one that had wandered into her home, after all, she had a right to know.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:31 pm
He stopped his forward progress as soon as the form in front of him tensed, and looked like fleeing was a possibility. He didn't want that to happen. He stood there, staring at the living skeleton in front of him, for lack of a better phrase, wondering what to do, and then she spoke. He swooned a little. Completely missing the fact she never answered his question, he blinked, happy to answer her. "I'm Shiver." And as his snake brushed across his face again he paused. "Oh, and this is Slither."
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:58 pm
She noted the way he placed emphasis on his S's, drawing out the sound. Very much like a snake.
"Why do you want to know my name?" She asked, and one could not see the small, suspicious scowl her mouth formed underneath the smiling skeletal markings of her face. "Why are you here?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:29 pm
(You reminded me I forgot to drag those s's out like I'm supposed to XD I'll probably still forget. XD) He blinks again. What a silly question. "It'ss .. well it'ss jusst normal? Introducing onesself." Listen to him, talking about 'normal'. No one tended to use that word to describe him. "But if you don't want to tell me," he quickly amends, "that'ss fine, too." He was studying her features as he replied, in case he wouldn't be able to get any closer. Why was he here? She was a suspicious sort, that's for sure. "I uh, why not? I'm jusst wandering. Looking for interessting thingss to take home." His 's' extension was probably from living with a snake all the time. Shiver never really noticed he did it.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:25 pm
"....Not many come to this part of the swamp." She said finally, almost as if she was apologizing for her wary behavior in a roundabout way. She was a doe of few words, but she recognized that he meant her no harm without needing to say much of it. Instead she glanced down to the remains of the Rox before looking back at the buck.
"What are you searching for?" She asked, her posture seeming to relax a bit, no longer looking like she wanted to bolt.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:33 pm
"Well, that'ss good, perhapss I will find something fun here no one else has." He finds himself relaxing a bit too as she does, glad she doesn't seem like she wants to run away anymore. He watches her look down at something near her, and replies "I don't know. I never do until I find it. Why, did you find something interessting?" He slowly starts to move forward again, towards her, watching to make sure he doesn't make her uncomfortable again. He wasn't used to dealing with kin so skittish, usually he'd already inside someone's personal bubble without another thought. But she still didn't seem all that real to him, and he was afraid if he made a wrong move, she'd disappear back into the mists.
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:07 am
She watched him approach, moving back only a step or two to allow him to see the partially eaten skeleton of the drowned Rox. This was slightly new to her; she hadn't socialized with others besides those of her family. "There are a lot of things like this here." She spoke, filling in the awkward silence with her whispery tones.
"My sister says this used to be a place were others were buried, but the rains flooded this land many moons ago. Scavengers, like this Rox, often meet their end here."
There was a beat or two of silence before she asked "What sort of thing do you find interesting?" What was he looking for? Her head canted slightly, curious.
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:20 am
He makes sure his approach is slow and non-threatening, and as he nears, peers down. He lights up a bit; it was very intriguing to him. "Interesssting. You say there are many things like this. Thiss.. is what I enjoy. Skeletonss. Skullsss... Bonessss. My home cave is decorated with such thingss. I try to find typess I have never seen before." He looks back up at her and can't help but look her over again. Her head was skull-like, and her tail.. her tail, well, let's just say if she had been the one to have met her end here, he would not have hesitated in taking it with him if he could have. Creepy, yes, cold, definitely, but luckily for her there was a difference between the living and the dead, and he would never intentionally harm another living kin. Especially not one who resembled the things he loved most.
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:32 am
As he speaks, she imagines his cave...dark and littered with bones, where his snake slithers freely amongst the remains. It sounds wonderful, and reminds her of her own home. How amusing to find someone with interests that matched her own...Her gaze was on the Rox bones, but her black eyes glance to him and notice that he seems to be lingering on her tail...
She shifts, hiding her tail behind one of her hind legs, giving him a small frown. "It is rude to stare." She said bluntly, black eyes watching him pointedly.
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 7:04 pm
"Sssorry." He is quick to avert his eyes with his apology. "I have jusst never seen a kin with featuress like yourss. Sso very mesmerizing..." His eyes move back to her black ones, and he pauses. "Forgive me for being forward, but you are very beautiful."
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 7:53 pm
That...was something she had certainly never heard before. She wasn't sure if he was perhaps playing a mean trick, or if he had hit his head on the way here...She hadn't meant to, but before she knew it laughter had bubbled forth, soft and honest.
"You certainly are a strange buck. Perhaps the mist is getting in your eyes. I am certainly not what one would call 'beautiful'."
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