Small Steps (Mercy & Kolli)

[JetAlmeara]

It had taken a great deal of time for Mercy to recover from the fight that had saved Supreme. The bites from Pirata's spiders had caused a great deal of damage and for a little while most of the others had not been entirely sure she would live. Mercy knew quite well that she owed her life to the herds healers and she had the still healing scars on her side to prove it. The fact that she had managed to kill one of the vicious beasts during the attack was both a small source of solace and an act that preyed on her mind, bringing great sadness.

Kale had assured her that it had been an act of self defense, that she had had little choice in the matter and furthermore that the spiders were evil creatures under Pirata's control..but that did not make her feel any less sad about the necessity of such an action. Why should hte spiders suffer for Pirata's madness? It didn't seem fair but Mercy was quickly learning that there wasn't much in this life that was fair.

But..no sense in dwelling on such ill thoughts and picking up her head Mercy decided to concentrate on the fact that she was back in action - sort of. Kale and the others had prescribed a slow but steady reintroduction to her training and Knightly duties. At the moment that consisted of patrols which were typically quiet but good enough to get her stiff muscles used to working again. So that was what she was doing today, patrolling..or rather walking along the edge of the herds territory and admiring the way the woods were changing with the season. Soon it would be spring and the cheery green tipped buds and flashes of new growth were enough to put a smile on her face. A new year was in the making she was positive that it would be a good one!

 

[CheshireKttty]

It hadn't taken long for Kolli to find the herd just as Pirata had said. When he had made it to their general area, he had inquired with a few of the locals and found out what he had needed to know. He had also had a bit of time to come up with a back story that would be believable.

His father had died before he had popped, he had protected his family with his life and paid the price. Not long after Kolli was grown, his mother had passed away due to sickness. He had only one remaining relative, a brother that he had not seen in years. Ever since his mother's death, He had been wandering without much purpose to his life. Staying here and there but never very long. He had yet to find a place that was truly his 'home.'

Kolli figured the back story was pretty fool proof and was an easy one to remember. He had come up with names for his family and it wasn't one that would arouse any suspicion so long as he stuck to it to the best of his abilities. The only other thing he needed to do now was to infiltrate the herd itself.

He had heard that there were healers in the group and had devised a plan. Kolli had managed to roam around the forest a bit until he had spotted a patch of rather thorny bushes. It had been painful, but he managed to roll around in them a good deal until he was scraped up enough to warrant some healing. The idea was that he'd been chased by She-Ra, one of Pirata's cronies and had narrowly escaped but got caught up in some of the bushes along the way.

It was a crazy idea, but crazy enough that he actually expected it to work. Hide scraped and feeling proud of himself, Kolli made his way to the area he had been instructed while trying to look as pitiful as possible.

 

[JetAlmeara]

It was the flash of purple that caught Mercy's attention first, it was far to early in the spring for flowers to be present and so that momentary flash of color through the dead and newly growing brush made her stop for a second look. It took only a second longer for her mind to register the form of the stallion as he made his way towards her..and only but a second more for her to become aware of the terrible slash like marks that criss-crossed his body. He looked absolutely miserable and no wonder with those type of wounds!

Although she was mindful of earlier lessons and did not immediately rush to the stallions side (Her run in with a kalona hybrid had taken care of that impulse) she did take a few steps towards him and call out to get his attention. "Sir? Are you alright? Are you in need of assistance?"

Now that she was closer Mercy thought that the wounds looked to be inflicted by thorns of some sort..they certainly couldn't be claws else they would run in matched tracks or so she reasoned. Perhaps he had fallen into a briar patch - there were some nasty ones in the area..Kale had made her navigate them a few times during her training. Well..regardless of how he had been injured Mercy knew it was her responsibility to offer the herds help.  

[CheshireKttty]

And so it began.

Kolli's ears perked in the direction of the mare's voice. He turned his head to face her and got quite the lovely surprise. Had it really been that easy? To believe his luck! The first mare he met was his prey. Unless of course there was another pale pelted mare in the group, but this one looked exactly as Pirata had described. Quickly, he changed his path to a more direct route to the mare.

"I," He started and paused, as if he was out of breath and unsure of her. "I think so." Kolli waited another moment before he responded once more. "I had a bit of a run in with some mad mare. Just narrowly escaped her but not before I got tangled up in some thorny bushes. It's just a few scrapes though, I'll be quite fine." He assured the mare with a charming smile.

 

[JetAlmeara]

Mercy was a bit reassured by the stallions story, and the way he hesitated before speaking. No one with such a story and such an obvious wariness would be much of a threat and that smile..it was a wonderful smile. Why she gave him props for smiling at all in the condition he was in..but it showed he was the optimistic sort and Mercy liked that.

Taking a few steps closer she peered at the wounds. "That is terrible." She told him sincerely in a sympathetic voice. "A mad mare you say?" Ironforge would almost certainly want to hear about such a mare, the older Knight was paranoid about retaliation from Pirata and her ilk and if this mare was one of her minions someone needed to know that she was snooping about - and even if she wasn't a mad mare would need to be dealt with.

"Some of those wounds look a touch deep..my herd has some healers and my mentor would surely want to know of this mad mare..why don't you come to the herd and rest, you look like you could use it." She invited in a kind tone. She didn't want to scare the stallion off..he really did look like he needed some attention from the healers.  

[CheshireKttty]

Oh this was going to be too easy. He had really been hoping for more of a challenge but this mare was going along so perfectly with everything. If the rest of the herd was like this he'd likely be in and out in a week. Yet he had a feeling things would get to be a bit tougher from here. Sure she was taking him back to the herd, but this Ironforge didn't sound quite as Naive.

"Yeah she chased me from the mountains in the north. I'm still not sure why, I swear she just attacked for no reason." He told the mare with disbelief on his face. He paused then when she invited him back to the herd. Kolli didn't want to sound too eager so he pretended to think it over, as if he was nervous about going. "Well," He told her reluctantly. "I have been wandering for some time and I suppose I could do with some rest if your herd wouldn't mind. I certainly don't want to impose on anyone."

He hid his mental glee as he watched the mare fall for his trap. Soon he would be in the herd and he could send Pirata news of their location. Kolli was sure she would be quite pleased with his progress.

 

[JetAlmeara]

Mercy considered for a few moments - it really made no sense for someone to attack somebody else for no reason but given what she knew of the spiders mares minions it was likely that just crossing their lands was crime enough to cause such an incident. It was sad really..the way hatred had taken over the spider mares life. She waited patiently while the stallion took the time to think over her offer, it was understandable that he would be nervous considering he didn't know them.

"Your not imposing, its our duty to help those who need it." She assured him in a cheerful tone. "And its not very far..the healers will fix you right up." She went on to assure him. She would have to find Ironforge as well..tell him of this news - all in all she thought the shaggy stallion would be pretty happy with her efforts this morning not only had she helped someone but she had learned of some information which might be important. Soon they would see that she was ready to get back into the game, back into training..and they would stop coddling her as they had done since her injury. Turning about she motioned with her muzzle back along the path she had been following. "It's just this way a little bit."  

[CheshireKttty]

Pirata would be pleased to find out the location of the herd, and this mare was leading him right to them. He wondered just how far off the Conure was. The stallion suspected it would find him when the time was right and he would be able to relay all of the information that he needed to. Until then, he would keep his ears and eyes working to gather as much information about the herd as he could.

"I do appreciate it." He followed behind her quietly for a little while before he found the silence awkward. He was supposed to be getting this mare's trust and now was the perfect chance to start on that. "I'm sorry, I don't think I ever caught your name? I'm Kolli." Most would have changed their names for a situation like this. However, his name was little known and outside of Pirata's gang no one was likely to know it. Besides, if he changed his name and then accidentally slipped up he'd be given away for sure.

 

[JetAlmeara]

Mercy kept the pace somewhat slow as they made their way back towards the herd - in part because of the stallions injuries and in part because she herself was starting to get weary. Perhaps she had been a bit to over eager in her exercise today. The healers had warned her that the poisons affects would take a while to disappear completely and fatigue was going to be a likely side affect for quite some time. Still it was so dull to be sitting around all the time when she had gotten used to training and helping out, no matter the others assurances that no one expected her to be doing anything different or thought ill of her for slacking.

She was slow wrapped up in these thoughts that she nearly missed the stallions question when he finally broke the silence that had developed between them and then she felt somewhat bad for not introducing herself sooner. "Oh I'm sorry, I suppose I ought to have introduced myself a bit sooner." She told the other stallion, turning her head to give him a slightly embarrassed look before she went on. "I'm Mercy, it's wonderful to meet you Kolli." She told him sincerely.

Kolli that was a nice name, simple with a nice sound to it and easy to remember. She wondered it it meant anything but didn't ask. Rather she went on with another topic. "What brings you to the area Kolli? Were you just traveling through?"  

[CheshireKttty]

"What a pretty name" It was short and simple. He liked that, made it easier to remember. "Me? Well, nothing in particular really. Both of my parents passed away some time ago and I don't really have any family left. My brother Artemis went his own way not long after our mother passed and it's left me to roam." He paused then, as if in recollection of past events. Even if he had never experienced these things for himself, he could at least pretend to reflect on them.

"I suppose ever since then I've been looking for some sort of purpose in life. Mostly I just wander around hoping to find one." It was simple enough. A rogue stallion out on his own with no one to call his. Hopefully she would buy the story well enough and he wouldn't be forced to try and come up with more than that. His creative abilities only stretched so far.

 

[JetAlmeara]

Mercy gave the stallion a warm look of thanks as he said her name was pretty. She had never really thought of it like that before but many of her adopted family said it suit her so she supposed that it was a good name...having someone tell her it was pretty just made it that much better. IT certainly made her day a bit better.

Of course the reason the stallion then gave for being the area gave her a bit of pause. The way he said it made her think that it had all happened quite some time ago - or at least long enough ago that he had adjusted and moved on with his life. That was good - Mercy hated to see others hurting. But it sounded awfully lonely. "I see, don't you very get lonely wandering around by yourself?" She asked him, working hard to keep any sort of pity out of her voice. She had learned that most did not appreciate the thought of being pitied.  

[CheshireKttty]

Kolli smiled inwardly to himself. 'Oh good she bought it.' He thought quite pleased. If any of the herd sniffed him out for what he truly was, well, he'd certainly be in a pickle then. Although he doubted that they would actually attempt to kill him. It didn't seem like their sort of thing.

"I suppose that it does. I've just become accustomed to it I suppose. After being alone for so long you just sort of adjust to it. Although I'm not always on my own. Take now for instance. Every now and then I find a bit of company brighten up my world." He smiled warmly to her. Letting her take whatever it was she wanted from it. "What about you? You must have some sort of interesting back story there." He didn't mind the questions, but eventually he might start to run out of answers.

 

[JetAlmeara]

Mercy felt her ears warm just a little bit when Kolli seemed to imply that she was the type of company that might brighten up his world. While she wasn't completely daft when it came to stallions - she honestly wasn't very experienced either and it certainly wasn't often that one of them choose to flirt with her. Or at least it seemed like he might be flirting with her.

"Oh..its not too interesting.." She told him with a slight laugh. "I come from a herd up in the mountains..well I grew up there anyways, no one really knows where I came from...I was found as a basket you see and my adoptive father decided to raise me as his own. When I got older I learned how to fly and worried about me I was sent here for some training." She told him, giving a brief overview of her history in an offhand fashion. She really didn't think it was all that interesting. Surely a life of adventure out in the world was filled with more stories then her own, somewhat sheltered, life up in the mountains had been.  

[CheshireKttty]

The mare's life sounded fairly dull to him. Then again life was never boring when your own mother sells you as a basket and your adoptive parents are into voodoo. Had he been raised in a normal family he might worry about that a bit, but being himself, he simply accepted it.

"Flying sounds exciting." He pretended to be interested. "I bet you must miss your father as well. What with being away from him and all. Do you ever go back to visit?"

Where was the rest of the herd? They had to be close by now, or at least he hoped so. The mare likely wouldn't have wandered far from them and the journey should be a short one. He only hoped he wouldn't have to feign interest for much longer. Then again if he was to befriend this mare he would be spending a lot of time with her. He only hoped that when he was all through with this little mission of his that perhaps he would at least land some sort of promotion.

 

[JetAlmeara]

"Oh! It can be!" Mercy told the stallion in a cheery voice, glad that they were talking about something she could get into and hoping that the stimulating conversation would keep his mind off of his wounds, which she knew much be causing him some pain. "Especially when the wind is blowing before a storm and you have to navigate the different gusts..you'd think air was just air but its funny some some air makes you rise suddenly and some makes you fall." She shared with him, though she wasn't sure if he would understand it, she certainly hadn't when she had been land bound.

"Oh yes, I do go home and visit every now and then, when my training allows me too. It is a fair bit of a journey however so it's not something I can do quite as much as I would like." She went on, pausing as they came out of the trees and into a little meadow where some scattered Soquili were grazing. "Kale or Ironforge ought to be around here somewhere." She told him as her gaze scanned the gathered herd. "And of course we must find you the healers."