Welcome to Gaia! ::

Harij continued plodding the path he had set out for, ears not quite pinned back and posture reeking of "Get away from me, m'kay?"

It was that time of year.

Years and year ago, when he had first come to these lands he had made an agreement with Lovey that he would consent to being groomed and having his mane and tail rebraided no less than 3 times and she shouldn't plan on any trips exceeding the number five. As of late he had only bothered going 3 times, but the excessive rain of spring made his skin itch.

He'd never admit it in a million years, but he liked the crooning attention of the two-legger, the bathing, brushing, and excess food.

Not too much food in the mountains where he hid, hence his almost gaunt frame. Bah. He was fine.

Lost in his own thoughts, Harij didn't spot the small mare until he had to pull up hard to avoid walking clear into her.

"Harumph."

"Ungh."

Those that speak very few and far between tend to be the most observant of the body language of others around them. Harij was amongst that group. He couldn't help but notice how taken aback the mare was and the quick move she made to get some distance between them.

It was just as well, since when did he want anybody to stand close? Oh yes, since never.. that was the last time.

She was pretty though, and while in most groups it was disrespectful Harij gave her a carefully going-over with his eyes. Not be inappropriate but just noting details. Once done with his look-over his mind wrapped around the fact that she had spoken and he had grunted in response.

Attempting to clear his throat again then giving up, the thin stallion borderline croaked, "Water."

Humph. This one's less flighty than the others I've met. Usually I'm listening to some sort of huffy or whiney woman-problem by now. Quiet's good.

Harij listened with one ear, the other remained pinned back. Spending time with others was a bit taxing at best. Although if the pretty flutter could lead him to water he might actually bother to string together a few coherant sentances. Nothing too hasty had to be decided.

Pawing the ground, growing impatient with the wait... Wondering if perhaps this mare wasn't actually from around these parts and might be useless at finding water for him he decided to try again.

"Water."

Where were his manners? Or something like that... If she was going to be kind enough to get him something to drink and potentially bath in... He probably should give her his name.

"Harij."

Harij knew that he was coming across as a giant dirt-bag and he really just couldn’t seem to dredge up the energy that was needed to apologize. He had woken up not that long ago and felt disgusting. He followed along at a pretty decent clip behind the flutter mare and when the scent of water finally hit him he swooped past at a run. Not hesitating to fly into the fast-moving knee-deep stream without a single hesitation.

Normally he would feel a bit of a shame at the dirt swirling away from his body and heading downstream rapidly. His voice didn’t usually work very well just because of the lack of use. Lack of water had a little to do with it, but mainly lack of use. Throwing himself repeatedly into the water, Harij bathed quite spiritedly, even chuckling at himself in enjoyment.

Was she going to follow him?

Oh, the water felt heavenly. The stream had a relatively brisk pace to it and it wouldn’t be long before the dirt coming off of him in droves would halt long enough for him to safely take a drink. His privacy was important, old demons were hard to live down… but a guy could get used to having this sort of water supply nearby. Harij had been completely ignoring the mare, as was habit until he heard the sneeze-pop.


Tossing back a large hank of tangled wet hair, Harij blinked at the mare in question. She had definitely shrunk in the last second. Dunking beneath the water one last time, waiting a moment for the water to clean before drinking deeply, Harij hauled himself up out of the stream and shook himself to get the worst of the water out. He paid attention to not fling water on the now tiny mare and after once again tossing his hair out of his face, “Yes.” Staring at her for a moment, Harij sighed and added, “You ok?”

Harij watched the mare with a mix of curiosity and worry and because of who he was, irritation. Why on earth would she be so tolerant of not being able to control her own size? Maybe all flutters were like that. The moment that the ultra-petite mare dipped , as if going to fall, Harij jerked forward instinctively to help before freezing up. The mare was either a bit daft in the head or a complete klutz. Unsure of which it was and not really sure what was an appropriate response to that information, Harij stuck to something simple, “Ah.”

…. If he had any less conversational skills, the flutter would probably fall asleep.

Yeah, he was definitely glad to not have wings. If the flutter that depended on wings so frequently ended up dipping and near-falling he had absolutely no interest in trying that for himself. Harumph. It was strange, he really never spent this much time around others and spent even less time talking than now…. Why was she so tolerant?

While the mare was calculating, Harij’s mind continued to race along in the same lines. Some had met him and taken him for stupid, others had met him and figured he was crazed. Very few understood that once bitten, twice bitten, thrice bitten – your pelt tended to thicken and it go to where if not talking was easier then not being out in public was even easier to deal with. Was he supposed to say something? She seemed relatively nice, but conversation wasn’t his forte. Usually now was when those that were around him high-tailed it for more amusing entertainment….