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Maeryn's idyllic scene may represent the epitome of perfection for her and her herd, but the beauty of the scene and the pride in both what it was and what it represented would be lost on many. For them, there was no joy in family; no bounds that bound not only mates, but extended families together. The concept of territory, of home, was either completely foreign or at the least, regarded as non-essential. For these Soquili, whatever the species, life was a great deal more solitary, and a great deal more transient.

This impermanence was a doubled-edged sword in the world of the Kawani. No ties meant freedom, which was ultimately a good thing. No bounds held them in one place, or made them cleave to any other creatures for any reason. Their decisions were their own, driven by their own needs and wants with minimal, if any, consideration being given to anyone else. With no family to keep safe, such loners could focus on taking care of themselves. With no territory to defend, they did not have to spend countless hours patrolling, or getting involved in unworthy fights for the privilege of having sole possession of a scrap of grazelands.

This, for better or worse, had been Ire since he had been a young foal. He had been born to strong parents, proud Kalona both. But aside of their genes and an intense, short education on what it meant to be Kalona in particular and a member of their lineage in specific, they had been gone from Ire's life. As a young foal, he had been sent out into the world to learn to face it on his own, to grow strong on his own, to either prosper or fail on his own. He had taken his mother's words to heart, making them the focal point of his very being. There had been dangers along the way; he had nearly died several times in those early days, when his bravado was miles beyond the capabilities of his body and his understanding of those limitations. Experience had been harsh, but he had survived. And to survive, to learn, to exceed and surpass the next time around, was everything.

It had been years since he had seen either of his brothers, even longer since he'd seen their parents. The passage of time had seen Ire grow big and strong, a large, well-muscled example of a pure-blooded Kalona in his prime. His eyes were keen, his fangs and horns sharp, his cloven hooves ready to lash out with deadly accuracy, should the need arise. His large wings, currently folded against his back, both hid the fins scars that decorated his body and bore signs that they too had been used in combat. For Ire, like all of his kind, had been given a body endowed with potential to fight, and to not taken advantage of that body would be a sin on par with laying with a weakling or killing by trickery. Some things were just wrong.

~~~~

Ire could hear the sound of young Soquili playing as he strode through the tall grass. Their high pitched voices along would tip off anyone within earshot of their prescence, even the most untrained of Lessers. As Ire was in no way an untrained lesser, he could smell the foals as well as hear them, and make the educated guess that nearby would be parents or some sort of supervisory adult. As he had grown, he had come to learn that his situation had been more an exception than a rule, and that even Kalona families tended to stay together until the foals had grown. He could not quite see the point in this, other than the potential to learn group fighting techniques, but he had never been one to indulge in idle curiosity.

At any rate, foals had never held any interest for Ire, no matter what the species. Kalona foals held promise, assuming they had been properly instructed to show the appropriate respect to strength. Nothing raised Ire's notorious temper faster than a cocky foal who he could crush with one foot showing him disrespect. It was a testament to his training and his rigid honor in his Kalona blood and abilities that he refused to kill something merely for being annoying. He'd seen others do a lot more for a lot less.

But he had no desire to cross paths with any foals, or deal with the overblown defensiveness of their guardian. Lesser parents were so...tedious.

Having thus made up his mind, Ire turned away from the direction of the foals and unfurled his wings in preparation to depart. He had taken one step, ready to leap skyward, when a different scent caught his attention.

There was another Kalona here. A grown Kalona, if he was any judge. Perhaps the guardian of the foals, perhaps another passer-by like himself...perhaps even a hunter of the foals. He wasn't overly partial to Soquili himself, but he knew of those who were, and foal was apparently quite tender.

Whatever the purpose of the Kalona's presence in the area, Ire didn't care. Whether angry protector, disrupted hunter, or casual visitor, he now knew they were there. His mouth curving into a smile from which protruded the tips of his fangs, Ire once again folded his wings and started towards the Kalona.

~~~

The solitary roamers, the Soquili with no homes, they each had their own reasons for what they did. Some travelled because they had lost what they once had and searched in the hope of finding it again. For others, they travelled because they were dissatisfied with what they had, and were constantly looking for something better. Still others couldn't handle the tedium of constancy and lived that way as a rebellion against constancy.

For Ire, life's purpose was simple. Everything he'd ever done, and everything he would ever do, revolved around one basic principle: For the honor, glory, and reputation of the Kalona. He would be strong, he would be vicious, he would live by the code of blood and strength he had learned at his mother's knee. He would respect strength in all forms, and bring retribution on any Kalona he found who polluted or perverted the race by weakness or shame. One day, he would die at the hooves of a Soquili stronger than he, and he gloried in the anticipation of that day. Before then, hopefully, he would encounter an appropriate mare and father offspring of his own to carry on this proud tradition.

And until that day, he would continue to seek out and fight every Kalona he could find until he was the strongest, shrewdest, and most cunning fighter imaginable.

Ire moved with brisk purpose through the tall grass, giving a wide berth to the sounds of the foals as he moved. It probably would have been faster to fly, and it certainly would have been a more dramatic entrance, but Ire had never been one to put much stock in dramatics. Flight would expose him to eyes he might wish to avoid, including, potentially, those of the foals. The element of surprise was never something to be underestimated, even when one didn't plan to use it.

At the moment, there was no point. The closer Ire got to the other Kalona, the more aware he became that he was known. Even a Lesser would have reacted in some way to his presence, and a Kalona? There was no way a creature as large as he could move silently in a grassland, and there was no way a Kalona would ignore him by accident. Based on his experience with other Kalona, this made him suspect that the Kalona he was nearing was extremely confident. This could imply a young, brash Kalona, or an older, wilier one. He would be happy with either; just knowing that he was being met with authority was enough to bring a metaphorical spring to his step. Ire never skipped.

~~~

It was the spiked tips of her wings that he saw first, moments before the mare herself came into view. With quick glances, Ire took in the well-muscled body, the many battle scars, the sharp points of her horns, tail, and wings. He was a bit shocked at the masses of hair she sported; her mane was so long that he would not be surprised if it dragged on the ground when she stood. He had never encountered a Kalona with so much hair. He himself kept his mane as short as possible, both to keep his vision unimpeded and to avoid giving his foes an additional way to hamstring him.

He was intrigued. The mare's many scars suggested she was the veteran of numerous encounters, though he could not say how old she was. To bear testament of so many battles with such an unorthodox appearance...fascinating. It could be that this mare hadn't seen action in some time and had grown the hair since her fighting days, or it could be that she fought with it. Either way, he had best be on his guard.

He stopped several paces away from the mare, what he felt was a suitably respectful distance, but there was nothing submissive in his attitude of his stance as he said, "You bear the signs of one who has fought often, and well."

Ire was slightly surprised. Not at the fact that anyone who knew his mother could tell that he was her son; that was just par for the course. He was unaware of any other Soquili with a coat as distinctive as his mother's, and alone among her three sons, he'd inherited it. It was no great leap from one to the other. No, the surprise came from the fact that this mare knew Anevay at all. He'd had no idea that his mother had ever come into this region, let alone this district, but the black mare could hardly be pulling his mother's name out of thin air! Fascinating.

He nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement of her statement. "It would appear you have me at a disadvantage, as you have apparently met my mother, while I myself have no knowledge of you. Apparently fate and circumstance have decided to remedy this fact." His tone was level, but inside, Ire was elated. There was no way that his mother would socialize with any but a true Kalona; the Spirits must have been smiling on him to lead him to this place, even with the risk of running foals. It had been months since he'd had a good fight, and he hated even the thought of his skills beginning to stagnate. Constant improvement was key, and that was not possible without live, worthy opponents. Better to die than to become weak.

Ire did not move towards the mare, but turned and began to move slowly around her, keeping the same respectful distance. This served the dual purpose of letting him see her in the round, assuming she stayed as she was, and allowed her to see more of him. There was only so much that could be determined about another by a head-on glance, after all, and it was as much her right to determine if he was worthy for her to cross horns with as the other way around. Ire had never lacked for pride in himself and his skills; indeed, he regarded himself as a superior specimen in many different ways! Yet he was not so bad as to assume he was superior to all, and this mare...this mare, whose age and power he could not place...he would not be quick to underestimate her.

In the same calm tone, he continued, "My name is Ire, and I am the second son of Incubus and Anevay. Who may you be?"

Finishing his circuit, Ire resumed his stance in front of Maeryn. His look around hadn't given him much more information than his first glance, as the mare's tremendous amount of hair had served as excellent camouflage. But she had stood her ground, barely even seeming to turn her head to follow his movements. On some Soquilis, that would be foolishness. But with this mare, this Maeryn, alpha of the Black Skull Herd, there was no foolishness and no fear. She didn't fear him.

Though if she was an alpha, there was no reason for her to fear much. Bloodlines were significant for such positions in some herds, but he would eat his horns if any Kalona herd were so disgustingly simplistic. Mere heredity with no opportunity for challenge would only lead to laziness and indolence, with no reason for those in charge to maintain their edge. That was well and good for the insignificant lesser Soquili, but not for Kalona.

Not that he'd ever heard of the Black Skull Herd, or any specific Kalona herds of any kind. If his mother knew, she'd never shared that information with him; then again, it was totally like her to let her sons 'learn as they went,' so to speak. Obviously the Black Skull Herd was of the warrior ilk, and that was good enough for him.

He inclined his head to Maeryn in acknowledgment of both her name and position. “I appreciate your courtesy, Maeryn of the Black Skull herd. I didn't realize I was entering the territory of a Kalona herd; beyond the foals I saw earlier and yourself, I had no idea there were other Soquili around, much less other Kalona. It would seem inactivity is dulling my senses.”

When he'd finished his circling, Ire had taken up a position that at first glance would seem casual and unaffected. However, to anyone with fighting experience, it was clearly a battle-ready stance. His weight was mostly on his hind feet, with one front hoof ready to lash out in a bone breaking kick at the slightest provocation. His wings were furled, but loosely, able to spread and either stab or shield himself as necessary. It was a pose he could hold indefinitely, and once settled in, he was quite comfortable.

“The need to hone and refine my skills keeps me moving and brought me here. I detest nothing more than weakness, which is bred, among other things, by stagnation. I refuse to become one of those Kalona who forgets who and what they are, so I actively avoid stagnation through practice.” Smoothly, he continued, “I would love the opportunity to cross horns with you, Maeryn. I think it would do me a great deal of good.”

((Note for Niss: Ire is maxed out!))

At the compliments, Ire once again inclined his head in acknowledgement. While he had always considered himself an excellent specimen of Kalona, it was nice to have an outsider's opinion confirm what he already knew. And although he was not close to either of his parents, he could not help but be proud of the praise to his line...even praise couched in such interesting terms. He knew quite well what she must be referencing when it came to the 'intriguing' elements of his paternal heritage; his grandparents' relationship was of such a nature that gossip was bound to make the rounds. For his own part, he would never understand the desire to stay with one partner for life, even if that partner was as strong and impressive a creature as...well, any member of his family!

But that was a thought for another day, albeit a serious thought. As a grown stallion in his prime, it was Ire's responsibility to start looking in earnest for a proper Kalona mare to bear his first foal or foals. That was the only way the family line would continue to grow and evolve, after all! But mating was such a distateful subject; he was not going to let thoughts of that nature mar a perfectly good fight!

As Maeryn kicked off the ground and swirled up into the air, a grin crossed Ire's face. It had been too long since he'd gotten to try aerial combat; when travelling through a forested region, getting access to the air could be challenging. But it was a beautiful clear day here, and the sky was wide open. Keeping an eye on Maeryn and her position, he spread his wings and drove upwards himself, angling away from Maeryn and her position in the sun. No sense in arrowing straight up at her when she already had the 'high ground!'

((Note to Niss: Ire is maxed out!))

Ire ran his tongue over the inside of his mouth, checking to see whether any teeth had been knocked out of alignment. Everything felt correct, but there was a lot of blood in his mouth; no doubt he'd caught it on one of his own fangs after receiving one of Maeryn's particularly nasty kicks to the side of his face. In spite of the pain he was feeling from numerous places on his body as well as his mouth, he was feeling pretty good, and he gave Maeryn a bloody smile as he alighted on the grass. It was true that age could bring decay and weakness, but only if the aged allowed it! Yes, he'd lost this fight, but what a fight it had been!

"You're very complimentary, Maeryn; though I say with no false modesty that I did every bit as well as I expected. It would have been nice to have won, but against an elder Kalona..." He shrugged his shoulders, feeling a slight twinge on the left side where a bloody gash would no doubt add a new scar to his collection. "I look forward to our next fight as well, and next time, I intend to win." His tone was level, with no hint of arrogance. After the fight they'd just had, though, he hardly needed it!

"Until that time, though, I shall continue to train, and to fight. I have always believed it is the responsibility of all true Kalona to dedicate themselves to the ways of horn and fang, to keep their bloodlines pure, and to make themselves worthy of their natural gifts." He lifted his chin as he spoke, pride now creeping into his voice with each word. It would not take much for anyone to see just how much pride he had in his race! "I also plan to start fathering foals soon; as a grown stallion, it's time for me to start doing my duty to my bloodline."

((Note for Niss: Ire is maxed!))

Once again, Ire inclined his head to Maeryn. "I look forward to it, whenever it may be." Though much as he had enjoyed this fight, he did not forsee them crossing horns again any time soon; variety was the spice of Ire's life when it came to combat; he loved the challenge of facing an opponent with a different style of fighting, or one used to a different type of terrain. It would be easy to hang around in one place, but the worry was that he would become a lopsided fighter; even if the trainer was a Soquili as seasoned as Maeryn. Though he did find himself wondering just what sort of Kalona were in this "Black Skull Herd;' the idea of a herd still had no appeal for him, but one would certainly never lack for sparring partners...

Another grin curled Ire's lips, once more exposing his bloody fangs. Tempting; very tempting. Perhaps one day, when he was next passing through these parts...

But that was in the future; right now, he was being disrespectful by letting his thoughts wander during a conversation with an elder. "Thank you, Maeryn; it's a great honor to hear such things from a Kalona of your stature. Having never encountered a Kalona herd before, I have no familiarity with the hierarchies, but I cannot think being an alpha is a position you didn't earn. Your opinions are very pleasant to hear." He shifted slightly, into a more relaxed and less defensive stance. He could still feel a slight tickling sensation as blood dribbled down his side, but it was all minor...in the grand scheme of things.

"I shall certainly do so, if it is remotely feasible, Maeryn. So far, the complication has been finding an appropriate mare. But I can be patient, and I would far rather wait and find the ideal mare than rush into things and end up with sub-par offspring." A nasty thought, that; he would NOT allow any child of his to muck up the bloodline!