Welcome to Gaia! ::

The night was clear and bright, a sliver-slice of moon hanging slender in the inked sky. The stars shone overhead, a speckle of stardust that the brightly-colored arrow stallion followed like a beacon. Head held high, he strode through the night like a shadow, edging along the line of a tapering forest as it thinned out and Van slowed, ears pricking forwards. He took a breath in, the smell of salt-tinged air filling his lungs, and a smile crept across his face. It was...a wistful sort of smile at the corners.

He knew this place. He'd spent many a nights here with a certain mare. A mare who'd moved on past all of this--past him, always past him--and though the pain had all but faded, the memories imprinted on his mind were a low longing, a yearn for the affections of mare-kind.

Van wasn't particularly handsome--more like...unique looking--but he was far from a hideous beast and yet, always scared the girls off. He huffed out a sigh, glancing upwards to the sky before dropping his head again and stepping out into the sand. The soft grains packed beneath cloven hooves as he made his way out to the ocean.

The waves soon lapped at his ankles, soothing, and this time his smile was clearer. That was then, this was now--time to move on, because who knew what the future would bring. He would have to wait and see.

((Sorry this took me sooo long :0)

Van wasn't aware of the mare as dark as midnight heading his way in a hurry--as she was just as oblivious to him. There was no reason for their paths to cross, no reason for them to ever see eye to eye...unless it happened to be Fate. What a fickle word Fate was, and more fickle was the fact that Van believed wholeheartedly in it. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that his destiny would bring about the perfect mate, the perfect lady for his wandering ways.

Just...sometimes it seemed to take awhile.

Van heard the bat shrill in the night, soaring somewhere in the black sky above, no doubt catching a meal of mosquitoes and gnats, and the thought made him grin. He was getting hungry himself--he had a voracious appetite usually and tonight was no different, but he was in the mood for something salty. Hence the beach. Anansi had introduced him to the salty longgrasses and daaaamn.

He paused, a sound filtering through his ears, and his hooves came to a halt, sinking into the sand. He craned his neck, glancing around--catching the sound of thudding hoofbeats. His leonine tail flicked to and fro like a lazy cat's as he turned, but something told him not to just wait and see.

A smile in place, he took off at a quick clip, ready to catch whoever was coming his way, fast. "Oi!" he barked upon seeing an inky, horse-like shape, the word slipping from his mouth before he realized it could be a kalona sliding through the shadows. Oops?