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 Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 9:50 pm
 Nakato wandered through the deep mud that coated the bottom of the pool of water she was making her way through. Her talons dug deep into the muck, letting her maintain her forward momentum with only a slight sucking sound as each foot lifted free. Her large wings were spread out to either side of her, just over the surface of the water, not only to keep them dry, but to make herself bigger to the crocodiles that lurked in these waters. Many of the creatures were brave and stupid enough to try something otherwise. She glanced behind her making sure nothing was creeping up on her tail, giving it a firm swish then looked ahead as one of her front claws struck firmer ground and she focused on hauling her bulk out of the water.
She took a moment and wiped her claws on a hillock of grass, then vigorously flapped her wings, before settling them against her sides. She looked back over the way she'd come and sighed a bit. It was always such a chore to traverse the swamp like this, but flying dried her out due to her kelpie blood, and while some of her sisters didn't mind the discomfort, Nakato always felt like her skin was crawling when she wasn't properly hydrated.
The mare took a moment to look around. She was in unfamiliar territory, and while she knew this area was vaguely under control of her herd, she'd never ventured this direction before. Normally she didn't stray far from the central set of islands that dominated the heart of the Voodoo Queen's domain but something had drawn her off in this direction, to the fringes of the known. Perhaps it was because that last reading she did with her shells? That was very likely possibility. She'd learned to trust her instincts when it came to those sorts of things. The readings she took rarely steered her wrong.
Finishing her cursory glance around the area, Nakato took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the familiar tug that came when she was on these sorts of quests. A breeze drifted by, humid and heavy with the scent of decaying vegetation, tugging at her hair. Nakato accepted it for the sign she'd been waiting for and followed off in the direction the breeze had indicated. She picked her way carefully across the boggy ground until she reached the start of the forest proper that surrounded the swamp. Was this really the way? She frowned and considered turning back when something caught the corner of her eye. She turned and there sitting in the middle of the path was a blue feather. The mare's breath hitched slightly, and she made her way over to it and picked it up with the clawed hand at the end of her wing, turning it slightly. It was the same color as the blue shell that had turned up in her reading. A shell she hadn't even known she possessed when she'd begun that reading. She looked around, everything now pointed to this being the place...the place she would meet someone, but where was he...?
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:32 pm
 Strangers were not an uncommon sight in the forest, and Diriel had learned to keep out of sight and out of their way. Little sense in bothering with those he might frighten--even more so when they seemed formidable. This mare, for example, was one of them.
Never before had he seen someone with such large wings and a thick, powerful tail like hers, and Diriel felt interest stirring in his breast. Who was she? Her clawed wings were surprisingly deft, and he gave a start when he realized she'd paused to pick something up. From the angle he was at, it was impossible to tell what, if anything, it was.
Slowly, carefully, the large stallion stepped forward from the underbrush, as uncertain of his own actions as he was of this mare. He wasn't one for conversation, usually... but her appearance was so wholly unlike anything he'd ever seen before that he felt almost compelled.
Perhaps, after all, she understood what it felt like to be a little different. "Are you lost?" He intoned quietly, not wishing to startle her. He very much doubted it--she did not move like one who was lost, but it was still polite to ask.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 4:53 pm
Nakato looked back quickly from the direction she'd been facing. The blue feather still clutched in her wing hand. Her eyes flicked over the stallions form, her eyes drawn to the peculiar grows that sprouted from his face and back. Were those...living plants growing from him? While she had seen such a thing on one of the members of her herd, the male's were quite different. Where that girls tree seemed withered and dead, his growths were much healthier, even if the leaves were a strange shade of blue.
She absently set the feather down and shook her head. "No." she said softly. "At least not in the traditional sense of the word. I am where I wanted to be, even if I didn't know where exactly that was." she smiled just a bit at her own joke, even if he didn't find it funny, she did.
"Am I intruding?" she asked, realizing that it was very likely she was encroaching on another herd, or at least a family's, territory, and while she was dainty in size, her appearance was less than friendly to some. "I have never come this direction from my own home, and while I was curious as to what was in this area, I do not wish to upset anyone by poking around where I am not wanted." she said explaining herself, and ducking her head slightly. While her trek to this part of the swamp had been impulsive, she for the most part tried not to act rashly in her dealings with others.
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 2:30 pm
Unconsciously, the stallion felt himself stiffening as her pale eyes roamed over him. It was hard to completely suppress the feeling of being judged. If the mare found him to be an abomination, however, she said nothing. Diriel relaxed a hair at her answer, cryptic as it might have been. She didn't seem the type to fret over being in a strange place...
His ears tipped back for a moment before he could control himself, and Diriel shook his head. "N-No, of course not. I didn't mean to imply that. The land doesn't belong to anyone... at least, not here."
A place of refuge wasn't exactly a home, he didn't think. But who was he to deny anyone passage? They had every right to come here, just as he had. "You're free to explore to your heart's content."
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:00 pm
She nodded her head. "That is a relief." she said. "My own herd can be very territorial and not always welcoming to strangers." she admitted. "I just worried that I may have strayed where those who bow to my herd leader are not welcomed and possibly reviled."
She shifted her weight slightly. She didn't know why she was so worried, the shells had not indicated that she would be in any great danger on this little adventure of hers. Of course her readings were wrong from time to time, but for the most part she liked to think she read the signs correctly.
"I realize I have been amiss in my manners and not introduced myself. I am Nakato." she bowed her head, front claws crossing just so, and her wings spread slightly in an approximation of a curtsy. "Very nice to meet you." she rose and resumed her previous position with her tail coming to rest and curling slightly around her. The end of it though had a mind of it's own and twitched just slightly every now and then. "Do you live around these parts?" she asked with interest.
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