Rei “In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.” ― Michael Jackson The deeper that I wander into the forest the quieter it becomes. Almost silent. Even the air seems to be still. Like it is waiting for something. Eyes closed and ears drooping I stand in the middle of the quiet. A faint smile rests upon my lips. The quiet sings a song with a chorus made of the sounds of the woodland creatures calling out greetings to one another. A squirrel chatters to a chirping bird; perhaps he tells her of the size of the acorn that he found, while she twitters about her young leaving the nest. The animals' conversations swirl around me. The bustling of life coexists with the hush of the moment. Even the sun is lazy today. It lays among the clouds just putting in enough effort to allow a handful of its rays to reach the ground. I have left the Throat for a few days to escape the unbearable heat that it has been enveloped in. The herd's energy is so sapped by the sun that simply breathing takes effort. In the Dragon's Throat I have spent Tallsun with wings pulled close being as small of a target as possible for the sun's overzealous rays. Now I am able to spread my wings to their full span and it sends delighted shivers up my back. Fully extended I allow their tips to lay against the ground. Eyes open but drooping once more I watch a group of ants as they explore my feather tips. "Such brave little things." @[Spice]

Credits: Thank you Shady and Tamme!

He was silent in his approach. There was nearly no noise as he moved towards her, the ground moist with forest dampness muffling most of the sound, and his large hooves moving delicately. Every strike against the earth with a relentless walking pattern was not a bang, but a gentle kiss. He was close enough to hear her when he halted, body rigid as he stood. The shade castes by the greenery would certainly make his already dark coat much darker, a black hole trapping all light. Yet, her. Her coat was dotted black, with a white base. He wanted to move towards her and trace the lines of stark contrast on her body. One could say he has a thing for these contrasting patters on any horse. At her side where appendages, and he assumed they were colored the same as her body.

His nostrils flare and quiver, an odd snorting sound resulting from this. He truly didn't care if the sound was at all unflattering, it was a natural response to the prescense of another horse. Caleb takes in her scent. She is not like the mare from the threshold of Helovia. She smells more of sweat and dirt, but not forest dirt. Assuming she has noticed him due to his rather lackluster attempt at getting her attention, his nose moves towards his chest as he arches his neck, muscles rippling under jet-black fur. Through dark eyelashes, he peers at her. A ghost of a smile traces his ivory lips as he does so.

He commands his own body to dance around to her front with an awkward shuffle then turn. He aims to be head to head with her now (though the view of her hindquarters was pleasant). His lips turn dramatically upwards into a pleasant beam. Surely she has noticed him now. Or perhaps she has noticed the fact that he hasn't actually said anything. Scolding himself inwardly for his lack of vocalization (something Helovians seem to adore), he strings together a sentence of words to greet her with. "I am Caleb," and upon noticing her fixation with the tiny ants and their bravery, he adds into his statement. "I've never thought of them as brave, perhaps foolish." They didn't know what they were getting into, at least that is what Caleb has observed. His voice is quiet, gentle, quite the opposite of his rugged and torn exterior. The yearling straightens his neck out, lifting it to a comfortable position. He is already considerably taller than her. He is nearly two and hulks only a few inches shy of the height he will be as an adult. Truly, for a yearling he is huge.

Now that he has a front view of her, it is easy to see one of her wings is composed of white and black, but her other appendage is a solid ebony. Her cranium breaks the consistent pattern of nearly perfect circles with a large spot covering her brows and cheeks. Both of his ears twitch forwards, intrigued by her eloquent coloring. He was a much less dramatic coloring, mostly black with five blazes that all joined at his muzzle. His legs were cream, too, but that was mostly it. From his head protrudes a black horn, elegant and curved. Even his wings are solid. Where a tail should grow is a snake-like tail with a feathered tassle. Silently, he wondered if anyone here was of a similar build as him.

"Who might you be?" he inquires curiously, genuinely intrigued. She had his attention at the spots, but could she wow him further with a name matching the elegance and beauty of her body? Would her name be unique and exotic with a seductive flare, or timeless and classic? In all honestly, he enjoyed exotic, but simple was divine, too -- His face had returned to a neutral expression a few moments ago, but now his lips were pulled into a slight smirk that revealed barely anything. --or perhaps she'd be the best of both worlds? Exotic, timeless, exotic, and yet perfectly classic. His tail writhed with curiosity. Helovians, they are the shit.

ooc: hope you don't mind <3 @[Rei]

"I am Rei," I murmur quietly, still wrapped in a cool blanket of bliss. I tuck my face into my wing trying my best to hide a gaping yawn. "Of Dragon's Throat." I tack my herd onto the end. My yawn had nearly made me forget to mention it. I say it to be polite but the main reason that I do is the hope that some of those that I have met will seek me out once more. Helovia is a vast land, and unfortunately acquaintances aren't usually given the chance to grow into anything more. Another yawn sneaks up on me and gives me no chance to cover it. I suppose that it had came with vengeance in mind for its hidden brother. Smiling sheepishly I shake myself awake. No more yawns.

"I think that a touch of foolishness is required in order to be brave," a playful smile can be hear in my words. "The ants are so small . I have seen grains of the desert's sand that are bigger than what they are. But while the sand will flee from so much as a breeze these ants are utterly fearless. If you were to spur them on I do believe that they would accept the challenge! How would you like to be their catch of the day?" I send the question off with a wink.

"The ants are strong, and brave," I look to the stallion and pause before continuing, "Although they are as you said and can be a bit foolish. Still, I wish that I could be more like them." I shrug my shoulders and pull my wings back to my sides. While moving about I am careful not to harm any of the minuscule creatures that we speak of.

Tilting my head like a pup trying to figure out a new puzzle I take in the stallion before me. Whenever my forelock falls over into my line of sight I blow it out of the way and right my head. Earlier, while looking through half lidded eyes I had thought him to be a unicorn, but now I see that he is something else. My eyes grow wide in excitement. During my time in Helovia I had only met one other like him and I'd never gotten a chance to have a friendly chat with her. During the times we bumped into eachother she had seemed so reserved. My eyes spark with excitement towards the stallion I have already deemed a friend.

"You have a horn and wings! Not many are blessed with both. Remember I am not saying so to inflate your ego or anything," I flash a lopsided grin to show that I am teasing. "In Lytninia, my homeland, those with both a horn and wings are regarded as those of the highest status." Despite the caste system based off of colorings even a leopard spotted like myself could have been treated as royalty if they had a horn along with their wings. Although none were known to have only a horn. In Helovia was where I met unicorns for the first time. Perhaps that is why the hybrids were so rare.

"I have always wondered.." I have always wondered what the horns of unicorns feel like. Are they as smooth as they look to be? Closing the distance between us I touch my nose to his horn. I run my nose from its base until I reach a point when I cannot reach any higher. I walk to his side and brush against his feathers, and then standing directly behind him I admire his tail. I had been curious what his tail would be like. I'd wondered if it would be like my own or if it would be more reminiscent of some of the unicorns' lion tails. His is neither and fills me with envy.

"I have tail feathers!" I call out from behind him, "But they are nothing like your tail! Does it help you in flight?" Suddenly feeling awkward I clamp my mouth shut. I had touched upon him as if we were old friends and then I had launched into questions like a curious foal.

"You must think me a child." I give him personal space and move back to his front blushing brightly. My gaze is aimed at my forehooves. I had not been able to control my reaction to his appearance. "You must understand, had I been like you in appearance," I tear my gaze from the ground, "My life would have taken a completely different course." My family would still be together. "I haven't met many like you. Take it as a compliment?"

@[Caleb]

Caleb's lip part as he once more sharply inhales, his tail writhing behind him like a distressed snake. His body clenches, muscles rippling as he tenses. His eyes are glued to her, watching her carefully. He shifts his weight around as her voice breaks the silence with a gentle purr. He smiles as she moves to hide her yawn. She continues speaking, adding on some arbitrary title to her name, one he listens to but does not take in. He cares not where she has been from or where she lives now only that she is here now. Her name rolls around in his mind as he tests it out. "Rei," he repeats softly, cocking his head slightly as he does. Her name on his tongue is strong, masculine, yet it is spoken with a quiet voice. He blinks ever so slowly until his smile grows wider. She visibly awakens after a second yawn. "Do I bore you, Rei?" He asks calmly, amusement flashing in his grey eyes. He steps forward slightly, inching closer with a swift, yet calm, maneuver. His voice is skillfully quiet, and he knows well, too. Caleb could easily speak louder, but it is easier to move closer. He has no devilish intent (though it may appear that way). Simply put, he is continuously intrigued, hooked on her like a drug.

Once she has been thoroughly woken, she speaks many words. He shifts his brow infinitesimally upwards, something that would likely go unnoticed by anyone with eyes not trained to pick up on these slight movements. However, one would soon learn, Caleb is built on small movement, his emotions guarded well because of this. She says many words, and secretly he wonders if she is at all nervous, on edge, perhaps humiliated? Yet he soon finds she is none of that, but calm. He blinks slowly, accepting her words as they flow to his large ears. She is wise, not like an elder that has lived years of lessons, but enough for him to be ensnared by her words. She is shrewd, yet simple. She ends her knowledge with a question, one that catches him quite off guard. Was he truly a catch? He smirked, both delighted by her complement and tense for reasons that are secret to all but him. "I'm sure they would prefer you, Miss Rei," he replies calmly, his gaze steady on hers, searching for her response to his words.

She continues, unfazed by his reply to her previous inquiry. She surprises him once more, actually admitting she wishes she could be more like an ant. He had not once thought of ants like this, and it made him both confused and interested. Oh, how she makes him question his own opinions. "Perhaps you're more similar to them you think. However, I find you far from foolish." His eyes glitter with piqued intensity as he drops his head in the slightest. Her own head moves, but it cocks to the side.

She takes him in, in all his dark glory. There is a momentary silence in the conversation, but it is far from awkward, in fact it's halfway pleasant. He has been looked over many times and doesn't squirm any under her watchful eyes. Suddenly, she's brimming with excitement and he is taken aback by the sudden explosion of raw energy, joy perhaps. She exclaims a simple fact of his body, but in such a way that he takes pride in his appearance.

"Do not fear, my ego remains the same" he teases back, left eye closing for half a second in a slight wink. It's a strange gesture to see such a torn horse doing, but in some strange way it's also quite attractive. She offers insight in her history, and despite his previous claim on not truly caring where she has been, he is fascinated. Where she is from, a hybrid is something high, royal. Yet in his homeland, he had been hunted and desired slain for it. It is truly opposite words they have come from, but both have ended up here. "I assure you, I am not of high status. I am just like anyone else, simply genetically different." he offers cooly, still somewhat proud that she seems to like his appearance.

Rei once more catches him by totally surprise as she moved towards him, reaching a tapered muzzle to his elegant horn. Bewildered, Caleb's breath hitches and he debates moving away, but stays, seeing this out. After she can't reach any further, she gives up, but does not move away. Instead, she dances to his side, her small frame dwarfed by his massive size. Her scent invades he nostrils, and they begin to quiver and shake with each exhale as they had done when he first waltzed towards her. His writhing tails goes motionless as she touches his wing, sending shivers up his spine. Her hindquarters are within a startingly close proximity. If Rei can touch, examine, move towards him, he should be allowed to do the same. With this in mind, he advances.

He shifts his weight around so he is closer to her without actually stepping closer. He turns his large, horned head towards her hindquarters. Quietly and confidently he reaches towards her. His nose searching for her body. With each inhale, her scent is renewed with a loud quivering of now flared nostrils. His eyes are alight with something similar to hunger, yet he doesn't quite understand this feeling. With his remarkably young age, comes the little issue of inexperience. He's been with many mares in many different mares. Perhaps he's even more experienced than her, for he is no virgin (even at his young age), yet he is also no adult. The feelings of lust and desire aren't truly known to him as he has never explored this part of his mind before. She begins speaking and all these built emotions are subdued, minimized marginally. He stops himself from his touch, moving himself away from her, lids a flutter as he does so. Her scent lessens with every inch he moves away, his head returning to it's regular position. Somewhat disappointed, he listens to her calmy, ears flicking backwards in order to hear her.

She speaks more of his appearance, yet his reaction is different this time. He doesn't house any pride this time, instead he actually thinks about the logistics of his appearance. Does his tail serve him any use? Yes. It serves many uses. And for a moment, his eyes are relit with hunger, yet considering she can't see his features, he allows his emotions to morph his face into whatever emotions he feels-- no filter. A slight smirk graces his lips once again. "It aids me in balance, though I've never had a tail similar to yours so I have nothing to compare mine to." He says honestly. He is once again composed, his nostrils no longer quivering in a primal way. He takes this chance to touch her once more, as she may never let him again in the future. He brushes his muzzle against her, feigning innocence in case she peers backwards at him. Her fur is soft, where his is tattered. She is innocent, where he knows he is not. And with that, he removes his muzzle from her body, her sweet scent still plastered onto him like glue.

@[Rei] o_o I can't really explain this. He likes Rei xDD

Rei “In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.” ― Michael Jackson "Bore me?" A sudden flash of mischief lights my eyes, "And if you do bore me Caleb, what adventure would you suggest?" He doesn't bore me. Not at all. Far from it. Caleb is different than any I have met yet. There is something honest about him; something about the way that he talks and the manner in which he carries himself draws me to him in a way that is impossible to ignore. If he were to study my features he would surely see the impossibility of him reducing me to boredom. Instead he lights my eyes with excitement. This one is different; this is someone I could find adventure with. Caleb seems to be the type to create adventure if he couldn't find any. With no input from me my hooves carry me a step closer to him as he approaches. His voice. The way that he speaks. His draw on me has grown so that it has affected me physically. My eyes follow his brow as it arches, they trace the lines of his face; and while his brow rises my heart sinks. My heart sinks from my chest all of the way down to my stomach. With all of the snacking that I did earlier today the weight of my heart pressing against my stomach makes me feel sick. I talked to much. How many have told me that I do? Yet I never listen. Eyes downward cast I chew on the tip of my tongue. Many in Helovia have magical gifts, maybe I was given one also. A tongue with a mind of its own. Then he compliments me. My blush is spread further across my face by a massive grin. "Now it has been a while since I have been called miss! Those lower ranking than my mother's side of the family had once called me miss." It had been years since I had resided in a high status, and even then it had been a status upheld by lies. Paint smathered onto my body had allowed me to be accepted; and as all know, paint rubs off. I cock my head trying to figure out what had led Caleb to referring to me in such a manner. My ears splayed to the sides and I arched my neck trying to look myself over. I am not much older than he is. Do I look aged though? Caleb is full of surprises. He finds me far from foolish. A little hiccup of a laugh tumbles from my lips. "Many would agree with you. Some consider my foolery to be at a level of nearly being a talent. Something beyond foolishness!" And perhaps I am. I am a grown mare who has spent multiple seasons in a land full of opportunity, without accomplishing much of anything. I have not found my place in this land, and I do not seem to be anywhere close to it. I want to find true happiness though and I refuse to be content with settling for anything less. "Perhaps we are both fools." I mention with mock seriousness. "But I have found, that sometimes a fool is the best thing to be." I toss my head in merriment and grin my biggest grin, "Caleb. Shall we be fools together?" I listen to his claim that he is only genetically different with a laugh that I do my best to hold in. And I entirely fail at doing so. "If those of high status in Lytninia heard you speak in such a way they would probably begin to foam at the mouth due to taking such terrible offense" As I speak I roll my eyes in memory of pompous attitudes based on nothing more than their colors. "To us genetics are nothing. But in my homeland they were everything and if your genetics weren't as everyone thought they should be you were," I remember those who had lived terrible lives just because of their appearance, "You were nothing." I finish in a much quieter voice. "I suppose that you don't have to fuss about with tangles! Whenever I was a foal I wormed my way into some brambles chasing after I skunk." A soft laugh flits from my mouth at the memory, "I got my tail so tangled that most of it had to be cut off. My mother was devastated! She had loved showing off her daughter's flowing locks. The only thing that upset her more was the smell of skunk that wafted from my body for the following week." I had wreaked of skunk spray, but as a oblivious foal I had pranced all around the place with no shame. My mother had chased behind me red faced apologizing to all that I touched. I am broken from the memory by the sensation of Caleb's touch. I slow my steps hoping that he will not pull away. The feeling of his touch on my body is strange. It has been so long since I have felt the touch of another. "Don't stop." I whisper as he pulls away. I had only meant for it to be a thought. But I had thought of it so hard that the words had came into being all on their own. Ears perked towards him and eyes wide in mortification I wonder if he heard me. I had not meant it in a sexual way. I just long for companionship. I have just met the stallion and although at a perfectly acceptable age I have never done anything with anyone. And I suppose part of my foolish charm is that I believe fairy-tales dance within our grasp, we just have to wait for them. I will wait until I find a love like my mother and father had shared. But for now I wait for whatever reaction may come from Caleb due to my slip of tongue. @[Caleb]

Credits: Thank you Shady and Tamme!

She poses a question to his question, an act he's never seen done before. It's only fair considering she did, in fact, answer his question. She asks what adventure he would suggest, and though his mind travels to the immediate thought of a primal dance, his childlike heart is sent elsewhere. His steel eyes leave her inviting frame as he peers around them, as if the action suggests that he is truly searching for some sort of adventure. Within an instant, his vision is back on hers, focused on her like an apex predator on it's prey. The only difference, she was not prey. She was a comrade, a new friend, an acquaintance to the stag. With the renewed intensity and focus of his gaze, hushed words left his lips in an almost hesitant whisper. "You're enough of an adventure, Miss Rei." He teased kindly, a genuine smile appearing in his mahogany lips. The same mischievousness that alights in her eyes, does so in his. To him, it seems they are a good match. Inwardly, he hopes for some sort of relationship, a platonic friendship or possibly a non-platonic one. At this point, he does not have any other commitments, allowing him to go where the wind floats him and not worry too much. After all, it's not truly in his character to worry, call it 'one of his quirks.'

She steps forwards, his ivory brow cocking in questioning delight. Her eyes fall downwards, a smirk playing my lips once more. With unassuming indifference, he makes no large deal of her sudden closeness, though within he is tingling, every nerve ending on high alert, waiting for something. He regards her shrewdly, with intense, steel eyes. Caleb's face contorts into something of slight amusement, curiosity, but most of all, politeness. The towering titan offers the mare a compliment, the natural pinkness of her skin is saturated into more of a red color as she blushes in response to his statement. Her voice wafts into the air, a gentle song to his dark ears. "It suits you." Everything does. The kind and enthusiastic mare deserves to be on some thrown, part of some higher class. She would make a good Queen, undoubtedly. Caleb is enigmatic, dark, a quiet wanderer that sees but is not seen. Though towering, he is often transient, staying only for short periods of time. His departure is never a sad one, as he makes few friends. Those that are his friends, he never leaves.

She begins to look herself over. Caleb's ears swivel forwards as his muzzle reaches closer to her, as if he is attempting to see what she looks at so curiously. Concluding her study of herself, she giggles earnestly and once again looks at him, his muzzle retreating to it's original position in the meantime. She exclaims that her foolishness is a talents. A deep hmmm... sound escapes his throat as he ponders what she's said. A talent? If her talent was foolishness, his was hiding his inner-self. He was a master at playing a part, wearing a mask. She continues on, explaining how it may just be a positive to be a fool. Though Caleb is young, he has much of his personality already set out. Fool is not one of his traits. Though perhaps the spotted mare is correct. "We shall." His words are final, an unspoken promise. He'll be foolish with her, but what will he ask for in turn, if anything?

Rei opens up to him, tells him of her land before Helovia. Her land was all based on genetics? It was all up to parents to have the correct colored children, and if not they were shunned. If you didn't have the right colors on your body you were nothing. The thought is displeasing to Caleb. Why had no one tried to overthrow such a racist king and queen?

Quickly, the girl begins telling a humorous story of brambles and skunks. If he hadn't been too perplexed by her previous statement of colors and rankings, he most likely would have chuckled along with her. He offered her a smile, one that would appear genuine and kind to all who saw, but he did not feel like smiling. He wanted to tell her she was much more than nothing. She was most likely more than he had ever been or will ever be.

Within seconds the dark stag was next to her, his muzzle tracing the stark contrast of ebony and ivory. His actions were mostly fueled by a hunger she ignited within him and a steep craving to comfort her. Feeling as if he has done something wrong or lingered too long, he had pulled away. Her words are a pleading command, and he listens. His large body is kindly pressed against hers, the scarred tissue of his shoulder is brushing against her mid-flank. The soft fur that blankets her gives him more incentive to stay. Caleb lifts his head and places it on her back, resting his head atop her for the time being, but also sort of embracing the Appaloosa mare. He smiles inwardly, somehow knowing she'll enjoy his sort of manly, yet warm, hug.

Still, the energy he feels from her is great and arousal begins to take hold. His breathing rapidly increases as his hunger is intensified. His skin is almost twitching against her, craving something. He is truly in an awkward position, comforting her and wanting her. Learning about her through conversation, but also through touch. Passion and compassion. In all his raging emotions, he wonders if perhaps she is feeling the same things.

OOC: if I ever make you wait this long again you have my 100% permission to punch me x_x I'll get back into the flow with him in our next post, this was kind of choppy @[Rei]