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 Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:18 pm
 The air coming off of the ocean was warmer now than it had been in months. Spring was slowly making its way to the sea and for that he was thankful. He had been kept inside his family's cave for too long; kept away from wandering due to a storm that had trapped him... Kept away from things, no, others, who had become important to him.
He stepped out of the mouth off the seaside gave, flexing his wings as he tilted his head up towards the sky. This... This was the makings of a beautiful day; bright sun, warm breeze... Perfect weather for flying.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:44 pm
Tikva trotted briskly through the grass on the edge of the beach, her eyes scanning the water. She had another question for the irritating merstallion, and this time she had a plan to get it asked quick, so there would be less time for her to become annoyed and impatient. No need to spoil a day with frustrations over a single question...
She had never run across anyone except the mersoquili out by the water, so she was surprised to see a regular, landbound stallion that day. No, hardly landbound... The familiar curiosity sprung up anew as she trotted over to the unfamiliar male. Hopefully stallions of the winged variety were much less irritating and pointless than the aquatic ones.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:55 pm
His eyes widened for a moment as he saw a dark, striped unicorn mare trotting towards him, a bright smile curving the features of a face usually shadowed by a dark fall of storm-colored mane. It was only when the absence of iridescent color in the mane... And the presence of it on the coat that he realized that this unicorn was not the mare he had thought her to be.
He straightened himself out, drawing his wings close to him while curving the claw-like bones down so that they would seem less threatening. He kept his eyes on her, smile lessening slightly but not fading completely. "Good morning." He called out as she neared him, bowing his head politely.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:11 pm
"Good morning," Tikva returned in kind, her expression falling somewhere between his own polite smile and vague determination. Without looking away it had been impossible to miss the change in his smile. But Tikva was not the kind to be deterred by such things as a fallen smile, otherwise the dark, shark-like eyes or exposed bones in his wings would have gotten to her first.
If anything, her own smile grew some in willful determination as she came to a halt in front of the stranger. "Not what you were expecting?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:21 pm
"No... Not what, but who." He almost chuckled. "I thought... That you were someone else; another dark unicorn who comes down to the see from time to time... Someone with the color of the setting sun in her hair instead of on her coat. A relative of yours, perhaps... Or maybe just coincidence."
He took a step back when he realized just how rude he'd been with his faltering smile and now his rambling. "Acheron... My name is Acheron. My family lives not far from here; my mother, father and one of my four sisters."
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:39 pm
Tikva was intrigued, and not at all put off by his initial lack of introduction. After all, she had not jumped to introduce herself either. "Tikva," she said to rectify that error, but it was clear she was more interested in exchanging other words. "Perhaps she is a relative, these colours do run in the family."
She swished her tail, her smile becoming decidedly more friendly as she realized this stallion was not likely to irritate her like the merstallion she had come looking for. The thought alone pleased her immensely. "If you live close, I'm surprised I haven't seen you or your family in this area before."
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:46 pm
"Her name is Kalosyni... She's told me before that she as two sisters. Might you be one of them?" His brow lofted slightly as he looked to her, seeking any other similarities between this mare and the one he knew.
"I do not stay in this area often. Neither the sand nor the salt agrees with my wings." He smiled softly. "I come back from time to time to visit my mother and my sister, both of which are quite comfortable in calling the seaside home. The sand doesn't seem to bother either of them as it does me."
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:11 pm
"I am her sister," Tikva said, her smile growing under his scrutiny. He had given her the perfect opening for questions of her own, so she could indulge her curiosity without coming off as overly blunt. "You can fly, with wings like that?"
Her father had told her stories of soquili that swam in the oceans and flew through the skies, but she had never actually met anyone with wings who could answer her questions. Maybe she could convince Acheron to fly for her.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:35 pm
"I thought so." His smile brightened, a touch of additional color lighting his face as dark eyes seemed to dance. It was nice to meet another member of his friend's family and he was almost tempted to ask questions about her until he was distracted by a question asked of him.
"Wings... Like these?" His brow lofted slightly as he spread his wings, extending feathers until his movement revealed the entire width of his wingspan. "Yes, I can, when the weather is nice enough... And even sometimes when it isn't, although I have been chastised for doing so after pulling things due to bad winds."
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:52 pm
It was almost amusing to see how friendly this stallion was, despite his dark eyes and unusual wings. Just another example of how looks could be deceiving. The bone-like claws might have unsettled a less willful mare, but Tikva could only admire those wings, since they could take their bearer places where she would never be able to go.
"Is the weather nice enough today to show me?" Tikva asked, her eagerness to see a demonstration clear in her tone of voice.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:04 pm
"If you don't mind a bit of a walk. I have a hard time taking off from the beach." He said almost sheepishly as he turned away from her, beginning a slow walk towards a path that lead up to the top of a cliff overlooking the sea. "I usually take off from a cliff when I'm flying... Unless I'm out on the plains and then it's just a matter of getting enough momentum through running for a take off."
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 12:29 pm
"Not at all, lead on." Tikva said, taking the opportunity to eye his wings one more time as he turned. So fascinating... But she had enough sense of decency to move on and walk beside him instead of staring. "Is it difficult then, to get into the air? You certainly don't look as light as a bird. I would imagine it would take a great deal of strength to become airborne and stay aloft." Although perhaps such words could be intended as flattery coming from another mare, for Tikva it was just logic. The thought that it might be interpreted as praise didn't even cross her mind.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 12:47 pm
"It isn't as difficult as you'd think if the air is right or if you've got a good spot to take off from. Getting the momentum on the plains is a lot harder than taking a leap and letting the wind do the rest of the work." He nodded slowly as he lead her to the path that went up along the side of the cliff. "Watch your footing. Most of the rocks are pretty solid but if you make a wrong step it's easy to stumble... Wouldn't want you getting hurt."
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:00 pm
"Don't worry, I won't fall," Tikva replied quite assuredly, almost nearing the point of bluntness. That was to say, she wasn't hasty or clumsy, and would heed his warning to be sure there wouldn't be an accident. "So falling off a cliff provides enough wind to catch in your wings," she mused, filing the information away. "Just running wouldn't provide as much lift, right?"
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:21 pm
"I wouldn't necessarily call it 'falling' as much as I would 'jumping', 'leaping' or 'diving'... Falling leaves one with an unintentional sort of feeling." He smirked, dark eyes dancing as he glanced over his shoulder for a moment before continuing on. "The wind will catch my wings either way... But if I can fill them faster it's less work that I have to do to reach the altitude that I'd like to be at."
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