Aengus: *scratches at the ground with his hooves, attempting to look for beetles or snails-- rather a fan of anything with a pretty shell. When he found nothing of interest, the buck made his way to a nearby river's bank, staring intently down at the surface to see if he could notice any tiny creatures that piqued his curiosity*

Echo: *Just a short way down the river the hind crouches in the mud. Her eyes locked on an amphibian just a few short feet away. She watches as the creature croaks, it's throat expanding before she attempts to mimic the noise.*

Aengus: *is highly startled by the strange-sounding croaking noise not too far from him, his head snapping up from his intense stare at the ground. Heart pounding wildly in his chest, he dreaded seeing what he knew he would find: Another herla not but a few yards away from him. Luckily enough for the young gator, he blended well with the foliage, knowing that if he could just stay quiet, he could probably sneak away unseen, and avoid a conversation with someone he didn't know. Unfortunately for the young buck, his hind hoof caught itself on a protruding tree root, making him yelp out loud as he practically face-planted into the river before him, startling a few fish fry and some birds hiding not too far away in a bush. Well. So much for going unheard. He had the worst luck, didn't he..?*

Echo: *laughing with pleasure as she observes her new froggy friend the female failed to notice the hart as he attempted leave the area. That is, until the poor fellow tripped, resulting in a cry which Echo couldn't help but copy. She turned her attention to the bushes which the noise had come from, curious and concerned.* Hello! Are you alright? *She called as she stuck her snout into the bushes, searching for the fallen creature.*

Aengus: *panics when the doe draws near, actually asking him if he was doing alright. If he could just sink into the earth right now, he would be eternally grateful... But no. There the hind was, sticking her nose in the bushes right next to him. He couldn't hide from her now. It was only a matter of time until she actually picked him out amongst the brush.* H-h-hhh... *swallows hard, unable to really speak after such a flubbed move to escape. Scrambling upward on his hooves, the small male's eyes were wide with anxiety, his heart feeling like it was about to bust through his chest* H-h-h-hello... *chokes out a greeting, his mind already reeling to find means of escape*

Echo: *Her eyes alight on a rather scaly herla as he replies to her inquiry. At his obvious fright she purses her lips. Perhaps she should take things slow with this stranger.* Hello... *She coos in response, kneeling down as she does so.* Are you ok, sir? It looks and well sounded like you fell over? *She examines the hart's mutations with a tinge of jealousy at how closely he resembled another animal.*

Catriona: -ears flicker when she hears her brother's yelp of pain. She had been farther downstream fishing along the river, but Aengus tended to be a bit of a klutz and so his elder sister was obligated to check up on him to make sure he didn't get himself into trouble, or worse, hurt. They'd never hear the end of it if their mother caught wind- Aengus, what have you done now? -mutters under her breath as she walks along the stream. She stopped walking however, when she saw a doe nosing at a bush. She had no idea why, but then she noticed her brother's familiar tail sticking out from the back. Jumping to conclusions, she imagined that Echo had cornered her brother and was picking on him- Hey! -stomps over toward the other doe, a hiss in her voice- What do you think you're doing?

Aengus: *was at least slightly calmed by the slower tone of voice Echo had taken with him, but it still didn't relieve his nervousness with talking to a complete stranger* I-I'm f-f-fine... Thank you... *glances around as he tries to find a quick route of escape, but immediately shrunk in his own skin when he heard his sister practically beginning to bark at the other doe for doing something she clearly hadn't done* Sis..! N-No, it's okay..! She didn't do anything... I j-just fell... *could feel the clear sludge within his body begin to seep into his mouth, and he tried to contain himself, but ended up drooling the strange substance due to his nerves being quite on edge* I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! *doesn't know who he's apologizing to, but it was better safe than sorry with the both of them, right?*

Echo: *The hinds ears perk up as another female approaches.* Ah... What do you think you're doing *She repeated, although her tone was less accusing and more confused. Her eyes stared at the doe questioningly until the hart interjected.* I heard him fall, I was checking to see if he was alright. *She chirped lightly, turning her attention to the fallen male as he seemed to grow more anxious and to drool.* Oh, oh no. It's ok. Are you ok?

Catriona: Hn. -grits her pointed teeth when both Aengus insists Echo wasn't teasing him, and Echo mimicks her- I was just... trying to help. -ears fold back, a little irritated when it seemed she was wrong, the hiss fading into nothing as she stomped at the grass a bit with a hoof. Why was she always the one in the wrong? It wasn't her fault that she had to protect her brother all the time- Aengus, get up. If you aren't hurt, get out of that bush, it makes you look stupid. -doesn't have anyone else to be upset with other than her brother so she pushed her annoyance onto him-

Aengus: F-Fine, thank you..! *when he was finally able to look directly at the unfamiliar doe, he couldn't help but stare at her unique form-- Especially the protrusions from her back. Snapping back to reality when his sister ordered him up, he stood, pressing his flank to his sister's own as his head bowed low in embarrassment. While he was next to his sister, he was able to keep calm, though it seemed as if he still weren't able to control his strange drooling, his nose even beginning to run with the same clear substance* .... I'm sorry to cause trouble... Ah. M-My name is Aengus, and this is my sister Catriona... *turns his low gaze up at his sister, his ears flattened* Did I mess you up when you were catching dinner..? I didn't mean to...

Echo: *She frowns as the hind speaks in a rather rude manner to the male.* Now that isn't nice. You shouldn't treat him that way. *Her nose crinkles and she shakes her head.* Ah... *Her tails flick as she responds, laughing.* Oh no! I don't eat little animals! They're my friends! *She giggles, letting out a small "ribbit."* My name is Echo and I like to... Well, echo things. My mama is an expert at it.

Catriona: -isn't really bothered when Aengus comes up to lean against her, taller than her younger brother. She narrowed her eyes at Echo when the girl said she shouldn't talk to her brother that way- He's my little brother, so I can do whatever I want to him... -doesn't say it, but really she cared about her brother a lot. She never really meant it when she insulted him and Aengus knew that as well- Echo, huh? Weird. I never would have named my fawn something so simple. -is just going out of her way to be rude now, because she felt Echo was much prettier than her and she was jealous that the gator-like buck had managed to meet a forest herla that was not only beautiful, but nice. Her own ventures out from the swamp weren't always so fortunate-

Aengus: S-Sis isn't being mean...! She just got worried. Right, Cat? *was having a hard time trying to be able to hold his own between the two females, his heart starting to flutter nervously again from the stress of trying to play median between them* Well... I think Echo is a p-pretty name. I remember my father telling us a story about someone named Echo... Do you remember that one, Sis..? 'Was such an unfortunate soul, pining and pining for the one she loved, but could never do more than repeat her resounding woes in the form of the foolish Narcissus declaring his love for his own reflection.' *smiles when he was finished repeating his father's words, but when he realized he had spoken with much confidence and quite clearly, he shrunk again, his ears flattening back against his mane* A-Ah... Of course you remember... No need for me to go on repeating it... *paws at the ground with his hoof, rather embarrassed that he had expressed himself so unabashedly*

Echo: *She huffs at the other girl's comment on her name, but is pleasantly surprised as Aengus reveals that he knows the story behind her namesake.* You know the story! *She squeals loudly.* Did you know that the guardians had gods named Zeus and Hera who are to blame for Echo's echo? Zeus had Echo distract his wife Hera with her stories so he could cheat on her, but when Hera found out she cursed Echo to only be able to repeat the words of others. *Excited at being able to share this, she prances in place.*

Catriona: -glares at her brother when he also tries to defend Echo, not liking it that he and this hind were just able to chat away smoothly about stories, stuff she knew wasn't real- It's just a fairytale, y'know... Meant to put fawns to sleep at night. There's no proof of "gods" or anything like that at all. -had long since stopped believing in the tales her parents used to tell her and Aengus before they went to bed, all the magic lost for her when reality had proved itself to be so unkind- Aengus, you can catch your own meals today. I'm not feeding you when all you're going to do is blather on about something stupid like this, with this... princess. -while the word itself was a compliment, she meant it in an insulting way entirely- I'm not wasting any more of my time here. I'm hungry and that's what I really came to the forest to take care of. -walks away from them and heads back toward the water, intending to go back to fishing lie she'd done before coming to check on her brother-

Aengus: Yeah! I r-really like those stories... They're very beautifu-- *is cut off by his sister, a fresh dose of reality to his excited fantasies. He was a little disappointed, but wasn't entirely opposed to it, knowing that he really shouldn't be getting ahead of himself like that in front of strangers, even if he did know her name now. What really got to him, however, was when Catriona had stated outright that she wasn't going to be catching any fish for the small buck because he had been rambling.* A-Ah... I'm really sorry, Sis..! *watches her leave, his posture falling from its momentary excited stance, his eyes falling to the ground with guilt* .... I made Catriona upset. *turns his head slightly to stare at Echo's hooves, his voice barely above a weak sigh at this point* I have to go... I'm sorry... We'll have to share stories some other time. I-I won't forget you, Echo. I promise. *turns and trots after his sister, already feeling extremely guilty for having made his sister so jealous... But he had to admit that it was slightly worth it, if only to say that he had met the pretty Echo*