Testing the Waters [Open]

[Rhapsody]

Zahira

[/font]_________________________________________________[/center]

Curiosity killed the cat, Zahira. Her conscience rang out sternly, lecturing her as always in opposition of any stunt she could come up with that threatened her own wellbeing. The seal bay mare could only grin though as she stood atop the smooth boulder that jutted out over the rushing water beneath. Where, further upstream, the Lost River was perfectly safe for a mare such as herself to cross, here the water was white and wrathful. It crashed loudly against the bank, hissing and spitting at everything that refused to be swept away by its liquid grasp. Zahira peered down with maniacal glee at the rapids below, lashing out suddenly with her right fore to strike a smaller stone. It clattered loudly as it went rolling off the edge and dropped with a 'plunk' that was barely audible over the roar of the water.

Pleased, Zahira snorted softly, prancing excitedly down from her boulder outlook down to the water's level approaching the muddy riverbank with only the most minimal trace amounts of caution. She placed first one hoof and then a second into the water, marveling at the irresistible pull of the water against her fores. Any deeper than her hocks and knees, and she would have been hard pressed to maintain her footing, she knew. Tempted to see how much farther out into the water she could go, the mare had just begun to lift a hoof to move it into the deeper water when suddenly a small rock tumbled down from above and behind her, alerting her to the presence of another living being. Now distracted by this latest stimuli, the mare departed the water in favor of dry land so she could investigate whoever was watching her in silence from beyond her eye line. Trotting up the embankment to have a better vantage point, the mare let out an inquiring whinny, anxious to be in the know as to who her unknown shadow was. Hopefully someone who had a sense of adventure, not a worry wart that was guided by his or her conscience. You'd do well to listen to your conscience once in a while you reckless fool! The stern voice chastised her, but the mare only rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No one ever won anything without risking something..." She muttered lowly as her eyes searched the foliage for the form of her visitor.

[/size]

________________________________

[Sauda]

He was not normally so clumsy, in fact, his footing was the surest he had ever witnessed of all the other animals he had met in his whole lifetime. But somehow, his hind hoof had managed to land straight on the edge of a small rock, which shifted and consequently forced another small rock from the shelf of stone he was standing upon. He had been walking along aimlessly, enjoying the sounds of the thrashing river without actually watching the froth and spray of water that went with the noise. He had then stopped, just for a minute, having seen the form of what could be some company. Stepped backwards, and now then he had lost all surprise advantage as the second rock clattered down behind the other horse, making her jump from the water. She nickered, obviously unable to see Iter from her point, and immediately set out on a quest to find him.

He returned the call, eager to meet with someone new. Footsteps climbed down from the vantage point successfully, his insistent limp well hidden. The brown girl quickly came into view, just as she seemed to finish mumbling a reply to herself. Please don’t be psycho. He almost chuckled at the thought, for though he hadn’t yet met someone much crazier than his own dam (who, in all honesty, was not very crazy at all), he was not exactly looking forward to being torn apart by some whack job with half a brain. He lifted one side of his mouth in a half smile, snorting as he approached the female, cautious but in want of company. His voice, gentle and persuasive, carried on the remainder of the distance between the two strangers, as he stopped and admired his view. “Ahh, good morning belle. Mind some company for a bit?” Ever the kind one, was Iter. He wouldn’t ever dare to try and force a female, always asking for permission and the such. That wasn’t to say he was a push over, he just had some manners forced into him from quite the young age.

[Rhapsody]

Zahira

[/font]_________________________________________________[/center]

Ooh, what was this? A stallion? Entertainment for the morning, secured! She mentally crowed, already mentally dissecting him based on what she could tell by the looks of him. "Not a'tall monsieur kicker of rocks." She intoned, trying to mimic his rather intriguing manner of speech. Or at least, she was intrigued by it. Not that it took much to catch her eye; she was curious of anything and everything. Hence her nearly walking into the coursing white water behind her. Careful to place her hooves only on the well entombed rocks that comprised the steep slope, the mare shoved off without warning and heaved her body upward and onward, placing herself at a much closer proximity to the stallion as she crested the embankment. Turning to face him with a satisfied grin, she tossed her head energetically, eying him with curious eyes.

"And that is how you move on a slope without kicking a stone free." She chuckled teasingly, shifting her weight so it was evenly spread over her four feet, cocking her right hind leg back in untroubled relaxation. Now that she had a relatively safe form of amusement, she was free to quiz him until he grew tired or annoyed and left, or until she ran out of questions. (Her running out of questions being the less likely option). "So how long, monsieur stone freer, have you been launching rocky projectiles at unsuspecting mares?" She queried, simultaneously interweaving a second question into the first - chiefly, asking what his name was, lest he wanted her to continue to call him 'monsieur'. She flashed him a bright smile, her gaze still skimming observantly over his frame for insights as to who he was. So much could be interpreted from a scar, an old wound long since healed. A horse's history was written plainly across their skin, if only one was willing to look. And Zahira was certainly willing; her curiosity compelled her to (metaphorically at least) leave no stone unturned.

[/size]

________________________________

[Sauda]

Iter noted her smooth movements with envy as she threw her body seamlessly closer to him, chuckling as she noted how not to kick stones free. His own lips twitched upwards into his own, crooked smile. The mare’s bubbliness was contagious. He shifted further from the edge of the shelf, wanting to ensure there’d be nothing more that would fall, whilst she relaxed herself and immediately voiced a question for him. He noticed how observant she seemed to be, searching his entire body, trying to find his story. Well, he knew she would find no evidence of his lameness. There was no scar, no odd, minor, deformity in his lower leg. Everything about him looked normal, as far as stallions go. But still he shifted under her scrutiny; it almost felt as though she would be able to see right through him and laugh at him for his lame leg. Ears flickered, a twitch of annoyance at his own thoughts. His own warm eyes scanned the mare, willing to drink in her visual flavour.

“Call me Iter, belle.” his voice lifted with a note of humour, well aware of what she had been doing by calling him ‘monsieur’. He kept the same crooked smile in place, unconsciously trying to charm her. “Ahh, rocky projectiles, is that what you call them now? Why, I’ve ever known them as death-defying stunts, used only for the prettiest little ladies one can find.” he finished the sentence with a quick wink, eyes sparkling with laughter. “Of course, one might call them such, because us stallions, y’see, we never can figure out how you mares will act.” Okay, he might have been going into the deep end a little there. But he figured the current company would not mind his joking manner, even so he decided not to further broach that subject. Mares, they were always up and down. Iter continued his own viewing of this one; he would say she was pleasing to his eye, but he hadn’t had some company for a while, so he mightn’t have been entirely sure whether that was all just in his head.

[Rhapsody]

Zahira

[/font]_________________________________________________[/center]

He was so strangely formal. Zahira wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. Cocking her head with intrigue, she listened to him in what she could only assume (based on her rather limited life experience) was his attempt at flirting. It was entertaining, to say the least, and a touch flattering. Assuming he was actually trying to flirt - she couldn't really be sure. And so she would probably be better off assuming he was just trying to be pleasant. That was the safer assumption. So, in her usual tongue and cheek way, she responded to him. "Well Iter-Belle," she began, refusing to take kindly to being called 'belle' and instead, acting as if she believed that to be the second half of his full name, "let me be the first to inform you that we are indeed referring to them as 'rocky projectiles'. For today at least. We mares do need to keep you stallions guessing, so goodness only knows what we'll be calling them tomorrow." At least in that regard, Zahira was fairly straightforward. Or at least, she thought she was. It was stallions that were the confusing ones in her book.

Performing a brief circle of the stallion, the mare halted before him, her snow sprinkled hide bathed in a patch of sunlight as she regarded the stallion. He was, at the very least, proving to be an entertaining speaker, and their little circular thinking pattern was certainly a more satisfying turn than her idea of taking a dip in the waters below would have proven to be. So for now, she'd stick around and see what all she could glean from him. "And here I was thinking that it was you stallions that were impossible to figure out." She returned his wink with a chipper one of her own, a roguish smile playing at the corner of her lips as she waited to see how he'd respond to her well intentioned mocking. It was just in Zahira's nature; pressing her luck to see how far it could bend without snapping. It was a dangerous game, but one she played well. "My mistake." She grinned with a casual roll of her withers in an off handed, near shrug of a motion. Stretching out her limbs one by one, the mare watched with glittering eyes as she awaited his response. Your turn, monsieur. She thought coyly.

[/size]

________________________________

[Sauda]

“Your mistake indeed, miss.” His tone changed notes, just slightly. He realised his mistake in his continuous use of the nickname ‘belle’ - and she seemed to take apparent, if slight, offense at it, by re-using it as his second name. He smiled, as she stretched, wanting to himself but at the same time, unwilling to look as though he was doing such just to copy her. “Perhaps partly mine, though. My name is Iter, drop the ‘belle’. Would you but part with yours, to settle my rushing thoughts?” He allowed his hips to fall neatly to the side, and one hind ankle to bend in relaxation. Eyes glittered with the reflection of the bright sun, mind buzzing, trying not to fall too far in his try at humour. And his try at flirting. It had been a while, and he knew that his words might seem strange, his manner of speaking differed from hers greatly.

“Ahh, I saw you trying your luck, attempting to cross the river there. Perhaps not the best of what I’m sure are many ideas.” His confession could be taken in multiple ways, but he was sure she wouldn’t think of him as her stalker. Just a wandering bachelor looking for company. He shrugged to himself, and swung his head down, to tear at the grasses and give his tongue rest for a moment. He was unsure if he was talking too much, or too little, and he doubted it was just the right amount. Teeth ground the green stalks quietly, ears spinning about atop his head, but constantly returning to her to catch the words that would fall from her lips. Maybe she hadn’t wanted company. Maybe he should leave her to her own again? This time he shook out the thoughts, returning eyesight to her frame. He hadn’t been with a mare for who knows how long, and her scent only further reminded him of such. He smiled at her, expecting another of her joking responses.

ooc; eww, fail post x.x

[Rhapsody]

Zahira

[/font]_________________________________________________[/center]

Pleased that he seemed to have gotten the message on the 'belle' thing, she grinned as he inquired (most politely) if she would offer her name. "But of course; Zahira is that which I was named, and that which you have sought." She liked this talking in strange ways game. Granted, he was probably doing so in earnest, but still. She was having fun. And it wasn't that she was so much mocking him as it was that she simply liked taking on a different manner of speech, if only temporarily.

His next words amused her, for it showed that he'd spotted her prior to her having heard his approach. "Attempting to cross?" She tossed her head, giving a soft, playfully scolding 'tut tut' sound with her tongue. "Not at all my dear Iter. Contemplating entering? Yes, a tad. But attempting? No no." Now, if he had not come by and stolen away her attention, than yes, it was highly likely Zahira, in her normal fashion of testing her limits, would have put one hoof in front of the other for as far as she could go before her instinctual fear of death and sense of self preservation chased her back, or the water itself took her - whichever arrived first.

"However, you are right in assuming that it was one of many ideas to bounce across this mind of mine." She'd give him that much; Zahira knew that she was wildly difficult to keep focused, too easily distracted by things both in the real world and conjured within her mind. She was, to be blunt, too damn curious for her own good. It was, however, pleasantly surprising to her that he'd figured this out so soon. Generally she would not have liked to be so easily pegged, but in this instance, it would mean he knew in advance what he was getting into by striking up a conversation with her. "But what about you? Surely there was some idea of your own that prompted you to come here?" She didn't think he was quite on par with her curiosity level, but if he too was a mind overflowing with ideas, it might be interesting to meet a kindred mind. And even if he wasn't, she still wanted to know what had brought him here. Hopefully something more exciting than thirst.

[/size]

________________________________