Samanayrs

      Spirit of the Incandescent Flame was off exploring some of the territory surrounding his Song. He had only just recently met Nature and Serenity, and had only just found the perfect hotspring to call home. They had spent a couple months there, exploring, surveying the territory, and making it feel like home. Now that they had settled in, Spirit felt that he should go out and see what wonders, and possible dangers were around them. Other than the way they had come through the forest to the hotspring, Spirit was relatively unaware of the area around. He was curious to find out if there were any neighboring Songs nearby should they need aid, or if there were any sa'kriens that he would need to warn the others of. His two mares had stayed at the hotspring to guard in in case of invaders and he had promised to bring back a souvenir for each of them.

      At the moment though, Spirit was currently trying to keep up with his rather rowdy dragonet. S'qui had decided that they needed a break from exploring in the form of a game of tag and was currently dashing through the forest chirping and shrieking in joy. Spirit was not quite as thrilled with the game as his slightly larger size made it difficult to squeeze through the smaller holes in the underbrush that his dragonet was able to.

      As the game continued and the underbrush began to thin as they neared the creek where Bolt was resting a few feet upstream, Spirit started to catch up to S'qui. The little dragonet, was quite caught up in the game and not watching where he was going as he instead looked back at Spirit. Making a quick dash around a tree stump, he stumbled over the creek bank and landed in the water with a soft splash. Spirit suppressed a laugh as his dragonet quickly leapt back out of the chilly water, half his original size, and loudly shrieking his displeasure at the creek's being there. He was quite a sight with his wet fur all slicked down his back and tail, looking almost naked. S'qui turned to glare at the water before hopping over to Spirit where he gave a great big shake, spraying water all over Spirit. The game now over, the two of them looked around for a spot to dry off.

Bolt's ears pricked up as her semi-concious mind picked up on two separate individuals. One had a simple mind filled with glee and energy. A dragonet perhaps, considering the larger amount of complexity that it held in comparison to, say, a bird. The other, however, was far more complex, and didn't seem to share the feeling of glee that the other possessed. A Samanayr no doubt. But more complicated... Could it be another Kirin...? These thoughts were slowly bringing her mind back to the surface just as the two creatures in question entered the clearing. A quiet splash nearby and a irritated series of chirps and clicks told her that the dragonet had accidentally found the creek.

Taking in a deep breath, although still unwilling to raise her head to look at them, Bolt figured that she'd try communicating with the Sam telepathically. If it was a normal Sam, he would be too far to hear her and wouldn't be able to respond. But if he was a Kirin like she thought... 'Hello there. You wouldn't happen to be a Kirin, would you?' she chuckled a bit to herself after she said-though it. Redundant question. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant... Then again, what did she expect from her semi-concious mind?

      Spirit was caught off guard by Bolt's mind speak. He had been surprised enough coming across Nature wandering the woods considering the rareness of their species and now here was another Kirin? and so close to where he had chosen to build up his song? It seemed to good to be true. From the feel of her mind, he knew he was talking to another mare and since hadn't noticed any border markings on his way here, he figured that she was most likely songless. Perhaps she would be interested in joining his song.

      Yes, I am, he sent back tentatively. Her thoughts had sounded friendly, but it was a rather odd question to be asking. You wouldn't happen to know of a nice place to dry off nearby would you? I have a rather soggy dragonet here that could use a nice warm spot to rest. As he was sending off his thoughts, he turned in the direction he felt her mind, searching for her form amongst the rocks and greenery.

Bolt chuckled a bit at the irony. There she was, laying on the perfect spot for the stallion and his dragonet. Taking in another breath, Bolt raised her head and stood up, making sure to take a good look at the Kirin stallion in question. Fire was the first thing to come to mind upon looking him over, and his dragonet matched (although he looked a bit wet at the moment...), and she had to admit that he was handsom.

"Up herye!" she called, this time outloud rather than through thought in hopes of drawing their attention to her. There was more than enough room for a full Song up here, let alone two Sams and a dragonet, so that would not be an issue.

S'qui let out a squeak of surprise as Bolt called out, having not been part of the conversation between the two kirins, and leapt up to a higher rock to stare inquisitively at this new Samanayr.

The motion of raising her head caught Spirit's eye and the rocks and surrounding vegetation began to resolve themselves into the shape of the Kirin he was searching for. Her call only confirmed that this was the Sam he was speaking to. She certainly blended in perfectly with the surroundings, green body mirroring the bits of vegetation growing along the creek bed and her scales looking almost like little pebbles themselves. She would definitely make a great addition to his song, a silent sentry, that is if she was interested of course.

With a quick mind send to S'qui reassuring him and warning him not to bother and get the other Kirin wet, he started walking over to meet her. "Thanks for inviting us over, I am sorry if we interrupted your rest. My name is Spirit of the Incandescent Flame.

"Ah, it's no trouble. A little company every now and again never hurt anyone." Bolt replied with a smile. "I'm Bolt of the Waiting Forest, by the way. Are you new to the area? I can't say I've ever seen you around before..."

Several different possibilities regarding Spirit's reasons for being there passed through her mind. Things like 'Just passing through', 'Trying to find a place to live', 'Found a place to live, checking out the area', and 'Trying to find mares to join Song' all presented themselves as possibilities, and all of them would have required different reactions on her part, some of which she wasn't willing to think out at the moment.

"Oh yes, my song and I just moved in to the hotspring a few kilometers away from here. I spent the first few months there with my mares settling in and now that we are settled, I figured we should know something about the surrounding area. I decided to explore while my two mares stay behind to look after our new home," he replied to her question before tentatively asking, "do you live here alone?"

Two mares. Not a full Song. And that question... Interesting. "I do indeed. I have ever since I was little. My birth Song was migratory, but when we came through these parts and I saw this little patch of heaven, I insisted upon staying. Someone in the Song proposed that I leave early rather than having everyone stay, since I was bound to leave eventually, and my dad agreed. So here I am." there was a little smile on her face as she recalled all the little challenges that she had faced at first, most of which had payed off in the end. In hindsight, that mare had never really liked her, being the jealous type, and had probably done it to get rid of her. But that didn't matter now, since everything had turned out for the best.

His heart rose a little as Bolt stated that she did live here alone. "This is an very nice area," He said, nodding as he looked around at the lush vegetation thriving next to the creek, secretly hoping she wasn't too attached to the area.

When Bolt had shared a little about her foalhood, Spirit felt he should do the same, however his memories did not invoke the same happiness that she was feeling. "I... I too left my birth song early, although it was not by choice on my part." Thinking back to his foalhood was difficult for Spirit, the sadness he had felt himself and from his mother as his birth song had fallen to the illness around them, and the many days he had spent nuzzling his mother, waiting for her to get up once she too had succumbed. Luckily S'qui had found him there or he too might not have made it through himself. The little dragonet sensed Spirit's sadness as he had done that first night, and came over to lean up against him, humming a little in comfort. Spirit wasn't certain he was ready to talk about it quite yet, the pain still cut into him as much as it had the first time he had realized that his parents would never again be able to speak to or nuzzle him.

Bolt's heart fell a bit as she felt the sudden, deep waves of sadness that washed over Spirit, making the pain of his past totally obvious. Being a Kirin only made it more so. Bolt scooted a bit closer to him, nuzzling him gently in hopes of taking his mind off the pain. You needn't talk about it if it hurts so much. Why don't you tell me about your mares? What are they like? Bolt was concerned that spoken words wouldn't be strong enough, so she thought-spoke, layering a feeling of hope into the message. Perhaps it would help to get his mind off of it. And besides, Bolt was curious about those other two mares.

The presence of S'qui and Bolt's question helped Spirit to escape the memories of his past "Well, my lead mayre, Natuyre of the Geneyrous Eayrth, is also a Kirin, able to sense the basic feelings of animals. And Serenity of the Empathic Tone is Glint's granddaughter..." he began, warming up as he told Bolt all about his two mares. "They'yre both veyry nice. I'm suyre you would like them." He was slightly embarrassed at feeling so vulnerable about his past, but he was glad that it had not driven Bolt away. "What about yourself?"

A Kirin and the granddaughter of Glint, eh? Bolt liked them already. "Me? Well, I can sense the emotions of Samanayr-kin and small animals, and while I can't actually read minds, I can sense their complexity. For example, I knew what your dragonet was before I saw him because his mind is more complicated than something like a bird, but not nearly as complex as a Samanayr. It's kinda hard to explain..." She trailed off, not really sure how to elaborate on the description of her abilities.

"Ah, yes, that sounds similar to Nature's abilities." Spirit replied, then realized that he hadn't really said much about himself other than why he was out here. "As for myself, I'm not entirely certain of my abilities, I was never taught how to use them, but from what I have discovered it's a form of telekinesis. I can use mind speech of course but anything beyond that is difficult for me. I can sort of look at an object and know it, like its size and weight, and if I concentrate really hard sometimes I can get something small to vibrate a little. I believe with more practice I should be able to move smaller objects but it just takes so much energy to do right now.

((It's hard describing psychic abilities when you don't have them yourself to compare...))

Minor Telekinesis, eh? Bolt had always wanted to be able to move things with her mind. Although it sounded like Spirit would need a lot more practise before it became a useful skill. Of course, having not been taught how to use it or even what it was must have made things quite a bit harder... Then again, Bolt hadn't really been taught either, since she had left her birth Song a few months before her training was supposed to begin. Suddenly, Bolt's mouth dropped open in a huge yawn, and she instantly remembered the nap that she had been taking when Spirit and S'qui had shown up. Could it be that she felt so relaxed and at ease next to Spirit that she was starting to get drowsy again? No, it had to be the same reason as earlier, the sun, that was doing this to her. Or maybe it was both...? Whatever it was, Bolt felt her head start getting heavier, so she laid it on the rock too. I could fall asleep here... Next to him... she thought groggily. Then she realized that she had 'said' it 'aloud' so that Spirit could here it, and her face flushed the color of Spirit's hair. Oh, great. More brilliance, Bolt.

Spirit understood as Bolt began to fall asleep in the warm sun, he himself was feeling quite comfortable and at ease sitting here next to this mare but he was rather surprised to find Bolt felt the same about him as she accidentally 'thought' to him. Perhaps he might just have found another mare for his song. You could fall asleep if you'd like, he thought back to her gently, I'll watch over you and make sure no harm comes to you while you rest.

Bolt wasn't quite sure how to respond to Spirit's words, as she had expected something considerably different and negative. Despite this, his words put her mind at ease, and she let her eyes slip shut. Bolt said a simple thank you into Spirit's mind, knowing full well that any attempt to say more would only make her embarassed. She could feel her body relaxing as her mind focused on the warmth of the sun, the quiet babble of the creek, and the breath of the stallion beside her. Yes, Bolt would be totally fine spending every day like this, by his side... Not moments later, her mind had faded into unconciousness, totally secure and at peace beside Spirit.

As Bolt fell asleep on the rocks beside him, he felt content. Once she woke up, her mind would be fresh and peaceful and he decided that he would ask her then if she wanted to join his song. He hoped that she would agree and that his two current mares would not mind. S'qui had fallen asleep long ago, having found their conversations rather unexciting. His fluffy coat was almost dry now with only a few drops of water glistening in the sun. Spirit could have fallen asleep himself but he had given himself the responsibility of watching over Bolt and he wasn't willing to ruin her trust in him.

Bolt spent a good, solid hour asleep beside Spirit, during which time she had managed to edge her way closer to him to the point that she was resting her head on his back. As her mind began to float back to reality, Bolt was questioning the bumpier, and yet strangely more comfortable surface that her head was laying on. It wasn't the rock, since that was smooth and her head was somewhat elevated... Wood? No, she was laying on a rock, not a log... And that's when the day's events hit her in the face. Scales. Spirit's scales. Great.

She was about to stealthily remove her head and go back to sleep by feigning a yawn when an actual one hit her and she changed plans to 'waking up'. Bolt's eyes fluttered open drowzily as she lifted her head carefully off of Spirit. "How long was I out?" she muttered, knowing full well that he would have no trouble hearing her in such close proximity.

As the sleeping Bolt edged closer and closer until she was eventually resting her head on Spirit's back, his resolve to ask her to join his song grew stronger. When she awoke, lifting her head sleepily from his back, he answered her question, "Not too long, only foyr about an houyr." Before he lost the nerve, he asked after a short pause, "Would you like to join my Song of the Incandescent Eayrth? You would fit in peyrfectly and it would not be too fayr foyr you to come back and visit the cyreek should you be so inclined." There, he had said it, all that could be done now was to wait for her to register the question and respond. He hoped she would say yes, he had grow quite fond of her as he had waited, watching over her.

The first part of Spirit's reply didn't suprise her; her naps usually lasted about an hour. It was the second part the caught her off-guard. Well, it wasn't so much the question as it was the timing. Surely he had caught the her mind wasn't the sharpest when she was sleepy. But regardless, her answer was clear. In the time that she had known him, Spirit had clearly managed to define her dream stallion, and then some. Sure, he was a little rough around the edges, but Bolt had no issue with that. "Yes." she said, pulling her legs out from underneath her and standing beside Spirit. "I would love to." the excitement on her face was evident and poorly hidden, but she didn't care. She loved him, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would make her a happy Kirin mare...

(( Shall I go add her to the Song in the database, then? :3 I'd like to have permission for her to breed, please. ^3^ ))

((Sure, go ahead, I'll go change all the other pages and add her to the song banner))

Spirit's heart filled with happiness when she agreed. Even S'qui had felt that something momentous was going on and had leapt up, shrieking with joy. "Would you like to come see my Song yright away and meet the otheyr mayres? Oyr shall we finish ouyr day by the cyreek and head out in the moyrning?" He asked, nuzzling her happily. Whatever her answer, he knew he would be content either way.

Bolt turned her head skyward, trying to gauge what time it was based upon the sun's position. It was only a few hours after noon, so she figured that they had plenty of time to reach his Song's home. "I'd like to meet your mares, if that's alright with you." she said with a warm smile.

Spirit nodded and turned in the direction of his Song. Taking the first step, they began the trip back.