The day was like any other, warm with a slight breeze that would bring the scent of prey to the waiting nose of the hunting fox even before his sharp ears heard a feminine voice sing almost as if to herself.
"Jingle, jingle, jingle, hear my tail bells ring! I am the queen of jingling!" A chittering laugh followed the little ditty as a greenish blue ferret seem to come prancing into view, unaware of the threat waiting for her.
Somewhere in the area, he knew his sister was, recovering from a thorn in her paw. It made hunting for her hard, so Mickey had taken to hunting for both of them. His tails twitched, ever so slightly, as his large ears moved to and fro. While most of his mind was on the hunt, some of it was on the fact Moina had only just found her way to him - And now he just needed to find where Angus had gotten off to - only to get injured. Just his luck, right?
The warm breeze fluttered some of his hair and feathers, the fox's nose twitching. As he lifted his head, one ear shifted and caught the singing. Oh, something small, something sweet... His worry and hunger over-rode logic that things for eating didn't sing. Careful paw placements soon brought him to where he could spy the ferret, dancing about. It wasn't quite much, but it would certainly do in a pinch, wouldn't it? The fox hunkered down, inching closer as he prepared to strike. When he got close enough, he dove out of the brush, calculating how many ways the ferret could go. They were, after all, slippery as rabbits.
Whatever he expected it probably wasn't for the little animal to squeal a name as she hunkered down making herself into a little ball,
"KEL! FOX! FIVE FOOT IN BUSH!"
The fox has seconds to register the fact he wasn't alone before a massive black shape slammed into him with a savage growl. The other stallion was much larger and heavier than Mickey himself, two sets of wings spread wide in a threatening display.
Mickey came to a skidding halt at the yell, and had barely let out a "Huh?" before something hit him. He let out a squeal, a shrill yell, before scrambling away. Knowledge of his sister's hunger still had him, though, and he didn't immediately run, instead trying to get around the hulking horse. "Hey! What gives?!" Then it registered - The ferret had yelled. It wasn't just something for eating. Magic had made it conversive, prompting his brain to helpfully supply that no, he needn't eat it. "s**t!"
The large black and blue stallion stood over the ferret with his teeth bared in Mickey's direction, strange silver eyes pinned on him. Lowering one of his bottom wings he rumbled out, "Rebel?"
A nimble leap had the sleek creature scampering up his wing, onto his back, to hide in his curly mane, the silver bells tied to her tail jingling all the way.
Tails lifting in a threat display, Mickey growled at the stallion, his own teeth bared, "It was a mistake! I let my hunger get the best of me!" He crouched down, trying to both look smaller and bigger. It was something his sister poked fun at him for all the time, since one couldn't really be both. They needed to be one or the other - Make yourself small and harder to hit, or make yourself big and intimidating. "I don't normally go after talking animals!" Irony, thy name was Mickey...
Kel snorted as he tossed his head, "The bells didn't clue you in to the fact she wasn't just some random animal?" It was probably then, if Mickey was looked, he'd noticed those strange silvery eyes never actually looked at him, just in his general direction. The big stallion's ears flicked this way and that, his head tipping as he adjusted to sounds and scents. He was taking his cues from every sense but his eyes.
Mickey stared for a moment, processing the way the stallion was looking only in his general direction, then snorted. "I told you, my stomach got the better of me! I don't usually go around trying to hunt intelligent creatures!" His tails shifted some, staying in their intimidation posture. "Anyway, what are you doing out here?" He glanced the big stallion over, frowning. "Can you even see...?" It wasn't asked in a derogatory manner, worry tinging his words more than anything. Signs were pointing at blind, and Mickey wasn't sure how good that was out here. What if something less scrupulous came along? Like that Bolton jerk?
"I do not need my eyes," Kel retorted sharply. It was true that though his eyes never looked at Mickey, his attention was locked sharply on the much smaller male. His second set of wings shifted from their posturing stance to settle back around his sides though the top ones were still spread wide. Mickey might vaguely remember hearing of creatures like this one, Soquili that bore wings upon their legs, head, and two upon their backs, creatures of powerful magics.
His fur fluffed up some, tails instinctively coming back up, before he shifted back just a bit. "Okay, okay, sorry!" He huffed, then folded his ears back. "I should get out of your mane, anyway. I gotta... Find something for my sister to eat." There might be some berry bushes around, right? It wasn't much, but it'd at least feed her for a while until he could hunt something down that didn't talk. "Maybe I'll see you around the area until we can leave, then you won't worry about me accidentally hunting your friend again."
Kel frowned a bit as he lowered his wings, his posture shifting from protective to merely wary. "Sister?"
"Kel! Kel no! He tried to eat me!!" Rebel hissed poking her head out of the safety of his mane to glare at Mickey.
"And in what condition is he in?"
"...." With a huff she hid herself again muttering about traitors.
Hesitating, Mickey considered if he should tell this stranger or not. He was worried, of course, for Moina. What if they weren't safe? What if they hurt her further? But the winged stallion was blind, so he couldn't do that much, could he? Mickey had a feeling that he could. At the same time, there was the possibility of help, of somebody being there to watch Moina while he hunted, or to help with hunting, while she recovered. When his stomach growled, painful proof of how much he was doing to make sure she ate enough and was safe, he finally sighed. "She's in rough shape... This... Bolton guy? Attacked her. He'd had her for a bit when I found them, after wishing on a shooting star... I drove him off, but she's..." He shook his head, ears still back. "She won't talk, she's afraid, she's still too injured to move somewhere better..."
For a moment the massive blue stallion stood still as stone, even the ferret hiding in his mane was silent before he spoke again, softer this time and more gentle, "You need help with her." It wasn't a question but a statement of fact. He couldn't see the young fox, but he spoke earlier of hunger getting the best of him and now with tale of an injured sister, it was easy for him to put together. Rebel started to protest, this fox tried to EAT her for spirit's sakes!! But then she really looked at him, at his ribs starting to show under his coat, at the desperation and almost defeat in his stance and tone before she gave a mighty sigh and scrambled down again to glare at him. "You stay with the big guy and I'll actually get you a rabbit since clearly you are hopeless." Without waiting for a response, she darted away tail jingling merrily.
Mickey puffed a moment at the ferret's tone, but he soon relaxed some, glancing at the other stallion. After a moment, he tilted his head. "Thank you... I... I am sorry I tried to eat your companion..." He looked after where the ferret had gone, tails twitching and swishing. Shifting from paw to paw, he swallowed, before looking back at the winged stallion. "My name is Mickey, by the way... I... I kind of..." He hesitated again, cringing. Once the flood gate of admitting things had been opened, he was finding it hard to stop it. "I've been looking for the rest of my family, slowly... Found my sister... And... Bolton..." As he said the name, the fox scowled. "Now I just need to find my brother, but that's kind of... Waiting right now."
"As you heard the little one yelling, I am called Kel. Kellan Sinclair, guardian of the Wode herd," He rumbled before sighing softly, "or I once was. We were scattered ages ago when the fires tore the world apart. Now I search for my way home and hope my kin still live. I know what it is to have family you long for and wish to protect. Come, introduce me to her so that she may see she has another protector until she is well."
For a moment, Mickey puffed back up, remembering the fires. So they had a similar reason to have been separated from their families... He'd ask about the Wodes later, though, because he did need to get back to his sister. He'd been away from Moina for too long, part of why he'd been having a hard time hunting. Between being used to hunting as a group instead of solo and trying to not be too far from Moina for too long, it was... Hard. He nodded, then remembered that Kel couldn't see him. "Alright, uh.. This way." He turned, making sure to make plenty of noise so the dark stallion could hear him as he headed back to the thicket he'd been hiding in with Moina.
