Welcome to Gaia! ::

The warming sun felt good on the flutter's back and he made his slow way out of the shelter of the trees. His light buzzing as the small soquili flew was audible over the bees that sang on their busy to-and-fro from flower to hive. Darting from shadow to shade Daysuni finally broke into the sunlight like a fish jumping out of the water. He was usually more secretive but had decided to venture out a little further and explore the world outsid the glade he had decided to call home. It wasn't until he spotted the sandy coloured mare that he changed his random course and made a bee-line towards her, a bright smile on his face.

When he got closer the fluttercorn noticed that she looked quite comfortable laying on the ground and hesitated, not sure whether he wanted to bother her or not. On the one side he could make a freind but on the other... Dayunsi wasn't quite sure what could happen but he didn't really want to think about it. Sighing he set himself down into the long grass to consider the ramifications. Not all soquili wished for company and this one seemed quite satisfied with enjoying the sunrise by herself. He moved a little side to side as he weighed out the positives and negatives, his wings catching the morning sun and glimmering brightly. There was to many factors, she didn't seem the type to attack when annoyed but then again he had been wrong about the troll... even if she turned out to be quite the conversationalist when in a good mood.

He watched her stand up and start grazing in the long grass. Standing still for a moment he shrunk down to the size of a small bird and waited as she came closer. He was still unsure whether he wanted to bother her and then took a step back as he realized that she was heading right for him. Looking from side to side he tried to find an escape route but non seemed avaliable without alerting the sandy coloured mare that he had been watching her. When she reached within eye sight of him, the fluttercorn wiggled his wings and made a small greeting. "Hello... How are you this morning." There, hopefully he didn't surprise her.

"My name is Dayunsi, what might yours be?" He made a small bow before moving a little further away and growing slightly so that he could converse better. When he was about the size of a foal he trotted closer once more and made another bow. "I was just enjoying the sunshine when I happened to see you. I wanted to say hello but I didn't want to be a bother, I am not a nucence am I?" He tilted his head to the side as his long messy locks fell into his face. Shaking his head slightly he tossed them back into place.

"Well that is very good, I hope that you are having a good day so far." As he talked Dayunsi's wings never really stopped moving, accentuating his words with consistent flutters which made the sun sparkle off them. The flowers in his hair gave off a light perfume which attracted smaller critters like butterflies. Luckily there were no bees around or it might have gotten noisy. "It is a pleasure to meet you..." It was in that moment he realized that the golden mare before him had not given her name.

Dayunsi chuckled, he supposed that she might not have caught it the first time but didn't want to be rude to point it out. "My name is Dayunsi, traveling storyteller and collector of interest." Well in a respect he did collect the interesting but it was more information than actual tangible items. He was pretty knowledgeable of the world around him but at the same time always knew that he could learn more. "There is a lot that can be learned in names? Does yours have a meaning?"

"That is a wonderful thing, to be named after something your father treasures. It shows he treasures you just as great." Dayunsi smiled softly as Marahute and shook his long curls that had fallen into his face. His wings flutter in the sun as it warmed their backs, he felt a sluggish quiet settle over him as he felt his small body heat up. "I am named after the water beetle, Dayunsi, who gathered mud from the bottom of the ocean to create the land. I believe the fable comes from the Kawani people though I have heard other versions before."

Dusk had fallen, followed by a grand night.. Or what seemed to be the beginning of a grand night. She was enjoying herself now, letting herself wander, cutting loose teh ties that bound her to one spot.

She grinned, letting her unicorn hooves pound into the ground.

She had met so many new friends lately, and her need for social engagements seemed to be diminishing. But she hadnt found what she was looking for yet.

She wasnt looking for love, really. More of a.. little bit of lovin'. Did that mean she didnt want love? Not at all. She'd love to be loved. But she wasnt going to waste her time if it wasnt going to happen. But she figured,time would tell.

She sat, singing her little song that she had come to fancy lately. She'd heard it from Anusha, the two-legger, and it stuck in her head like a bad day.

"I've had a knack, from way back, at breaking the rules, once I learned the game. Get up, lifes too quick, I know some place sick.. where this mare will dance in the flames.. We dont need any money.. I always get in for free.. You can get in too if you get in with me.. Lets go out tonight..
You wanna play? Lets run away, we wont be back before its new years dayyy."

Cadance was out stretching his new legs. He was still getting familiar with his hight and yet the ganglyness of his gelding months was finally fading. Cadance was maturing into a rather handsome stallion, his visage taking on the characteristics of his father but his eyes shone with the merryment that his mother still carried in her heart. The burgandy striped soquili turned towards a voice he could hear singing in the distance. The singing reminded him of his mother and so he decided to trot over and investigate. While he wasn't the best as stringing lyrics together, Cadance loved to sing and would join his mother in many a duet. "Heya there!" the stallion called out when he got a little closer.

"No, not at all. My Mum sings all the time so I'm used to it." He rolled his eyes with a grin as if to mention how crazy mums could be. "Though I don't think she would ever sing anything like that. It had a really good beat to it... well... not to say that my Mum's don't have a good beat but... awww nuts." He managed to tie his tounge into a knot while trying to explain himself. He wondered if he could make things better by mentioning he could sing but though better of it, he was finally learning how to put one foot in front of the other without tripping over and that was taking most of his consentration right now.

"She's really cool... she can sing and dance and do all manner of creative stuff. She likes flowers and wears them in her hair all the time. She gave me these," he gestured towards the small dasies that were twined in his mane and tail. Cadance was about to mention some other qualitied he liked about Immi before he puased as his mind registered something. "Wait... you don't have a Mum? How can that be? Did you loose her?" He couldn't think of growing up without having someone there to look after him, even if he had been babysat a lot by Aunt Troll.

Cadance nodded before frowning after he ingested her words and then shook his head slowly. "I don't think she abandoned you. My mum couldn't take care of both of us and knew that her and my father would split ways because he has his own herd to live with. He took my sister to take care of her. I still see her sometimes but I think I have only met my father once because he lives pretty far away. Someday soon I will ask Juliet where he is but I know he didn't abandon me..." Cadance paused and gazed up into the sky as if trying to pluck the words he wanted to use from the clouds themselves. "If that was the case then maybe my Mum abandoned Juliet... but then she still loves very daughter very much so I can't really believe that."

"I'm sorry..." Cadance wasn't sure what to say before she apologized. "Nah... it's ok, I was the one who was asking." He tried think of something to change the subject with to hopefully lighten the mood. He wasn't quite sure that Naina's mother really did hate her, who could hate their own flesh and blood? But he didn't want to press it either and so let that line drop. "So what other kinds of songs do you know? I'd love to hear a few..."

"Oh..." Cadance wasn't quite sure what to say. He got the feeling that he had made a misstep in this conversation and it was spiraling down into something he was sure he was going to get into trouble for later. Floundering he tried to think of something else to say and blurted the next thing that came to mind. "Sooo.. what kind of things do you do? Other than sing songs you don't really know?" He groaned inwardly that could be taken badly...

Dayunsi had been spending some time in the meadows enjoying the summer sun. He had found himself getting drowsy when the sudden thumping of hooves and giggles woke him back up. He peered up through the grass where he had been laying down and spotted a foal who was just about his size running back and forth up the small hillocks. He wondered what she was doing until the fluttercorn realized that she was flapping her wings all the while. Dayunsi's wings fluttered slightly in response as he chuckled lightly wondering if she had even noticed his being there.

Growing slighty as she came in closer, Dayunsi made a small bow. "Greetings young one, I am Dayunsi." He blinked slowly and his wings fluttered once more, their shimmering almost like the iridescence of a beetles wings as it flutters on a blade of grass. The fluttercorn smiled in an encouraging way nodding slightly at her dark wings. He had seen her moment of lift and wanted to congradulate but wasn't quite sure what to say. Deciding to change the subject instead he blinked again and tilted his head to the side. "So whom might I be adressing?"

"Hmm... Rowenya... from the rowan tree which is one of the sacred trees of the spirits. Its main properties is that of protection and those trees are said to harbor the homes of the Fay. The old peoples believed that the rowan trees possessed the power to restore lost youth and it's branches are guarded by ferocious beasts." He paused in his litany and made a small bow. "Yes, a strong, powerful name, it suits you well." At the foals question he nodded once more, "Yes I saw you fly. Your wings are getting stronger and will continue to do so with practice. There are more things to learn with the skill of flight but these lessons are for you to learn by yourself in time."

Dayunsi nodded and closed his eyes, changing down to the size of a small bird as he took to the air and danced about his head. "Mystical staves have traditionally been made out of rowan wood and its branches are often used in dowsing rods and magic wands. Rowan branches are carried on boats to help them avoid storms, kept in houses to guard against lightning, and and to protect other animals from harm by attaching sprigs close to their sleeping areas." Shrinking even smaller, about the size of a humming bird, he alighted on the top of her head, right between her ears. "There are many uses for Rowan branches and even more uses for their berries but some is more superstition than truth while other's are more truer than you think."

The flutter closed his eyes for a moment and then began to speek, his sing-song voice started to weave a tale. " When the Earth begun there was just water. All the animals lived above it and the sky was beginning to become crowded. They were all curious about what was beneath the water and one day Dayunsi, the water beetle, volunteered to explore it. He went everywhere across the surface but he couldn't find any solid ground. Diving below the surface to the bottom all he found was mud so Dayunsi braught it back up and the mud began to enlarge in size and spread outwards until it became the Earth as we know it. After all this had happened, one of the animals attached this new land to the sky with four strings to hold it in place." The small stallion paused in his story wondering if she wanted to know more.

Continueing his tale the flutter moved from her nose and circled in the air, only to land and grow until he was the same size as her. "Well just after the Earth was formed, it was very flat and very soft so the animals decided to send a bird down to see if it had dried. After flying for a long time the bird eventually returned to the animals telling them it still wasn't dry enough to land on. As the land was still too wet, the animals sent the great Buzzard from Galun'lati to prepare it for them. The buzzard flew down and by the time that he reached the Soquili lands, he was so tired that his wings began to hit the ground. Wherever they hit the ground a mountain or valley formed. The Soquili lands still remain the same today with all the land forms that the Buzzard formed and that's how the world was created."

"Well thank you, I try to keep my lexicon complete." Dayunsi made a small bow shaking his head to toss his curly hair back out of his face. The flowers entangled between his locks let loose a mild perfume that scented the air. The flutter smiled as he watched the filly bat the ground with her wings before speaking once more. "It is tradition when a storyteller tells a story that the listener tells one in kind. Would you like to tell a story? It can be about anything or completely made up." Dayunsi's wings caught the light as they fluttered quietly without him knowing.

Dayunsi chuckled, "Do you think they would like to eat old and rotting meat? I think that would be like us eating the fungi on the rosehip trees, probably wouldn't taste very good to them." He thought for a moment before continuing. "But then the spirits gave us tricks and skills for us to protect ourselves. We have long legs and quick bodies, and you and I have wings also. Rabbits have their speed and long legs and then porcupines have all those spines on their back. Even skunks are prey as well as predator and so they have their smell to keep others away." He smiled and fluttered his wings in the sunlight. "There are many gifts we have been given to keep us from being eaten and you have a Mother and a Father to keep you safe until you are old enough to take care of yourself."

"What is the biggest creature with wings that you can think of?" He thought about the buzzard who wasn't even her size. "See all the creatures with wings are not big enough to capture us in the air, it is another gift that the spirits have given us." Dayunsi nodded towards where a group of soquili had gathered to graze on the other side of the meadow. "That and we spend most of our time in groups so I'd like to see a buzzard or eagle try and take one of us without the others jumping into the fray." He flicked at a bug that had been biting his flank with his tail and then added, "That is why making friends is important, it is a greatest defense that protects us from all manner of dangers, not just from predators."

He spotted her behind him but it took a moment or two before he realized that she was following his exact moves. With a gleeful smile he began to make his path even more intricate. Almost bouncing from flower to flower he hopped along the ground before taking to the air and flitting around the branches of a nearby tree. Darting around the trunk once more the flutter-corn hoped he could surprise her on the other side, changing direction in a sudden movement.

Dayunsi stayed hidden behind the tree before jumping back out. "Surprise!" Laughing, he darted back into the branches before turning around and flitting back towards the open meadow. The blooming flowers sent their sweet aroma into the air as he knocked them with his hooves in passing. They reminded him of his dear friend Immi and he smiled, momentarily distracted. It was the almost collision into a sunflower that brought him back to the now and he swerved to avoid it, changing direction once again.

"Then let us land." Gallantly he swooped down and gently landed next to her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face with his nose. "That was a fun game, I really enjoyed myself, thank you." The breeze blew through the meadow and made the sunflower rock a little from side to side and cooling them down. Dayunsi sniffed at the sunflower head and though about the interesting way it got it's name. "The name 'sunflower' comes form it's habit of turning it's head from east to west to follow the sun." He mused aloud and turned towards Absinthe with a smile.

She grinned at the stallion, not quite certain of the next thing to say. "I'm Absinthe." she said finally, not quite recalling if she had introduced herself. "But you can call me Abbi if you want." the mare nodded firmly. "You're fun to play with." There was a moment of silence as the mare absorbed his words. "And you sure do seem to know an awful lot..."

Dayunsi chuckled. "I'm Dayunsi, was was named after a beetle. I don't think I have a nickname though Tai'jin once called me 'Day'." He thought about how many soquili tended to shorten names and wondered if it was a mark of adoration, or even liking someone. At her next comment he grinned, "Thanks, you are awfully fun to play with too... and tiring." He could feel that his wings had definitely had more use out of them than what was normal for him, and he wasn't usually one to stand around all day. "I love learning things," he commented on her observation, "Storytelling and learning about flowers are my favorite things to do. Do you have any favorite pasttimes?"

She blinked at the stallion. First... "You were named after a beetle?" She looked quite shocked. "But you don't look like a beetle at all, why would someone call you a beetle? And I want to call you Dayu." her grin was open, happy. "I don't get many people to play with me like that, because I like to be tiny. I've never met anyone else who can be tiny like me before."

His question made her tilt her head and peek at him. "Past times? I have lots of past times. Like what we just did!"

"Dayu... that's new but kinda interesting." The fluttercorn nods before adding, "I like being tiny too... no, that's not right, we're the right size, it's everyone else who are usually too big." He laughed at his own joke. "I was named after a beetle because of what he did, not because of what he looked like." He settled down for a moment and started telling a story in a low sing-song voice.

"Once upon a time when the world was barely new there was no land, just a large expanse of water. The animals had no where to live and just floated around on the back of a great eagle. Dayunsi, the water beetle, volunteered to swim down as far as he could go and see what was under the ocean." Dayunsi paused, thinking about such a great trip that might have been before continuing. "He swam down until he could no longer see anything around him. There were creatures who lived down in the murky depths but they didn't understand him when he tried to ask where he was. It wasn't until a day had passed that he finally found the ocean floor. Gathering the mud he found under his feet, the beetle pulled as much as he could up back to the surface. The journey took even longer for him to get back and Dayunsi was worried that he would not have the strength to reach the end of his journey. Soon though, he started seeing the bright light of the sun peeking through the waves and when he reached the surface the animals cheered. They got the spirits to bless the mud and make it grow. It expended out in all directions and with the spirits help plants and trees began to grow and that is how the earth came into be.

She listened avidly to his story, ears perked. This stallion would get along really well with Scherazade. And she opened her mouth up to tell him as much promptly as he concluded. "You need to meet Scher. She tells a lot of stories, all the time, I swear she knows EVERYTHING, and you like to tell stories, but she doesn't sing them like you do, and it still stinks you were named after a beetle, but it's okay, I still like you, so..." She took a deep breath. "Yeah."

Green and gold wings twitched, and Absinthe jumped up, replenished from her rest. "Are you ready to play some more? Or do you need help with something else?"

Dayunsi chuckled at the sudden barrage of statements and questions. "I would love to meet your Scher, she sounds like she would be an interesting soquili to chat with." The fluttercorn always liked meeting other storytellers and he had journeyed to the Story Circle a few times to trade and share tales. He wondered fleetingly if Scher also went to the Story Circles, maybe he had already met her once. "I don't think it sucks to be named after such an extraordinary character. Dayunsi did quite an important feat which took a lot of courage." Dayunsi smiled and shook his mane out, letting the flowers re-settle into new positions; there had been a leaf that was tickeling his ear. The green flutter's exhuberance livened him up again and the earthy stallion took to the air. "Ok, so what do you want to play this time?"

She gave a little frown, pondering. "I think it's your turn to pick the game, Dayu!" her voice was cheery, and she grinned. "I picked last time, and you picked the first time, so that means we have to take turns and you have to pick, okay?" The truth was likely that she couldn't decide! There were so many fun games to play, and so little time to play them in! "Did you want to take your plants to your friend? We can go on a trip to take them." she nodded seriously, bounding forward to dance around him in ever-widening circles.

“I think that sounds like a perfect idea” Dayunsi trotted over towards where he had stored the bag. There was a lot more than mosses inside it which made the earthly stallion chuckle. Grabbing the rope between his teeth, the fluttercorn swung his bag over his shoulder and attempted to balance it right. The cloth satchel was a little bigger on him than before as he had shifted size since holding it. That made it a little difficult but not enough that he wanted to shift to a larger size. “The glade is over here,” he mumbled around the rope in his mouth. “Catch me if you can!” With a neigh he darted off between the trees, glancing back once to check she was following him.

She danced off after him, at a comfortable gallop, leaping over mounds of dirt that got in her way. With a sigh, she hifted into her normal size, when she realized that her preferred mini-size was keeping her dropping steadily behind. She4 wasn't of the mind to fly. Not right now, anyways. Now she was looking for something that spent more energy! She stretched out her comparatively long legs until she had caught up to him. "Want a ride, Dayu?" she teased, looking down her nose at him. "Since you're so slow." The last was said with a big wing and a chirping laugh.

"Probably, she is quiet an odd one." Rasui nodded before making a sudden turn down a secluded path into the shady green of the trees. He slowed the pace and took a quick look around to get his bearings. "Well maybe you will get a chance to hear her sing... I believe she should be in her garden if you want to see Immi first." Immi usually spent her time in the garden that had been grown out of the flowers she had found in her wanderings. He turned and stopped for a moment to find out the answer in case he needed to change direction and head over to the glade instead of the teepee.

"Right then! Her garden is right down this path." He took a step off to the side and then worked his way down the tight fox run. A few branches stuck out in their way but he showed her how to knock them aside without hurting the trees or her hide. A small brook babbled close by and there were birds in the trees that added to the almost magical seeming glade that opened up before them. "Here we are, I'll just go find Immi if you want to wait here." All around were flowers of different types that Imogen had found through her wonderings. Ivy creepers twined around trunks of trees and butterflies darted back and forth through bushes of roses and patches of honeysuckle. It was easy to tell that Immi liked colour because she almost had every colour of the rainbow and then some.

He didn't return for quite a while and it wasn't until a shadow showed up against one of the large trunks of the trees that another soul was shown to be there. "Oh welcome! Rasui told me you were here. Didn't mean to startle you, we have a bit of an interesting thing going on so I wasn't here. Rasui should be on his way back, he needed to relay something down the line for me." Immi stepped into the clearing, using flat stepping stones to get through the thicker areas of flowers without crushing them. It was easy to see how much she liked the blossoms, many of the ones that were growing on the ground were also twined into her hair. "I'm Imogen, most call me Immi. You are Hanna right?" She reguarded the other mare with interest.

"Well thank you." Imogen chuckled as she stepped closer and to the side so that Hanna could get a good view of the wild garden. "I try to take good care of it, Dayunsi helps me sometimes when he is around but he hasn't been seen in a few days." She sounded a little worried but then seemed to cheer herself up, the little flutter could take care of himself if needed, she didn't need to worry. At the other mare's question the singer nodded. "Sure, not that there is much more to see but..." She gestured towards the largest tree in the clearing. "This tree is my favorite, it's a willowtree but it has ivy growing up it's trunk. I found it like that right next to the brook and I just knew it would be the best place to start a new garden." Immi smiled at the memory before nodding once more. "I am sure Rasui will be back soon. Maybe he can show you the other garden that the twolegger keeps. His is a lot more... streight... than mine."

Though she was the oldest of the herd, at least by joining time, she did often confer with the troll. Especially about important tidings such as this. "I would have to ask Malis, she would have to meet you first. I do not see why you couldn't join our herd. We are a pretty open family." Immi thought about it for a moment and realized she would probably have to ask Dayunsi too as he was becoming more and more responsible for the herd when she was gone. Except now he was missing... Imogen sighed slightly, a worried look on her face. "It might be best that you met the rest of our herd before you decide to join. Let's see if we can meet Rasui half way."

They started to make their way through the small path that adjoined the clearing. Immi moved slow enough for Hanna to take a look at her surroundings in case she ever got lost. There were a few old and gnarled trees that could be used as path markers. Someone had tied ribbons and colourful feathers at certain intervals. Immi explained that she had gotten the idea from a treasure hunt she had participated in when she first arrived in the kawani lands.

Soon the path expanded into another clearing, this one on the banks of a larger river. The little brook in Immi's glade could have been an offshoot of this larger one. There in a secluded area was a large-ish teepee that had the same colours of some of the ribbons that were dangled from tree branches. A mottled brown horse wearing a green blanket and lacy white and green leggings was stomping at some mud near a cul-de-sac in the clearing. She seemed to be muttering about something and shooting fierce looks towards another direction as if expecting someone to show up over there.

"Immi!" The brown mare stalked up to Imogen as soon as she had spotted the arrivals. "That chibi-ningen!" she spat vehemently before continuing with a more reserved voice "That.... Runt went and deliberately splashed mud all over me! And he made me loose my precious berries..." Her eyes grew big and woeful as she thought about the tiny red morsels that she loved to eat. It didn't matter to her who's they originally belonged to as long as she could have them for her own pleasure. She rolled her eyes expressively before noticing the stranger in their midst. "And who is this?" She didn't know if this new mare was a good thing or a bad one and thus eyed her suspiciously.

Imogen chuckled to herself for a moment before schooling her face into a more consoling look to deal with the green clothed mare. Though she was slightly smaller than Imogen, the short soquili seemed larger by her personality. Immi bore through her scowls and name calling before interrupting with, "Sui, This is Hanna. Hanna, This is Suiseiseki, on of our herd. Sui, Hanna is looking for Rasui, did you see where he went?" For the burgundy mare knew that 'Runt' was Suiseiseki's favorite word for the purple stallion. She wondered if they would ever get along but was glad that they didn't mind living together entirely, well as long as they were on opposite sides of the clearing...

"Why would I want to help find that Runt?" Though the thought of berries did intregue her. Maybe this one wasn't too bad afterall. Suiseiseki shook her tail, a few clumps of mud falling off her brown curls. "Bah! He needs to learn manners. Where is the troll when you need her." Suiseiseki stalked over to the river grumpily and checked her reflection for other mud clots. "She would tell him to be much better mannered. Or at least give him a good thwack for covering me in dirt!" Seeing she was now decently clean the mare stalked off in a huff. There was no way she wanted to be in the same glade as him when Rasui decided to return.

"The spirits be hunting you, pale one." A blue shape came slowly out of a thick grove of trees. "Ah be feelin' their prescence surroundin' ya but ya be strong... no be tormented by t' spirits here." She started mumbling something under her breath and a sweet cold breath of fresh hair seemed to sweep it's way into the clearing. The sharp filngers of the mountain air seemed to open the senses and clear the mind but it was small and would not last unless he used it for that moment to help push the spirits the rest of the way out. The mare stayed in the shadows but it was possible to pick out the bright red dreads and a few golden bangles clinked when she moved her head. She eyed him as she glanced around before speaking once more. "You be commin' alone? T' see me or just t' get away?"

"I cann' lead ya down t' path o' t' spirits but ah be one who can show ya t' entrance. The spirits are strong around ya, they call for vengence?" The mare peered slightly to the side of him with her golden eyes, returning his dark one with a bright stare that seemed to pierce into his soul. She seemed to search him for answers and yet not intrusivly but more with an aura of curiosity and respect. "Ya be born under an unlucky star but that be not your fault and thus ya spirit remain clean. If ya keep the hounds at bay ya always be fighting them but sometimes it be better to cajole them in. T' trick them int' working for ya." Her eyes darkened at that moment and she released his gaze turning to the sky above as if choosing her words carefully. "But ya gotta be rememberin' that ya must be stronger than they before temptin' them for otherwise they be overtakin' ya." She shook her head slowly before muttering something else which seemed to lighten up the area slightly, the differance between a night with no moon to a full luna sphere. Takeing a few more steps forwards she came mostly into view. The stocky mare already stood as tall as he but seemed even more larger being rotund, her movements graceful but laboured, her pregnancy was showing. Malis' tusk showed in the pale light missmatched with its broken mate while her bangles clinked around her face. This was no ordinary mare and yet her exotic looks seemed to match her speech patterns and helt add to her mysterious aura. "So ya be lookin' for t' help? What help ya be lookin' for specifically, a vague path be better than no path but ya be learnin' better from a clear direction to be headin'"

"Three paths be what ya lookin' for. Three, each wit' their own hazards and difficulties. Ya might already know what there be lyin' before ya on each o' those paths but it'll be hard which ever rout ya be takein'." The blue mare turned her head slightly to show the broken tusk and eyed him slightly. "Ya might loose somethin' precious to ya, a part o' ya own beain' but it be worth it in t' end." Looking up to the sky, the troll's voice almost seemed to echo within it'self, as if she breathed the wisdom of the spirits. "Ya mother has a great strength within her, this be givin' you t' power t' take on t' spirits that be hauntin' you. She embodies one o' t' paths, one o' gentleness and protection. T' path not be one o' weakness, t' have t' determination t' face what ever be against ya be one o' t' hardest paths. Follow that path an ya may be fightin' t' darker ones until ya lay under t' earth." Malis lowered her voice and stared at the pale stallion with a sharp glare. "T' other path be of destruction, embodied by t' father ya be despisin'. This be t' easiest path t' travel down but will be commin' wit' t' hardest price t' bare. Ah be promicin' ya, if ya be followin' down t' path o' hate, ya will loose ya family. Even by hatin' ya father, by loathin' an' cursin' his name, ya be followin' down his path." She paused and let her words sink in. The third choice would be the hardest one to follow, but the rewards for walking down such a fine line were only reserved for those with the strongest of wills.

Suddenly Malis halted, standing still in the now quiet forest. At the stallions exclamation she eyed him. "Shhh... can ya be hearin' it?" The only sound was the beating of their hearts and the wind whispering secret knowledge through the trees. The troll kept her eyes on him, sensing the small change in his temperament. She could feel the difference in the atmosphere and smiled to herself, sure he could feel it too. "Fight or flight, that be the choice you make. If ya be feelin' t' need to fight you have to choose. Flight does not mean you are weak. Flight does not mean you are a coward. Flight gives you the opportunity to choose your battles. To save that energy for when it is truly needed to protect the ones you love. There will be moments when you may need to call upon the forces within your being but by gaining control over the darker energies." It was then the pale stallion might realize that Malis was speaking a little more 'normal', her usual gruff accent changing to a low melodic chant. The troll smiled knowingly, her bright red eyes flashing in the dim light of the grove before she spoke once more in her regular tones. "Ya be understandin' how t' use ya own strengths for t' protection o' t' ones ya be lovin'?"

"Ah be one who seeks wisdom in t' leaves o' t' trees. There be many like us and t' listen be t' best way to garner that information." She made a small bow and watched him with bright red eyes. "Ah be one known as Malis Delnaria an' Ah be hailin' from far away in Ogrimmar. Ah be travelin' towards t' Kawani lands t' learn about ya cultures but ah 'ave found a home among ya people. Ah be one o' t' few trolls around here though there may be a few more arriving soon." She smiled knowingly and motioned towards her large belly. "There be nothing like t' important task o' takin' care o' someone who means a lot to ya t' teach ya the greatest lessons in life. Ya be lucky in that ya already 'ave t' ones who make ya life meaningful. Take care o' them, they be ya temperance and balance within ya." The troll nodded once more and flicked her tail, making the bangles around her dreads clink together. She didn't ask for his name, knowing that he would probably answer that question given time.

"Ezriel, that be a strong name and bodes well. Ah thank ya for ya welcome, ah be already learnin' about many things, even ya be one t' teach a little more." She smiled genuinely this time, more like a mothers smile than the grins she had previously echoed. Her eyes grew a little softer and she made a low bow. "It be a pleasure to meet ya Ezriel. If ya ever need someone t' talk just look out for t' troll. There be a zombie wolf who ya can leave a message, she be one t' let me know all she sees. Take care, Ezriel, protector of t' Dark One and Siblings." She reached behind her and tugged off a bangle that was on one of her lower tail dreads. "Take this t' remind ya of ya dedication." With that she melted back into the shadows of the deepening night as quietly as she had shown up, all he had left was the golden bangle with odd markings wrapped around them, similar to the ones that were tattooed onto her body and face.