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Talasi stumbled on a root for perhaps the third time in an hour. She was tired, her legs and arms were scratched from brambles, and she was horribly, thoroughly, and completely lost.

Tuwa, Talasi's rust-furred wolf, nosed her friend's blue-black hair off of her face. Talasi laughed weakly and ruffled Tuwa's ears as she picked herself up off the ground. "I need to watch where my feet are going, don't I, Tuwa? Hush, I'm all right." A deep sigh escaped her as she petted Tuwa absently. "I give up. I don't know where we are, and I have no way of knowing where he might be in any case. What do you think, little sister? Which way should we go?"

Tuwa flicked an ear as she considered her friend's words. They'd been travelling for days in search of Talasi's adoptive brother, Foalen, but his trail was hopelessly cold. All they knew was the direction he'd departed in, and could only hope he hadn't turned his path.

It was all they had to go on, so Tuwa sniffed the slight breeze that was stirring the trees and made her best guess. She yelped at Talasi once and set off at a steady trot through the trees, a few degrees off of the path Talasi had ben travelling. The wolf had scented cool water, which would be a welcome respite and might even provide some greens for her twoleg's supper.

Talasi jogged along behind her red-furred companion, wondering what her friend had scented that was so interesting. She rather hoped it wasn't just a rabbit.

The young woman's coffee-brown eyes went wide at the sight of the glade Tuwa led her to. A stream gurgled crystal clear out of a wide, sandy-floored cave into a small pool, then poured away into the trees. The shadows inside the cave were cool and inviting, and the soft sand looked like a comfortable place to sleep. No tracks marred the white sand, so it looked as though the cave had no current resident to disturb.

Talasi, suddenly aware of how sticky-hot she was, took off her deerskin dress and laid it on the bank of the small stream, setting her moccassins and belt with it's pouch and knife nearby. She plunged into the icy water of the pool, gasping from the cold.

Tuwa snuffled around in the grass while her friend swam, hunting mice more for practice than anything else. Tuwa was an accomplished huntress and had kept herself and Talasi amply fed on rabbits and even a slow bird or two on their journey.

When Talasi finished her swim, she dried her tan skin with a tuft of grass, then slipped her clothes back on.

"It's getting late, Tuwa, shall we stay the night here? I don't think we'll find a better place. Besides, it looks like it's clouding up for rain. I'd better get some firewood together while it's still dry!"

As Talasi scampered about making camp in the cave (which proved to be quite a bit deeper than it looked from outside), Tuwa began to hunt in earnest. Ranging wide around the clearing, she managed to surprise a turkey dozing in the shade of a bush. The red wolf dispatched it quickly as the first peal of thunder echoed overhead, and ran back to camp as fast as her long legs could carry her.

The companions sheltered in the cave that night, which was warm and dry despite the stormy weather outside. Talasi fell asleep leaning against the cool stone of the cave wall, with Tuwa happily sprawled half in her lap, half on the fine sand of the cave floor.

Tuwa's sensitive ears woke her to a strange sound. It was curiously like a mole digging underground, but much louder, as though the mole were as large as Tuwa, and... above her? Tuwa's amber eyes flicked to the cave ceiling, which was mostly earth and loose stones held together by tree roots. As she watched through horrified eyes, she saw that the earth had become mud, softening in the rain, and the stones were beginning to shift!

"RUN," the little wolf bayed, though her heart wept with the knowledge that her beloved twolegs couldn't understand her speech. She tugged at her friend's dress, urging her to rise, to leave, to flee! Groggy with sleep, Talasi struggled to make it out of the cave before it collapsed...

Tuwa was caught completely off-guard by the winged mare's approach. Whipping her narrow head around and bristling in surprise, the wolf was shocked to discover the sheer -size- of her visitor! Crouching low to the ground, Tuwa snarled in agitation. "I haven't lost a treasure, I lost my twofoot! She's trapped under all this mud! Twolegs can't breathe mud!"

Tuwa couldn't remember ever having met a creature quite like this one. She had the long, strong legs of an elk, but her hooves were solid and she had long hair down her neck like cornsilk. And wings! But such thoughts didn't occupy the little wolf for long. "Thanks!" she gasped, and returned to digging, flinging clods of wet earth away with her claws and sniffing frantically to guide her digging. After a moment, a whiff of familiar scent caught her twitching, damp nose. "Here! She's here!"

Digging quickly, Tuwa unearthed a limp hand.

Not too far away near the river that ran through the forest a tall native dressed in nothing save his loin cloth stood hip deep in the cool coursing water. From the shore a painted soquili watched filled with a mixture of curiosity and amusment.

She couldn't fathom for a moment why the twoleggers liked dunking themseleves so much. It wasn't so much that she disliked water. For surely water was a belssing from the great spirit, but why go so deep and then scrub your skin raw, the whole thing didn't make much sense to her way of thinking.

'Then again perhaps that is it,' the brown and white mare thought to herself. 'They don't really have much of a coat to protect them so perhaps that is why they like to keep what hide they do have very clean.'


Finishing his ministrations the young man dove down into the water causing Ayita to lose sight of him. When he surfaced he pushed soaking black hair off of his face offering his soquili friend a smile as he climbed up onto bank to dry off. He couldn't help, but wonder at what was going through the mare's mind right now for the strange expression on her long face. "Trust me dear one, It' may seem strange to dunk yourself in a river, but the spirit made my kind enjoy that sort of thing.

Laughing he raised a still dripping hand to run it over her forlock, "Sometimes we even do it for fun."

As Ayita wickered in response the shaman looked about for something to dry off with. It was nice to have Ayita and Takota around to talk to when he need to talk, but dispite their friendship he sometimes felt a little lonely. Perhaps he should move his teepee closer to the village. But no that wouldn't work either. He needed the quiet he had found in the forest to aid him in medidation. On top of that being so near the spirits also aided in being able to contact them more clearly than in the village where there was so much commotion. No he would stay where he was, even if it was a litte lonsome out here.

Talasi woke slowly and gently to the familiar scents of a Shaman's home and the welcome warmth of the wolf Tuwa curled against her back. Blinking the last of her sleep from her dark eyes, the young woman stretched luxuriously, wincing only a little as the bruises she'd recieved from the mudslide pulled, reminding her of where she actually was. They felt much better today, and she suspected they'd be nearly unnoticeable by tomorrow.

Now that she was better rested and more alert, the girl examined her surroundings in more detail without rising from her soft nest of furs. She noted a few beautifully made pots- certainly not of Foalen's manufacture, she thought with a giggle. They were probably gifts from grateful tribespeople.

Scritching the silky-soft fur between Tuwa's pointed ears, Talasi contemplated where Foalen could be. She could hear the Soquili Ayita outside, shifting her weight comfortably every now and again. Takota was napping on Foalen's bedroll. Perhaps he'd gone to that berry bush he'd mentioned...

Rising fluidly to her feet, Talasi nudged Tuwa awake and off the furs, which she neatly bundled and put back more or less where they'd been the night before (she'd been so sleepy she couldn't quite remember where they belonged) and poked her head out of the front of the teepee to have a look around.

Briar stood in the center of what had been a clamoring crowd minutes before, and heaved a deep, angry sigh. He was glad to have the water, and now he really just wanted somewhere safe to sleep, but everyone had vanished.

As near as the dizzy colt could figure, one of the twolegs had seen something it didn't like and had begun yelling and pointing. The rest of the twolegs had begun shouting something and waving their arms about and had run off with the other Soquili behind them, and he really had no idea why and was too tired to find out. He was even too exhausted to be scared of all the noise and newness, too weary even to think. Hopefully the dark-furred mare with the wings hadn't gone far. She seemed sweet, and rather reminded him of his mother.

At the thought of his missing mother, great tears began to slide from Briar's violet eyes, running down his chestnut nose to mingle with the remnants of his bowl of water. Finally and utterly spent, the little foal just curled up on the ground where he'd been standing and cried himself to sleep.

((OOC: I have no clue what the twolegs saw that would be so attention grabbing, I just wanted an excuse to continue the story without the huge crowd around))

Looking up from her grazing Ayita wuffled a greeting at Talasi, her brown and white ears swivling to chatch the sound of the young woman's movements as she quietly chewed the grass she had just cropped off.

The mare stiffened and stopped chewing suddenly to look over her shoulder at a new sound coming toward the teepee. She relaxed almost imeadiatly however and a few moments later Foalen became visable through the trees.

Foalen had a basket full of berries under one arm as he walked quickly along the trail back to his teepee returning just in time to see Talasi peeking out of the door flap. Grinning he lifted a hand in greeting "Good morning. I hope you slept well and are feeling up to a good meal. I've managed to find quite a lot of berries. Though I am sure Takota will be willing to help us with some of them. He adore's berries."

Talasi grinned broadly at her brother. "Sounds like Tuwa with fresh-caught fish, doesn't it? Fresh berries sound delicious. If it's all right by you, I'd like to stay out here a minute, though, and enjoy the sunshine a little. It's been cloudy the last few days. And I haven't said good morning to Ayita yet."

Ayita wickered a greeting to Foalen before turning back to Talasi. Stepping over to the young woman the mare nuzzled her and gently mouthed a small lock of Talasi's hair.

The shaman nodded in an easy going manner waving over toward a large log that had fallen a small distance from the teepee that would work well as a place to sit. "I'd love to eat outside today. Life is better when we take time to enjoy the gifts we are given weather simple or great. There's an old tree over there we can use to sit on if you like."

Talasi's grin widened at Ayita's actions, and she reached up to stroke the beautiful mare's cheek and neck. "Hello, darling.That would be wonderful. Then Ayita can have a treat too," the young woman added as she scritched Ayita behind the ears. Talasi turned back to her brother, her eyes sparkling. "It's such a beautiful day, it would be a shame to miss a moment!"

Ayita wuffled a respond leaning into young womanl's soft touch. She especially liked the scratches. Talasi had tallented hands.

"Then we will do our best not to miss a second." Foalen replied in full agreement as he turned toward the fallen log he had mentioned earlier. Sitting down he rested the basket on the rugged grey brown surface of the tree lifting back the cover to reveal dark red berries looking plump and juicy.
Selecting a nice large clump he offered his prize to Talasi. "What do you think about going over to the village after we eat. I could show you around and maybe tell you a little more about the place."

"Oh, wow! Those look wonderful! I guess all that rain was good for the berry bushes."

Talasi sat beside Foalen companionably and munched on the berries, trying not to let too much of the juice run down her chin! Every now and again she'd toss a berry to Tuwa, Takota, or hold one in her palm for Ayita to eat.

Ayita greatfully accepted the offering gently mouthing the berry with her lips so she wouldn't accidentily n** Talasi.

Takota yipped brightly doing tricks for his human friends in return for their treats.

Foalen managed to keep most of the berry juice off of his clothing as he ate his share of the berries glad to simply sit at enjoy his sister's company as well as the wether while she fed and played with their four footed friends. "Mmm they taste as good as they look."

Patting his stomach a gently the shaman sighed happily. "The water might be miserable to travle through but you have it right, the weather's been perfect for the plants in the area."

Pushing himself up off the log he knelt down to rub his hands off on some near by leaves. "Don't worry too much about the juice. The leaves will take away some of the stickyness. And the stream is on our way to the village. We can stop by to rinse off the rest on our way to the village."

Talasi smiled and nodded, happily scrubbing her hands clean-ish on the leaves. Then Tuwa came up nuzzling for a last treat, wanting to lick the last of the sweet from Talasi's hands. Surprised by the sharp, clean, and very much green taste of the bruised leaves, Tuwa pulled a face and smacked, trying to clear the horrible taste from her mouth!

Laughing at her hapless lupine friend's antics, Talasi scruffled the canine behind her rust-furred ears and looked up at her brother. "That sounds great. I can't wait to see the village! Is it a big one?"

Foalen smiled at Tuwa's reaction to the taste of the leaves and nodded in response to Talasi's quiestion, "Actually the village is fairly large. It didn't start out that way. It was much smaller when I first came here. But almost as if they were being called by the soquili many of those who have made the village their hom arrived shortly before or after the arrival of new soquili." Looking off into the forest for a moment he nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps they were called at that."

((Ohh forshadowing, yay.)) xd

Sensing that her friends were getting ready to go Ayita turned so she was facing the path and then she stopped to look back at the siblings lowring her shoulder in a clear invitation as she wickkered at Talasi and Foalen.

Talasi looked shocked at Ayita's gesture. "She can't mean... But... Um..." She gave her brother a pleading look, as words seemed to have deserted her. Tuwa sat on Talasi's feet and looked from Ayita to Talasi to Foalen blankly. Finally, the bewildered wolf shrugged helplessly and said to Ayita, "I'm sorry, have no idea why she's acting like this. I guess she thinks you're too special to ride?"

The painted mare looked down at the wolf her expression throughtful as she nodded in agreement. "Hmm, yes I can see that. Foalen reacted much the same way until he came to realize that I wanted the contact. I can not speak for others of my kind, but I enjoy being with and carrying Foalen and his friends. I'll just have to impress upon her that it is my choice."

Stepping toward Talasi Ayita lowered her long neck enough to give the young woman a quick nuzzle before turing back to stand where she had started.

Foalen made a soothing gesture with his hands. "It's ok you know. The soquili are as diffrent in personality as we are. Some actually enjoy being ridden as I have found Ayita does. I would never presume to ride a soquili without being invited to do so. But when such an offer is made would it not be rude to refuse such a gift?"

Talasi just nodded sheepishly and stroked Ayita's shoulder by way of apology. "I'm sorry, Ayita. I didn't mean any insult. Thank you." Taking a step back, lips pursed slightly, Talasi tried to remember how she was meant to get on... She put a hand on Ayita's neck just in front of her withers, braced her other hand against Ayita's rump, and with a slightly awkward hop managed to land in close to the correct position. "Er, like this?" She asked, looking at Foalen.

Wambli stretched, her wings spread wide. With a shake and a little whinny for good measure she settled her feathers back into place as she folded her wings back against her withers. After the excitement of first finding the shaman's old friend and then having a lost foal wander into the village the mare had decided to spend the night in Anpo's tent, something she hadn't done in quite a while. It had been good to spend time with her human friend again and she vowed to spend more time with her in the future.

"I think I will go find Ayita and make sure they made it back ok," Wambli said to herself as she rambled down the path to the main village. She had left the group once the newcomer had gotten on her paint friend's back, knowing that Foalen would take over from there and make sure the woman would get back ok.

A little snore caught her attention and Wambli stopped, her soft ears swiveling around to catch the sound. Who would be snoring out here on the village's edge? The sound came again and she cautiously stepped forward, looking for the sound's maker. To her immense surprise she found a curled up, dusty bundle of brown fur asleep on the verge of the pathway. It was the foal from the night before!

The mothering instincts that were newly wakening in the wind mare came surging forward. Though her foals were still far from being born she couldn't help but feel a softness towards this lonely baby. A soft whicker came low in her throat, a comforting sound meant to both wake and reassure the youngling that he was not alone where he slept.

The young foal's violet eyes flickered sleepily open at Wambli's gentle sound. Confused for a moment, Briar looked quickly around until he saw Wambli's gentle face. Smiling happily and wagging his poof of a tail, the foal struggled to his feet, favoring his wounded leg. "Hi, pretty lady! I hoped you'd come back!"

Still wagging his short tail, the colt pranced up to Wambli, careful of his injury. "I'm better, but it still hurts. I'm Briar!" he announced proudly. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he looked around uncertainly. "Um... where are we, anyway? I don't know where this is."

Kawani village? The little colt sounded out the name quietly to himself. He had never heard of such a place. But at the mention of treats, Briar's ears perked. "I like treats!" he nodded thoughtfully. His leg was so sore, though, that he didn't really have too much appetite. It was really distracting! But this sha-mun guy sounded like he could fix it.

Briar was hopping along reasonably well on his three good legs, careful to keep his hurt foot high enough off the ground to avoid banging it on rocks. He happily followed Wambli down to the meadow; she seemed terribly sweet and kind. The mare's gentle banter kept Briar distracted from how much she reminded him of his own mother, though a sad, worried look did creep across his face at random moments.