The kawani had been briefly brought to a halt by a an unrelenting snow storm and as quick as it had blanketed the land in ice and snow, had it thawed out in to the awakening spring. The approach of spring brought its own set of challenges, especially as the gates of the Settlement started to flood with unfamiliar faces, all eager to either flash their wares or buy from merchants and the stalls they manned which also meant because of all the valuables on display, there were also scammers and thieves to keep a watchful eye out for.
Neria was stood by the stable doors observing the crowd as they went about their business, her eyes skimmed across each individual as they passed by, trying to determine an aspect of their features which she could later use to remember them by if necessary. After some time the whole ordeal began to feel exhausting and Neria realized she needed a break before she could continue. She exhaled deeply and shook her head to try and free some space in her thoughts that had been inherited by details of all these new bodies about the grounds. She looked around, this time taking in the unsightly vision of Awan and his death cart.
The cart he pulled had been dubbed the death cart because of the contents it carried. He would frequent their place of business to offer furs and any other parts that might be used by settlement goers that belonged to the unfortunate victims of death, regardless of how they came to perish, he was still benefiting from their demise. Could she really judge him for doing so when they just recently sent out parties to slay animals for the very same reason he was here selling their bodies? At least, as far as she was aware, he wasn't responsible for their deaths as they had been. Neria's eyes lowered to the floor as she contemplated this though, she had the greater good of the people to think about, she supposed they weren't any better and sometimes, the unkind thing was for the betterment of their camps future and their survival.
Still, she knew his presence didn't sit well with all their members and when she returned her eyes to him and his surroundings, she could see the expressions of detest and disgust painted across the faces of those beside him. That could however have been entirely down to the smell the cart was emitting and once the odor hit her nostrils she was compelled to gip and was forced to heavily resist the urge to puke.
"Awan!" She called out to grab his attention as she trotted over to him, having to weave in and out of a few gathered groups of soquili and humans to get there. "While I appreciate you're here to do business and provide a service... Your cart is causing some discomfort." The closer she was to that putrid smell the harder it was to compose herself. She gagged, turning her head to the side, her eyes watering. "Please-" She paused, holding the forming swell in her throat from rising any further. "Take your wares outside the gates, I will inform the guard to have someone posted nearby to protect its contents but I cannot allow it to sit here any longer."
Especially as the warmer it got, the worse the smell became.
"Ah, Ner, there you're." Awan turned his head to eye her. "What an honour it is to be graced with the presence of the almighty Ner of the Settlement." He muttered sarcastically, an amused twist at the end of each of his lips as he showed his clear amusement and enjoyment about the fact his presence was troubling to her.
"Please, call me Neria." She insisted bluntly, looking at him sharply, a frown setting on her maw as she clenched her teeth at his words. Ner was a nickname reserved for friends and family only, not to be used by someone who took pleasure in her annoyance. She snorted and nudged her head. "If you do not adhere to my request, I shall have to ask you to leave." She stated. "So, if you will."
Awan laughed and rolled his shoulders. "Hold your horseshoes." He began to turn. "I'm going, I'm going." He grumbled and started to make his way to the gates, a clear line being formed as others scrambled to get away from the hearse. She followed, trailing a short ways behind him until they were outside the main gate.
"Monzu." Neria whispered as she got closer to him. Monzuek raised his brows at the whisper, slowly turning his gaze to the mare making her way over to him. He looked over at Awan as he passed, wriggling his nose at the smell and then back at her. "Hmm?" He responded, awaiting the inevitable instruction that were to follow her presence.
"As you may have already deduced, were going to need someone to guard this merchants cart and it's contents while he conducts business inside the settlement." She gave an awkward smile at the guard. Oh no, nuh uh! Monzu thought as the picture of horror etched across his features. He looked over at the object in question with wide eyes as the idea of standing with that smell for hours sank in. He shook his head and looked back at her though as her form fell in to view once more his sense of duty washed over to him and he let out a sound of defeat. "As you wish." He sighed and then moved over to one of the other guards to explain the change in the watch schedule, once they had conferred with each other, Neria was happy the issue was being dealt with and mouthed a silent thank you in appreciation to which Monzu reflected this with what could only have been interpreted as a glance of irritation.
She couldn't help but chuckle as she turned to enter the settlement once more, her tail swaying gently behind her. Just past the frame of the main gates Neria stopped in her tracks and looked down at the figure of a small human child sat by herself, stroking the hair on a whittled wooden doll. Neria looked around the immediate vicinity but could not see anyone who seemed to be looking for the child or was paying any particular amount of attention to her. Smiling warmly, she wondered if the girl was lost. She slowly walked over to her, lowering her head she was about to nose her when the girl looked up quickly.
Upon seeing Neria her features lit up and she dropped the doll. throwing her arms up. "Pony!!" She gigged enthusiastically to which Neria's headwings flared out, startled by the reaction. The little girl slapped her hands either side of Neria's cheeks and she put her face against her to hug the alicorn. While she was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming attitude of the child, she didn't mind the affection at all and returned her gesture with a loving nuzzle. If she was lost however she couldn't just leave her to her own devices and would have to keep her entertained until someone noticed she was either missing or came to claim her.
The girl seemed to be extremely sensory orientated as she touched her horn and mane, then played with the feathers of her headwings and then moved on to her wings like a whirlwind. Human children were so fast! She almost made Neria feel dizzy in her hasty reflexes. She craned her neck as the small creature lifted the larger wings at her side, putting them above her head. She lowered it to cover her face and then lifted them up again to shout "Boo!" Giggling again when she did. Neria couldn't contain her need to laugh at the actions of her new found friend. After she was bored with her wing she then moved on to her tail to swing it around before running back over to her front, straining to reach for Neria's mane. To allow her to reach the strands much more easily she lowered her body to the ground and laid there so she could comb her hair. The feeling was nice and while Dylan would groom her daily to keep her clean and well presented, she felt a different kind of love and appreciated from the small child as she played unconventionally with the multi-coloured strands.
She climbed on to her back and pretended to ride her, whipping the back locks of hair like she had probably seen other members do with reins and then, unpredictably, she leaned forward and hugged Neria's neck tight. Neria smiled as she looked to the side to take in the sight of the girl as she hugged her.
Eventually the mother of the human girl found her, she reached out to pat Neria on the neck and then picked up her daughter. "Mama! Pony, pony!" The little girl babbled to which the mother replied "You like the pretty pony? What a nice pony." She then walked away from her, the little girl waving as they left.
Neria waved a wing in goodbye and even though she would probably see them around the grounds from time to time, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as she watched them leave.
There wasn't much time to linger on sorrow for in the next instance someone shouted "Thief!!" Neria snapped her orbs quickly to the sound, pushing against the ground to clamber back on to her hooves in order to act as quickly as possible to pursue the criminal. The thief was a human, they pushed their way through the crowd and then jumped on the back of their stead which trampled a few poor unsuspecting victims and then knocked their way through the rest of the soquili in the grounds before bolting out of the exit.
She set off after them, "Guards!" She shouted as she bolted past them, a small following accumulating in her stride. They followed them as long as they could as the one fleeing made twists and turns in the forest to try throw them off their tail and when they finally managed to shake them off, Neria stood looking in all directions trying to spy any broken branches, or hoof prints in the dirt.
She took to the wing to try and get an aerial advantage while the others below continued to search on hoof but no luck. As the day turned to evening and then started to take on the colours of blue, purple and black she concluded that they must have found a place to hide. She frowned as she returned to the search party and together they agreed to go back to the settlement to speak to the witnesses and post the job on the board to recruit more able members to aid them on their quest to retrieve the stolen goods.
Word Count: 1,838