Hakuron was wandering through one of the forests that bordered a herd that he had heard was all unicorns. He was intrigued by this as the clan also had a set of unicorns, they were a smaller group but Haku had always liked them.
He wandered through the woods in search of the unknown location of the Herd. He was hoping to be able to get to know them and maybe make some trade arrangements between the two. He was sure there were a lot of things they could work with each other on.
Andromeidis had been doing his usual patrol around the outter boundaries of the Herd lands. He had been warned of Shifters in the area and he refused to let them get close to the herd. He would defend it with his life if necessary. He knew Helio would be mad at him for that thought, but she also knew him and knew how serious he was as a warrior. He had opened himself to her and had grown to love and adore his mate. Helio was his clumsy princess and he simply adored her. He was a different stallion around her, but right now, he was all of the warrior.
He heard a rustling coming from the bushes up ahead. He perked his ears and readied himself for a battle. What he saw come through the bushes was a stallion with a fluffy tail and wings. Could this be the shifter he was warned about?! How dare this shifter come near their lands and attempt to prey upon their herd members! He bristled at the audacity of this newcomer.
"HALT! What is the meaning of this?!" He angrily grumbled to the newcomer. He awaited his answer poised to spring into action should it be required of him.
Hakuron jumped in shock at the sound of the angry voice ahead of him. When he finally looked up and noticed the pure white stallion he realized he was a unicorn. Oh this must be a member of the Unicorn herd he had heard about. This was awesome. He immediately got excited!
"Oh! Hi! I um, I am here to visit the Unicorn herd. I had heard that you all resided around here and wanted to meet you all and maybe see about a few other things!!" Haku said in his typical happy lilt. He tended to be serious until he got excited. Once he was excited it was like a child in a candy store. Everything was magical.
Andromeidis watched the newcomer and saw him jump. He was a bit surprised as the newcomer seemed to get.... excited? Could that be? It threw him off for just a couple seconds as he regained his bearings and braced himself yet again. This Shifter was not going to get onto their herd lands. And now, He was almost certain that this newcomer was a shifter since he had even mentioned looking for them.
"We are not interested in meeting with Shifters!! Go find another place to ransack!!" He growled the words out. He was angry and defensive and even if this stallion might be slightly bigger he would be damned if he let him get the better of him.
Hakuron stopped at the mention of shifter. Wait.... Shifter? He wasn't a shifter. His tail swished back and forth as he thought about the words of the unicorn in front of him. Why did this unicorn think he was a shifter? He couldn't put his finger on why he would be perceived as a shifter. he couldn't shift and he wasn't even sure he had ever met a shifter before.
"I'm sorry? ummm I think you are mistaken?" His voice was now completely confused and he was sliding a bit more into his serious side as he noticed that the one in front of him was poised to attack. "My name is Hakuron and I am not this Shifter.... that you mentioned? I am only.... myself? Well I mean....." He started to ramble. "I am a dragon and a phoenix hybrid.... But I can't shift or anything else? I am just.... Myself?" He kept getting quieter as he rambled.
Andromeidis was completely and totally put off. He tilted his head with his amount of confusion and dropped his guard. He figured he could easily take this stallion if he needed to, but he was so confused now.
"You have the tail.... and the wings and the fluff and......." he trailed off. He only remembered the fluffy shifters of the past. Could he have mistaken another for a shifter? His name was Hakuron. Ok, well he did have manners. He could at the very least introduce himself. "I am Andromeidis of the Kateri Herd... I am one of the guards." He wouldnt give his full position to Hakuron until he was sure he could be trusted.
Unbeknownst to both of them a completely different stallion fell into the area they were at. This was a bunny stallion and was caught completely off guard as his foot was tangled in the roots of the trees and he had completely fallen over and didnt even realize they were there.
Both Hakuron and Andromeidis jumped and went defensive.
Hakuron did not know what to do. Was this the Shifter that Andro was so on edge about? If so then he would help defend his new companion and his herd lands. Haku stood beside Andro in a defensive position while the bunny stallion writhed on the ground.
"Who are you shifter and what do you want?!" Haku said in his mean scary dragon voice. Or how he hoped it came across currently.
Andromeidis stayed silent since Haku had already talked to the bunny stallion. He waited to see what the bunny would do. He was poised to attack and his tail lashed behind him making the chains clink together adding more of a menacing aura to the encounter.
The Bunny Stallion was confused and stunned. Here he was trapped in the roots of a tree with two others trying to attack him for what? Being a shifter? why would he be a shifter? Just because he was a bunny didn't mean anything. "Oh Calm Down!!" He snapped out. "Can't you see that I am trapped here?! It's not like I intended to ruin your little love fest!!" He had no idea they were they before but now, he was offended, and still trapped. He kept trying to free his foot. "I am not a shifter! How dare you accuse me of such when I am just a bunny!! What do you look at all the little woodland animals and go "OH SHIFTER!!! ATTACK!!" or is it just bunnies?!" He demanded of the two as he threw his head back to look at them. Here he was laying on the ground, foot trapped and maybe he was stupid for confronting the other two with anger, but damn it his day had just been the absolute WORST!
Andro and Haku both looked at the fuming bunny thrashing on the ground and then glanced to each other then back to the bunny as they digested the situation.
"So youre not a shifter?" Haku cautiously said as he took a step or two cautiously towards the bunny.
Bunny Sighed once more. "Of Course I'm not!! IF I WAS DO YOU THINK I WOULD STILL BE TRAPPED HERE BY THESE DAMN ROOTS?!" He yelled at the stupid winged idiot.
Haku supposed that was true. He had no further reason to believe the bunny was a shifter so instead he went over to assesss the situation of the trapped hoof. "Well then... I guess let's see if we can get you out of here."
Andro was still unsure but his logical brain said that the bunny was right. If he was indeed a shifter why would he be thrashing around on the ground like this? Why not just shift, get free of the roots and then shift back. He nodded when Haku said he would see if he could help get the bunny untangeled. He supposed he could assist too. He sighed to himself as he begrudgingly went over to check on the bunny. He remained silent though.
Haku found the cause of the problem, it was a vine mixed with the roots that had tangled around the Bunny's hoof. With a swipe of his claw he had the vine severed and hopefully released the bunny. "Here we go. Hopefully this helps?"
Andro helped the Bunny to his feet once free. He studied both of the two newcomers with hard eyes for a while. "Well since it seems this one...." He gestured to the bunny. "Needs some medical attention.... I might as well take you to our healer. He sighed. This was not in his plans for today.
Haku helped stableize the bunny stallion and nodded at Andro. "Probably for the best. Lead the way." He would follow and support the bunny stallion as best as he could.
Andro Sighed again and made for home. He hoped he wasn't making a mistake, but it seemed like all was fine. He would see how this all played out. There was a part of him that would remain on edge until he was absolutely sure they meant no harm to his family and friends.