[PRP] The Chase | Longstride, Waterspark, Mourning Fog

[phoenix kiss]

It had been close to three days of traveling before she began to see the fringes of the swamp on the horizon. At first appearance it had looked like a shadow, perhaps a line of low clouds massing in the sky; as the days and miles wore on underneath her fleet feet, the shadows grew sharper and more distinct. Tall trees began to thrust up from the ground, and large rocks and boulders lay scattered among them. Even the ground felt different: less hard-baked, more springy. Eventually she felt the weird, nearly overwhelming desire to slow down, to watch, to see; it was an odd feeling for someone as used to speed as she was, and it meant her muscles twitched oddly as she walked -- but eventually the kiokote stood on the top of a large rock, surveying her surroundings and already beginning to feel the humidity rise from the Swamp.

The Swamp. She'd found it! She laughed to herself, a high tinkling sound, and wheeled around in a circle. All she had to do now was find some evidence, something to bring back...

And she found it, off to one side; a tan-colored kimeti (it had to be a kimeti, it was shaped like one, and its eyes glowed blue) who stood with his tail lashing around his heaving flanks. From the looks of him, he'd arrived just as she had, and when their eyes caught, he grinned...

And took off like a bolt of lightning, running with long athletic strides along the fringe of the swamp.

"Wait!" Her voice was shrill -- she shook her head, disgusted, and then leapt from the rock to follow the kimeti. She'd catch up to him, of that she had little doubt.



Longstride had just arrived at the fringes of the Swamp.

He'd heard it mentioned with greater and greater frequency among the kimeti he came across; even Cold-blood had mentioned it, and the harshness of the landscape called to him. It taunted him, somehow, daring him to make his way out to the very end of the Swamp where the moisture and the shadows stopped. It was the sort of place where kimeti had to push themselves to go, and thus was exactly the sort of place Longstride liked.

And he'd found somebody out there looking back at him-- watching him from its perch on top of a huge rock. It was shaped vaguely like him, but smaller, more delicate, with longer legs. The surprise on its face was tangible; had it not expected kimeti in the swamp? Probably not, given his own surprise at finding anything out there -- and the surprise was what made Longstride decide to run, to stretch out his legs and see if the fleet-footed newcomer would follow.

When she yelled after him, crying out for him to wait in her accented bell-peal of a voice, he knew he'd done well.  

[danse-hexe]

Waterspark was bored. Her feet dragged in the mud as she walked, looking here and there for any sign of something interesting. Around her the swamp was a low, peaceful hum, but she did not want peace. She wanted adventure. Yet today had been such a slow, drowsy day.

At least, it had been until she spotted a streak of brown- her eyes made out the shape of a buck, followed by a streak of purple-blue chasing after it, though somehow, the shape of this streak was different. Perhaps it was a monster, from the stories that had been going around recently, and this thought appealed to her curiosity. Was this new creature a predator, closing in for the kill? She worried for the buck.

Waterspark's hero complex kicked in, and she ran towards the monster, noting, as she went closer, the bright red of its hooves. Her imagination ran as wild as she did, and it was not hard to convince herself that those hooves were dyed blood-red from their previous kills.

Who better to stop this monstrosity than she, Waterspark? And so, as she approached, she cried: "Stop right there, fiend!"

And pounced.  

[phoenix kiss]

Two things happen in rapid succession -- the red-hooved kiokote shrieks and leaps into the air, far higher and faster than she ought to have had, as if there are springs in her feet. She very nearly clips Waterspark as she leaps over her, instead landing in a puff of dust and tangled feet. As soon as she gets her wits about her she turns around, eyes alight.

For a moment she catches her breath, wondering what in the world the doe had been carrying on about -- and then the word fiend filters through. She's not used to kimeti accents; the thought makes her frown in consternation, and she opens her mouth to explain herself before something interrupts her chase again.

It's the big blonde buck. Who is laughing fit to burst. More like giggling, really -- delighted, tickled laughter as he watches the two. He makes his way back to Waterspark and the other, smaller figure, and then tosses his head.

"It's alright," Longstride says, "I don't think she's a fiend. She wasn't trying to catch me -- I thought it'd be fun." So he started it, of course; the sideways sort of smile he wears hints as much. "We found one another at the same time. I think this is one of our... cousins ... that so many others have talked about."

The kiokote, still looking a bit wary of Waterspark, nods and sketches a relieved sort of bow. "I didn't mean to cause trouble." Her voice is sweet, like a silver bell, and carries an odd accent. "I came here to try and find the kimeti, actually. I seem to have succeeded even beyond my hopes. My name is Windjammer. My people come from the plains, but lately we have felt the urge to find you." She pauses, digging a ruby hoof into the dirt. "The kimeti."  

[danse-hexe]

Now that the chase had stopped, she had time to catch her breath and a better look at the 'fiend'... who was, um, not quite a fiend, after all. Waterspark rarely hesistated, but it did seem as if she was in the wrong this time. In any case, if she had felt any embarrassment creep up on her, at all, it was gone in a flash. Waterspark forgot her mistakes easily. Besides, this new discovery intrigued her; if Windjammer were not a threat, at least she was something the doe had never seen before. And that was always a promise for adventure.

Her eyes moved back and forth between the giggling buck and the stranger, listening as they spoke in turn. She particularly enjoyed the stranger's lilting, bell-chime voice, although her accent was difficult to make sense of. A cousin, then? That had been one of the variations to the tales, but they had not sounded as gloriously exciting as those about monsters from the plain. Well, now that she had a closer look, she could see the resemblance between the.. what were they known as? and herself.

She began with an apology (for politeness) and an introduction: "My name is Waterspark, although you could call me Lightning for short, if you wanted to. I.. um, I'm sorry for going after you like that.. and calling you a fiend. I thought he-" here she indicated the buck with a flick of her tail- "was in danger."

"If you don't mind me asking, Windjammer, what is the name of your people? And why do you seek us?"  

[phoenix kiss]

Windjammer nods politely enough, having expected these questions from the kimeti. She stands with her ears pricked forward, drawing abstract little designs in the dust with one hoof; it seems as though she can't stop fidgeting, or at least moving, even if she tries. She's not twitchy, just .. in a constant state of motion. A tail-lash, an ear-flick, a shift or stomp of hoof.

"My people are the kiokote. For some time now we have felt a pull towards the Swamp. To see if you were still here," she says; the way in which she speaks is somewhat formal, but her words are sweet and polite, at the least. It's new and strange enough that even Longstride, known the swamp over as a careless, womanizing instigator, finds himself drawn to Windjammer's words. "We have not seen any others beside ourselves on the plains in longer than I've been alive. Some of us set out to try and find the kimeti. You are -- our cousins. We are all related. We split up some time ago, though I don't remember exactly why."

Longstride, now silent out of sheer curiosity and interest, sidles up alongside Waterspark to study the tall, slender kiokote. Her legs are longer, her flanks more athletic, and her mane and tail shorter; how she abides the biting flies is unknown to him. Blinking, he gestures with his chin towards the Swamp. "We can't leave the swamp. It hurts."

"I understand," the kiokote replies, "It is called the Ache -- at least what we call it. But we are trying to find out why it comes sometimes and not others." She pauses, looking from Waterspark to Longstride with eyes that glint ruby (but do not glow) and feeling somewhat intimidated by the pair of them. "Are there any more of your people who are near? Any who would be interested in speaking to me?"  

[danse-hexe]

Kiokote. A word that's as catchy as 'kimeti', perhaps, but with a completely different feeling to it. She envisions wide plains of.. of grass, and these kiokote. No, she cannot quite imagine more kiokote; one is strange enough. But she feels as if she would want to go with Windjammer to see these plains.. and that thought immediately brings a sharp pain, as though something is wrenching at her heart, trying to tear it away. Strange that one as adventurous as she was had not even considered leaving the swamp before.

But Waterspark had never paid much attention to the old stories, the old warnings, and now she felt a little sorry that she did not know more. Perhaps Longstride did, and she briefly considered asking him to explain more; but then she recalls how he had been giggling at her mistake. If there was something Waterspark hated, it was being laughed at. And yet she could not help wondering if it was completely impossible to follow Windjammer.

"You say this Ache comes at times and not others. How do you know this? Did you feel it, too, when you came to the swamp, or is it only the Kimeti who are bound to their homeland?"

For after all, Windjammer had made it all the way here, and seemed unaffected by any 'ache'.

"Because.." she pauses, here, to glance at Longstride, "Because I would like to go with you. To see your plains."  

[phoenix kiss]

Windjammer looks at Waterspark with her head tilted, wondering if it would really be this easy to bring back a real, live kimeti to the plains, to show everyone they still did exist -- and then looks a little taken aback when Waterspark actually asks to go. Finally, she backs up a step, dances in place, and stomps a hoof into the ground.

"You have never felt the tug of the Swamp? A feeling as though you could never leave?" She has never felt this, only heard about it. Now that she thinks of it, there's been nothing like that on her journey here. "As far as I know, I have never felt anything like that. It may be only for the kimeti and your Swamp." The thought of the Swamp, all of that confined space, the sucking mud and dank shadows -- it makes Windjammer shudder, though she's too polite to say it.

Longstride grunts. "I don't know how many of the kimeti know about this." He glances to Waterspark, for once completely serious (a rare thing for him). "Do you think we should tell the others?" His own legs itch to stretch out, but the idea of running over miles and miles of dry, hard-pack plain has begun to give him the creeping terrors. He backs up a few steps so at least his back hooves are in a puddle of mud. "With as many kimeti as there are, can you imagine? More of us need to know. This could change everything."

Windjammer dances in place, restless to stretch her legs out, to go running with great leaping bounds over her beloved plain and deliver the news. "Go, and tell them! Tell them to look for my people."  

[danse-hexe]

"Perhaps it is only us who are bound to the Swamp; or perhaps your people overcame the ache long ago, when you left it, and you do not feel it anymore." But it is a strange concept to her still, anyway. If kimeti were tied to the the swamp, why were the kiokote not tied to their plains? It struck her as rather unfair.

Longstride's words moved her, but she was still unwilling to let this chance go. To see the plains! The thought appealed to her. How many Kimeti had done so before? None. The adventurer in her wanted to be the first. Waterspark's tail swishes slowly as she ponders; for all she is quick on her feet, she is not a quick thinker.

Change. Change in the swamp seemed like a dream come true. The swamp would be abuzz with whisperings and stories. Questions would be asked. Some would be answered. For after all, Windjammer had mentioned that her people were coming to the swamp, to seek the kimeti. What did they know, that the kimeti did not? What would the two races learn from each other? Waterspark was not exactly sure what to make of all this information.

With a sigh she turned to face the buck. "Where will you go? To Ghost-Thistle's Mound? It seems like the fastest way to spread the news."  

[phoenix kiss]

Windjammer can't help but be mostly satisfied with the way this was going, despite the changes to her plan. Though she'd wanted to bring a kimeti back with her across the plain to show her father and her family, that was never going to work. At least not right away -- the kimeti were still victims of the Ache, and Windjammer had no idea what she'd do if the buck and doe dropped dead in the middle of the journey. The vivid picture that painted in her mind made her twitch and hop in place, trying to shake the thoughts out of her brain.

It was obviously time to go. She'd have to plan further. The kiokote wheels around, looking to each kimeti in turn, and then prances in place. "I cannot stay long, but I hope you will tell your people about the kiokote.We all wish to see our kimeti cousins. More of us will be coming across the plains to visit your Swamp. Perhaps we will meet again!" She smiles, and then tips her head in a bow before wheeling around and beginning to walk away, returning the way she came.

"Do not forget! I will return, and seek you two out again!" And with that -- all of a sudden -- the kiokote stretches out her legs and is gone in a flash, faster than any kimeti could hope to be and fast enough to even impress Longstride. In just a few moments she's a rapidly diminishing speck of violet on the horizon.

Longstride snorts to himself, ears perked up, watching Windjammer's form recede, and then glances to Waterspark. Really, he hadn't thought that far; calling a huge gathering of kimeti isn't his style. He tends to do things more casually than all of that. His tail waves behind him, idly moving from side to side. "I don't know if that's the right way to do things... though I guess it would be the easiest. I want to find out if anyone else has seen a kiokote," he almost stumbles over the strange word, "Or whether we're the first. She said her 'people' were coming... what do you think? That implies that there are more."  

[danse-hexe]

She would have wanted to say goodbye, at least- but the kiokote has promised that they will meet again, and Waterspark will hold her to that promise. She is also just slightly jealous of how fast Windjammer runs- like the wind! The doe chuckles a little at her own joke, then turns back to Longstride.

"I don't know, either," Waterspark confesses. "She mentioned that there was a group sent out to seek the kimeti, though they got split up somewhere along the way. Isn't it possible that some of those kiokote might have found other kimeti?" She finds herself falling back into habit- walking in circles around Longstride as she thinks. Of course there were more of them! As many kiokote as kimeti, if not more. She cannot visualize it, but the thought brings shudders down her spine, anyway. Windjammer had not seemed the least bit provocative, but what if the other kiokote were different? And there would be so many of them (possibly) coming into the swamp. Their swamp.

The thought scares her, and she shares it with Longstride.

"What should we do?"  

[phoenix kiss]

His feet itch to follow the kiokote, to see just how far he can go before he can't go any farther, but he knows, knows that he won't make it. There is something tying him to the Swamp. He hasn't felt it yet, beyond a vague sense of terror, but he knows it's there. It both infuriates and teases him.

Longstride eventually gives up trying to maintain eye contact with Waterspark and stands in one spot, gazing off to the horizon, where Windjammer went. "Do you really think they'd come in a huge group? If we've only seen one, but she says her friends have come... maybe they got split up. Maybe there aren't that many." He pauses with a grunt, feeling something flit around in his brain, the beginnings of some thought. Finally, though, it comes -- he picks his head up, blue eyes bright.

"We should find an elder. One of the old ones, and ask them. I know they exist. I've heard a few kimeti mention them." At this, he wheels around, intent on leaving the edge of the plains and making his way back into the swamp. "Besides, I think -- Windjammer would want that. To ask the elders. Right?"  

[danse-hexe]

She stops to stare at him. "Of course there are lots of them! I mean, they are our cousins- she said as much. From what I'm understanding, at least, the kiokote have been around since the kimeti have. I just.. well, I just don't know if they're all coming at the same time."

Flicking her tail as though she were chasing flies away, the doe tries to calm down. In her head she is already imagining wars like the ones in the Black Dog Cycle; it both terrifies and fascinates her.

Impatiently, Waterspark stamps a hoof in the mud; she wants to know, already, what all this about the kiokote is. This is as much adventure as she's ever had since she could remember, and she feels slightly lucky for having encountered Longstride. If she were to stick around with him longer, she thinks, more interesting things might pop up.

"Perhaps you are right," she concedes. "The elders would know more. Maybe they have foreseen ths coming of the kiokote- or even seen one for themselves. So- which direction do we go in? Lead the way!"  

[phoenix kiss]

"I have ... no idea." Longstride actually looks a little mollified at this; this is where his plan ran out of juice. Finding one of the elder kimeti in the swamp doesn't seem like it will be easy -- in fact, they might only find one if one wishes to be found. He doesn't let it daunt him for long, however; wheeling around he begins a quick trot back towards the swamp, grateful for the impending shade and humidity it provides. The relentless sun and heat of the plains -- even just the very verge of them, where one terrain blends in to another -- is enough to dry out his nose and eyes and make his skin itch.

"The best thing to do would be to go to Ghost Thistle's mound, I suspect," he calls over his shoulder as his long strides eat up distance. "If they've forseen it, they'll be there already. If they haven't, that's the best place to call them to."  

[elufae]

Mourning Fog woke lazily that morning, his eyes burning from awaking before he felt ready to. Another odd dream...for days he dreamt of a purple-teal blur, smoke-like almost. It would speed across a vast expanse. It felt wide..open..something that Mourning Fog was not accustomed to. He did not enjoy the tighter spaces, but the mangroves and reeds made him feel secure. But what was that blur supposed to be?

And this dream..now their were two more figures. They were blurry as well, but it was apparent that they were kimeti shaped. One a light tan, the other a rich blue..His visions had never been clear, but still being a younger legendary, he knew his powers weren't at their peak. Rolling onto his legs, he bent down to whisper in his mate, Life-Pulse's, ear that he was going to find out what his dream was about. The Motherfather willed it of him, sending energy to his legs. Before leaving, he looked to his home, his life-mate and his daughter, and the sleeping swans and foals that lay peacefully in the morning warmth. Smiling, he bounded off towards Ghost Thistle mound. He felt that was a good place to start. It just seemed right.

Upon arriving, he found that noone was there, and furrowed his brow. Well, it was still a bit early, right? He sat down on a fallen log, one hind leg falling lazily to the side. He yawned, still thinking of his vision. He was waiting for something. Not just him, but all the legendaries. The entire Swamp. But what was it?  

[danse-hexe]

Waterspark smirked. He'd taken her suggestion to go to Ghost Thistle's Mound, after all! It would not be a long run from where they were- at least, not at the speed that Longstride was going at.

She enjoys stretching out her legs, running alongside him. The scenery changes back to familiar mud-pools and mangrove trees, and she feels a surge of affection for home. Any desire to go to the plains had blown away with the cool wind rushing past her; and the feeling of being at home grew ever stronger the deeper they ventured into the swamp.

"There!" the doe cries out, coming to a sudden stop. On Ghost Thistle's Mound there is a strange figure. She recognizes him? her? him- to be kin (he has the glowing eyes that kimeti do), but she has never seen a kimeti quite like that before. Could he be what they were looking for?

Once more Waterspark takes off, her hooves barely touching the mud as she runs towards the mound, then leaps atop it. The stranger, bearded, is sitting lazily on a fallen log, looking altogether rather daunting. He did look like one of the Old Ones- at least, his beard made him look extremely old, if not wise. But she did not voice these thoughts.

Rather, she turned to look for Longstride, unsure of what to do.