RP Areas for Hoofed Tribe - 11.

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Surrounding Forest of Hoofed Tribe

The horse woman had returned Midnight’s gesture with a firm squeeze and a brief shake of their hands. She had looked curious about the mention of the shaman being her mother but saved her questions for another time, since the two wished to be going.

Bess headed out of the village centre, until they were walking past homes and vegetable patches, which gradually spread out more and more until they entered onto secluded forest trail. “I believe that the words we use have power in them. By speaking it out or by labelling something, we can choose to bless or curse” Bess replied, voicing her opinion with honesty. “That is a really nice spear, though. I’m sort of surprised she gave it to you. Maybe her mind was made up when she heard that it came from your home lands”.

Bess continued to lead them out of the village and along a path that took them to the village gate, showing the guards her token on the way out. Now they were in the forest that bordered the hoofed tribe’s land, where hidden sentries and carefully concealed traps peppered the trails. But those would even disappear as they travelled further into the trees towards the humans and elves’ territory. Bess walked in silence alongside Midnight, soaking in the sights and sounds of nature. Their footsteps were muffled by a carpet of leaves and moss. A variety of birds and insects could be heard clearly as they travelled forth in the greenish half-light.

Large Forest Village – Riven’s House

((A bristled sponge? What’s that? cat_whee

Also, I had to look up that Garlic shampoo. I found out that those shampoos are un-scented, thank goodness. I didn’t think Riven’s family would want to smell of garlic. Lol))

Misty was right about the plants. The Hoofed tribe liked to live in harmony with nature. They helped to look after the forest because they not only respected it; they relied upon it for their food, medicine, clothes and life style. In return, the forest was plentiful and provided everything they required.

Riven’s mother looked up at the sounds of hooves upon the stairs, finished setting the final plate of food down on the table. “Oh, here she is. Good morning, my dear. Won’t you join us for breakfast? I do hope you like pancakes. I made several different kinds”. Floss greeted the young centaur girl, removing her apron to hang it over the back of a chair and sit down at the table with both of them.

“That blouse looks good on you. I do hope it’s not too bad of a fit” she said softly. Floss was rather a small person all over, including her height and her chest, to name a few things. She had been worried the top was too small but it seemed Misty had managed to put it on.

“Oh, my apologies; I forgot to introduce myself last night. My name is Floss, Riven’s mother” she laughed softly at stating the obvious; patting Riven’s arm conversationally. “His father is already at work but I am sure he’ll get to meet you eventually” she smiled. “Anyway, now that everyone is here, dig in. I’d hate to see these pancakes go cold”

Riven had been staring at Misty since she walked in. He blinked at the pat on his arm and then realised he’d been staring, quickly averting his gaze back onto the food and grabbing some onto his plate. “Right, yes, let’s eat. Thank you for the food”

He stabbed a mushroom pancake with his fork and placed the savoury fluff into his mouth, feeling blood warm his face yet again. Wow, she looks so pretty this morning. Those hair ribbons are really cute. Ahh! What am I thinking?! He shook his head to dispel the thought, shoving in another forkful of cheesy mushroom pancake.

Occupied with eating, he wouldn’t be able to say anything weird or embarrassing. Riven drummed his fingers on the table in a fidgety fashion, wondering why he felt so jumpy around her now. Mmm, these pancakes are really good~ He focused on the food instead, enjoying the flavours.

((OOC: I said they used cheese in the pancakes. Well, this tribe own some sheep, cows, and goats on some of their property so that’s where they get it from. They don’t actually get the dairy products from other hoofed tribe members. That’d be too weird. XD And owning livestock means they have more jobs to do. They also have a flour mill.))

Large Forest – Borders of Hoofed Tribe Territory

((If my writing’s not clear, you cut them in a zigzag motion and stab them three times. It’s like the hoofed tribe symbol))

The tentacle monsters only grew more enthusiastic at being blocked by the makeshift stave Fer de Lance parried them with, as though it was egging them on. They couldn’t speak but their gooey black bodies and multiple arms waved with enthusiasm as they kept up the attack. To them, it was like a game.

Nikola could feel herself being pulled backwards by the blob behind her, dragged from the tentacle around her neck. It wrapped another one around her arm, reeling her in like a piece of prime bait. “Mff, mmm!” she tried to shout something to her companions, unable to get words to form past the blockage covering her mouth. Her tail lashed out, stabbing and swiping, helping fend off more tentacles from behind her. But the monsters attacking from the front and sides were now gaining the advantage. Wait, I remember now! I remember what to do to kill these things. But I can’t move…damn it.

Morning grabbed a bunch of tentacles and waited for them to melt through his fingers before he leapt away from the tentacle monster he was fighting. He had heard Nikola’s muffled cries and realised she was in danger. “Hold on, I’ll help you get free” he called back to her, running towards her. The tentacle monster followed after him, coming near the ones attacking Fer de Lance.

“Fluffy, hold that one off for me! I have to help Stingy!” he called to the squirrel type, running towards the scorpion. “She knows how to defeat these snot monsters”

Nikola was waving her only free arm in the air, trying to get her message across. She held out her index finger, making a sharp zigzag pattern in the air. “Mmf! Mmm!” Her gaze was intensely focused on Morning, willing him to understand what she meant. Like this! Cut them like this! She thought desperately. She made the gesture again and then pointed to the tentacle monsters, praying the man would get it through that thick skull.

Morning watched her movements. They were distinct and clear; a zigzag motion. She was doing that and pointing to their foes. “I get it! I think I get it…” he called to her with a bright grin.

Tapping into the feeling of annoyance that had been simmering away, he channelled the wild energy and felt it flow into his hand. Bear claws shot out from his fingertips. Morning leapt into the air with a roar, going for the monster that sat behind her. It was worth a try, right? He sliced at its blobby body with a zigzag cut, just like the gesture she had made before leaping back again, out of reach of the thing.

The tentacle monster shuddered violently. All the arms coiled back towards it in a knee-jerk reflex, letting go of its victim as though it had been wounded.

Nikola coughed and stumbled away from the monsters. “Thanks. N-now stab it three times, like this” she shouted hoarsely, demonstrating by running to the monster he’d sliced at. Before it could recover, she stabbed in quick succession with her claw in three different places.

A melting, bubbling, hissing sound (like when something was seriously boiling over on the stove) arose and the tentacle monster evaporated into a black smoke, while the bottom of it seeped into the ground, leaving an oily patch.

Hoofed Tribe- Savannah

“You’re a long way from home little cat person. Don’t they tell you it’s not a good idea to stray into other tribes’ territories?” Crawshay replied gruffly, training the spear on her. “How can I believe what you say? Last I heard, the Neko tribe doesn’t have or want any allies. They prefer to keep to themselves” he snorted. “Bunch of toffee noses. They think they’re better than everyone else with all their secrets”

Blyds also had his spear raised, standing back so that he could throw it if need be. Not that he wanted to do that. He wasn’t as much of a hot head as Crawshay. “Come on now, at least let her talk a little bit. If she’s telling the truth, we can always chase her off. You don’t have to be so scary”

The zebra type lowered his ears and frowned, listening to the other two without lowering the spear. “I see. So you’ve been sneaking out to meet up with this girl behind our backs. Did it ever occur to you she could be a spy come to get information on our tribe?” he said stiffly. “You can’t trust anyone”

Blyds sighed and looked between Desert and Nabel, seeing the worry and fear in their faces. “While you do have a point, I think we’d be hasty to jump to conclusions. She’s just one young feline and she’s apparently alone. I didn’t see any other cats around when we patrolled our lands this morning” He turned to Desert with a smile. “Besides, if she’s a friend of Desert then maybe we can trust her. Desert is good at sensing the character of other people”

That’s when Nabel bounded over to Desert and curled up on her back. Blyds grinned at the two of them, pulling his weapon away. Friendships were few between the members of tribes that were not allied. Why not let them? He was happy to see it.

Crawshay had swiftly followed and was pointing his spear at the two girls. “Huh…try that again missy” he threatened.

“Oh come on, stop being such a grump. Lower your spear and let’s bring her inside” the antelope gently put his hand on the side of the other guard’s spear, pushing it away. “If it makes you feel better, doesn’t Ceros say it’s best to keep your friends close but your enemies closer?”

He smiled kindly at Nabel as he said so, though, and reached out to pat her head lightly, showing he meant her no harm. “Since you came all this way just to look for herbs, why don’t you come inside the village with Desert and she can show you where to get some? I’ll come with you to get you past the new guards at the gate”

“I’ll stay here in case there are more of them” huffed Crawshay, his tail swishing and his face a stern mask. He was stubborn sometimes. But he had lowered the spear and kept it away from them.  

[WritingTime]

Large Forest Village- Riven's House

Misty let Mrs. Floss finish everything she wanted to say as she stood before the table and looked at her and Riven who was now watching her curiously. She noticed while Mrs. Floss was talking he'd averted his gaze and was eating the pancakes that had been offered.

"I, Misty, really want to thank you for letting me stay here Mrs. Floss." Misty began as she stepped over to the table and sat on her hindquarters next to Riven. "You and your son have been extremely kind to me." She picked up a fork set at the place she had sat down at and looked down at her empty plate for a moment. "You do not mind if I eat a great deal of your pancakes do you? I'd love to try your breakfast here and then go do some shopping for myself. The blouse you gave me is very nice, but if you look down at my lower waist it is a bit tight I think..."

To prove her point she stood up again and immediately felt and saw the hem of the clothes tug on the skin covering her lower waist. "Anyway," she said as she sat down, "It's good to hear I can meet Riven's father. He must be a very nice person if Riven here is as nice as I think he is."

Still holding her fork she went and stabbed an apple pancake and put it on her plate. It's rich fruity smell rose up into the air and she wanted to eat it, but first decided to take a look at Riven. He seemed preoccupied by his pancakes and had averted his gaze from her quite a lot she felt.

"Riven," she asked as she bent towards his head and whispered in his ear, "I was wondering if you liked me as a guest. I thought you were angry this morning maybe and now you won't look at me? Do you accept me as a guest in your house, or is their something else bothering you? I don't want your mother here to get the wrong impression of me."

She could only hope Mrs. Floss was not listening because she actually felt really bad to ask him this. And she felt he might not want to say anything, so she simply waited for him to respond. That is if he would. If not then she could talk with him later.  

[Viper 9000]

Surrounding Forest of Hoofed Tribe

"Nicely said." Midnight replied with a nod as she casually twirled the spear about in her hand with practiced movements of her wrist. "Maybe so, but I will be returning her kindness by laboring in her smithy whenever an opportunity presents itself."

Lightly tossing the spear in the air and catching it again, Midnight continued to muse over names in her head as they officially left the village and entered the forest beyond. It was great to be back in the untamed wild of the forest, to feel the moss between her toes and the sunlight at her back brought back memories of the first time she met Morning.

"What do you think about the name Morning Glory?" Midnight asked, admiring the way the sun glinted of the spear's metal head as they walked.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

(Right, Ninja's away at the moment for about a week and 1Ring's on a bit of a hiatus due to deployment overseas (don't worry, am sorting this out so we can all still rp around it), so replies might be a little slower. I'm working on posts for you both though in the meantime. just might not get to post 'em up till Ninja gets back and can do hers. No rush though. Just making everyone informed of what's going on =^__^=)  

[Viper 9000]

(No rush, take your time. A good story is worth the wait. ^^ )  

[Incognita Ninja]

Hoofed Tribe- Savannah

Desert gave a huge sigh. Nabel clutched on to Desert's mane as her sigh shook her body. Desert followed Blyds towards the gate. She sidestepped in a made up dressage pattern, her hooves falling neatly into place. Nabel, accustomed to the rthymn of Desert's body, closed her eyes halfway to bask in the sun.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Forested Borders of Human/Elven Tribe

“I know she’d appreciate it. She’s a busy lady” Bess smiled and watched Midnight twirl the spear as they continued their walk, fascinated by her skill and the way she was able to move with it. It was almost as though it was a part of her.

“Does all of your tribe learn to wield weapons from a young age? You seem to be a total natural with that” In fact, she looked very relaxed and at home, Bess thought, observing her posture and manner. It was probably good to be able to breathe and do whatever she wanted without having to worry about the villagers or the rules.

Bess listened to the name Midnight came up with and tested the words, echoing them in her mind, tasting them on her tongue by speaking them silently. The burnished wood of the spear was glowing in the soft sunlight that dappled the trails and the metal tip winked brightly. Hey, hadn’t Midnight said that her mate’s name was Morning? She smiled at the idea, “I think that fits it perfectly. So, you’re good at naming things too? That’s a relief” she giggled and looked at Midnight’s belly meaningfully.

(I’m moving the rest of this to a new thread. Please go to the human/elf tribe to see the reply: Here)

Hoofed Tribe - Savannah Village

Blyds had a quick word with both the young guards at the gate and they stepped back to let the two pass through, eying the cat girl nervously. Although she was asleep, their natural instinct was to back away from the hunter or to be on guard.

They were able to pass through the gates without a problem though and soon were walking the neatly swept red dirt streets with their deep gutters on either side (for the rainy season's downpours).

Blyds lead them past homes and down a side street where a small number of makeshift stalls selling various goods could be seen. Some of them were just a blanket on the ground under a tree, with the seller sitting next to it, surrounded by the goods they had out on display. He walked over to a stall with many green herbs and vegetables stacked in woven baskets or tied in bunches to the ceiling of the small hut. "Here you are; these are some fresh herbs that were gathered yesterday. I'm sure that Miss Klamay would sell them to you if Desert is the one doing the talking" the antelope smiled at Desert, patting her neck lightly.

A wide, cleared area developed around Desert and her passenger as hoofed tribe members steered away from the neko. People whispered or stared, clearly astonished at the sight of a cat sleeping on the equine's back.

The stall holder looked frightened. She attempted to smile at Desert timidly, "Why it's Desert. Good morning, what can I do for you today?" she squeaked, seeming a bit tense and jumpy. Her eyes kept glancing at Desert's passenger then darting back to the pegasus.

Large Forest Village - Village Markets

Floss beamed at Misty with a laugh and a slighly embarrassed wave of her hand. "Oh, psh, it's no hassle. Having you stay here is our pleasure. You seem like a very nice girl. We couldn't let you stay alone in that inn" She laughed, getting to her feet to begin cleaning up.

"Of course I don't mind. I always make too many; eat as many as you want, you need to regain your energy after what happened. I'm just glad someone likes my cooking" she joked. "Well, shopping is a lovely idea. I was just talking about that this morning. You can go with Riven. He'll help you find what you need since he doesn't have to work today"

Floss busied herself washing the dishes and wiping up the table, letting them finish eating so they could go. She removed a bunch of wilting flowers from the vase that sat on the table and tossed them out the open window above the sink. "That's something else I need today; you wouldn't mind getting me some new flowers for the house, would you?" she directed the question to her son, who was being strangely quiet.

***

"Sure, I'll add flowers to the list" he mumbled.

Riven looked up and swallowed the last bit of pancake as Misty whispered in his ear. "Uh...I'm just a little bit tired from the other day" he answered, smiling plainly at her. "I have a lot of things on my mind lately. It's nothing that you've done or haven't done" He got up quickly, putting his things in the sink, "Okay, gotta go. I'll get ready and we can head to the markets. Wait for me downstairs!" With that, he dashed off up the stairs, hooves clattering lightly as he disappeared out of sight.

He came down a short while later, rinsed and dressed in plain tunic of a creamy colour and a pair of plain leggings, carrying shopping list and a woven basket. "Let's go! The best time to get to the markets is early before all the good stuff sells" he grinned at Misty and grabbed her hand, pulling her out the front door and into the path outside the house.

Large Forest - Hoofed Tribe's Border

Note: I am role playing Fer De Lance with 1Ring's permission. He's away at the moment.

Fer de Lance growled at being called the ridiculous nickname again. "Be careful what ye call me now. I have a name ye know. Hey, don't lead all the monsters to me ya big lunk"

The squirrel leapt back from the mass of tentacle blobs that had surrounded him and landed in a tree. He then leapt across a few trees to distract the monsters off from the other two while Morning freed Nikola. They slimed after him mindlessly, still trying to attack with the stretchy tentacles. "Just as I thought" Fer de Lance smirked.

Watching what occurred as the scorpion girl was freed, he grinned and a glint sparkled in his eye. "Alreet, ye're goin down now ye greet slimes" Flipping off the tree, he landed behind the group of monsters that had crowded around the base and landed behind them. He whacked one of the monsters with the makeshift stave, hitting it in a zig-zag, then another and another, stunning them easily now that he knew their weakness. Then he poked at them, using one finger, or the end of the stick and dodging tentacles of the ones that were still alive. He saw the other two doing the same.

Soon the three were surrounded by a mass of oily patches and black smoke.

***

"H-hey, I think the mist is clearin'" Morning coughed, letting his claws disappear. He stood covering his mouth and nose with a scrap of fabric he'd torn off his clothes, his fingers dripping black goo and his clothing and skin slightly splattered. He wasn't too keen on breathing in the remains of their blobby attackers, even if he was wearing bits of them.

The black smoke that came out of the blobs was mixing with the grey rolling mist and made a hissing sound as the two combined and cancelled each other out, clearing the air.

***

Nikola waved her claw in victory, her other hand (the more human one), covering her own mouth and nose, "Victory! Ha ha. Knew there was a trick to these things" She looked energised and happy, her tail whipping the air in a pleased way.

***

Suddenly, Morning tensed, catching the sound of voices. "Shh, shut up you guys, I hear something" He turned to them with a finger pressed to his lips only to see that several guards, dressed in camoflage so clever that they blended easily with the forest, had materialised out of the trees. Behind them. "Ah, yay, it's the welcoming party" Relaxing, Morning smirked and waved at them "Hey, hi guys we've been waiting for you"

***

"What are you doing in our tribe lands? You srpung one of our traps" the nearest guard demanded, looking unimpressed.  

[WritingTime]

Large Forest Village - Village Markets

Misty followed him out of the house and as they got closer to the market place area she noticed an increase in the volume of people. "How crowded is it here normally?" She asked ribbon as she gripped his hand tighter. "I don't want to get lost here or fight with people over new clothes since I have no cash."

She looked around and could see a variety of things hanging from racks in the marketplace. Most of what she saw was clothing ranging from t-shirts to dresses. She looked at Riven again and asked, "Do the people here sell bathing suits for centaurs? I want to get something if summer time rolls around and I decide to go to the beach.  

[Viper 9000]

Meyaira Firespring

(I’m moving the rest of this to a new thread. Please go to the human/elf tribe to see the reply: Here)

(Rightio, I quoted Midnight's part here and her answers into my reply in the new thread.)  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

For Writing Time (PMed Ninja and she'll make a post after this)

Large Forest Village - Village Markets

Riven looked around at the crowd; a smattering of villagers from different parts of the forest. He spotted M’rala with her booth of herbal medicines and tonics and Aidenna with her newest display of horse shoes and metal jewellery (which she crafted when she wasn’t working in her smithy). That woman was always busy with something.

The rest of the markets were selling produce from the animals they kept, (eggs, milk or wool). Others were selling things like handmade soap, shampoo or skin lotions. Another stall held wooden furniture and items for the home, while another sold home-made jams and cakes. Riven kept hold of Misty’s hand as they continued to wander, soon reaching the area with all the clothing stalls and the plant nursery/stall selling flowers.

“This here is about as crowded as it gets. Our village is…well, a village, so it’s generally small. Everybody knows everybody else. We don’t have too much trouble with crowds out here” He chuckled lightly.

Riven looked perplexed at her follow up statement, glancing back at his houseguest in surprise. “Don’t worry, I won’t let go of you. I-I mean…unless you want me to. I was just keeping hold of your hand so that precise thing can’t happen. But if you’d rather not then just say and I’ll let go straight away, you have my promise!” he blurted, going off into his normal panic-mode babble. His fingers twitched nervously around her hand as he considered letting go then and there (except that she was squeezing his hand so tight he doubted he’d be able to even if he wanted to). He didn’t want Misty to get the wrong idea, whatever idea that was.

“Fighting? Mm-mm!” he shook his head so emphatically that his fluffy sheep ears flopped around along with his springy mass of curls. “Most people have Proper Manners here (which to Riven was obviously very important). If anyone starts any trouble, you report them straight to the shop owners,” he wagged a finger in the air for effect. “Trust me; you don’t want to do the wrong thing in a village where everyone knows you and where you live. As for money, I have plenty of that so you can stop worrying”. He smiled at Misty, hopefully having put her at ease.

Pulling her over to one of the stalls displaying hangers of clothing, he wiggled his hand away from hers so that she could browse the shop, letting her wander among the racks if she wished to peruse them. He was just about to go to the flower stall right next door when she looked towards him and asked about bathing suits. “Er…” Riven hesitated, wondering how to explain. He saw the stall owner trying to stifle her giggles.

“Um, well, most centaurs don’t need to wear clothing on their horse body but some of them do, so we do have such things. Although, I’m not sure that you’d be able to go to the beach all that easily. You see…it’s…” he raised an arm and pointed off in the distance, “A few weeks’ journey that way. You’d have to go all the way to the Savannah tribe and then travel from there. But we do have a lot of nice swimming holes and streams and there’s even a river that runs through the forest so it’s not impossible to get cool in summer”.

He hoped his words hadn’t disappointed her too much and quickly added, “You can still get a bathing suit if you want to”.  

[WritingTime]

Large Forest Village - Village Markets

As Riven informed Misty of the village market's goods and services he pulled her over to the clothing stalls as she asked about bathing suits. To which he responded that the beach was a good few weeks' journey away. Misty at this point could only sigh as she reached her hands out towards the clothes racks and pushed many of the clothes aside to find that even if she could go to the beach it would not be worth it; the clothes she was browsing were too small for beach wear. All the bikini, tankini, and other swim wear looked as though it were for more bipedal beings.

"Riven," she announced, "I don't want to go to the beach now. But if there's a specialty section for centaurs I would love to see that."

Misty had not notice he was acting nervous around him, so she kind of leaned on him against his shoulder and pressed his cheeks close to his face. Why? Well, she knew for this trip he was her guardian and friend she wanted him to know she cared for his help. Her long black hair dangled down her back brushing against the nice, soft fabric of her blouse. She would have to thank his mother for it later since she had given Misty quite a good choice for clothing to wear.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Hoofed Tribe-Savannah Village

Desert snorted and shook Nabel off her back. Nabel slid down after jumping in fright. Desert then changed into a human girl, with black hair that came down to her waist. "I'll have every herb in each basket please." Desert reached inside her pocket and fished out some coins. "Now, how much would that be? Would a gold piece be enough?" Desert asked, taking out one gold piece of the pile of coins. Nabel grinned. "Thanks Desert!" "No problem, Nabel." Desert glanced at Blyds, her cheeks flushing with a dusky rose blush.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Large Forest - Hoofed Tribe

“Aye, and got rid of it too”. Fer de Lance spoke up, leaning upon the makeshift stave he’d found before the ‘trap’ had been sprung. His tail quivered a little bit, shaking off remains of the slime. “I’m not sure how ye trained them to work for ya but if I were ye, I’d change the way ye have ta defeat the beasties. Tis too easy ta guess and remember” He tapped the side of his head smugly.

***

“We” Morning added, “are looking for my mate. Caught a whiff she was staying with you. She’d be an outsider; dark hair, loincloth, wears other people’s teeth. Oh, and she looks like she swallowed a giant…round thing” he explained, motioning the shape around his own middle, not sure if these people would know what a beach ball was. They lived in the middle of a forest. He was pretty sure there were no beaches round here. “She’s kind of tall as well”

The guards kept weapons trained on the travellers, wary and uncertain. This trio was unusual. Guards in the trees held bows or crossbows while the ones on the ground had spears, swords or throwing knives. There were about ten in total.

***

Nikola frowned, crossing her arms as she let the men do the talking. Her claw clacked softly and her tail lashed from side to side, stinger bobbing. She didn’t like this. The guards were too laid back, too patient with them. She wondered why they weren’t being driven away or captured and hustled off for questioning. Or better yet, attacking her. The insect tribe weren’t exactly friendly with the hoofed tribe and she was clearly not a fuzzy type like the squirrel. A spear prodded her shoulder and she turned to see another guard. “What about you? What’s your story?”

“I joined in for the exercise” Nikola quipped with a sarcastic giggle, the words out of her mouth before she could stop them. She had enjoyed defeating their ‘trap’. But that’s not what the guard had been asking. She mentally kicked herself and tried to think what to tell them, stalling for time. If she said she came as a guide, they’d probably think she led trouble here. If she said she tagged along with them, they’d want to know why.

“Very funny. Now tell us the real reason” the guard demanded, exerting more pressure to the spear at her shoulder.

“Well you see…I didn’t want to stay in my own tribe today. I needed some fresh air so I made a trip to the surface” Nikola tried again, still searching for the right answers. She knew she was digging a hole. “I got side-tracked from what I was originally doing when I ended up running into these guys” Well, that was the truth. Bits of it.

“Tie ‘er up” ordered the guard. “She seems suspicious” Guards began to advance upon her and Nikola tensed, her tail rising over her shoulder.

"Try it and see what happens"

***

“That will not be necessary” a voice spoke from the forest, seemingly all around them, calm and reassured. Seconds later a figure drifted straight down into the centre of the clearing and landed gracefully, silently, upon one foot, stepping down the other as cloud white wings folded neatly behind them. Kilcarn’s grassy gaze trailed over each of the three, settling longest on Morning. “Escort them into the village…then bring them to my residence.” He said slowly, a gentle smile playing over his mouth, “I will be waiting there” He then turned aside and began to speak softly with some of his guards, but the words were too quiet to catch.

***

“Almost like they knew we were comin’” Morning remarked, with a shrug and a mock clueless expression.

He let the much shorter hoofed tribe members surround him and tie a blindfold over his eyes and a rope around his hands before they began to prod him to move with their weapons. He smirked behind the blindfold once they started moving. There were a couple of reasons they might have known he was coming (the visit to their rellies in the Savannah being a major one), but something told him that it might have been Midnight.

Large Forest Village - Village Markets

Riven had thought Misty would be able to find the centaur’s clothing on her own; they were some of the largest and perhaps most strange looking outfits on the racks (though they looked fine when they were on). But they were located at the back of the store, along the opposite side to where Misty was browsing, so it’s no wonder neither of them had seen them yet. He watched her sift through the racks, finding only smaller clothing and felt a twinge of sadness that she couldn’t find a single item that would fit her.

“Um…why don’t we ask the shop owner? I know she stocks them, I just don’t know where exactly”, since he didn’t have to wear them. But he knew Mendal and a few other centaurs bought their clothes from here so they had to be in the stall somewhere. Riven didn’t know why, but for some reason he felt kind of nervous with Misty leaning against him like this. His heart was beating faster than normal and his thoughts were scattered. He wiped a sweaty palm against his clothing.

He knew she was probably just clinging to her friend for comfort with everything so new and foreign to her but it wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world for Riven, who unconsciously leant a little away from her when she pressed too close.

Walking up to the counter, he spoke to the woman who had been trying to stifle her giggles earlier. “Um, hi, would you be able to tell us if you have any clothing for centaurs? M-my friend here is looking for an...um…a bathing suit, like maybe a bikini or tankini if you have those” he said the last part rather quickly, glancing around to see if anyone heard.

The centaur lady behind the counter gave them a perky grin and her platinum blonde tail swished in amusement. She was a Palomino with a shiny coat the colour of warm gingerbread and her hair and tail of pale beachy sand. No wonder she made centaur clothing! She was wearing some of her own designs and looked like the sort who enjoyed fashion. “Sure thing honey. I make a few different styles of swim wear and they’re all easy to put on. Just follow me and I’ll show you where they are” she spoke to Misty, stepping out from behind the counter and into the aisle between the racks of clothes. “They’re right at the back here”

She led them to where the largest and rather oddly shaped looking swimwear hung. The bottoms had holes in them for a tail and legs to poke through and they fastened at the sides with a ribbon or tie. The tops had holes for the horse’s front legs or were made to wrap around them. Some of the bathers were even one-piece outfits made to cover the entire equine body, with a cute tie at the front where they could be fastened at the person’s waist, or a tie at the back that sat atop the tail in a bow. They came in sequins, flowers, stripes, plain and all kinds of patterns and colours. But the strangest thing about them was that they always had one extra piece of clothing in the set; a bikini, twist top, tankini or some other such swim clothes designed to be worn on the centaur’s upper, human body.

“We also have sun hats and sarongs if you’re interested. And this here is a really cute beach dress!” the stall owner carried on, holding up what looked like a soft, frothy tent to Riven and holding it out to Misty. It was clipped on a very long hanger and she had to hold it up with both hands.

Hoofed Tribe - Savannah Village

Blyds watched Desert shift into her more humanoid form and arrange the transaction. He’d become familiar with Desert’s habits since she had come to live in the tribe; she loved to run across the grass plains every morning and spent most of her time as a Pegasus. As one of the guards often stationed at the main gate, he was used to watching her come and go, and run through the savannah or take wing to the warm air. She always looked so free and happy when she did that.

Ymell (for that was her first name, pronounced “ee-mell”), jumped when Desert gave a snort and the feline carnivore leapt from her back. “Oh, okay, one of each!” she nodded, getting to work quickly to grab what was ordered.

She stayed back behind her stall’s counter, glancing warily around the street and meeting the concerned stares of her surrounding shop owners as she gently yet swiftly handled the herbs and put them in neat bundles into a bag. If Ceros were to see this happening, they might all be in trouble. She gulped and looked over at Blyds, who was standing to one side, patiently waiting for the proceedings to finish. She assumed he had let this outsider in and was now acting as their personal escort because she was a friend of Desert. Was he crazy? She frowned and looked at the neko unhappily. Ymell didn’t want Blyds to get into trouble. He was a good guy and he was always nice to everyone. He did whatever their tribe leader ordered. She had liked him for a while.

Handing over the bag of wrapped herbs, Ymell returned Desert’s question with a weak smile while she took the payment she was owed, “Here you go, one of everything. Thanks, a gold piece is plenty”. She went to put the money in her safe-box and waited for them to leave, only to look up and see the blush on Desert’s cheeks as she looked at Blyds.  

[WritingTime]

Large Forest Village - Village Markets

Misty walked away from the village market's racks towards a centaur Riven was talking with as she invited them over, and approached her smiled and said, "Are you really sure you should be trying to sell me a beach dress right away? I feel a little height wise than I used to and I'm not sure that I can fit into something... So goofy...."

She laughed as she took a look at the stall owner's dress selection. It was a single piece dress of a light blue color with pink flowers on it. It had a nice design, but the look she was getting from Riven in terms of the dress was strange. Kind of distant.

She focused her energy on the centaur lady before her and really liked what she saw. Her body primarily had a nice brown color that reminded her of cooked gingerbread and a her hair and tail were sandy colored. Compared to her, this lady was bright and happy. Misty could expect this when she herself had black jet black hair and a slightly spotted gray coat. Nothing in terms of these light colors she saw around her would work.

"I think I may need something else though if I want to wear a centaur beach dress. The color doesn't match, however, a sarong would be nice." she admitted after her comment from before.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Hoofed Tribe- Savannah Village

Desert took the bag. "Thank you Ymell." She handed it to Nabel, who hugged it to her chest. "Thanks Desert. Now I have to catalog them." She took out a hug book and some tape, and proceeded to take the various herbs in there. Desert told her what herbs were what, and what they were good for while Nabel wrote them down. Soon, she was finished. Desert looked at Blyds and Nabel. "Want to rest a bit at my place?" She posed the question to them. "I'll love to, Desert." Nabel smiled. Desert hid her face jokingly with her wings.