[PRP] Knockout [Glassjaw/Plaything]

[Maxx D]

Glassjaw was being kept up by the thoughts of his last fight in the middle of the night - he breathed heavily as he trained in a shallow pool of water, raising his legs high. If only his name weren't so predictable! Next time, he thought bitterly, I won't tell them my name first. Mystery fighter.  

[Jun D]

Somewhere near the pool, a bush rustled, but one of the many noises the Swamp afforded in the dark. It could have been a passing critter, it could not. It would be up to the mystery fighter to investigate if his fancy were caught.  

[Maxx D]

Alert and an easy target, Glassjaw's ears perked - was it an it, or a someone? It would be troublesome if someone was spying on his hard work. The hooves fell quickly, and spun round, an adept turn of heel, as he tracked the sound. With quiet steps, he snuck up on the suspicious bush, ready to stick his head into it.  

[Jun D]

Oh, was it that bush he was sizing up, then? Another rustle - somewhere else now, perhaps a few shrubs down. There had been no other sign.  

[Maxx D]

"Hey!" He said sharply, teeth already gritted - come on! He was pretty sure it was an annoying mongoose now, and followed the rustling down the row of greenery, determined to hunt it out. He needed practice anyway.  

[Jun D]

If it was a mongoose, it was a wily one, evasive and light of foot. At times, the green seemed to move everywhere and nowhere at once - at times, nowhere at all. It sounded, possibly, as if there were a message on the whisper of the leaves.  

[Maxx D]

The speed of which the - thing - was moving was truly staggering. Glassjaw felt almost humiliated by the brush of leaves toying with his senses. No - it was best to think of it as a test of his skill. With a slight snarl, he leapt into the bushes, pushing the branches away with his horns.  

[Jun D]

It was not a mongoose.

It was a doe.

An Acha doe. She stood perfectly still. Her sleek hair looked untouched by the branches. Her wide eyes were unblinking. They stared. Perhaps at him.  

[Maxx D]

"Hey," he said, voice softened by the surprise. His eyes were wide too - though, not as wide and unblinking as hers. He was arrested by their sheer wideness...until he shook his head and barked a laugh. "You - ah - wow, you're fast."  

[Jun D]

For the longest time she stood there without answer - without moving. As if she were a tree herself, a white wood with a silvery crown. Did she breathe? It was hard to say.

But then she did move. Out of the bush she stepped, into the moonlight - then in the moonlight she looked rather more a sprite than a tree, almost insubstantial, a floating light, a fire of sorts under the silver, her limbs fading into the shadow of darkness.

Still, she did not speak.  

[Maxx D]

"Oh!" Glassjaw was taken aback by the brilliance of her pelt, and only mildly cognisant of the strange lack below the knee. The glimmer quite reminded him of his own, only that his was more solid and reflective, like a polished stone, and hers so ethereal and strange, like the waves of the lake at night. He too, sprung out of the bush, never taking his gaze off her. "Do you do that a lot?" He wasn't spooked per se, but certainly curious.  

[Jun D]

Again, for the longest time she did not move, merely stared. It was only when she did move that it became certain that stare was, indeed, upon him. Like the moonlight that bathed her, she streamed over - without asking leave, she nosed his strange, crystal pelt.  

[Maxx D]

He laughed softly and turned a little, showing her the structures upon his back, patiently swishing his tail. He too, wanted to have a closer look, but hoped not to scare her away. Standing still, like she had, he watched the interesting ripple of her colours and the fading limbs - an illusion? - as she came close. "Do you like it?" Glassjaw asked quietly.  

[Jun D]

She skittered back as he turned, raising nary a hoofstep upon the wet earth. Another long stare, then she returned to her preoccupation, running her muzzle - curiously? perhaps curiously - across the unusual shapes that studded his hide. She did not speak.  

[Maxx D]

"Ha, I guess so." He was quite pleased to feel her touch, and was more than happy to stand there while she investigated. "Hey, can't you spea - " he paused mid-sentence, afraid that he had been inconsiderate. "Can you not speak?" He queried instead.