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To Catch a Unicorn [DragonSong]

Started by Juno, June 03, 2016, 08:24:58 PM

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Juno

Maybe that was why he'd never had a chance to meet one of her kind before, but he shook his head to refocus himself on her question. Suddenly he looked quite embarrassed, knowing how far away from her home he was taking her. He had no idea what their employer's intentions were with a unicorn but he couldn't imagine she would have the opportunity to return soon, if ever. But what reason did he have to feel so damn guilty about it? A job was a job.

"Maybe a couple days of walking?" he admitted quietly, looking away and hoping she wouldn't try to break free from her makeshift collar just for hearing that. "Maybe sooner if we can find my- My um..." What were they even? "Other people." That sounded bad. "Friends," he finally lied.

DragonSong

"Oh. I see." she'd never been that far from home before. It was nerve-wracking, but also kind of exciting.

"Other people?" Bella tilted her head to the side. "Oh, wait- there were some others, before you came along. They went northeast, I think. Do you think that was who you're looking for?"

Juno

He was surprised she took it so well but more than that he was surprised to hear she'd seen other people at all recently. Kynton lifted his head slightly, already knowing her directions were correct by the paths he could sense. He couldn't detect any others, though, so he thought it unlikely she'd noticed anyone else besides his companions.

"Do you remember what they look like? How many there were?" he asked warily.

DragonSong

"There were three," she replied easily. "Two males and a female. I thought the female saw me for a moment, but she just kept walking. The males were rather...gruff, I suppose is the word."

She tilted her head at him again. "Does that sound right?"

Juno

"Ah... Yeah that sounds like them," he agreed. Then, not wanting her to think he had been privy to all of that information already forced a brief smile and offered a few mumbled words of thanks.

"They were...looking for you too, but I'm glad I found you first." Else he might have just frozen to death that very night. Besides, his way of "confining" her was probably much gentler than what the brothers had intended for their prey.

He needed to distract her, keep her entertained and (hopefully) from asking too many questions. They still had a long ways ahead of them just to catch up to the boneheads that apparently couldn't even keep an eye out for what they were after. "So how many of 'us' are there? You know, other unicorns I guess."

DragonSong

Bella suddenly clammed up at that question, eyeing him warily. "I'm not sure," she said slowly. She wanted to help him, but she really saw no reason to give him herd secrets in order to do that. "My herd wasn't very large, but I'm sure there are others."

She paused suddenly, drawing her vine tether taunt. "Hold on." She picked her way forward cautiously, nudging Kynton slightly to the side. Lowering her head, she hooked her horn under the tripwire she'd sensed and pulled, snapping her head back quick enough to avoid the clack of the trap clapping together.

"You were about to step in that."

Juno

"Wasn't? So...you're on your own?" He stopped short at her nudging, though, not understanding her warning until she'd already disarmed the trap. He jumped away from it anyway like she'd just revealed a curled snake in their path.

"I didn't see that," he mumbled, a little flustered as he rejoined her at her side. It was times like that he cursed his poor sight, but he had no excuse for not at least smelling the damn thing. "So you're a guardian too? Or was that just coincidence?"

DragonSong

"I'm alone now, yes." She gave him a kind sort of look and another of those chiming laughs. "A guardian, huh? I suppose I could be, if that was what was asked of me."

She tossed her head and kicked her heels out a bit as she added, "It's not surprising you didn't see it- that's what they're there for, yes? To catch people by surprise."

Juno

He shook his head in disbelief as he watched her. How could anyone be so happy? So cheerful and carefree?

"That's true, I guess." Kynton trailed off, biting his tongue to keep from explaining how she was wrong, how he was an embarrassment for being caught off guard at all. "Just seems like you're looking after me." Naturally, not even consciously. It was weird, but he wasn't sure how to say that without being outright offensive.

DragonSong

"Oh." Bella paused, then continued her way prancing along beside him. "Well, I suppose I am, aren't I?" She laughed again. "Habit, I guess. My kind do tend to look after those in our forests, it's a sort of instinct I think."

She walked in quiet for a few more paces, then tossed her head with a soft snort. The vine around her neck was growing quite irritating, but she didn't want to complain. There had to be a good reason for it, right?

Juno

Kynton wasn't oblivious, he noticed the way she tossed her head looking all suspicious of him and uncomfortable, but he was also hesitant to bring attention to it. The lead was flimsy at best and what would he do if she got away? Act like he never found her?

Instead he committed to staying quiet about it. "Is there, um...anything I should know about you? Special stuff?" It was only polite, he didn't want her to die on him.

DragonSong

"Special... I don't think so," Bella answered easily. She didn't feel the need to tell him about her rather unique gift among her kind. That may just frighten him.

She allowed her pace to slow a bit to walk more sedately beside him, trying to force herself not to be so chatty, so curious. It seemed to make him a bit uncomfortable.

Juno

"Right," he sighed, giving a nervous huff and clearing his throat. At this point he expected her chattiness so when it didn't come he was a little anxious as to why. But he enjoyed the silence and eventually relaxed to let it settle between them. It was a temporary arrangement after all, no need to get too personal even if she had probably saved his life. Twice.

It wasn't much longer until he picked up the faint scent of smoke in the distance. It startled him enough that he faltered in his steps before unconsciously picking up his pace, following his nose rather than the obvious, if small, trail of smoke rising in the distance to distort the view of the stars. "I think we're close," he mumbled, unsure of how to handle an introduction if one was even necessary. How did one even speak of a talking unicorn without insinuating at least a tiny bit that she was an animal? It was clear to him already that she was something more but he didn't know enough to speak of it properly.

DragonSong

"Oh, really?" Instantly Bella was excited again, the anxious sort of energy seeming to make the soft glow around her sparkle and gleam. She gave a full body shiver, like a horse trying to rid itself of a fly, and a small whicker.

"What are your friends like?" she asked eagerly, staring at Kynton with wide eyes. "Are they like you, with the cold? Oh, sorry, was that rude? I tend to babble when I'm nervous." Another chiming laugh.

Juno

"Friends?" His eyes snapped to her for the word, his brow furrowing in confusion as he tried to make sense of why she'd used it as well as the odd look about her. He wasn't sure because of the fuzziness but she seemed even brighter then before somehow.

"I don't think so they're just...normal," he mumbled, careful not to use the word human. "I don't think they need any help, if that's what you're asking." Even if he didn't feel like it he still wanted to think he was still entirely human. But it would be clear immediately that he was very different from his companions so he didn't want to give her any reason to question him.

"Maybe just- When we get close, I mean, don't talk, okay? I'll...handle it," he told her nervously.

DragonSong

"Oh..." Her ears drooped- rather more like a puppy than a horse- and her head hung a bit. "Um, sorry. I really do talk too much, don't I? I'll be quiet," she promised with a flick of her tail.

Once again silent and sedate, she picked her way along the forest path beside him, footsteps hardly more audible than the rustle of leaves.

Juno

He hissed softly under his breath at that, eyes narrowing for a moment before he noticed how pitiful she looked. "That wasn't what I meant, I just- They don't expect you to talk," he blurted out, hoping the truth might make her feel better. "They don't know you can talk."

Somehow he'd decided he would shield her from that, if possible. He wasn't sure what they might want to do with her as far as restraints if they knew she was more than just a magical horse, or whatever she was. He thought he might be able to convince them to let him handle her since he'd managed to find her, even if that was just stumbling upon her.

"It's for your own good," he muttered, eyes flickering forward towards the blurry figures gathered around the fire.

The brothers were more than a little skeptical of his sudden appearance, noticing him and the strange, glowing animal. Her horn was the only part that made them believe she was truly a unicorn but all three looked as exhausted as Kynton felt and were eager to accept his word as truth so they could begin the journey home.

Only Nel spared more than a moment's thought for her, the woman's eyes wide with an almost childlike wonder as she studied Belladonna.

"She'll stay with me. I'll watch her tonight," Kynton offered casually, though his shoulders were tense and eyes dilated in anticipation of resistance. None came, though, besides a mumbled "Don't lose her," from Raidin. Without another word he slipped away to the edge of the little camp the others had set up to put as much distance as he could between them all with hopes that it might be far enough for the chatty unicorn to speak with him quietly.

Exhausted from the effort of keeping himself moving Kynton collapsed to sit among the brush almost dreading the cold that he knew eventually came from stillness and sleep. With a few suggestive glances between Bella and the space beside him he reached out to pat at the ground hoping she would bed down without fuss.

DragonSong

Bella paused as she was led closer to the fire, suddenly wary. A strange, shivery sensation crept up the back of her neck- if she'd been more worldly, she might have recognized the instinctive fear.

But she was too trusting for her own good, and she simply followed Kynton where he led, truly believing her was taking her to someone who needed her help. She took his instructions to heart and made not so much as a whisper as she eyed their new companions curiously.

She thought she might be able to get on with the female, if given the chance. There was still a bit of innocence to her, a bit of wonder in the face of pure magic.

Such thoughts were chased from her mind when she saw how Kynton collapsed though, a worried little huff coming from her. Trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible, she murmured, "Are you alright?"

Taking his indication of the spot beside him as an invitation, she cautiously curled her legs under her body and laid down- unlike horses, her kind actually did not prefer to sleep standing up. Still worried for her new friend, she stretched her neck a bit to rest her head on his chest with a soft, sort of musical nicker.

Juno

Kynton tensely eyed the others across the clearing for a moment before allowing himself to answer her. Even once he deemed it safe, though, he shot her a quick glare for the sound she made. He really had no reason to try to quiet her, it was a perfectly animal sound all things considered, but he thought it best to be as cautious as possible.

"I'll be fine," he mumbled, the effort to remain irritated almost too much as he finally relaxed to offer her another gentle pat along her neck like he might a horse. "Just...going to be cold soon. I think... Don't worry about it, but just- Stay with us, alright?"

Briefly before he could mask it his eyes openly showed his fear of losing her, the object of their search. It had seemed so easy to stumble upon her but he wasn't so sure he would have such good luck a second time if she wandered off or decided she didn't want to follow anymore. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say to make this "far away person" that needed healing seem more real to her.

DragonSong

The unicorn let out a soft, contented sort of sound as he stroked her neck. The touch was surprisingly comforting- she'd been in her own for quite a while before she met Kynton, it was nice to have contact with someone.

"Don't worry. I'll stay with you until your friend is healed," she assured him, blinking large indigo eyes at him kindly. She kept her voice low, trying to heed his warning about not talking in front of the others. "Get some rest."

She nestled a little closer to him, trying to share her warmth. She still couldn't figure out what his ailment exactly- if it was truly an ailment- but she had realized he was sensitive to the cold.

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