Something She's Never Seen Before (Juno!)

[Anonymous]

Rosamira was bored. There wasn't a whole lot to do when one had been kicked out of their village. She really needed to make some new friends. The only ones that cared about her were her elf family, but not even they could help her. She really missed them all, especially Calabriel, her sister, and Theoden, her brother. But what was she going to do about it? The other elves had basically forced her parents to kick her out.

What she needed was someone who cared about her, even a little, enough to make sure she got shelter and food. What Rosamira needed was a friend. But where was she going to find one all the way out here in the middle of the woods?

[Anonymous]

Too hot...not enough water...

He was miserable to say the least, deprived of his precious water for days due to his own carelessness. Of course there was water to drink but never more than a small stream and nothing deep enough to submerge his true form in completely like he wanted to. He hated to admit defeat but wandering about was growing tiresome and edging on torture as his strength gradually crept away from his usually powerful, if naive, self. Even more, he was alone. The situation, in all, was something he was far from accustomed to dealing with and all he could think were selfish thoughts.

While he was going along he did not notice the girl at first, his mind sulking in his own problems, but by the time that he did he was nearly upon her. Gasping, he halted immediately and stared at her with a visibly surprised expression that was all too childlike in appearance. "A girl? What...what are you doing out here?" he asked, puzzled as to why he would find someone among the woods now of all the hours he had spent wandering around. "Ahh...um, hey you aren't lost, are you?" His hope was that she might be a lucky break, that she could lead him to a place he knew relatively well, but he had not taken care to ask a specific question and, instead, had asked one that might be interpreted in various ways.

[Anonymous]

"Not exactly," Rosamira answered. The being who had asked seemed rather... cute, for some reason. Cute like a child. Why was he so cute? And he sounded naive, too. "I'm not exactly lost. I've lived here all my life. But I am alone. I was kicked out of my home, and I've got nowhere to go now, so if you don't mind, I'll take you wherever you want to go. I might even stay with you." She didn't say these things to ask for pity or to appear stupid. She just wanted him to know what he was in for.  "My name is...well, it really depends on who you're talking to. To the humans, I'm Rosamira, but to the elves, I'm Callalelosille. Either way, it means "shining rose." What's your name?"

[Anonymous]

"Oh, how unlucky!" He shook his head in disapproval, despite having just met her. "Hmm, I'm not a human...or an elf, but Rosamira sounds better to me. My name's Keir, but it doesn't mean anything special like yours...just 'black'. Boring, eh?" He grinned at her before giving a laugh as he thought about her suggestion.

"Well, you see, I don't exactly live...here. I like to stay in the water, but if you're a good swimmer it could work out too. Ah! Wait, I know! Maybe we could stay on land during the day and sleep in the water...good, right? Oh wait, you said something, didn't you? Hmm...oh, I remember! Uh, uh, would you mind taking me to a lake or something? Even a pond will do, I just need to find water."

[Anonymous]

"Sure. There's one not too far from here, actually," she said, showing him the way. As they walked, Rosamira decided to ask him a question, too. "You're not a human, or an elf? Then what are you, exactly? You look perfectly normal to me."

He was so cute! She had a sudden urge to pet him. But she doubted he would agree to that, especially if he were an adult. "I'm fifteen in human years. How old are you?"

[Anonymous]

Keir smiled gratefully when she mentioned that she knew where water was. Sighing with relief, he walked alongside her at an even, yet eager pace. "Ahh, that's right...I didn't tell you, huh? I'm a Kelpie. I could die without water around...but as long as I don't end up in some sort of desert I should be okay. And hmm...let's just say that I'm a carnivore, it's better that way I think, but I do have this human form which I truly do prefer during the day."

He knew he talked a lot but it was something he simply could not help. He liked that Rosamira stuck to the simplistic because most people got angry with him if they tried to keep up with every nonsensical thing that came out of his mouth. "I'm twenty now, I believe...yep! Twenty!" He grinned, proud of himself that he had not strayed from her question this time. "Hm, you said you were kicked out of your home? Why'd that happen?"

[Anonymous]

(OOC: if he looks anything like the water horse in the movie The Water Horse I'll bet he's adorable. :) )

"Oh you are a kelpie. I mean, otherwise known as a water horse. That explains why you're so cute..." It slipped out of her mouth before Rosamira could stop it. She blushed and carried on. "Yes, I was kicked out. I'm a human raised by elves, you see, but the elves thought I was too human for their world. So they kicked me out. But my mother... my human mother... died when I was born, and my father is unknown, so I have nowhere to go. Ah, here's the lake!" Rosamira said, stepping into a clearing. "It's just behind those bushes over there, " she said, pointing. She wished she could join him. She hadn't bathed today and was getting rather hot and worn out from her traveling.

[Anonymous]

ooc: Sowwy, he looks more like a real horse than anything, but I do agree that it was cute. =)
bic:

He chuckled at her initial comment. "That's a first...never heard of my kind being described as cute," he said candidly. "That is unfair in your case, though, at least I think so." The sight of the lake silenced him; in all his life he could not remember a time he was so happy as he was now to see water, and he vowed to himself to never again part himself from his natural lifestyle for so long as he had lately.

He bolted past her, grinning as he got closer to the shore. He snatched off his shoes as he went but did not care so much to fully disrobe as he hit the shallows and transformed to his true Kelpie form, in his case an ebony beast similar to what humans would call a horse. Even with all the qualities he shared with these creatures he was also different in so many ways, a rather simple one being that he had a significantly longer mane as well as tail. Immediately he pushed out to deeper water to submerge himself in that which that he loved so much and, after a few minutes, he surfaced and made his way to shallower water so that his head and neck were above it. Looking out to Rosamira, he waved his head around in an attempt to signal for her to come out as well.

Although it was in his nature to go after humans in the water he knew that he could not with this girl that had been kind enough to show him where such an adequate lake was when he truly had needed it. Therefore, he concluded, that this earned her a bit of respect from him, enough so that he would make no attempts at eating her; his teeth would not be bared towards her so long as he had no reason to be hostile towards her.

[Anonymous]

She smiled at how happy he seemed, then noticed that he seemed to be signaling her to join him. She was a bit nervous, having just now remembered that water horses had a tendency to go after humans, but upon thinking about it, she realized that he was too respectful to hurt someone who had helped him find water. Shedding her clothes and leaving them on the shore so they wouldn't get wet, she jumped in and sighed happily at how good the water felt.

"Well, thank you for thinking it's unfair, but what I don't know is where to go from here," she said sadly. "Where are you headed next?" Rosamira asked Keir.

[Anonymous]

He just stared at her while she spoke, his true form rendering his human communication obsolete. He tossed his head a bit, snorting at water that tickled at his nose, and then decided it would be rude to not at least talk to her since he had invited her in.

Changing back to his human form, his clothes immediately became soaked and he cursed under his breath as the weight dragged him under. Swimming up to the shore, he sighed as he got out of the water and walked up to a small group of trees a little ways from the shore. After pealing the soaked clothes from his body he hung them up to dry before going back into the water. "Sorry about that... To be honest with you I don't really know. Generally, I wander wherever I want, so long as there's freshwater around, and I eat whenever I find...prey," he did not know if she knew about the eating habits of his species but he did not want to chance scaring away someone that had been so nice to him thus far. "So to give you an answer I don't really know myself. Why do you ask?"

[Anonymous]

"Because I was hoping I could kind of follow you," she admitted. "I don't have anywhere to go and I need to find a new home. I'd rather find a home where I have friends. Does that make sense?" She did indeed have an idea of Keir's eating habits, but she didn't want to admit that. There was no reason for her to be scared, though. Right?

[Anonymous]

He nodded along as she spoke, understanding what she was saying. "Hm, well...I don't know all that much about how humans live, besides that they stay in groups usually. Huh...well, I mean you could follow me around but you would be sleeping on the ground all the time. That doesn't sound too comfortable to me, water is so much better! Have you ever tried sleeping in water?!" By the time he'd gone off topic again he was grinning widely. That is, until he remembered how...strange his teeth must look to a human, his usual prey.

He liked Rosamira though, she seemed like a nice girl and he did feel a little bad that she had nowhere to go. "Can you do anything I can do? Can you change forms?" he asked eagerly.

[Anonymous]

"No, I've never tried sleeping in water, but I would be quite afraid that I would drown. I can't change forms like you can. But perhaps if I find some sturdy-looking trees around here, and some grass, I could make a raft, and I could sleep on top of it, beside of you as you slept in the water. That might make me feel a little safer. It shouldn't take long to build. I'm not the best at cutting down trees, but...good heavens, Keir, your teeth..."

Rosamira almost gasped. For something that had a human form, Keir's teeth in his human form didn't look very human, she thought. Then again, human teeth couldn't cut down trees, could they? She smiled again.

"Please pardon my staring. But I've never seen teeth quite like yours before. They might be just perfect for cutting down a few trees so that I can make that raft though. What's the hardest thing you've ever bitten?" She was aware that she might not want to know, but Rosamira just wanted to make sure that he could cut down trees without breaking a tooth.

[Anonymous]

He looked a bit embarrassed when she noticed his teeth and he quickly shut his mouth as he averted his gaze. "Sorry, I hope I didn't...scare you or anything," he said sincerely, not wanting to run her away after she had helped him already. When she asked about cutting trees down, though, he pondered for a moment, wondering how he might go about bringing down a few trees. "Well...I know I can handle bones and I've bitten a few rocks by accident before, maybe I could try getting some smaller trees down for you?" By now he was eager, though, the thought of her seeing his teeth already gone from his mind as he quickly changed back to his natural form and rushed up the shore to the treeline ahead.

Once there he stopped, stared at a small group of young trees, and turned to look back at her before looking at the trees again. Lowering his head, he opened his jaws and secured his teeth around the trunk before pulling back. A satisfying crunch and a few snaps told him he had been successful and he threw the tree over his back before going to get more. When he had a small pile of the tiny trees stacked up he proudly strutted back down to the water and after soaking for a few moments, turned back into his human form. "Well, I guess that might be enough...I've seen rafts before but I never had to build one since I travel under the water."

[Anonymous]

She went toward the shoreline, where she found a bunch of tough-looking grass. After picking what looked like enough of it, she took the grass and tied it around the trees. It took longer than she thought, especially getting rid of the leaves. After an hour or two, though, she had a decently built raft. Then she got a little more grass and went out to join Keir again while she found a fairly large rock at the bottom of the lake. When it was finally finished, the rock was tied to the raft like an anchor. "That will keep me from floating off while we sleep," she explained. "I wouldn't want you not to be able to find the raft when you awoke. Then I'd be alone again, and back where I started. Thanks for finding the trees, by the way."

[Anonymous]

He stayed in the water, partly submerged as he watched her building her raft. Every now and then he would get distracted, ducking beneath the surface to chase a school of small fish or just dive to the bottom to see what was there; he felt he would have a nice time just with exploring this new place that he had come to. When she was almost done he watched her from underwater until he felt she should know he was still there and promptly surfaced again. As she came out to him he was glad she knew how to build such a thing, if fairly simple, but he suppressed laughter at another matter entirely once she'd gotten out to him. "Good job! It looks great! Maybe not so comfortable but it's a raft, eh? Won't you be cold, though? I mean...with no clothes?" he asked, ducking under up to his eyes so he could still see and hear her.

[Anonymous]

Rosamira stared at him completely speechless for a full minute. Truth be told, she hadn't really thought of that. "You've caught me," she managed at last. "If I wear clothes, they'll get wet and I will be cold. But if I don't wear clothes..." She let her voice trail off.

 She would be naked in front of a man! Well, at least, in front of something that had a human form. She sighed. "I wish I were a mermaid. Then I wouldn't have to worry about it. But since I'm not, what do you suggest I do?"

[Anonymous]

Keir laughed openly at his moment of discomfort; he found it oh so amusing that he'd caught her skipping a step in her thinking processes. He tilted his head to the side at the mentioning of mermaids, though. "Ah, a mermaid? They're mean little creatures as far as I've seen....maybe it's more because I try to eat them sometimes, but most wouldn't even be that tasty... I mean, saltwater? No, that's icky. Icky and gross and... well, I just don't like mermaids so it wouldn't do you any good even if you were one," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest as he set his feet to the bottom of the shallower waters of the lake.

After musing for a few moments he shrugged, finding himself at a loss for what to do. "Hmm...well, I know you went through all the trouble of building a raft, but you could use it as a shelter instead...on the shore. I won't leave the lake if you really want to stay so you don't have to worry about me wandering off if you're sleepy." He grinned at her for the briefest of moments, flashing his teeth as he tried not to laugh. "I can't imagine how strange it would feel to actually sleep on a raft with no clothes or anything. I mean, you would wake up with a bunch of cramps...the water is a much more comfortable place in my opinion."

[Anonymous]

"Hmm, that's a good idea, to use it as a shelter," she decided. "It can be sort of like a chair, to keep my behind from getting wet after rainstorms and things like that. And yes, I'd really like to stay. I...I really have no place else to go, and I don't want to be alone. You understand, don't you?" she asked him pleadingly. She wondered then if Keir had any water-horse friends he had grown up with and missed being with. Certainly he couldn't be the only one of his kind around here.

[Anonymous]

If she thought it would be better to use as a shelter then he felt the need to help her get it to shore. Gently, he reached out and pushed the raft along to move it closer to the shore, make it easier for her to do whatever she needed to do. He laughed a bit, understanding her not wanting to be alone completely. Keir liked having companions, especially ones he would not or could not eat, so he empathized with her not wanting him to leave.

"It's all right," he said with a chuckle, reaching out his other hand to ruffle Rosamira's hair. "I'll stay with ya... Have you eaten at all? Do you eat fish? I could get you some fish...if you're hungry, that is."