[FIN] Rainbow Flowers

[EvilSilverDragon]

Spend enough time leaning against a tree, with your arms crossed, staring off into the distance has its down sides. The positive is not many of his herd bothered him. Always the silver lining. The down side is you miss herd movements. That would be the cloud part.

How did the whole herd move off without him noticing? Probably that staring off into the distance.

Offering a heavy huff -- not a sigh, he didn't sigh! Atheron started to move. First step, bushing off all the bark on his side and the leaves in his mane. Next step, start trotting forward. The first location to come to mind was the Rainbow Pools.

When you are lost -- not that he was lost -- that was a good meet up location. Racing through the forest, Atheron did a poor job of holding back a 'whoop' as he pushed speed. Weaving through the trees and dodging branches is a old trick of his.

Unchecked confidence sent him sailing over an over turned log like he had wings. Gravity reminded him that he didn't have wings by bringing him down hard on a dry branch. The crack it make when he landed on it grated even his ears and he did it.

Inches from a red hued Centuaress, her motion indicating she was probably reaching for something currently crushed under his hoof. A flower by the look of it. Two inches off and both of them could have been in a world of hurt. At current he was waiting for his heart to start beating again after the sudden shock.

Fatal Irony

 

[Fatal Irony]

There was nothing quite like the simple pleasure of collecting flowers and herbs. Flora loved the solitude, the calm, the connection to nature. She prided herself on finding the very best quality items which she then sold to others as they were or turned into other projects to sell. She had a small pouch full of a few nice herbs she'd found earlier, but her current prey was a flower she'd heard grew around here. It was a rare flower, one she hadn't found before and she was excited to find it to study it. After searching for a while the telltale petals finally caught her eye. She lasered in on it, barely wanting to blink in case her eyes were playing tricks but as she approached more of the flower revealed itself out of the brush. Her heart skipped a beat and she bent to examine it but before her fingers could grace the velvety petals she had to snatch them back violently as a hoof smashed down right on her flower. Her face crumpled not unlike the now-smashed flower as she stepped back and scowled at the uninvited guest.

"What are you DOING?" She scoffed, glancing behind the taur and seeing a swath of destruction in his wake. "Do you have any idea what you've just destroyed?!"

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

"Uh" completely silenced in the face of the angry 'taur, Atheron could only dumbly offer more of a sound then a reply. Slowly he lifted the hoof that offended her, under it lay a splintered branch and the signs of some sort of plant. "A flower?" Rubbing the back of his head, he made a show of trying to figure out what was so special about the flower.

He even tried to encourage it to stand again with his hoof. That only served to cause it to fall the other way. Problem decidedly not fixed.

Remembering how he was supposed to act, Atheron backed up a few more paces and cleared his throat again. Crossing his arms, he tried to remain cool, "Looks like there are plenty of others." It was far cry from an apology. If she wanted something pretty, another would do, right?

Fatal Irony

 

[Fatal Irony]

She put a hand on her hip and shook her head incredulously. "You aren't the brightest star in the sky, are you?" She reached down and plucked the remains of the flower and placed them carefully in her palm. The flower's structure was ruined but she could perhaps glean some information from it anyway. She placed it carefully in a handkerchief and deposited it into her sack. She brushed her hands off on her flank before turning her attention back to the taur before her. Folding her arms across her chest she said, "It's a very rare flower that I have been searching for weeks for, not just some random bloom." She rolled her eyes before looking her unwelcome guest up and down. "What are you even doing out here? I thought I was alone."

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

A harsh huff tarnished his indifference. The active tail flicks also did little bolster his case. Comebacks flooded in and out of his head. Many of them failed the test. What did come out somehow passed the filters, "Stars don't stand out in the day." His jaw tightened as soon as the words left his mouth.

With a snort he jerked his head to the side. Keeping a strait face after that would shatter if he looked her in the eye.

Replying to her all the same, he observed, "Few things exist by themselves." If there was one in isolation then it came from somewhere else. Hopefully that somewhere else wasn't under his other three hooves. "Try to regrow it?" Right about then the signal to shut up finally made its way to the forefront. Since when did he care? He didn't, obviously. Not about any flower problem or anything else for that matter. Really.

Brooding bought him time to consider his answer. Running blindly though the forest looking for the herd that walked off without him wasn't an option. Admitting that would happen when the forests all fell over. "Making sure this area is still safe before the rest of the herd gets here." They would, eventually. Probably.

Finally he was composed enough to look back to her and the vibrant pools of waters behind her. Each time the looked different, this time the purple proved a worthy backdrop.

Fatal Irony

 

[Fatal Irony]

She raised a quizzical eyebrow at his statement, though he wouldn't see it turned away as he was. He was clearly offended by her implications against his intelligence and was trying to defend himself, but doing such a bad job of it that she started to feel a little bad for him. Still, she couldn't help pointing out, "The sun is a star, you know." She chuckled softly. For a moment she was placated, her irritation forgotten for the moment. The moment was short-lived however as he opened his mouth once more and suggested she regrow the flower he had destroyed. Her smile faded back into a frown. "Would it kill you to apologize? It's not just about the flower. Look at the destruction behind you! You're destroying everything in your path!" She snorted angrily, blood rising to her face. "I seriously question your ability to protect anything. How are you keeping this area safe?"

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Technically she was right about the sun. There could only be one of those so no one else could shine. "Outshining everything else is not worth it." Maybe he should have gone with the classic 'I am the shadows'. Even his retort was muted at this point.

Her question almost got an answer. He opened his mouth in the start of a 'yes' before he managed to stop himself. In its place he 'humped' and firmly let it be. Instead he shifted on his hooves, pawing at the branch he took out at the beginning of the encounter. "No snakes or other dangers hiding here." Anything friend or foe probably moved on by his run.

There was that.

"Not that I care one way or the other," words that would sound better if he didn't look away form her again, "its usually the pools that draw the attention, not the flowers." There was a question somewhere in that thicket of fumbling thoughts.

Fatal Irony

 

[Fatal Irony]

She took in a deep calming breath, letting the blood drain from her face once more. This guy clearly had no idea what he was doing or saying anymore. She wasn't going to get an apology and there was no reason to press the issue since he clearly wasn't sorry that he had destroyed a rare flower and everything else in his path. She rolled her eyes again, arms still folded across her chest. She continued glaring at him as he half-asked what she was doing here herself. She was silent a moment, debating if it was worth expending the breath to explain to this simpleton what she was doing or if she should just leave. She liked to think she was a 'taur with manners so she finally decided with a sigh to allow the male to take up a bit more of her time. "The flower I was looking for only blooms near these pools. I collect flowers and herbs and make various things with them." Her eyes scrutinized him a bit closer. He wore fine clothes, so perhaps he could appreciate an artisan crafter. "Do you have any hobbies or skills?" She doubted it. She took a dagger she kept to help her prune plants and began digging the dirt out from under her nails absently.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Arms still folded, Atheron drifted his gaze from her back to the vibrant pools. He wasn't looking down to the ground around the waters. He definitely wasn't paying any new attention to the foliage now.

Rare herbs and flowers?

"The magic in the waters probably help." Jolting back at the shoulders, he rejected the interest. It wasn't like whatever changed the colors of the pools seeped into soil. The soil did smell better here then post places.

Her question about his hobbies brought a moment of unintentional honesty, Atheron looked back at the path he created. Saying destruction was a hobby sounded cool in his head but for once,it stayed there. "I am a proud warrior." He tightened his crossed arms, flexing was far too tempting. Also far too lame.

"I am good with colors and using them." Bright colors didn't suit him. They played well with her coloring though. Especially here under the tree broken light. "Helps with my work." It could, different shades of greens and browns hide under the forests. Dusted browns for the plains. Dark shades of purple and black help to hide.

All of that sounded much better then painting things that interested him.Purple, red, pink and black sounded like a good color pallet if he could find the right materials.

Fatal Irony

 

[Fatal Irony]

She was only barely listening to him when she caught that he liked colors. Her ears perked up. Now THIS was something interesting! She shifted into selling mode subtly. "You like colors, do you? Are you a painter?" She continued to affect a nonchalant demeanor while mentally trying to size up what she could get out of this guy for her wares. "Like I said, I make many things from the plants I gather, including paint. I have some rare colors in the very best quality." She beamed with pride. Honestly she worked very hard to make her products the best they could possibly be and tested all of her paints herself. This guy was clumsy but might be a decent customer. She reached into another of her pouches and produced the sample tube of paint she used for testing and selling. It was a purplish gray, a good test color. "Would you like to sample my paint?"

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Painter. Thats what got her attention? The warrior aspect was far more interesting. Still, it was the first time he'd seen her look less annoyed. That was something. Her eyes reflected gold as she walked him into a metaphorical stall.

Her silvers and jewels made a different sense now. Babbles she earned instead of bestowed as originally guessed. Not many would try her, he'd wager.

Protesting that he rarely used anything fancy wasn't worth the effort. There was enough raining on her brighter day - for the moment. "Among other uses." Her process already sounded far more refined than his 'field' work.

Looking at her tube, he moved a full step closer to her, eyes casting up before looking back. Scales weighed in his head, from contrast to that nagging feeling like he owed her for the crushed flower. Not that the feeling would ever see the light of day.

Since she offered, he finally uncrossed his arms to reach out to what she offered, "I'll see it." Was she going for a lavender or a dark pastel of some sort?

Fatal Irony

 

[Fatal Irony]

With a practiced flourish she produced a small roll of canvas from one of her pouches and used her knife to stick the canvas to a tree. She handed the tube of paint to him as well as a brush that seemed to materialize out of nowhere though surely it had come from one of her pouches. "You'll see that it covers very well and dries comparatively quickly. I've found a new mixture of oils that prolongs the life of the paint as well as helps it dry faster." She gestured to the canvas and waited for him to test her paint out. She started wondering what he might have to pay for the paint should he want it and what she might take for it. Perhaps he had some plants of some sort or reams of fabric or fabric dye, or maybe some trinket or other. She enjoyed the unpredictable nature of bartering, of never knowing what she was gonna end up walking away with. "What might you be thinking of offering me for such fine paint?" She grinned wolfishly at him.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Mostly watching what she was doing, Atheron managed to keep a neutral expression. She still was listened too but everything shifted now. The oil comment earned a raised eye brow, about the only sign that something caught his attention.

Oil might work on objects but the most important canvas, his own peerless form, not as much.

Still, he wasn't rude enough to at least try. The canvas she thought he meant received a few strokes. Soft sweep up with flowing curves around to recreate the general idea of the flower he trampled earlier. More abstract then something that he'd spend time on.

Then he took the brush to run acrossed his knuckles. Flexing his hand back and forth, the stallion tested her paints and how they reacted. So focused, he didn't even move a muscle to frown or smile. Finally he gave her the brush back.

"I don't have much on me at the moment, maybe next time." The island was huge, the chances of running into her again had to be up there close to none.

Fatal Irony

 

[Fatal Irony]

Her insincere grin dropped immediately when he rebuffed her sale. Just as swiftly as she'd pulled them out she stored away the supplies she'd gotten out. "Well then," she said dismissively as she carefully rolled the canvas up and pulled her knife from the tree. "Have fun uh... protecting ... this area. I'll catch you later. " She sheathed her dagger and gave a little salute to the other taur before turning and simply walking away. It wasn't until she was quite far away before a thought occurred to her. "I don't think I caught that guy's name," she said to the wind. She half-grinned and shook her head, dismissing the encounter entirely. She doubted she'd ever see him again.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Atheron copied her gesture, "Good Fortunes to you." and saluted her away. He'd be gone as soon as she was out of ear shot. This little distraction kept him from finding his herd.

It was also embarrassing. His only saving grace, no one he knew saw him. The chances of seeing her again was also so unlikely that this whole incident would never reach the light of day.

She didn't know his name, he didn't know hers. It was better that way.

Fatal Irony

Yep, totally never gonna meet again. rofl