[PRP] Stubborn is a Good Word for it

[Whoan]

Liv grumbled and muttered to herself under her breath. She was nursing new bruises left on her by her giant uncle after he had trounced her yet again. Her nose bled freely, Kinak having hit her with his horn by accident. Thus she had fled to fight another day. The bigger they are the harder they fall right? Or as Kinak said to her...the harder they hit you.

With a low, angry noise, she shook the dribbling blood from her lips and beard. If her mothers saw her like this...Savannah would finish her battle with her uncle and Tove would do nothing but scold her for picking a fight with a family member. She found herself smirking. She lasted longer against him this time. She was getting stronger. Checking the bag at her neck for the mint she carried inside the leather, she rose to her hooves and clopped off to find water. If she could find water, she could wash the blood from her face and maybe ease the sting of the bruises. Plus she could mix the mint and cool some of the more angry marks. Her uncle did not hold back. But neither did she. She took the world in a similar way, everything met head on. Being of kalona influence she knew the hunt well. And her uncle treated her like the predator she could be. Even if raised in a more unconventional way.

After a few stretched minutes, she found a small shallow creek. She looked around, sun glinting off her chained horns. Not seeing anything super threatening, she let her guard down to clean herself up.

Bluedemonwolf

Did the thing

 

[Bluedemonwolf]

Dian had lost sight of her familiar and best friend Drippy. The little mutant wolf was constantly wandering off or even flying off. Not that she blamed him. Things had been dull around here and surely he was off searching for a good time. Which was exactly what she was doing, looking for a good time. She'd take a gathering, a party, a fight (not that she'd fight well), or heck even another Soquili at this point! She was a little light in the friends department after all. Another pony to be her friend would be a wonderful thing.

So far she hadn't come across anyone or really anything. Just trees. Lots and lots of trees. Oh and a small creek she had found a few minutes ago and was starting to follow. Water was one thing everyone sought out so sticking by it meant she would run into someone at some point in time.

Letting her mind wander she continued to follow the creek. It was only after a bright light flashed in her eyes that she stopped and really paid attention. She spotted a brown Soquili who had horns on their head as well as a bloody nose! Clearly this was a pony who had just seen some action. She was still trying to get a good look at this stranger when she noticed the beard. Ah yes... must have been some guy who got into a fight and from the looks of it didn't do too well. Poor fellow.

Walking brazenly up to the stranger she opened her mouth to speak and just stopped. What she had thought was a stallion from a little ways away was actually a mare. She just stood there with her mouth open and closing a little making her look like a fish out of water. Finally gathering her senses, mainly by thinking about how hard Drippy would be laughing at her, she shook her head. "I think I need to apologize?" She regretted her words but at the same time did feel like she should say sorry for mistaking this mare for a stallion, even if she didn't know she had.

Whoan

 

[Whoan]

Liv finished cleaning the blood from her nose in the stream. Just as she was about to nose her pack open for her herbs, the swirling water reviled the silhouette of another soquili. Liv tried to leap to her hooves but managed to misstep and land halfway into the water. Sneezing and shaking water from her beard she heard the other spoke of an apology.

"Your right you do! Scaring me like that... What are you here for? I don't have anything valuable. And I'm not in the mood to fight but if you insist!" Liv hissed. She slipped out of her satchel and blanket to better show how toned she was. She puffed herself up, horns at the ready. But then she took a good look at the other.

She was painted like the sky, color dripping across her face in an interesting fashion. She didn't seem like the fighting type. But how was the kalona to know she wasn't being tricked by this sky hues female?

Liv pawed the bank with an invisible hoof much like a bull sizing up their opponent would. Without her blanket, obvious hoof shaped bruises shown purple and angry scattered across her. Head held high and no longer in the immediate threat position, she snorted. "What will you do stranger? I am no damsel in distress...just...caught off guard. Yeah."

Bluedemonwolf

 

[Bluedemonwolf]

Dian stepped back when the mare in front of her landed in the water. She blinked a few times in surprise. She could just apologize for startling the other mare and just act as if she hadn't mistaken her for a stallion. But that would be dishonest or at least Dian saw it that way.

"I am sorry I uh... frightened you." She replied shifting on her hooves, "It certainly wasn't my intention nor was that what I was speaking about earlier..." The confrontational mood of the stranger made her pause in her apology. What was she here for? A fight? No certainly not that! Dian was not a fighter, not at all!

She quickly shook her head as she noticed how toned the other mare is as well as the bruises. This mare looked like she could fight and would beat her up! "Oh no! I am not here for a fight! I just spotted you from afar and thought you were a stallion and came over to say hello but then I saw you're a mare!" She quickly said. Her eyes glowed brightly in her alarm. "Besides you look like you could beat me in a heartbeat and I definitely don't want that! So please don't hurt me!"

Whoan

 

[Whoan]

She felt bad. With a long exhale, she tried to make herself seem...how to put it....smaller. Pulling her blanket back on to hide the fact she lost her previous fight, Liv scraped the ground with a hoof sheepishly.

"A boy huh?" she muttered not looking at the other, "I get that a lot from other horses. Goats though...they get me. They know right away I am a girl. But I...I don't think I mind anymore." She took pride in her beard, even though it was wet and still had some blood flecks in it. Nosing her bag open she pulled out a long peppermint sprig. As she chewed slowly, the smell calming her throbbing head, she sat awkwardly by the stream still not completely facing the stranger. The blanket slipped a bit showing her battle bruising.

"I'm not gunna beat you up. I thought you were a friend of Uncle Kinak and was here to beat me up. He's...a similar color as you. I was wrong. Sorry," she grunted staring blankly at the water, her warrior fire doused. "But...what are you here for? Who are you?"

Bluedemonwolf

 

[Bluedemonwolf]

Dian watched as this proud, battle hardened warrior seemed to shrink on herself. She tilted her curious as to the sudden change. She seemed almost embarrassed by her outburst.

It was Dian's turn to act sheepish and scrap the ground with a hoof while blushing. "Ah... yeah... it was the beard honestly. It's such a nice beard and I've never seen a mare with one. But! I'm not saying it's a bad thing for you! It really looks nice on you!" She fumbled for a moment trying not to further insult the mare, "And you should mind! I mean yes it's a honest mistake but still you should make sure they know that just because you have a beard doesn't make you any less of a mare!" Her passionate nature flared up thinking about how many others have called her a boy instead of a girl. She huffed a little angrily and kicked a small rock into the creek.

When the blanket slipped she caught sight of the bruises once more. She was curious as to what happened and the mare's next words only fanned the fire of her curiosity. "Oh well.... thanks for not beating me up! I'm not much of a fighter like you seem to be. I mean with the bruises you have clearly you've been in a fight and probably know how to do so.... Plus you know what they say.... you should see the other guy.... am I right?" She had only just met this mare but was trying to make her feel better as she not only seemed embarrassed about the beginning of their encounter but upset over something else.

"I was looking for my familiar... and honestly for something, anything to do." She replied to the question, "I'm Dian. And who might you be?"

Whoan

 

[Whoan]

"Liv. My mother's called me Liv. Though it might have been Ace. That goat raised me. It is how I learned how to sniff out food and fight with my horns!" She was very proud of her adoptive goat mom. ace was bonded to her mother Savannah who was mated to Kinak's sister Tove. But all her siblings were named like Tove except her. And her brother teased her about it and her beard every chance he got. But at least her beard had style.

"You really...think my beard looks nice?" Liv chuckled before growing suddenly stiff. "Uncle Kinak won. I barely scratched him. He moves fast for someone...thiiiiiis big...plus he has a cat mate...a walker I think they call Nash." Liv stood and reared to show how big Kinak was. "The walker runs away most of the time. I guess Nash doesn't want to get stepped on. Plus I bit him a lot when I was young," Liv chuckled. She returned to getting dirt and blood off herself.

She eyed Dian for a moment lost in thought. So she was looking for her friend. She could help with that! Her nose was still good even if she had fallen on it and made it bleed.

"Dian right? I can help you find your friend! I'm good at sniffing things out."

Bluedemonwolf

 

[Bluedemonwolf]

"Liv.... that's a nice name." She replied with a long pause to process the whole mothers and goat comments. So she had more than one mother? And a goat raised her? "Hm... well I suppose horns would be good for fighting with and who better to teach you than a goat! Or a ram... don't they butt heads with their horns?"

Dian nodded at Liv's question about her beard. "Yes it does... well I mean it has seen better days but once it gets all cleaned and brushed out it'll be wonderful I'm sure." She tilted her head listening to her go on about her Uncle Kinak and backed up a couple of steps when Liv reared up. "Wow.... that is big! But I'm sure you gave him a run for his money! He's probably really good at not showing how hurt he is or how tired he might be."

"Wait... a cat mate? A walker? What's that?" She had never encountered a walker before and was clueless to their existence, "Oh I bet he loved that. But then again you gotta do what you gotta do to try and win. When I fight it's just a whole lotta flailing... like I think I beat myself up in the process." She let out a small laugh mostly laughing at herself.

"Yep that's me. Oh? Can you!? How are you going to sniff him out? Don't you need his scent for that?"

Whoan

 

[Whoan]

This mare didn't know of walkers? Liv made a face ad she thought that over. How would she describe Nash? She knew of him and what he could turn into but not of his race as a whole.

"Walkers are like us...but they turn into animals. A curse or something. My mothers told me not to trust them past Nash. I guess he is different. He is kind of goofy. Turns into a cat," she muttered as she began pressing her nose to the ground and sniffing. There was the feint scent of canine on Dian's hooves.

"Is...Drippy a canine? I smell some sort of canine," Liv asked looking Dian in her eyes. The kalona mix tilted her head slightly, the delicate chains on her horns glittering with the movement. This mare praised her strength. Even though Kinak had beaten her with little issue she still thought Liv as strong. It was a nice feeling.

Bluedemonwolf

 

[Bluedemonwolf]

Dian listened to the explanation of walkers although it seemed a little... lacking. "So walkers are like us but turn into animals... due to a curse? That sounds interesting but why not trust them?" She pondered out loud, "He turns into a cat?! Hm... why a cat? Do they get to pick what they turn into? Do you know?"

She paused when Liv began to sniff the ground and then asked about Drippy. "Ah yeah.. he's some sort of canine alright. I think he's a wolf but he also has wings and normal wolves don't have them so I guess he's not quite normal." She still wasn't sure about his exact species cause like she said he did have wings but other than that she believed he was a wolf. "Oh yeah.. he also has a horn on his head.... like not a unicorn horn but some kind of horn." Yeah he was definitely not normal.

Whoan

 

[Whoan]

"Walkers are all evil. The curse makes them mad. Savannah, one of my mothers, told me so. Nash is the inly one I can trust and that is only because of uncle Kinak. And since Nash only turns into a cat....I think whatever they look like is what they turn in to." She snorted and shook her curved horns. Walkers were confusing. But hunting....she was good at that.

She caught the wolf's scent in the air and began to slowly follow it. A smile lit her face as Dian explained her friend. No he did not sound normal. But what exactly was normal anymore? Liv suddenly perked up. The scent was almost overwhelming where they stood.

"Call for your friend? The trail is strongest here," Liv explained trying to still look for the canine.

Bluedemonwolf

 

[Bluedemonwolf]

Dian cocked her head as she listened to Liv as they walked. "So they're all evil... in other words if I come across one then try to flee." She replied, "Aaahhhh so they can only turn into one thing. I suppose that's for the best. If they could turn into any animal... who knows what kind of things they could do."

She paused when Liv said that the trail was strongest where they now stood. She sniffed the air, not doubting Liv, but more of to see if she could smell Drippy. She couldn't smell anything other than the plant life. "Drippy? Are you there?" She called out. A bush nearby rustled and she turned her attention to it. "Drippy quit hiding in the bushes."

While the bush nearby rustled a very soft and faint snickered came from up in a tree next to the two mares. If one could see past the thick foliage they might catch a glimpse of bright blue or white up there.

Whoan