Sephira had wandered quite a ways a way. Over several days. And many, many miles. Iggy is going to have one helluva time finding me, she thought with a chuckle. That seemed like a future problem, at least for the 'Now.' She trotted through this dry, deserted land with a smile, tail held high. This was a day for adventure! She had decided it was, anyways, and she was bound unto no other law than her own. If she wanted to fuck around amongst the scorpions and cacti, well, that was her choice. No one there to tell her she was being reckless and dimwitted, regardless of the truth. In fact the knowledge that she was making poor choices was all the more motivation. No one stood behind her, breathing down her neck, telling her she would shame her family or throw a tentative peace into chaos. That pressure was gone, partially in thanks to her mother and mostly in thanks to her half-brother. Her mood soured momentarily before she remembered that this was a day for fucking around, not dwelling on the past. Well. She would have to find some sort of trouble if she wanted to force that particular bagged back out of her mind. Humming to herself, Sephi trotted along. Her direction was aimless, but eventually she came upon a lakebed which seemed on the verge of drying out entirely. It had been a wet season, and the lake retained more water than was perhaps normal, but Sephi skirted the fringes all the same. Perhaps she would chance upon a flock of fowl or an unlucky beast who had mired themselves in the mud-turned-quicksand that had once been the lakebed here. Who knew what such a prodigious day would hold? The farther west she went, the smaller the issues of the east seemed to grow. It was liberating, but unfortunately for all, it left Sephira feeling just a bit more reckless than average, and that was good for no one. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

He hadn't necessarily been following Seph, but they did both sort of keep near to each other, whether on purpose or by coincidence. Sometimes he genuinely didn't know. But once he found her trail, well, there was no reason not to keep tabs on his wayward sibling. She'd traveled far and frankly Ig was pretty sure she'd be wreaking havoc in no time. Which would be bad, because Ig didn't really fancy the idea of making waves just yet. He was already certain that their coloration were standing out here, the last thing they needed was for Sephira to piss someone off and get them chased all over this massive continent.

Sure, Ig wasn't the best tracker in the world, but Seph's trail was never difficult to follow. He followed her into the east, where it was a bit warmer and a lot less rainy than the east was this season. It took a while to find her, but eventually the multicolored woman came into view as he approached the lakeside. "What're you up to, Seph?" he asked, studying her for a long moment.

Movement caught the corner of Sephira's eye and she turned. A familiar flame-hued coat was immediately recognizable as her brother, and she smiled in greeting, waiting as he approached. Her brother was a bit larger than her and vibrant in ways very different from her own vivid pelt, but it would be hard to confuse them for anything other than siblings. In fact... She looked quickly down at her paws, covered in filth from the lake's edge, then back at her brother. As soon as he was close enough she reared up, muddy paws batting towards his flank. He could probably sidestep her easily, but that never kept her from trying before. "Nothing much," she said through a grin and a breathy laugh. "Was hoping I'd maybe find a fish or some ducks. What about you, where are you coming from?" They hadn't been traveling together, per se, but after every few days apart they seemed to cross paths again nonetheless. She had half a mind to think she had a built in Iggy-homing device hidden in her skull somewhere, but Seph wasn't about to question something so convenient.

Avoiding the muddy paws coming his way would have been simple enough, but letting them land was an excuse for retaliation. Scooping up a pawfull of mud in his left paw, he flicked it up at her side, hoping to splatter Seph's whole side with the goop. "Hard to catch fish when you're stirring up the water you know" he chided with a smirk.

Leaping back in the hopes of getting mostly out of rage of further mud attacks, Ig gave her an impish smile. "Somewhere super cool that you'd love." He was positive that Seph would enjoy exploring those mushroom caves at some point, and he'd even go with her. That is, after she was done starting mud fights and he was done getting involved in her shenanigans.

While she was successful at smearing mud, Sephira realized soon after that she had fallen into a trap of sorts. Iggy used their close quarters to fling a glob of mud her direction, and what didn't smack into her neck and shoulder splattered across her face. She shrieked and shoved her shoulder towards his own, hoping to check him in the direction of the water. "Forget the stupid fish, I'll be dragging you out of the water here in a minute," she grumbled. "And what sort of place is this, exactly?" Seph knew he was probably just being an ass but she couldn't help her curiosity. There were loads of cool places in these lands so far, so she wouldn't be surprised either way. To say she'd love it though, well, that was a bold claim.

Seph turned her back on her brother and waded into the water once more, up to her shoulders. She dunked her head quickly under the water and then rubbed at her cheek with a forepaw in a desperate bid to scrub the offending muck from her fur. Gods, it stunk. She'd have to come up with some good payback, but perhaps now wasn't the time, especially if Ig knew somewhere interesting they could spend a day or two. She would wait until she wrung it out of him, and use the intervening time to stew.

He simply cackled and sauntered further out of range, stepping into the water a good ways away from his sister to avoid whatever else he had coming. Swimming a short ways, he waited until she was finished scrubbing the filth that had landed right across her face - which was damn hilarious - before he stepped back onto the least muddy shore and shrugged. "Just a place that glows even brighter than me."

It was totally written all over her face though, she was interested. Hah, they've be on some kind of adventure in the near future, he'd bet on it.

Seph's ears pricked. Somewhere that glowed? She wouldn't deny being the eensiest bit jealous that her brother had such a strange quirk to his pelt where hers lacked any sort of illumination at all. The idea that there might be a place that had the same trait seemed inconceivable until just then. She narrowed her eyes. "You're not just having a laugh, are you? You really found such a place?" Sephira definitely wanted to see it, but she wasn't about to let her brother play a trick on her. She paddled to shore, and once she was free of the water shook her multi-colored coat vigorously. A quip came to mind and she grinned, unable to resist. "Sorry to tell you this Iggy, but its not exactly a difficult feat to be brighter than you." She laughed to herself, not really caring if her brother picked up the play on words or not. She happened to think she was hilarious.

Sauntering along the shore, tail wagging in a playful manner for once, Ig gave her an overly dramatic, wounded look. "I play games but I'm not a liar. You wound me deeply." Ok maybe he lied a few times, but still. But he certainly didn't want Seph to think he was full of shit, cause he most certainly was not deceiving her in this instance and he was really hoping to convince her to roll in mushrooms and see if she'd glow. It would be fun, no matter the results.

Jaws parting, Ig leapt at her with a determined look, frowning and grinning at the same time as he sought to knock her over. "Really? Well, what's that make you, you aren't even dimly lit," If she wasn't careful, he'd happily start the mud slinging right back up, but this time he was thinking  the goal would be a full body mud plastering for Seph. Maybe he could paint her all the way grey, see what she'd look like without all those colors.

She sniffed, derisive, but underneath the blasé mask she was having a wonderful time. It was the days like this that she enjoyed the most. It was nice to see her brother in higher spirits. Ig's good days had been rare enough since being forced away from home, and despite the fact that she was still being an absolute hellion, it was only because she hoped to perhaps distract him long enough that he might remember how to have some fun once in a while. "I cannot be held responsible for your wounds Iggy," she declared. "Sounds like a personal shortcoming." Of course, insinuating that her brother was dimwitted was a far cry from him actually being dimwitted. In fact, Ig was frustratingly keen sometimes. He had a nasty habit of seeing through her ploys, and it had been that way for as long as she could remember. Asshole.

Her nose crinkled. "I never pegged you for vain, brother! Exterior isn't everything you know- Shit!" Ig pounced towards her, and although she had been expecting some sort of retaliation he had still caught her somewhat off guard. Unfortunately for her that resulted in a bit of an overreaction. Her body moved without her brain's consent, and the exaggerated leap sideways landed her on shaky footing. Seph floundered in the mud for a moment, but eventually got her bearings enough to realize that if she was going down, she was taking him with her, dammit! Through what little control she have over her descent, Sephira tried her very hardest to tangle her paws in with his, hoping that she could trip him up on her way down.

Scoffing, he shook his head at her. No matter how he acted, even when in the depths of his brooding Ig still greatly enjoyed their banter. It was good to have a constant when the rest of his life was so horribly unpredictable. Growing up he always counted on Seph to be the thing that never changed, and now he really did truly need it. Course he couldn't tell her that, might go to her head or something.

Success! Seph wasn't on her game and he caught her off guard just enough to manage to connect. Of course this was Sephira, and her paws shot out to try and yank him off balance with her. Ignatius stumbled, balance off kilter and found himself plopping backwards into the mud, flat on his ass. Thaaat was just great. Oh well, worth it! "That all you got?" he challenged, picking himself up and loping out onto solid ground, spinning and dropping into a bow, tail swinging side to side, his challenge clear.

Sephira landed sideways in the muck, completely coating the left side of her brilliant pelt. A growl-turned-groan rumbled out of her chest. Oh ho. It was so on. She did manage to trip him up, but he only fell backwards. While it was somewhat satisfying to see his backside caked in grossness, it was not nearly the retribution he deserved. She heaved herself upwards, bisected now between multi-colored beauty and grey, slimy putrescence. Her brother had already fled backwards, falling into a bow that invited her to give this newly sparked war her best shot. Her eyes narrowed.

Despite what he thought, she did have a bit of an advantage here, if only because between the two of them she was the one most-covered in mud. She didn't have nearly as much to lose. Her coat was already filthy, so what more could he really accomplish. Get the other side all mucked up? She already needed to wash herself. Him, on the other hand. There was plenty of real estate. She rushed him, feigning a head-on charge, then feinted at the last moment. Seph ducked to the left then sprang to the right, but instead of grappling with him she merely threw herself bodily in his direction, fouled left flank headed his way. All she wanted was to smear some of her own muck onto his coat, and if she managed to topple him into the beach in the meantime, so be it.

He may have messed up here starting a mud fight, but hey, seeing Sephira's pelt go from it's usual well-kept look to being smeared all down one side with great big globs of muck? Priceless. And a fitting revenge for all the pestering and torment he'd endured as of late. His sides were in pain from the laughter that bubbled up from his chest, eyes burning with tears and lungs screaming for oxygen as Seph picked herself up out of the mud and he fought to maintain a playful pose. For once there was a genuine, delighted grin on his face. Seph on the other hand, clearly was preparing to retaliate. Oh, wow, could he even compose himself before she came flying at him?

No, no he could not. Seph was fleet of foot and Ig wasn't really doing his best here anyway, the image of Seph becoming a big grey-brown lump of silt and mud was overwhelming. She barreled into him and he lost his footing, getting mud smeared over his left side and landing heavily on his right with a splat. Not one to let things go, he got a front leg under him and was quick to dart forward, jaws seeking to grasp her right front leg and hopefully pull it towards him, knocking her over again so her right side could match her left.

The proposed adventure was forgotten and all Ig could think about was how to finish the job of splattering Sephira entirely with mud. All that trouble making had to be tiring, she deserved a good mud bath.