Speech // thought // French

The night was falling soon and after some scouting, Iris wandered about the gulley, sniffing the barely new plants peeking out of the snow. Spring was just around the corner. Her second birthday would arrive as well. She didn't know if she was excited or nervous about the prospect of growing a year older. She had wished to celebrate with her brother but she was here, in this new land and he was back home there with his mate.

She wandered through the gulley, carefully stepping over drifts of melting snow, leaving tracks in the warming mud and fresh stalks of grass. Her time with Vadim had come to a close, separated amicably... of sorts. He didn't like that his bride showed him her teeth.

So here she was, poking at flowers, wondering what was next for her. She had no plans save to wander and learn.

The day was wet, slush covering his feathered legs as he walked. Away from the rolling hills where the buffalos herds had nearly shredded all of the good grazing grass. For such a beast as large as himself, he required much to eat and often preferring more than just plain grass. With his head level with his shoulders and green eyes examining his surroundings, he stays ever vigilant on the lookout for threats.

His hooves thud against the soggy ground, leaving massive imprints in his wake. He cares not for stealth, he wants everyone to know he approaches. Though his pace is an amble, he arrives within the gulley by midday. The sun attempts to peak through bleak clouds, warming what little flowers blossom through the slush still covering the ground. Ah, were those marigolds and dandelions that he could see? Their warm orange and yellow petals inviting him for an afternoon meal.

Hunger rumbles in his stomach as he approaches, suddenly cut short by the sight of a small black wolf who is pawing at the flowers. Xurek snorts loudly, a stomp of a hoof to alert her to his presence. But he speaks no words. Instead, he begins to rip up the flowers with his blunt teeth, chewing slowly and savoring the bittersweet taste.

Xurek Namorn

table coding by bunni ♥

Speech // thought // French

She supposed she could gather some of the clovers and dandelions...
She jumped with a yip at the sound of a large creature that huffed loudly and stomped the ground, She felt the thud through the soil! She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't even noticed the imposing horse!

Alone and hardly a fighter she slunk low to the ground, her tail between her legs and her ears pinned to her skull. Like a fox she hugged the ground as she quickly darted away a few bounds from the massive horse. She was in no state to take him on! Not even for a meal!

At a safer distance, she huffed as she watched him bend down and pull at the young shoots. Well... Might as well gather the clover before they start becoming toxic from overgrazing... From her position, she kept an eye on the massive, monstrous horse, picking the lush early clover and leaving many of the blooms for the bees and for such a creature to graze on. He commanded attention, and she hoped he wasn't going to turn territorial over some grass... She quickened her pace of gathering the leaves and shoving them in her bag. She did wonder if he would have a name... and if horses could even talk to wolves...

To someone who was appreciative or artistic, they would think the gulley was beautiful. Blossoms of flowers sprouting throughout the sloping hills that brought the emerald grass to life. Xurek sees this as he lifts his gaze from the dandelions he munches on. For someone as straight laced as himself, with little care for fun, he sees food. There were many plants here that would provide different nutritional benefits for such a large beast as himself. He can also see where predators would hide in the small groves. Or where small prey animals would like to burrow. It perhaps didn't get very cold here...

He rips another mouthful of dandelion and grass when he notices the wolf staring at him. His ears fold backward for a moment, one brow raising slightly. Flaring his nostrils, he slowly lifts his head to shoulder height. Finishing his mouthful, he never allows his piercing green gaze to leave the small canine. "Speak," Xurek commands, his thick accent brutish as he slowly takes a step in her direction in case she decided to whisper or anything of such pathetic nature.

Xurek Namorn

table coding by bunni ♥

Speech // thought // French

She really couldn't stop staring. She had never seen an equine of quite this stature. Ponies and elegant horses sure, but none like him and none this close, and none with... tusks??? This land was strange indeed. Where the wolf grew antlers and the horse grew tusks. Fascinating. She picked another dandelion and clover and placed them in her bag.

Then suddenly his piercing green eyes were on her! She froze, a clover between the digits of a dainty paw. He spoke, bidding her to speak in a thick guttural accent! C'est fascinant!

She pulled her ears back, unsure, but her curiosity pulled her closer. Just as he did. She paused, not knowing if he was stamping and becoming angered. The body language between species was not one of her fortes.

" From where do you come? Here you were born?" She asked in a dancing accent, pulling her paws over the lush clovers and picking another yellow head of dandelion for her bag. She'd have to bolt if he became testy and she didn't want to leave this cluster behind. Would the creatures born here be blessed with these mutations? Or was she just so naive and sheltered that her window of experience was so narrow?

She continues to stare at him a moment longer as if he were a freak of nature. Had she never seen a horse before? His impatience grows for a moment until it is quelled by her unusual accent. Interesting, he'd never heard someone speak in such a way before. Though, he was accustomed to his own culture and language so he couldn't say he knew many accents anyway.

"Yes, over in the knolls," he tosses his large, bearded face toward the east where the buffalo knolls would rise and fall along the base of the mountains. It is then that he finally allows his gaze to sweep away from her and back to his surroundings. From the gulley's appearance, even it would be a good place of permanence for their herd. There was shelter in the small groves of trees, plenty of variety of plants to consume, not very many predators. Besides wolves, but they seemed a dime a dozen here and not as aggressive as the bears or the big cats.

"You are not from here though," Xurek states after a moment when his green eyes come back to her. His ears flicker forward, gaze thoughtful as he lowers it back down to rip another mouthful of delicious dandelions from the ground. Next would be the clover, but he supposed he would wait until she was finished collecting whatever she needed.

Xurek Namorn

table coding by bunni ♥

Speech // thought // French

It would certainly be something to behold if a horse came to these lands from far away. She glances in the direction he had tossed his head. Knolls a word she hadn't quite translated yet but she assumed it was just beyond this gully and perhaps he was saying hills?

She looks back down to her paws and steps forward to the towering beast, uncertain, unsure, but incredibly curious. She dances away from the crop of clover she had been picking and finds a large sprawling crop of Self-heal! The tiny purple flowers peeking up at her!

"Non..." She replied, agreeing to his assessment. She had not found many that would speak as she did. "Far and away is where I am from. Across zhe seas. Is zhere more you wish to know?" She asked and tilting her head at the great equine.