Goats are People Too (Pygmy)

[Dhanya]

Vanator's belief that Pygmy would not be bothered by him entering the water was mostly right. She would have thought it odder if he hadn't. What he perhaps hadn't considered was that Pygmy was, for want of a better description, boy mad. While he was too polite to look for long, Pygmy was simply sneaky. Every moment his back was turned towards the horizon was a moment Pygmy spent checking him out.

She'd been travelling with a large group of people for weeks. She'd run out of interesting things to look at after two days. She felt she'd earned this respite. Who knew, perhaps this was the gods' way of rewarding her for putting up with a handsomeness deficit for so long.

She tried to catch Khiara's eye and confirm her appraisal through the use of girl-defined sign language. Khiara seemed a bit too lost in her thoughts to play the game though.

Thwarted again, alas. Pygmy shrieked as Vanator launched a spray of water at her, reflexively she turned into a goat. Vanator was treated to five minutes of what sounded very much like a goat swearing at him and trying to flick water up with its horns.

Pygmy changed back in a burst of light, arms swishing up and into the air, sending water spraying over everyone and everything she could. It was like watching a small-scale nautical disaster with a girl in the middle.

"Khiara, die with valour!" Pygmy cried, a fist rising into the air with the might of the small and downtrodden.

This was code for "help me fight this guy, he's twice my size and I am incapable of backing down gracefully."

[Vanator]

The Drykas man found himself trying to divide his attention between the surrounding grassland, the frolicking young Pygmy, and regularly glancing at Khiara. Vanator caught the subtle sorrow that washed across the Vantha's face when she looked at him, before turning away. She seemed to recover though, and he let it pass as he watched her swam her way across the water. Enjoying the bath himself, Vsenri sent a wake splashing against the humans and Kelvic as the once brilliant white horse wallowed in the river, joyously coating its hide in a cooling coat of muck. Backlash simply stood at the water's edge, eyeing the Frostmarch curiously. Vanator had indeed intended to invoked the mocking wrath of the buxom goat girl with his splashing, her jovial playfulness too tempting to resist. He was rewarded with more than he expected. The water was cold but invigorating, and Vanator found himself trying to resist flinching as Pygmy's thrashing sent chilled droplets dancing across his torso. He laughed, watching in amazement as the naked girl spun again from woman to goat and back in an undulating cloud of pinpoint lights. To be honest, Vanator wasn't quite sure what to make of her. If someone would have told him this was what he would be looking at today, he would have accused them of smoking bonshequa leaves. The Kelvic's cry to summon Khiara to the maritime battle widened Vanator's grin. The afternoon was proving to be a well needed distraction from the long, strange winter, and he allowed himself, for the first time in too long, to let go and enjoy the company.

[Khiara]

Khiara shielded her eyes from Pygmy's water and lightshow, smiling as she felt the droplets fall on her. It amazed her how beautiful the transformation was, and how bright! On the other side, the delighted frostmarch continued to squirm splashing the water in thick waves. It rocked the young woman back and forth, even with her knees on the bottom. All the little fish, she noticed, had dissapeared. Obviously the loud swimmers were just too much for them.

Glancing up at Vanator as Pygmy called to her for assistance, the vantha almost grinned, her eyes brightening significantly. Moving beside the kelvic, she flicked water at the drykas, laughing as she did so. Throwing a few more handfuls of water at him, she turned her head slyly to the young girl beside her and flicked a spray her way with another laugh. It was almost like being a child again, playing in the snow with the other kids.

Standing, Khiara's grin turning almost impish, she scooped up a large wave and shoved it in Vanator's direction, watching the sunlight catch in the arc of water.

[Dhanya]

Pygmy squealed as Khiara splashed her, unable to dance out of the way with all the water around her. She thrashed through the water, legs sending up white spray and jumped. She wrapped her arms around Khiara, trying to unbalance her and send her tipping backwards for a good dunking.

"I am the queen of the river!" Pygmy shouted, before inhaling a large amount of water and launching into a coughing fit.

It took her about a minute to set herself back to rights and she was glad beyond all measure that she hadn't vomited in that time. It would have been a rather poor gift to give the billabong she had been so enjoying, before it had tried to drown her.

"I'm... the queen..." She coughed, hand on her throat and face red.

The sun had begun to set while they had been playing, cooling the air even if the water still retained some of the warmth of the day. The sky was vibrant pink and red, with yellow around the edges. If they didn't get home soon they would be out on the sea at night. Pygmy didn't know if this was a problem, though she imagined Vanator or Khiara did. She didn't really want to go home.

[Vanator]

The three soaked travelers spent more time splashing in the water than even the Drykas had noticed, so lost he had become in the playful flirting. A starting whinny brought Vanator to a stand still, suddenly aware again of his surroundings, his gaze turning to his Strider's wide-eyed warning. Vanator shot a glance at Pygmy and Khiara, then spun around in the water, hastening to the far bank and scrambling up to the top on his belly. Peering through the scraggly shrubs, his heart jumped into his throat. Glassbeak! Four of the large predators were making their way towards the river at a sharp clip, razor-sharp translucent beaks and talons glinting in the sun. Vanator scurried back down the bank, kicking up dirt and loose stones and charged headlong into the river in a cascade of water. Waving his arms frantically towards the other bank, he yelled "get out of the water, go, go!!" Grabbing Pygmy by the arm he all but dragged her to the bank, scooping up his breeches and weapons. Looking over his shoulder at the Vantha, Vanator urge her, "Get Vsenri up here!" The Dripping Drykas followed Backlash, who had already started up the bank. Once they had reached the top, Vanator vaulted into the Strider's yvas, pulling Pygmy up in front of him. As Khiara and Vsenri made their way out of the river and into the grass, the screeching glassbeaks crested the far bank and splashed into the water. "They will most likely not cross the water, but we cannot take the chance." The boyish, playful grin was gone, replaced by a visage of urgency and what may have been interpreted as worry.

[Khiara]

Khiara laughed, patting Pygmy on the back as the kelvic tried not to drown herself, almost unable to breathe she was so caught by the fit of giggles. Eyes a light violet, she forgot the sadness and the heat as she frolicked in the water. Time seemed to pass faster than expected, and without even realizing it, they had passed into the evening.

It was Backlash's warning that froze her laughter, eyes shifting to a bright almost luminescent gold as she looked at Vanator. Watching him move, her heart beat in her chest a million miles a chime. Vsenri had rolled to his feet at the sound of the striders nicker, muscles quivering and ears forward and alert. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air, sensing danger. As Vanator turned back, yelling at them to run, the vantha felt her stomach drop. Splashing through the water, she slapped the frostmarch's rump, urging him to move as she left the water. Picking up the saddle, she hurled it over his back as he cantered up behind her,pulling the strap to tightly in one swift tug. Vsenri whinnied in shock, flicking his ears and prancing nervously. Grabbing the halter and her clothes, she lept up, grabbing his mane to guide him, bunching everything in her lap. Dripping wet, cloth underclothes clinging to her uncomfortably, she lent forward and kicked her heels into his side, pushing him into a quick trot towards vanator. It was almost impossible to keep the white stallion from breaking into a gallop, his eyes rolled and he reared slightly.

Looking at the drykas and the kelvic, both as wet and more unclothed than she, Khiara held Vsenri till the man made a move. She knew sometimes running with your back to a predator could make things much worse - but at the same time a lesuirly stroll through the grass just seemed like a really bad idea. Her intense golden eyes read the worry on his features and she knew it was mirrored in her own. How could they be so stupid?! How had time gotten away so fast?

[Dhanya]

Pygmy squealed as she was man-handled out of the water and onto Van's horse. It was only luck and trust that stopped her from reflexively turning back into a goat. She almost bit Van's hand until she realised just what was coming over the ridge at them.

She'd never seen anything like them. They were huge and shining and sleek. They were also sharp, from their wedge-like beaks to their curving talons. Exactly the sort of animal that could rip a girl open with no more effort than it would take them to breath.

Pygmy made a startled, squashed half-scream that barely made it past her throat. She was almost struck still, rigid like a surprised deer. She looked to Khiara, eyes wide and startled, almost ready to jump off Backlash until she saw her make it onto her horse.

"What the fuck is that?" She whispered, hissing and scared, not at all bothered with her own nakedness, especially given that she knew she was looking at something that could give her a messy death.

She could almost feel the goat in her wordlessly willing her to run, jinking off into the bushes and hide.

[Vanator]

Vanator only paused a moment as Khiara urged her white steed up next to he and Pygmy, both horses prancing nervously. He met the Vantha's eyes, now a startled gold, and could read the understanding in their deep vibrancy. In a breathless, hoarse croak he barked, "Glassbeak!" The Drykas wrapped his left arm around Pygmy's waist and pulled the dripping wet girl against him. "Hold on!" He spoke into her ear. His legs hugged the Strider's middle, his right hand reaching around the Kelvic and grabbing hold of the front of the yvas. Turning to Khiara, he gave her a nod and, without any apparent signal, Backlash exploded into a gallop. Vanator looked back to see Vsenri and the Vantha woman following. As a Strider, Backlash was connected to the ancient magic of the grasslands, and could speed across them faster than any breed of animal. But even a Strider is hard pressed to outrun a glassbeak. Nevertheless, Vanator coaxed his mount to restrain herself, even as they fled the predators. The horseman did not want to leave Khiara behind. The brisk pace of their flight cooled the skin of his torso as the river water evaporated in the wind. Vanator leaned into Pygmy a bit and tightened his grip around her, helping Backlash retain her speed and making sure the girl did not topple off. Looking back, past Vsenri, Vanator watch the river with anxiety, hoping the viscious glassbeaks would not cross the water. Still no sign of them.

[Khiara]

Taking Vanator's nod as a signal to go, the vantha kicked her heels and urged Vsenri into a gallop, barely needing to push so on edge was the frostmarch. It was then she realized just how much Backlash could outrun the large white stallion. Vsenri snorted as he ran, hooves pounding into the ground, muscles bunching under her - but even so, the strider pulled further and further away from them. Leaning low over Vsenri's neck, she chanced a glance back at the river, black locks whipping at her face. They didn't seem to be following, but with the long glass around them, who could say for sure. Looking back at the other, she realized they were beginning to really leave her behind. Nudging Vsenri, she pushed him on, the water in his thick coat helping to keep him somewhat cool as they thundered through the grass.

Glancing back once more, Khiara scanned for the dangerous birds, unsure of their speed or stealth. Had they followed? Were they rounding her on the outside? Vanator and Pygmy were so far ahead, she began to feel a twinge of worry. Turning back, she cod feel the stallion's sides heaving. He wasn't built for extended gallops. His was an environment of careful stepping and pushing through heavy snow. Almost as though he was thinking the same thing, Vsenri whinned loudly and began to slow rapidly. He needed to stop or he was going to falter.

[Vanator]

Glancing back, Vanator saw the great Frostmarch floundering. The glassbeaks had not appeared over the river bank, either stopping at the water, or hesitant to cross, but he still expected to see them at any moment. At an unseen signal, Backlash, true to her name, turned on a miza, Vanator clinging to the yvas and Pygmy to keep their seat. The Strider sped towards Khiara and Vsenri, her hooves devouring the grassy earth, only easing pace when they were practically on top of the Vantha and her mount. As Backlash nervously paced around the white stallion and his rider, Vanator's head swiveled between Vsenri, Khiara and the river bank. He could see Khiara's powerful horse was spent, but they were not safe yet. The Drykas met the Vantha's wide eyes "Khiara, we cannot stop." Backlash sidled up to the Frostmarch, nuzzling the stallion's muzzle. "We will not leave you behind this time. Just a little farther, then I will escort you back to your caravan." With his free hand, Vanator pulled out the tunic he had tucked under the yvas and held it in front of Pygmy. The Kelvic had already shown little concept of modesty, but he didn't want her to get cold, and it was a bit distracting to cling to her naked form. The Strider shifted to head away from the river again, trotting off with an encouraging glance to Khiara. He pulled Pygmy close again, leaning in towards her, speaking in her ear. "We're going to be alright."