From the RP between, Una, Ezran, Rhea, and Coraline in Moonwillow Forest
Coraline disembarked from the boat which brought her from the city. Wanting some special items from the Fae market, she started off down the path towards it. Not far along the trail, she saw what must have been among the strangest of creatures that she had ever seen before. Gazing at it for a bit, she finally spoke, "Hello! I have never seen your kind before in this forest. I am called Coraline." She smiled warmly as she spoke.
Una had her wings spread upon the cold grass. It felt like heaven after the long flight she had done and the journey to find a space to land. As she was preening at her feathers, her ears twitched, the sound of somebody near pulling her attention towards its source. Pupil-less eyes wandered over the person before her. Lowering her head in a bow she tried to speak. But only caws and growls came out. Ah, yes, she had forgotten that her natural form did not have the ability to speak the common tongue. Unless of course, the person before her did not have animal speech, her greeting and name would lay unheard.
Coraline studied the creature, looking over its large strong looking wings, her curiosity ignited. She listened carefully to the bird like sounds the creature made, and although she did not understand them, they didn't sound unfriendly. So, she ventured a bit closer and paused to consider. The nymphs could speak to one another through their thoughts, and she wondered if this creature might be able to understand her thoughts also. She cleared her mind, calming herself and closing her eyes, speaking through her thoughts. "I mean you no harm. Are you a visitor to the Fae forest?" Then she opened her eyes to see if the creature had heard her thoughts.
Una 's ears perked up when she heard a voice inside her mind. Head moving from side to side until it finally clicked. It was the redhead before her! Snorting she moved her head closer to the redhead, her own voice answering her. A soft, alluring tone making up the word ~ I am Una. And I am a visitor true. I hope that my presence does not alarm you as it did others. I fear that I am too tired to shift to my smaller form~
Coraline smiled brightly as she heard the thoughts of the creature calling itself, Una. "No, I have no fear from you. You have other forms, Una? That is most interesting." she thought. She was pleased that this manner of speaking was working and she giggled softly in her exuberance. "I came to the forest to trade at the bookseller's. I am happy I was able to meet such as you."
Una stretched her beak towards Coraline and tried to pluck at her dress in pure curiosity. ~I do. In order to wander through to streets and not be poked at by pitchforks and torches. It is not everywhere you get greeted with kindness when you are a beast like me~ She thought before cawing softly when a butterfly flew by. Una was an intelligent being but somehow at times little moving things were heavily distracting. Snapping at the insect, she purred, her tail swatting back and forth.
Ezran flitted through the forest, heading for the docks to make the journey to the city. As he approach, he saw below him a gryphon talking to a girl. He circled down for a closer look, pleased and surprised to see such a creature. "Good morrow to you both," he said, hovering for a moment before alighting on the soft ground nearby.
Coraline moved her eyes to the Fae that came to land nearby, her hand pulling back the hem of her dress where Una was plucking at it. "Greetings, good Sir. I am called Coraline. I was just going to Babblebrook's in the market when I came across this strange creature. I couldn't understand her speech. But, I can hear her voice in thoughts as the nymphs sometimes communicate. Perhaps, you can understand her language?" Her hands pressed her palms down to straighten her skirt, brushing it several times.
Una instantly turned her head when another voice joined their little gang. Ears perked up as she once more introduced herself. Once more, only caws and growls came out where her name and a proper greeting should be. Turning to Coraline for help she groaned, lowering her ears ~ Would you be so kind to introduce me? I am also not a strange creature but a griffin..~ The beast opened and closed her claws for a moment and shifted her attention to the fae.
Ezran smiled at the nymph as she introduced herself. "Coraline," he said, enjoying the sound of her name. "I'm Ezran." He looked at the gryphon as it cawed and growled and shook his head. "Nay," he said in answer to Coraline's question. "I speak many a tongue, but not gryphon. What did she tell you?"
Coraline heard the gryphon's thoughts and replied to him, "Ezran, well met, sir. She told me in thoughts that she is not a strange creature, but a gryphon. Although, I am not sure what that is exactly." she paused a moment, thinking. "She also asked that I introduce her to you. She is known as Una and I believe she has had a long journey here."
Ezran bowed formally to the gryphon. "A proper pleasure, Una," he said, rising from the bow. "It has been long and long since I have seen one of your kind." He smiled and turned to Coraline. "Very rare," he said. "Very special. She will be safe in Moonwillow Forest. My kith and kin will watch her." As he said this, the gryphon seemed to have other things to do than talk to them and ambled off through the forest. "You're heading to Tirgatha are you milady?" he asked. "I was on my way to Ansa`fel. But I'd be pleased to walk you to the market if you'd welcome the company."
Coraline beamed at the offer of his company. "I would love some company!" She stuck her arm out in a gesture for him to take it. "Perhaps, you can tell me more about these gryphons along the way. I feel foolish, but I have never heard of them."
Ezran looped his arm around Coraline's. "No need to feel foolish milady," he said. "There's much in the world I know nothing of. We learn as we go." He looked in the nymph's eyes for a moment and smiled. "This is a boon for the day," he said with pleasure. "Lead on, my lady. I'm interested to know what paths you prefer in the forest."
Ezran paused. "Oh," he said, "have you seen the pond on the edge of the village? It's just up ahead here. It's so lovely."
Coraline looped her arm tightly through Ezran's as they started walking down the path. She enjoyed all parts of the forest, and would wander there aimlessly for hours at a time. "I have been to the pond before. It is lovely, and peaceful there."
Rhea Bellambi began as a ripple on the surface of the pond, a stirring of floating flowers. In seconds a pillar rose, shaping into a figure. Finally a naked woman stood where a wave once did. A hand swept over her form and in a moment the beads of water coalesced and a silky garment appeared. In a moment, her gaze focused on the pair. "Ah! Hello!"
Ezran stepped up on to the bank and looked down over the calm waters. The pond was one of his favourite places in the forest. As Coraline came alongside him, the placid waters developed themselves into a naked woman. "Hello there," he said, not hiding his surprise. "I hope we are well met?"
Coraline allowed Ezran's arm to guide her towards the pond. Once upon the bank, she saw Rhea, a newer nymph at the hollow. "Hello again, Rhea. This is my friend Ezran." she said, patting his arm. "Rhea is a newcome nymph at Moonflower Hollow, Ezran."
Rhea laughed. It was a bright, delighted sound. "Yes of course! All friendly folk are well met by me. I hope I didn't startle you." Her eyes flitted from the man to the woman, gaze somehow brazenly appreciative of both without being objectifying. Her smile was warm as a Spring afternoon. "Coraline, wasn't it? Yes! I've just been doing a bit of exploring. As my sister says, I'm Rhea. I've newly come to this place. This very day, in fact. I'd never met any other nymphs before, so I'm so grateful to have found the Hollow."
Ezran smiled with slight confusion. "Moonflower Hollow?" he asked, thinking for a moment now that they had both mentioned it. "Oh," he said, a smile crossing his gray lips, "the flower place near the inn." He was not deeply familiar with Ansa`fel, preferring to stay in the forest, but he had visited the inn once or twice on business and had noticed what he had assumed was a garden of some sort nearby. "Is that where you nymphs live?" he asked, looking between the two of them. "I'm afraid I live a rather sheltered life here in Tirgatha. My people are very ... self-interested," he said with a shake of his head. "What has brought you to Ansa`fel, Rhea, if finding your sisters was just a happy bonus?"
Coraline smiled at Rhea, "Yes, a new sister in the hollow. I have actually only had a few words with her. So, I couldn't say why she is in the forest pond. But, I'm happy to see her." She turned to look at Ezran, smiling still. "Moonflower Hollow is more than just flowers. The falls and pools there are quite magical and lovely as well. You should visit us sometime."
Rhea stepped closer, leaning forward against the little fishing dock. "I've been travelling since I found a spell to unbind myself from the dark and lonely place in which I first formed. I seek a home. Family. Friends. Words cannot truly describe my joy at finding sisters at long last. I think… I was even a little overwhelmed, at first. I left the Hollow in a hurry." Her face flushed with embarrassment. "That's why my words were so few." She looked to Coraline as she explains. "I mean to go back, and give proper greetings to everyone. When my heart isn't spilling over so much." Then her attention returned to Ezran. "Oh, it's so beautiful there! I've long loved forests but the gardens and the falls are truly something to behold."
Ezran turned to look at Coraline as she explained about the Hollow. Her eyes were quite enchanting, and he found her invitation genuinely enticing. "I will," he said, smiling. "When will be a good time to find you there, milady?" He allowed his fingers to trace along her arm looped in his for a moment. "I am sure the Hollow has many pleasures, but they would be as nothing without you to guide me in their enjoyment." Then he turned his attention back to the other lovely nymph in the pool. "It sounds as though you have been under quite some duress, Rhea. If my folk can offer you anything this magical Hollow is unable to provide, you need only ask."
Coraline moved closer to Ezran as his finger traced along her arm, her body pressing against his. "You can find me there most anytime, but I am also very fond of this forest and Tirgatha. I have spent many hours at the Guillotine." Her smiled returned to Rhea, "Did you get a chance to meet our sister, Queen Etain, yet Rhea?"
Rhea smiled sunnily at Ezran. "Your offer is appreciated, and I give the same. Like Coraline I love the forest and I plan to visit when I'm not at the Hollow. I'm happy to help if I can. What is Tirgatha?" Her head inclined inquisitively before she looked to the other water-touched. She shook her head, hair drifting about her shoulders. "Not yet. I've met few aside yourself, and a couple of the flower nymphs that welcomed me."
Ezran enjoyed the sensation of Coraline's lithe body touching his and made no move to end the contact. "Good," he said softly. "Then I will come." He looked at Rhea with a smile and wave his right arm along the coast. "Tirgatha is the village of the fae here in Moonwillow. The market is known for its produce and its rare objects." He paused for a moment. "Hmmm, Moonwillow Forest and Moonflower Hollow," he mused. "I wonder if that's just coincidence." Then with a laugh, he said "Either way, it seems both are frequented by attractive nymphs." He turned back to Coraline, picking up on her words. "It is practically a crime that we have not come across one another. In the Guillotine tavern, I mean."
Coraline smiled warmly at Ezran, "Yes! Yes, indeed. It is a shame we have not met in the tavern before…But, we have met now and that is all that matters." She patted his shoulder softly as she spoke, letting her hand linger there after the pats. "I have not been able to get to the forest as much as I would like as of late. We have had a good deal of unpleasantness in the city. You may have heard."
Rhea tapped her chin thoughtfully at the prospect of coincidences. "Could be…" She trailed off. She watched the two intertwine with a pleasant smile still resting upon her lips. "Well now you've met, and as is the way of things you'll likely meet again. I have a friend or two like that myself. Always turning up in the most unexpected places!" She looked around somewhat wistfully, as if hoping for them to manifest. Eventually she focused on the pair again, particularly Coraline. "Oh. Unpleasantness? What sort?" Her brow furrowed slightly in concern.
Ezran nodded. "Yes, I heard about the battle," he said. "We felt the effects of the sun here, even. But not badly. Distance and our magic sheltered us from the worst." He nodded at Rhea's words. "Meetings are always such joys," he said. "Well, unless they are not. But whatever the Weave wills it how it shall be."
Coraline gazed at Rhea for a moment, taking time to recall that she wouldn't have known. She wrinkled her nose as she related the events. "There was an awful sun that beat down upon and burned the city. Then, there was a battle with a fire monster, where the warriors acquitted themselves quite bravely. I was there but could add little help. I have no real offensive magic." She paused and reflected on that day, then slowly her smile returned as she turned back towards Ezran. "I am so happy the forest was spared from that nastiness. It is dear to me, allbeit, not my home."
Rhea's eyes widened in surprise. "A second sun? Who could hold the power to summon such a thing? And why would they? I hope no one was badly hurt. Are attacks on the city common?" The Naiad leaned further forward as she asked her flurry of questions, fingertips pressed into the wood but not digging deep.
Ezran chuckled gently at Coraline's words. His laughter was like birdsong carried on a summer breeze. "The forest is everyone's home, whether they know it or not, dear Coraline" he said thoughtfully. "Were it not so, we would not feel the connection that allows us to stand arm in arm though we have just met." He nodded as though to affirm his own words. "We are all children of the forest. Even the humans in their way, though they have forgotten the faces of the trees." He listened to Rhea's questions as the buxom nymph leaned further forward on the dock. "Does it matter?" he asked evenly. "The sun is gone and the city endures. The past is over and it is today that we live for." He looked between the two of them. "And speaking of today," he said, a sad note entering his voice. "I do need to visit the great city. I fear I must leave you both and embark upon the errand I have promised to run. Will you forgive me?" His eyes were pleading, though there was mirth there too. "I shall make amends another day, I swear it."
Coraline squeezed his arm once more as he bid them farewell. "Thank you for your company, Ezran. I shall look forward to continuing our walk through the forest on another day. And, do feel free to visit me at the Hollow, anytime you please."
Rhea smiled, her concerns apparently dismissed. "Wise words!" She agreed, then lifted a web-fingered hand to wave to him. "Farewell, Ezran. There's nothing to forgive. I hope your errand-running passes pleasantly!"
Ezran reluctantly let go of Coraline's arm, bowed to them both and leaped into the air, his iridescent wings carrying him aloft toward the docks.
Coraline turned her attention back to Rhea after Ezran's departure, and explained. "I cannot answer your questions about that sun that was no sun. I only know that it had little effect on the water. Although, I worried about our flower sisters, especially my dearest, Etain. You should ask her, she can answer your questions." She looked back over her shoulder towards the market. "I came here seeking a rare book. Would you like to walk with me to the market?"
Rhea nodded, one hand drifting down toward the pond. She leaned over and caressed the petals of the aquatic blossoms. "Yes. The flowers can be strong, but they are vulnerable to fire in a way we will never be." Again a soft concern touched her face, but again it's quickly dispelled. The water rises and boosts her up. She steps easily onto the path beside her sister nymph. "I'll ask her when we meet at last. For now, I'm happy to join you!"
Coraline reached out to take her hand, smiling happily. "Come, the market is this way. Perhaps, we can stop for a refreshment at the tavern when we are done?" She led the way towards Babblebrook's, humming a soft tune as they walked.