[Everfree Forest] Ignorance is Bliss (Closed: Hawkeye)

[Tymiko]

A striped figure regretted his nap during the afternoon as he tried to get his bearings. It was getting dark and he was almost certain he was lost. Having fallen asleep in a small clearing, he had lost track of time and didn't think of the trouble it would be to get home once the sun set.

 

Now, every little hoot, snap, howl, or step made him jolt. The rustle of wind through the trees, the clawing reach of bare branches, the gurgling river waiting for him to take one wrong step so it could sweep him off in its current...everything seemed to be out to get him. He had finished off the few berries he'd picked for supper long ago.

 

All he had now was an empty basket to defend himself and a growling stomach that make him worry it was some wild animal half the time. He feared he would die of a heart attack before dawn came again. Why couldn't he have brought a lamp of some kind or known a unicorn who could light his way?

 

[Hawkeye12]

September trotted along in the forest, humming a little tune to himself. The Peyton had found him in the outskirts of the Everfree a couple times before of course- but he never really got a chance to explore the place until now. It was definitely different from his home in the Whitettail Woods, that was for sure. But it still had a nice little feel that all forests had. Despite the strange wildlife, Sep felt almost at home. In fact, however, it was the wildlife he was looking for, as one of his hooves was clutched around a basket. All of these unique plants... the possibilities of what you could make from them were endless! 

 

As he trekked deeper though, something caught his eye. Even though there were tons of unusual colors in this forest, this blob of black and blue particularly stood out. Not to mention the fact that it was moving...most likely walking. September stopped, squinting at it. Was it a pony? Or another creature? If it was a creature, the perty on wasn't exactly armed. Though if worse came to worse, he was a peryton after all- he could just fly out...even though he wasn't exactly the greatest at that yet. But oh well. He decided to take his chances anyways. 

 

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" He called out, his voice echoing over the babbling of the river nearby. 

[Tymiko]

"-!?" Gasping sharply at the echoing call, Lycoris started so suddenly that he dropped his basket and disturbed a few birds from their evening roosts. Eyes wide, he jerked his head around, trying to locate the source of the sound. "Who said that?!" he demanded, trying without success to keep the panic out of his voice. "Go on! Show yourself!"

 

Being as he wasn't a nocturnal creature or any other sort with night vision, the most he could see of the stranger was an antlered silhouette. At first he feared it was a tree come to life, but after a moment he realized he was being silly. It far more resembled a deer of some sort. Last he'd checked, cervidae weren't carnivorous. He exhaled an audible sigh of relief.

 

"Sweet Celestia," he breathed, approaching the figure. "I thought you were some sort of monster. Are you lost too, or just new here? I don't think I've seen you before."

[Hawkeye12]

September perked up at the sudden rustling, a response from the creature. Taking that as a good sign, he fully emerged from the shrubs. It turned out that he was right about the creature, it was a pony....of some sort. He looked mostly like a pony, but had zebra-like stripes. Weird. 

 

"Oh...hi. I'm September," he said with a smile. "Yeah, I'm pretty new here, but I don't think I'm...." his smile quickly faded as he looked around the area. Had he been on the path this whole time? No, he had ventured off a while ago to go look at some plants....

 

Sep's stomach dropped. "Okay....I guess I'm both new and lost," he said, suddenly noticing the panic that seemed to be in the other pony's eyes. He must be lost too, and by the looks of it, for a while now. September let out a slight sigh, but a few moments later his spirits lifted him up a little. At least he wasn't lost and alone, right? His little smile returned, and he turned back to the stallion. "So who are you? I've never seen a pony with zebra stripes before."

[Tymiko]

"You're...September?" the young stallion repeated slowly. "Hahaha! That's a...peculiar name." And that wasn't the only thing peculiar about him, Lyco quickly realized. He wasn't imagining it, right? Last he checked, deer didn't have wings. What was this guy?

 

"Heh, I don't blame you," Lyco stated with a sheepish smile of his own. "I'm not new, but I'm lost too, which is pretty embarrassing in itself. My hut should be around here somewhere, but when I took a nap in the afternoon, I didn't count on waking up when it'd be too dark to find my way back." He sighed audibly. "I'm really not looking forward to spending a night out here knowing just what kinds of creatures inhabit his place." His thoughts soon seemed to drift the same way the other's went, though, because he perked up pretty quickly when he was asked a question.

 

"Oh, sorry. My name's Lycoris, but you can call me Lyco if that's easier." He blushed in embarrassment at the mention of his stripes. "I, uh...I'm actually half zebra, half pony. I never really found a place among either group, so I made my home kind of in-between. That's why I live alone on the edge of the Everfree Forest."

 

Tilting his head, he added, "I've never seen a deer with wings, either. Are you maybe some kind of half-breed like me? Like a cross between a deer and a pegasus pony? Or - or maybe a griffon?" Lyco grinned. "You wouldn't happen to be able to see any better in the dark than I can, would you? I don't know how much night vision deer have." Maybe he was babbling due to panic or maybe he was giddy with happiness at not having to be alone so late at night while lost, but whatever the reason, Lyco found himself feeling more chatty than usual.

[Hawkeye12]

The comment on his name didn't really faze September. It certainly wasn't the first time he heard that one. Though he did listen in again as the striped pony mentioned that he was lost too, despite the fact that he lived here. What a coincidence! "Yeah, I guess it is a pretty easy place to get lost in," he said, looking around at the odd plants that surrounded them. "But hey, who knows, maybe this place isn't as bad after all," he added with a half smile. Optimism never hurt anyone, right?

 

The peryton nodded as the other then introduced himself as Lyco, explaining how he was a zebra-pony cross, which made since. "So you live by yourself? That must get lonely." Though it would be hard trying to fit in with one or the other group, he could imagine. Besides, September had met some zebras in Whitetail before, and he didn't exactly look like the type to be hanging out with them. "I bet you could fit in with other ponies. The can be pretty accepting, once they know you're not a threat to anyone," he said, hoping that he would take that as the truth coming from someone as odd-looking as him.

 

And speaking of which, Lyco then brought up the question of who exactly he was. "I'm a peryton. Not the most common species, I know," he explained. "Both my parents are exactly like me, but there's probably a pegasus or normal deer back in the family tree somewhere. And no, I don't have night vision." 

 

Shaking his head slightly, Seotember's mind quickly went back to the main situation. "So, how are we going to get out of this place, anyways?" He asked, hoping the pony would have some idea about how to get back.