Alone In A Crowd [End]

[Greenie]

Marigold was on her own, and it felt odd. Lilac was such a constant presence in her life that when her sister left, she felt out of place and shy, and was always tempted to just lock herself up. It was much harder to be out in the world without her boisterous sister overshadowing her constantly.

Her otter genes were aching for relief from the heat, though, and so she decided to take a trip to the pool. Without Lilac she'd actually be able to swim and not be forced to participate in the full-otter's obnoxious idea of water games. The mix made her way through the teeming streets, paid her entrance fee, then perched on the side of the pool, one paw idly running through the water. She kept checking over her shoulder, waiting for someone to push her in - then chastized herself for being so stupid. Lilac wasn't here.. and now she was in a crowd of people, all alone. Great.

[Kari Muffin]

Water. It was everything to Horatio. The public pool wasn't the best source of water, but it was all he could get here in the Capital City. Unless... well he decided to flop around in a fountain or something. Of course that was ridiculous, so he paid for the public pool.

The penguin dove into the water, swimming from one end of the large pool to the other, avoiding all of the people who swam into his path. The penguin popped his head above the water with a refreshed smile. Maybe he should do laps? The other people didn't seem too annoyed if he stayed under water and away from them.

The penguin spotted the mix as he turned to take another dive. It was enough to make him pause completely, He had generally assumed it was an Otter, but it was hard to miss the hooves and the general shape of the head. Huh. Maybe he should say hello his next time around?

[Greenie]

Marigold watched the swimmers around her, a feeling of loneliness spreading through her. Why had she come here alone? She could have waited until Lilac came home.. or gone tomorrow.. She could have even tried to convince Mom to come. It wasn't as if she didn't have options. But no, of course, she decided to be silly and come by herself. Now she was surrounded by families of happy people and she had nothing to do but float by herself.

Uneasy, she shifted her body around so one hoof-paw was dangling in the water. She didn't need to test the temperature by any means; her partial otter skin kept her plenty comfortable in just about anything. It gave her a reason to delay, though, so she idly trailed her hind leg through the water and flicked her tail in random patterns across the surface of it.

[Kari Muffin]

Horatio didn't return for a little while. He was preoccupied trying to get at least one proper lap in before he resurfaced. Of course, this was far more difficult considering the short distance of the pool and the people who kept getting in his way. Perhaps they were doing it on purpose?

After a horribly zig-zagged path he finally resurfaced. He had misjudged the distance, however, between him and the foot he saw dipping in the water. There wasn't much of a splash when he popped up above the water along with his bobbing ball and chain.

Hopefully he didn't surprise her too badly. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize how close I was." He said apologetically, "I hope I didn't scare you or anything!"

On closer exception he was still terribly unsure of what the girl actually was. She had hooves... but webbed feet as well. And she seemed to have a nice little mane. Perhaps she was part horse? And from those colors he could at least figure out Jossigy, though the other realm could have been anything from a Torquehelm to a faint bit of Villa.

[Greenie]

Marigold jumped when a slim purple and black head literally shot out of the water next to her. She froze and stared for a brief moment before she collected herself and realized she was being rude, then looked down at her hooves, slightly embarrassed. My, what was he? A... penguin? He had to be. A pure torquehelm penguin, judging by the ball floating next to him. Weren't those awfully heavy?

"It's okay..." She mumbled, then forced herself to look up and be louder. Someone was talking to her, after all, even if it was only to apologize; she should at least try to talk back. "I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, it's my fault. It's just awfully busy here.." Mari dropped off, and tried to force herself to meet his gaze. When that didn't happen, she went back to looking at the floating ball and chain.

[Kari Muffin]

Well she didn't seem all that terribly frightened. Might as well try to engage in small talk. She seemed like a rather curious individual... shy and built rather odd. He still wasn't quite sure as to what she was.

And she was staring at his ball after a few moments. He glanced to follow her gaze, knowing full well what she was staring at. His ball had been poked, questioned, and gasped at for many years of his life. And it made quite an interesting conversation piece.

"It is rather busy today. And people don't seem to be very nice about things either. I suppose it's the heat." He gave a penguin shrug before giving the girl a smile. "My ball and chain is enchanted so I can swim properly. My mom understood what it was to absolutely love water and she also knew if I couldn't I would be miserable for the rest of my life. So... is the heat the only thing that brings you to the pool today? Or are you fond of swimming all year round?"

[Greenie]

Mari grimaced in agreement. "I forget how rude people are here sometimes," She said with a sigh. "I usually come here with my sister, so it's easier to ignore.." She'd never been a big fan of lots of people, but Lilac tended to distract her from just about everything with her obnoxious antics.

"Oh! Is it really?" She asked with curiosity, blinking at the floating ball. That certainly explained how he was able to swim with such precision. Lilac's binding didn't hinder her either, but it was no ball and chain. Mari'd always been grateful her dominant realm was Josiggy; the idea of being bound terrified her in ways she couldn't really describe. "That's fascinating."

At his question, she instinctively looked down at herself. "Ah.. I'm half otter." She held out one of her webbed forepaws and wiggled her toes so he could see their linked nature. "The urge to swim is in my blood, if somewhat diluted." Mari smiled tentatively. They had something in common, at least; she imagined he enjoyed swimming in ice water in the middle of winter just as much as she did.

[Kari Muffin]

Ah! She was part Otter! That explained a lot. The penguin grinned as he looked at her linked toes. So she must have been part horse or something similar to have hooves like that. What an interesting mix!

And she didn't seem too surprised over a binding, she didn't give him some sort o lecture on being bound. So either she had a Torquehelm in the family or she was just a nice girl. He figured she had a Torquehelm in the family, though. Nice or not people tended to look at him like he was crazy when he spoke of his binding.

"Well, I'm fairly new to the city. Do you know of any pools that are open in the winter? Last time I came for a visit I was terribly disappointed that everything was closed." Oh yes. And he was forgetting to introduce himself, wasn't he? "And my name is Horatio by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

[Greenie]

Mari flushed slightly under his mild scrutiny, and dropped her eyes again. Why did she go out again? She kept telling herself she needed more friends, but every time she went out alone she just felt awkward and out of place.. The mix mentally slapped herself and tried to look back up at Horatio. She rather liked him; it wasn't often you found water sorts around here, and he was awfully nice.

"Pools in the winter? No, they're all outdoor pools.. most of them freeze, or get closed." She replied with a sigh. "I've been getting into the habit of going to either Midori or the 'Lakes at least once a winter for the water. No one really cares around here.." Mari dropped off, and shrugged. "My sister is a full otter, so it's hard for us to be with all of this land sometimes."

She smiled tenatively when he introduced himself. "I'm Marigold, but call me Mari. It's nice to meet you."

[Kari Muffin]

Oh it was so nice to be in the presence of someone who truly appreciated the water. Shy adorable mix or not, it was rare to come across someone like this. He gave a rather bright smile to the girl as she introduced her.

"That's a really pretty name," he said. "It's nice to meet water lover. Land is troublesome for me... considering I have to waddle almost everywhere."

It was painful, sometimes, to get the awkward looks as he walked by. Not like he was gun-hoe about getting his bipedal form. Sure, he could walk faster, and have hands but he would just end up swimming in the water for a good portion of the day in his animal form anyway. Until he found a better reason than hands and walking "properly" he would put that on the back burner.

"Mind if I ask if you visit any particular places in Midori or the Lakes? I've only been there a few times, and I'm curious to explore." Of course Midori was rather tiny, and he was terribly fond of the portion he had visited.