[Ruriska]

Kin everywhere are frolicking in the water or lounging by the shore to catch a tan or nap.  It's low tide and the mangrove roots are sticking out above the surface. Curious kin look closer to find out the skeletal remains of a foreign creature. Some are older than others, but some are very recent. What could they be?

The warm and sticky summer season continued unabated and Once Forgotten was once again thankful for the cool waters of the swamp. He wasn’t the only one frequenting this particular area, half the swamp seemed to be in attendance, either lounging around and splashing about.

And as the day waned, so did the tide.

The Kiokote rose from his lazy position in the shade and ambled towards the water. Foals raced past him, laughing merrily, and he looked after them with a wistful smile. Ah, it would be nice to have young ones to care for again.

Maybe in the future his family would grow.

A small group of kin seemed to have found something and he changed his direction, heading towards the mangroves, the mud sticky and thick beneath his hooves, the large roots revealed by the tide. But they weren’t the only thing the receding waters had left behind.

Bones.

Once Forgotten stepped closer to get a better look.

A skull from some unknown beast stared back at him.

[Wyrm]

Bruise was starting to really love this festival. Even his fishing attempt had gone well! Though his fishing had ended... badly, Bruise nonetheless enjoyed the experience. Overall. Well, at least it wasn't all miserable, and Bruise was counting that as a win.

Besides, the heat of summer and the overall noise of so many other kin didn't let negative thoughts stay too long. On such a beautiful day, Bruise couldn't help but have beautiful thoughts. Even though he was walking alone, with so much kin around him Bruise didn't feel at all lonely. Especially once he noticed a black Kiokote rump with characteristic glowing markings.

Bruise immediately sped up to a trot, pleasantly anxious to greet his friend. Once Forgotten seemed to be focused on something below, hidden from Bruise by the slight crowd of other kin surrounding the Kiokote. Bruise carefully nudged his way to the front with murmured apologies. Just as he was about to greet the older buck, his eyes finally fell on the object of Once Forgotten's attention. Instead of a polite greeting that he had planned, he instead ending up asking, "Who do you think that belongs to?", transfixed by the skull.

[Ruriska]

The Kiokote turned his head to the new arrival, smiling broadly in greeting. “Bruise,” he said, stamping the ground as he spoke the other’s name, a happy gesture. “Good to see you!” Yes there were multiple skeletons sticking out of the mud but that could be put aside for a moment.

“I think what might be more apt,” he responded, glancing back at the skeleton. “That skull at least doesn’t seem quite right for a kin.” Some of the bones seemed old as well. Not that he was an expert on such things but you didn’t need to be to realize that some had changed colour with age.

[Wyrm]

The pleased stomp finally broke Bruise out of his reverie, and he looked back at his friend with a mirroring smile.

"That's good to hear - now that you mention it, they do seem much too small for a kin." Looking at the remains, Bruise noted that there seemed to be more bones than just skulls, but half-hidden in mud as they were, it was impossible to make out anything substantial. He supposed that if he really wanted to he could jump down and try and dig them out of the muck, but he truly didn't want to. He knew that at least part of his family was obsessed with the stars and the sky, and he supposed that there were kin out there who would enjoy digging out and examining unknown bones. He might as well leave it to them. He was as curious as the next kin, sure, but he was more preoccupied with the living rather than the dead.

Of course, the bones that still had some remnants of dried flesh on them indicated that some of the creatures who had left their remains here might very well still be alive...

"Do you recognize the bones? I've never seen any kind except for some songbird ones."

[Ruriska]

At the question, he returned to studying the bones. Nobody seemed inclined to get in there for a closer look and it did seem a little disrespectful to do so while everyone was watching.

“I can’t say they look familiar...” Once Forgotten replied slowly. He’d seen a few bones over his time. He ate meat and Cue was a great hunter. Kills turned into corpses and once the flesh was gone, there was usually a skeleton left. He knew a kin who liked to collect the skulls of big animals they’d killed.

But this was nothing he recognized. 

“Maybe,” he began jokingly, “it’s a creature nobody has ever seen before? A mystery beast!”

[Wyrm]

"A mystery beast? How exciting!" Bruise followed up with genuine enthusiasm. He welcomed the cheerier turn of conversation Once Forgotten offered, happy to shrug off the slightly ominous aftertaste the first sight of the remains had left him with. An unknown creature didn't have to be scary, after all. It could be... well, exciting!

"I wonder if they're land or water creatures - or maybe both? I can't make out the teeth from here, so I can't guess what they'd eat. What if they're really odd - maybe they have three tails!" With his last suggestion he made himself laugh, imagining an odd creature with three tails that waved them all at once in different directions.

[Ruriska]

“Both sounds exciting!”

The Kiokote beamed at his companion and adopted family member, glad they were on the same wavelength. There was no point treating their find with distaste or discomfort. Dead was already dead. They might as well enjoy the mystery.

“They could surely have three tails! There’s quite a few bones. Who knows what goes where?” He laughed along with Bruise. “Or how about some extra limbs?”

[Wyrm]

"Ooh, what if they have several sets of legs? Or!" Bruise gasped in astonishment at his own beautiful idea, "What if they have a leg instead of a tail? And they use it to hop around!"

By this point the crowd had grown quite a bit, the news about the bones having spread throughout the sizeable amount of kin around. Everyone wanted to take a look, and it was starting to get rather crowded, those coming in jostling the kin in the front. It was also getting louder, with kin murmuring and chatting to each other all around them.

"Once, would you like to take a walk with me? It's getting a bit too hot here with the crowd coming in."

[Ruriska]

The idea that Bruise presented, of a creature that hopped around on one leg, was so farfetched and amazing that the Kiokote’s whole body shook with laughter. He stamped a hoof, delighted. How ridiculous! But who knew? Perhaps it did! It didn’t even need its many legs, if that one kept it hopping around.

His laughter dissolved into chuckles. Someone jostled his shoulder and he pushed back, just enough pressure to warn them not to crowd him too much. Not that he terribly minded but if you were going to group up, you had to be polite about it. Some Kimeti seemed to forget that and Totoma were notoriously bad at understanding personal space.

“Yes,” he agreed, “I think we’ve seen everything we need to see.” He backed up, making sure Bruise was following along. Everyone else could get down into the muck and investigate the bones more if they wanted, Forgotten was content to leave it to them and continue discussing somewhere quieter.

Especially now that some prime relaxing spots had just opened up.

“This way, Bruise.” He led the way, keen on a rest in the shade. “Follow me.”

A rest, a walk and a chat with a little mysterious twist. It had turned into another great day.