[Thunder]

(Quad Form)

My, my, it had been quite a while since Viridian had traveled extensively. She had been busy raising her twelve children to adulthood, but now they had all moved out of the house, finally leaving her with some spare time. She was getting old now, with some of her pure white hairs turning silvery, so she figured that she should go out while she could still walk easily.

The Arkuhna smiled as she stepped into the park. There were lots of young creatures of all species- Lucain, Kuhnas, humans, you name it- all running around and screaming with glee. She recalled how her own children used to play and yell and remembered how sick she was of the noise sometimes. But her empty nest seemed a little too quiet now, and she grew lonely easily when she didn't feel like making art. Maybe there would be someone in this park she could chat with.

Humming quietly to herself, Viridian found an empty park bench next to a little pond. She sprang up onto the bench seat and looked out over the pond, taking in all the sights and sounds. It was a beautiful day.

[Azura Rayume]

He was a nervous wreck.

The very small Lucian was shaking in his proverbial boots. Whatever had possessed that crazy woman to drag him down here had apparently granted her the nerve to abandon him as well. His day had gone downhill ever since, and he blamed her entirely.

Ozark had been confronted with a plethora of stressors in the last hour. He had come face-to-face with a herd of children covered in creek filth, a very large spider, and a quartet of ducks who believed him to be in possession of something they could eat. Now, after having escaped the waterfowl for the shelter of a very tall, very dry tree, every individual who walked by insisted on giving him a worried look and trying to talk to him, which only served to drain his already exhausted psyche.

How this day could possibly get any worse, he hadn't the foggiest. He just knew it would.

[Thunder]

As Viridian was looking across the pond, she noticed a white Lucain with minty green wingblades coming closer. He seemed unusually small for one of his kind, and she squinted to verify if her perception of his size was true... And it turned out he indeed was rather tiny. He seemed to be shaking for some reason, but it couldn't be from cold because it was warm outside, and he didn't look like he had fallen into a cold puddle. Did something frighten him...?

Viridian felt her mother instincts kick in, even though a Lucain clearly wasn't a Kuhna. She was sensitive to the emotions of others and felt a need to approach the stranger. Hopping off of the bench, she slowly walked towards the tree the Lucain was approaching. She hoped she could comfort him, and maybe he'd make a good conversation partner too.

[Azura Rayume]

An ear flicked in the direction of a rustling sound, soon drawing his face around as well. He had been in high-alert mode from the start of thing, and it was (apparently) paying off at the moment. A Kuhna was approaching, which only served to make him tense. Kuhnas weren't as bad as children, but she looked to be older. Older people had a tendency to talk a lot usually about aches and diseases. He hated when they talked about diseases. He always wound up so paranoid afterwards.

Ah, well. She was too close to readily avoid without looking like a total jerk, and social conventions prevented him from bolting this instant. Well, that, and running was likely to attract more attention than he wanted. The best course of action would just be to wait and try to slip away as quietly as possible while she was lost in her memories or something.

[Thunder]

Before she could quite completely reach where the Lucain was sitting, Viridian stopped and observed him for a moment, though not long enough to be awkward. He was certainly very alert and had noticed her as soon as she approached. As nervous as he seemed, though, he wasn't trying to run away. She figured that was a good thing. The Arkuhna gave the Lucain a small, kindly smile and sat down once she was at a good distance for conversation.

"Hello," she said quietly. "Erm, I don't mean to pry, but...are you all right?" Viridian hoped that was a satisfactory conversation starter. She didn't want to make the fellow more nervous than he already was.

[Azura Rayume]

Ozark leaned away from where she sat, though she was a mostly comfortable distance away for the moment, and shot her a small, nervous smile back. Social convention. They smile, you smile back, regardless of whether you would rather they leave or not. Some may say that conversation would be good for him, but he would argue with silence if possible.

Still... This lady didn't seem so bad. She hadn't moved to harm him or anything, and she didn't even start talking about her illnesses. He hoped she didn't have any. If he started talking to her, and she had some kind of sickness, he would regret it for weeks. "I'm f-f-fine," he stammered at last, his voice barely more than a whisper.

[Thunder]

Although Viridian noticed Ozark lean back slightly, she was glad that he at least smiled at her. That probably indicated that she was at a safe distance, not too close but not too far. It took him a moment to reply to her question, but that was all right. Viridian had seen quite a few of her own children act this nervous around strangers. Usually it just took a little bit of time for them to get used to others.

"Well, maybe I should introduce myself," the Arkkuhna said, keeping her tone as gentle as possible. "I'm Viridian. It's a nice day, isn't it?" She didn't ask for the Lucain's name quite yet; she figured he'd tell her if he was ready.

[Azura Rayume]

"I g-guess so." Ozark tried his best to maintain a lack of eye contact, one paw tracing lazy circles in the air. Nice. Yeah. If you liked an uncomfortable amount of humidity and a high pollen count just waiting to activate someone's allergies. If someone started sneezing, allergies or otherwise, he was on his way out in a heartbeat; one could never be too careful when it came to one's health. He also took into account the high level of insect activity, which bothered him alone if it was above zero-percent, the loud children, and, of course, the aggressive waterfowl that had taken up residence in the area.

Overall, no an entirely horrible day when compared to some he had had in the past. Just not the best. Nice would suffice for now.

[Thunder]

Viridian wasn't really sure if the Lucain meant what he said. She noticed that he wasn't quite looking at her, and he was starting to fidget. Sure, the weather was acceptable, but having a "nice day" involved more than just favorable weather. One could feel down even if the sun was brightly shining, and people could be happy on a rainy afternoon. Or perhaps the Lucain thought the weather wasn't good enough? Maybe, as an older Kuhna, Viridian's perception of the heat had changed. All of this was pure conjecture, though.

"It's days like this when I wish I had kits again," she sighed. "When my children were young, I'd always take them here to play. They're all grown up now, though, and most of them have moved far away. I still like to come here on my own, but it's not really the same." A soft, melancholic smile appeared on her face. "What about you? Do you like this place...?"