Keeper-

“I prefer meat.”
Her ears swivel to take in the quiet amusement of the new speaker. Keeper’s black gaze followed a moment later but could not discern the disembodied voice in their midst, at least not right away because a grasshopper began to break up the gaps in their conversation with noise. Then it occurred to her that a grasshopper was rather out of place in this particular season, like most bugs tended to be when the last of summer’s heat faded away. Still, Keeper did not look for the little insect even though she spared it a sympathetic thought for it’s seasonal confusion.

Not that she would have had time to look for a grasshopper because it’s song died and a black speck began to metamorphose into the more common and less spectacular shape of a horse. This horse had beautiful gold eyes except that she had three too many and all of them seemed to focus on the trio that stood before her, startled no doubt, and gape-mouthed or at least Keeper was. It was because this particular transformation was drawn out and meant to shock them as it had served it’s purpose in doing just that.

Now that she could focus on more than just the unnatural change and too many eyes, she realized the horse was bald. Not a lick of hair to her for all that her apologetic grin seemed more eerie because of this lack as bit by bit, the black fur grew back and the mane and tail filled out thick and full. Keeper could not keep her eyes off this strange mare that had come amongst them or perhaps been there all along, just unseen and as something else. That part did not surprise her all that much to be honest - the change did, because it was meant to shock as much as it awed her to some extent.

Keeper grew more concerned about how Tickaani would respond to this, it had to be too much for one to bear. She didn’t respond to Caw right away, instead shuffling a step closer to the blue roan mare and reaching out to stroke a comforting nose down her neck. Tickaani however, mustered a rather even keeled and kind response to Caw that impressed Keeper and made her feel the first pinpricks of pride at how well the blue roan handled herself in this trying situation. She beamed a great big smile at her, prouder than words could say. Tick had some sand in her craw after all, not that Keeper doubted for one moment that the mare wouldn’t be capable of handling her own.

It might be something that their kind recognize in each other, not to exclude Ryan or Caw but they had impressive abilities that made them much more than horses. Keeper and Tick had to compensate with hooves, blunt teeth, and their own wily brains. Not that she has forgotten him, but it occurs to her then that Ryan might not respond so well to this interruption either and her black eyes swing quick to him in a panic. She’d trusted him to just be there, as he’d been leaning in ever closer to the blue roan and herself as the three of them had become close in such a short amount of time (unless she’s fooling herself but there seemed to be a connection there).

Her eyes find not a horse but a tawny cougar in a crouch. Keeper ought to be afraid of him, since the big cat is a natural enemy to the horse but she recognizes those green eyes as Ryan’s and finds that she cannot fear him at all, well a tad bit because fear is healthy to have but it’s Ryan in there, not a predator on the hunt. That and he seems more protective of Tickaani and her than anything else… her taut muscles began to relax in fractions, through moments of silence and the sound of their combined breathing until she eases from the blue roan’s side to Ryan’s cougar self and drops her nose into the fur of his neck. She is mindful of the twitching tip of his tail because it flicks against her ankles a time or two. “Easy Ryan.” she counsels him softly, blowing out a warm breath against his tawny pelt.

She lifts her nose from his back to look at the black mare again, really noticing her small but commanding appearance for the first time as she looks beyond the glimmer of her gold eyes. “I’m afraid you gave us all quite a fright with that change. I’m Keeper, and I think it’s nice to meet you Caw.” That’s one thing that Keeper cannot be faulted for - her honesty, because on the one hoof, she does believe it is nice to be in the presence of a fascinating creature like Caw but at the same time, Ryan’s shift does bring back a little of her initial shock and doubt.

not knowing how deep the woods are and lightless

Keeper-

It would be days before Keeper would heed a fairy’s call and come, curious, to the gathering. Days, before she changed into a legendary cryptid that her grandmother had told her of. More days, before she realized or even acknowledged that she’d become a shifter too. Only nothing so cute as either of the cougars before Tickaani and her. Keeper would eventually become a bear.

Caw, with her oilslick skin, seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit.
Keeper kept her nose buried in the cougar ruff of Ryan’s neck, only raising her head up a fraction as she blew out a surprised snort from her flaring nostrils as a more outlandish cougar take shape before them. More of Caw’s impressive tricks. But as quick as she is a wildcat, she’s a horse again and mentioning how she means them no harm and for the first time, Keeper can see that she is a tad bit younger than the rest of them and a wry grin skips across her own lips.

She can feel Tick’s eyes on her and she gives her a muddled look of helplessness and mirth. The entire situation was becoming a bit absurd but Caw was blazing on ahead with a bold explanation and invitation to some island that Keeper has heard of but never seen before. Islands don’t hold much appeal to her. She hasn’t much time for further thought when Ryan shivers back into his horse-form and leans on her. Keeper misses the touch of him the moment he is gone from her; she was - for all they still knew - mostly a horse and craved things like the closeness of a herd, even if this was an odd assemblage of such for the time being.

Tick seems to be all for this idea of an island. Ryan, on the other hoof, seems a bit more hesitant and his hesitance is an opening that Keeper slips into with a quick shy smile for all of them. “Well, since Ischia has been mentioned. I might as well get down to business myself and throw in an offer of a place to visit. I’m from a land called Hyaline and you are all welcome to visit there, or maybe even make it your home.” This hadn’t gone according to plan, not that Keeper had had much of a plan to begin with.

“Sorry, I usually like to know someone before I just tell them to come with me.” she offers with a giggle of her own and a glance to Caw. She admired the mare’s shock-and-awe method just a bit. It certainly gave her a good opening to extend her invitation. Keeper usually just struck up polite but interesting conversation and went on from there.

not knowing how deep the woods are and lightless