Pride Parade had made a name for herself over her ability to adhere to a higher standard, and to show off the results. Her life, since that, had been about trying to do better, and ever since meeting a new doe...

..she'd found a reason to try to do something new.

It had taken some time to track down the moss, and even longer to scrape a large patch of stone clean. Laying the moss out after was simple enough, and this, at least, would be a far more durable marking than something like spread clay.

One of these, after all, got brighter in the damp.

She continued arranging her moss as her lions watched, frowning and rearing back on her hooves to get an idea of how she'd placed things. She certainly wouldn't win any style awards for her attempts... but hopefully she'd attract the right sort of attention.

When Fish was flying, in her eagle's shape, the world below was so small and alien it didn't seem real. Moving in the sky was so different than moving on the ground; it was like swimming, almost, except with no water resistance and nothing got up your nose if you turned a somersault. She could keep an eye on things, up in the sky, but it wasn't like watching over kin when she was down there with them. The best thing about being up here was seeing how the world worked. She could fly over lakes and watch fish circle in huge feeding frenzies; she could track migrations without ever having to guess about where things would go next. The world made sense from up here, and it was easy to remember how small you were- how you were a part of something so much bigger, and no matter what happened to you, the world would keep going.

But sometimes something stuck out, something jarring, something that jerked you out of your big-picture reverie and brought things to light in a crystal sharp focus. There was a glyph on the ground, soft glowing moss- a glyph that was almost her marking symbol, but not quite. Somebody was... calling her, maybe. Somebody who knew she was an eagle some of the time.

Which could be anybody, really, as she was not hard to find. She'd always had a huge personality, but with her ascension she'd started to stand literally head and shoulders above the crowd. And there weren't... any other kin who could turn into a big, glowing-eyed eagle that liked to crash parties. Maybe one day that would change, but for now, eagle flight was a solo endeavor. It'd be nice if somebody could join her, someday.

She wondered what kind of kin would have thought to leave this. What were they trying to tell her? The message had to be for her. It was a real big fish. She was Real Big Fish. Ergo, her message.

With a red-tailed hawk's cry (she never actually used an eagle voice when soaring), she circled down. Somebody needed to tell her something. Somebody with... huh, that was a lot of lions. Was this a cry for help? Did... did these lions corner this totoma, who then used moss to send out a cry for help? No, that wasn't what was happening here, not when she looked a little more closely. The cats were waiting at attention. They were trained lions, and this totoma had something important to say. She landed not too far from the moss, hopping around it with a raptor's impatient gait, before shaking off her feathers and standing up and addressing the totoma who stood nearby, the obvious creator. (There was, after all, still moss smudged on her hooves.)

"It's a pretty good likeness, but the fish was bigger."

The doe grinned as the mare came to alight down with her-- those blazing golden eyes heralded what she was sure was the only mare in the swamp that could reach speeds that fast in the skies. Her lions barely blinked at the intrusion, deep as they were in their naptime routine, even when she shook herself onto four hooves.

She laughed at the other's boast. "Mmm, I'm sure. Last I checked, however, eagles chirped." She grinned, bracing her neck as she reared the tiniest bit off of her front hooves in an invitation of a proper greeting.

"That they do! But it's so much more fun doing the hawk kee-harr, and sometimes you just have to indulge yourself!" She danced around a little, shifting her weight between right and left, gently clacking her horns against the stranger's as they engaged in the traditional totoma greeting. A few little clicks and some delightfully full-bodied smacks, the hollow thock noises echoing off the rocks. Sometimes you didn't need words. Sometimes sounds were just as good.

The other doe was tall, which was good, because Fish was built like the broad side of a mountain and was always secretly afraid she'd miss a greeting headbutt and accidentally clobber somebody in the back of the neck. As they came apart, she shook herself, enjoying the feeling of her fur settling against her neck.

"So you know who I am, probably. Real Big Fish, but most kin just call me Fish. I have a feeling you're up here for something more interesting than just name-signs in moss. What should I call you?"

The smiled, looking at her babies, and cleared her throat.

They followed her unspoken cue, sitting up at attention--she was absolutely going to have to find something to treat them with-- as she started to speak up.

"I am Pride Parade." One of the lions gave a quiet, rumbling snarl as she bowed her head, "And I need your help. You're the kin that everyone mentions when someone needs a guide for the wonders and resources in the swamp here, and you fly, so I figure you're better at scouting than, well. Than those of us bound to the earth. I have someone special I'd like to give something, and it has to be marvellous-- no. It has to be perfect."

Fish listened and looked- but not at the doe, at the lions. "That's the pride you paraded, isn't it? Getting four lions to follow you- that's not easy. They're not like wolves where they'll pack up with anything." She paused for a moment. "And if you ever meet a doe named Pack Tactics, please do not tell her I said that. She's got enough of a complex about those hounds of hers. But lions- that's different. And you don't need to suck up to little ol' me!" She chuckled. "One hunter to another, just looking at you tells me most of what I need to know. You've got chops, kid. I'm a pretty good tracker, and you tracked me– and you're traveling with a coordinated group of hunters that could take down a kin, if they were hungry enough or scared enough. You hunt enough to keep four lions fed and content. That in and of itself is pretty impressive, and clearly a strength. This kin of yours- they're delicate quarry. Not just a good meal, no– you wanna put the effort into it." She thought for a moment.

"What about... hm. You could do something real showy- bring them up to a high place, like Ghost Thistle's mound, and coordinate a hunt. Maybe the five of you take on a crocodile, then you present the tastiest bit of it to them. In my opinion that's the tongue, but others like the heart. That shows more than just brute force- hunting, good hunting is like... well, like a dance when viewed from above. It's pretty beautiful. But... and I'm real sorry if this is embarrassing, but if you want to work out something ideal, I gotta know. Is this "you want to impress someone because they're super gorgeous and you want a fling," or is this love? If you're not sure, that's fine- but what do you want it to be? Or at least what do you think you want it to be?"

Oh. Oh, this mare was motherly. Something about it just poured off of her-- she reminded her of home, of the old tribe matron that would nag and encourage her in equal measure, and, well, it was wonderful listening to her.

First, she'd buoyed her pride with a compliment on the lions. Lions were hard to control, and particular besides, so having her naming deed be recognized as a work of passion she'd worked for seasons at was validating indeed.

And then the fire that Fish showed, as she zoned in on an idea. She was nodding along with her guesses and conjectures-- yes, she was important, wait no, a crocodile? A coordinated hunt? She listened politely, waiting for her to peter herself out so that Pride Parade could get a response in.

Before she could, she was being asked about her feelings, and. Oh.

"First of all, it can't be a hunt. Or a kill. She values life and has that sort of sensitivity where seeing things that were in pain, even for a good reason, pains her herself. No meat, no fish, no foraged eggs, no insects. If those were a good fit, I wouldn't need your help.

"She's. I don't know what I want with her-- I want to be with her in a way that she wants, but I want her to recognize that I'm doing something magnificent for her because she's worthy of that gesture. If she wants to thank me and keep on being friends, well, that's." She swallowed. "That's wonderful too. But I do want to show her she's worth loving, and that I'd be interested, and."

She sighed. "And I tried it once already, and I absolutely did not get through to her."

Oh. A vegetarian. But that wasn't what was important. What was important was that this younger doe had a fire in her belly. It wasn't about impressing the other girl at all. It was about devotion. Devotion wasn't always the same thing as love, but that didn't matter- the two burned bright and hot, like an angry star. "So... how'd the first one flop? Don't tell me you gave her like, a dead bunny. I mean, rabbit's delicious, but if she doesn't eat meat, I can see that going real, real bad. Don't worry, you can tell me. I won't laugh." She paused. "Well, unless it's really funny. But it won't be a mean laugh, that at least I can promise."

Pride laughed gently. "No. Thankfully, when I met her, I learned about that before, well. Before she had to see my babies eat. No. I think... I think what happened is..."

She turned, gaze flicking between clouds in the sky and the movement of branches framing them. "She's so skinny, and small-- even for an Acha. Nothing like how frail some of them get. But she has these absolutely gigantic spires on her back, like she grew icicles upside down in her egg. And. When we met, I expressed... well. Concern. You know what happens when a totoma doesn't get enough bone and shell to feed her plates. I expressed concern about her diet, and we talked about chickens, and marsh fowl."

She laughed quietly. "And then one day, I find this one. I swear, Fish, she looks like a foal of ours, if the foal could sprout feathers like you. I tracked her for days until I confirmed she was laying, and I got her used to following me, and kept the lions at bay and introduced them, and..." She sighed gently. "And she loved her! It was wonderful, she was thankful, she now has a source for shell that doesn't make her heart ache and I am so glad that I did that when I did.

"But I think... I think it didn't get through to her. That I was doing it for her, especially for her, because she is special, and she deserves it." She leaned down as one of her lions walked over, butting muzzles together in an affectionate gesture.

"I need help figuring out how to make it clear to her that I feel how I feel. I want something at least as special as Shimmerfluff is to her... without having to return to that and point out that she may have missed what I was trying to say."

"Shimmerfluff, huh. So she's got a pet, a friend. You've given her a companion, which is a great gift, but it's kinda utilitarian, isn't it? She might see it as "well, she wants me to be fed and not lonely, but the companionship of a bird is nothing compared to the companionship of a kin. Even when that bird is, you know. Awesome and powerful with glowing yellow eyes and the ability to scream like a hawk." She chuckled again. She was joking.

"If that's the case, then you gotta give her the only thing that's good enough, the only thing that really matters. You gotta give her the world." Fish nodded, thinking about the great patterns she saw from her place in the sky. The world itself was the most beautiful thing there was, but most kin didn't get to experience all it had to offer. This girl wasn't worth a meal, or a hunt- she was an experience. Even if this was temporary, she was something to be treasured.

"Sometimes... sometimes it's not a single grand gesture. Sometimes it's being there and staying no matter what. Take her to the top of Ghost Thistle's mound, and stay up all night and watch the sunrise. Go north, where you can see the distant mountains, and get dizzy in the reflected sun. Go to the obelisk in the south and marvel at how it connects to those in other lands. Travel together, and find beauty in the little things; in her reflection in drops of dew, in the sweep of the wind over the desert border, in the rainbow-slick-sheen of bubbling tar, in the sparkle of the sun on riffles and rapids. And then- then take her home. Or find a home. Or be a home, for the both of you. If she deserves the world, then that's all there is to it, and that's what you've got to give. Sometimes... sometimes when we want to do something grand, we have to think on an even bigger level than a single event. We have to look at the big picture, see it from above- we have to get that wide perspective that you get from traveling by someone's side. You wouldn't just be a companion, like Shimmerfluff. You'd be a part of her world, and how she sees it and her place in it. What that means, exactly, is up to her, but it'll prove that you want to be more than just a warm body or a little friend who doesn't talk back."

There was another doe who came to mind, and Fish found something sticking like a stone hook in her cheek- she needed to ask if she'd ever seen the ocean. But this wasn't about her; this was about Pride Parade and the doe she burned for. Or yearned for. Same thing, really, wasn't it.

"When you do that- when you lay the world at her feet- then she'll know. She'll know that you didn't take her with you to hunt or to forage or to do anything other than see things that few kin have seen. That you'd go to the ends of the earth if it meant making her feel special, and that these things, these hidden gems, this secret world- that you did it all for her. So that she could see it, and smile, and take in the bounty of the world. It's not a hunt. It's more like a pilgrimage to and for her, and she'll know that's what you mean." Fish's smile was warm and genuine. "How does that sound?"

She'd given her companionship. She'd traded learning. She'd even found the doe a friend. And Fish was right-- Pride Parade wanted to give her the world, to show First Night that she was Pride's world.

Her lions, though... her pride would always need her, and that sort of travel... she'd need to negotiate it carefully with First Night, figure out how to balance the acha doe's reverence for living things with the needs of her maned and be-tailed charges.

"If I'm going to show her beauty... I need to know where to go. Otherwise I'd be asking her to guide me. A sigh. "I grew up in the mountains. I'd show her them if I could. And we've been spending so much time... maybe I just need to dedicate myself more...?"

"Spending time is great, but it can fall into a pattern, and that signals the status quo. Like, uh. Sorry for the metaphor, but look at salmon. When salmon are just going through the motions, nothing really happens. They eat, they grow, but they don't mate. They don't reproduce. They're content, and nothing really changes. And that's what traveling together can fix. The salmon's lives don't change without the annual salmon run. Breaking out of your holding pattern is a great way to introduce other changes. Now..." Oh, this was gonna be hard. This was gonna be real hard because she was Real Big Fish, not Real Good Direction Explainer or Real Talented Map Drawer.

"The boundaries of the Ache are... well, they're kind of like a giant slug, almost. It's not a hard boundary, and the closer you get to the edge, the earlier you start to feel it. But the point isn't to find these boundaries; it's to show off how big the world is, and how taking the effort to find out about it is worth it. Like she is." Fish made a rough outline- there was that peninsular shape to the north, and then the barrier islands down south. "It's a rough map, but it might get you there."



"There's beauty wherever you go, but if you go southwest, down here, there's these thick mangrove islands that lead out to the bigger barrier islands. Find a beach with a view to the west, and the sunset's like liquid fire. If you go south of where we are now, you'll come across one of the obelisks- there might be others in the swamp to find, but we know where this one is. If you go east of there, there's these cataracts- a place where there's a cliff and a bunch of waterfalls form into one giant waterfall. You can't help but feel tiny when you look up at it, and the rainbows it throws are like when you look up and see that river of stars in the night sky.

Either of these places will remind you how small you are, but that's the beauty of it when you're with someone. You look up at these natural wonders and you just... you get a feeling. Suddenly, the size of your world has doubled, because she's next to you, and you both realize that even though your place in the world is minuscule, you aren't alone. I'd probably do the southern islands first. Seeing the ocean is a beautiful thing. The majesty of roaring waves, the beauty of pearlescent seashells... It's a long trip, but it's worth it."