Beyond the Looking Glass [Private]

Dark stared at the Chimera and Kimi. He just watched as the mare he had originally thought was...helpless take down a Chimera then let it go. He flew over to her, staying quiet for a moment. "That was...interestin'." He said, taking his hat off and dusting it off. He put it back on his head and looked at the way the Chimera had crawled off to. "Ya know...Ah don't think we properly introduced ourselves. Ah'm Dark wing, nice t' meet ya." He casually stuck out his hoof for her to shake. To someone looking, he would seem like he was in his own little world, oblivious to the crater he was hovering in.

But in his mind, he was freaking out and trying to figure out how she could have done something like that. He made sure she was indeed an earth pony....Maybe her snake eyes had something to do with it? He'd have to question her later about all of this. He also had to cross off going to the hospital on his mental list, seeing that she was not...Amnesia? That popped into his head and he had to think about that for a few moments. He figured he'd pin that to an imaginary bulletin board for later reference. He face stayed the same through all those thoughts, though.

Kimi was particularly disturbed by this change in her chakra, her energy. It was different, it felt like it was sealed up, but not in the usual manner of sealing techniques, but more limited. What was this place? What was it doing to her? Kimi looked at the Chimera and then toward's Dark Wing who finally introduced himself. With his hoof sticking out, she merely stared at it, slightly confused, was this suppose to be a hand shake? She looked to her own hoof and then back to his hoof and then to his face before she slowly reached out her hoof to press it against his. At the moment her hoof touched his and she spoke her name, she felt the vibration's within his body. Practically, in a sense, seeing how his body worked. "I'm known as Kimi, leader of the village amongst the glass."

She even felt how quick his heart rate was moving as she moved her hoof up and down against his. Her brows lifted more in curiosity than surprise as she looked at him. She pulled her hoof away from his and looked at it again before she mumbled out. "I'm....far away from home, aren't I?" There was this pain in her chest she felt and her chest tightened as well. Her eyes watering over. Maybe it was in that moment when she had introduced herself and touched hoofs with this strange creature that she had come to really realize, she wasn't anywhere near home.

Dark raised an eyebrow as he watched her look at his hoof. He thought it was a bit...strange. He smiled at her when they touched hooves, shaking it up and down. "Kimi...That's a nice name, though ah've never heard of a village amongst the glass." He put his hoof back down to his side. He thought about something for a moment and finally landed on the ground, stretching his wings. He cleared all of his thoughts and looked around. "We should probably get going to Baltimare." He said, turning around and started trotting.

He took one step before stopping to listen to what Kimi had said about being far away from home. He looked down at his hooves for a moment. Far away from home... He took all his previous thoughts and shoved the in imaginary lave to make sure they never get thought up again. He turned back to her and looked at her. His ears flopped against his head and he looked at her with a sad look. He gently put his hoof on her shoulder and looked at her. "Maybe ya are...and maybe ya aren't. Just try not to cry." He gave her a sad smile. "Ah know the feeling o' bein' far away from home. Ah know what it's like...If ya keep being moppy ah might have t' hug ya and cry mahself..." He took his hoof away from her shoulder and put it under her chin to lift her head up so he can look her in the eye. "Try not t' be sad, please?"

He didn't wait for an answer before putting his hoof back down on the ground. He turned around and started to trot forward. "We best not stay here, don't wanna get attacked again." He said, his ears bolting straight up. He started to whistle as he trotted. Hmm...She must be very far away from home...Well, ah'm gonna get her back home. He though to himself.

Her hoof came down slowly when Dark stated he never heard of her village. She must really be a long ways from home then if he hadn't heard of her village, unless he wasn't the kind of person...no, correction the kind of pony that knew about all the locations in the world? Well for now she needed to push the thoughts back, though it was hard to keep from being sad, she had twin's that she needed to get back to. Though when he lifted her chin she looked at him slightly surprised. It wasn't so much the feeling of being away from home, but rather being away from her children because to her, they were her home. If only he knew...

She blushed slightly and blinked her eyes several times to clear them of the tears that had formed and she took in a deep breath. Well for the time being she could think of this as another mission. A mission she needed to finish as soon as possible in order to get back home. She watched as he trotted away from her and for a moment she only watched and she looked around herself and then back to him. "I guess there's no other choice." she mumbled to herself as she started to walk after him and soon started to trot, well at least attempt to, when she did she ended up tripping over her own legs and hitting the floor again.

Dark didn't notice the slight blush and just kept walking forward, whistling. He stopped walking when he heard something hit the floor behind him. He looked back at Kimi and let out a little sigh. "Ah suppose ya can't trot that fast without fallin'...?" He walked back over to her and offered her a hoof. "Out of curiosity again, how'd ya accidentally get here?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. He really needed to slap himself some times for his damn curiosity.

His mind quickly made a new list of things he needed to do. The top of it being get to Baltimare in one piece, though...after what he just saw Kimi do he was fairly sure they had that one in the bag...Unless a group dragons happens to cross them. He nearly slapped himself for thinking about such things. He needed to learn a thing or to about being an optimist sometime in the future. It might be a great thing for situations like these...Especially with the being far from home problem.

She looked at Dark's hoof and didn't take it. She pushed herself back onto her hoofs and merely said. "Something's off with my body." Well aside from being use to being bipedal of course. though to answer his question as she shook the dirt off her body. "It was just an accident." she seemed firm on not telling him the details. Rather she didn't see a need to state the details, anytime soon. More so for the safety of her village than anything else. She couldn't go around speaking about such things. It'd betray her village, more so it's the way she had been raised. This was the norm in the life of a shinobi from where she came from. Keeping secrets, doing whatever it takes to complete a mission while at the same time keeping their secrets with them to their graves and beyond.

"Are there any people around?" she wondered if there were any. From the looked of this one just by appearance alone he seemed to have come from some sort of civilization that had technology enough to make the things he had on his body and even the weapon he carried. It's probably safe to say they have some good level of technology. Kimi found it hard to believe that something without fingers could make such things. There had to have been someone or someway for such intricate things to have been created.

Dark put his hoof back down on the ground. He stepped back and gave her some space, turning away and looking around. He shook his head a little at the answer he got and sighed. He started to trot forward, not wanting to push for a proper answer. He knew she was probably leaving something out, but guessed it was something important. He pulled the rim of his hat over his face so it was shaded. A little frown squirmed it's way onto his face. Ah try t' be nice, ah even lead her back t' Baltimare and what do ah get? A pony who'd rather not answer a question. He let out a small sigh and shook that though out of his head. He really didn't need to be mopping right now...or trying to be moppy.

"Hmm?" He looked at at Kimi with a raised eyebrow. "People? People...Well we are headin' to Baltimare aren't we?" He said, tilting his head to the side. He turned his head back around and looked forward. He pulled his bandanna over his muzzle, the smell of the swamp somewhat getting to him now. "Hmm...What are ya gonna do when we get t' Baltimare?" He asked, somewhat muffled through his bandanna. He figured he'd help her a bit more once they got to Baltimare, seeing that he really did want to help her get back to her home.

So there would be people in Baltimare, huh? Least that was the thought that crossed her mind when Dark Wing gave her an answer. She'd only find out once she got there, she didn't want to be in this area any longer. Rather she wanted a shower. Yes, a nice cool shower that would help her relax and think calmly. As to what she would do once they got to Baltimare, well... "Fix what's wrong with me." That's what she saw as top priority. She didn't like the fact that her energy flow wasn't moving as it should and with this change, meant a whole new change in her energy flow, or correctly termed her chakra flow. Least that's what it's called where she came from.

"Then possibly find the nearest shinobi village and extract information." She said it so casually as if it were a normal thing. Well to her it was and just saying it to anyone, well she had a great power that she had very few people to worry about stopping her. "Well...maybe after a shower first." she added at the end as she scrunched her nose a moment and put a hoof over her muzzle again. "Shall we get going?"

Dark looked back at her for a moment. He then shrugged it off as nothing. "Any way I can help with that?" He asked, wanting to be helpful. He turned towards her, taking his hat off for a moment to fix his rust colored mane before putting it back on. He looked at her curiously, wondering what is wrong with her...Besides her snake eyes? Fluffy ears? No...Fluffy eared ponies were quite common amongst the lunar guards. Thestral parent perhaps? He shook his head to clear his thoughts again. Why did this mare peak his curiosity so much?

He turned back around and started to trot forward. "Nearest shinowhat?" He looked behind him at her, giving a very confused look. He had never heard of a shinobi village before. Maybe she really was a long way from home...a very long way from home. He shook his head a little and turned back forward. He didn't need to get lost right now for not paying attention...or run right into a tree. At the mention of a shower, he had to ask one thing to her. "How exactly are ya gonna shower?" He was really wondering how she was going to do that...Other than maybe jumping into Horseshoe Bay. But then again, that didn't really seem like it was sanitary...or safe. There could be sharks in the water after all.

He didn't even know what a Shinobi village is. Well that might be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing. It was a difficult thing to know as very few outside of political figures actually knew about them. This at least told her that this person, no correction, this pony was a regular civilian. She had to be careful with what she says around him. She wouldn't want him to end up finding out about thing's he shouldn't find out about. She started following after him as he trotted, she watched him for a few just to see how his legs moves and she mimicked him and began trotting as well. It wasn't long before she managed to catch up to him and move alongside him as if she had been trotting all her life.

A brow rose in response to what he asked. "What do you mean how am I going to shower? Do you not have showers?" Well that really skewed her perception to what kind of level of technology they had where they have such nice clothes and goggles and weapons, but no shower? She didn't have much of a problem bathing in the sea, wouldn't be her first time. "Well I guess we'll just need to find the nearest, cleanest source of water them and I'll clean off using that."

Dark looked beside him to see Kimi trotting along. He then stared at her for a moment. "Course we have showers. How else am ah suppose to wash mah mane? Go to a lake and do it?" He rolled his eyes and looked back forward. "What ah meant was how are ya goin' t' get access t' a shower? Ah'd gladly let ya use the shower in mah hotel room. Which also brings up another question, where are ya gonna sleep when it becomes night?" He'd gladly help her with the shower problem, but had to wonder about the other things. Like food. He didn't really see her with a saddlebag or anything so that almost immediately made him think she had no bits. Oh. Stop over thinkin'! Think about it when ya get t' i. He mentally yelled at himself, letting out a sigh.

He looked at Kimi from the corner of his eye. He had to note that she seemed to be a fast learner. A small smile crawled onto his face, but it was hidden under his bandanna. He had to wonder really how far she was from home. A sudden memory of what happened when he went to the Griffin Kingdom popped into his head. He shook his head and pushed the memory back into the depths of his mind. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Well that's good, they did have showers, she was relieved to hear that. Though he did bring up a good point about accessing it, though her solution was the same as she always done. Bath in a lake, or sneak into someone's place and use their shower and leave before even getting caught, and the other gruesome method's she had, but she figured those wouldn't be appropriate right now. Though he did offer his shower, so that prevented any tragedies from happening tonight.

Kimi kept looking ahead and she casually just answered Dark. "I'll just sleep outside." It wouldn't have been the first time. Many times she had been on mission's where she'd spend days outside, tracking and hunting. A shinobi's life, where she came from, was by no means easy. "Is there something else I'm suppose to be aware off?"

Dark turned his head to look at Kimi with a raised eyebrow. Had she really just said that she would sleep outside? He furled his eyebrows a little. "Are ya really going t' sleep outside?" He asked, shaking his head at her. "Ya seem like a..." He paused, trying to find the right word. "Nice enough pony. Since ah'm letting use my shower anyway, ah might as well let ya use my bed. Don't think ah'm gonna get much sleep tonight anyway." He told her, which was somewhat true. He always liked to finish his work before going to sleep, and he really felt like he had lots to do tonight.

He first had to sketch out his map. Then he had to figure out how the heck that mare did what she did! He'd have to look and read into a few books...For now, he looked back forward, realizing he had been staring at Kimi as he was thinking in his head. "What else ya should be aware off? Hmm...Food? Bits?" He shrugged and just kept trotting. He resumed his whistling while glancing around.

Kimi shifted her gaze over at Dark Wing who sounded like he was confused by her statement of sleeping outside. It really wasn't a problem for her to begin with, but he didn't know that. Though what she was gathering enough about him already was that he seemed very moral driven. A good person, er, pony. Of course, if he offered things to her she wouldn't reject them unless she saw something wrong with it, such as you know, someone attempting to kill her in some fashion, but as of yet she'd not once gotten any indication that Dark Wing was after her life. "Alright." Of course, the problem being was how would she sleep in this form.

Her eyes shifted ahead of her as she was examine the area's she was going through. Keeping track of anything that may seem out of the ordinary for her, so far, aside from a talking pony and the chimera beast, thing's seemed relatively normal. Her eyes twitched at the mention of bits. "Bits?" she questioned.

Dark stopped whistling and coughed a little. He looked at Kimi with a confused expression. "Bits...are equestrian currency...And ah'm guessing you've never seen a bit before..." He muttered the last part rather quietly. He continued trotting along, occasionally kicking a loose rock that was on the ground with his hoof. "Hmm...How 'bout this, ah take ya out for dinner, and ya can answer a few of mah questions." He tilted his head to the side, a small grin hidden behind his bandanna.

It took him a few moments to actually process what he had just said and almost immediately wanted to slap himself and take what he just said back. Why did ah just say that?! WHY! He quickly looked down at his hooves and slouched a tiny bit. He was also silently glade he pulled his bandanna over his muzzle because he had a light blush on his face. Idiot, idiot, idiot. There ain't no way t' worm mah way out of his situation...maybe... He reached up with a hoof and rubbed his face with it a little.

There was an entirely different currency here? So her yen wouldn't work here? Well that might be problematic for the moment. Her ear's dropped a moment as she looked to him after he had explained that it was currency. Though her eyes rose and her eyes widened when he had asked to take her to dinner, though very quickly after that her ears dropped and her brows came together and her tone shifted from being light and gentle to being a touch bit angry. "No, thank you." There was a reason for this, but it had nothing to do with Dark Wing. It was just something that had occurred to her in the past, which affected her greatly. "I'll just accept being lead to Baltimare and then get out of your hair."

She continued trotting on as she looked ahead. No chances. she thought to herself. No way am I going to let my guard down. Her trotting speed increased slightly.

Dark sighed and shook his head. "Err...yeah..." He reached up with a hoof and pulled his hat over his face a little more. His ears flopped against his head in a bit of a saddening motion. Idiot...Now ah'm just wishin' that chimera had eaten me... He shook his head a little and just kept walking. He slouched a bit more, in a mopey mood. He looked up only a little to see Kimi increase her pace, forcing him to pick up his pace to catch up to her before she gets too far ahead. He'd have to make a note to self not to piss off a mare...

He had to wonder what his dad would say to him right now... "Make it up t' the mare, do be so pissy...Stop slouchin'." He muttered under his breath. "'Course that old buck would say something like that." He seemed to have picked up his pace a fare amount and seemed to be muttering to himself about an airship and something about an old buck. He seemed to have forgotten that Kimi was even with him and just kept muttering to himself.

It was a swell of emotion's that she had felt at that moment, but it wasn't directed at Dark Wing. It wasn't his fault, it's not like he knew. Though she still kept marching onward, just moving straight ahead in the direction they had been going. She didn't know if they needed to turn or not, so unless Dark Wing said otherwise she'd continue just going in a straight line. Though as she kept moving onward she heard muttering and her ears twitched several times. This had brought her attention to him and she only shifted her eyes in his direction.

"Is everything okay?" she had asked, rather curious about what he was muttering. She had caught a few word's here and there, but wasn't really focused on him entirely to make out everything he said. Was he brooding? She wondered. His emotion's just seemed to ooze off of him that she was able to tell just from his body language that he didn't seem to be feeling all too happy.

Dark skidded to a stop and turned to look at Kimi with a confused expression. "Hmm? Yeah ah'm fine. Why do ya ask?" He was slightly confused as to why she would be asking that. Was it because he was slouching? Maybe he...Was he muttering to himself again? He let out a little groan in slight annoyance. Why did he always mutter to himself when he's thinking about his dad... It always puzzled him and he was still trying to figure out why. Something he's adopted from his dad? Mom? He quickly shook his head. "Yeah...Did ah happen t' be muttering anything?" He asked quietly.

He looked at her for a few moments before resuming his trotting towards Baltimare. He had to wonder if his slow flying was any faster than trotting there. He shrugged to himself and kept trotting. He didn't say much to Kimi, but it was very obvious that he was in deep thought. It would probably be hard to see his expression if she was looking considering his bandanna covered his mouth and his goggles and rim of his had covered his eyes. "Hmm..." Ah just can't figure out that mare... He thought, shaking his head a little.

Kimi halted as well when Dark Wing had done so. She arched a brow as she listened to his response. Her eyes shifted to the side looking at some squirrels in the tree climbing upwards and then shifted back towards Dark Wing. She shrugged at his question. "I was a bit lost in thought, but I heard some muttering. I couldn't exactly make out what it was you were saying." This place was certainly strange, not only was she meeting an talking pony, but she was talking with it as well. Well now that she thought about it. It really isn't as strange as she was making it seem when in fact where she came from there were all sorts of talking animals; from dogs to snakes to birds to fishes. She's meet with quite a few of them and in fact summoned a couple of her own.

Though what was so weird about this place that she had seemed to surprised about this pony speaking? She couldn't quite put her finger on it, excuse me, correction her hoof on it. She looked at Dark Wing and looked him over again before he started trotting again. she trotted after him and kept pace with him, though she slowed down a bit so that Dark Wing would be ahead of her so he can lead the way. There is something off about this place. What exactly is it?

"Ah...That might be fer the best." Dark said to Kimi. Fer the best that ya didn't know what ah was muttering. He mentally added, continuing to trot. He had to wonder how far from Baltimare was from where they were now. Well after that chimera, they had to be closer. He looked at Kimi and had to wonder what she was thinking. He then turned to the squirrels and watched them climb the tree before turning back forward. He started to hum something that had kind of a sadish tone to it but not quite sad. This was just something to keep him occupied unless something eventful happened or of Kimi decided to ask him a question.

He reach up with a hoof and pulled his bandanna away from his muzzle so that now it was just around his neck, how it originally way. He continued to hum until he opened his mouth and started singing. "Fer mah son ah had always a plan, fer t' raise him as best as ah can. Oh well ya can bet, mah only regret is t' not see him grow t' a stallion." He then stopped and let out a sigh. "Dayum it." He muttered quietly, shaking his head. Why did that song remind him of his dad so much... A ship sinkin'? A pony not gettin' to see his son grow? Ya can take yer pick. He mentally growled at himself for thinking such things.

Continuing onward there wasn't much going on between the two ponies. Kimi just kept her focus onward while Dark seemed to have some boiling emotion's swelling within him. The humming was low and Kimi's ear's twitched to the sound. She shifted her eyes over to Dark and watched him. She wondered just what was going on in that pony's mind for him to start humming like that. Does he not realize that will give away our position to any that would be listening nearby? Well that was just her thought process, Kimi still wasn't aware of just how peaceful Equestria was from her homeland where living to the next day was considered something of a miracle.

Though when he bursted out singing loudly like that, Kimi hopped a few feet away and turned toward's him with a shocked expression on her face. Staring right at him until he had stopped and sighed. She then looked around to see if there was anything coming and took a second to feel if anything was on there way, but nothing, just the regular thing's that were found in the forest. "Are you alright?" It was pretty obvious that something was wrong.

Dark jumped a little at hearing Kimi's voice...Wait why did he jump...He took a few steps away from the mare. "Errrr......." He looked around a little and then continued walking to Baltimare, not wanting to saw another word. That must have been real dumb...Ah really need t' slap myself more. He though, his eyes looking around on the ground as he trotted. He kicked a few rocks across the ground, now just feeling bored.

He hmm'ed and stopped. "Ah'll be back in a moment." He told Kimi, unfurling his wings and flying upwards until he could see a fare distance around. He looked around the skies to see if they were even close to Baltimare. He also looked around to see if there was anything flying around in the skies that he should be worried about. He then did a random bird call to fill in the silence, somewhat hoping a bird would call back to him.

Kimi stood there confused as to what was going on with him. She arched a brow and looked up as he took to the skies and watched where he went until he went high passed the tree tops. She tilted her head and then looked around herself. "What is wrong with him..." she mumbled to herself as she stood there waiting. Of course she kept her senses up and paid attention to what was around her, so as not to be caught by surprise.

From above the skies Baltimare can just barely be seen off in the far distance. They had traveled a long distance for quite some time from the center of the swamp to where they're at now. For the most part in the sky it was practically empty, and surveying the swamp's tree tops would come to show several small movements of animals leaping from tree to tree, but nothing big and dangerous could be immediately seen. From the bird calls responded several small birds that were within listening distance.

Kimi's ear twitched to the whistling noise that Dark was making as well and she just glanced up and pondered just how long he was going to take being up there. She looked around again and kicked a small rock that was near her. "This place is weird..." she stated to herself speaking in general about the land she was in, rather than the specific location she was at.