Trotting and Falling Around ((Cloudfall, open))

[cloverkat]

Falling Leaf breathed a sigh of relief as the bustle of Ponyville soon faded behind her as she left the outer limits. Entering the nearby forest, she decided a simple walk would quench her need for quiet, if only for an hour. Today had been busy at the shop, or at least busier than usual, and the mare was glad to get away from the little place she called home for a moment, her excuse being out to lunch.
Clouds casually floated above, taking their time to move with the wind, only speeding up when a pegasus decides to force it to. Overhead, one lazily cast a shadow over the brown pony, shading her from the sun's rays, and seemed to follow her for a moment before moving ahead, taking its blissful cool shadow with it.

[cloudfall]

Overhead, above the trees and hidden among the clouds, the shadowy pegasus know as Cloudfall was taking one of his naps a top a lazily floating cloud. Sprawled out and breathing softly, the weather pony was completely out and asleep, though he did give the odd kick and twitch as he dreamed. Until one twitch escalated into a full roll, causing the sleepy pony to tumble from his cotton pillow.

The sensation of falling shocked Cloudfall awake, but left him dazed and confused. "Wha...?" he blinked as the air rushed passed him. "O-oh..!" his eyes went wide as he realized the ground was quickly approaching. He spread his wings and righted himself, and started to slow his descent before tumbling through a tree top.

Landing with a 'thud' on the ground under the tree, a shadow of leaves around him, as well as a few twigs sticking out of his short mane, he groaned as he laid there a moment. He was sore all over, but nothing felt broken, just bruised. "I got to stop napping on clouds..." he grumbled to himself. Lifting his head, he noticed there was another pony nearby. In fact, he was now sprawled out on the ground just a few feet in front of her. "O-oh...H-hello there..." he said shyly, suddenly embarrassed that somepony actually saw his tumble.

[cloverkat]

Eyes wide, the earth pony saw, helplessly, as a stunned pegasus fell from above for whatever reason, plummeting to the earth's surface with unknown speed. A tree broke his fall though, probably saving him from a few or more broken bones. But soon, he too tumbled out of that, landing ungracefully. Quickly trotting over to his side as he called out timid salutations, Falling Leaf gently used to muzzle to encourage him up.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a hushed voice, natural worry washing over her. The mare quickly scanned his body, and found no obtrusive signs of damage other than bruises, which, even then, where hard to pick out on the dark colored stallion.
"How did you fall from the sky?" she pestered once she felt sure he wouldn't suffer any real trauma. Although she had heard about clumsy pegasuses, most at least could control their wings enough not to fall, save the foals that were still learning.

[cloudfall]

Cloudfall quietly thanked the younger pony as she helped him to his hooves. "Y-yeah... I think so. Nothing feels broken..." he answered as he looked himself over. He carefully shook each leg, gave his tail and ears a few twitches and shook his mane. Everything felt like it was still attached. Then he flexed his wings and instantly flinched as a pang of pain shoot through his left wing, "Ow! Okay, mostly okay..." he bit his lip and slowly folded his wings back, muttering more 'ow's under his breath as he did so.

Deciding to let his wing rest for now and get it check out if it still hurt once he was back in town, Cloudfall turned to face the earth pony. "How did I fall...?" he repeated aloud to himself and looked up at the sky, trying to spot the cloud he was napping on. "I'm not too sure... I was napping and I must have tossed and..." he stopped as he finally realized he was talking to someone new. Blushing lightly, he started to stammer, "O-oh...! S-sorry... I'm Cloudfall, by the way..." he lowered his head in a small bow, not sure what else to do.

[cloverkat]

Returning a shallow bow and a nod of the head, the mare gave a soft smile.
"Falling Leaf. And don't worry, I'm a klutz most of the time too. But I don't often get the chance to nap on a cloud, so I've never fallen off of one. Yet," she added thoughtfully. Looking up again, she watched his cloud float away, before addressing the pegasus again.
"How are you going to get back to your home if your wings are hurt?" she asked. Although not all pegasuses lived in Cloudsdale, most did. If anything, she could take him back to the shop and give him some herbs to stifle the pain and possibly help him heal faster. After growing up in Ponyville, you learn to expect strange ponies to come through, and it is often best to treat them with hospitality.

[cloudfall]

"Nice to meet you, Falling Leaf." Cloudfall smiled back. He followed her gaze and looked up at his cloud as well. "It's a shame, really... they're really comfy. Really soft. You just got to be careful sometimes..." he chuckled lightly and rubbed his shoulder.

"Hmm...?" He looked back to the mare and blinked at her question, "Oh... I'll just wait it out. It's just a sprain or something... it'll be fine soon." he smiled again, trying to remove any worry the young pony might have, "I'll just spend the afternoon in Ponyville... or something."

[cloverkat]

Falling Leaf slowly went through her responsibilities in her head, checking those she had done, deciding which could be delayed. Finding herself in a state of not being busy at the moment, she gave a soft shrug to the pegasus before giving him her offer.
"If you'd let me, we could hang out until your wings feel better," she proposed gently, not wanting to scare him off by coming on too strong, simply wanting to offer a friendly face during his stay. "If you'd like I could even make you some herbal tea that'll relax your wings so they don't feel as strained while they heal."
This time she smiled almost brightly, loving to make tea for anypony that needed it. Ranger had gotten her into the habit, especially after he found out that her talent had to do with herbs.

[cloudfall]

"I...uh..." Cloudfall stammered and rubbed a hoof against his other front leg. Another pony wanted to hang out. This was a growing pandemic that must be looked into. "I guess we could... I'm not all that interesting, though." he looked around at the trees, "And it has been some time since I had some tea..." he chewed on his lip as he thought aloud.

He looked back to the friendly mare and nodded, "Alright, sure. And I'll even try not to be too quiet." he smiled.

[cloverkat]

Giving a small grin in return, the earth-pony trotted along the path, making sure that her new pegasus friend followed. Navigating her way back to Ponyville, she guided him through the busy streets, constantly checking over her shoulder to make sure he didn't get side-tracked by anything. But the dark-maned pony didn't stray, and she smiled again once they reached her shop.
Falling Leaf lead him in, giving him a few moments to look around, the walls filled with shelves containing different types of herbs, some still in pots, while others dried, a select few soaking in special oils.
"My apartment is above the shop, and that's where I keep my kettle and stove. I really should buy a little portable warming disk though, to keep down here. So many ponies have been discovering tea lately, what with Ranger finding half of them in the forest," she explained before bringing him outside to her garden area before heading up the stairs to her own little home.

[cloudfall]

Despite his promise, Cloudfall quietly followed behind Falling Leaf as made their way out of the woods. He didn't mean to be silent, but he wasn't good at keeping up conversions. While they walked, he watched the trees around them pass by, looking up at the branches every so often as well. Only once did he try to extend him wing again, only to get the same result as before. He sighed lightly and chewed on his lip. He hated being grounded, it made him feel more nervous then normal. How did Earth Ponies deal with being stuck on the ground all the time?

Falling's shop was impressive, or at least Cloud assumed it was. He didn't know a lot about plants or herbs. He nodded slowly as she said something about a heating plate. "Who's Ranger?" he asked as he browsed through the plants they passed by on their way out the back door, then up some stairs.

He hesitated at the door for a moment. Why did he always have trouble entering other ponies' homes? Stores? No problem. But homes are right out? He took a breath and followed her into the apartment. He found what looked like her living room and sat himself down by the wall and idly glanced around the room. "...You have a nice home."

[cloverkat]

"Ranger? He's a close friend of mine," she elaborated, taking the water-filled kettle between her teeth with her head tilted, putting it on the stove. Setting the temperature and turning back to Cloudfall, she continued now that her mouth was free. "He's an adventurer, makes tea, and tends to disappear into the Everfree Forest."
Turning back to her small kitchen, she rooted through a cabinet specifically for her tea herbs, pulling out a small bundle of dried basil leaves, taking the rubber band that bound them off before pouring almost the entire bunch into the teapot. She took a deep breath through her snout, the herbs smelling wonderful.
"I'm using a bit more than usual, so you'll want to be sitting when drinking it, otherwise your legs may give out," she warned. "But it will relax most of the pain."
Stirring the tea around a bit, she let it cook, turning back to the pegasus.

[cloudfall]

"Oh. He sounds...interesting." Cloudfall commented, though he actually thought Ranger sounded crazy. Why would a pony willingly go into the Everfree Forest for any reason? He couldn't be too bright, or maybe he was just brave. Cloud thought on that a moment, maybe he should try to look up this Ranger.

Cloudfall snapped back to reality once more when Falling Leaf spoke to him again. He really had to stop letting his mind drift off to much while around other ponies. "O-oh... O-okay... Thanks for the, uh... warning..." He then looked himself over and... yep. Already sitting. He was set. Now they just had to wait for the tea and, oh Celestia, this was awkward... He took to chewing on the inside of his lip as he fought the urge to move his wings and tried to think of something to talk to the Mare about.

"So..." he started, "Have you lived in Ponyville long? Er... I didn't ask that already, did I?"

[cloverkat]

Giving a soft smile, she nudged him, leading him to the large lounge chair, big enough for 2 ponies, or just one laying down. Letting him sit, she went back to the stove and stirred the tea within the kettle carefully, waiting for it to warm up a bit more.
"No, don't worry," she assured him. "But I have lived here a few years now. My parents moved here from Hoofington, but decided to move back not long after I opened my shop."
The kettle gave off a high pitched squeal, steam billowing from the spout, warming the nearby air. Falling Leaf turned her attention back to it, taking the handle into her mouth and pouring the content into a cup. She scooped it up carefully with a hoof so she would not have to put her mouth on it, balancing it precariously as she walked over and set it on the tale in front of the pegasus.
"So you live in Cloudsdale right?" she asked, sitting in a single chair nearby. "Is it nice up there?"

[cloudfall]

Cloudfall gave a small squeak at the nudge before following Falling Leaf to the couch and, at her insistence, hopped up on it to sit back down. He bounced slightly on it, testing it. It was comfy, not as comfy as a cloud but better then the floor. These Earth Ponies didn't know what they were missing. He smiled to himself briefly before he hid it once Falling start talking to him once more.

"O-oh... so you live here alone?" He asked right before jumping in surprise when the kettle went off. He cleared his throat and smoothed his feathers back down, flinching slightly as he touched the hurt wing. 'How embarrassing...' he thought to himself as the kind mare made her way over with the tea. He nodded his thanks and carefully picked up the tea and blew on it to cool it down more before drinking.

"Cloudsdale? Y-yeah... I got a little place up there... It's alright. Since we control the weather it's always sunny, but I spend most of my time down here..."

[cloverkat]

She nodded in response to his question shifting a bit in her chair in attempt to become a bit more comfortable. The mare looked out the nearby window, seeing the sun slowly duck behind the horizon of houses and shops as the two princesses worked together to bring about night, just as the tales from her filly-hood had told.
"It sounds nice, but I doubt I would last up there for other than a visit," she mentioned absentmindedly. "Clouds don't make very good gardens."
Falling Leaf gave a smirk, watching the pegasus drink the tea. It felt pleasant being able to help another pony, and making a new friend didn't hurt in the least. Though Cloudfall seemed shy, he would no doubt warm up eventually if she didn't pressure him.
"Have you heard about the spike in monsters in the wilderness?" she asked casually, having heard the news from Ranger, though he didn't give a reason. The mare was none-the-wiser that an entire war had already started to brew and boil.