Stumbling Upon a Tatzl

4 September 2014

15:19 Ruzeth looks through his supplies of herbs for manticore's bane but discovers he's flat out. The young zebra has yet to actually get a job yet and is loath to spend his precious few bits on something he can find himself. He packs up a small travel pack, this time with a couple potions to help protect himself from the dangers. At that point, he throws them on and heads out the door. Hot and sweaty after a couple of hours, he finally reaches the fringes of the forest.

15:22 Zuthal was walking along the edge of the forest, enjoying the breeze and looking out for anything he might have missed, as he often did during the day. He had sat down on a fallen-over tree to rest for a bit when he heard hoofsteps approaching. Not knowing who was approaching, and wary about being spotted, he quickly jumped into a bush, hiding there and waiting for the source of the sounds to enter his field of view.

15:32 Ruzeth pauses in his brisk walk, swiveling his ears around to try and locate the source of the rustling he just heard. After a couple seconds of silence, he takes a long silent breath and continues forward, slowing his pace and treading lightly as to not attract attention. His eyes darted all around as he searched for any herbs of importance.

15:39 Zuthal watches out the bush as a strange... pony (?) comes into view. He looked to be pretty young, and had a pretty small, for a stallion at least, yet athletic frame. His movements looked like he could be quite fast, and move mostly unheard if he so desired. Though there were some things off about him. His mane, tail and coat were white, with black stripes, and on his rump he did not have a cutie mark like a normal pony would, but a strange pattern of lines. The tatzlpony held his breath as the strange pony paused, fearing that he had been spotted, and then relaxed as he went on, though if he glanced in his direction, he might be able to see Zuthal, as his tail was slightly sticking out.

15:51 Ruzeth 's eyes continued scanning the area, biting his lip in concentration, when they finally settle on the bush Zuthal resided in. His expression suddenly becomes one of excitement as he recognizes the bright red flowers dotting it. "Ooh an Aum bush ..." He whispers, approaching it quickly, oblivious to the partially visible tail. He reaches a hoof in to pick some leaves.

15:53 Zuthal holds his breath as the striped pony approaches the bush, fearful about getting discovered. As the stranger's hoof reaches into it and directly towards his nose, he attempts to scurry backwards, but is prevented from doing so by the bush's branches, the hoof connecting with his nose, which elicits a quiet eep from the tatzlpony.

16:00 Ruzeth jumps back in shock, taking several quick retreating steps as he not only feels something furry and soft underneath his hoof, but the creature makes a noise as well. His hooves caught on the underbrush making much more rustling than he had been the entire time. Ruzeth doesn't take his eyes off the noisy bush as he slings a shoulder forward to bring his saddle bags in reach, fishing for something with his other hoof.

16:02 Zuthal stays hidden inside his bush, shaking in fear of being discovered, but at the same time also readying himself for a quick escape should this pony turn out to be hostile. He hears the pony stepping back, and watches as he fishes around in his bags, uncertain of what he is going to do or what would be the best course of action.

16:11 Ruzeth retrieves a small glass ball, about half the size of an apple, filled about 3 quarters of the way with a black liquid, standing resolute as he stares down the bush. "Whatever you are, just get going, I don't want to have to harm you..." He growls gutterally, not really expecting the creature to understand more than his hostile tone. His hoof twitches nervously, prepared to break the glass on the ground at any moment.

16:28 Zuthal shrinks back a bit at his growl and his words, spoken in a strange tongue he did not understand but in a tone that he still recognized as hostile, on the verge of doing just as he said and running for it, but he wanted to be brave, he wanted to not have to run away every time he got in danger of being spotted by a pony. But this pony just seemed so hostile, he didn't want to risk he. He tried to fly up and out of the bush to make a bee line for his house, hoping to be swift enough not to be spotted, but his left wing got caught on a branch, causing the tatzlpony to tumble to the ground, landing in a heap in plain view to the striped pony.

16:43 Ruzeth braces himself as the creature bursts forth from the bush, but instead of changing at him it started to take off, causing him to relax, still watching warily as it clips it's wings and fall onto the ground with a thud. The stripped colt shakes his head, but felt obligated to check on the creature, trotting up to it, whilst giving a wide berth. As he approaches cautiously, he began to notice that it's shape was strange, reminding him of a pony, though it's long fleshy tail begged to differ. His curiosity gets the better of him and he wanders right up to the stallion, tentatively touching it's tail. "What are you...?" he whispers in an amazed voice, this time switching back to equestrian, just in case.

16:46 Zuthal whimpers quietly as he lays there on the ground, testingly moving about his limbs and finding that he has at least no broken bones, but that fall would probably still get him a nasty bruise. As the young stallion touches his tail, it twitches back from him instinctively, folding up against the tatzlpony's belly. "I... I'm a tatzlpony. P-please don't hurt me. J-just let me go," he says, fearful of this pony.

16:53 Ruzeth retracts his hoof as the tatzl's tail whips away from him. The zebra's face twists into a gentle smile as he feels at ease, seeing that the pony probably doesn't want to harm him. "Hurt you? Why would I do something like that? You don't want to hurt me do you? Just let me take a look..." He closes the last of the distance, taking a seat near Zuthal's chest. He takes the stallion's near leg into his hooves and feels it over, checking for injuries.

16:58 Zuthal shivers a bit as the strange pony moves closer to him and takes his hoof, but otherwise does nothing, letting him inspect him. The only injuries he had were some superficial scratches from his rough trip through the bush, quite a few of the feathers on his left wing were not in the right orientation, the outermost primary actually having snapped roughly in the middle, as well as a fairly large bruise developing on his side which he had landed on, though that wouldn't be visible to the other pony right now. "W-what are you? I've never seen a pony like you," he says, a bit less fearful, but still wary of the striped pony.

17:18 Ruzeth takes Zuthal's lack of struggling as an indication of him agreeing to be checked up, and presses forward, feeling over his other legs, his near wing, and his tail for any signs of injuries. The zebra seemed to linger on the tail for quite awhile, seemingly entranced by its strange makeup, which really differentiated him from other ponies. "I'm not a pony silly, I'm a Zebra," he responds turning his gaze to look Zuthal in the eyes. "The name's Ruzeth."

17:25 Zuthal flinches slightly as he feels the young stallion's hoof touching his wing, though it is not the one that clipped the branch. His tail twitches slightly again as it is touched, especially the pair of smaller, webbed wings on the tip. "Oh, sorry. I've never seen anyone like you before, or even heard of your kind. But you look almost like a pony, except for, well, the stripes. And... uhmm... nice to meet you Ruzeth, I guess. My name is Zu thal," he says, shifting his position and rolling to take the weight off of the clipped wing.

17:32 Ruzeth grimaces as Zuthal rolls, revealing a rather large bruise where Zuthal had impacted. "Ouch, tat looks nasty... Does it hurt? That bush you were hiding has leaves that can take away the pain," he asserts, a caring tone in his voice. "Why did you run away anyways?"

17:35 Zuthal nods, quite a pained noise escaping him. "Yes... and I ran away because, well... I haven't had that many good experiences with ponies in the past. Mostly them either running away in fear, or calling me a monster. Or both. Some tried to attack me," he says, looking over his wing to see his ruffled feathers. He tries to pull the wing forward to straighten them out, but instantly yelps in pain, seemingly unable to move it.

17:42 Ruzeth slowly gets to his hooves, turning away from Zuthal and trotting over to the bush. His increased pace causes his mane and tail to jingle some as the golden rings clink together. "is your kind not very common then? I suppose I haven't seen any in town yet..." He notes curiously before leaning down and picking a couple branches clean.

17:43 < Ruzeth> "I've only been here for about a month, so it's all strange to me."

17:45 Zuthal shakes his head, watching the young zebra gather up the leaves. "No, at least not in Equestria. My kind... we live pretty far to the south, in what I think is usually called the badlands, it's mostly desert or savanna. She also didn't know anything about my kind, and she reads a lot, I think," he says, referring to Inky just in passing, without really thinking about it.

17:57 Ruzeth returns, taking a seat back in front of Zuthal, and pulls out a mortar and pestle. He throws in a hoof full of leaves, a couple various other herbs from his bag, and pours a little water in before beginning to grind it all up. "Hmm, so you're not from Equestria then either. I'm from across the seas. " he notes curiously as he works. "Who's this she? Do you know another pony then?" satisfied with the paste he's made, he scoops it up on the pestle and offers it to the stallion, pressing it near his mouth. The substance was thick and smelled earthy but not unpleasant, and probably wouldn't taste terrible either. "Here give this a try."

18:03 Zuthal thankfully accepts the strange paste, sniffing at it before taking it in his hooves and giving it a small taste with one of his coils first, the zebra would probably be able to see that the tongue looks quite odd if he is paying attention to it. Finding it to taste quite good, he quickly eats it up, letting out a deep sigh as it takes effect and the pain in his body is almost fully taken away, only a dull throbbing in his left wing joi nt left. "Thank you, where did you learn that? And yes, I'm not from Equestria, I am, as I said, from a place that's about three weeks' flight to the southwest from here, pretty small village," he says, "and yes, I know another pony. A bat pony, named Inky, and I've only known her for a bit over a week now."

18:44 Ruzeth giggles quietly at Zuthals obvious like of the paste, shaking his head a bit. "Most ponies just tolerate that stuff, but I guess you liked it." He watches closely at Zuthal's large body relaxes as much of the pain leaves it. Once he's satisfied that the stallion is comfortable, he leans down and puts a hoof on Zuthals belly firmly, feeling around the bruised area for any signs of broken ribs or other major injuries, much to the discomfort of his companion. The zebra frowns once he gets to the wing, able to tell that something was majorly wrong with it. "This? I learned it from my teacher back home, the shaman of our tribe. I'm still trying to figure everything out though, its been so hard since I met him." Ruzeth stops entirely once he hears the name of the stalions friend, "Inky? She's never mentioned you. She's a closer friend of mine, helped her with her magic issues not too long ago."

19:00 Zuthal grunts as the zebra applies pressure to the bruised area, the touch painful even through the effect of the paste, but he doesn't do anything, letting Ruzeth check him for any injuries. The zebra wouldn't find any serious injuries in the bruised area, and as soon as he touches his wing, a lance of pain shoots through the joint, causing the tatzlpony to wince. "Grrgh... that really hurts... don't think it's broken, but can't move it," he presses out through gritted teeth. "And I'm sure those skills are useful, I would like to know more about plant healing and stuff. I only know enough to do basic first aid. And well, we have only known each other for a pretty short time now, and she never mentioned you either, and neither that she had had problems with her magic," he says, trying to move his wing and once again being rewarded only with a burst of pain. "Ugh... do you think you can fix my wing?"

19:11 Ruzeth applies a gentle pressure to the wing even as Zuthal winces from the pain, checking to be sure that its not broken. As he does so, he notices that its a little loose at the joing, but nothing seems shattered. "Umm...I dont' actually know abything about wings Zuthal...but I think it migh tbe dislocated. I'll try and pop it back in, but no promises..." The zebra uses his other hoof to feel out where the joint should be and then takes the wing in both hooves. "On the count of five. One...two...three..." the zebra applies quite a bit of pressure at three, not waiting till five to try and push it back in.

19:14 Zuthal grunts as the zebra feels around the wing, though he knows he's only trying to help. As the zebra suggests that it is possibly dislocated and that he could try and push it back in, the tatzlpony gives a grunting noise of approval, followed by a sharp yelp as the wing goes back into its joint with an audible pop. He tries moving it around a bit, and while it is still slightly painful, it is at least bearable, especially with the zebra's paste numbing the pain, and the wing can move. "Ugh... thanks."

19:19 Ruzeth nods in aproval as Zuthal moves his wing once more, glad to see that its moving again. "Well...it was kind of my fault that I you got hurt in the first place..." he admits in an apologetic tone, scratching the back of his neck. "Its just...I dont need to be eaten out here...again. You wouldn't happen to know where I can find some manticore's bane would you?"

19:23 Zuthal smiles at the zebra as he shakes his head slightly. "No, you couldn't really know I was there, or at least that I'd react that way. It's not your fault. I should have looked where I was flying. And manticore's bane... I don't know the names you guys have for these plants, but if you tell me what it looks like, I'm pretty sure I can show you," he says, taking notice of the zebra mentioning having been eaten before, and filing it away in his mind to keep in mind not to mention some of his kind's specialties to him.

19:37 Ruzeth doesn't seem convinced, still looking apologeticly at Zuthal, "I mean...I knew something was there. I just wanted to make sure I was safe. As far as manticore's bane, its a plant that produces a flower with five petals, four orange ones hanging down, and one green one that stands erect, like a manticore. Its a pretty deadly poison when it hasn't been tempered with other ingredients, but when it has, its a pretty natural relaxant." He explains, describing the plant. "It also counteracts maticore venom, hense the name."

19:39 Zuthal gives a small shrug. "Well, I was just hiding because I wasn't sure if you wouldn't just run away if I showed myself. But let's not dwell on this too much." As Ruzeth describes the plant, the tatzlpony closes his eyes in thought for a few moments before answering. "Yes, I know that plant. Come with me, I'll show you where you can find it."

19:47 Ruzeth gives an excited squeak, following Zuthal quickly. "Thats good, I'd run out recnetly. We may have to stop if I see something else important around here though." He says, keeping pace. "Now I just hope we don't run into anything that actually wants to eat us, though a critter like you was a pleasant suprise. I take it you don't live in the town then?"

19:50 Zuthal chuckles at the zebras excitement, he seemed almost as excited about this as Inky was about stargazing... or the ruins... or about pretty much almost anything. He gets to his hooves and walks into the forest, his tail held just a bit above the ground as he does. "No, I don't live in town. I have my own place in a clearing a little ways into the forest. Built it myself, too," he says as his ears swivel around, scanning for any signs of forest beasts. "And if any creature comes across and wants to eat us, well, I can be pretty scary. Though it'd be easier if I had my spear with me."

20:01 Ruzeth walks behind him, looking around the forest eagerly with each step, on the look out for other goodies, though that tail tempted him each time it swung into sight. "Are the plants near the clearing? I wouldn't mind seeing where you live." He responds excitedly, and then a few moments later, finally giving into his temtation and pouncing on the bobbing tail."

20:03 Zuthal was preparing to give an answer as he suddenly felt something grab onto his tail. Twisting it to get it out of whatever was holding it, he whirls around to see the zebra latched onto the long appendage. "Ruzeth, what are you doing?" he asks with an expression that could not be any flatter even if it were sat on by an Ursa Major.

20:07 Ruzeth snickers playfully as he wraps his hooves around the tail, hugging it in a tight embrace. As Zuthal looks back at them, be blushes, looking back. "Oh, it just...I dont know, kept teasing me. I had to jump~ And you know, its comfortable right here. Any chance I could just stay for a moment?" His hind legs lock themeslves onto Zuthal's tail wings, preventing him from moving.

20:11 Zuthal lets out an exasperated sigh, laying one of his coils across his eyes. "Oh dear, of all the zebras I could meet, it had to be a silly one. Okay, fine. But only because you fixed my wing and gave me that paste," he says, lifting his tail up off the ground enough so that the zebra wouldn't drag along it. "And coming back to your earlier question, no, it isn't near my house. But we should be getting to the plants soon."

20:16 Ruzeth stares at Zuthal as he responds, or more specifically, at Zuthal's coil that was now sticking out of his mouth and covering his eye. "W-whats that? You're tongue is...its really strange," He says in a voice somehwere between confusion and shock, ignoring the ponies other words for the moment.

20:18 Zuthal pulls it away and looks at it, then at the zebra. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you that. That's what we have for tongues. We actually have three of them, and they're called coils," he says, briefly pushing all three out. "And they are really stretchy too."

20:25 Ruzeth shudders as he gets a good look at the appendeges, and Zuthal can feel his discomfort quite clearly due to him straddling the stallions tail. "Ugh...umm...that is /extremely/ strange," he responds, feeling quite unnerved by this revelation. "You're sure you arn't some forest creature looking to eat me right?" He scoots back towards the tip of Zuthal's tail.

20:27 Zuthal can feel his tail vibrating from the zebra's shuddering, and shakes his head, pulling the coils back in. "Hmm... at least a better reaction than I get usually. And no, I am not a forest creature, my home is more desert or savanna-like. And I am not planning to eat you," he says, adding in his mind "Unless you ask me nicely."

20:35 Ruzeth breathes out a long breath, letting his gaze drop down to the ground moving rather quickly underneat him. "Good, I'm not a fan of having to fight. So how much further till we reach this patch of Manticore's bane? Also, when we get there, dont' help me pick it. The poison will go in through your fur, you gotta do it just right."

20:38 Zuthal walks for just a couple of minutes more before coming to a stop just in front of a patch of the flowers. "There we are, and I'll gladly leave the plant stuff to you. You seem to know much more than I do, I know just, well, mainly what plants are edible and which are not," he says as he lowers his tail down so the zebra can get off easily.

20:44 Ruzeth hops off of Zuthal's tail, trotting right up to the flowers before reaching back into his saddle bag, pulling out a bag, and two gloves. Sticking one on each hoof, he begins to quickly pick off the flowers, taking care not to touch any of the leaves with his hooves. "Thats probably for the best. Some of the plants out here are real nasty," He comments as he works, soon filling up most of the small bag. Pulling out another small satchel, he takes a couple of the flowers and seals it up, hoofing it over to Zuthal. "I'm assuming you've met manticores out here. You might want a couple of these, just in case anything happens." He picks evrything up, dropping the gloves into a third bag, before setting everything back in his saddle.

20:46 Zuthal takes the satchel and puts it in his own bag, taking great care not to accidentally open it. "Yeah, I've had my fair share of near-misses. And well, when I encounter a manticore, I can often just scare them off, but this will be useful. How do I use it, then?" he asks, not wanting to accidentally poison himself by using it wrong.

20:50 Ruzeth climbs back onto Zuthal's tail, ready to head on back to the stallion's house, "Oh, you've got to rub the petals directly into the sting wound. Use only a flower per sting, and make sure to pick up the flower protected, with moss or something." Ruzeth looks around from atop his perch. "So, you were going to show me your house now I think." The zebra continues, excitedly, despite the fact that Zuthal hadn't actually mentioned as such.

20:53 Zuthal nods at that, giving a small chuckle as the zebra has apparently developed an affinity for his tail. "You really like my tail, don't you? And well, I hadn't said anything like that, but sure, why not. Fastest way there would of course be by air, but I don't want to try flying with that injured wing, and definitely not with you hanging on my tail. Those little wings are not just for show, you know? They actually help me keep stable and balance out the tail in the air," he says, looking up through the leaves to get his bearing before setting off in the direction of his house.

20:56 Ruzeth snickers and hangs on tightly as Zuthal sets off, bobbing up and down as th tail moved while he walked. "So, you can actually manage to fly without hitting anything?" he teases as the move. Slowly, Ruzeth creeped his way up the tail until he was sitting comfortably on the tatzls back, a happy look on his face as he stared around the forest. "You move fairly quietly for such a large pony."

20:59 Zuthal raises a brow at that, though the zebra can't see that, of course. "Of course I can. Well, here in the forest, I have to move slowly, but I would of course fly above the trees. And yeah, it's useful for avoiding predators. And also for generally avoiding being spotted by ponies who come close to or even into the forest," he says, making quite quick progress through the trees, smiling as the zebra sat on his back.

21:05 Ruzeth spots a berry bush and pats Zuthal on the back a couple times to get his attention. "Oh Look! A patch of wild berries. We should stop and have a bit of a snack. They look pretty ripe too~" He calls out excitedly, the stallions presnence making him forget that he was in a dangerous forest. The zebra leaps from his back, and makes his way over to the bush, trying to get berries, but the fruit was a little too high for the short colt to reach.

21:08 Zuthal chuckles at his excitement, thinking about how this zebra reminded him a bit of himself, when he was younger. "I won't say not to that," he says, before noticing that Ruzeth had trouble reaching them. "Here, let me help you," the tatzlpony says, walking over to the bush and using his tail to push the branches with the berries on them down to his level.

21:13 Ruzeth watches with facination as Zuthal lowers the branch, smiling up at him thankfully. "Oooh, that's pretty useful, Thank~" He leans up and picks at the berries with his muzzle, taking each one individually and biting down on it. The juices leave a bright red stain on the white fur around his mouth. "Mmmm, there are pretty good"

21:14 Zuthal smiles at the happy colt and reaches out with his coils, collecting a little pile of berries in front of him before starting to eat them. "Mhmmm, they really are! If I hadn't taken you with me, I'd have probably just overlooked them."

21:19 Ruzeth tries to ignore Zuthal's tongues as he begins to pick the berries, but its too much for him and he quits eating turning away from the tatzl pony. He doesn't actually say anything, but its clear that the colt is trying his best not too watch Zuthal work as the sight still made him uncomfortable.

21:22 Zuthal stops using his coils to eat the berries, instead just picking them up and eating them much like Ruzeth did. "Sorry, I just forgot that you don't like seeing them. Inky's just like that, actually, or maybe even worse. Funny how those things sometimes are," he says after he finishes his small pile of berries. "Anyways, shall we go on?" he asks as he lowers his tail down to the ground to let the little zebra climb back on.

21:32 Ruzeth takes a deep breath, letting out a sigh turning back to Zuthal, "Sorry...I know its stupid...its just it makes me a little uncomfortable... I dont' know why." He seems done eating anyways, waiting for Zuthal to finish before climbing up the tail, right back on to his back. "And now onward to your house. I bet its pretty cool, havning made it yourself and all."

21:36 Zuthal shrugs as the young zebra climbs onto his back, continuing towards his house at quite a brisk pace. "Well, I dunno why you don't like it either... maybe it just seems so completely alien to you? And well, my house... it's mostly inside a small hill, and generally just a bunch of wood logs stacked together. Built it that way, into the hill, because that is similar to how we live back in my homeland, underground, or with our houses built into cliffsides. To deal with the heat, you know?"

21:47 Ruzeth quivers with excitement as he lounges on Zutha's back, keeping an eye on the terrain so that he can hopefully find his way back. "Underground huh? Thats kind of scary. It doesn't get that hot around here anyways. Dont' you wanna be above ground where you can have windows and natural light?"

21:51 Zuthal shakes his head. "No, it's not really underground. It's all on one level besides the basement, but it's built partly into the mountain. And meh, I think sunlight is overrated anyways. And if I want to go out at night and watch the stars, the top of the hill is the perfect place for that. And besides, the living room and the kitchen do look out to the outside," he says as a small clearing comes into view. Or it would, if there were not a high fence made out of wood logs sharpened at the top ends, rammed into the ground side by side. The tatzlpony walks around it a bit until he comes to a gate in the fence, opening it to allow the zebra to take in the clearing. There was a small stream running through, and there were various plants growing in orderly patches around it. On the far end was a hill with, indeed, a house made of wood built into it.

22:04 Ruzeth hops off of ZUthal's back as soon as Zuthal opens up the gate, walking into the clearing walking around it, meandering between the garden and generally taking in the sights. "Hmm, this is a pretty nice place you've got here. Does that fence really keep out the nasty critters?" he asks, inspecting the sharpened fence. "I'm suprised none of the pegasi have come to bother you, I bet this is noticable from the sky."

22:08 Zuthal smiles as he sees the zebra taking in the sights. "It helps, yes. It's too high for anything without wings to get over, and for those, well, as I said, I can be very intimidating, and if that doesn't help, I have this," he says as he picks up a long spear with a tip made out of sharpened stone, some dark red stains on the shaft showing that it has seen quite a bit of use. "And no, pegasi generally don't bother me. Don't see many flying over the forest, actually. Not that I mind."

18:25 Ruzeth snorts and shakes his head. "I think you mean for most anything to get over. THat Astral dragon bird I saw would crash right through it, and probably not be worse for wear. THat was a scary encounter." The unicorn shrinks back when he sees Zuthal weild a spear, "I suppose that is a pretty terrifying sight. I take it you're fairly practiced with a spear?"

18:30 Zuthal twirls the spear around a bit, before putting it aside to talk. "Maybe, but it is better than nothing at all. And yes, I am quite practiced with it. Can even tear the tail right off of a manticore if I strike it in a dive. Had to do that once or twice. I have never seen a creature that would fit that name, though. Most annoying ones for me are timberwolves. Those bastards are just so hard to kill."

18:36 Ruzeth shivers as he thinks back to his encounter with a look of viceral fear on his face. "Ya, just be glad that you havn't yet. My encounter was not one I'd like repeated. Its a blue creature, decorated with stars that appears see through. It stands about about as tall as a tree, can fly, and isn't afraid to eat...to eat ponies...." He explains, looking more and more distressed the longer he dwells on it.

18:39 Zuthal listens to the zebra, making a mental note not to mention that aspect of his race to the zebra. "Okay... if I ever see one, I think I'll just try and avoid it. How fast can that beast fly?" he asks, wanting to know if he could outfly it.

18:47 Ruzeth shrugs at the stallion and shakes his head. "I never got a chance to find out, I just know that it can." Ruzeth looks down at the ground, kicking it with a hoof, looking a little uncomfortable.

18:49 Zuthal thinks for a few moments before a figurative lamp lights up in his head. "Uhmm... Ruzeth... you mentioned having been eaten before... that creature you mentioned... was it that that ate you?" he asks, not sure if that was going too far into something the cound stallion would be uncomfortable with.

18:53 < Ruzeth> /me bites his lip pretty hard, pursing his face into a grimace as he gives a shiver. "Ugh...yes. I...I was lucky that my friend was with me and managed to sheild us for the entire we were suck in there. It was miserable..."

18:54 Ruzeth bites his lip pretty hard, pursing his face into a grimace as he gives a shiver. "Ugh...yes. I...I was lucky that my friend was with me and managed to sheild us for the entire we were suck in there. It was miserable..." He looks longingly towards the house, ready to move out of the forest.

18:56 Zuthal nods, not having quite experienced such a thing, but having come pretty close to being eaten by an unusually large manticore once. "I see. Well... do you want to see my house?" he asks as he moves towards the door, opening it into a short hallway with a few doors branching off of it.

19:00 Ruzeth gives a terse nod, wanting to get his mind off the past. "Yes, yes lets go see it." Ruzeth bounds off after him, taking a step into the house and looking aroudn the entry way before picking a random hallway and starting off down it.

19:02 Zuthal motions to stop the zebra as he is about to walk into the bedroom, but doesn't get far enough before the zebra opens the door. The bed would probably be large enough for the tatzlpony plus a normal sized pony, though two of his size would be pushing it. He might also notice a small rectangular object, covered at the time, sitting in one corner. "Uhmm... well... this is, as you see, my bedroom."

19:05 Ruzeth hmms as he looks about the room, taking note of how Zuthal decorated and comparing it to both ponies and home. Ruzeth walks into the room and around it as if exploring a private space wasn't terribly taboo to him. Eventually he wander over to the object and uncovers it.

19:07 Zuthal jumps in front of the object before the zebra has a chance to look at it and then gently, but firmly pushes against him, forcing him out of the room. "Ehehe... that is private. For my eyes only, for now. Why don't we take a look at the other rooms?"

19:12 Ruzeth frowns as Zuthal blocks him off, letting his ears droop. "Aww, could you at least tell me what it is?" he asks, slowly backing out of the room. He strains his neck trying to see around the massive stallion, but its hopeless. "Ugh fine...I guess...what else do you have in here?

19:15 Zuthal gently guides the zebra towards his living room, the fairly large couch with a short wooden table in front of it dominating the room, with some shelves along the walls and, along one wall, a fairly generous amount of window. There are quite a few books on the shelves, mostly those Inky had brought him, with the second part of The Book of Littlepip laying on the table, a bookmark in it.

19:24 < Inky> hair tie of some sort... eh. something she forgot?

19:25 Ruzeth slowly allows himself be be steered towards the much to his own chagrine as he tries to go down every wrong hallway, only to be directed by Zuthal away from it. "Aww...I thought I was going to get to explore your house..." he complains, though, once he enters the living room he finds plenty to satisfy his curiosity. The zebra looks through the books to see what Zuthal seemed to be interested in. "Ugh...so much history..." he complains, noticing some of the titles.

19:28 Zuthal grunts at the complaining zebra. "You can see the rest after. And well, yes, I want to learn a bit about the history of this place. Inky actually brought me a history book, it's really useful. Amongst all those fiction titles," he says as leans against the wall, smiling at the zebra.

19:36 Ruzeth sighs, deflating a little bit. "Alright...fine..." he responds, taking a lay down on the couch. "But reading is boring...Its so much more fun to go out and explore. And history is just a wast of time. It doesn't have much relevance now," he responds, digging out a paper sack and setting it out on the coffee table.

19:39 Zuthal trots over and lays next to the zebra, though not too close, his tail dangling off the side of the couch and onto the floor. "I don't think so. While going out is a lot of fun, reading is, too. Just... letting yourself fully dive into a world created by someone else... and history is useful too, for knowing why things are how they are, we must understand the past," he says, looking inquisitively at the bag. "And what may that be?"

19:46 Ruzeth snorts and shakes his head, scooting a little closer to Zuthal, closing the distance. "But books arn't real, and there's so much to expore. Tartarus, I dont even know much about equestria besides what was told to me. And the why doesnt matter, only the how." Ruzeth leans forwards and pulls a sandwhich and an apple out of his bag, setting them down on the table. The bread smells a little stale and the sandswhich isn't terribly hearty. "MMm, its just my lunch. I was starting to get a little hungry, despite those berries."

19:48 Zuthal shakes his head, not really in a mood to argue with Ruzeth. "Okay, it's fine. We can just agree to disagree on that one," he says, looking at the zebra's lunch. "Doesn't really look that tasty... you know, I have my own little garden out there and stuff, you can have something better to eat, I think," he offers to the zebra, looking at him.

19:55 Ruzeth was just about to take a bite of his sandwhich when he perks up at Zuthal's generous offer, setting it back down on the table with a bright grin on his face. "Oh? I can? That would be great. Do you have stuff in your kitchen? Or do I need to pick it myself?"

19:56 Zuthal gets up and walks over to the small hallway, and from there into the kitchen, beckoning for the zebra to follow him. "Oh, I have some things stocked, but if you want it really fresh, you can of course pick it yourself," he suggests, before asking "So, what do you want?"

20:03 Ruzeth doesn't hesitate for very long at all when Zuthal calls him over. Jumping up from the couch, he prances over there excitedly following him back to the food storage. "Well...I dont much feel like venturing out there right now. I'm a bit to hungry to wait. I'm sure its pretty fresh in here. What do you recomend?"

20:12 Zuthal vanishes into the pantry, rummaging around for a few moments before he emerges, some bread, a few carrots and radishes held in his coils. "I have more, can't carry that much," he says, his voice quite muffled until he sets the items down on the table, the zebra would notice that one of the chairs had a small stack of books on it.

20:23 Ruzeth wasn't paying attention to Zuthal as he noticed a stack of books, and made his way over to it while teh stallion was grabbing him something to eat. The young zebra, lays the top book out on the table, finding it to be one on gardening and flips through it. "See this is the type of book that's interesting. " He says, turingin to Zuthal after the items had been set down. "Like I said,whatever you'd recomend," the stallion responds with a grin.

20:33 Zuthal smiles at the zebra's interest in the book, it was one he had chosen to use just for making the seat higher for Inky. "Well, if you're so interested in gardening, feel free to read through it. I have it pretty much memorized by now, at least what I need to know. Was using it to make the seat a bit higher for Inky. And well, you just have what you want, you know your tastes better than I do," he says, sitting down on the chair next to h im.

20:39 Ruzeth rolls his eyes at the stallion, frowning unhappily. "Aww, but I wanted to try some traditional Tatzl dishes. I certainly wouldnt know how to make anything like that. Please~?" He asks, giving the much larger pony wide blue puppy eyes.

20:41 Ruzeth looks through the book a little longer. "It'd probably be good for me to grow some herbs without having to come all the way out here." He then rolls his eyes at the stallion, frowning unhappily at being told to fix his own meal. "Aww, but I wanted to try some traditional Tatzl dishes. I certainly wouldnt know how to make anything like that. Please~?" He asks, giving the much larger pony wide blue puppy eyes.

20:43 Zuthal lets out a deep sigh, and then nods. "Okay, but, well... a lot of our dishes have meat in them. Would you have a problem with that, or is it okay if I make something with meat?" he asks as he gets out a knife and a chopping board, laying them out on the counter.

20:50 Ruzeth 's face contorts into one of disguest, sticking out his tongue in a blech face. "You eat meat?! Yech...I dont think I'd like any of that. Surely there are some vegitarian dishes in your repituore though? I would be much happier with that." He responds, avoiding Zuthals gaze.

20:57 Zuthal nods and sets out some vegetables, including the carrots he had gotten earlier, as well as some mushrooms and leek. "It's okay. And yes, I do eat meat. It's pretty common among my kind actually, 'cause our homeland isn't really that great for growing stuff," he explains over the sounds of him chopping up the vegetables, the tatzlpony at the same time filling a pot with water and bringing it to a boil, wanting to cook the zebra a little soup.

21:02 Ruzeth breathes deep of the ownderful scent that fills the air as Zuthal begins to cook up a tasty meal. "Mmmm well...I guess there's no helping that...I suppose you arn't the only species that eats meat. Please tell me never anything sentient though. How long have you been in equestria mister Zuthal?"

21:05 Zuthal picks up a large spoon and stirs the soup, making sure nothing sticks or is burnt as he turns down the heat to just keep it at a boil. At the zebra's question, he shakes his head. "Oh no, never any sentients. Mostly actually forest beasts that get a bit too close for comfort and that I have to kill. And fish, as well. Manticore is surprisingly tasty," he says, "And well, I've been in this land for almost four years now. Though I've onl y been living here for a bit under three. And just Zuthal is enough."

21:18 Ruzeth twiddles his hooves on the table, listening intently to the tatzl. "Four years huh? Do you ever get a chance to go back? I just moved here from Zebrica overseas about a month ago...I really miss home sometimes."

21:21 Zuthal gives a small shrug as he adds some spices and herbs to the soup. "Yeah, well... It's a pretty long way home, with what times I'd have to take to rest and such, probably almost a month, if I go by air. And yes, I miss home too. Especially the environment there, but also my family and friends." He pauses for a moment to taste the soup, humming in approval as he puts in the noodles, setting a timer. "But well, my decision to go to Equest ria wasn't that popular when I did it. I kinda left on a bad note. Dunno if I'd be welcome back home. Dunno if I really want to go home, either."

21:26 Ruzeth sighs a long sigh and nods in understanding. "Ya...I'm sure my tribe is probably upset with me as well. I kind of sneaked away and the only zebra I told was my teacher, because I knew they probably woul protest me leaving. But the spirits told me I needed to go." He lets the words linger in silence for a moment before adding, "It must be lonely out here, not even really able to make new freinds. At least I found Lucent..."

21:30 Zuthal smiles and nods in understanding. "Mhm... sometimes, you just have to go. For me, it was that a pony was actually living among our village. And well, she told us tales of Equestria and stuff... and I just wanted to see it for myself, had to see it for myself. And well, I have found a friend here too, Inky. She's such a nice mare... and a really cute one, too." He says, blushing slightly as he realizes that he had said that out loud. He is hopefully saved by the soup being done, taking it off the stove and setting the pot down on the table together with a pair of bowls and spoons. "Well, food's ready."

21:45 Ruzeth sticks his tongue out at Zuthal as he mentions Inky being cute, shaking his head. "But...but she's /so/ old! She's probably 26 or something..." He says in response. He serves himself some soup and begins to dig in, murring at the flavor. "So you've known Inky for a long time then? Shes one of the first ponies I met in equestria.

21:48 Zuthal chuckles a bit, pouring some of the soup into his own bowl. "Well, have you ever heard her sleep? She makes this really soft "eee" sound when she exhales. And just stuff like that. And well, I actually only met her a bit over a week ago. And she's the first pony I really opened up to after I came here."

21:57 Ruzeth scrunches his nose at Zuthal, pursing his lips into a sad sad look. "Oh? THat means you've been alone out here for 4 years then. I think that hardly counts as being among friends.... Thats so sad...And no...the only time she's slept around me...I kind of fell asleep on her, so I missed out I guess." He takes another large slurp of his soup.

21:59 Zuthal shakes his head slightly, taking a spoonfull of soop himself. "Well, I had had a few friends, especially two pretty close ones, a griffon and a pony, for a few months after I came into this land, in a town on the griffon border. But I had to leave, due to... the townsfolk getting really bad with me," he says, clearly still affected by what happened then.

18:41 Ruzeth perks up as Zuthal mentions more of his history, stopping his consumption and turning to face the tatzl. He waits a couple moments got an explanation and when that's not forthcoming he asks, "What do you mean got really bad with you? Are your friends alright?" he sounds quit eager to learn seemingly either doesn't not noticing how Zuthal is affected or not caring.

18:43 Zuthal lets his spoon drop into the bowl, tilting his head down and shaking it slightly. "I... I don't know what happened to them. And... it really isn't a nice story..." he says, trying to avoid having to bring up the memories again so relatively soon.

18:57 Ruzeth 's ears droop as Zuthal turns him down as a disappointed sigh escapes his lips. "Fine... I thought we were friends which means we tell each other everything...Sorry for asking..." He says, sounding dismayed at the rejection.

18:58 Zuthal shakes his head and reaches out a hoof to the zebra. "N-no. It is nothing about you. I just don't want to have to think about... that right now. I only told the story to Inky last weekend, and... it is still too fresh in my mind. If you want to know, go ask her. Please," he says, it was evident in his voice that he was being sincere - or very good at faking it.

19:14 Ruzeth stares down at his soup, making no move to continue eating as he sat there. "Alright fine... We don't have to talk about it then..." He responds, not sounding entirely relieved. After a couple long moments, he resumes eating in silence, not pressing the issue anymore.

19:16 Zuthal also resumes eating, making no effort to dispel the awkward silence that had settled over the table besides an "Okay. Thank you.", the silence being broken only by the clattering of the spoons and the slurping of soup.

19:24 Ruzeth finally breaks the silence after he finishes his meal. He takes the bowl to the sink and drops it in. "Thanks for lunch, that was pretty great. That's not a combination I'd had before. I don't think I recognized all you put in it."

19:28 Zuthal carries his bowl to the sink as well, naturally using his coils to carry it there and drop it in. "Thanks, I like cooking. And yeah, some of the plants in there aren't native to Equestria, they're from my homeland. Dunno what you ponies call them though, or even if you have a name for them."

19:35 Ruzeth grimaces when he notices Zuthal's coils again, a reminder of just how alien he is. He averts his eyes, instead looking at the stallion's hooves. "Hmm I'm sure we might have a word for them. Herbs are a Zebra specialty after all, though books on them are probably more obscure. Usually cook pretty well though."

19:38 Zuthal notices the zebra looking away from his coils and sighs, pulling them back into his mouth. "Maybe... though I doubt it for some of them, as far as I know, they only exist in out homeland. Plants especially adapted to deal with the hot, dry environment, though for their adaptations, they grow pretty well here as well."

19:46 Ruzeth shrugs, sneaking a peak to see if he could look again, and then does so when he notices the tentacles are gone. "Well I don't know, zebra's have explored pretty wide to expand one of our main crafts. I bet somezebra knows about them, even if I don't."

19:49 Zuthal nods, looking out the window to see the clearing lit up by the orange rays of the setting sun. "Well, no zebra has ever come around to my homeland, or at least not for a long time, because we don't have any records of your kind."

19:55 Ruzeth follows Zuthal's gaze out the window, admiring the view with a smile. "They probably thought we were ponies just like you did. They'd of probably just kept to themselves as well." After a couple moments longer a look of worry settles across the zebra's face.

19:56 Zuthal nods, smiling slightly. "Yeah, you pretty much look almost exactly like earth ponies. Aside from the stripes, that is," he says and raises an eyebrow as he sees the look of worry on Ruzeth's face. "What is it?"

20:02 Ruzeth shakes his head and backs away from the window. "Oh no! I can't believe it's already sunset. Lucent's going to beat me home! And then he's going to be worried about me... And then he'll be upset when I finally do arrive," the zebra says frantically. "I need to get home now."

20:06 Zuthal looks at the almost-panicking zebra with a slight frown before he gets an idea. "You know, you shouldn't walk through the forest at night. It really isn't safe. Even I avoid it if I can. But I could fly you out. I can carry you just fine... at least to the edge of the forest. But I would prefer to avoid going into the city if I can," he says, lightly flapping his wings.

20:11 Ruzeth shakes his head vigorously as a look of fear comes onto his face just from the thought. "No! No flying. You'll accidentally drop me or something. I'll just walk it. I can figure out how to get home from here if you won't lead me out."

20:13 Zuthal shakes his head, forcefully stomping down a hoof. "No. You really shouldn't go out there at night. And I won't drop you. Though... it is not something I would usually suggest... it is normally something we only do to those we are really close to... but there is a way I could carry you that has no risk of dropping you... but you probably won't like that either..."

20:29 Ruzeth winces as the hoof strikes the ground, backing away from Zuthal as he gets just a tad more menacing. "I'm going home tonight...and I'm not going to ride on your back, or let you carry me...thats too much risk," he responds adamantly, letting his fear get the better of him. "What is this other way then?"

20:31 Zuthal finds himself quite interested in his hoof, a blush creeping onto his face, as he lays a hoof on his belly and says "I could carry you... inside me. It really is safe, I promise. My spit will protect you, it prevents someone I swallow from being digested."

20:41 Ruzeth stares at Zuthal blankly, scratchign at his ears to be sure that they are functioning properly. "Are you suggesting I let you...eat me?" He asks, too stunned by the suggestion to even feel uncomfortable about the suggestion. He was sure he had to have misheard what Zuthal said.

20:44 Zuthal nods, raising a brow. "Yes, I am. It is normally something my kind only does with someone they really like, someone they're really close with. But for getting you out of here safely, I'll make an exception. And as I said, you'll be perfectly safe," he says as he looks the zebra in the eye, trying to convince him that he was saying the truth.

20:50 Ruzeth backs towards the door, putting some space between him and the tatzl. "No! No I will not let you eat me! I narrowly escaped the first time, and I dont have Lucent here now!" The zebra says, sounding pretty distressed. "If its all the same to you, I think I'll see my own way out of the forest. Havev you been trying to eat me this whole time?"

20:53 Zuthal winces at the zebra's accusations, not making any move to prevent him from leaving if he so desires. "Okay. If you want to go, then go. But you would be perfectly safe, I wouldn't be able to digest you, and afterwards, I'd just pull you back out. And no, I have not. I only considered it because you didn't want to fly on my back and because I think the forest is way too dangerous for anyone to be going through it at this time!"

21:01 Ruzeth shakes his head and stops at the door, looking at Zuthal. "I think I'm going to hoof it. Now, are you going to lead me back home or am I going to have to figure it out myself. Good thing your clearing has a good view of the stars." The young zebra opens the front door and looks off into the sky, showing the last fleeting traces of sunlight.

21:03 Zuthal shakes his head sadly, and then snaps it back forwards, resolve in his eyes. He sneaks up behind the zebra, being surprisingly quiet for such a large creature, and pounces on him, forcing the zebra down to the ground with his weight. "If you won't come to reason, then I'll have to save you from your own stupidity!" he says before wrapping his coils around the zebra, one around each pair of legs and the third around his chest.

21:09 Ruzeth begins to walk out into the dimming evening, getting just into the grass when he turns around to give one last attempt to het Zuthal to come with him. The tatzl, however, is already in the air, mid pounce, and before Ruzeth can react, he suddenly finds himself collapsed on the ground, underneat Zuthal's weight as he's wrapped up. "Let me go! Dont eat me you beast!" he says, obviously pretty scared. His heartbeat is rapid and as adrenaline races though his body. He squirms around, trying to get free, his struggles becoming more intense as he's wrapped up.

21:11 Zuthal grunts around his coils as the zebra struggles, managing to press out a very muffled "Not... gonna eat you" as he also wraps his hooves around Ruzeth, spreading out his wings and flapping them to take to the skies. He quickly rises above the treeline, and starts heading for the forest's edge.

21:18 Ruzeth writhes about in Zuthal's coils, trying to get free even as he rises up into the air, more worried about being eaten than the very real possibility of falling through the air. "Help! Somepony! I'm being attacked!" He calls out desperatly as his mind is pretty well filled with fear driving out all rational thought. He's loud enough that it might even attract the attention of some unsavory forest creatures.

21:21 Zuthal grunts and jabs a hoof at the zebra. "Shut up! You'll attract some beasts if you keep yelling like that!" His worries are confirmed as he hears a loud rustling sound and a trio of manticores burst out of the canopy almost directly under them. He pumps his wings as hard as he can as they take pursuit, knowing that their leathery wings cannot get them to the same speed as his feathered ones, certain that at least in open air, he can outr un them.

21:28 Ruzeth yelps loudly as hes jabbed before he looks down and notices the manticors hopping out of the canopy towards them. He gives another shout of fear struggles withing the coils even harder, his movements causing Zuthals center of gravity to shift left and right as he sways. "Oh No! Now manticores too?!" He cries out in fright. "Is there a pegasus nearby?!"

21:30 Zuthal twists his tail to stabilise his flight, though he still sways left and right as the zebra struggles. "I... can outrun them. But you... keep still" he presses out as he accelerates further, the manticores neither losing nor gaining any ground on them at this point.

21:38 Ruzeth doesn't much seem to be listening to reason at this point as he continues to panic, rocking himself around in Zuthal's coils trying to get free. In his mind he thinks that if he falls into the forest, the manticores and Zuthal will be too distracted by each other to give chase. "Let me go!" he calls out once more.

21:42 Zuthal grunts as the zebra squirms further in his grasp, tightly locking his legs around him to try and stop him from moving around. He can see the edge of the forest coming into view, though looking back, he also sees that the manticores are still on his tail.

21:54 Ruzeth squeaks as he's held even tighter against Zuthal's body by his hooves, no longer able to move around enough to upset the tatzl's flying patterns. His movements slow down as he realizes that its hopeless. He tries his hardest not to look at the ground, though the way he was now bound, that was a very difficult thing to do. His calls for help slowly cease as well as he realizes there's no pony around.

21:57 Zuthal flies towards the edge of the forest as fast as he can, soon going into a dive to get down to the ground outside the forest as quickly as possible. He manages to escape the manticores for the time being as he flares up and brakes just above the ground, letting the zebra drop from his hooves and coils, though the two manticores were still coming for them.

22:05 Ruzeth had calmed down for the most part by the time he reaches the edge of the forest as most of the fear leaves him. He impacts the ground with a light thud, though is unharmed by the impact. He gets to his feet and shakes himself off and takes a couple deep breaths, looking around to get his bearings. When he realizes how close to town he was, his gaze lands on Zuthal with an apologetic face. "I'm...I'm sorry about that..."

22:08 Zuthal keeps hovering next to Ruzeth, panting a little from the sprint. He was about to accept the zebra's apology when the three manticores come into view, reminding him that they were not out of danger yet. The tatzlpony roars loudly at them, pulling their attention towards him and away from the zebra, before he shoots off and upwards, hoping to be able to lose them in the clouds.

22:12 Ruzeth flinches back at the roar and watches as Zuthal shoots off into the sky with a sad look on his face. He was worried that maybe his friend hadn't forgiven him for the things he'd done in his fear. He hangs back, watching the manticores for a bit, hoping maybe zuthal will return.

22:14 Zuthal soon disappears into the clouds, the three manticores in pursuit. For a few minutes, the zebra would see and hear nothing of either the tatzlpony or the beasts, until the latter glide down, back into the forest, having apparently lost Zuthal's trail. A minute later still, the tatzlpony comes back down to land beside the zebra. "Phew, that should be those dealt with. And no, I'm not too mad at you. Though you should have just trusted so meone who's lived here for three years that this forest is too dangerouse at night."

22:20 Ruzeth had already turned to start to walk away be the time Zuthal returned, causing him to jump as he lands right next to him. "I'm sorry about the trouble I caused...Though I really have been through the forest at night once before. I didn't encounter anything I couldn't handle...And I suppose you havn't eaten me yet, so thanks for that."

22:22 Zuthal shakes his head, giving a small chuckle. "Well, then you were just really lucky. Those three manticores coming at us? That was lucky, too. Those I can at least outfly. And well, I haven't eaten you to a big part because, as I said, it's a pretty close and personal thing for us. And also because I think eating you would have cost me too much time, to be honest."

22:27 Ruzeth rolls his eyes and and chuckles at Zuthal. "You've got plenty of time now...You were just trying to scare me back there, poking fun at what I told you happened werent you." The zebra snorts and shakes his head.

22:29 Zuthal gives a small snort, opening his mouth as far as he can for a short moment. "I could eat you, if I wanted to. But I'd probably only let you out tomorrow, and even if not, you probably don't want to go through town and go hom covered in slime, right?"

22:34 Ruzeth looks at Zuthal bemusedly. "Ya sure...I don't know why you're keeping up the charade after I've already figured it out, but whatever. "I think I can figure out where you live from what I saw, so I gues I'll see you some other time."

22:35 Zuthal grins at him, speaking in a half-mocking tone. "Oh, is that supposed to be a challenge?" he asks with a chuckle. "But yeah, I'd like meeting you again. Well, I guess that's goodbye for now, then," he says as he reaches out a hoof to the zebra.

22:39 Ruzeth shivers at the tone and takes Zuthals hoof and gives it a firm shake. "I rather you not try. Even when you fail, you're sure to get my coat all slimy. Anyway, see you around." The zebra turns away, and begins to walk, shaking his head with a grin on his face.

22:42 Zuthal shakes the zebra's hoof and nods, chuckling a bit. "Yeah... though as I said, I could totally do it," he says before taking back to the skies and flying home, happy to have met this zebra, even if it didn't go all perfectly, and almost unable to wait to tell Inky about it.