More significant, however, is the stallion glowering at you from the rock "fence," jade eyes narrowed and stance rigid.

"Who ayre you?" he demands hotly, gaze growing colder. He leaps nimbly from the stones and prances up before you. His glare never breaks eye contact, though his threatening stance and tone seem a little absurd when paired with his small stature.

"Well?" he asks again, apparently taking your silence as a challenge, for his eyes simmer like hot coals and he takes an intimidating step forward. He probably is a sight to be seen for most samanayrs, you reason, as his legs are incredibly long and give him a boost in height. The curve of his tail and his mane add to this impression of size, making him seem bigger than he really is.

You quickly stammer your name, humoring him. He looks you up and down, gives you a terse nod, and fluffs his tail importantly.

"I see. You should've said so in the fiyrst place. I yreckon Sayrnah's going to stayrt hiyring people out to byring in moyre demons; she seems to have taken a liking to them." He juts his chest out. "I have to be moyre cayreful now that I have Flickeyr.. my lovely, flame-kissed Flickeyr, to look out foyr. I'll not have any more demons luyrking in my glade!"

"It's yreally not up to you, you know," a gentle voice reminds him. You adjust your line of vision to include the entirety of the hotspring, just in time to see the mare slink gracefully out of the water, pausing on top of one the rocks. She's poised perfectly still, all four hoofs centered beneath her, and she lifts her head to regard you. The teal blue strands of hair you noticed before are dangling limply on either side of her face, water dripping to form two parallel streams of water running towards the ground. While her mane is bushy like Mist's, it's not nearly as neat, the same holding true for her grey tail. Her gaze is a little unsettling, with a core of strength hidden behind them, though it remains cheerful. Must be the amber eyes.

"Welcome to our glade, visitoyr," she pleasantly greets, giving you a polite nod after a moment's inspection. "I see you've met Mist. You'll have to foyrgive him. Sometimes he has difficulty shayring that which he peyrceives to be his." She casts a meaningful glare in his direction. With a sigh she moves on to the tedious process of shaking herself dry, managing all the while to look very elegant while staying perfectly balanced on the rock. Mist hmphs loudly, sulks out from in front of you, and plops down on his haunches.

The mare seems satisfied with her effort after a few more moments, slipping daintily off of her perch and settling in front of you. Her fluffy tail wraps almost completely around her haunches like a giant towel. "He's just upset because Twist ayrrived," she explains by way of apology. "Then Hate went on a tiyrade about how the gods would neveyr accept cleyrics who cayrried the scent of demons, and he's in a huff oveyr that.

"My name is Mystic of Bluyrred YReflections, and Mist's full name is Mist of the YRising Sea. I'm a wateyr mystic, and Twist is a Lesser Demon--well, he probably won't intyroduce himself, eitheyr. The boys heyre are so yrude." She shakes her head woefully. "His full name is Twist of Moldeyring Flesh. It should give you some insight to his.. spayrkling peyrsonality. I'm suyre you'll meet him eventually. He was the fiyrst demon fosteyred out, an offeyr that Sayrnah couldn't yrefuse, and I guess she figuyred that Mist, Ghost, and I would have ample enough poweyr to keep him undeyr control. Demons are a poweyrful byreed of samanayr, though.. if I weyren't a Mystic, we'd be in tyrouble." Her ears suddenly press flat against her head, and she warily rises to all fours.

"Neveyrmind. He's coming."

Even without the insight from Blur, there's no doubt in your mind that you could've figured out Twist was coming on your own. A sense of dread and unease worms its way into your gut, and you shift your weight, anxious.

After a few agonizing seconds, a little green creature skitters its way into the grove, crawling over the grass like a spider. Its pincer-like claws--hoofs?--barely touch the ground, and you get the feeling that he can probably get around anyway he wanted to. Mist hisses and clamors into the spring, and the demon starts off in that direction, but at the last moment he turns to face you.

At least, you /think/ he's looking at you--it's hard to tell with those blood red eyes of his. His crimson optics slide downward, but his head doesn't follow until he at last spies Blur.

"Ssweetnesss," he hisses to the mare, drawing out the s's in his raspy speech even as he quickly glides across the ground towards her, "have you ssent a champion to defeat me? In the blink of an eye I could have it gone.." His quiet gaze returns to you, smug and superior; and as much as you resent being referred to as "it," you get the distinct feeling that opposing this creature would not be the smartest idea. It seems almost impossible to believe that he's the same creature as Mist and Blur, but he must be.

"Do not use pet names with me," Blur calmly responds, standing her ground. "I'm not youyrs, I neveyr have been, and I neveyr will be."

"Oh, but ssurely you'll change your mind.." Twist coaxes, voice dropping to a hoarse whisper as he stares intently into Blur's eyes. Silence ensues as they test each other, and the mare eventually drops her gaze to the side.

"Not today. Not as long as I'm in contyrol." The last word cracks slightly, and she takes a deep breath, as if struggling to keep her cool.

"I don't intend for that to lasst too long," Twist assures her with a chuckle, turning and suddenly sinking down into the steaming hot waters of the spring. Mist gives a startled squeak and hurriedly jumps out, dripping water everywhere and looking somewhat like a drenched cat.

"You'd best leave, visitoyr," Blur advises quietly, nervously stamping one of her feet and eyeing Twist. "It'd be in youyr best inteyrest." She pauses, then starts walking around the hotsping, pushing her head through the ivy and beckoning for you to follow.

Since you don't have anywhere better to go, you do.