[Action]

[thermosomatic]

[There's something stalking the town's perimeter come dusk.

It is seldom seen, but a faint laugh or an irritated growl can be heard on occasion. A brief glance at this thing suggests it's pretty large, and seems tiger-esque. That is, until a goat head rises up past the tiger one. And the tail moves of its own accord, looking vaguely snake-shaped.

It doesn't approach the town, instead just seeming to... watch. Occasionally it sits in the shade of a cluster of trees and just stares. It doesn't seem to care if it can be seen, but its body language is pretty calm. Is it safe to approach? Only one way to find out.]

Comments

[mistweaver]

[Jou Shan is on her way home from the Wok'n'Roll, a large basket of leftovers packed into one saddlebag. She's audible, humming some Pandaren ditty to herself as she heads off to find some place to sleep for the night. It's still too nice to be indoors, you know.

The zebra does notice that she's being sort of stared at by something beneath a tree, so she approaches to a short distance off, and lifts a hoof in a wave.]

Oh, hello!

[thermosomatic]

[The tiger growls slightly at the faint scent of food and stands, but still stays back somewhat. Incidentally, this sort of reveals that he's a bit bigger than your average pony. And also has one head too many.]

Hello, [the goat head says rather casually.]

[mistweaver]

Hello! You are very big, aren't you? [Well of course they are, Jou. Then again, she tends to make silly comments like this...]

Would you like a dumpling? Or twenty? [With that, she opens up that lovely smelling saddlebag and brings out the bamboo basket, taking off the top to reveal a trayful of dumplings.]

Help yourself!

[thermosomatic]

How observant.

[Despite the deadpan snarkery... he is kind of starving here. So after a moment's pause, he approaches rather slowly and watches her for a moment before taking four, two in each head. And then a fifth after Random starts to whine.]

Much appreciated.

[That doesn't stop the tiger head from mumbling] It's not bad for being organic, anyway, [even after devouring it within record time.]

[Action]

[adandyinspace]

[Even if it wasn't safe to approach, that wouldn't have stopped Dandy from saying something. Safety is for the weak.]

Oh hey, being a creeper? That's cool.

So, hey, how about a chat? On a scale from one to "what the hell am I looking at", how rare would you say you are?

[He couldn't get a good look at the thing, but something tells him tiger goat faces weren't known for their abundance.]

[Action]

[thermosomatic]

I'm gazhering data.

[The goat says, in a rather simple and 'duh' manner. Random pitches in helpfully:]

Zo yes, being a creeper.

[The goat doesn't even acknowledge this, instead opting to answer the question as he stands up and enters more suitable lighting now that someone's actually talking to him.]

Given zhat I am zhe only one of zhese I have seen so far, I vould say razher rare.

[Action]

[adandyinspace]

[Collecting data, being weird, same thing.]

Hey, good answer! Guess what? That makes us best friends now-

[Oh. Seeing him in better light, Dandy can see why he was hiding in the first place. Yeesh.]

Yowza, someone got beat with the ugly stick a few too many times... Well, lucky for you I'm not one to judge, you giant freak of nature.

[discorderly]

[Another rather chimeric-looking creature emerges from a nearby alley, exaggeratedly notices the lurking figure, and promptly falls over on his side.]

Ohhhhhhh, what a terrifying beast!

[Discord stands and flops over on his other side.]

Prowling menacingly outside our defenseless little town!

[He flops onto his back, throwing a paw over his eyes.]

Spare me. [Long story short, he's not impressed.]

[thermosomatic]

[Blitzwing just stares -- well, except for the snake, which laughs.]

If I could control zhe servos on zhis zhing, I'd clap! Bravo!

[Alas, the rest of him is not so easily amused. Icy, the goat, finally speaks up after a long moment.]

Vas zhere a point to zhat?

[discorderly]

[Discord ignores him, poofing next to the snake instead.]

Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week~!

[thermosomatic]

Ooh! We should do a dramatic scene faceoff!!

[Hothead quickly shoots back,] But we won't! I haff better zhings I could be doing!

[Beat. Then Random mutters,]

Like staring at trees!

[callmeyork]

[Does it really matter why York's wandering around at night? It's just what he does to clear his head after... not doing much for the rest of the day. Yeah.

But the odd mix of noises does catch his ear, and he's coming over to investigate. Once he gets a better look at the new visitor...]

... hm. Look, Zach... a chimera. A little different from your standard Greek type, to be certain, but... seems like old mythology is alive and well in Equestria, huh?

[thermosomatic]

[The chimera growls quietly as York approaches, but hearing him talk gives him some pause. Quietly staring at him for a moment, he finally relaxes somewhat and (with some effort) manages to sit down before speaking.]

A 'chimera'? Zhat's vhat zhis is? Interesting. What are zhey, exactly?