Rumours around the swamp normally traveled like wildfire but after the zikwa's arrival, it was hard to simply pass legendaries off as stories anymore. One sure but such a large mass of them gathering around the hole as the creatures arrived? Not so much. Of course, there would always be naysayers who believed that legendaries were just that and those who weren't there would continue to believe that they were just stories but those who were lucky enough to witness the gathering would know better.
As one of the zikwa herself, Pitch Black hadn't needed to see the legendaries to know they existed. She did have to rely on the rumours and stories that the kimeti and other kin provided though. It seemed simple enough, but to be honest she had never thought she'd ever need to find one for such a reason. Talking Heads had been just wonderful though, and her only regret from their time together had been that she couldn't actually see him like he could see her. He had been very clean, that much she could tell from his scent, and he seemed a lot gentler than many of the other kin she heard since her time in the swamp. He wasn't rowdy or loud but he did speak rather fondly of the two foxbuns that accompanied him. They had been softer than many things she'd ever had the chance of feeling, and one seemed rather mischievous from what Pitch Black was able to discover through limited senses.
Sorrow was not the word to describe how the doe felt when she thought about how she'd probably never meet him again. Unlike many kin in this land, her kind often stayed with a mate for their entire life. She'd always dreamed that a buck like Talking Heads would sweep her off her feet and then they would spend their life together but on the surface things were different, and she tried not to make a big deal out of it despite just how big of a deal it was to her. She hadn't spoken of it to him and eventually they parted ways. Tears would have been a blessing at this point but none would form within the small kin. She longed for his touch over the days, making little effort to move without him there with her. She missed him so terribly but as the days passed she eventually discovered that although he was no longer here with her, the connection they had made was going to take on a new form through their children.
Family was just as important to the doe as Talking Heads had become, and now the two were going to be one. On the surface, the idea of family excited and terrified her at the same time. This wasn't like home. The land was different and the customs unpredictable, what would she do without her large extended zikwa family to help her? She knew very little about children, or even how well her species would mingle with theirs. Would the children be all right? It was absolutely horrifying to think something would happen to them. Her worries brought out the worst fears but it gave her hope for the future when she recalled the stories she'd heard of the legendaries. She hadn't actually seen them that time but she'd heard them, and heard others speak of them. It left her with one options: she would find one.
Finding anything when you were mostly blind was no easy task though. She had trouble simply finding food when it was a mere ten feet away but trying to find a kin in a swamp? Well, that was hard enough for a kin that could see. It wasn't like she knew where any of them lived, that would have at least narrowed down her search. She wasn't going to give up though, which began Pitch Black's journey in the world, and it was that very journey that brought her to Forgotten Feathers.
The goose had remembered the zikwa from that day, but she hadn't expected to find any. In that sense though, she never expected to find anything. She simply wandered around the swamp in a rather free manner but the truth was it bound her in a way she didn't like. She often felt trapped, much like her dream, and unable to do anything. It was hard to simply ignore the doe though, not when she seemed to be having even more trouble than Forgotten Feathers had. Pitch Black could barely take a step in the rough rooted terrain she was passing through without falling. It finally took one big fall for Forgotten Feathers to trot over as carefully as she could (so that she would not fall as well) and kneel down to try and help the zikwa up.
"A... a... um... are you all right?" She asked softly, trying to nudge the smaller kin up with her nose.
Forgotten Feathers had expected to scare the zikwa but that wasn't the case at all. Pitch Black's rather faceless face seemingly looked at her, causing the doe to become startled herself. Quickly, the doe tried to regain her composure while the other found her way to her feet, nodding her head to Forgotten Feathers.
"Yes! Everything is well!" She announced, perhaps with more zeal than one might normally have upon falling repeatedly. "I will find a legendary, and everything will be all right!"
The word legendary shot a small tinge of pain through the doe's heart as she thought about Swan. If only she could find her way to Swan, then she could solve two problems in one. Quietly, Forgotten Feathers pondered the thought. If she was looking for a legendary, did she have a request? Blue eyes fell over the zikwa's body as if she was examining her. She didn't want to assume anything because that would have been quite rude, so instead she took a breath and sought to ease her curiosity.
"W-why... why do you seek a legendary?" She asked as politely as she could.
There was silence in reply to her question until finally she choked out a small sob. She wanted to be strong, to be brave but it was still so soon that she had lost Talking Heads and here she was pulling through the swamp trying to find something she might never find. She wanted so badly to find one though, her love for her family so strong to allow her to simply give up.
"I... am with child. I want to make sure they're well," she replied, leaving out all of her worries so not to worry this... kin. She wasn't entirely sure if it was a doe based simply on the voice but she thought it would be too rude to ask. Strangely, it was almost like looking in a mirror but Pitch Black at a lot more excuses for why she was stumbling all over the place than Forgotten Feathers could ever make up.
None of that mattered to Forgotten Feathers when the word of children entered the picture. She was a mother, and she knew the woes that came with it. She had never sought out a legendary during her time but she knew of others who had. Legendaries were much more secret back then though, and if it had been an option at the time then she might have went on a journey to find one herself. She understood, and at the same time she worried quite a bit about the small kin whose body seemed so fragile. To top it off with her pregnancy, Forgotten Feathers couldn't allow it to continue on. What if she kept falling and hurt them? She didn't know how strong zikwa were but she didn't want to risk it.
"I'll take you!" She volunteered. What hadn't given it much thought but she couldn't sit back and witness this without acting. Maybe she should have considered the fact she didn't know any more than this zikwa where a legendary might be before volunteering her services but at least she could see where she was going, and an extra body could help Pitch Black from stumbling as easily as she would alone. Also, Forgotten Feathers imagined this doe was also quite lonely. She remembered her time after she'd parted from Night Heron, and although there was no guarantee Pitch Black had any similiar feelings the thought in her heart was still there.
"I... I mean if you would like me to." She tried to correct herself rather quickly.
Silence. Very awkward silence for Forgotten Feathers. She was almost about to curl up and try and disappear from embarrassment when the zikwa finally said something. She didn't make it out at first, but the second time had been much more clear.
"Would you? Thank you so much." She said, pausing momentarily. "My name is Pitch Black, and I would be honoured."
Relief. It was such a great relief to hear it that she had actually gotten completely silent, so silent that Pitch Black had almost thought she left.
"Oh... oh... oh! I am so sorry, my name is Forgotten Feathers. Here, let's continue on."
She tried not to hint that she wasn't actually any more sure where a legendary was than Pitch Black was, or that her hooves were shaking from just how nervous she was that she might stumble over and cause more damage than Pitch Black might simply stumbling alone. She tried her best though, hoping if anything that would be enough.
For the most part, the two walked rather awkwardly together in silence. Occasionally one would try and say something and then the other would verbally stumble over the other until the awkward silence continued. They didn't need to talk, right? Although Forgotten Feathers suspected that maybe Pitch Black might begin to wonder where she was if she didn't say anything but that didn't seem to be the case. It seemed that sounds Forgotten Feathers made that she wasn't even aware she made alerted Pitch Black of her presence. Breathing, nervous squeaking and even the light trotting her feet found their way to the zikwa's sensitive ears.
"Stop," the zikwa said suddenly when an unfamiliar sound rung through her ears. "There is something there."
Forgotten Feathers had been surprised to say the least, her eyes looking around direly in an attempt to see something. She turned around, looking up and down and all around until finally she settled that perhaps nothing was there and the zikwa had been mistaken? Anyone could have made that mistake, and when you were worried about children it was never wrong to side with caution. Well, she might have thought this if she hadn't suddenly felt something on the rear of her flank, causing the small doe to scream so high that finally Pitch Black was able to decipher that Forgotten Feathers was truly a doe.
"A... a... a... a... a..." was all that made its way out of her lips before the doe fell over, passing out quite embarrassingly.
Stargarden seemed surprised to say the least, walking curiously over the fainted doe's flank as if it were the ground. His attention didn't linger on her too long, his eyes falling upon the zikwa with an interested intent. He could see it, you know, like a second nature. He knew she was with child, he knew there were two and he knew that what fun was there just having two when you could have three? Yeah, he went there. His eyes seemed to glow brighter but the zikwa wouldn't know. In fact, she barely even knew what was going on. She seemed to be frantically looking for Forgotten Feathers' when her attempts to question her went with no avail.
Sweet mouse, you shall not bear any rats but instead three mice of your own.
"What?!" The surprise seemed to knock her off her feet and with no moment to lose, the form of a crane disappeared to unveil a towering stag. He caught her, carefully nudging her onto her feet with the flat of his nose. He might have stepped on a cattail but that was unimportant, although that cattail might actually sort have been Forgotten Feathers' tail. Boy, was she in for a surprise when she woke up which would be in... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
"Ow!" She cried out, unsure of quite what happened or why her tail pained her so but she could remember something attacking her and immediately her eyes flew toward Pitch Black. She was fine and the figure that stood behind her was tall and majestic, quite captivating as it stood in silence. His form called to her with questions until it left her with a soft gasp as the form disappeared and changed into that of a moth, fluttering silently into the distance. It had to have been a legendary.
"What was that all about?" Pitch Black asked, quite confused.
"It... it... it was a legendary! Did you find out what you needed?"
There was silence as Pitch Black recalled what had happened. That voice she'd heard almost like a melody haunting her, it was a legendary? She couldn't make out a lick of what it meant but for some reason she felt warmer, her heart lighter from worries than she had when she began this journey. Was it because of the legendary, or was it because of the friendship she'd made with Forgotten Feathers? A small smile lingered on her face when she discovered the answer inside.
"Yeah, I think I did. Let's go," she said softly.
It might have been a small event in the day of Stargarden but this had been a major event for both of the does. Neither of them would forget what had transpired today.
