[PRP] Short and Sassy (Liani and Madiera)

[Cajmera]

Madeira
~~~

It was clear to Madeira that whatever her own relationship with her Grandpa Guilian, the little red mare had had a very different one. Maddie's mother Bettina had been an independant type, so once she'd grown up and left home Bettina hadn't had much contact with her father or her mother, Vilinia. When Maddie and her siblings had been born, they had been raised by their parents with pretty much no contact with their grandparents, although they naturally knew their names and a little bit about them. Maddie also knew, through careful eavesdropping, that her grandparents, and her grandfather in particular, were not thought to be the best role models, thus she and her brother and sister had grown to adulthood before any of them really had the chance to meet the older generation. For her own part, Maddie couldn't really say what the big deal was; when she finally met her grandfather, she had found him to be sweet and charming and very kind. So what if he apparently had a mare in every grove of trees? That was his business, not hers.

But even having met Guilian, Maddie had never 'clicked' with him, in spite of their similar ebulient personalities. They were very different, and that was that. She didn't feel any sense of loss from not having grown up near him, but nor did she feel any desire to avoid his company. He was just...her grandfather.

Though from the way the way the little red mare stood, eyes gazing off into the distance in that glazed manner of someone looking back into their past, Maddie was clearly the only one in this conversation who felt that way. Whatever the other mare was remembering was clearly important to her, so for a time Maddie simply stood, patiently waiting for her to snap out of her reverie and return to the conversation. However, as the minutes dragged on she began to get impatient and finally allowed herself a small, polite cough.

That was enough, apparently, as the little mare snapped out of her memories and back to the here and now. Still, Maddie couldn't help but giggle a bit at the startled expression on the mare's formerly placid face. "Well, you sure seemed preoccupied there; even without your clarification, I think I would have been able to figure out you and Grandfather had a past. I mean, I can't speak for you or the world in general, but no one of my acquaintance tends to space out that long about a casual...well, acquaintance!" Giggling, Maddie continued on. "Though it really has been a while since you saw Grandfather, I'd say; I think he has 11 kids now? That might not be exactly right, but I know that my mother and her brother and sister were his...seventh, eighth, and ninth kids? Or something like that. I know that I have a lot of aunts and uncles, at any rate, but I haven't met most of them,"

Nor was she like to, she knew; one thing about having a large family with no herd affiliations, you tended to scatter! She herself was a great example of that these days; she couldn't recall the last time she'd even seen her own brother and sister, let alone aunts and uncles. Not that she and her siblings had actually been close, but the point still stood. "You know, maybe you ought to run into Grandfather again, see what's going on, swap reminisces about the old days, that sort of thing," She said with a teasing grin. "I bet he'd actually love to see you!" And she did, too; one thing she could say with certainty was that Guilian was VERY big on relationships, of any sort!  

[Cajmera]

Liani
~~~

Yep, this girl was definitely a giggler, Liani thought with a somewhat rueful smile. She could see that being annoying in some circumstances, or in all circumstances to certain types of Soquili. There were certainly times when Liani herself had no patience for overly merry or mirthful Soquili; giggling, in particular, had always seemed a rather young and giddy sort of way of expressing amusement...and it had been a long time since she'd been either of those things. Well, young, at least; she could be as giddy as the next mare, in the right circumstances!

Fortunately, Liani was in the sort of mood to be amused by Maddie's mirth rather than annoyed by it; she wasn't so old and definitely not so stodgy as to miss the humor in the situation. Imagine, Liani at a loss for words! That didn't happen very often, regardless of situation or companion; truly it was a testament to the power of memory. Memory, and perhaps the potency of a first love, she thought with an almost wistful sigh. But she only allowed herself to wallow in that wistfulness for a moment; that was the sort of thing to indulge in when she was alone, not when she was under the increasingly interested eye of Guilian's granddaughter!

Granddaughter. Guilian. What a world!

Though she had to admit, the granddaughter was making a lot of good points. "Well, I don't know about that, Honey; I mean, it's been a very long time since Guilian and I hung out together. Given the...prolific flowering of his family line, I'd say he has a few other things on his mind these days." Prolific flowering sounded like a mild description for what he had going on, to be honest; imagine, eleven children! If Liani had been more prone to displays, her eyes likely would have popped out of her head at that tidbit; as it was, a slight flare was the only indication she gave of her surprise. But really...eleven kids! And he'd actually thought he was sterile. Obviously his swimmers were slow bloomers, she thought with a small snort.

But that was neither here nor there....except for the specimen standing right here in front of her! The one encouraging her to seek out and visit the stallion who she'd idolized, the only one who'd ever really touched her heart...and then had inadvertently shattered it. Who knew how that meeting would turn out, if it actually happened? Liani rather thought that time had done a great job healing her; would seeing him again undo years of progress and reduce her back to the emotional wreck she'd been back then?

Though...could she really pass up a chance to see him again? Curiousity was a powerful motivator, even with nothing else driving it. And she had to admit, she was curious to see what time...and eleven children....had done to her old friend. Was he still as handsome and carefree? Or had he aged, becoming droopy and grey and wrinkled? Liani herself certainly hadn't, not really, but she'd seen Soquili to whom time had been much crueler. Would Guilian be another to add to their numbers?

"However...I do have to admit I'd love to see how the old boy is doing these days. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have just a little visit," She mused, more to herself than to Maddie. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt at all." Nothing but her heart, anyway, and who said she was even using that any more?