[PRP] Kindling - Adrienne & Lutra

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

It hadn’t been very long since Lutra had finished his training, if it could really be called finishing. The last Wise One had joined The Flame in everlasting warmth. What did that really mean? It meant that Lutra’s mentor had passed away. And even before Lutra’s training had finished, Lutra was chosen by the Wise Ones to take lead of the herd and make sure they continued to prosper. It was a huge undertaking, one that Lutra was prepared for since he obtained his lantern. He had been in special training since that day, he had the not fully unique situation of having no other family outside the herd.

Lutra was a basket when he was given to the herd. He had no contact with this real family and hadn’t any interest in a mate. He was fully committed to the herd and from there he was chosen. The Wise Ones were the Elders of the herd that could no longer run things themselves for various reasons. They were the original founding members, they all worked on training Lutra. And it’s been tough for the Stallion because they were multiple of them and only of one him. Melanthios the herd’s adviser had seen the strain Lutra was under and had recommend the Stallion from a mate, a mare that could take the Alpha female role and run The Herds day to day actives and see to those needs. Lutra had thought he found her, they were even granted 3 baskets from the Wishing Star but it was never to be.

The untimely situation was exactly that. Untimely, Lutra had fallen behind in his duties and so he fully committed himself to the herd once again. He ate, slept and breathed the herd. It was until recently that Lutra had stopped the, for a lack of better words, smell the roses. His son and Adviser had forced him into a day off and it was on that day he met a sweet mare. Adrienne was her name. And interesting enough after they chatted and met a couple times after that, the mare joined the herd.

Lutra was on his way now to see Adrienne and see how the mare liked the herd. He knew from their conversations that she was close with her growing family. Fiamma Eterna would never prevent a horse from seeing their family that lived outside the herd but the horses would be required to the complete their duties before being able to leave. That had proved hard for some of the horses. Her gripped his lantern in his mouth as he walked his way from this den to find Adrienne. Life was certainly busy and he had to wonder if he could keep up this pace. He was lucky to have Melanthios around to help him guide him.

 

[CitrusCupcake]

Adrienne had found her new surroundings, her new companions to be quite strange at first. She missed her mother, her children and her grandchildren more than she had expected, but she knew she would see them again, and she was determined to pay heed to her mothers advice, to not let life nor possibilities slip her by out of complacency or an unwillingness to try something new.

So here she was, a chance encounter, a long conversation with Ardia and the biggest decision she had made yet in her life had bought her here. She hadn't yet gotten used to seeing Soquili walking around carrying lanterns either, and she had to surpress a smile or a giggle, especially at night, as the lights bobbed about like fireflies..though there was also a certain prettiness to the sight when one was able to view it in a more reflective mood.

She made sure to keep her humour in check; she didn't really mean to laugh, she was sure that she was just suffering from nerves in her new surroundings. It was in these thoughts that she was lost, and so she didn't recognise Lutra right away when she saw him out walking, though eventually the lantern colour made her aware he was near by, and she arranged a smile on her face that became more genuine the closest he got to her.

"Hello." she said, flicking a length of her long, white mane as she looked up at him.

LunaRei_SilverBlood

Forgive me if I get something wrong about the herd, I had a read of the IT but not sure it all sunk in XD

 

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

CitrusCupcake

No worries. It's pretty relaxed haha.

Lutra’s green eyes took in the mare. She seemed to be a bit lost in thought but once she realized he was coming near she started to smile. He was sure this was hard for her so he wanted to make sure he spent time with her and was able to introduce her to the other horses around.

“Adrienne,” Lutra smiled. “How are you finding the herd?” He asked around his lantern before placing it down. “I hope you’re able to find everything you need and everyone’s been welcoming.” He never knew the herd to shun or not be nice to any new comers. He remembered when Crusnik had come around, she was a little stand offish because she wasn’t really a talker but after a while she fell into the flow and all the others had nothing but good things to say about her. He couldn’t imagine anyone having nothing but nice things to say about Adrienne.

“Have any of your family stopped by for a visit?” He asked, nodding to a couple horses as they passed. Her family would be welcome to come by whenever they could to see her. So long as they didn't prevent anyone from doing their duties, outside family was always welcome.  

[CitrusCupcake]

As before, she had taken a moment to appreciate his approach; there was much to be admired, from his looks (she thought the feathering at his fetlocks was particularly fetching, and he had the loveliest eyes), to his pleasing manner and the fact that he was leader of a herd. Occasionally she felt slightly dull and unimportant next to him; she knew she had a lovely family, but was all that she was? Maybe that had been another reason for accepting his invitation.

She felt silent as other members of the herd passed by, waiting until they were alone again before she replied. It was true she'd felt nothing but welcome since she'd arrived, but there had been a sense of..appraisal along with it? She wasn't sure if she was imagining things because of her nerves and occasional pangs for home and family, but she wouldn't mention it.

"Lutra, thank you for checking in on me." she said, smiling.
"I'm..I'm good, everyone's been really friendly, and I'm..good." she finished rather lamely, realising she'd said 'good' twice.

"If I'm honest, I'm a touch homesick. And no they haven't, through mutual arrangement."

She went on to explain that her mother had suggested that visiting so soon was unnecessary, that they knew where she was if they needed her and that settling in without distractions was the most important thing.

"My mother is unfailingly right about these things, I only hope to be an Elder such as she one day, to be as steady and wise as she is."

LunaRei_SilverBlood

 

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

CitrusCupcake

Lutra tilted his head to the side, his mane shifted as he listened to her speak. Her ears perked and leaned forward when she seemed to hesitate and then repeat that she was good. He didn’t think she would lie to him but he didn’t feel comforted by her words. He glanced to the side pondering how to make things more interesting for her. Maybe the mare could join him on his tasks for a couple days?

As she continued to speak the idea appealed more to him. He wouldn’t know if he had Eldership in his bloodline since he’s never met his blood family. But Adrienne offered something unique; she had the blood of an Elder. This could be mutually beneficial to them. If she spent enough time around her mother maybe she would have some pointers for him. Like the mare, he too was hoping to be an Elder one day and hoped that he started the journey right by embracing the path that lay ahead. But at the same time, he didn’t want Adrienne to think that was the only reason he wanted her around.

Lutra enjoyed spending time with her. Even if they didn’t hold lengthy conversations all the time, he found that her presence was often enough. Her stability was reassuring to the stallion, granted they had only known each other for a short time but the mare stood out to him.

"Is that so? But I do hope that soon, you'll feel at home here." He nodded lightly. Making this her home should help ease that homesick feeling. “I understand the desire and I too hope I can achieve that goal.” He returned her smile with one of his own. “Adrienne, how would you feel about joining me the next couple of days, while I do the daily routines here around the camp?” He turned to look at her, trying to gauge her interest. With the fire that had occurred in one of the farther regions there were more things to do then before. Crusnik and RosenKreuz would be coming back after another trip to report and new plans would need to be made. The Herd was offering support to those that needed help.  

[CitrusCupcake]

Adrienne nodded;
"I'm sure I will in time. I expected I would miss home when I decided to join yo..the herd." she hoped he wouldn't notice that she'd backpeddled on the word. Yes she had joined because of him, but it wouldn't do to put too much on that, what if nothing happened beyond friendship? That would be okay, and she would learn to think of this as her home eventually, and the members as her second family, but in her heart she knew she was going out on a limb because she'd seen something she liked about Lutra.

"Oh but I'm sure you are farther along that path than I am." she said, but it was nice that he had the same goal, a desire to be the best he could be. At his question she took a moment before answering, flattered and touched that he was making such an effort to include her.

"I'd like that, I mean if you think I can be of some help and not just slow you down." she replied with a smile. Maybe being useful would help her settle in quicker, help her see the place as somewhere she belonged if she got involved.

LunaRei_SilverBlood

 

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

CitrusCupcake

I didn't want to jump to far head, so the post is on the shorter side.

Lutra was smiling as he listened to her. His green eyes watched her and she seemed interested, but he didn't want to assume anything. He was kind of asking a lot, even though he was hoping that it would help her. Lutra tilted his head and nodded happily.

"Oh I doubt you'd slow me down and even if you did, it wouldn't be a bad thing." He encouraged her. It was true, slowing down would be a good thing and unintentionally if things worked out, she would help with all that. His ears twitched and he leaned forward to touch his nose against her sweetly. It just seemed like the right thing to do. "You'll do great. Most of it is just making sure the camp is ruining smoothly and things are in stock. So I'll have you come with me today if you have some time?"  

[CitrusCupcake]

"So they are tasks that aren't needing to be done in a particular amount of time then?" Adrienne asked. Of course she might have usually made a little jokey comment about him stretching the time it took to do the tasks because he wanted to spend more time in her company, but she wasn't herself right now and she was still feeling out the boundaries with him so far as levity went.

"Well, if at any point you feel the need to ditch me so to speak so that you can get on at a pace you're used to I'll understand. I'm a big girl, I can take it." she said with a slight chuckle.

The nose touch took her quite by surprise; it was obviously meant to be comforting, but she felt slightly discomfited as she wasn't at all sure what he meant by it! She stammered a little as she replied to him again, before pausing and managing to continue in a slightly more relaxed fashion.

"Okay..I err, umm..I'll follow your lead. And I have time. Nothing but time. Soo..whenever you want to get going I'll come along."

LunaRei_SilverBlood

whee

 

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

He laughed at her lightly. “That you are. But I don’t think you need to be worried.” He smiled and then nodded his head for her to join him. He wondered where he should start. Probably right here in the camp. Maybe the daily food supply check and checking in with the Protectors to see if there’s been any trouble. There usually never was because of the herd’s status but sometimes someone decided to break the bargain or a new horse or herd came into the area that weren’t aware of the herd’s presence. His ears twitched as she joined him and he brought Adrienne over to meet the horse that was in charge of the food stores. He introduced the two and explained about how he was training Adrienne to handle the daily herd tasks.

The horse that was in charge of the food stores was very kind and actually agreed that it would be good to have someone else helping out around here. Lutra knew that the herd would support this, just like he had thought before. They took a small tour of the food stores as Lutra explained the process.

“So basically, we have support horses that keep the herd fed. They’re the gathers that go out each day to gather food based on what the Head of the Food Stores tells them to get. But sometimes depending on the weather, food becomes scarce. When that happens it’s up to you, you’ll need to decide what the best plan of action is.” He nodded at her and smiled, he knew this would all be new for her so he wanted to make sure that he was spending enough time explaining it and helping her understand by explaining the who, what, where and why of the tasks. “Any questions? After this we’ll go and meet with the Ambassadors.”

He asked her as they left the presence of the other horse. They had other work to be doing and didn’t need Lutra standing in the middle of things. By this point it was sun high and the air was warming up. And the forest was full of colorful leaves. A gentle breeze came through that carried cold air on it and it was clear that winter would come in a month or so. But mostly that tonight was going to be cold. The breeze ruffled his hair and he glanced up at the sky before looking back at Adrienne some of the Ambassadors would be returning soon. Maybe the next thing they would over would be taking the reports. This wasn’t a task that Adrienne would handle but she should come to understand it’s importance since she’d be receiving messenger ponies. Once Adrienne asked any question they would go and meet them.  

[CitrusCupcake]

Adrienne quietly followed Lutra as he crossed the camp, looking up again and paying full attention as he introduced her to the herd member that had charge of the food storage for the camp. She bowed politely, and took in everything as best as she could, whilst feeling herself under a small amount of scrutiny.

She'd never really felt this before, but her herd prior to this had been the family one and her mother had taken on every responsibilty, wanting her children to have the freedom to move in and out as relationships evolved and their own families grew without feeling tied down by chores. This herd was larger and she could see that for them to function properly there had to be order, responsibilities and a willingness for everyone to chip in.

"Me?" Adrienne was struck by how much she would be in charge of. Food was a large pillar of a community, everyone needed to eat and whilst she knew how to ration and manage food for herself and her children, would she be able to do so for a larger population?

"Do you think..I mean, I appreciate that you think that I am capable of such a task, but if I'm honest I'm worried that I may make a mistake and it's not a role that one should make mistakes." she gave a flick of her head, moving a lock of hair that was creeping across her face.
"I know that winter means food becomes harder, and that means eating food that may be a little more tasteless, rationing and making sure that the young and frail are monitored but still..."

LunaRei_SilverBlood

Sorry if this reply feels unfocused, trying to get them done though so people don't have to wait much longer XD;

 

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

CitrusCupcake

Haha, no worries. That's usually me on a regular basis! If you're able to get a post in this month I should be able to get Lutra maxed so long as I have the time to get another post in <3

Lutra looked over at Adrienne and he smiled, he knew how she was feeling. And it wasn’t like he was just going to throw the mare to the wolves. But he had a lot of faith in her potential. She listened to her concerns as they walked and he leaned over to touch her nose with his. “Oh, no need to worry.” He nodded at her. “Until you feel comfortable with everything, I’ll be here to help you. I’ll always be available for you.” He hoped that knowing this would help her feel more comfortable. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel pressured and scare her with it. Maybe it was all a bit too much, too fast?

“Although… I don’t want to push you.” His green eyes took her in. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” He wouldn’t lie to himself; he wanted her to take this step it would help the herd but also himself. They would spend time together daily… But when it comes down to her, her well being and comfortableness were most important. There could be another horse, mare or stallion that could do it if trained. It would take a lot of time… Time wouldn’t get to spend with her if it came down to it. Maybe his decision was more selfish then he had thought? Maybe he wanted to find some kind of an excuse to spend more time with her, without really admitting this.

He watched her for a moment and then looked away, looking at the herd’s camp. He really hoped that she would do this.  

[CitrusCupcake]

Adrienne's mouth twisted into a smile, and she had to supress the urge to reply that if he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, he had to stop gently touching his nose to hers. It was distracting, it was confusing - but she also liked it and didn't want him to not do it, so she kept quiet on the matter. But she would have to be direct soon, she felt she couldn't keep dancing around the subject forever.

"You're not pushing me, I just wanted you to know my reservations, let you know that I could make a mistake as being in charge of something like this, this responsibility is bigger than I've taken on before now." she paused a moment before continuing.

"But if I know that if I have your confidence and support if I have need of it, that I can do what is asked of me. I want to be of help, I want to be a full member of the herd. I'd never want to have you regret letting me become part of your family."

There, she'd been as candid as she could be without talking about the tangle of feelings that were causing her internal jitters, well, those that weren't wrapped up in the apprehension she felt about the role she was taking on.

LunaRei_SilverBlood

 

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

CitrusCupcake

Lutra’s ears gave a twitch. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting her to say… But he was almost speechless when she accepted the position. He stared forward before turning to her. “I would never regret having you become part of my family. This position wouldn’t ever reflect on whether you’re a full member or not… I hope you understand that the day you accepted my offer, you became a member of my family. There’s no not being a full member of the herd.” He let his eyes rest on his and he gave her a smile. “Until you’re ready Adrienne, I’ll be by your side. Once you feel that you have a good handle on it, I’ll let it to you. Not to mention you have all the sources and support from all the other members you could want. I’ve been doing this for a fair amount of time, and I still ask questions.” His tail flicked, “You’re never alone.”

The stallion had to hold in his happiness. But he was sure that his eyes would betray him… But as leader he couldn’t prance around like a foal. This had to be the start of something bigger, he could feel it. He was hoping that she might have the same feeling… But it was much too soon to just assume anything. Her taking this job had to be something separate from whatever he was feeling for this mare. Maybe they could go for a walk together soon… Suddenly he started to feel as if all the horses around them where staring. Under his pelt he could feel himself starting to redden.

Clearing his throat to get himself back on track… “S-shall we continue then?”  

[CitrusCupcake]

"You're very sweet." Adrienne smiled at him.
"But I'd feel uneasy if I wasn't carrying my weight, if I wasn't contributing in some way. I'm sure I can't just be a pretty face around here."

She grinned, wondering how he would reply to that. Buttery compliments? Or would he just joke along with her.

"I appreciate that the herd would rally around to help the newcomer." she paused for a moment, and then went on with the thought that had popped into her mind when he said he would be by her side until she was ready.

"But your company would the one I appreciate the most. And I might not ever feel ready if that's the way to keep you around." she teased slightly and gave a little laugh.

"Of course, please lead on Lutra."
And this time she nudged him with her nose.

LunaRei_SilverBlood

 

[LunaRei_SilverBlood]

Lutra commented under his breather and even to his own surprise, regarding her comment about being pretty face. "...wouldn't be the worst thing..." He assumed that it went unheard by the mare but was then stopped mid thought as she brought up keeping his company.

He wasn't to sure how to react. He felt flustered. Sure just a few moments ago he was thinking about how nice it would be and how he was hoping for things to be more then just work but... Having her make a comment like that certainly caused him to miss a step.

"W-we certainly can't have that." He laughed, hoping to keep the air light between them. Had she opened the door for that conversation...? But now wasn't the time. They had the Ambassador's to speak with. His mind was trying to separate and focus on the task at hand. He needed to stay focus. In all seriousness the idea that there was mare that was confident and wanted to help with the herd and also possibly... be his mate was a strange thought. And it seemed like it was a possibility. He had to do this the right way.


When she nudged him to continue he felt warm inside. Yes, all the blocks that were in his head with thoughts, were all lining up. He would ask her to spent more time together on a personal level once she's become accustomed to the herd and her tasks. He just hoped that it would feel as natural to her as it was to him.

He knew that Melanthios the Herds' adviser approved of the mare for the role of not only the Herd Alpha but as Lutra's mate. he didn't hide the fact. It was the best options that whoever would be his mate would have to assume the role as the Alpha Mare. It just so happened to be happening the other way around...

It was at that point that Lutra saw Rosenkruez and her mother Crusnik and waved them over to join them.

CitrusCupcake

I hope this isn't to unfocused! It was a little hard finding right were we left off XD

The plan is that after she's comfortable with what she's doing. He's going to ask her to 'date' but until that point he'll try to subtly flirt with her, without being to forward but enough that other horses pick up on it and she's aware. They just haven't spoken about it yet~ is how I see it going. Time wise I would presume a couple months that she 'trains'?