[PRP] The Sprouting Of Something New [Azalea x Ascent]

[purplerosesbeauty]

The words of the stag weighed heavily on Azalea's mind, notably the idea that his time was soon to be a father. He needed to find Ascent, to confirm what he felt he already knew deep inside of himself now, the feeling in his belly growing quick as kudzu. That she really was carrying his eggs now, that he was going to be a father...

He still carried his small bouquet of flowers, having gathered them back up. He even found the feather of some songbird and kept that as well, bundled carefully. Azalea, regardless of his feelings, was still determined to give his mate the gift he set out to find for her.

"Ascent?" his voice echoed quietly through the fields.

Gl!tch~

 

[Gl!tch~]

Ascent hadn't felt well that morning. Nor the day before. But maybe she would feel better tomorrow... In any case, it wasn't that big a deal. She wasn't about to say anything unless she felt really bad. And not being able to eat wasn't the worst thing that could possibly happen.

She had walked with Reach as long as she could, though much less than usual. Once she got over whatever was going on with her tummy, she could race him next visit to make up for it.

Still, she was happy to be able to rest in her wait for Azalea, able to nap and stay off her hooves until his return. And he always came back... The swamp knew how to bring them together, and when, as much as it did for pulling them apart.

The reassurance didn't squelch her excitement to hear his voice, however. Ascent hopped up (oof), and pranced over (oof!). "Azalea! I missed you so!"  

[purplerosesbeauty]

Azalea put his bundle of flowers on the ground and pressed his body close to hers. He nosed along her muzzle and smiled as he rested on her neck. "Ascent... I missed you. I wasn't gone long but I still missed you," he said. Even the few nights felt much longer. They enjoyed their time apart, but he was finding he increasingly preferred their time together.

"I meant to arrange the flowers better for you, but..." The stag's words. They were still clear as morning in his ears. Sweet words, but with power and truth of certainty behind them. "I had an interesting encounter. Something I've never seen before, an eaglehound who turned into a stag. He said something..."

He paused, pulling himself apart from Ascent so he could look at her. The lovely green of her nose, the pink ears and sharp horns. The excitement that bubbled in her every step, and the smooth curves of her body. He hadn't noticed any changes. But perhaps she had. "Are you pregnant?"

Gl!tch~

 

[Gl!tch~]

"Are you sure you didn't lick a bright frog, love?" she asked with a soft laugh. Eaglehounds turning into stags... That didn't happen outside of stories! What a silly, silly story. She nuzzled him while he was still next to her. And Ascent wanted to move back closer to Azalea once he moved away. But she had to pause at his words. The acha tilted her head.

"That's...a silly question. Have I gotten fat? Ohhhh no, maybe I ate something that made me bloat... Maybe that's why my belly is so tender lately..." She looked down as if she could look at her underbelly with frustration.  

[purplerosesbeauty]

"There were no frogs, I promise...!" He had surely been in his right mind, and he remembered it clearly. A white stag with long, dark orange hair... oh, but he hadn't gotten his name. Only his blessing.

Still, Azalea looked down, a little embarrassed. "You look fine, love, as beautiful as ever." With slow movements, he went back to her side and ever so gently nosed her tummy. "Your belly is tender? If you feel ill, perhaps I can find something to soothe it..."

He went back to nuzzle Ascent, his voice soft and gentle. Azalea wondered what had come over him, but a tender belly... that could certainly mean she was carrying eggs. "I'm sorry to ask such a silly question of you. This stag I saw, he mentioned that my time to be a father was soon, and I thought of you... and I hoped it might be true."

 

[Gl!tch~]

"That would be nice, I think. My brother and I walked a bit and not being able to eat makes me feel... Well, I could feel better," she admitted, her smile now a little sad. Ascent giggled at the touch of Azalea's nose on her belly, and moreso at the nuzzlings. She paused and pulled back a little, thinking.

She leaned down and started shuffling at the ground with her forehooves. "A prophetic shapeshifter stag..." A little bit of anxiety made her belly churn a little more. "Like the legends... Are you saying..." She looked back at the pink kiokote, a little more hysteric as it all started clicking together. "One of them told you that I'm pregnant?!"  

[purplerosesbeauty]

Already Azalea was trying to mentally catalogue what might help his ill-feeling mate, some herbs that would soothe her nausea and aching belly. He would have to go find some for her, perhaps later... Especially since she did finally admit she wasn't feeling well.

However... "It was exactly like the legends, and well..." Azalea noted the change in Ascent as she realized what he had said. He pressed his cheek to hers. "Yes, they sort of implied you might be pregnant, love," he said, feeling a bit flushed. It sounded ridiculous when put that way, but at the time it was so magical and exciting. To be blessed with healthy children, to have them understand their bond...

"It doesn't seem impossible, after all," he said quietly.

 

[Gl!tch~]

"I just... It's very unexpected." But weren't all pregnancies? "And a legendary blessing us... I never would have imagined." Pretty much unheard of in her own family, mythical, even. But then her own family was not so much one for mating.

"We will get to raise a family." She was amazed at those words. "Together." That word alone warmed her belly. Another thought bubbled up, too. "But..." Ascent pulled away and looked at Azalea, worry clear on her face. "You won't leave this time? Even for just a little while?"

Her parents had multiple partners, and walked on separate paths. But Ascent did not want to have another partner, or split off onto a different path in life! She wanted to be with Azalea, to raise the children as well as after.

purplerosesbeauty

 

[purplerosesbeauty]

"I certainly wasn't expecting it either... or to have any of that happen." He didn't know if his mother have ever been blessed by a legendary, certainly if she had she never thought to make it known to him. He didn't see her much anyway...

Her next words felt like a kick to the stomach, and he shook his head viciously. "Never! I'm never leaving you. I won't leave you on your own to raise our children, and I don't want to part from you again..."

Azalea rested his head on her neck, nuzzling her and trying to assuage her fear. "I don't want to be that sort of buck, I want to be a good father and a good mate. I want to stay with you, Ascent... if we must travel, we'll travel together. Side by side."

He wanted to take care of her, see that she was healthy and when the time came, that she was able to deliver their eggs safely. Like the legendary's blessing. He wouldn't be like his father, because he would stay in their life. He would stay with his mate. He would be a wanderer but not stray. They could be together.

 

[Gl!tch~]

Her ears perked at his words. "Good! Good good good!" She wanted to prance again, but her belly told her not to. At least not right now. "Then we will see so many things, together, and we can share them with our children in story. Or in song!" She giggled, and nuzzled into Azalea. "They'll get to feel wonder at the world around them..." She turned her head to look at the sky. "Maybe we can take them to see where the plains and the desert begin, so they can feel connected to their heritage... To their ancestors who came from beyond so long ago. And they can run with you!" At the thought, she hopped a little and pranced in place. "And dance with me. Maybe they'll love flowers as much as you do. Oh, Azalea, you'll have so much to teach them." With that, Ascent passionately nuzzled her mate again. She felt like she would explode with emotion. "You're going to be a wonderful father!"

She sighed, thinking about it some more. "I wonder what dreams they will have..."

And then her thoughts continued on, and on. "I hope... I hope they'll like me. That they'll want to stay with us as they grow. I hope I can provide for them the way they need me to..." She swallowed. "I-I don't know how to be a mother." A very true notion. She knew how to be a sister, but what makes a mother? Laying eggs? It ended there, often enough. But was that motherhood? Ascent had a mother but they weren't close, not enough for Ascent to seek her out like she did Out of Reach. She was happy enough to run into her out of chance, but it wasn't anything active. Was that the norm? Could she do better than that? "I don't even know where to start. What if I can't do a good job, and we won't be close? It's so normal to not be close to your parents... But I want mine to be close to me. To us. I want a family of love and togetherness... I know we will not walk together for very long, but how do I make that time meaningful?" More than my own time growing up.

Ascent fell silent for a few moments. The growing anxiety started to hurt her head. She stepped away from Azalea, and went down on the ground, folding her limbs to rest. She curled her tail around her.

"Maybe it's selfish of me to want more than to just be there for them. That's already a lot for any foal. But I want...I want to mean as much to them as my brother does to me. But I want them to matter to each other, too!" With the blessing of a legendary, they should be safe from any tragedy upon the births. Part of her was scared by how unknown pregnancy was to her, but knowing of the blessing made it a little easier to swallow.

"I guess...I guess all there is is trying my best. Do...you think it will be enough?"  

[purplerosesbeauty]

He listened to his mate, unable to hide the joy on his face. He wanted his children to revel in story and song, to stay with them and move together as a family. Something he never had growing up, his father someone who he had never known, his mother quick to move on. He was close to his brothers, but even now their paths were far apart. To have family that would be bonded, to know dancing and love and flowers...

He lowered his head, a little sheepish as he listened to Ascent. "A good father... I hope so. It's all I want. For you, and for our children. I want them to be with us and know us. If what that legendary blessed us with comes to pass, we'll be very happy."

Azalea has his own fears of course, but he sensed gentleness in Ascent. The same gentleness in his own heart and dreams. The one the legendary pointed to as already being more than the typical effort of parents in the swamp. "My love, Ascent... you'll be a beautiful mother. You'll be a kind mother. You'll be fun and fill our children's lives with joy as much as you do with mine. When they do leave us to have their own families, they'll have a strong foundation and know they can turn to us always."

He approached her on the ground to sit next to her as she curled up, the anxiety evident. Azalea nuzzled her, rubbing his face along her neck. "No one knows how to be a parent innately, but you will not be alone, I promise. I'll be right at your side. We'll be enough, together."