|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 11:46 am
Spyke sighed deeply and clopped on along the clifftop, eyes scanning for some sign of his sire. No matter how bad the looming conversation might turn out to be he couldn’t back out of, not now. When he wasn’t worrying about how this encounter was going to go he was exited, more exited than he had been in an age. He wanted to do this. He needed to do this. He’d go nuts if he stayed here much longer. He needed adventure, change, new horizons and people and... and everything.
A moment later, the brown-winged stallion spotted the Nequus he was looking for. The elder Ichsa was standing on the end of an arch, looking out to sea. He never had figured out exactly what the blue stallion stared at out there, or even if he was really looking at anything at all. Usually he was loath to interrupt it though, whatever it was, he’d always got the impression that he was butting in on something personal and important when he approached his sire at times like this.
Today though he wasn’t willing to wait for the black-horned stallion to snap out of it; it could as much as a half sun before he did sometimes, and he wanted to be off by then, off to... to wherever Sekhmet was going next, Fyhi he seemed to recall.
This said, the blue-eyed Ichsa came to a halt at the beginning of the arch and chewed thoughtfully on his lip. He could take a few moments more, a few moments to gather his thoughts and figure out what the hell to say. A few moments then, he’d announce himself in a few moments. If he could gather his nerve and work out how to begin.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 11:48 am
Blinking himself into focus for a few moments, the well-built stallion scanned the beach below him. Nothing but sand and the occasional seabird; no strangers that he ought to investigate to make sure they were friendly, no old friends coming to visit; nothing. “Cititu,” the silver-marked Ichsa murmured, smiling slightly at the soft, small, mortal sound of his voice.
Long, long after he was dead, the place he stood would remain. Eventually the arch would fall in leaving a stack, and then even that would go into the waves and the waves, well they went on forever. It would, Maurice decided, be good to go into the ocean to die if he could see it coming. Bones washing forever with the tides, grinding down into sand. Let others have rocks piled up to mark the spot where they fell; for him it would be better to be forever a part of the seascape, never noted by Nequus who came by but forever recalled by the ocean.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 11:56 am
As his father spoke, Spyke let out a soft sigh; he was about to ruin that peace and contentment. Damn. Well he couldn’t help what he wanted, could he? He couldn’t help wanting to get to be a young adult, to make mistakes and see the world without his sire over his shoulder growling at anything that threatened him and offering good advice.
He wanted to take his own advice, his own stupid senseless advice and see where it got him. He was sure he’d be able to get back out, especially with a friend beside him. It wasn’t wrong of him to want this, and okay it was impulsive but it was his life and he was going to do with it what he wanted. If his father didn’t like that, well he could just shove it.
The brown and blue stallion took a step forward onto the arch and cleared his throat. “Hey there Riruy, can I talk to you for a bit?”
There, good start, good start. Just stay annoyed and determined and everything would go fine; he’d say what he needed to, and his father would accept it. He’d be allowed to leave with no hard feelings, and he’d go off with no regrets and once he’d had a fill of adventure he’d come back and share it all before leaving again, if he decided he wanted to of course. Just stay annoyed and determined and the right words would come. Annoyed. Determined. Right.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 12:06 pm
Maurice blinked and turned around. “Eh? Oh, hey there Spyke. Sure y’ can, what can I do f’ you?” This was weird. Spyke always let him be when he just wanted to be alone; this must be important. The blue stallion frowned internally, trying to work out what his son might want. Nothing that the young stallion wouldn’t leave until later happily enough came to mind, and the blue Ichsa found himself becoming more confused by the moment.
The smaller stallion looked... odd; worried? Spyke never worried about anything that he’d seen, the twerp breezed through life without a care in the world; nothing seemed to get him down or to concern him for more than a heartbeat. After that he was off trying to find new ways to nearly kill himself again; that was what Spyke did...
Yet he looked worried, and appeared to be trying to frown. What could have happened to worry him so since they’d last seen each other? It hadn’t been all that long ago, only half a sun; less even. Still, presumably he would soon find out what was going on; pressing for information wouldn’t get it any quicker in all likelihood. Still, it was strange and worrying that Spyke was worried. The sooner he found out why and fixed the problem the better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 4:55 am
Great. Now what? It was easy, just be annoyed and... yea the being annoyed thing wasn’t working. Spyke grinned nervously. “So... I umm... nice day isn’ it? How are y’ today? Anythin’ interestin’ goin’ on?” Damn, this wasn’t going well. Just say it, just say it and get it over with. Putting it off wasn’t going to help in the least. “So I... I found a really cool shell earlier.” The young Ichsa cleared his throat. “I was goin’ t’ take it an’ put it in the cave, but when I touched it it ran away. Guess there was still somethin’ livin’ in it, right? Yea. It was all pretty and swirly and purple.”
How the hell had he got onto talking about shells? Talking about shells was not what he wanted to do, and was currently causing his father to look at him as if he was nuts. “Yea, it ran under a heap of seaweed.” Completely nuts, and maybe he was. Seriously, who just up and ran off with a strange mare who wasn’t even vaguely considering shagging him? A crazy person, that was who. Well, he had always been a bit crazy, a bit impulsive; he never did the most sensible thing, as evidenced by him babbling on about shells rather than getting to the point. Sekhmet might have got bored and gone on her way alone by the time he got around to spitting it out at this rate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:08 am
...Okay then; so Spyke had gone insane, that or he’d come to talk about something but then decided he didn’t want to after all. Maurice frowned; he couldn’t think of anything bad enough that the twerp could have done that he’d feel unable to talk about it.
“Right,” the blue stallion raised his eyebrows and gestured Spyke back off the arch with one wing, following after him when he went. “So, nice shell, good. Why did y’ actually come to talk to me? I’m not stupid, you know I’m not stupid, so why are y’ making such a piss poor effort to avoid the subject of.... well of whatever the subject y’ came t’ talk t’ me about is?”
No damn way he was going to let the idiot walk off without telling him what the hell was going on, especially not after the stupid rambling about a shell. If he’d actually asked a question or made a vaguely important observation he might have let it slide, but coming and butting in to tell him about a pretty shell definitely couldn’t be what the brown and blue stallion had come to talk to him about.
“So,” Maurice gave the other Ichsa a very hard stare, “what’s actually goin’ on then?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:24 am
Spyke took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I’m leaving. T’day. I want to go and see the world, and I’ve met somebody I can travel with.” The blue-backed Ichsa opened his eyes and bit his lip uncertainly; his father’s face had gone very still. “I know it’s kinda sudden but... well I’m goin’ nuts here Riruy. You might be content t’ be here y’ whole life but I’m... I’m not. I jus’... jus’ want t’ have a bit of adventure, t’ see the world sort of... by myself so... so I came to tell y’ that. Is... is it alright by you?”
He didn’t expect the answer to that to be yes, he half expected to get a cuff in the face despite the fact that his father had never lashed out at him before in his life. He’d seen the blue stallion get angry a couple of times, and had almost pitied the ones who had been on the receiving end no matter that they’d almost always had it coming.
The silence and stillness of the other Ichsa seemed to have gone on forever, and Spyke found himself shuffling a hoof uncomfortably. “Riruy?... If y’ goin’ t’ yell or kick me or whatever I understand...” It would almost be preferable to no reaction at all actually; he was beginning to get the feeling that this wasn’t exactly alright by the elder Ichsa, but then he’d known it probably wouldn’t be from the beginning.
This was always going to have been a tough conversation, and he was always going to have had to have it sooner or later. Maybe it would have been better if Sekhmet wasn’t part of the equation but he couldn’t change that now; he’d just have to hope that his father at least understood his reasons for wanting to go. If he didn’t, this was probably going to be very, very, very bad indeed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:41 am
Well... Well that was... unexpected. Maurice blinked a couple of times, wondering if he’d heard right. He was pretty sure he had. Why the hell would Spyke want to gall avant off with some pretty... oh, right; some pretty mare, fine. It didn’t sound like it was just her company he wanted, though. It sounded as though... as though he was unhappy here.
Yesterday Spyke had been fine. He’d seemed fine. How long had he wanted to leave for? Was this mare just an excuse, just a reason to have thought of it? How long had the young stallion wanted to run and not look back? How had he himself never even considered that his son might not be as satisfied with life here as he was? He should have asked, should have suggested they go somewhere else just for a while, just for a bit of variety. Bit late for that now.
“I... Of course.” The black-hooved stallion blinked again, pulling himself back to the present and turning his pupiless eyes onto Spyke. “Of course it is. I mean, of course you want to explore the world a bit. Of course. Yea. It’s fine. S’ long as this mare is a decent sort... Yea. It’s your life, right? I mean I can’ tell y’ what t’ do with it, can I now? You're an adult, y' can amke y' own choices. Of course y’ want t’ leave. Of course...” He wasn’t doing a very good job of sounding thrilled at the idea; he never had been a very good actor. “So... so y’ leavin’ t’day then?”
It was unreal. This morning everything had been normal and good. This evening he was going to be alone, and that was not a prospect he liked the look of. He loved being alone, having his times of peace away from other Nequus but... but he loved being in company too. He couldn’t imagine not being able to seek out the younger Ichsa for somebody to talk to, or just to be around whenever he chose to.
As he’d said, though, it wasn’t his life; he couldn’t force the younger stallion to stay here and be unhappy just for his sake. The whole point of being a parent was that it was never about you, not ever. What your children wanted was what mattered, you just had to try to fit yourself around that. Spyke was going to leave him here alone. He didn’t want to be alone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:51 am
Spyke looked at his hooves and nodded. “Yea, she’s waitin’ for me... She seems like a nice mare; her name’s Sekhmet, she’s a Jala an’ has no interest in me at all if y’ were wondering... Look Riruy I...” The white-horned stallion sighed and raised his head. “I’m sorry. I’d be happy here if I could but... well I can’t. Don’ get me wrong, I’m more than grateful for everything you’ve ever done for me an’ I’ll be coming back but... but I need t’ leave so that I can come back, and be glad to come back an’ tell you all about the places I’ve been, right? I...”
Damn, what else was there to say? he felt like there should be a hundred things he desperately wanted to say before he left, but when it came down to it there was only really one.
“Y’ know I love y’, right Riruy?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:57 am
Maurice gave a heavy sigh and a somewhat sad smile. “Yea, I know, I and love you as well even if you are a stupid impulsive twerp.” Sighing again, the silver-marked Ichsa paced over to his son and nudged the smaller Ichsa’s neck. “Jus’ promise me y’ll be as careful as y’ capable of being an’ I’ll be happy, alright?”
Relatively happy anyway. Yes. Happy. He should be happy for the boy, going off on his first adventure, really growing up and making new friends and... and all that stuff. The blue stallion tried very hard to focus on these things rather than the fact that he had no idea when he’d see the idiot again. If he would. The world could be a dangerous place and Spyke was second to none at getting himself into trouble... but then the only thing he seemed to do better than get himself into trouble was get himself out of it again. He’d probably be fine, and he’d have this Sekhmet person along with him so he’d have somebody watching his back. It’d be fine. Probably.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:10 am
Spyke sighed and nudged back. “Yea, I know... and I will take care. Well. I’ll try to.” The small stallion grinned sheepishly and stepped back to better regard his sire. “Look, I’ll be back before... umm... before spring, certainly. I don’ really know where I’ll be goin’, but I’ll be sure to be back by spring. I’ll have loads of stories an’ that so... Yea. I’ll miss you y’ know. Hope y’ have fun here without me... I um... I should get going. Sekhmet’s been waiting ages for me already, don’ want her t’ get bored and go without me. So uh,” the young stallion twitched his wings in a shrug, “so I guess this is bye f’ now. I’ll be back, like I say, this place is always goin’ t’ be home t’ me I think but... yea. So I’ll see y’ then?”
The sooner he could get out of this conversation the better. He had thought that if his father agreed with him and told him to go off and do as he pleased it would feel good, liberating, make the whole awkward atmosphere fade away. It hadn’t. He still felt somewhat guilty for leaving and there was no mistaking that the elder Ichsa didn’t really want him to. Maybe he should stay just a little longer, get Sekhmet to hang about and enjoy Qurine... No. No if he did that he’d never go. It had to be now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:21 am
Maurice sighed again and nodded, managing to find a not very happy smile of his own. “Yea, g’won then. I’ll be sure t’ be here for spring if I decide to go anywhere m’self.” Pushing away the bit of him that wanted to somehow forbid the younger stallion from leaving firmly to the back of his mind, the blue Ichsa skipped a step closer to the white-horned Nequus and boxed him playfully on the shoulder. “Get y’ skinny arse movin’ then,” he said with a tight grin, “an’ good luck m’ boy. See you in spring.”
Damn he did not want Spyke to leave. He was going to feel old and useless and alone. Maybe all parents did when their children really grew up. He wished he knew someone he could ask.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:32 am
Spyke gave a snorted of amusement and kicked back. “Yea, thanks Riruy, see you then... Well... Bye then. Take care of y’self...” Damn. All so serious and depressing and... The young stallion grinned wider and dived forward to n** his father’s withers. “Got ya!” He announced triumphantly, prancing backwards to avoid a reprisal before wheeling about and taking off at a gallop. “See y’ in spring y’ old slow-poke!” He yelled over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the horizon.
A laugh floated through the air to his ears following that comment, and Spyke found himself feeling much better about the whole situation. If his father got bored or lonely he could go off and have some adventures of his own; Maurice wasn’t one to sit about and mope when unhappy, he did things about it. Everything would be fine.
At this through flitted through his mind, the white-horned stallion felt himself able to breath deeper and stretch his stride longer. He was going on an adventure! New sights, new smells, new people and foods and dawns and horizons! Pus, of course, he was going with a really hot mare. He wouldn’t be complaining when she chose to lead the way and that was for damn sure. Giving a laugh that was both at himself and at the world in general, Spyke sped on towards the rock stack and his traveling companion. He could hardly wait!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
