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 Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:13 am
Silarial hurried through the trees, sure that the glowing lights ahead were yet another omen - better still, she knew what the source of those lights was. As she trotted towards her friend, she suddenly noticed other glowing lights which had been previously blocked from view by foliage.
Could it be? Wondered the stone-skinned mare. Did Natsu's children inherit her light, just as Thanatos inherited my eyes?
Ah... how will I tell her what I did to my eggs?
It was too late to draw back now; she'd already emerged from the row of bushes, and Natsuhiboshi was bound to have spotted her. Hoping that she hadn't startled her friend - who she had missed badly, all alone without Cadeyrn - Silarial, raised her head and called out to get the other mare's attention.
"Natsu!"
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:27 am
Natsuhi's ears had perked at the sound of another Kirin's approach, and she turned just in time to see her old friend calling to her. "Silarial!" she called back in cheerful greeting, trotting over to the mare's side. The others seemed content to stay where they where they were and watch curiously from a distance. Once next to her she gave the mare a friendly nuzzle. "It's been so long now! How have you been?" Natsuhi gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry that I never made it over for the play-date. Taking care of three kids can be quite a handful." Although my this point they were no longer children really. Still, things had been pleasantly busy.
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:44 am
Silarial touched her nose briefly to Natsuhi's, a sinking feeling in her heart.
"N-no, don't apologise; it's my fault, too.
I have something to confess.... but first." Silarial looked over at the rest of the herd, acknowledging the oldest male - that had to be Natsuhiboshi's mate - with a dip of her head. The rest of the Kirin were sure-footed and strong.
Just like Thanatos.
"Would those be the children you speak of with such pride?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:52 am
Natsuhi smiled and nodded. "Indeed they are," she replied, looking back at her family fondly. "As you can probably guess, the handsome brown stallion over there is my mate, Brajan. The one with my eyes is our eldest daughter, Faolan. Our other daughter's name is Nalani, and our youngest and only boy is Wyatt." She truly was proud of each of her family members, different as they all were from one another. The mare turned her attention back onto her friend. "What of your children, Silarial? Are they with their sire? Or perhaps with Alucard and Khalidia?" If Natsuhi had any inclination of the stone mare's situation, she surely wouldn't have asked such a question. She had no idea whatsoever of what all had happened since they last met.
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 7:17 am
Silarial bit her lip and inhaled deeply. There was no running from it now - Natsuhiboshi would be the first Kirin she'd spoken to who would know the entire truth.
"I laid three eggs, just like you - but without my mate. Cadeyrn never came back for me, and it was foolish to keep expecting him to. Our relationship wasn't meant to last.
I stayed with my eggs for a while... but... they reminded me of him, you know? And I didn't like that. So about a week later, on a rainy night, I tried to leave..."
Silarial's eyes were no longer focused on her friend - instead, they gazed wistfully towards the children. Her tale wasn't completed yet, of course, but she couldn't help wondering what it would be like to handle three kids, what it would have been like to have a daughter.
No, it wouldn't be the same as what Natsuhi has... not without a father to help protect the young ones, not without a father to make sure they had good grazing ground.
I could only have handled one, and I did the best I could.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:25 am
Natsuhi listened silently, her smile fading as her friend's tale continued. "You... tried to leave?" she asked slowly, not quite able to fathom this. "What happened?" To the navy mare such a notion had never occurred to her. Even had Brajan not chosen to stay by her side, she felt sure that she still would have tried to raise the eggs on her own.
Now, whether she would have been able to or not was a different story. That ambush when the foals were younger had certainly put their situation into a new light. Without Brajan's aid, it would have been impossible to fight off the three large cats and still keep the children safe. I suppose being a single mother would be quite problematic... But I shall listen to the rest of her tale first before coming to any conclusions.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:55 am
"One of them hatched," continued Silarial calmly, no longer afraid of Natsuhi's reaction. If she was going to tell everything, she'd tell the facts. "He spotted me, and cried out for me... and I went back for him."
Glowing green eyes refocused on the navy mare again, as Silarial cut to the chase.
"I raised him as my own, and gave him the best of what I had. He grew up and fulfilled my long held wish to have a child of my own.
Thanatos left of his own accord a fortnight ago, and we have agreed to meet at the same place every year. I know not what happened to Cadeyrn or my other two children. Sometimes I wish I'd stayed behind for them, but... without a father to protect and guide, three foals would have been too much to handle."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:08 am
Natsuhi gave a small nod after Silarial had finished her tale. "I guess I understand," she said reluctantly. Sad though it may be, she understood the stone mare's dilemma. "I'm truly sorry, Silarial, but at least you got to enjoy the company of one child, ne?" She offered a weak smile and nuzzled her friend again. "Although I will say that if you ever need help again in the future, please feel free to seek me out. We don't tend to wander too far from this part of the forest, and I would always be glad to help a friend."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:30 am
Silarial smiled back, eyes brimming with tears. "Thank you... for hearing me out, and for understanding."
Somehow she felt lighter, happier than she had been for a while, and she expressed this with a swish of her tail.
"You know, I hatched alone from an abandoned egg... and if I made it this far on my own, maybe the other two managed as well. Also, if there are other stallions out there as loving, as responsible as Brajan..."
The stone mare looked towards the distance again, and the breeze blew a few green locks forward, away from her face. She'd find a real mate one day, someone she could love and cherish. For a brief moment she fantasized that this "someone" was the reason she was wandering - but no, that wasn't it. Something, someone, somewhere was pulling her, and she felt she could no more help where she went than a river whose route was fixed.
Silarial shook her head to clear it of her mane, and turned her attention back to Natsuhi.
"So, how have you been (besides the kids) and what are your plans for the future?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 6:43 am
True, Natsuhi had hatched alone as well. Perhaps things were going alright for the other two children after all. "You'll find someone someday," the mare replied with a confident smile. "I'm sure of it." In answer to Silarial's question, she said, "I've been quite well myself, although I haven't really thought about the future much. Mostly just been living day to day and enjoying life as it comes." Planning ahead had never exactly been the mare's forte, although it might not hurt to try it sometime. "How have you been? I don't take it you've been back to the caves in a while."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:06 am
"No, not for a while... Not after Alucard and Khalidia's foals hatched." Silarial shook her head, wondering how the family was doing, especially Khalidia. It must have been hard enough for the Sylrin to love a monster - it would be harder still, to find out that their children were monsters as well.
"It's really quite nice not to have any real obligations again. I envy the stability of your current life, but... there's something out there calling to me, you know? And I feel compelled to go out and seek it.
You said your herd doesn't wander much... are these your lands?" Asked Silarial, curious. "I mean, I don't know where this journey will take me, and I want to be sure I can find you again."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:12 am
Natsuhi looked at Silarial curiously. "Our lands?" she questioned, not familiar with such terminology. "Well, we've taken up residence here, but I was unaware that land could be owned." The mare pawed at the ground thoughtfully. "You'll have to excuse me, I'm still rather unfamiliar with the customs of our kind."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:25 am
Silarial gave Natsuhi a confused look. Hadn't Alu and Khalidia mentioned...?
"Of course land can be owned. Do you remember that night, many moons ago when we first met? And under what circumstances? Alucard, Silvanus, fighting over berry bushes?"
She raised an eyebrow and peered at her friend.
"You do know how the fight started off, right?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:27 am
"Oh, right..." Natushi replied slowly, remembering that night. "I had forgotten- although it still doesn't make much sense to me. Why not just share?" After all, the land was already being shared by other creatures, right? Shouldn't it only be natural to be welcoming of your own kind? I guess not. That battle at the berry bush was quite fierce.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:52 am
Silarial eyed the ground thoughtfully, trying to think of an explanation.
"You know, food is plentiful in Spring and fairly abundant in Summer, but during the colder, leaner months... I guess it would be good to have some claim over a certain patch of ground, to make sure your children have enough food to eat?
At least, I think it's having enough to eat that causes stallions to stake out territory. I'm pretty sure the fight between Alucard and Silvanus was really about pride, but I think it was triggered by Silvanus claiming some of the forest as his own... which Alu took issue with, because he thought the forest rightfully belonged to me if it belonged to anyone." She laughed it off lightly, shaking her head again.
"Imagine - me, owning a forest! I cared for it, sure, I called it my home, sure... but I didn't own it any more than the birds did, or even the hunting cats."
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