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 Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 7:15 pm
 It was early dusk, the sun seemed to be spread delicately between stretched cotton as the clouds covered it. The sky turned the color of Aarushi's fur along with dark, dusky pinks. Water rippled as the young mare stepped into a small lake in the middle of a pasture. After bringing her head up from lapping at the water, she noticed how the surface looked like that of an opal - with the many colors and shades mixing along with the shine that water naturally has. It was beautiful, and suddenly she wished she had a way of capturing the moment for good. With a sigh, the mare stayed where she was and stared at the twinkled stars that began to mix in with the wondrous display of color. Last night was the first time Aarushi had asked her father about her mother. The male had looked at her for a couple of minutes, searching her face - perhaps remembering the mare - and his face seemed more strained and taut than usual. Once he spoke he told her only a couple of things, admitting that he hadn't really known her that long. The first thing he said was that she had white fur, but someplaces where as yellow as her fur. The second thing he noted was that Aarushi's mother had a tail like her sister's, and wings like her. Her hooves were cloven, just not like Aru's, and that her ears where not as fuzzy as her & her father's were. Up until then Helberd had looked slightly forlorn, but suddenly his expression turned bright - as she remembered, and he said, "Her eyes were the most lovely shade of sparkling silver I've ever seen." After that, his expression turned soft as he looked at her and told her to go to bed. Aarushi knew that her father loved her - even as overbearing as he was, but she desperately wanted to meet her mother. Somewhere in her mind though, she knew that would most likely never occur.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 7:43 pm
Khepri was so much like how she was in her youth, Shimshek had no idea how to express to her daughter that beauty wasn't everything. Beauty became truly beautiful when one found love, and no matter how many times she lectured Khepri, the young mare refused to listen. She was thankful her younger daughters were less... boastful and egotistic. They took after their father more, unlike her sons and eldest daughter, who all took after her. Of course, that was her fault, considering she was still young at the time and had to raise them herself, as Taiyaung had tramped off on yet another mission before he returned home for a time.
Oh, how she missed her lifemate.
The only one who really listened to her complaints was her younger sister, Ming Xifeng, whom she was--surprisingly--very close to. "Mother," she began, and then stopped. Shimshek had given her a "look" which basically said "shut up now or else!" She looked to her quiet younger sister, who seemed to be off in her own world. Ming, it seemed, had found something interesting. As she looked in the direction her sister was looking at, she raised an eyebrow. That mare looked awfully familiar. She looked towards her mother, and saw that Shimshek had noticed that young mare as well. In fact, her mother was staring quite hard at the mare.
"Ming?" she whispered, glancing between her mother and the mare they'd come across in this little clearing, "Do you think...?" Khepri, who focused so much on looks, would've recognized her other siblings almost instantly, despite having not seen them for a long time. After all, in Khepri's mind, her entire family was utterly beautiful. The mare all three were staring at looked an awful lot like the youngest sibling--Kintori.
So, Kintori had succeeded where she, Khepri, and their other sister had not. Xiaodan had already had his own children, though Liang had not yet found that happiness. Ming wondered if she would ever find love, and then shrugged that away as she quickly walked towards the young mare. "Excuse me," she spoke quietly and gently, hoping she hadn't startled the mare. "You just look familiar, is all. The three of us were wondering if you might know a mare named Kintori. She is our sister, you see... Well, my sister and this mare's sister here. The Wind mare is our mother..." She trailed off, thinking it was probably better for Shimshek to explain, because Ming wasn't a very good speaker.
Her mother seemed to be in shock, however, so Ming spoke, simply because if Khepri spoke, many things could go very wrong. And though she didn't like to talk, talk she did, if only for her own curiosity--and that of her sister's and her mother's.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:55 pm
Aarushi twitched slightly and turned when she was spoken to. Her distinctively blue eyes widened at the appearance of the three mares. The first thing she noticed was that they were all as strikingly yellow as herself. Two of them seemed to have some sort of pointed horn on there foreheads, and the last one held wings like her. Aaurshi glanced down quickly at the water she was in, and shuffled as the mare with the darkest shade of golden yellow finished speaking. "Well....I...um. I've never met her." Aarushi raised one of her eyebrows and met glanced at each one of them. Confidence entered her voice as she continued to speak. She felt wary of these mares, but at the same time had the underlining feeling that she shouldn't be, "But....my father told me that Kintori was the name of my mother."
Stepping out of the water Aarushi approached the mares, "You say you all are her sisters?" She flicked one of her ears, "Wouldn't that mean....well, wouldn't that mean we would be....you know, related?" Slowly, Aarushi's eyes met Shimshek's, "You have eyes like her. My mother that is. They're silver, aren't they?" Even slower, Aarushi approached her, "Does that mean you're my grandmother?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:29 pm
Shimshek blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of tears that had simply happened to show up. No, she was not crying! She was just simply overcome...yes, that was it. "Kintori... You're Kintori's daughter?" Her voice filled with wonderment and joy. "Yes... yes! That would mean... yes, that would mean you're my granddaughter!" she spoke in a near whisper. She never expected... but... the poor thing had never met her own mother? That was surely confusing. "Well, dear, my name is Shimshek. You can either call me Grandmother or by my own name. I don't mind at all. These are your aunts, the sisters of your mother Kintori. The pale gold one is Khepri, and the bright gold one is Ming Xifeng."
Khepri couldn't really say anything. She was just simply astounded. Her younger sister--the youngest one, at that--had just beaten her to the punch. Literally! It wasn't fair! Here stood the living proof of Kintori's happiness... Khepri could only feel envious. It really wasn't fair, to her mind. She wanted love, too! But she just couldn't say anything. In fact, Khepri felt numb. The only thing she could appreciate was that this young mare was as beautiful as the rest of her family, and that's all that mattered to her, really. When her mother introduced her, she could only nod in a glum sort of way. Okay, she was jealous. Jealous and envious, and well... if she opened her mouth, she would only say nasty words, so she kept it shut. She might be arrogant and egotistic, but she wasn't stupid.
"Well, only myself and my sister Khepri are her sisters. So you're the daughter of Kintori..." she trailed off again, looking the mare up and down. "Strange that you've never met your own mother. She's a sweet character. Who's your father?" The father, obviously, was one of a completely new breed that none of the family knew about. They all knew of unicorns and winds, and flutters, and kalonas, but not this new kind of breed that gave the mare such interesting ears. The hooves made no difference to any of them--especially Ming--because unicorns had cloven hooves. What kind of father did Kintori play about with...? For it was surely playing about, if the poor mare hadn't even met her.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:56 pm
Suddenly Aarushi beamed, feeling tears pool into the corners of her eyes as well. She had more family - from her mother's side, no less. This was wonderful! That and the fact that they weren't headstrong males just made her day. Her eyes sparkled as she looked over Shimshek, "If...If you don't mind, i'd love to call you Grandmother" In a quick movement, she leaned forward and touched Shimshek's neck lightly with her muzzle, and pulled back just as quick before looking over at her two aunts. "I've never seen such beautiful mares before. All of you" As she said this her eyes lingered on Khepri, for she had said nothing yet and looked upset, but turned to Ming when she spoke, "Yes...Well..."
Aarushi looked up for a moment at the sky, it had darkened considerably and was now blanketed with tiny diamonds. "My father told me that she disappeared with one of my sister's. Now it's just me and my other sister, Verdandi." Tearing her gaze away from the sky she looked back at Ming, "My father's name is Helberd. He's a full blooded Ceyreni, and he think's it's his duty to protect every mare and doe he see's - I have to sneak away every time I want some peace" She smiled and laughed lightly, "I must admit though, he is quite dashing." She looked at them all once more, eyes lingering on them each for a minute at the least, "I could, uh, take you to meet him? He's not that far away....He'd probably be interested in meeting you all, as well"
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:18 pm
Shimshek chuckled, "Oh dear, I do believe Kintori took after me! And I would love for you to call me Grandmother, dear child. I do not hear it enough from your cousins, you see." She smiled gently as she returned Aarushi's nuzzle with one of her own, lingering slightly to show that that she was loved. "Dear, you have yet to introduce yourself. I'm glad to know your sister's name, but I'd like to know yours as well," she added, eyes twinkling with silent humor. Noticing how Khepri was silent, she was quick to move to the young mare's side, and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about Khepri, dear. She will explain herself in due time." Shimshek was rather relieved Khepri had decided to stay silent, but well, she was sure that Khepri would have her say... and how soon it was.
Khepri soon spoke up with delight when the young mare commented on how beautiful they all were. "Oh, why thank you! You're rather gorgeous yourself, kiddo!" She laughed brightly, appearing satisfied. "Sorry I didn't say much, I'm just jealous of Kintori. She found love, and... I'm still looking, you know." Because she was with family, Khepri didn't act as arrogant as she normally would, but acted as her "true" self, the one she always hid behind that barrier of constant "looks are everything" talk. She admired Kintori in a way, but still felt rather envious. "I would love to meet your father, actually," she said in a offhand sort of way. She was curious--what in the world was a "Cerynei"? Must be a new breed that appeared in the Soquili lands.
Ming offered the young mare a small, gentle smile. She wasn't very good at expressing herself, but she figured that this small moment of joy--especially for her mother--was something worth risking a bit of emotion. "Papa is a lot like your father," she agreed. "He's a knightly sort of unicorn, and was very gentle and kind. Dashing, too," she added, with a soft chuckle. She was rather curious, like Khepri, about meeting a "Cerynei." She'd heard rumors, but had never met one. Truthfully, she thought they were just stories, but apparently, this young mare was living proof of them. It was like how she used to think Angenis didn't exist, but she'd seen them a few times. Mere glances, of course, but it was enough to prove they existed. Ming was a firm believer in seeing things with her own eyes in order to believe it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:32 pm
The young doe's cheeks colored with embarrassment, "Oh my! Im sorry, I guess I did forget to give my name." She smiled awkwardly and lowered her head the tiniest bit, "It's Aarushi. My day says it means the rays of the sun, or something like that." She glanced over at her grandmother and nodded, showing she had heard, then looked at Khepri, "It's okay, I understand. I don't know if she found....love, per say - if you don't find it rude, from what I've heard it seemed more of a passing fling." Her face switched emotions for a split second, turning the tiniest bit sullen, but returned to normal.
Aarushi shifted her weight on her hooves and swung her head to look at Ming, "You have a really lovely coat. You know that?" The comment came out of no where, but she couldn't help it - it was the truth, "Papa? You mean like...my grandfather? He sounds....sweet" She smiled softly at Ming, "Do you think perhaps I'd get to meet him, too?" Her eyes drifted to her grandmother with a questioning look.
After a moment she started to move towards the line of trees leading towards the forest, and nodded that way, "So, should we go to meet my father then?" She didn't wait very long for an answer and just started off towards the trees, looking back once to make sure that they were following - he wasn't very far away. "And um....do I have any other relatives?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:52 pm
She laughed out loud for a bit, enjoying Aarushi's shyness. "Don't feel embarrassed, dear. You are probably as excited as we are to discover new family members." Shimshek sighed wistfully at the mention of her mate, Taiyaung. Oh, how she missed him. "I would love for you to meet your grandfather, Aarushi, but unfortunately, I have not seen him for a long time..." She drooped slightly, but then perked up as she followed her newly discovered granddaughter to meet her son-in-law... of sorts.
"A fling, hm...?" she murmured to herself. "It's not rude, at all, dear. You actually shouldn't feel so sad about it. The way our family is, I'm not at all surprised..." She drifted off, suddenly feeling embarrassed herself. She didn't like the idea that her own children were just "come and go" but it couldn't be helped. Liang was a drifter--she was just thankful Xiaodan wasn't. Khepri, she figured, would probably be a drifter... Ming Xifeng, on the other hoof, would be serious with her relationship. "You have your uncles Liang and Xiaodan, Aarushi," she answered. "And you have your cousins, Aoi Yuki and Snow Gem, Xiaodan's children."
Khepri was curious to see just who this father of her niece was. If he was similar to her father, she was extremely eager to meet him. She was forever trying to find that "knightly" character, because she herself was just simply a "princess!" Giggling quietly at herself, Khepri shrugged slightly at Aarushi. "Don't worry, sweetie, it's not rude. With how Mother was in her younger days, it's really not all that surprising..." she rolled her eyes when she realized she had repeated Shimshek, but shrugged it off. None of the three mares were really all that offended, truthfully.
She dimmed a bit when she thought of her father. She really did miss him... she was a true-blue (gold?) daddy's girl, and she loved her father dearly. "Um, Aarushi," she hesitated, and then, "Do you think your father might feel, you know, upset, if he met us? Because it sounds like Kintori may have hurt him..." Khepri suddenly felt rather uncomfortable when she realized that it might not be good for her mother, herself, and her sister to meet with this guy. What would he say to meeting three mares who were so similar to Kintori? And he'd met Kintori first, on top of that. Puppy love? she pondered to herself.
Ming startled herself when she blushed at Aarushi's words. "O-oh, w-well, th-thank you," she stammered out. She rarely got complimented, mostly because everyone was forever praising Khepri--who really was lovely, despite her arrogance at times--so she tended to "fade" into the shadows. She had to grin at the irony, since she was such a bright, lively color and Khepri a pale, golden color... and their personalities were even mismatched! This amused Ming and graced her face with an amused smirk.
Following Aarushi, she gave non-committal answers about other relatives, since her mother was content to answer. She was curious to meet this stallion who had caught Kintori's attention, but she was more interested in seeing a "Cerynei." She just figured the more she knew about these new breeds that appeared in the Soquili lands, the better off she was with getting by without getting bothered too much. "I hope your father doesn't try to act all over-protective of us when we meet him," she managed to joke a bit. Ming tended to be a bit more open when with family, though she became indifferent and sarcastic with those outside of her family.
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:13 pm
Aarushi nodded to her grandmother, "Yes, very much. I've wondered for a while now, what it is like to have a large family." The young doe watched the older mare, noting her melancholy nature at the mention of her grandfather, "Oh?...thats quite sad. I had hoped to meet him....suppose beggars can't be choosers, though." As they continued on, she kept her ears focused on listening to her grandmother, while watching their path. She knew she was approaching the grove that her and her father usually stayed in. In fact, he could probably hear them by now.
"No offense, but I hope that...well, i'd just like to find a guy for me and stick with him. True love and all that." She coughed and looked down, blushing, while murmuring, "Not that I know much about love." It was true, she wanted to settle down and have baskets with only one stallion, but that wouldn't keep her from dating until she found the perfect one. "Uncles, hm? Interesting. I hope to meet them, and my cousins."
The young doe turned her eyes to her aunt, raised her eyebrows in mock surprise, "Don't you suppose, and please don't think me rude, but...um, rude to say about your own mother?" Her eyes lightened up and she smiled, "No, I don't thin-" As she spoke, the bushes rustled behind them and parted, her father's figure breaking through the green foliage.
[Helberd] "Aarushi?" Asked the male, looking down at Aarushi, his eyes darting to the three other mares that were outside of his den. "Who are these lovely mares?" He smiled handsomely and raised an eyebrow, nodding to each of them. Helberd tilted his head, and the sun danced off of his gleaming, golden antlers. The beads, draped across the spokes, chimed in the wind which also tossed his locks across is shoulders. "You, gorgeous mares all look strikingly familiar, if I do say so myself." He looked Khepri in the eyes and smiled, "And did I hear you mention the name Kintori?"
Aarushi sighed and nodded to the mares, "Father, this is my grandmother and my 2 aunts, or Kintori's mother and sisters." She smiled at them, and nodded to her father, "And this is -"
"Helberd" He smiled at them and bowed, "Please to make your acquaintance, ladies." Helberd lowered his lids and smiled, once more, "Please, come into my humble abode, if you please. We can continue our conversation in there..." He stepped back towards the bushes and parted them so that the mares could enter without being bothered by the foliage.
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Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:11 am
Shimshek was quite startled upon meeting Aarushi's father. He had simply come to them unexpectedly--or had he? Possibly Aarushi had led them to him. Seeing Aarushi's father, however, answered several questions. It explained her ears, for one thing--she had just assumed that it came from her family line somewhere, because she did not recall her own parents. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Halberd," she said, somewhat cautiously, wary of those great odd looking "horns" on the stallion's head. "Thank you for your hospitality," she added, taking the lead when he parted the foliage for her and her children to come through.
Normally, Shimshek would've flirted a bit, for Halberd was, by no means, an ugly fellow. He was quite the opposite sort, but as she was mated to a stallion she felt was far more handsome, she didn't bother--and, well, she was lifemated! She had her morals and honor as well, despite having met various handsome males throughout her life. She already had six children, on top of that, and she was certainly ready for a little more sometime in the future...
But until she saw her beloved Taiyaung again, Shimshek reflected it would be quite sometime for having another round of fun for herself. In the meantime, she would have to play matchmaker with her daughters. ...If that was possible; especially with Ming Xifeng, but that would be all right. "Oh, and don't mind what Khepri says, m'dear," she soothed Aarushi. "It's quite true, but that means nothing to me, as I have a lovely mate, your grandfather. I'm quite settled for life." She winked at Aarushi as she settled herself comfortably.
She couldn't help herself as a feeling of jealousy and envy seared through her upon seeing Halberd; her sister had managed to capture the attention of one of the most magnificent stallions she'd ever seen! She mentally pouted, finding it completely and totally unfair that Kintori had gotten even a small bit of love, and she'd been trying so hard for so long. It honestly was not fair, she decided, mentally glaring at an image of Kintori in her mind, who she saw as laughing at her.
Coming out of her head, however, she smiled as gracefully and beautifully as she could, trying to appear warm and flattered--which, she was, in a sense--and followed her mother into the stallion's home. "It's lovely to meet you, Halberd," she remarked, hoping her voice sounded a bit bell-like and gentle. "And yes, I did quite mention Kintori; she is my sister," she also managed to say without a scathing tone to it. Ugh, it was so unfair her sister had capture the eyes of such a beautiful stallion!
Ming had to hide a frown at the appearance of Halberd, mostly because she felt... something. It was not dislike, certainly, but that he had looked right at Khepri at that point... she shrugged, and brushed the thought away. It was nothing. "It is good to meet you, Halberd," she said politely, though her eyes reflected coldness. She knew why she didn't like him--but maybe it was because she disliked her sister, who left this stallion and her daughters for no reason. But, Kintori was like that; she had vanished much as their father did.
"I am Ming Xifeng," she said, in greeting to Halberd. "My mother is the winged mare, and that is my sister Khepri, who mentioned our sister Kintori," she added, looking at her mother and sister in an exasperated way. They both smiled at her with twin looks of mischievousness, and she sighed. Khepri was so much like Shimshek it grated on Ming's nerves. She was grateful she was far more like her father, Taiyaung... thinking of him, she suddenly felt a great ache. She truly missed him.
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:04 pm
Helberd's ears twitched and his expression widened into a smile, nodding his head, "Oh, it is no trouble my dears. I always welcome lovely females into my abode - especially if they're relatives." The large male tipped his head, since he was quite old already, he had grown used to the heavy wait on his skull. "It is my pleasure, all mine - I assure you." He winked at the three, his crystal blue eyes shining. One of Helberd's favorite past times was flirting, and since he didn't get a chance to do it often, he made sure that he could fit it in as much as possible.
In one swift movement, he turned his head to Khepri, raising one gentlemanly brow, he smiled wider. Seemed the poor doe was having a mental war with herself, bowing to her, he spoke, "As I've said before, pleasure - all mine." Lifting his head, he grinned coyly "My my my, I didn't know that Kintori had such lovely sisters." He drawled the 'o' out on lovely, giving himself enough time to switch his gaze back and forth between Khepri and Ming Xifeng.
Once again, Helberd shifted his focus to Ming. She was by far the loveliest of the three, of his own opinion, yet she seemed so very upset. Losing hold of his frown, just a bit, he furrowed his brows. He didn't want to ask what was wrong in front of her mother and sister, but she did want to know what was troubling her.
Walking into the small, secluded clearing, he stood under the shade of his favorite large tree, over looking the creek that ran through the space, "So, how did you all meet up?" He asked, raising an eyebrow to his daughter and then the three mares
Aaurshi sighed. She hated to watch her father flirt, let alone talk to other mares. Still she kept her tongue, and instead sat by and followed her father into their clearing. It was awful. Earlier she was having a nice conversation with her long lost relatives, and now she had to watch them all flirt with her father, "Well I was getting a drink and -"
"Now now, Aaru-darling, don't interrupt these lovely ladies. What if they had wanted to say something?" Helberd motioned with his head to the females, and grinned, just glancing at Aarushi out of the corner of his eyes - while Aarushi frowned and went back to being silent.
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