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 Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:14 pm
 The time had finally come and Aquitaine was quite excited, though a small amount of nervousness threatened to surface. Everything would be fine, she told herself. But what if it wasn't? Well she couldn't think that way. It had worked out so far and today should be no difference. However until all those other previous successes this one was going to huge. In the past few weeks Aquitaine had worked so hard, Agave's arrival, his healing, his slow but steady progression into something that resembled a normal life. It had ate up much of time but she wouldn't have changed it for anything. And what had surprised her the most out of all of this was that she and Agave had fallen in love. He had been her friend, first meeting as foals and then once again as adults. While their second meeting hadn't gone all that well she had touched his life, and it was because of this he had come to her when he escaped his mothers clutches.
Now, after helping Agave adjust to this new life, and more importantly put his old ways behind him, she was ready to introduce him to her family. This wouldn't be their first exposure to him, well physically it would be, but over these few weeks Aquitaine had made a number of trips to visit her family and tell them about her friend and what she was helping him with. She hadn't meant to keep them from meeting him for this long but Agave had needed time to adjust and she had been willing to give him as much time as he needed. But the thing was, Agave needed to be exposed to real life situations if he was to ever truly belong here in this life. And what better test than to meet her parents. Not only was this a social experiment to see just how well he was doing, Aquitaine was certain he would do well, but also this had a very important factor. She loved Agave, with all her heart, but she needed her parents to approve of this union. If they didn't, well honestly she would still love Agave, there would be no changing that, but they needed to have their opinion voiced.
Aquitaine took a deep calming breath as she walked up the beach towards her parents home with Agave at her side. "Everything will be fine." She said, though it was more for her benefit than Agave's. The closer she got the more nervous she became. Her family was so important to her, it would crush her if they didn't approve of Agave as her mate. But they would. She had not hid anything from them when explaining how they had met, how their relationship had developed. She couldn't lie to her parents, no matter what. Glancing over at Agave gave her all the courage she needed to continue. What was she nervous for? Honestly. Aquitaine chided herself mentally. All her parents had to do was see how happy Agave made her and they would be happy for her and approve of them being mates. Even her dragon seemed to have accepted Agave, as he rarely made any complaining sounds whenever she came close to the stallion.
The question was, how would her brothers react? Did it matter? Well actually yes it did. But the first and most important thing was her parents giving her the nod of approval. After that she could deal with her brothers. "We're here." She told Agave bringing her hooves to a stop. It was good to be back in her childhood home even if she came here nearly every day. "Mother! Daddy!" Aquitaine called out. They had known she was coming to see them today and bringing Agave with her so they had to be here.
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 7:50 am
 Agave did not share Aquitaine's optimistic outlook at all, as far as he was concerned this was one huge disaster in the making. In fact this walk felt like some sort of death march, he might as well be walking back up to the mountain and handing himself over to his mother. Oh sure Aquitaine had told him her parents were good and kind and wanted her to be happy...but did they really? Parents, in Agave's experiences, were manipulative, cruel and never happy with anything their children did. In all likelihood, they would take one look at him and denounce him on the spot. Run him off..maybe try to kill him. At least his wounds were healed enough that he could defend himself.
In fact it was probably better that he not show any sort of weakness that they might try to exploit and he subconsciously forced himself to keep the slight hitch in his shoulder from being noticeable, no matter that it still pulled slightly to do so. It was still going to be a two on one fight...but if he kept the water to his back then maybe they wouldn't be able to flank him. This was going to be terrible, there was going to be yelling..Aquitaine was probably going to cry and Agave knew without a doubt that seeing that would break him, absolutely break him...
But Aquitaine had insisted on this meeting, despite the nerves which were clearly rattling her and seeing how important it was to the mare Agave hadn't had it in him to say no...even though it was all going to end in a terrible bloody messy disaster. He just knew it, that is just the way it was with families. As though sensing his thoughts of impending doom Agave Spiders skittered to and fro, drumming this little legs in a nervous fashion, he had tried to leave them behind but after three or four times of taking them back and ordering them to stay in the webs they had built in Aquitaine's home he'd just given up and resigned himself to the fact that they were coming along.
Aquitaine's reassurance fell on deaf ears. "If you say so." Agave replied, though he tried, he really tried to put a bit of agreement into his reply. He might as well just turn, walking into the ocean and drown himself...it would probably be far less traumatic for Aquitaine in the long run. But that would meant leaving her before he absolutely had too and Agave wasn't sure he could do that - he still had slight panic attacks when she was out of his sight for more then a couple of hours, though he hadn't admitted this to her and to think he had once contemplated leaving...looking back on it he was fairly certain he wouldn't have made it half a mile before turning back.
Wait they were here already? How did that happen? He let his multiple eyes sweep the area around them, taking note of the terrain and settling himself into a relaxed but balanced position. "Alright..." He told Aquitaine with a touch of dread in his voice that he couldn't quite hide... "I'm ready..." You'd think she had brought him to a death match.
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Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2012 10:08 pm
 
Between the two of them, it had been Zara who had struggled the most; not because she did not love her children, but because she feared for the judgement she knew they would recieve from the world. With her own father putting out death threats due to the 'taint' and 'impurity' of the unicorn blood, she had feared most what might become of her precious children.
Thankfully, the mares fears had come to rest with time. All of her children had done both Hadrian and Zara proud, despite the burdens they carried (literally AND physically). So when their daughter finally made plans to introduce them to Agave, the pair were. . . . more or less prepared. At least as prepared as they could expect to be. . .
"Do I look all right?" Zara fussed, leaning down to untangle a few stray curls of her tail.
Hadrian gave a small snort, though his blue eyes grew bright with pleasure as he regarded his beloved. "Perfect as ever, my lady fair. No do stop fussing, it isn't you who need impress him." He gently chided, though the humor in his gaze and the affection in his words took out any sting Zara might have otherwise felt.
The mare gave a small snort and a dismissive shake of her head. "This is Aquitaine's friend, after all. . . One must always put their best hoof forward, and I do want him to like us, after all. I'd rather not disappoint." She replied, even as she abandoned her perfectionist pains on untangling the curls in her tail.
She was a touch nervous too, for how disappointing would it be if the stranger did not find their company kind? Zara knew firsthand what it was like to have to choose between family and friends. . . and love. . . It was not something she would ever put her own children through if she could help it!
Hadrian gave a gentle smile, reaching over to affectionately nuzzle his mates neck. He was about to speak, when a familiar voice echoed further up the beach. A small dune hid the two couples from one another, though it would take but a moment to climb. Two pair of blue eyes met, and Hadrian gave a small chuckle. "Well then, beloved. Shall we meet this mystery stallion?" Hadrian, any reservations he felt, was doing his best to keep them hidden. He did not want to stifle his daughter, or of course pass judgement on her choice of companion too quickly, but the protective father in him demanded he at least spend some time with Agave. . . or at least come to some conclusion about the lad.
This was his daughter, and he . . . he wanted for her only the best. Still, what Aquitaine wanted, Aquitaine got. . . she was old enough to make her own choices and decisions, and he trusted her to be wise. But love could be blind. . . .
"We shant keep them waiting." Zara whispered, taking one last shaky breath before heading, side by side with Hadrian, up the small dune. Pink and blue walked confidently together, tails lightly entwined with one another. "Aquitaine!" Zara called out brightly, the fondness in her words ever present. She didn't hesitate to pick up her pace as she spotted her daughter and friend. It didn't take the pair long to bridge the distance. "You must be Agave," she spoke, turning her eyes on to the stallion in question.
"Welcome to our seaside home," Hadrian spoke, offering a bow to the stranger. It was his customary welcome, though he too wore a cordial smile. All were welcome, provided they gave no reason to alarm.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:52 am
There was a moment between her call and hearing her mothers voice where Aquitaine realized this was truly going to happen. All these weeks of talking to them about Agave but not introducing him before he was ready and now they were mere moments away from it. She was nervous, excited, thrilled and scared. What if they didn't like him? What if he didn't like them? What would Agave think when he saw her parents for the first time? Would they be able to get through this without Agave reverting to his old ways? So many questions and she didn't know the answer to any of them. She would just have to wait and see how this all played out. They would like Agave, of course they would, and she knew after raising herself and her two brothers that they could easily overlook his physical features and realize it's whats under those spikes and multiple eyes that mattered.
Much as she had planned to stay at Agave's side through the introduction, seeing her parents come over the dune Aquitaine couldn't help but step away from him to go greet her parents. She saw them quite regularly but even so she always gave them a happy greeting as if they had been separated for many months. She went to her mother first giving her a loving nuzzle. "Mother." Aquitaine said in a loving tone before turning her attention to Hadrian. She was still daddy's little girl after all this time and she took gave him a loving nuzzle. "Daddy." Try as she might she couldn't help but call him 'Daddy' even to this day, 'Father' just didn't feel right to her. Turning around to face Agave, her parents here beside her, Aquitaine couldn't help but smile broadly at him. She had told him plenty of her parents, how accepting and loving they were and how important it was for her to have them in her life.
Still, she knew he was likely nervous about this whole encounter so now that she had greeted her parents Aquitaine returned to his side, touching her nose again his neck for a moment to reassure him. "Agave, meet my parents." Then looking at her parents she said. "Mother, Daddy, this is Agave." And there was no mistaking the love and pride in her voice at getting to finally introduce these three Soquili to each other. They were the most important individuals in her life, though her brothers were important as well, so she wanted this moment so badly to happen.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 6:29 am
Agave couldn't help but stare as Aquitaine's family came over the dunes towards them. They were not what he had expected, her mother was all long curly hair and soft colors with a kind voice and her father - well she had said he resembled the sea and he could see that in him. Agave had seen beautiful and relatively normal Soquili before - his mother had even kept a few unicorns in the slave ranks for their healing abilities, and She-ra had certainly had hair to match Aquitaine's mother, but where their eyes have been sad or cold and cruel...the eyes of the Soquili before her were both kind,welcoming and..confident at the same time.
It was a strange mixture to Agave and he felt his own confidence eroding. He had been so sure about how this meeting would go, had envisioned flashing angry and protective eyes..harsh words and perhaps even threats and here he was faced with the exact opposite. Of course it could all be a trick he reminded himself, a trick to lure him into a false sense of security...but he didn't think so. Aquitaine had spent a great deal of time trying to convince him not to see every stranger as an instant threat and Agave was trying hard to comply with her desires - but strangers were different then family. In Agave's life family had always been far more dangerous then any stranger he might encounter - and he was having a hard time seeing past that knowledge.
The bow threw him really off guard..was the stallion treating him like a superior? Shouldn't it be the other way around? This whole polite etiquette thing was so blasted confusing...life in his mother tyrannical army had been difficult but at least he'd always known how to treat those he met and Agave found himself falling back into those lessons. Since he didn't know how to properly greet her parents it was probably best to just treat them like a Superior and he bobbed his head in a sharp nod. "Yes Ma'am, Agave Noctis." He supplied, striving to make his voice crisp and confident but probably only succeeding in keeping it from outwardly shaking. "Thank you..Sir." He added to the stallion just as Aquitaine left his side to met them.
Agave couldn't help but tense slightly as she stepped away, ears flicking nervously as his multiple eyes followed her motions. Where they going to drop this pleasant pretense and beat her for disobeying them in some manner? It would be the typical family thing to do...but no she returned safety and at her touch his felt himself settle, her introductions over..though he couldn't quite bring himself to turn his eyes away and return the loving touch. He wanted to..he did..but it was a show of perceived weakness he couldn't bring himself to make. Hopefully she would forgive him.What was he supposed to be doing now? making chit-chat? Probably and after a brief moments panic where the silence seemed to drag on on forever he came up with something to say. "You..have a nice home." He stated. How lame that sounded and he decided to further compliment them to make up for it by adding "Very..defensible, with the dunes and..such." There see that was a nice compliment if he ever heard one.
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:46 pm
Zara had prepared herself for this moment. She had been raised by an incredibly closed minded and bigoted father, one whom thought only for the purity of the unicorn line. Even her own chosen mate, Hadrian, was not pure, though only the most keen of eyes could tell. He lacked cloven hooves, and wind blood circulated within his body. Her father had threatened not just to disown her for her choice, but to kill her children should she taint the line.
It was why Aurelian, Arcadius, and of course Aquitaine had never met their maternal grand parents. It was why she kept them apart from her family, was why she had never returned despite loving and missing her mother and sisters. When she gave birth to her three children, and when they turned out . . different . . . than how they should have looked, she had been mollified. Surely, if her father had threatened to harm her children for lacing appropriate unicorn features, he would destroy them for looking as they did.
But a mother's love for her children is strong, and though it had been an adjustment, wondering what she'd done wrong to harm her children in such a manner, love was there. She was proud of all three of her babies, proud of what they had grown in to, even if she still felt pangs of heartache over the burdens they wore. Still, they were healthy, and most importantly, they were happy.
So as her blue eyes studied Agave Noctis, curiously taking in the differences, the multiple eyes, the spikes that pierced through his skin, she tried to look upon him as someone new . . . not just someone who looked different. Aquitaine certainly spoke highly of him, and she understood he had a troubling past. Zara had gone through, first hand, what it was like to see her own babies spurned by others due to their appearances, and she refused to let herself become as closed minded as her father, or strangers who didn't take the time to look past the physical oddities and mutations of others.
So long as he treated her daughter with respect and so long as she stayed happy, what more could a mother ask? "Well then, Agave Noctis, it is a great pleasure to finally meet you," Zara spoke, her blue eyes light with warmth and good humor. "Aquitaine has spoken much about you, it's good to finally meet in person. If there's anything we can do to make you comfortable, by all means, please let us know. Aquitaine can show you where the fresh water pools are if you grow thirsty, and we certainly have a variety of edibles washed in from the shore." She wasn't entirely sure if the stallion was herbivorous or carnivorous, but they were prepared for either. One never knew when their son, Aurelian, might return and need to feed.
It wasn't at all difficult to see the stallion appeared nervous, and Hadrian appreciated the fact that he was trying. How exactly, though, were they going to make him feel welcome? He doubted the stranger would warm up to them right away, and he didn't expect the other to come away from this initial meeting with more of a . . positive (or negitive) out look on Aquitaine's family. He didn't want the stranger to think them overbearing either, or perhaps overwhelm him with too much hospitality. . . .
Well, he'd simply treat the other just as he might any of Aquitaine's potential suitors and beaus. He trusted his daughter enough to accept her choice in companionship. She was an adult, after all, a great lady, and she had done Zara and him proud. Besides, he had learned long ago to disregard the assumptions other made by base appearance alone. While skinwalkers were always to be avoided, and kalona to never be approached without caution, there were many mutants within the lands. . . . So many out there were born with differences, these days an individual had to be open minded.
Besides, this Agave Noctis didn't seem any a threat, and Aquitaine thought highly of him. Surely he had raised his daughter to be strong enough to make good choices. . . Smiling at the stranger, the blue coated unicorn glanced around at their seaside abode, eyes recollecting the time he spent with his mother and father on the shore. "Aquitaine was the third generation to be raised on these beaches. It's perhaps not a typical homeland for most soquili, but it's peaceful, and has it's own charm." Hadrian chuckled some and gave a nod when Agave spoke of defenses. "The dunes make for a good defense, as do the rocks surrounding the reef. My own father and brother often fly patrol in the area, and I take up ground sweeps every morning and evening. Not many travel here without someone knowing," he gave a nod, quite proud of their protected lands. "It's the ocean herself that is probably our greatest unknown threat." With the storms, the gales, the flooding that could periodically happen during high tide. . . . One never quite knew what mood the water would do.
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