Welcome to Gaia! ::

Haides crested the hill that held so many fond memories from his childhood, pausing for a moment to take in the scenery in front of him. It hadn't been too long, but it had been long enough to feel nostalgic while trotting down to the lake below. He took his time walking towards the figure he saw a little ways down the shoreline; in an odd burst of excitement, he'd run the last leg of distance between him and the lands he'd grown up in. The dark stallion didn't puff or wheeze, but his sides dripped sweat from the exertion he knew he would be paying for later.

Haides stopped a few feet from the mare drinking from the lake, not wanting to startle her. It had been quite some time... she'd never seen him fully grown. He knew he probably should've gone and seen his family first, but...

"... Mind if I join you?"

Haides didn't smile or rush to close the distance; he hadn't changed that much. Even so, his eyes shone like sapphires in the sunlight at her words. "Likewise, Jaromila." As he stepped closer, he added, "I can take your response as a 'yes', right?" It had only been a minute, but already he could feel the stress and other mental burdens he'd been carrying lifted off of his shoulders, simply by speaking to the one that Beta had once dubbed his soul mate. He never knew how much he wished he'd paid more attention to what his best friend had said until now, standing in front of the beautiful mare that had first loosed his tongue.

"I understand." Haides lightly nudged the mare, careful not to hit her with his horn. "... I... really missed you," he said after a moment or two of trying to find the words. In the end, the simplest words seemed the best. He didn't think he would've been homesick when traveling, but he'd discovered how wrong that assumption was. Jaromila, Beta, Serenity... he'd missed having them around--even if his adopted mother was a little emotional sometimes.

Haides nuzzled her back, relishing the contact. "... An eternity... feels about right," he replied quietly. The time in which he was away felt like it stretched on forever... "Oh, yes..." That reminded him. "I... found my answer." A small smile graced his lips for a moment. "It was so simple... and yet I kept missing it." He could do this. He could do this. ...Right? "The path I take... doesn't matter as much as the company you walk it with." The black stallion pulled back a little, blue eyes revealing hope... and the sheer terror that had been born from his nervousness as he inspected Jaromila's green gaze. He shuffled a bit, a nervous habit he hadn't lost with age. "I would... be honored if you'd walk it with me," he said meekly. Haides was still not the best with talking. He still had trouble conveying exactly what he meant without philosophical rants. But Jaromila... she would understand, right? The things he was trying to say, the unspoken words, that one emotion that he'd always tried to push away that was filling his being from head to hoof. Beta had always been the one to notice first, but Jaromila had always possessed a similar ability, one that drew his entire heart out into the open, letting her read it like one of her books. He could only hope that the mare comprehended the text between the lines that he didn't know how to say.

(( I declare that these two have sat in the friend zone long enough! Let there be relationships! ))

She said yes. Sweet Azrien deities, she said yes. Haides didn't realize his fears and anxiety could be wiped away so easily. But then, this was Jaromila. She had always seemed to work miracles in him... A soft, serene smile remained fixed on his face as he stepped closer, gently nuzzling the mare and letting his sweat-streaked coat brush against hers. He had to be the happiest, luckiest stallion on the isle right now. "I'm glad," he said quietly. He said nothing more; words were no longer necessary. The path--or more accurately, the Azrien--he had been searching for was found, was his. The confusion and tension that had since a foal had evaporated. It was as if he'd been carrying a heavy burden and now it was gone.

A quiet chuckle escaped his lips, surprising himself in the process. He must've been feeling really elated by Jaromila's presence and acceptance; he never laughed. "So it seems," he murmured. "I might have to listen more closely from now on." Especially when there were little ones about. That reluctant part of his mind sounded its alarm at the thought. Was he really already thinking about children? He barely handled being around his adopted siblings; how would he handle sons and daughters?

But thinking about siblings reminded him of another item of business. He sighed. "I should... probably see my family soon." He hadn't visited them yet; he'd wanted to see Jaromila first. Otherwise Beta might've kept him from working up the nerve to ask. His tired body groaned at the thought of going back over the hill, though. Hadn't he traveled enough for the day?

Haides smiled weakly at her, but his eyes lit up. That was right. Serenity would've had her foals. "I'm an older brother, then," he mused. At the rest of her words, the smile widened. "That's true." Eyes sparkling, he added, "And I think Mom would like to know she has a daughter-in-law."

"Should we visit your parents first?" Haides asked. "Mine don't know I'm home yet, but yours might be worried if you don't come back." He wouldn't want to cause panic--especially around the protective Michiko.