Welcome to Gaia! ::

Guilian was starting to suspect he was turning into one of those wrinkly old Soquilis who spent all their time fretting about being an old and wrinkly Soquili. While he was hardly wrinkly, Guilian had seen and done a great many things in his life and had as of late felt that the world was starting to catch up with him. He loved his family as much as ever, but his world seemed to have, slowly and without his knowledge, taken on a grey cast that he didn't know how to shake.

Perhaps it came from too much routine. Perhaps he had become too complacent and had allowed himself to lose track of the adventurous spirit which had so defined his youth. The problem with developing patterns, he reflected, was that they often required others in order to function. If any part of the pattern drifts, then the whole thing was thrown into chaos.

Without realizing he had begun, Guilian had developed the habit of talking to himself. He didn't always like what he had to say, but it was nice to be able to verbalize his thoughts once in a while and get some sort of response, even if it was his own!

He stood at around a bend in the trail, where the path vanished into the well-trod banks of a small pond. Beyond the pond spread a pleasant grassy clearing, in which grew two well-maintained black rosebushes, and beyond them was a high-banked hillside with a smooth, almost perpendicular bank on the western side. It was, in short, Guilian's home.

He looked around the clearing with a soft sigh, then turned to the pond and raised a brow at his reflection. "A bit of a sedate retirement for one so spirited, no?"

Speaking of old!

Guilian could hardly have been more surprised if a leprechaun had hopped out of the woods and saluted him that he was of the sudden boisterous arrival of his old friend. Obviously he had been far too focused on his own company to have missed the approaching tread of so large a creature, but any regret at his lack of observation skill was eliminated by his delight at being so surprised. With a merry laugh of his own, Guilian strode forward and raised a wing to either side of Ariston's face, taking in the handsome visage he knew so well.

"Interrupting nothing more interesting than the benighted mumblings of an old man, my friend, and for that you deserve a commendation, not a scolding. My word, how well you are looking these days, Ariston! Time seems to have left you untouched, while the rest of the world grows old around you." With a last little pat, Guilian lowered his wings and refurled them, beaming at his friend with undisguised affection. "If you have memorized this spot, it is all for the best; it has been too long since I have stirred myself out into the greater world, and in my laziness I have let the time since our last meeting accumulate. It is a sad business, but one your subconscious has obviously set to right."

Stepping back, he gracefully swept out a wing to gesture to the clearing and its contents; pond, grass, roses, and peace. "Please do make yourself at home; since you have come, we must take advantage of this opportunity to catch up, yes?" A much better prospect than chatting with his tired old face, for sure!

Guilian couldn't be too surprised at Ariston's incredulity. After all, the two of them had practically been cut from the same mold when they were younger; the same confidence, the same desires, the same level of (thankfully different) physical beauty...it was destiny that the two of them would become either best friends or heated rivals, and their naturally sunny personalities had tipped the scale in favor of the former. Surveying his friend was like surveying a window to the past; unlike Guilian's red, Ariston's white coat showed no signs of aging; if there were any white hairs in the blond mane, they were well hidden. But beyond the physical, Ariston seemed as much the stallion of their youth as he ever had been.

It was a meeting to warm Guilian's soul. He smiled as Ariston moved around the little clearing with an almost proprietary interest, nodding his head at the news Ariston had seen his daughter-in-law. It had been some time since he had made the eastward trek to see his son, so any news Ariston had on that front was welcome indeed! "I am glad to hear things are going well for them. Pleased as I was when Antony and Loveless committed to each other, it has always seemed strange to me that they would chose such a lifestyle, not only with our genes," this said with a smile at his friend, "but with their past."

That was as much as he would say about the whole distasteful business of Loveless' 'rogue" period. It had been a dark time for his friend, and he was glad that Loveless had come out of it, but there had definitely been a time when he had been very worried about what would happen. Fortunately for everyone, Antony and Loveless' relationship had proved strong!

"I did see Lessia the other day, along with that alicorn friend of hers. They were in the area, so the dear girl thought she'd drop in and say hi. She is looking...well, she is looking like Lessia." He chuckled at that, remembering vividly how Lessia had looked: brambles in her mane, braids come undone, mud streaked up the side of her white coat...in other words, the same she always looked! "But she seemed very happy."

"Otherwise..." He paused and cocked his head to one side, thinking. "What else have I been up to?" Huh.

"An adventure?" Given the fact it was Ariston Guilian was speaking with, the proposal was less bizarre than if it would have come from anyone else. After all, it was foals who tended to boldly proclaim they were going off on an adventure, not full grown stallions and certainly not full grown stallions of an advanced age. At least, that was the standard mold. But then, when had Ariston ever been standard? Or he himself, when it came right down to it.

Though at first the idea sounded preposterous, as Ariston kept talking Guilian found himself warming to the concept. He had enjoyed doing things and seeing things, he had traveled far and seen much. And seeing and doing had kept him vibrant and alive, kept him ready to face each new day. Was that part of his problem now? Was it his sedentary lifestyle that was sapping away his energy and the joy he found in life?

"You know, my friend, I suspect you may have struck upon a marvelous idea. Perhaps some spontenaity is just what I need to shake some life and excitement back into my soul. While rooting is beneficial for roses, it might not be a good thing for those such as me and you." Shaking himself up a bit wouldn't hurt, either. Anything had to be better than the doom and gloom that had been his life lately! "What sort of adventure is it you propose? Or is this to be an adventure of true randomness, just venturing forth and seeing what we encounter?"

"Oh, do not mention the word 'drama' to me as a positive, my friend, not unless you want to see me collapse." Guilian raised a wing in mild rebuke at that, his enthusiasm at the prospect of time 'off' with his friend tempered by the magic word that summed up all that was troublesome with his family life as of late. The dramatic was fine, but drama itself had brought nothing but aches of both the head and the heart. "I will perhaps discuss these things with you later, but for now I would like nothing so much as to put them far from my mind."

He shook his body briskly, as though to shake off the negativity and the bad memories in one fell swoop, then gave his friend an apologetic smile. "Forgive me for my discourtesy, but so much drama has preyed on my mind that I don't know if I'll ever be able to break free. Always that word, always that sentiment...he sighed again, shook himself again, then straightened up. "You are right in that we should be living life for ourselves again, though I must confess I haven't given much thought to what this sort of adventurous living entails. What if we were to go in search of places we'd never seen? For example, the highest mountain peaks? I've never been to the mountains myself. Or seen a desert, or been to the sea...Would that constitute adventure, would you suppose?"

It was interesting to contemplate the idea of an adventure that wasn't people-centric, but surely such a journey was best undertaken without trying to hit too many moving targets? Though if they were to encounter others on their way, then they shouldn't be rude...

The grace and sincere sympathy which Ariston expressed in response to Guilian's 'drama' statement was no surprise to Guilian; his friend had always been the epitome of elegance and good taste. However, the sincerity of Ariston's comment contrasted uncomfortably with Guilian's own, which had been somewhat sharp. Immediately, Guilian felt contrite and uncomfortable; this was his best friend he was talking to, after all. If he could not be forthright with Ariston, then how could he ever expect to move forward with regard to anyone else?

But he would need to work up to that conversation, even with Ariston. Amary's behavior had been too shocking for words, and even with his similarly free-spirited nature, there was no way Ariston could help but feel the shame and distress Guilian did. He had known her since she was a child, after all, and knew of Guilian's prior closeness with her. Guilian had already sabotaged his reunion with Ariston, he would have to build up to that particular discussion.

In the mean time, he was game for almost anything. Within reason, of course. At Ariston's query about them having 'game', Guilian chuckled and twirled a lock of his grey-shot mane. "Well, my friend, I feel we have always approached the game with the best sporting attitudes, so provided that has not changed, we should still have something, yes? You, at least, show no signs of deterioration; were I not your friend for these many years, I would swear you to be a much younger stallion than you actually are. An advantage of being pale, no?" The amused look was small, but it was there; already, Ariston's presence was working its magic. Really, it was hard not to smile in the face of such general happiness!