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 Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:55 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:09 pm
Duo
It was a lovely morning, as far as midwinter mornings went. The air was mild, with a distinct lack in the biting winds that had characterized so many mornings as of late. No early riser himself by nature, Duo had been even less inclined to venture forth over the past few weeks, preferring to instead stay inside the cave, out of the wind and cold. He would be the first to admit it was ironic, a wind Soquili preferring to stay inside, but life was full of little ironies of that nature!
Unlike his mate Safi, Duo had always preferred sleep over 'greeting the dawn of the day.' Consequently, although it was currently morning, it was late morning, and the sun was closer to marking the noon hour than anything. But morning was morning, as far as Duo was concerned; he had told Safi he would be going out for a walk 'sometime that morning,' and morning it was.
He had tried to convince Safi to accompany him, but to no avail. Ever since the mysterious basket had arrived on their doorstep, Safi had been its loyal and devoted guardian. Just like the last time.
Chuckling, Duo glanced sideways at the tall, athletic mare who walked beside him now. Like him, she had short cropped hair, except for a long segment of mane she, also like him, wore in a long braid. Her main body coat was pale peach, like his. She sported a 'shirt' just like his, which ought to look just like his since she had stolen it from his collection when still a snippy teenager, and her dark teal wings were edged with yellow, just like his. She was unquestionably his daughter.
But at the same time, she was also unquestionably Safi's, which had always struck Duo as the most miraculous part of her existance. Like Safi, she had two tones in her tail, icy blue coloring at her feet, and the afore-mentioned teal coloring in her wings. Based on appearances along, she was THEIR child.
Neither Safi or Duo had ever been able to logically explain Saffron's arrival, which they had always simply referred to as 'their miracle.' Her basket had simply been on their doorstep one day, literally dropped from heaven as far as they could tell. For two mated stallions, who knew that their atypical living arrangement would forever deny them the chance to have biological children of their own, her appearance had always been creditted to the only thing it could be: a miracle. They loved her no more than Safi's adopted daughter Saiena, but her arrival had been undisputable proof that the Great Spirits truly did exist.
Neither one of them had ever dreamed such a thing would happen, but when it did, they were greatful. Saffron had joined their family, been loved and cherished as she grew (even during those difficult teenage years), and they had assumed their childrearing would end with her.
And then the second basket had appeared...
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Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:48 pm
Saffron
It had been some time since she'd gone walking with either of her fathers, Saffron reflected as she walked along as Duo's side. Not because of any dislike or disinclination, mind you, but more because these days, Saffron wasn't often in the area. Perhaps it was a direct result of her feelings of constraint during her adolescent years, but as soon as she was old enough Saffron had, almost literally, flown the nest. Even now, she had yet to settle down into anything that resembled a 'home' of her own. She would stay in any given place for a few days, poke around and see what there was to see, then move on to the next place.
But time had softened her sentiments to her parents, and she made a point of coming home to see them as often as her wandering permitted. It had been some months since she was last back at the old cave, and the visit had been she had looked forward to for some time.
Needless to say, she had been shocked when told of the new addition to the family and seen for herself the new basket. Well aware of the atypical nature of her own arrival, she knew that such things were possible. But for lightning to strike twice in the same family? Now, that seemed atypical, but who was she to make any judgements on the workings of the spirits?
Besides, her new little sister was pretty cute!
Glancing sideways at Duo, she could see that his face was once again creased with a goofy grin. Guessing the reason, she chuckled herself. "It is pretty crazy, huh? Obviously you and Papa Safi must have shown the cosmos you knew what you were doing with me, to be given a second chance."
Duo
~~~
Giving Saffron an amused look, Duo snorted and shook his head. "Or the cosmos saw how much a botch job we made of it with you, and decided to give us a second chance to prove we actually knew what we were doing! You were quite the challenge there, for a while." His words could have had a censuring tone; after all, both father and daughter remembered all too well the tumult that had been Saffron's younger years. But there was no sure inflection in Duo's voice; it was a fact that they had had challenges, but also a fact that they had overcome. Wasn't Saffron's very presence here proof of that?
Saffron
~~~
"A fair enough point, Daddy, but as long as you don't hold it against me now. Or hold it against Sibbi, for that matter. She deserves a fresh start of her own." One that hopefully didn't involve quite as much restriction as her own childhood, Saffron thought with a grin. Afraid of Saffron falling in with the 'wrong types' or getting taken advantage of, her fathers had been a wee bit...smothering. Was it any surprise when she fought them at any turn?
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Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:22 am
Duo
~~~
Glancing sideways at his oldest, Duo gave Saffron a small chuckle of acknowledgement. "Perhaps we were a bit cautious with you, Ronnie, but given your temperament, can you blame us?" Although Safi had raised a child before, Saffron was Duo's first experience in child-rearing and it had been a true eye-opener. He had never known there were so many ways for a child to get hurt, lost, mentally traumatized! And Saffron had been an opinionated little thing right from the get-go, wanting to do things on her own, in her own way, on her own terms. Permission had been secondary to her, something only to be obtained if one of her parents was nearby. Even then, she had often gone off on her own if that permission had been declined.
Duo had been a bit of a nervous wreck, to put it mildly, in those early days. His inclination had been to try and rein Saffron in tighter and watch her more closely, punishing disobedience with sharp restrictions of privilege. Eventually, Duo and Safi had come to realize that it was a lost cause to keep her close to home and had allowed her to indulge her love of roaming...with supervision.
Saffron
~~~
As if she had read his mind, Saffron asked casually, "How is Cerdi handling the fact there is a new foal around?" She was able to speak the fox's name with much more graciousness than she would have in the past; as Safi's dedicated familiar, Cerdi made no bones about what was important to Safi being important to him. Whether it was collecting apples for the family to snack on, running messages when one or more of the family was separated, or acting as a 'nanny' to roaming children. It was in this last role that he had often exasperated Saffron; it was impossible to shake him, no matter how hard she had tried!
Though these days, she was more inclined to charity. After all, even if Cerdi had been present more than she would have liked, he had been better company than some babysitters. Unless she got argumentative, then he would sass back faster than she could blink! In time, it had become a game with the two of them, but at first? "I would imagine the blue fuzzball was looking forward to retiring from nanny-duty."
Duo
~~~
"You'd think so, after having to deal like a little trouble-maker of your ilk, wouldn't you? But no, he was ready and raring to go the moment the basket appeared. I think he wants to prove he's not lost anything with age and repetition." Personally, Duo found Cerdi's dedication amusing and endearing in equal parts. It could sometimes be overwhelming to have a familiar so...focused on their Soquili partner, but Cerdi had always been conscientious of the other bonds Safi had beyond that with just Cerdi. That respect for boundaries had prevented him from having too many issues with Duo, and vice versa.
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:41 pm
Safi
~~~
Back at the cave, Safi was engaging in a daddy/daughter walk and talk of a very different nature. Twice before, he had been blessed with un-hoped-for children. In the case of his oldest daughter Saiena, he had almost literally stumbled over the orphaned basket while wandering; that had been before he had come to know himself, and long before he had found his heartmate in Duo. Saiena had been raised with the help of his friend Elizabeth, who at the time had lived on the outer edge of the Kawani village with one of the Kawani people. Elizabeth had been invaluable in helping with Saiena; at the time, Safi had no experience raising girls, or children at all, for that matter.
But things had worked out ok, in the end. Saiena had grown up a laughing child, a speed demon who loved nothing better than challenging everyone and everything to races. She had regretted lacking her father's wings, but when they both ran on the ground there had been no touching her! She was a grown mare now, a mated mother of two who still loved her daddy.
Saffron had been something entirely new. Happily settled with Duo, having given up on his wanderlust and reveling in the company of his young twin grandsons, Safi had been content with his life. He had his daughter and her family, and other relatives who sometimes came by to visit. He had his faithful familiar, Cerdi, and he had his love, Duo. Everything was good with the world.
He had no idea what magic had brought Saffron into their lives, a little girl who, while looking a lot more like her daddy Duo, bore unmistakable genetic traits of both the stallions who would be her fathers. They had asked no questions, but taken her into their homes and their hearts. She had been something entirely different from her elder sister, being tougher and more independant, but things had worked out in the end. He and Duo had loved the opportunity to raise a child together, and while both stallions loved her, there was no question that she was Duo's little girl.
Their miracle, as they had called Saffron, had been a blessing from the spirits, something they had never anticipated and never expected to repeat. So it had been a complete shock when Safi had headed out of the cave one morning for his pre-breakfast walk and stumbled over yet another basket. He had looked around for any Soquili who might be the parents, but their was no one to be seen. And the colors on the basket were so suggestive...
A week ago, the basket had opened up and a dancing little filly had emerged, one who was even more a mix of Duo and Safi than Saffron had been. Two tone hair like Safi's, in Safi's dark blue and Duo's brown. Wings, in Safi's ice blue and white. A coat that faded from Duo's pink to Safi's white, Duo's dark hooves, and Safi's pale eyes. She had been full of life, full of joy, and her name was Sibbi.
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:33 am
Sibbi
~~~
Sibbi herself had no idea just yet how miraculous she was, but she was content with the way the world seemed to revolve around her. From the moment she had emerged from her basket, it had been her lot to be loved, with both of her fathers cooing over everything from her first stumbling steps to her first cheery word: Papa! Her sunshiny personality had been in evidence from that first moment; even when she tripped while climbing out of her basket the first time, she laughed after bonking her nose on the floor.
And why shouldn't she laugh, she reasoned in her childish way. She had many tasty things to eat, she had two big, energetic playments in her fathers and one only slightly more reserved in the form of her sister Saffron; she had a comfortable place to sleep, and she had a big, beautiful world in which to play and explore. So far, her exploration had been limited to the cave and the area immediately outside. She'd only been out of her basket for a week, so her fathers were playing it safe in terms of over-exertion (to say nothing of over-stimulation!). But for her part, Sibbi was ready and raring to go!
At the moment, she was practically skipping in a circle around the outer wall of the cave around her father. "Papa Safi, where're Daddy Duo and Ronnie? Are they takin' a walk outside? How come we're not takin' a walk outside with them? Are we goin' to take a walk outside too? Is Cerdi gonna go with us? How come they didn't ask us if we wanted to go with?"
So many questions, so little time for any parent to answer! For her part, Sibbi wasn't sure what was more important; asking all of her questions or waiting for answers. Indeed, sometimes it seemed like the questions came to her so fast that the answers could never come even close to fast enough to meeting her needs.
Though in spite of the rapid-fire nature of her questions, Sibbi was actually pretty content with the way things were at the moment. She DID want to go outside and walk with everyone; when they were all together, she had more people focusing attention on her, and she liked that. But she also liked being the sole focus of anyone's attention, and at the moment she had Papa Safi to herself. That was nice as well!
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Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:58 am
Saffron
~~~
Saffron and Duo had looped down to the 'corner' of the lake and were now on their way back to the cave. It was a nice morning to just amble along, Saffron had to acknowledge, even if the lake itself was a lot less dramatic or interesting than the mountains to the north, or the forest to the west, or the great sea to the south. Since leaving home, she had seen all of those things, and more, but her she was again, walking along the lake and reminiscing about a fox. It was funny how those invisible tethers worked, binding your spirit to a place even when your body took you far, far beyond it!
She smiled at herself, thinking about how rather than growing out of whimsy, she seemed to be growing into it! Maybe it was just because she'd spent far too much time as a child and youth being difficult, she'd never had time to develop her whimsical side. "Well, I'm glad that Cerdi continues to have a purpose, Daddy. Though we both know that Papa Safi would be finding something for him to do to keep busy if you didn't have a child around. He does like to keep Cerdi feeling busy and useful, doesn't he?"
Duo
~~
"True enough, but I believe Cerdi is one of those unique creatures who feel the happiest when they're busy. He was off with one of Saiena's boys for a while, recently; they both seemed to enjoy the experience."
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