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 Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:52 pm
Cali studied Pachelbel a little harder as he generated an ordinary, run-of-the-mill response to her statement. He seemed calm to her, not putting himself under too much pressure... Though of course, she'd never had a child bring someone home before, aside from Ithillun and Retrieve, but that was different - they were playmates, foals. As she watched, he flicked his forelock out of the way to reveal eyes the golden yellow of dandelions, matching his hair and jewelry. Getting down to business, Cali decided to ask a few of the tough questions, whether her daughter would groan at her or not. "I assume that the reason Tinuviel did not return last night was that she met you?" she asked, scrutinizing him for any reaction. She hadn't expected to feel so skeptical about this, to want to know without a doubt that he was good for Tinuviel... But, perhaps, the fact that the mother-daughter pair weren't as close as Cali would have liked upped her need for reassurance. "What were you doing?" She kept her voice unassuming, doing her best to not sound accusing... After all, had she not told her daughter that she would judge kinder than Tinuviel had thought? For now, she was just asking questions, pointed though they might be.
Tin gaped at her mother as the mare turn a hard stare on Pach. Hadn't she said she wouldn't judge, would be kinder than this? "Mom!" she exclaimed, eyeing Pach uneasily. She hoped Cali wasn't purposefully trying to make him feel unwelcome, but it wasn't like they had anything to hide. Her mother had asked Pach the question though, and Tin didn't want to answer for him; he could speak for himself. Feeling a flutter of panic, Tin beat it down. It was possible that her mother was simply testing him, gauging his intentions or their level of involvement... Though Cali was doing a good job at hiding her purpose from her daughter. Mentally snorting at the idea, Tin leveled her mother with a stare of her own. While she knew Cali wouldn't back down, she might at least be more considerate in how she asked her questions.
Hearing her daughter faintly in the background as she waited for an answer, Cali felt her eyes soften. She really didn't want to antagonize the pair of them and knew she was probably being too nosy and too blunt-edged. "I am simply curious," she added, flicking a glance toward her darkest daughter. Oh, she so resembled her father. "You need not answer if you feel I am overstepping bounds." Giving Pachelbel a slight smile, Cali noted the bells that adorned him, wondering what they were for. Was it possible his family had them as well, and made music with them, much like humans? It was a strange thought, but not an unseemly one. Despite Tinuviel's efforts to hide it, Calixte knew her daughter was fond of music, of the dance.
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 12:11 pm
"Uh..." he stuttered for a moment. He knew that awkward sounding questions were in the whole realm of parents meeting unknown significant other, but it still caught him off guard. He knew the longer he paused the less likely his answer would sound innocent. Even if they both swore that nothing had happened outside of what he said, it would still put a shadow of a doubt on him.
"Yes." he said with a nod. "Tin followed the trail for the most part, that I use to leave our meeting spot to get in the general direction of where my family lives. I met her on the edge of the forest, having woken up in the middle of the night, and then brought her back to the grove my family lives in which is just outside the forest. She met my parents, having already met my brother once before, and after breakfast and explaining what was going on to them, we came here." he explained. He resisted the urge to fidget, his nerves were starting to get to him, but he didn't want to make Calixte think he was guilty, and he knew that unnecessary movement made one look guilty.
All he could do was keep breathing and hope it was all over soon. "I don't think you're overstepping bounds, Ma'am. Tin is your daughter and I'm sure you were worried about her, and as a parent you have the right to ask anything you feel necessary." he said honestly. He watched her eye his bells and wondered if she approved or disapproved of them. He'd never actually met anyone who didn't like them, but there was a first time for everything. "Do you like them?" he asked hesitantly flicking his tail and letting the bell there chime out, strong and clear. Hearing it made Pach feel a bit better, it was always nice to hear a familiar voice in a strange place.
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:05 am
Fighting down an impulsive smile, Cali raised her eyebrows as Pachelbel answered her questions flawlessly. "And what, exactly, is going on, young man?" she asked, looking from Pachelbel to Tinúviel and back again. Of course, with the dream that her little Tin had had yesterday morning, Calixte expected to hear something about the skinwalkers... It made her wonder how honest Tin had ended up being with him. Had she told him about the attack? Or just that they liked to lurk on the fringes of the Herdlands? A pang ran through her chest as the memories reminded her of her scars: well-hidden by the extra grass she tucked under the edges of the leaves, there were deep, pink-white gouges in the skin of her chest. Her leaves even grew in scarred sometimes, with white dots where the phantoms of Frostbite's teeth had once torn her open. There was a set of claw-marks on each of her forelegs - those, she could not hide, though each line had grown thinner over time.
Eyes drawn back to Pach's bells, Calixte felt herself nod in approval as one of them chimed. "They seem flawlessly round," she replied, trying to get a view of the metal. She had not seen anything so well-crafted in some time.
Still watching her mother warily, Tin felt her stomach release some tension as Calixte asked only one more question. That was something to be thankful for... But then again, her mother also had a knack for asking the questions that mattered. Once again, Tin was tempted to answer the question, but Calixte had blatantly said young man... There was no way that Tin could cut in to explain herself without being totally rude.
Letting out a silent sigh of relief as her mother turned her attention back to the bells in Pach's tail, Tin looked up at Pach, her line of sight focusing momentarily on his short mane. He was doing so well - she was so proud of him. And, she told herself, I need to stop focusing so much on myself. He's having as much a hard time as I am. We're in this together now. Tin allowed herself to touch her nose to his shoulder, hoping to comfort him a little. Pach seemed, to her, to be doing very well; he'd answered everything honestly and openly, and even gave a deeply respectful description of the boundaries her mother had when asking about them.
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 2:16 pm
Pach went brain dead for a moment. He hadn't expected that question. Obviously she knew what was going on...this was a test of some sort... He glanced over at Tin and the light bulb went off. Some sort of test on how much Tin trusted him with the truth maybe? Honestly there were any number of silly reasons she could have given him to make him come with her, and he'd probably have gone anyway, but the truth was the truth and far more scary. "Skinwalkers, ma'am. Tin said they've been gunning for her and her brother since they were little. I couldn't just stand by and let that happen. What sort of male would I be if I let the mare I love be in that kind of danger without being there next to her?" he said, yellow eyes full of love for Tin. Although there was a little fear there too, mostly the fear of losing her. But of the walkers themselves too, only a fool wouldn't be afraid of the shape-shifters.
At mention of his bells, Pach nodded. "Thank you." he saw her trying to get a closer look so he volunteered a little more information. "Mine are brass, my mother's though are copper. It's traditional in her family that when you come of age you get your bells, they're mostly for dancing and making music. In fact that's how she got mine and my brothers. She danced for them at the trading post in the human village."
At the touch of Tin's nose on his shoulder he glanced over giving her a small smile. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her right then, but decided that Calixte was the type who could read lips, so he settled for trying to see if he'd developed telepathy in the last ten minutes to send her the though.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 6:36 pm
Calixte smiled in satisfaction at his answer; not only had Tinúviel been honest with him, she had somehow found a stallion who had said he would stand beside her, rather than step in front of her. They are equals, then. "A poor male indeed, but I do not sense such from you, Pachelbel." Taking a step closer, Calixte let her train of the conversation drift solely to the bells. "They are beautiful," she said. "Your family sounds as though it has some wonderful customs. There might be a few in the herd who would love to hear of them, though I am afraid some might not deign to respect you at first." Her smile turning sad, Cali nodded to his hooves. "Has she told you of her sire?"
"Mother!" hissed Tin, and her face began to heat again just as relief at the once-finished questions began to filter into her veins. "Can we speak of other things for now and leave that pain of a subject for later?" Returning Pach's smile with an apprehensive one of her own, Tin tried to absorb all the warmth between them with a deep breath. "If you will grant him permission to stay with us, we will have all the time in the world to speak of whatever more you would ask him, Mother."
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Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:02 pm
Pach let out a sigh of relief at having seemingly passed Calixte's muster, at least for now anyway. This was only one small hurdle after all. There could always be something later that called his character into question. Even small misunderstandings could be disastrous with things so tense, and the last thing he wanted was for anyone in Tin's herd to dislike him for anything more than the shape of his hooves.
Pach nodded at Cali. "I would be happy to dance for anyone willing to watch at any time." he said honestly, although he doubted that there would be much call for that particular skill set of his for some time with the way things were going.
Despite Tin trying to put aside the topic of her sire, Pach nosed her gently. "It's okay, Tin." he said softly and took a deep breath and let it out slowly and looked at Cali. "While I'm sure there might be some things I do not fully understand, I am aware at the shape of my hooves," he said tapping one against the ground, "is not the most desirable shape, and may cause some resentment among the members of your herd." he said. "I am willing to do whatever is necessary to prove to them that I can be trusted." he bowed his head to her and waited for her final decision.
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