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 Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 3:29 pm
xxxxᴋ ɪ ɴ ɢ x _ ♕ x _ ᴀ ᴢ ʀ ᴇ ᴛ ʜ xxxxxx ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
The King had taken a much-needed day off to wander through the Greater Herd Plains with his Bonded, and a half hour ago he and Varian split up, the stallion telling him that he wanted to do an aerial patrol of the Herd. Azreth had smiled and shook his head; no matter how much he pushed the Deity to take a break, Varian always took his duty seriously, doing anywhere from three to five patrols a day. But Azreth knew that it was part of who Varian was, so he didn't try to dissuade him. Instead, the King had made a beeline for the edge of the forest glade where Varian and his Lifemate lived.
Of course, Azreth had felt the pure joy radiating through his mind when Varian had first laid eyes on his children, and so far, the stallion hadn't let Azreth meet any of them, much to the King's chagrin. Granted, Varian was by far the most protective Azrein the King had ever met, but still. So Azreth figured he would take a chance today and see if he couldn't catch a glimpse of the new foals. The King padded under the trees, his riding boots soundless in the undergrowth and fallen leaves, the thin gold circlet on his head catching the light of the sun's rays streaming through the canopy. The King stopped as he heard the quiet sounds of hooves on fallen leaves, a small smile curving his mouth. He crouched down at the edge of the small clearing to make himself less imposing, and his breath caught in his throat when the young colt stepped out of the treeline.
Stunning wings of purple and gold caught the light of the sun, and the young Azrein's eyes were mirrors of his father's; such a crystalline blue that it took the King's breath away. Two horns curved upwards behind his ears, and Azreth smiled as he saw the small single horn on the colt's forehead; an echo of Avari's horn but with the coloring of his father's. His coat was the perfect shade of cream, and his cloven hooves matched the color of the feathers in his tail. Slowly, the King stood up, absolutely mesmerized by the little foal, and the colt's long ears swiveled towards the deliberate noise Azreth made as he rose.
"You're the human Dad Chose, aren't you? I can feel it; it tickles inside my head." Surprisingly, the colt was completely unafraid, even though Azreth had to be the first human the little one had ever seen. He trotted towards the King and Azreth smiled, kneeling down to meet the colt's gaze.
"I am. And I can feel that you're the first born; it tickles inside my head." The colt laughed and an answering grin spread across the King's face. Tentatively Azreth reached out a hand, and the colt pressed his velvet nose into the King's palm, nostrils flared as he took in Azreth's scent.
"You smell like the first day of winter, and the sea in a storm, and the weight of the world." The colt's voice was soft, his head tilted to the side as he pulled his nose back, though his eyes never left the King's. Azreth was surprised at the young stallion's words, his eyebrows trying to find a place in his hair.
"You are wise beyond your age, little one. What name did your father give you?" Azreth sat back on his haunches.
"Vantalion." The colt puffed his chest out proudly, and Azreth grinned. Of course Varian would name him that.
"Do you know what it means?" The colt shook his head, and the King met his blue eyes. "It means 'Valiant Fate.' You should be proud to carry such a name, Vantalion. You carry your father's legacy, and his father's, inside your heart." Azreth reached out and placed a slender hand on the colt's chest, and Vantalion bowed his head, showing his father's humility.
"I know. Father told me about you, and about Valdien, and about how he was born into this world, and how he wouldn't have found you without Mother. He said that you were the only human I could trust with my life, and that when I met you, to Soulgaze and see for myself." The colt flicked his tail. "I did it before coming over to you. It was my first time. It felt strange, like I could see and feel everything about you. I know that you want nothing more than to see peace on the Isle, and that you care about every Azrein -- even the bad ones -- as much as you care about Father. And that even though you never wanted to be King, you do everything you can to make sure your people and the Azrein are safe. You're a good person, Azreth Kestrel De'servian." The foal took a step forward and pressed his nose against the King's chest, and Azreth felt tears sting his eyes and swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat.
"Thank you, Vantalion. You've no idea how much it means to me that you think so well of me. I promise I won't let you down." Azreth bent his head and rested his forehead against the colt's own, beneath his horn, and the two remained motionless for several moments before pulling away. The King could feel the strand within his mind that was Vantalion pull tight and hum from the tension, and Azreth jerked away from the colt, falling onto his back. No. The colt stepped over him and looked down, and Azreth felt himself fall into those blue eyes before jerking his gaze away, turning his head to the side. The potential for a Bond was there; he could feel it tingling just beneath the surface. He knew this little colt would grow up to change the world, and that together they could accomplish anything. He felt Vantalion send out a cautious tendril of thought, seeking him, and Azreth flung up his mental walls. It was far too early for the little one to Choose, and the King wanted Vantalion to experience much more of life before becoming tethered to a human.
His voice was soft, regret lilting between his words. "I'm sorry, little one. For now, we must only speak with our voices. Maybe someday we can become one, but not now. Do you understand?" His green eyes were sad, but Vantalion nodded slowly.
"I understand. But I already know that I will follow in my Father's footsteps one day. Do you understand?"
"I do." Azreth nodded, and stood up slowly, brushing himself off. "But for now, how about you tell me about your family? About how your mother's doing, and about your siblings, and the adventures you've all had?" At that, Vantalion's blue eyes lit up, and all thoughts of future Bonds were banished from the colt's mind, much to the King's relief. Vantalion trotted towards the small stream in the clearing, chattering away about his brothers and sisters, and about how protective his parents were, and about how much he loved his mother and looked up to his father, and Azreth breathed easy as he grinned and followed the foal.
This one was a handful.
♥♥
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:28 pm
Yet again another of her foals had gone missing. Resisting the urge to snort her irritation, Avari set about trying to collect them one, by one. Of all the things she'd expected of being a mother, the amount of curiosity each of her offspring were filled with was not one of them. For as long back as she could remember, her and her siblings had never run off from their mother once. Hooves stilling mid-walk, she closed her eyes for a moment and drew in a soft breath. Then again, she never had the safety that Varian had provided her and their family. Letting out her breath with a long sigh as she opened her eyes and shook her head lightly. No, this was a good thing, being curious about the world. It sent her into a nervous frenzy, but it was good for them. Lifting her nose to scent the air around her, Avari felt a small smile tug at her lips as she caught her eldest daughter on the wind. Casually peering about her, she felt a tinkling laugh build in her chest as her gaze fell on the crouched form of her daughter in the nearby bushes, her small body seeming to thrum with her excited emotions as she peered off into a clearing.
Lifting her tail from the ground to keep it from brushing about the leaves, Avari held in her laughter as she snuck closer to Nimmeth's unsuspecting form from behind. Quietly creeping, she waited until she was a breath behind her daughter, before leaning close to pretend to peer off in the direction she was looking. Yet her eyes stayed locked on her daughters expression. "What has you so interested, Nim?" Pulling back quickly as the young filly started with a sharp squeak and tumbled away out of the bush in a flurry of legs and feathers before landing in an upright position, her legs tucked beneath her and eyes, guilty wide.
"Mom I-"
Cutting her off with a look, Avari hid her good-natured laughter and shook her head. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings." She scolded lightly as she moved to help her back to her hooves. A look of sadness flitted over Nim's face, but the kind smile Avari shot her was enough for her own to return. "Now what were you looking at?"
Shaking out her body to knock off the leaves that tried to cling to her long fur, Nimmeth pranced forward a few steps and pointed off in the direction of the clearing. "Vant snuck off and found something different!" Her voice was a high thrill of excitement as she danced back to her mother's side and tried to push her towards him. "It's a silly looking being that stands all.. Wrong." Giving a curt nod at the last word she followed after Avari's hooves as she headed off.
"Wrong?" Holding in her building unease as her daughter rambled on about the Azrein on two hooves, Avari casually picked up her pace, yet froze a few steps later when she broke the trees and her eldest's form came into view. With a vaguely familiar man at his side. "Stay here." She snapped curtly at her daughter, her tone quickly silencing Nim's cheerful words and causing her to pause.
"Stay, why?" Glancing from the pair, to her mother, Nimmeth frowned and stepped back a step with a nod.
Varian's bonded. Casting a look back at the filly to make sure she understood to stay put, Avari turned back and drew in a shaky breath to still the shivers that threatened to wrack her frame as she made her approach. It'd been so long since the man had come anywhere near her home, so long that she'd grown content with the knowledge that he would never show, but seeing him within an arms length of her foal was not something she appreciated. "Vantalion, come away from there." She called out when she was close enough, her tail curling up as she peered from her son to send an almost angry glare at the man. Keeping a short distance away, she resisted the urge to shift about nervously. Fear wouldn't help her in this situation, but the same panic filled her frame and she took a step back waiting for his reaction. Yet suddenly she flicked an ear back as heard the quiet steps of another, and called out her eldest daughters name as she trotted by.
"I got this Momma!" She called back with a bright smile. She'd felt her mother's nerves as clear as day, and if she didn't want to grab Vant, she would! Picking up her pace, the filly let out a cheerful laugh as she got closer. "Some~body's in troou~ble~" Nim sung as she came up beside the colt, before glancing back to her mother, who by now was moving in closer.
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:00 pm
xxxxᴋ ɪ ɴ ɢ x _ ♕ x _ ᴀ ᴢ ʀ ᴇ ᴛ ʜ xxxxxx ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
The King's green eyes snapped to the treeline as he heard Avari's curt voice. Damn. He could feel the waves of fear radiating outwards from the little mare, and it nearly broke his heart that he caused her so much distress. Azreth bowed towards the unicorn and took three long paces back away from Vantalion to set the new mother a bit more at ease, slipping his hands in his pockets as he sat down on a fallen tree to show her that he had no intention of making any sudden movements. The colt took a step towards Azreth, but the King shook his head, stopping the young Azrein in his tracks.
:: Azreth! Go check on Avari, now! Something's made her terrified. Be sure she and the children are safe! :: The King winced at the strength of Varian's mind-call as they cut through his mental walls.
:: Ah, sorry, my brother. That's my fault. Vantalion found me wandering through the woods and Avari came looking for him. She's safe, V. :: Azreth could feel the relief of his Bonded in his mind.
:: I'm glad to hear she's well. I think, however, that you should try and speak with her. She needs to learn that you'll never hurt her, or the foals, no matter what happens. I still have another hour on patrol; if you need me, call. :: And then Varian's mental presence was gone.
Azreth blew out a breath and and met Avari's gaze, opening his mouth to apologize when a bundle of fur flew from behind her and pranced up to Vantalion, her voice a lilting sing-song. The King couldn't help the smile that lit his face at the little filly's boundless good humor and energy.
Van snorted and flicked his tail, his ears pressed flat against his skull in irritation as he turned to face his sister. "I am not. I was out patrolling the woods to make sure you guys would be safe while Dad's gone, and then I met Father's human." Vantalion tipped a wing towards Azreth. "Dad said that he was the only human we could trust, and that I should Soulgaze him to see for myself, so I did, and it's true. So how can I be in trouble if I spend time with a part of Father's soul?" Vantalion stomped a cloven hoof in triumph at his logical argument.
"My deepest apologies, Avari." Azreth's words were soft, barely audible so as not to startle the slender mare."I mean none of you harm, and if you want me to leave, I will. But if I may speak freely, you're truly blessed by the Good Spirits to have such amazing children." Azreth smiled down at little Nimmeth, who'd closed the distance between them and was nibbling at the toe of his riding boots curiously, her nostrils flared and ears perked forward."I can see why Varian is so proud of them, and of you, too. I don't think I've ever met a colt so wise in my entire life." Azreth laughed as Nimmeth lipped at his hair, giving him an alfalfa-scented cowlick. "Or quite so curious and brave little filly." Even though he wanted to run his fingers through the filly's silken fur, he refrained from doing so, knowing it would make Avari worry all the more.
Vantalion trotted over to him and leaned his shoulder against Azreth's own, the long primary feathers of his wing tickling his ear. The King remained still, not touching either of the foals, but not pushing them away, either. He desperately wanted Avari to understand that the last thing he would ever -- could ever -- do was harm her children. He sent up a wordless prayer that one day she would realize that he was as far from the hunters as she was from the Six, and slowly raised his eyes to meet her blue gaze.
He found the strand that was Avari in the web of Azrein within his mind and focused on it, dropping each mental barrier he had up. His mind opened wide to her, he allowed her to see and hear his thoughts and intentions if she chose to do so. He wanted nothing more than to protect Varian, protect her and her children. He wanted the foals to grow up strong, and he knew that they were a blessing to this world that no one but Avari, Varian, and Azreth could understand. He knew that her children were truly a gift from the Gods, and he would gladly give his life for any of them.
Vantalion and Nimmeth both fell completely still and silent, their heads turning in unison to stare wide-eyed at the King, feeling his thoughts from the bond they shared with their mother. Neither of them had understood until that moment that any human would gladly die for them, let along the King of the whole Isle. They didn't realize that Azreth would protect them just as fiercely as their father would, and that he saw them as a part of his own family, which indeed they were. And to their surprise, they saw just how much Azreth wanted to protect their mother, and show her that most humans were pure of heart, and that the King desperately wanted to love Avari just as much as he loved her Lifemate. The two foals felt the love Azreth had for not only Varian, but for their Mother and even for them radiating from his heart, pure and clean and fresh, like winter's first snow.
"Avari, I will never, never let anything or anyone harm your family. I swear it on my name, I swear it by the ever-changing moon, and I swear it on all the pain and fear you've been burdened with. If I could, I would take it from you without a second thought, and I would do so gladly." Azreth felt his throat tighten, and his fingernails dug into his palms."I will do everything in my power so that no one hurts you again, Avari." When he was finished speaking, Vantalion and Nimmeth both pressed their velveteen noses against the King's neck, and Azreth bowed his head, tears for Avari's pain and fear flowing unchecked down his face, and he felt no less of a man because of them. "I promise."
♥♥
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 6:04 pm
Long tail twitching at her brothers words, Nimmeth snorted and rolled her eyes. "Patrolling? What use do you have doing that? If anyone did show up, they'd just chase you away. Besides.." Head tilting when her father's human (As he was introduced) began to speak, the filly felt a laugh leave her as his first words to her mother was an apology. Maybe he was the one in trouble. Smiling she turned back to her brother and stamped a hoof. "If anyone came here, I'd be the one to keep everyone safe. Not a silly boy." It was all a tease, of course, but she couldn't help any chance she could to try and get under his skin.
Body shaking as both her offspring were close to the monster, Avari shifted uneasily from hoof, to hoof, her tail almost lashing about behind her in her anxiety. Maybe she was raising them wrong, maybe her mother's way was right? Ears hiding in her mane, the mare arched her neck, her chin tucking when his gentle words spoke out. Yet her attention flicked from his face, hands, and her foal's who decided to crowd around his being. They never listened to her... Glancing away at his laughter, she felt her heart tighten painfully as she debated just walking away. Leaving them to the man if they wouldn't follow her guidance. Yet her heart wouldn't allow it, and kindly offering the man a polite smile she drew in a shaky breath. "They're too curious." She replied back in the softest of tones, giving him the decency of a response only because of his bond to her lifemate. She'd promised he could visit after all, not that it made her any more at ease with the proximity.
Yet when she felt him reach out to her mentally, Avari started back a step, her eyes hardening dangerously as visions, feelings and his own thoughts echoed in her own. "Stop it." She snapped, her gaze flitting from her children's awed faces, to his own, before her gaze melted into a flurry of unshed tears as her mind conflicted it's self. Closing her eyes tight, she shook out her mane before bending down to rub the side of her nose with her knee. She hated this, the invasion of her mind, the kind words he supplied her, and most of all the ease this all had on the tension inside her. She didn't want the sense of understand that was cast inside her, and the idea that tickled at the corner of her mind that maybe, just maybe, he was being truthful. After all, the idea that all humans, no matter how kind they were on the outside, were cold, dark, viscous creatures on the inside was the driving force in her life for so long. Feeling a silent sob wrack her small frame, she held her tears back, as her ears lifted slightly to listen to his promise, and somewhere inside, she believed him.
Shaking out her fur at the strange sensation in her mind, Nym felt a shiver run up her spine and pranced a step back with a light sneeze. "What is that?" She all but gasped, her wide crystal eyes staring at the human with endless curiosity. She couldn't name how, but she just knew whatever was happening was coming from him. Front hooves dancing in the grass for a moment, she cast a curious glance towards her mother's confused face before tilting her head. "Hmm.." Stepping closer, she began to nose at the King's form, crowding around him as she huffed into his hair and neck, her ears twisting this way and that as she listened to his words. Hurt them? "Why is he crying?" She wondered good-heartedly, her words directed at her brother.
Setting her hoof down weakly, Avari gave a light nod of her head that was still bowed towards the ground. "I'll hold you to that." The mare replied, her voice quiet as she stood there trying to sort out her thoughts. Peering out at the three of them through her lashes, she sighed. They were so trusting, so open to new experiences in their own way, and as much as her mother's lessons beat at her to break them of that habit she couldn't. She loved seeing their smiling faces too much. Trying to still her shaking, she gently settled herself down to lay in the grass a small distance away and opened her dark eyes to catch her daughters briefly before they landed fully on the man's. "Are you forgetting something?"
At that the filly stilled her nudged and prodding and blinked. Forgetting? Oh! Clearing her throat, she puffed herself up proudly. "I'm Nimmeth, eldest daughter, (and favorite foal) of Varian and Avari." Wings fluffing at her sides, she smiled bright. "I'm named after my aunt, she was exceptionally brave, and I'll be too, right, Mother?" Turning her head to look at Avari, she watched her nod, and followed it with an excited one of her own.
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