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 Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:16 pm
It had been some time since the two little girls had passed and both Hienna and Zaphiro were working on getting on with their lives and trying again. The mare was trying her best to keep a positive outlook and she had so far successfully kept her mother's ghost away from her.
But one day, Hienna realized with a start the symptoms she'd had last time had appeared again. She'd ignored it, mostly, until she started feeling fat. And looked it. And, terrified that something would happen yet again she waited for Zaphiro to return from whatever he was doing. She had to tell him.
Terror, joy...A mixture of emotions were swirling about the mare in a mess where beginnings and endings were completely undecipherable and, for the moment, hooves were clipping against their cave home as she paced back and forth.
Gods, please be happy.
Maybe it was too soon.
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:46 pm
 Whatever it was he was doing, indeed. Had Zaphiro been handy enough to know what it was that Hienna was thinking, he probably would have...well, to be honest he likely would have smiled, relatively used to such random thought processes as he was. However, he WASN'T able to read his mate's mind, an ability that at the best of times would be extremely handy. And at the moment, he wasn't even around.
Well, not exactly. At the moment, Zaphiro was taking advantage of what he THOUGHT was a nap break for his mate to take a swim in their nice brisk pond; though not far from the cave, the landscape was sufficiently tilted enough so that he would be unable to see Hie and she him, unless one of them actually approached the other. But in the meantime, he had a swim to finish.
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:48 pm
You have to tell him.
Firm in her resolution, the unicorn stalked out of the cave and went to the pond where she knew her mate was, trying to do it as fast as she could so she didn't wimp out and end up running back to the cave to be sick. Which would never be a good thing.
"Zaphiro!" she called. Ahh, well, now that she called his name she had to do it, didn't she? But how to tell him? Hie had to do something that was that typical female 'telling but not telling' thing. Hm.
Ah. She knew how she'd do it! A smirk touched her face and she flicked her tail, trying to stay firm in her resolve.
"Zaphy!"
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:53 pm
Well, that was unexpected. Pausing in the middle of a lap, Zaphiro looked over to the bank of the water where his mate was standing, his damp curls clinging to his head. She was up earlier than he was expecting...
"What is it, Hie? Feel like joining me for a swim?" He strongly doubted that was the case; the one thing that they'd always disagreed on was cold water swimming, he for, she against, and he knew even as he asked that she'd say no. But it was slightly unusual for her to just stand there and repeat his name.
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:56 pm
"Ugh. Cold water," she answered, grin on her face as she shook her head and tilted it to the side a moment later, studying him, "Zaph, I'm really really wanting some raspberries. Could you get me some?"
Perfect way to tell him, considering it was what he was constantly made to do while she was pregnant the last time. Fairly easy to guess for anyone with half a brain and Zaphiro was the most intelligent Soquili she knew. Gods how she adored him for that.
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:02 pm
Shrugging his shoulders, Zaphiro picked up in his laps once more. "Your loss, as always love. And fine, fine, I'll be on that just as soon as I-"
Wait a moment, raspberries?
The second that thought clicked, Zaphiro was turning to look at her through narrowed eyes, his golden gaze intense as he looked at her abdomen. Then without saying a word he was swimming strongly over to Hienna's side of the pond, pulling himself out of the water and swiftly crossing the distance to her side, without so much as shrugging off some water. Steady trickles streaming off of his shoulders, thighs, and chin, he looked his mate full in the eyes, his gaze still intense but a tiny smile on his lips. "How long have you known, Hienna?"
There could only be one explanation for this...
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:05 pm
Ha! She knew it'd get it! Even if it took him a little longer than she thought, "Suspected for a while," she admitted, "But I've been quite afraid and I only got the confirmation when I started to look fat." Gold met gold and she gave a nod of her head, "But we have our family. Soon, if...urm, my stomach's any indication?"
Dear god let this one go right.
"You are happy, right? I mean, it's really soon and I know we've been trying but...." Ahh, there she went trailing off. Always so unsure of herself!
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:09 pm
That was all Zaphiro needed to hear. Breaking into a wide grin, he responded simply; by wrapping his wings around Hienna and hugging her close, regardless of his own state of drenchedness. He'd wondered...but it was still so soon, he hadn't wanted to read to much into something that might be a mistake. But then again, they had conceived early last time; obviously they had a talent for getting their timing right.
"How could I be anything but happy, Hie? This is what I've been wanting, what WE'VE been wanting, what we've been trying and hoping for...I'm delighted." Smiling, he stepped back slightly, stroking her cheek with a wing. "How are YOU feeling about this, though? Everything going alright, you comfortable, all that sort of thing?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:12 pm
Relief swept over her and she leaned into her mate - apparently, Zaphiro was very virile! "I'm very happy about it, Zaphiro. Nervous, scared, slightly paranoid...But very happy. We're going to have our family this time. Even if I'm afraid, I have a good feeling. They're strong. The little brats, they have been keeping me up at night." she blushed and lowered her head. He had to notice her tossing and turning and being unable to generally find a happy, comfortable position.
Head leaned into that wing and she made a sound of contentment, "The first of many, I hope. We have to have a brood that can talk about more than weather. I mean, the entire Soquili world depends on it."
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:21 pm
She couldn't have said anything to make him feel better than what she'd chosen to say. Beaming happily, Zaphiro held her against him, her warmth fitting nicely beneath his wings against his side. Nuzzling her affectionately, he chuckled at her confession as to the sleepless nights she'd been having, something he'd tried not to mention any more than was absolutely necessary.
"They'll be strong. It has to mean something that they're keeping you up so early at such a young age, don't you think?" As he spoke, Zaphiro ran a wing over her belly, wondering if he'd be able to feel anything.
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:30 pm
"It better," she said with a soft laugh, head tilting against his, "I wouldn't bother feeling them for the moment, love. They are finally giving their old mother a rest." ah, Hienna wasn't old at all but she certainly could feel it! "I think we should think of names before the time comes. And get baskets far before then as well, Zaphiro."
The mare did not want her mate gone when she was having the babies, that was for sure. That had been a very scary turn of events and if it happened again she didn't want to be without him. "And Liz needs to come here immediately."
Every precaution.
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:36 pm
Zaphiro was thinking along similar lines. Even if nothing went wrong this time (which he hoped to God was the case), he wanted to be there for his mate. He didn't have to experience it for himself to know that it was painful and somewhat unpleasant, after all.
"Aye. I'll go back to the teepee and see if Liz can come and pick up baskets both. The names, however..."
Drawing back his wing from her stomach a little bit sheepishly, Zaphiro made up for that by gently lipping the braid that hung along Hienna's cheek. "I think that we should name them after we know them, love. Know how many there are, whether they're boys or girls...maybe even what they act like. Preparation is good, but there's such a thing as overkill." If he did say so so himself. "Surely we can wait a little bit?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:43 pm
"Well, I suppose so," she said a moment later, "We'd want fitting names. But I'm just...excited, I suppose. Silly, no?" she laughed and gently pulled away from her mate, flicking her tail and tossing her mane back, "Now, get me those raspberries. Once more, I am back to my slave driving self. Get on, you." A bright grin was shot his way and she plopped her rear end down on the grass.
"I'm not moving from this spot until I get my little meal of berries. And maybe some sweet grass." she waggled her brows. Ahh, one of her silly moods. Rare, these, but so much fun. For the first time in a long while, Hienna was feeling cheerful over something.
Thank god. She'd been a real wet blanket for some time.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:34 am
Silly wasn't quite the word that Zaphiro would use, but he was in too good a mood to argue semantics at the moment.
"Well, I suppose that walking over to that raspberry bush we transplanted by the cave WOULD be really tough, considering your delicate condition and all, so you just lie here and try to relax while I slave away on your behalf."
Zaphiro's herdmates had often accused him of being too serious; Safi in particular always liked to tease Zaphiro about his 'overserious' approach to life. However, those herdmates weren't necessarily around to witness Zaphiro's bouts of humor, bouts accompanied by a radiant frame of mind. Like now.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 2:53 pm
Hienna's face beamed, "Sounds beautiful to me, my love," she teased lightly, "Toil toil, that's what you're supposed to do. Waiting on me hand and foot." Of course, she really didn't think that way. She just enjoyed teasing her mate and it was so fun to do! Really, really fun actually.
Honestly, Hie would have died laughing if Zaph's herdmates called him serious - she had known his serious side, yes, but to her it wasn't overly apparent. Maybe she was just special. Yeah. That had to be it.
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