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 Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:46 pm
(I'm starting to see a trend with my titles here.)
Akila was starting to wonder if she'd ever find Tsani, or even a friend. Her decision to leave weighed more and more heavily on her with each passing week, and she was starting to feel sick. She attributed the ill feeling she got each morning to her troubles, never realizing her rounding girth. She did notice her steadily decreasing stamina, but thought that was just part of the sickness. But it didn't affect her choice. She wanted to be with Tsani...and just hoped that he'd feel the same way when he heard of what had happened.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:38 am
She'd find him in the wide fields where it first began, many of the same fears and many new ones dragging him to ground as though he never had wings. The big stallion nosed through the grass but did not eat, as he had not for as many days as the two-legs had those wormy things they called fingers.
Akila had asked him to wait. Asked him to give her time. He would never ask anything else of her than that....and he would never want any other answer than the one he was dreading. The stallion no longer had the strength to snort, and only closed his eyes miserably.
He never was going to learn. Better to be a herd of one. Or two. His son had followed him here, staying with him close as a shadow. He glanced at Natsiya with a look of grateful pride his tightened throat could not voice, then blinked his eyes back to the earth, unable to hold the younger stallion's stare.
Natsiya watched his father carefully still. And where the situation seemed to have robbed Tsani of the proud hike in his tail and the confident swell of his chest, the young stallion felt himself growing....with rage. How dare they. How dare that black-masked stallion and his mare look on his father as though he were some pile of refuse, how dare they force such a decision on their own daughter. His father and the Akila loved each other, it was clear....something he never thought he'd see his father find, in all his ambitions. Who were they to judge anyone so?
Boorish, small-minded, arrogant hypocrites....
And now I'm being the judgmental one, he snorted. With one difference, he thought bitterly. Neither his father nor himself did so without knowing first the shallow assesment of Akila's sire and dam. Those two clearly proved the titles he was granting them.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:53 pm
Little did Natsiya know that the Helaku Akila had spoken with had been a broken, bitter shell of himself. That was the reason she had decided to simply...leave. She wanted, no needed, Tsani, and she just...couldn't take the pain in her sire's eyes and voice as he told her that Olathe had left for good. She blamed herself, for Helaku had told her of Olathe's reaction to the news that Akila had met an older stallion. As is common with the young, she found a way for her parent's split to be her fault. And she couldn't take it anymore...she had to be free.
She had to find Tsani, and hope that he wouldn't reject her too.
So she finally stumbled into the field, sides heaving with exertion, coat starting to mat with sweat. She'd been pushing herself so since the day she had bolted from her father's teepee. Hope and relief mingled with a touch of fear surged into her heart as she saw Tsani, and she forced her weary legs to move just a little bit faster.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:51 pm
She was at once the most beautiful and most terrible sight as the stallion and his son caught sight of her. Tsani forgot everything else in that moment and ran to meet her, eyes wide.
"Akila...!?"
She didn't look like she'd just come looking for him. She looked like she'd....escaped; mane tangled full of burrs, eyes opaque with fright, her hide slick with sweat. He pressed alongside her supportively, felt her heart racing beneath her heaving sides, felt her shiver as he curled his neck over hers.
He had dreaded asking before she appeared; now, he found himself demanding it.
"What happened?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:58 pm
Akila pressed close to Tsani, gratefully leaning against him for support. She was so tired...and at his frantic query, she fought to keep from breaking into sobs at the memory of the look on Helaku's face. But she had to tell him...Tsani deserved to know, if anyone did. Drawing a deep, shaky breath, she finally spoke. "Mom...she...she left. For good. Elu, too..." She squeezed her eyes tight shut, pressing her face against Tsani's neck. "Because...of me." She was determined to be with Tsani. In such a short time she had grown to have such strong feelings for him...why couldn't her mother understand? "Why did she have to hurt him?" Her tone was plaintive, almost childlike with pain.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:13 pm
Left...? Because of her?
It made no sense, no matter their disappointment in him. Disappointment being an understatement, but as he watched Akila struggle to hold back tears, his own pride was forgotten along with fears. It still made no sense. He learned long ago the split between life-mates was a matter solely between themselves, in the end. Siblings.....he had none, but he couldn't imagine what could truly come between blood.
"It can't be your fault." he murmured against her mane, breath warm as he nuzzled her ears. A broad wing blanketed her back, snugged her in close. Why....that was a trick question which required other questions and other answers to solve.
One thing, at least, was obvious to him.
"It ISN'T your fault." he repeated forcefully, voice strengthening to its former confidence. He lowered his head to meet her eyes, wanting more than anything to fill hers with the same certainty.
Two things were obvious. The second, he hoped she saw in his eyes, too.
More like a puppet play than a family. The thought crackled in Natsiya's mind as the white stallion paced, but he bit back the urge to say it. There were real priorities to focus on.
"You should rest. You've run yourself sick." the gentle tone of his voice belied his anger. That, and this whole ridiculous joke was sure to turn even the strongest stomach.
Tsani nodded, nudging her with an attempt at a smile. "You've fallen down once. That was enough."
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:31 pm
Tearful cerulean eyes peered up through dark locks into Tsani's violet ones. Taking another deep breath, she simply nodded and pressed closer. "I just couldn't stay there anymore...I don't belong there now." She looked back up into his eyes. "I belong here." No matter how much pain came to her, she truly believed that, and she would fight to remain where she belonged right here at Tsani's side. Unbeknownst to the young mare, she wasn't quite alone. At a sudden movement in her abdomen that thumped against Tsani, she squealed and jerked in surprise. Her own sudden movement caused her knees to buckle, and she ended up in a rather undignified heap upon the ground. "What was THAT?!" she demanded in a panicky voice, eyes wide.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:57 pm
The big stallion wished he knew, rearing back with his own shrill of surprise. "What was what!?"
Natsiya pranced forward, fearful the mare was far worse for wear than they had thought, when he caught sight of her exposed belly past her flailing legs just in time to see the jump of another....tiny kick.
Tiny kick.
He stepped back, blinking, and his furious thoughts seemed suddenly much easier to conceal than his surprise.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:06 pm
"Something moved in there!" Akila wailed, thoroughly confused. She'd barely stopped long enough to even drink at any water sources she came across, so she'd never even noticed her thickening girth. But as she turned her head to peer at her stomach in an effort to figure out just what the hell had moved in there, she certainly noticed now. Her eyes widened and a strangled squeak came out as she stared at herself in consternation. "Tsani...?" She ventured hesitantly, needing to know if he saw the same thing she was seeing.
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 9:47 am
He certainly did, his eyes round enough to match the swelling of the foals inside her.
Their foals...!
Had her sire and dam known? They couldn't have....how could they have ever turned from her if they did? But how could they ever miss that!? It was obvious now, even to him!
No sense....
At least everything made perfect sense to him now. The honesty he'd finally allowed himself with her, that night which seemed like forever ago....he looked to her, inwardly cursing the fact his voice had run off again.
Natsiya glanced between them, hoping that they were prioritizing far better than the others. "I think congratulations are in order."
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:20 pm
At first Akila was quiet as she looked up at Tsani, stunned into silence. Foals...their foals...and her parents wouldn't even know. Her father would, someday. Her mother...who knew? "Looks like you'll have some brothers or sisters, Nat," she managed finally. "Maybe even enough to start our own herd." Her lips curled in a small smile at the joke as she reached up wearily to n** at Tsani in a playful manner. "Sure you still...want me around?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:01 am
It didn't sound like a joke, and as he felt the familiar lips in his mane he could also feel them tremble. Could she really be serious?
He'd startled at the question reflexively before realizing what had brought the need for it. And now, he pressed his forehead to hers, finally catching up to his voice again. He had all the answers needed. And for once, he even believed that himself.
"Never doubt it." he folded his wings about her as he spoke, carressing along the length of her muzzle. "You....have no idea how much...."
He smiled broadly then, corners of his eyes crinkling. The hesitations were gone, in both his words and his heart. "You know how stubborn I am. Stubborn enough to not take no when I ask you to be my life-mate."
He fluffed himself. "And by stubborn, I, of course, mean right."
Natsiya grinned like his father and laughed, unable to hang on to his fury at how the mare had been driven here. "Right. This new herd might be just big enough for your head."
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:13 am
Akila was almost afraid to believe it. Had she really found the safe haven she'd hoped for? Had she finally found her place in the world? After the previous turmoil, she half expected to blink and find herself alone after suffering some delusion. But...her doubts melted away in Tsani's embrace. She loved how his wings were so much more than a simple tool of flight. She loved him. She knew enough to admit that to herself by now. She would never have created these foals without a true emotional connection, even were it only to last a moment. But this was so much more than a moment...this would be her life. She wanted that. "Why would I say no?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:22 pm
He could think of quite a few reasons, but that didn't seem to matter anymore, and they were easily forgotten looking at her face.
"You seem to have a bad habit of being contrary." he said at last, a faint and playful smile curving the corners of his lips.
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:37 pm
With an answering smirk, Akila reached up to tug on Tsani's forelock. "I also know when to be contrary, Tsani," she quipped playfully, "And when the one you love asks you to be their mate, well...that's not one of those times, is it?" Taking a breath to say more, she suddenly grunted as a clutching pain gripped her for a moment, then relaxed. "Wonderful timing they've got."
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