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 Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:56 pm
 It was sunset six days since he'd last seen her, but he was so full of roiling emotions that he didn't know what else to do but wait for her. As the sky was painted the colors that always reminded him of her, he perched up on the high outcropping against the mountainside, squinting against the fierce last daylight that still fought it's way above the horizon.
What a week it had been. And all because of his sister urging him to get out more, to socialize. Well, socialize he had, with extremely mixed results. With a bellyful of raspberries and a heart full of questions, he waited. The sun slid beneath the edge of the world, and still he waited. It wasn't that he was expecting her, necessarily. But somehow she always seemed to know when he needed her. It had been just that way when they were foals. He'd have his feelings hurt by some random encounter with a bully, and in moments she'd be there, defending him and comforting him.
Now as adults, he rarely felt such an urgent need for her company, but of all the times he had, she had come. But tonight... he needed her more than ever. Noone else could understand how the gambit of events had effected him. Only his beloved sister would listen, not laugh at the wrong spots, and would support him in his dismay and confusion.
And so he waited, as the colors bled from the sky and the first stars began to twinkle in the grey dusk. And he did not wait in vain.
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Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:08 pm
Though only six days had passed since their last meeting rather than the usual seven, the setting sun saw Amary once again winging her way through the sky towards the mountains. Call it a premonition, a sixth sense, or a mental call; all Amary knew was that she'd felt a pull, as though it were very important that she see Leon as soon as possible. And if she was going to see Leon, then there was only one place to go.
And she wasn't disappointed; as she flew closer she could see the brightness of purple against the cold gray of the mountain's stone, indicating that her brother was indeed there...which meant she was right.
What, she wondered, did he have that was so urgent it couldn't wait another day? In the past, such occassions had cropped up but rarely; off the top of her head she had no idea when he had last had something so important to tell her; she had to admit that it piqued her curiousity in ways few other things could!
For that reason, she was a bit more direct in her progress tonight, skipping the aerial acrobatics and merely gliding in to land beside her brother and flashing him a cheeky grin. "What's a sweet-looking guy like you doing in a place like this?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:54 am
He'd seen her coming, and welcomed her with his typical neigh. When she landed, he replied to her teasing question. "I am waiting for an angel from the skies to alight beside me to bring me comfort and words of wisdom in my time of need." He smiled and chuckled. "What do you think I was doing, 'Mary? Waltzing with the mountain?"
Without much more greeting than that and a nuzzle, he jumped down and trotted purposefully into the darkened forest. Everything was very still tonight, lacking a lot of the nighttime chirpings and buzzings and rustlings. Perhaps a storm was on its way. Wouldn't that be a perfect way to top all this off?
He stopped in the first glade they came across, turning around to face his sister. "I need your help straightening my head out," he confessed without preamble. "I'm all mixed up and haven't a clue what to do about it all." With a massive sigh that ended in a grunt, he threw himself on the soft grass. "This week had turned my world upside down."
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:21 am
"Angel, indeed; now you're just trying to get on my good side with shameless flattery, silly boy. And what, you're anti-waltzing now?" Giggling, Amary trotted along with her brother, her small frame dwarfed beside his own as the two made their way down the mountain. However, when Leon stopped right away rather than continuing on to their usual place she knew that her hunch had been right, that something big was happening...and when he spoke, that was the nail in the coffin.
Watching Leon, she cocked her head to the side, regarding him as he flopped down in what may or may not have been dejection. This was a big deal, alright, so, without preamble herself, she flopped down as well. "Well, let's hear what's got you in a tangle, and we'll see where we can go from there!" Though her tone was light, she was all business, as Leon could undoubtably see from her serious countenance. "From the beginning?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:29 am
He gave her an ironic look at her suggestion to start at the beginning. "You, my dear sister, are the beginning." He snorted a soft laugh and shook his head. "You told me I should go out and meet more soquili, be more social, wander from home. So I did." He paused for a few moments, mulling.
"At first it wasn't too bad." He flashed her a smile, lit by the rising sliver of moon. "I met a mare that dreams as I do, spinning stories and fancies at a whim. She was a sweet and kindly thing. And meeting her gave me a little confidence." He frowned hten, ears going back. "Maybe a little too much confidence." He then proceeded to inform her of his entire encounter with the sea-mare, leaving nothing out. His tone of voice was strained, and he spoke softly, not meeting her eyes. This was the hardest part, though with Amary it wasn't so very hard unburdening himself like this to her.
"In short, I made a complete and utter fool of myself," he concluded with an agonized groan ending in a snort. He paused for her reaction, and to give himself a break from speaking. This was only half the story, after all, but he wanted to hear what she had to say about it before continuing.
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:43 am
...Well then.
Though initially amused, Amary's expression shifted from one emotion to another over the course of her brother's narrative to excitement and pleasure, shock, disbelief, and utter sympathy. By the time he was done with the story, she was right beside him, one wing draped over his back and her head resting on his shoulder.
"Oh, Leon...I don't think you made a fool of yourself." First, assuage wounded feelings; THEN tackle the problem. "From what I can determine, this mare of yours was definitely a mare about town, so on one side you didn't do anything wrong that you'd have to feel bad about. She obviously enjoyed herself, after all, like I KNEW any girl would do." Pride in her brother's prowess shone out as she spoke, if only for a moment before being once again subsumed in the clear, analytical tone she was using, but that pride was still there. Of course Leon was a great lover! "On the other hand, I won't argue that it couldn't have been better. Only you, Leon, could meet and thoroughly mate with a mare in the realm of your mind. That's a potential turn-on in the right circumstances, you know."
Though she doubted he'd be appreciative of that, so she was quick to hustle on. "Was she cruel, then, when you realized that she was only playing and thought you were?" She'd better not have been; games were well and good, but not meanness!
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 1:50 pm
He mentally avoided acknowledging his sister's confidence that he was a good lover. It wasn't something he wanted to think about or consider. And he had never meant to 'sleep around' at all. But now he had. he heaved a deep sigh, blowing gustily through is nostrils.
"I didn't give her much of a chance to be rude or kind," he admitted. "I simply ran. Literally." He flicked ears and tail uncomfortably, aware how much of a coward he sounded. "I just wanted to get away," he explained. "To avoid further humiliating myself around her. She was pretty enough, but one never knows what a pretty face is capable of." Especially when that pretty face had just made light of his courageous commitment to her.
"I ran all day, then rested," he didn't mention his collapse, for stallion dignity has its bounds, after all. "The next morning, as I sat staring at the ground, another mare came along and tried to be helpful." He snuffled the grass, avoiding her gaze again. "I... uh... didn't hear her coming. And I sort of... freaked out." With yet another heavy sigh he explained all that had happened with that meeting and the resultant tingly feelings and warm affection he'd discovered in getting to know her better.
"And that has left me rather confused," he added. "I mean, after that other mare, I don't really trust my own feelings." He tossed a curl out of his face to gaze peladingly with Amary. "Even so, I did feel drawn to her. I just don't know. I wasn't pretending this time, after all." His wistful, mournful voice matched his expression. "So could it be I'm fooling myself again? Or could this be... well, worth trying?" He hesitated to say, "the real thing" and opted for the safer version. leon's whole demeanor was pensive and nigh on despairing. Would nothing go right with him and his heart?
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:36 pm
When it came to romance, one thing that was obvious about the two siblings was that they were from two different worlds. While Leon mournfully related his tale of humiliation and woe at the hooves of the sea beauty, Amary was wondering why Leon didn't stay and avail himself of an obviously willing mare a bit more. As he shifted his topic over to that of the second mare, she was still mulling over what exactly had set him off so badly with regards to the first...well, until one little thing really grabbed her attention.
"Worth trying? Oh my gosh, do you mean like...as a more permanent sort of thing?" Straightening up more, Amary wiggled closer to Leon, her eyes wide and almost childlike in her attempt to figure out what Leon meant. The attraction and tingly feelings she understood well, feeling them frequently whenever a well-toned stallion happened to cross her field of vision, but those thoughts tended to lead straight to a prvate place and a lot of intimacy. Somehow, she didn't get the feeling that this was the same thing.
But still, he sounded almost like he wanted to court this other mare! "I mean, you say 'drawn'; do you mean that in the sense that you want to sleep with her, or do you want to sleep with her and actually have more than that?" That sounded kinda like their father, actually; he liked to have deep and lasting friendships with his mares, just look at his with their mother! That had to be what Leon meant, right?
"Because if that's what you want, then you should totally try for it! Cause from the sound of it, I think she liked you too, brother 'o mine." Though she'd have to observe to be certain, some of what Leon had said about the other mare sounded distinctly like the other mare was attracted to Leon, too! "when you fall, you have to get back up; letting one bad experience ruin your life means you'll be sad and lonely FOREVER."
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:15 pm
Snuggled beneath her wing, he turned a puzzled look to her. He hadn't really thought that just because she didn't wish to commit herself to one stallion, that she might not think he would want to. To her question, he bobbed his head. "Well, yes....," he trailed off as she rushed on to encourage him. For once, he felt even more confused after her input, rather than less.
"I know, I don't want to be lonely," he replied, head hanging. "I want someone I can depend on, who always wants me there and is always there for me." He swished his curly tail, tangling it with hers briefly. "But I just don't know if thare really is that one mare for me. The one who will love me back, who is safe to love." Mournful again, he murmured the last, "I dont' know if I should look for that in Gemma or admit to myself that I'm a lost cause." Because that was how he felt, just then. Who would want a stallion that had used a mare in a dreamstate, then been dumped by the same mare? Resignedly he shared that thought with her before falling into silence, dejected despite his sister's encouragment.
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:49 pm
Well, not wanting to be lonely was something that Amary could sympathize, even if she didn't exactly understand the intent. Somehow, she felt that she was missing an important part of what Leon was getting at.
But she was confident that she'd come to understand it in time. Nestling against Leon's side, she gave her brother a reassuring nuzzle. "Well, you're never gonna know if you don't at least try, right? Think about it, Leon; you're always so supportive of me, you ought to think about what that support entails and try it yourself. Things'll work out, I know it."
And if that wasn't a vote of confidence, she didn't know what was!
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:55 pm
He nodded slowly and thoughtfully at his sibling's words. While they were entirely true, he also feared another frightful disappointment like last time. But... now that he had Amary by his side, he had to admit to himself that he probably gave that sea-mare a terrible shock when he started talking about their future. So perhaps... perhaps taking it slow and easy was the key? He inquired quietly, sharing his newfound thought with his sister. "Do you think this could really work, if I just don't jump in with all four hooves and declare undying love?"
He leaned against her, treasuring their closeness. If only he could find a mare who was willing to be there for him like she was. He breathed her scent softly and enjoyed the safety of her wing about him. Could love really be better than this after all? It had never occured to him. But now... with visions of a jeweled mare in his mind's eye, he began to wonder for the first time. Could there be someone more perfect than 'Mary?
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:07 pm
At Leon's rather melodramatic words, Amary almost managed to keep a straight face, burying her face in her brother's mane so that her grin wouldn't be so obvious. Then again, he probably realized as he was speaking how silly he sounded; as though he was likely to declare undying love to a stranger when he WASN'T in a dream state!
"Well, from my point of view I'd say that you have at least a chance, Leon; take it steady and be yourself, and I just know that things will work out." Sighing happily at the very idea of the happy little domestic scene thus envisioned, she suddenly turned and gave him a nudge. "So, tell me more about Gemma. If she's the frontrunner for bearing my neices and nephews, I think I ought to know about her!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:10 pm
Leon choked, gulped noisily, and promptly scrambled to his feet. "Ah, I think I left a stream running back home!" he hurriedly rambled. "We can talk again another time! Love you!" He planted a quick kiss on her warm cheek and then bolted out of the glade, his hoofbeats reverberating in the unusually quiet nighttime forest.
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:17 pm
Watching her brother take off as though the hounds of hell were at his heels, Amary found her grin widening. This mare must be really be something if Leon couldn't even talk to HER about her, and that meant that she ought to be worth meeting.
Rising to her feet, the mare tossed back her curls, looking off into the direction Leon had gone. He certainly was exhuberant, if nothing else...
Yes, she would be looking forward to hearing how this worked out. Leon might have even more to say than her, the next few times they met...and she would be looking forward to that.
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