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 Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 1:37 am
[[SELF RP between Grencia and Yei Umeko.]] The scene is to be set - atop the slopes that oversee the Kawani lands exists a herd that has otherwise remained out of the public eye for many months. Each soquili immersed in their own life and adventures, their private lives have remained a mystery and reunions have been fleeting and otherwise unheard of. This isn't to say such things are deliberate, but while these soquili remain a pillar of strength for one another they all have lives beyond the slopes and thus news travels through a different means as opposed to word of mouth.
For many months, only two of the Islagiatt Herd had remained upon the slopes - dedicated to their endless patrols they were content in their way of life. Their relationship slowly blossoming into one neither could have possibly fathomed while young, their idealic life was not something they disputed. Comfortable in their surroundings and their duties, they reveled in each other's presence and enjoyed the simple pleasures in life.
However, while neither cared to admit it age was against them and the harsh weather conditions rarely favoured them. Despite the desire to start a family, neither held much hope outside adoption. Or at least, that was how it had been until the unpredictable eyes of the spirits turned their gaze upon the pair and granted them a very special gift...
With winter drawing near, and Yule not far behind a certain mare had some very special news.
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:01 am
There was something different about the mare, his mate, that he couldn't place. It wasn't that she moved more slowly, but she seemed to be in a daze on a more regular basis than usual. That wasn't to say she was clumsy, so much as the moment he said anything she wouldn't hear a word that came out of his mouth. If he was entirely honest, he was feeling just a little neglected!
He had initially assumed it was a phase, something that would pass by as the seasons progressed and yet it persisted. She favoured the warmth more often than not and while she continued with her patrols she still came back and immediately huddled against his side with only a soft murmur of greeting. She was definitely not quite herself and while he was 'worldly wise' in somethings, the cause of her peculiar behaviour evaded him. It was at times like these when he wished he had his mother to receive advice from.
Nevertheless, he wasn't permitted a great deal of time to mull over these thoughts as the aforementioned mare came around the top of the slope. Head bowed slightly she was in yet another of her dreamlike stupors and without a word he had already unfurled a wing to receive her - oddly, she didn't take it and upon the sight of the rainbow feathers appeared to snap out of her daydream.
Thoroughly confused, the stallion was once again uncertain of where he stood.
Did this mean her weird streak was over?
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:10 am
Ah there he was!
She would have smiled in a warmer fashion but guilt had already taken over her features. Despite all his efforts, she really had been a little out of sorts lately to the point that he was left without conversation or even affection. Well, that wasn't strictly true - she did nuzzle him frequently but it didn't take a genius to realise that the primary reason was for warmth as opposed to affection. It really had been a most unusual few weeks and like her mate she had been uncertain as to why.
Her habits had become so unusual that she had confused even herself!
Nevertheless, after much wandering and time to dwell on the subject she had at last heard the answers she sought. An explanation had drifted across the winds, the soft embrace of the spirits uttering each word into her ear as they explored the snow snow covered slopes. They had given her a gift, for all her love and care to her family and friends they had bestowed upon her one thing she had desperately wanted for a very long time - more so now that she was with her mate.
She was with child.
At first she hadn't been certain of how to react. How to express her joy at how her luck had shifted. Ever since her stallion, yes her stallion had returned to her karma had been in her favour. She had found love in him, her family were happy and healthy and now...
Oh but how to tell him! She had always thought her age would hinder her and while he had assured her that he wasn't concerned by this she had felt less on a mare. Now she had to find a way to explain it and subtlety in the face of exciting news was not something she excelled at.
Or...alternatively she could just spit it out?
"Grencia, you know I haven't been quite myself as of late...?" she began, flicking her tail against her flank as she moved closer to him and away from the wind.
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:14 am
Understatement of the year. Award to be forwarded to Yei Umeko.
Ah, but he thought of it all in jest of course. He loved his doting mare despite her faults and her sometimes oblivious nature but to be reminded that she was out of sorts was a bit of a sore spot. He hadn't had so much as a hug in the last month or so and it just wasn't fair! Patrols got mroe attention than he did but hey, he supposed he was lucky that she cuddled up to him at night - a ptrol couldn't do that.
Take that, snow!
He was acting like a total colt.
Nevertheless, as she spoke he battled hard against his own features to prevent his eyebrow from raising and gave a very controlled nod. It was about the only thing he could do outside of sarcasm and he truly did not want to leave such a sour taste in his own mouth. He loved his mate, but really she could have been a little more attentive or told him what was wrong before now...At least he would have hoped so.
Regardless, it appeared he was about to receive an explanation and as such, tilted his head to the side inquisitively after a few moments.
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:18 am
He was definitely grumpy, his pride bruised by her lack of attention and his body language revealed that. She didn't need to be so mature in order to see that, a foal could have seen it a mile off too. Alas, she didn't blame him and instead offered a mild smile in response to his expression. If there was one thing Grencia was good at, it was shutting his mouth and listening when it mattered most...something she definitely appreciated and approved of in a male.
"I figured out why - or rather I was told why," taking a deep breath, Yei flicked her ears forward and adjusted her weight from one hoof to the other. It was amazing how one little thing could apply so much pressure to the shoulders, she hadn't so much as shifted and she already struggled against the unseen weight. It was at times like this that she was glad she handled pressure reasonably well. "You see the spirits came to me...just this morning."
Get to the point. Her mind demanded impatiently, the tone almost gleeful in anticipation of the response she would receive.
"...Grencia, I'm pregnant," she breathed, the words scarcely above a whisper as though she couldn't quite believe the news herself. In a way though, the news did make sense...
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:27 am
...Wait, what...?
Grencia was rather dumbstruck for the time being as the news hit him in much the same fashion as a runaway train would hit a brick wall. While the words had been a whisper the affect had been quite a lot more, the news alone was enough to floor him. Had he been human he would have demanded space, hyperventilated then promptly flopped onto the floor with his head between his knees until he had calmed down. Unfortunately he didn't have those options and could do nothing more than gawk.
Well, it made sense...The odd mood swungs, the day dreaming and the constant need for warmth. If he thought about it she had been eating a lot more as well, or rather she had spent more time digging for food against the snow in order to feed. Perhaps all these things had been self concious to her, perhaps she had been relatively unaware of her own movements but now that the news had reached him the missing pieces of the puzzle were beginning to click into place.
Yei = Pregnant = Spaced out mare
Grencia = Father = Otherwise neglected
....
HOLY GODS I'M A FATHER!
Really, his thought process wasn't particularly difficult to follow on his face as his expression flickered and changed in response to his thoughts until he let out a very late gasp. He was going to be a father, he was going to be the proud father of Yei's foals. It was almost a little too good to believe given how long it had taken to come to such a conclusion in the first place - between amnesia and age, he wasn't sure what was worse.
He'd always had faith in her, but he couldn't deny it hadn't been a lot of work for either of them to reach this point. They had required a long period to reflect and to bond following Yei's acquisition of her memories, to expect children was an entirely different matter.
"Pregnant?" He repeated, shaking his head again in an attempt to get rid of the idiotic expression, "You're pregnant, with child...I am going to be a father?"
Rather stupid questions, but he wasn't thinking logically.
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:31 am
"That's generally what happens when a mare is pregnant, Grencia," Now she knew he wasn't that naive but she couldn't resist the window of opportunity. The brief chance to tease him about stating the obvious when he tried so hard not to more often than not. His expression alone was enough to show her his true reaction though - he had those rather dorkish eyes, bright as her own and he bubbled with pent up anticipation.
However, at the same time he appeared to be mulling over all her odd behaviour in recent weeks and as she had done a few minutes ago - had placed them comfortably into their piece of the puzzle. It all made sense but it was a wonder neither had noticed before now...then again neither had expected children, not quite so suddenly at least and she wasn't particularly far gone for her girth wasn't quite as big as she would have expected.
She had been alerted early, such was her blessing.
"We're going to be parents, not auntie or uncle...parents, our very own little ones to love and care for!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:35 am
Did she just plural her pregnancy?
"Ones?" Grencia echoed, his eyes somewhat glassy as he tried to contain his excitement. The prospect of being a father delighted him but the moment she mentioned more than one it made him pause. One foal he would be happy with, he would be positively ecstatic if he was honest. Ever one to want his own family he wouldn't question such a thing but now she was informing him she was meant to have more than one?
It was bizarre - in his former herd beyond the mountains it was positively unheard of to have twins. The weight was too much of a burden for the mare and as such she couldn't travel. It really was a worry for him but then again, Yei did have his care and that of both his bonded human and her own to tend to her. If she carried mroe than one the weight wouldn't be quite so much of an issue.
...Food would be though.
"There's more than one?" He croaked.
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:41 am
Ah but of course...Yei vaguely remembered her old herd and their breeding habits. The likelihood of twins was slim, but in the Kawani the spirits viewed things differently. It was a difficult concept for a foreign soquili to grasp and yet the affects of wandering through the Kawani were immediate - in the Kawani lands, foals always came in pairs. No one truly understood why, but no one disputed the fact either.
...One of the reasons the population of the Kawani lands were so extensive.
"Oh Grencia, have you not noticed...?" Her voice still soft the mare nuzzled at her mate in a tender manner and offered a gentle giggle. Her eyebrow raised she glanced at her own belly before returning her gaze to the stallion, "In the Kawani lands, they always come in pairs...they are never born alone," she pointed out, although a part of her wondered if this was strictly true.
Given how often she heard of foals growing up 'alone' without siblings, she wondered if there was a trend. For those foals born alone, did that mean a life of solitude and abandonment from the start? If so, it was a very sorry state of affairs - though when she asked the spirits why they usually mentioned the same thing. All those born alone were generally from foreign lands, only born upon their arrival in the Kawani.
"I am expecting twins, my love."
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:48 am
Well now that she mentioned it...Her adoptive brother had produced three children, then Biscuit had produced three children as well. It really was unusual but now that he had the answer set firmly in front of him it was easier to see the connection. When he thought about it, every little child he had met in these lands had declared they had a sibling roaming around somewhere. He'd never really thought about it much until now...but was he to assume that the mare's were built of more sturdy stuff than those from beyond the slopes?
He damn well hoped so, twins were a huge burden to carry - think of that weight!
Grencia made a pledge then and there to be the sole provider of the food, with his wings he could fly back and forth into the forest and receive foliage without having to dig for it. More to the point, it meant that his now expecting mate didn't have to clamber down treacherous slopes either. Ah, he was already beginning to plan and she wasn't even that far gone - had she wanted to she could have descended the sloeps to give birth but that would have been most unlike her.
"Twins..." he was beginning to sound like a broken record but at last the ridiculous smile was appearing on his lips, that boyish grin that she hadn't seen since he was young. "I always did say I was verile," he teased, a little part of him wishing he could fly back to his herd and declare with great pride that he was the father of twins and they could all go to hell...but he had more class than that.
It was the thought that counted anyway.
"TWINS!" He repeated and bounced from hoof to hoof before he promptly swung his wing around the mare's waist. "There are no words to express how I feel right now - but by the gods I am good!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:55 am
"You're bloody shameless, that's what you are," Yei responded to Grencia's declarations. They were all in jest of course, they had constantly teased one another about such things and while she loved her stallion he could be a plank sometimes. She supposed that for now he could be excused, evidently overcome with excitement he wasn't able to contain himself or consider his own words until after they had come out of his mouth.
...Then again, she rather liked it this way.
Evidently he had forgiven her for the neglect and with the prospect of fatherhood firmly set in his mind he was more than happy to be as affectionate as ever while declaring how he had helped the situation occur. Twins were inevitable but if it had been more then she would have declared him verile - ah...but how little she knew!
Nevertheless as he quietened down a little and gave her nose a little nuzzle she at last brought up one issue that she really needed to discuss. "I just want to do one thing though, Grencia," she murmured gently as she turned to look at him again, "I want to call one Ambroise..."
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 5:35 am
"Ambroise...?" It was a name he liked and approved of but why she had chosen it was more important. It wasn't so much a love for the name, he knew that, it was more to do with her mother and the rather unfortunate miscarriage she had endured. She'd lost a foal in that period and when asked to name it - had chosen the very same name. While beautiful it also held a very particular meaning...it meant 'immortal'.
The loss had cast a cloud on her mother, she'd grown depressed through the loss and yet with the encouragement of the Elders she had given the unborn babe a name. That alone helped, but the name was of such significance that it left a lasting impression on those who were at least reasonably close to the family at the time.
Grencia hadn't been close, but he'd heard of it from his mother who had doted on his mate for many years.
"That sounds perfect."
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 5:43 am
"Mhm..." Yei had a feeling he wouldn't have said no anyway, but the assurance was enough to make her feel more secure in her position and as such she was contented. While the events that lay ahead were daunting, the support of her mate and the knowledge that she could put her own beliefs into practice gave her strength.
A long time ago, her mother had once told her... When a baby chooses not to be born, it is a sign that the spirits do not think it is ready. The baby falls asleep again and while the shell still remains the spirit drifts into the warm embrace of the gods until the time is right. Ultimately, everything came full circle and that which drifted into a slumber would wake up again... The time just had to be right.
She had waited so long, but this gift from the spirits couldn't be ignored. Those little children that grew within her were so very special, they had slept for many years in wait for her to find her love and now they were ready to wake up. Her mother may have lost her sibling to the world of dreams but a tiny part of her hoped that perhaps now that little spirit as prepared to wake up.
One child would have the honour of that name but the other would be gifted with equally special names upon its birth - perhaps one close to Grencia if he so chose.
"I do wonder though...can you handle a hormonal mare?" She teased slightly as she snuggled against his side.
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