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 Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 3:49 pm
Neve looked at her reflection in the slowly flowing little stream, tilting her head this way and that as she tried to examine the wound on her face. It was a fine line, a slowly fading red to silvery scar. When the wind bit, it stung, as did the larger one that was on her left shoulder.
If it wasnt for the other consequence of that day, she wondered what might have happened to her. Faded away, drifted away to hide, secreted herself far from her angry, attacking mother. It might have happened, but for one..two things. Her children, the growing life within her. And Marius. She still was unsure of her exact footing when it came to their relationship, but she knew there was affection enough for her to remain with him.
With a sigh and rustle of her wings, she turned from the stream, wandering slowly along, her belly swaying a little with the movement. Starting her family had made her think of her own family..well the members that didnt want to hurt her at any rate. Nicholi..well she had not seen him since they had grown, and he wasnt what she needed. No. At a time like this, all a girl wants is her father. Finding him would be the trick though.
She cast a look skywards, as though expecting to see him winging across, crimson and black against the grey. Silly notion. She shook her head and ambled onwards.
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:11 pm
Cold as the day was, with it's hints of snow and freezing rain to come, there was something to be said for a nice stiff breeze. It kept the blood moving, inspired one to briskness of movement...hell, it certainly provided motivation to find someone to keep warm with, not that Guilian had ever needed any nudgings to consider staying warm in that fashion, of course.
In fact, that was exactly what was spurring him onwards this chilly winter day, the desire for warmth and companionship. He was on his way to meet up with Luca, having been struck with a desire for the purple mare's company, and as he had been on the opposite end of the woodlands at the time, he'd taken to the air. Now the cardinal stallion flew swiftly through the dull sky, his coat standing out like a flag against the grey.
But he wasn't the type to take no joy out of a trip; as he flew, the stallion occassionally rolled lazily and flew along at an angle, or upsidedown, looking about to see if there was anyone else out doing the same thing and then, seeing no one else even around, ramping up his own efforts.
And that was just what he was doing when something completely foreign caught his eye. It started subtly, a dark gleam of red on the ground below; it could have been his reflection, except it was too dark to be his own vibrant shade; besides, he could tell a mare a mile away, and THAT was a mare. But that color, now...
It couldn't be, could it? All the way up here...
"Neve?" Asking himself the question softly, Guilian slowed to study the mare below; it had been so long since he'd seen her; she'd been merely a filly then. But that color...
Only one way to find out, and that was by investigating. Folding in his wings, Guilian dove downwards, settling to a landing a few feet behind the mare so that his prescence wouldn't be a COMPLETE surprise... "You know I have the strangest feeling that I've met you before, Chica; or would it be more correct to say Kitten?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:18 pm
Maybe thinking of someone did make them appear. The thought flashed briefly across Neve's mind as her father landed a little way from her, starting her from her thoughts.
'Daddy!' she cried, going over and burying her nose in his wind-cold mane for a moment. His scent was very familiar, so familiar and reassuring that she felt her throat thicken, her emotions getting the better of her a few seconds. She composed herself and stood back a pace, a smile on her face at seeing Guilian.
'You look as you always do, though calling me Chica was a little disturbing.' she chuckled a little.
'I am very glad to see you though. What brings you over this way?' she asked lightly. She figured he might just possibly be on the hunt for, well, tail, but she didn't really want to know specifics. It was amazing that here she stood in a family way, yet the thought of her father's antics made her blush a little.
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:29 pm
"A Chica is a chica regardless, Neve, and it's best to err on the side of caution when not COMPLETELY certain, yes? You have changed a little from what I remember, after all!" Beaming himself, Guilian arched his own neck over Neve's, holding her close and returning the nuzzle with an affectionate one of his own. So he HAD been right, it had been her! "I must admit that I am pleased to have my hunch confirmed, though; let me see how my beloved eldest daughter has grown."
Smiling, Guilian stepped back slightly, his practised eye running quickly over Neve's body before settling once again on her eyes. "You have grown up beautifully, Neve, as beautifully as any father could have hoped." And in many ways, too; he couldn't say that he was shocked to see a pregnancy bump, but too see it on a daughter he hadn't seen in so long...well, that could be addressed later, if she wished it addressed. So many other things took precedence! Like answering questions.
Tilting his head to one side, Guilian returned Neve's query with a raised eyebrow, then chuckled. "Well, I myself happen to live up here, Kitten; these woods are my home, and I traverse them often. After all, I've never been the type to stay in one place for too often. But you being here...now THAT is strange. I realize it has been some time, but I was actually under the impression that you had stayed near your mother."
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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:40 am
'Doesn't stop it from being ever so slightly creepy,' Neve teased her father gently. She smiled at him with her eyes, holding her good wing out and holding a pose, giggling slightly at her own silliness. She was very pleased to see Guilian.
'Well thank you Daddy,' she dipped a sort of curtsey.
'I am suprised you haven't mentioned my extra poundage.' she said, moving so that her bump was prominent.
'Or are you just not being as nosey as you used to be?'
Neve nodded;
'Well I wasn't to know that was I? We've kind of fallen out of touch lately, besides I thought you wandered too much to put down roots in any one place.'
Neve's ears went back at the mention of Izusa.
'I never want to see her again.' she spat, her tail flicking with irritation.
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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 8:10 pm
"Fair point, Kitten." After all, even though she hadn't followed him around growing up with the same doggery as the boys, Neve was familiar with her father's ways (and how could she not, all things considered?) and he could concede that being given the same greeting as all others might be unnerving. Then again, he called ALL mares Chica except for his own daughters, so that might very well be a contributing factor. Not that all other mares were lovers, of course...though that was a nice thought.
Smiling at his own silliness, though, Guilian proceded to shake off those thoughts, letting his amusement at Neve's next words shine forth in his eyes. "Neve, the last time I saw you you were shorter than one of my legs; you'd have put on extra poundage if you'd so much as grown out your hair. Besides, no gentleman EVER makes comments relating to a mare's weight if he doesn't want to get in a whole lot of trouble." With that, Guilian gave Neve a conspiratorial wink, only to cough slightly at her comment about roots. "Well, I like the trees, and these woods are expansive. I have good friends up here as well as pleasant companions, and then there is also the family angle." Which he could go into later; for all he knew, Antony and Neve still hated each other as they had when they were foals. And now was hardly the time to bring up Amary and Leon...exactly.
Though on the family note, he couldn't help but frown slightly at the venom that crept into Neve's face at the mention of her mother. Though he himself had long since permanently parted ways with Izusa, he'd always assumed that Neve had stayed close to her and vice versa; after all, of their three children only she had sided with Izusa and stayed close to her territory. Part of him wondered what had happened to drive Neve away, and another part of it wondered if it had anything to do with Neve's pregnancy...or those telltale wounds that would stand out to a much less discerning eye than his.
However, first reunions were no time to start by dwelling on the negatives. Reaching out to gently stroke Neve's curled mane, Guilian gave her a smile and gestured to the soft grass. "However, speaking of the family angle, I would like a chance to catch things up with my dear eldest daughter. You look like you could do with a bit of a rest, so lay down, and we can talk about life. Yours, mine, and perhaps even the little ones growing inside you."
With the fond tenderness of a stallion who has known fatherhood, Guilian gently gave Neve's stomach a pat, his eyes shining with affection as he regarded the bump. Having done that, though, he then folded his wings and settled down on the ground, patting the grass next to him for Neve.
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:13 am
Neve joined Guilian in the grass before she addressed anything that he had just said, tucking herself against him with a small sigh.
'If I get stuck on the floor I shall blame you.' she grinned a little.
'Has it really been so very long?' she mused out loud. She was sorry that the enmity between her parents had been such that it had been so long since she'd seen her father. The feud between Antony and herself hadn't helped matters either.
'My brothers live around here as well?' she asked, curious despite herself. Antony she could barely give a fig about, but she would have liked to see Nicholi to see how he had grown.
'I'll tell it you all if you wish..my joy came from sorrow though, you have to know that first.' she took a breath, speaking of it would make her remember the attack again. She had to tell him.
'Daddy. I want to apologise for being so blinded by my mother's hatred of you. I shouldn't have listened to her, she poisoned me against you. I always loved you but I judged you. It was never my place..' she bit her lower lip before continuing.
'You need to know, about what Izusa did. My scars..she did those. She attacked me when I went to see her with a stallion. She was going to attack him, I stepped in and we fought..' she fell into silence, looking at the ground.
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:42 am
As Neve settled, Guilian draped a wing over her and held her close, just as he had when she was small. Things were different now, but there was a kernel of truth to the old saying 'the more things change, the more they stay the same.'
"Antony, yes; at least to a certain degree. That one seems to have taken the wanderlust even more to heart than I, and has a much larger territory he calls home. He knows how to find me, though, and is good at dropping by. Nicholi occassionally makes his way here, but the spirit of the wind has a firm hold on his soul, it would seem; last I heard, he was heading out towards the farther mountain reaches to see what he can see. I don't doubt he's enjoying the experience, at that; he was always a very bold stallion. But it seems that you too are a bold one, my dear little Kitten."
Dismissing the apology as something that didn't even need addressing, Guilian frowned at Neve's revelation regarding Izusa. To think that it had come to that...Izusa had attacked one of her own children, and the one that had proved most loyal, at that! Antony had told Guilian their last meeting that he had met Izusa again, but made no mention of any violence or attacks; that she had gone after Neve...
"This stallion of yours; he is not a kalona, is he, Neve?" That had to be it. Why else would Izusa have turned a blind eye to Tony when he was the one least like her personality-wise, only to physically attack her daughter? "You brought a non-kalona to meet your mother..."
Sighing, Guilian shook his head. How many times had he looked back on his time with Izusa and wondered? Wondered what had possessed him, wondered what danger he'd put himself into, wondered what damnable pride on her part made her so resistant to simple Soquili urges? She had enjoyed herself, that much he knew, but the aftermath...the foals...she had been so angry and so jealous and so possessive, but never truly able to get his non-kalonaness out of her mind. He'd stuck it out for the kids as long as he could, but always knew that even though having two parents was a positive, having two fueding parents only made things terrible for the kids. Hadn't he seen them struggle, being forced to choose sides? And look at what had happened.
"Your mother is a very proud creature, Neve; she couldn't admit to weakness in herself, and I assume that seeing that same weakness manifested in her child was no picnic for her. To this day, I can't get my mind around all of what has happened to me in my life, Kitten, with that particular saga right near the forefront. I am sure that she does love you, deep down...but that love is blinded by too many other things to be tangible, most likely." Things like insanity, for starters. "But let ME tell you something, Neve; you are my daughter, and whether you are a celibate, a lover, a lifemate, or a player, I love you very much and am proud of you. Standing up to a parent in the metaphorical sense is hard enough, but in the physical sense, and she being a kalona..."
Trailing off, Guilian gently nuzzled Neve's muzzle. "I am glad to see that you are still alive."
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:04 am
Neve closed her eyes at the draping of her father's wing; comforted and feeling secure. If she could have her filly days back again, she was sure she would live them differently. Maybe it would have made her different though.
'I don't know about that Daddy, I've not wandered very far from what I called home, and I never felt that I needed to.'
She listened quietly as Guilian spoke, and nodded before speaking;
'His name is Marius.' she said.
'When I took him to meet Izusa it was going to be just for sport, he seemed like such a closeted stallion, had seperated himself from life experiences.' she still kicked herself for such a decision, but if she had not, then she wouldnt be in her current condition and she felt so blessed that she wouldnt give up the experience for the world.
'Daddy, I don't even look anything like a Kalona, if it were not for my hooves and teeth you couldnt tell that she was even my..mother.' she sighed, and spoke in a bitter tone;
'Besides, I thought that she had some love for me, I'd always been her faithful daughter, and I don't think that is true at all Daddy.'
She was surprised that he could speak of Izusa in so generous a fashion.
'There might have been something once, but I think she has become even more dangerous. She's regained at least some of her sanity...' her voice trailed away.
Neve's nose tingled and she pressed it against Guilian's neck until she could speak again.
'I love you too Daddy. I guess I am just worried. I think I'd always hoped that any children I bore would have two grandparents. They can never meet her.'
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:27 am
Guilian himself would have to disagree on at least a few things regarding Neve's comment about her own likeness to Izusa; for one, she sported Izusa's rune markings and hints of her colors; for another, she was a touch larger than the average non-kalona mare...but then, if she hadn't met non-kalona mares, she might not realize that. Look at the boys, after all; both Nicky and Tony dwarfed Guilian when beside him! But he understood what she meant, he supposed.
Moving on to happier subjects, Guilian perked his ear slightly at the sound of a specific name. "I take it that this Marius is the father, yes?" In his experience, one did not name names unless they were significant! "And is there something more, Kitten, if you don't mind my asking? Something such as a monogamous relationship, perhaps?" Having never understood romantic love or the desire to be monogamous, Guilian was always at least a little bit curious about the concept; how anyone could restrict themselves so was baffling. But that name...why name a name if there was no significance, indeed?
But his smile took on a slightly wry tint at Neve's wistful words; he himself had always doubted that it would be possible for his grandchildren to truly know both grandparents, as he and Izusa were so different; any stallion Izusa 'approved' of would likely be a true stereotypical kalona, which meant said stallion would hardly approve of his kids meeting their wind grandfather. Then again, he doubted that such a kalona would be willing to mate with a half-breed anyway...
Shaking his head, Guilian gave Neve a pat. "You and your brothers have a complicated and sometimes dangerous path to walk, Neve; while I do not regret any of you, I DO regret that you had to be born into lives of such tumultuousness. I cannot even begin to say how much it saddens me that all three of you must suffer because I have feathers." Smiling wryly, Guilian fanned the feathers at the edge of one wing to look at them thoughtfully, then sighed and returned the wing to his side. "Yet somehow, in spite of adversity, all three of you manage to keep me proud."
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:44 pm
'Of course!' Neve spluttered a little. How promiscuous did he think she'd been? She bit back a cheeky retort of how she wasn't him, and smiled faintly as she thought about Marius.
'He is the father yes. And..he is the only one I've had relations with, and I think of him with great fondness.' she said delicately. Their relationship still hadn't been properly defined, and she still hadn't fully realised her own feelings for the swirled stallion.
She nodded along at his words, taking them in and then chuckling a little.
'I happen to like my wings Daddy, I'm glad you bear feathers.' she rustled her own wings before letting them settle.
'They..well I might not have gotten initial attention if I didn't have them.'
She tugged on his mane curls, and teased him;
'Daddy, are you getting maudlin in your old age?' she smiled sweetly at him, fanning her bump lazily with the wing that wasn't tucked against his side.
'I know that my children will at least have their Grand-daddy to spoil them. And I am glad for that.'
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:58 pm
Well, that was something, anyway. Regardless of his own views on romance and love, if Neve wanted to hold herself to one, that was her choice. Hopefully things wound up working out between them, though; in his experience, it was monogamous relationships that ran the most danger of emotional pain.
"Glad to hear you like the wings, Nevelet; I must say that all three of my wind winged children wear them well. And obviously they are the dominant gene, if those numbers are any indication." Chuckling at that, Guilian nevertheless gave her a light whap on the head at the 'old' crack. "Old, indeed. You are only as old as you feel, Neve, and I doubt I'll ever feel old. I'll be dandling great-great-grands and still be young as ever! And on that note..."
Since he'd already spilled the beans with his 'three wind' comment, he might as well finish his own story. "You probably don't know but will likely believe that you've got some half-siblings, Neve; two, as a matter of fact, Amary and Leon. Both are fully-grown adults, and both tend to spend at least part of their time in the woods; if you're staying around the area, you might wind up meeting them at some point!" Nice thought that that was, all his kids in one place. Roughly.
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:25 pm
A look of puzzlement crossed Neve's face as her father commented on 'all three of his wind winged children'. Maybe he really was getting old.. she poked the tip of her tongue out at Guilian in an impish fashion, and was about to say something to that effect when he explained himself fully.
'Oh..'
She couldnt really think of much else to say straight away; it would of course explain some of his absence.
'I would of course believe it of you, yes,' she nodded, before asking;
'Three children wasn't enough for you then?' she chuckled, shaking her head a little. Her mother must never know. She was going to ask if either of her half-siblings took after Guilian but instead she said;
'Does Izusa know of their existence?'
Neve assumed not, that would be something her 'mother' would have railed about, loudly. This was the first she knew, so hopefully Izusa did not know either.
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:37 pm
Seeing Neve brought up short was nothing if not amusing, and once again Guilian found himself chuckling. "Silenced so soon, Kitten? And here I thought you would have assumed I have 20 children by now!" Still, he couldnt' say he was surprised that the news was at least startling to her; it wasn't something that she would have necessarily known.
Which was why her question was so laughable, in its own way. In response, he merely raised a brow at her, his bemused silence more than enough of an answer. Izusa never came to these parts, he'd never gone back to her territory, his younger kids had been born and brought up in the woods far from Izusa's burial ground or Kawani society as a whole. No, he seriously doubted she did.
"Obviously three wasn't enough, Neve; for all I know, five isn't enough either. Luckily for me I do love children, yes?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 6:57 am
'Well I didn't think you were that prolific..' Neve giggled at Guilian. His expression said it all, she didn't think he was likely to have actually told Izusa about his other children, but still she worried.
'Lucky for you, yes..'
She flicked her tail lazily, letting the curls fall in a soft heap against her legs.
'Lucky for me as well I would suppose. I didn't think..' her words tailed away into silence.
'Well, I think it's besides the point now what I thought, or didn't think. What's done is done.'
Neve settled against Guilian again.
'You'll have to meet Marius at some point..' her voice sounded a little drowsy now. She wasn't sure if her father meeting her..her - special friend was a good idea but she would be damned first if she was going to let more of her family fall away.
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