[PRP] When Souls Collide (Ju and Raksh)

[Nori Ishida]

The golden mare had finally convinced herself that it would be fine to leave her sons on their own for a while. This decision had been hard for her, not because she couldn't face the fact of leaving them on their own, afraid that they would come to some danger, but because by leaving them, she was giving them the impression that they were in charge for that amount of time. She had always been the one in control, and her sons had always known that. That was just the way it was.

But lately, she had been finding that she couldn't tolerate their company for very long. Especially Huojin. Shen was a very quiet foal, and she usually didn't even know that he was around, but Huojin was a very loud and busy foal. It seemed that he was desperate for attention. This way of indirect begging always got on Ju's last nerve. She often found it hard not to yell at him. But at least she was being a better mother than hers had been to her. At least she paid her foals some attention. Her mother just completely ignored her.

Sighing happily over her newfound freedom, she strolled lazily towards a small pond, intent on getting something to drink, and maybe lazing on the banks for a while just to clear her mind and enjoy the silence and the absence of her children.  

[Nori Ishida]

He stood at the very edge of a cliff, his eyes closed as he felt the wind blow through his thick mane and tail. He was listening to the gods, their voices carried on the wind. He had been concerned about something he had recently done, and needed to hear the opinion of the gods to calm his mind. As they spoke in a language that only he could understand, he sighed. While their words were not very committal, they did give him more to consider. They had not said that what he did was bad or good, but that it was a decision that he had made, and he now had to deal with it. He had expected this, but he felt reassured that the gods believed that he was capable of dealing with it.

As he turned from the cliffside, he smiled and shook his heavy mane back from his face and looked around him. Perhaps a short rest by his favourite pond would be a good place to sit and think for a while. As he decided upon this, he set off at a trot and a smile spread across his face as he began to think about how to deal with the issue he had at hand.

However, as he approached his resting spot, he stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted something pale and golden, with streaks of black. How could this be possible? Was this a trick of the gods, or was it just coincidence that cause her to be her at the same time? Either way, it was best to seize the moment. He remembered her skittish attitude, so when he approached, he tried to be as gentle as he could. When he was a few feet away, he finally spoke.

"Excuse me...I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but may I speak with you? You see, there is something very important that has to do with both you and I."

He smiled warmly down at her, hoping that his smile would ease the suddenness of his appearance.  

[Nori Ishida]

Suddenly pulled out of her solitude, Ju swung around, her bangled ankles jingling. She lowered her head instinctively, pointing her horn at the newcomer in a defensive stance. However, she soon raised her head, as this new stranger seemed horribly familiar to her. She straightened herself out and stared at the stallion standing in front of her. She cleared her throat and spoke.

"Excuse me, but do I know you from somewhere? And it was quite rude of you to sneak up on me like that."

She made it sound as though he was completely in the wrong, as she usually did when she met somebody new. However, she could not lie to herself completely. She looked at his mane and tail, and saw the exact same colour red that covered the body of her son Huojin. And she had never known the father of her sons. She had shut out memories of the event, and had never seen the stallion again, so she never knew there was a father. She had convinced herself that she just had them on her own, and there was nobody else involved. But how could she know that this was him? Perhaps after a few questions, the answer would surface.  

[Nori Ishida]

He had expected her to react in this way. She was skittish, just as he had remembered. But he could tell immediately that she recognized him, even if she didn't know where from. He had to think carefully about how to do this. True, he had expected to have more time to work out a plan, but now that she was here, there was nothing he could do about it.

With a sigh, he looked at her, his familiar warm smile upon his face.

"Well, Ju, you do know me. We have children together. Your two sons are mine as well."

There was so much more to the situation than just making this simple statement, but he figured it was best to take it slowly, knowing how she reacted to things. He would see how she took this first bit of information, and work from there. He only hoped that she would understand and accept it. He longed to know his sons so badly and hated not being a part of their life.  

[Nori Ishida]

The statement hit her rudely in the face. She couldn't believe it, but at the same time, she knew he was right. She could see bits of him in both of her sons. She cleared her throat again, and chuckled at him.

"Of course, you can't be serious. There was no father. I just had my sons. There was nobody else."

Even as she said this, there was something screaming at her, telling her that he was telling the truth and that she had to accept it. That he would make their family better, that he would make her better. Her smile completely disappeared as she looked him dead in the eye.

"Where did you go? You never showed up. You were never there to help me take care of them. Why would you do that to me? Don't you want to see your sons grow up?"

She stared at him, waiting for an answer. She had suddenly started to remember the night that it had happened, and it was all coming back to her with a horrible feeling, yet again, she knew there was something right about being with him.  

[Nori Ishida]

Again, he was not completely surprised by her reaction. He sighed and readied himself to tell her what he knew she had to be told.

"Ju, I tried to come to you and help you raise our sons, but you pushed me away. You nearly tore me apart. You were very aggressive, and I had no other choice than to leave. I had to keep our sons in mind, and I didn't want something to happen to you on my account."

He sighed and tried to measure her reaction, or to somehow see what was going on inside her head. He chanced taking a step closer to her, wanting to show her that he truly did care for her and their children. To show her that he did love her.  

[Nori Ishida]

She stood there, her mouth slightly open, staring at him. The next word she spoke was hardly above a whisper.

"R-Raksh..."

She knew completely now that it was him. She knew his name, and she knew that he loved her. And she knew that somewhere deep down, she loved him, too.

Her eyes moved out of focus as the truth hit her, and her memories finally came back to her. The memories that she had suppressed for so long, tried to hide ever since it had happened. She remembered him coming to her, and she remembered trying to kill him, gouging at him with her sharp horn. When he stepped closer, she came back to her senses and looked up at him.

"Raksh....I...I'm so sorry....I don't know why I did that..."

She leaned forward and wrapped her neck around his, closing her eyes as a tear leaked down her cheek.  

[Nori Ishida]

He could see the realization on her face and he heaved a sigh of relief. Closing his eyes, he said a silent thank-you to the gods. He knew that somehow, they had blessed him in this endeavour and had made it work out for him and his family.

Opening his eyes, he said nothing, knowing that she was remembering everything and that everything was now falling into place for her. He allowed her to take her time to understand how everything fell into place. He couldn't rush this. He was lucky enough that she was taking it so well. He had expected it to be much harder than this.

When she leaned forward to him, his heart swelled and a tear fell from his own eye as he leaned against her, knowing that finally, it was going to be ok, that his family - no, their family - was going to be together, and that they were all going to be alright. He knew that he didn't need to say anything, but that they both understood. The thing that had been killing him for the past few months was finally resolved. He knew that it wasn't going to be a simple walk in the park from here on out, but he knew that it would be right. That he would be doing the right thing in being a part of this family. And he truly hoped that the family would grow in the future.  

[Nori Ishida]

She stayed there for a while, her eyes closed, leaning against his warm weight. She knew that having him with her would help immensely. She would be better able to deal with her sons, and that he would be there to support and help her. After a few moments, she pulled away from him and looked up into his brilliant blue eyes.

"You must come and meet your sons now. They will be thrilled to meet you. You see, I've been telling them that they have no father because....I didn't....I didn't really understand."

She paused here for a moment and lowered her gaze so that he couldn't see the shame in her face. After her slight pause, she looked back up into his eyes.

"Yes, you should meet them soon. It will be good for all of us."  

[Nori Ishida]

He positively beamed at her. He was finally going to meet his sons!

"Yes, I think that is a wonderful idea!"

However, when she lowered her head, he sighed, and smiled warmly at her. He leaned forward and nudged her chin up with his nose.

"Listen to me, Ju. I understand what happened with you. I don't hold anything against you in this situation. I am just very happy that we are all going to be a family together now."

He was being completely honest. He had begged the gods to help him in uniting his family so that they could all be together. And they had blessed him once again as they had done so many times in the past. He was eternally grateful to them and lowered his head in a silent prayer of thanks. When he looked back up into Ju's endless black eyes, he smiled at her again.

"I know that everything will work out for us. I will never leave your side, and I will take care of you and our sons, and any other children we have in the future. I am now bound to you for the rest of my life."

He looked at her, his smile still showing faintly behind the serious face he wore in the hopes that she would believe and trust him.  

[Nori Ishida]

It was now her turn to beam happily at him. She looked into his eyes and believed him whole-heartedly. She knew that he would always be there for her and that as long as he was around, she would have nothing to worry about.

"Thank you, Raksh. You have no idea what this means to me."

And she nudged him affectionately, brushing her muzzle up against his.

"Let's go see our sons, now. We're finally a family, and it will be a good night, all of us together."

She nodded and began to lead the way to the place that she usually stayed with her sons. That place would be their true home now, all four of them living together for the rest of their lives.