|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 1:22 pm
 Summer suited the brown mare much better than any of the other seasons had. Sure, it could be hot and humid, but everything else was perfect. No disgusting, sticky snow, now icky mud puddles, and though many of the flowers had passed, her favorite blue orchids were in full bloom.
A small meadow is where Dusty Trails was currently wandering. It was the only place she was able to find the rare blue flowers, and she was getting ready to pluck one to replace the barely wilted orchid in her tail.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:38 pm
Rosalind flipped her near-flaxen-colored forelock out of her face, exuding a complete air of arrogance as she frowned at a bug on her hoof. It toddled about, without a care in the world. And it was on her hoof.
Squishing it without another thought, Rosalind continued forward, her eyes half-closed in an annoyed expression. The weather was hot and sticky, making her feel all sweaty and gross. Disgusting.
Smiling a little, Rosalind stopped herself from almost stepping on a bright blue flower. She remembered, as a foal, her father explaining to her how wonderful and precious these flowers were to him; how they "brought him back to the past," and how they reminded him of someone he knew.
Though she had no idea who her father was talking about, she revered these flowers all the same, and plucked one delicately with her teeth, situating it in her tail.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:51 pm
Just before the mare's lips got the chance to wrap around the orchid's stem, Dusty changed her mind. Instead, she twisted her neck around to pull the orchid from her tail, dropping it beside the one she was about to pluck. "There, now you'll grow more for when I need you." Her voice was had a slight cherriness to it, something very rare for the bitter, self-centered mare. Without another word or thought, she plucked the orchid from its home in the ground and nestled it between the soft strands of her tail.
She raised her head and closed her eyes, then took a deep breath, glad to get away from the teepee. What a relief to be all alone. When her eyes opened, however, she found just the opposite to be true. The mare's mouth curled downward into a scowl, but only long enough for her to remember that scowling and frowning caused wrinkles. So instead, her face was straight, wondering what had caused the other to come here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:00 pm
Rosalind deemed herself rather nit-picky about the orchid in her tail, smiling with pleasure as it stuck there elegantly.
Turning her head back in the direction she was planning on going, she saw someone in the distance; a brown shape surrounded by the most startling of blues. She wasn't far enough away to see the white designs almost written on her back and sides, and cocked her head to one side, confused.
She was picking orchids, and by the look of it, had picked more than her fair share. Totally not cool. At least Rosalind had the common courtesy to not pick all of them.
"Oi!" she shouted, making her way to the mare. She looked so familiar... "I'm Rosalind, daughter of Dusty Trails and Oliver. What're you doing 'round here, picking all of the flowers?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:22 pm
Dusty just stared when the other mare introduced herself. Daughter of... Who? Surely she'd misheard. "Could you repeat yourself? I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say daugter of... Dusty Trails?" What was she to do? Surely she couldn't just ignore it. She remembered Oliver quite fondly, and felt terrible for leaving him and the baskets all to different caretakers. It's just that she wasn't ready for motherhood. Perhaps she still wasn't...
Silently, she awaited the arrival of her possible daughter, both nervous and excited.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:29 pm
Rosalind sighed, frowning. Did this mare have wax in her ears, or was she just plain deaf?
"My name is Rosalind," she repeated, loud and slow. "And I am the daughter of Oliver and DUSTY TRAILS, yes." She exhaled sharply. What did the mare know about Dusty Trails?
Everytime Oliver had looked at Rosalind recently, he had told her that she looked so much like her mother, reminded him so much of her. Well, if Rosalind had met Dusty Trails, she'd... she didn't know what she'd do. But she'd give her a piece of her mind for leaving her father, the kind-hearted soul, like that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:36 pm
She couldn't help but giggle. She was able to see the frown on the other mare's face by now, but couldn't make out whether or not she had the same markings. "Well, I guess you really are your mother's daughter. And you know that frowning gives you wrinkles, right?" Dusty nodded before looking up at the sky. Wretched sun... It's causing my flowers to wilt twice as fast.
"Say, Rosalind... Did you ever get to meet this Dusty Trails of yours?" She wasn't sure how the young mare would act, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't be that great on her end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 8:37 pm
Rosalind quickly stopped smiling, preferring a blank, emotionless face over a smiling one, or ones with wrinkles. How was she supposed to be herself if she had all of these ugly wrinkles all over her face?
Rosalind shook her head. "Never met her before in my life," she said serenely. "But my father talks about her a lot. Apparently, she really broke his heart or something." She eyed the mare for a moment, a quizzical look on her face. "Why, do you know her or something?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:39 am
Now the mare couldn't stop herself. She frowned and looked down, pawing at the ground with her front hoof. "I never meant to hurt him... I was just so young," Dusty whispered to herself.
Quickly getting rid of the frown, she looked back up. "Well, Rosalind... I am Dusty Trails. Which is why I was sure I'd misheard you. How is your father doing? I do hope he's been relatively well."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:23 pm
Rosalind stepped back, her eyes wide with shock and horror. This mare, the mare so concerned with wrinkles and blue orchids, was her mother? How could she have left Oliver like that? Thoughts raced through her mind, angry thoughts, hurt thoughts, happy thoughts.
Wait a tick, happy thoughts? She did have to admit that, though it was under unbelievable circumstances, meeting her mother made her feel a tad better. At least she knew what her mom looked like, how pretty she actually was.
Rosalind hesitated to speak. After a moment, she said in a hoarse whisper, "You...?" She began laughing hysterically, but not the funny-ha-ha kind of laughter. A tear spilled down one of her cheeks, but she shook it away. "How could you have done that to him? He loved you, and you left him without a second thought!" she began shouting. "How dare you, how dare you!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:45 pm
Dusty's eyes narrowed. "He loved me? How's that? We knew each other for one day, and the next time I saw him I was pregnant. That, my child, is not known as love. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay, and care for you and your siblings, but I was much too young to even have foals. You see, I was born in the winter. You, the spring following. I just pray you don't do something like that, that you haven't already done something like that."
She remembered that narrowing her eyes could cause crow's feet, and quickly changed the expression on her face to a neutral state. The mare was both happy to meet her daughter, but angry at what her father had told her. It seemed that she was made the bad guy, and she didn't like that at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:22 pm
Rosalind was at a loss for words. She would have loved to hear that she was planned, that Dusty and her father had actually wanted to have her. But she was an accident, one that her mother regretted. And it stung.
She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. She needed to collect her thoughts, but first, she needed to get one thing straight.
"From the way he talked about you, I assumed it was love," she whispered, her eyes still closed. When she opened them, they were beginning to tear up. Damn her stupid emotions. "But, you can find out for yourself. He's supposed to be here any minute to bring me to the ocean."
She met her mother's gaze, and in a quavering voice, said hoarsely, "I've waited so long for this day... and now that it's finally here, I don't know what to do about it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:34 pm
Dusty sighed as she saw the other mare's eyes. "Rosalind, listen. Please don't think that you were a mistake, or an accident, or anything like that. Sure, I wish I could have gone back and changed a few things. Waited a little longer, been in love, but I will never regret having you. Besides, what would the world do without gorgeous mares like us around? Us with our flowers and swirls." She grinned at this. It wasn't something silly a mother would say to a small child to cheer them up, but she meant it. Surely her offspring were superior to all others'. At least in looks, anyway.
The mare let out another sigh at the thought of seeing Oliver again. What was she to do? It wasn't like she could just run away from this. She nodded, accepting it. "Well, I guess it's about time we caught up, huh?"
Her heart simply sank. For the first time in her life, the mare was rendered speachless.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:53 pm
As Rosalind soaked in her mother's words, she felt a smile slowly creep onto her lips. She tried to hold it back, but she couldn't.
"I really wish you'd have been around when I was a filly," she began. "But we'll make up for it now, like going places and exploring and having girl time!" She giggled, but stopped a second later. "If you want to, that is..." she added as an afterthought.
Rosalind looked up at the sky, the sun hanging overhead. "My dad will be here in a bit," she said, almost to herself. "But until then..." She stepped closer to her mother, pulling the fresh orchid from her own tail and placing it in her mother's.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:04 pm
She did her best to make a puzzled-looking face. "Well, I've got quite be busy schedule..." Dusty paused, "But I suppose I could fit you in." Giggling, she nodded. "Of course I want to, silly!"
Another sigh escaped the mare's lips. "Do you think he'll be upset to see me? I don't know... Like... Mad, or anything? I just don't want to upset him. I mean... I don't know where your siblings went. One was left with my father, which I'm not exactly sure that was the greatest idea, and one was left with a two-legger... Oh, I do hope they're okay. I worry about you guys all of the time." She nuzzled her daughter's cheek in thanks, a newly formed smile on her face. It was nice to know at least one of her children was doing alright.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
