[PRP] A Fateful Meeting (Lyssa and Bliss)

[Katjive]

It had been quite the day. Lyssa had been out traveling, trying desperately to match up to her sister's track record of exploring the world. She forced herself to explore new lands, even though she possessed no love of foreign lands like her sister did. Oftentimes, she wondered why she was even traveling at all. Then she would remember the look her mother got on her face when Alyna had returned with stories of her adventures...and a sea of jealousy would wash over Lyssa's heart. It just wasn't fair...it seemed her mother favored her eldest daughter instead of her youngest.

Lyssa was determined to earn her mother's favor. She would show her that she was just as good as her sister, even though she hated traveling, and would rather just stay in one place for the rest of her life. But if exploration was the way to get back into her mother's good graces...then by jove, she would explore.  

[Summer Raaven]

There was ups and downs to knowing ones family. For starters, a good thing is having someone always there for you, to love you no matter what happens. Having a home to return to. But there was always the heartaches that no one could escape. Jealousy. Loneliness. Bliss never met his parents, nor his sister (he didn't even know he had one) but it was all the same to him. He was happy not knowing his family. He created one all by himself, with mares that birthed his children and then ran off. With pain came Vanilla Swirl, then her children who Bliss viewed as his children too. Then Evelyn gave him his boys, and his boys gave him more grandchildren.

The old, washed out stallion was happy with what he had, he didn't need it differently. He was the head of the family, the one that everyone else depended on for comfort and advice, even though he couldn't provide good support. He was their shoulder to cry on.

So not knowing the creatures that birthed him had helped him. What if it was different....what if he knew his parents and they disapproved of his actions? Emmett lived to please his father, and Ian lived to please Bliss. Would he be the same with his own father? Would he never have knocked up the mares that he did, would his children never been born? Of course these are rhetorical questions, Bliss never lay awake thinking of these things. All he knew was that he was happy with what live handed him, and didn't care otherwise.

But after loosing Milkshake to heaven knows what, and Evelyn to Kureno....Bliss's heart fell apart. He had his children, but none of them were his equal. He wanted someone unrelated by blood to be by his side, to protect him when HE needed it, and to help him. Would he find that someone? Or would that someone just end up knocked up again and run off...

Only time could tell, and he would wait...he would wait.

The old stallion lay next to a river that was quickly melting back to normal, his purple eyes gazing at his own reflection...

....only time could tell.  

[Katjive]

It just wasn't fair. Why did she feel so compelled to follow in her sister's hoofprints? Lyssa fumed at the injustice of it all. Of course, her sister had also been a delinquent, but that hadn't seemed to matter much to her mother. Lyssa frowned. When Alyna had come home with a young foal in tow, Lyssa had been sure that the scandal would give her a chance to shine. She could do better than her sister.

But it was not to be. Her mother, although she disapproved, had been overjoyed to be a grandmother. Which left Lyssa trapped, as always, in the shadow of her eldest sibling. Lyssa wondered if she would ever want to return home. Her family was loving, but...she was a black sheep, and always would be.

So, she wandered, not knowing, or caring, where she was going. So far, it had been quiet, and she had met few other Soquili. She was beginning to think that no one else really lived out here. She didn't want to be doomed to silent existence, with no one but the crickets for company.

She walked along a half-frozen riverbank, seeing no one and expecting to see no one, her head down as she contemplated her decidedly bleak future.  

[Summer Raaven]

Every parent had a favorite, whether they chose to admit it or not. It tended to either be the first born, or last....depending on the time and place, or the gender of the creature. Vanilla Swirl's favorite of all 6 of her children was her last born son, Whirl...and she made it obvious to the world. She didn't care if it offended the rest of them, because it was her opinion and not theirs.

Bliss's favorite was 'Nilla. She always has been, and always would be, he assumed, until maybe he had another daughter. But 'Nilla was born and given to him when there was no body else. Bliss had nothing, and it was just the two of them for a long.....long time. He had grown to love her deeply, more than he could ever imagine. So the stallion had a reason for choosing a favorite, but that still didn't make it right. At least that's what his son told him one day, out of what appeared to be jealousy.

So Bliss tried to love all his children the same, but the situation was different, he had a family now, and it wasn't just 'Nilla that relied on him, or that he relied on. He didn't know how to change his mind on something that was already set in stone...

But there was always the possibility of a 'new favorite'. Always.

Hoofsteps in the short distance told the dark stallion that something was approaching. Something, as he couldn't tell what it was...that was, until he snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head. A mare! What?! Oh, seriously? A mare! Fancy that, how unbelievably convenient! The old stallion shot up quickly, the mare seemingly unaware of his presence. "HELLO!" He shouted, although she was definitely close enough to not need that loud of an introduction.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME?"  

[Katjive]

Lyssa jumped, as a ridiculously loud voice shattered her thoughts. Who in their right mind would be shouting? She looked up, intent on giving whoever it was a piece of her mind.

"Hey! Don't you know that I'm right here?!"


She had intended to follow through with a series of insults, but...the shouter was a stallion, and a handsome one at that. Her heart rose and lodged itself in her throat, stifling her desire to shout insults until she was blue in the face.

"Um...hi there." She moved closer to him, curious about this strange new male. "You know, if you'd wanted my attention, you could have done it a little less startlingly." She batted her eyelashes at him, purely for emphasis' sake. Or so she told herself. My, wasn't he handsome!

She decided to have some fun and then go about her business. This one would surely be like all the others males she had met, interested in a pretty face but not the mind behind it. He wouldn't want to stay by her side.  

[Summer Raaven]

Oh, oops. Maybe he should have thought this one through beforehand. Now this mare probably thought he was a bumbling idiot, like the rest of them. But in his defense she did look as though she was lost in thought, and he knew from experience that if someone is lost in thought, the outside world seems less important.

"I wasn't sure if you could hear me or not." Bliss grinned at her with that capturing boyish charm of a grin, which he perfected over the years. The mare was real pretty, she was a beautiful shade of nature like she belonged in the woodland forest. "I'm sorry that I startled you miss I won't do it again. But yes, I did want your attention. You're a very pretty mare, and I haven't really talked to anyone but my family in a long time. So it's nice to see an unfamiliar face." Bliss laughed, and walked closer to her to take in better the sight before him. That eyelash batting made him very happy to see, perhaps she was an expert in the flirting department like he?

"My name is Bliss, lovely lady...what's yours? And can I ask why you're out by yourself? An old stallion like me can understand the need to be alone, but how about some company? I could use it, and I'm sure you could too!"

Boy, she was a pretty one. And those eyes...what a lovely shade of blue!  

[Katjive]

Lyssa smiled. "Pretty, huh?" She laughed softly. "Well, I suppose I forgive you for startling me, then. Anyone who can compliment a lady like that shouldn't be scorned by one." Lyssa smiled coyly, moving a hair closer to the handsome stallion. Yes...he was like any other. But, that was fine with her. A girl needed to be flirted with some, it made her feel better about herself.

"My name is Lyssa. It's a pleasure to meet you, Bliss." She flashed him another smile, then sighed softly. "I'm out here because I can't really go home. But that's my problem, not yours. I don't want to burden you with it." She said, adding all the dramatic effect that was required. After all, he probably didn't want to know about her problems. If he was the same, like all the others, he wouldn't care. She suppressed a bitter sigh, and turned her attention back to flirting with Bliss.

"I could use some company, thanks. It is rather lonesome out here all by myself..." She looked him over once more. He was very handsome, it was true. And his eyes! Such a beautiful violet. One could get lost in those eyes... She blinked, snapping herself out of her daydreaming. It was useless to hope for things that could never be. He would be like all the others, and she knew that meant she couldn't afford to get too attached.  

[Summer Raaven]

"Indeed, I do not lie, miss. I do not lie. I can't actually, I'm not really sure how to. So yes, you are very pretty." He spoke with utter honesty, for the stallion was at a loss on how to lie. The facial expressions he used when he lied, and the way he stuttered across his words were obvious giveaways. "Thank you miss, thank you very much! I am a simple stallion, though, I don't need to be treated like a knight." Bliss grinned at Lyssa with that boyish grin once again, having not a clue as to what he was doing to her. Bliss was after all, a simple stallion, like he said. He just existed, there was really nothing else to it. He existed to produce children and continue a line....he wasn't on the earth to do anything special.

"Lyssa is such a pretty name, it sort of fits with mine, does it not? I like the way that sounds, Lyssa and Bliss. Hmm....." Not trying to be too forward, the old stallion had a dreamy look transform on his handsome face. "Why can't you go home, pretty Lyssa? Shouldn't it be easy? Or did you loose your way? Sometimes I forget where I'm supposed to settle, but I always find it eventually. Maybe I can help you find it? Or maybe there is something wrong with your home? Please, it's not a big deal, you brought it up so now I want to help." He had not a clue as to what she really meant, but was 100% willing to help her whichever way she needed to be helped. Even in the truth, he'd offer to knock her up to please her mother if that was the case.

"Then company you shall get, my dear! I'm good at company, if nothing else. Yup, I love giving company. Especially to creatures who look lonely." He did, he loved helping others, even in situations he didn't know how to help...he just loved it. But in the past, when he gave other mares company, he usually ended up with children.

Although an ignorant foolish stallion never learns from his mistakes....  

[Katjive]

Lyssa blinked, a slightly confused look on her face. On one hand, this stallion seemed a big flirt, but...on the other, he really seemed to care about her, too. She didn't know what to make of him, how he was so forward with his flattery and flirtations, but also exuded compassion and sincerity. "I...I suppose it does, a little." She smiled, thinking that maybe their names were meant to be together.

Snap out of it, Lyssa!

She shook her head at the thought. No...she had to remember that he was like the others. He would use her and then leave her, just like that stallion did to her sister.

She smiled at Bliss, a sad sort of smile, when he asked her why she couldn't go home. "It...it's complicated. I suppose I could go home any time I choose, but...I don't want to go home without being a brave explorer like my sister...because if I can do that, then maybe mom will love me as much as her."

She looked up at him, a shocked expression on her face. "You would stay with me?! Keep me company?" She smiled a genuine smile, the first one she had given him. "I'd like that." She moved over next to him, giving him a friendly nuzzle. "You know, you're really nice... Thank you, for being so kind to me."  

[Summer Raaven]

Oh! She agreed with him! Did that mean he wasn't coming off too forward? Or stupid? Yay! She might actually come out to be a friend if she put up with comments like that! Bliss was utterly overjoyed to hear her agree with the name comment, even though it didn't mean anything....

...it did to him! "Of course it does, Lyssa! I just need to add an a at the end of my name and it sounds perfect! Like a poem or a riddle!" He got a tad closer to her then, only a few feet lie between them. Her eyes! They were a gorgeous shade of blue....very light, like the water.

...Wait what? Her mother did not love her as much as her sister? The old stallion couldn't wrap his head around that idea, even though unknowingly, he was doing the very same thing to his sons. Vanilla Swirl was his first born, when he had nothing...no mares, no grandchildren....it was just her and him for years. He loved his daughter with everything he had, which left his sons in the dust. But Bliss was unaware of that. "I'm sorry Lyssa that sounds horrible! All you need to do is go exploring? Oh dear that sounds easy, doesn't it? Maybe you should come home with a surprise, something that no one in your family would ever dream of doing!! Then that's sure to get your Mother's approval!"

When she nuzzled him, a warm fuzzy feeling was sent traveling through his spine. "You're welcome, and of course I'd stay with you! I'm not going to be rude to a pretty mare, especially one that's in need of help. How about I join you on your adventure? I don't know much about exploring, but I do want to help! I want your Mother to love you, I know my children would be sad if I didn't love them..."

Bliss nuzzled her back, not meaning to make it seem the way it probably did. HE was just being friendly.  

[Katjive]

She smiled. He said he had children, but he behaved in such a childlike manner that she found it hard to believe. His outlook was refreshing to her. If he could retain such a blissful view of life, even still...perhaps the world wasn't all bad after all.

"But...what could I possibly do that my sister hasn't done? She's done everything...she seems so perfect." She frowned, her blue eyes clouding over in frustration as she tried to think of something Alyna hadn't done.

Of course he'd stay...

He seemed like such a gentleman, and for a moment, Lyssa believed that he was different. That maybe he wouldn't be like the others. "I...I would be very happy if you stayed with me on my journey. I don't know much about exploring either, so...we'll just have to figure it out together, okay?"

When he nuzzled her back, his touch warmed her very heart. She smiled at him again, her blue eyes fastened securely on his violet ones. "You...you really are a nice guy, aren't you?"  

[Summer Raaven]

Bliss was perfectly unaware of the hardships in life, even in his own. If something went wrong he didn't muse over it at all, he just simply said, 'oh well' and it was over with. Frankly, the large stallion didn't know how to act in a tough situation, thus why he acted the way he did.

Perfect? Wasn't that the word that didn't have a definition? Wasn't that the word that others had taught him not to say? He blinked at the mare before him, trying to think of a response. "Uh, do it better than her?"

Good! His ears were begging to hear her say that and she did! So now he had another traveling companion, someone who was willing to put up with his ignorance, someone willing to spend time with him. Of course he had yet to learn of his past mistakes when spending time with mares, so that didn't cross his mind. Lyssa would just be a friend and he'd try to help a friend out.

"Sounds fun! If we mess up we mess up together! We'll have fun no matter what!"

What she said next made him pull back and stare a completely glossy, blank stare. Um, of course he was! What else would he be? It wasn't as though he was a player, he didn't go knocking up random mares (yes, he did he just didn't put two and two together) and he wasn't rude....he was a nice guy!

"Yes! I do my best, uh....do you not think so?"  

[Katjive]

She smiled at him, her new traveling companion. Perhaps things would be better now that she had found a friend. Even if she never matched up to her sister...her dratted, perfect sister...maybe she could still find her own happiness. Her own place in the world.

"But how?" Lyssa replied, giving him a questioning look. "She's done everything it seems. The one thing she didn't do was find her old friend, old what's his name. Karmin or something like that. But I'm not looking for old friends...so...I don't know." She frowned slightly, thinking. "Maybe I just won't go home. If I don't go back, then I won't have failed."

"We'll mess up together...sure, why not? Besides, it'll be fun to travel with someone...I was rather lonely up till now, being all by myself."

Bliss genuinely seemed like a sweet stallion. She'd never met anyone quite like him...just random passersby, and a few stallions who'd tried to hit on her. She thought that the world held few true gentlemen, with her father as one of the few exceptions. Maybe she'd found yet another. Of course, she knew he had children, which meant there had been at least one other mare. But she pushed that thought aside, because he was charming. Surely the mare had been the one at fault. Someone so sweet couldn't possibly be a player.

Lyssa laughed softly. "I think you're doing a fine job! I can't believe how good you're being to me...I think you're a true gentleman."  

[Summer Raaven]

Bliss would do everything in his power to please this mare, he'd do everything in his power to please ANY mare, but not in that kind of way. He always just wanted to see them happy, to see them smile. He wanted to be the reason they laughed.

He had no idea how to respond to her first statement, for he was confused. Her sister had done EVERYTHING besides find a friend? Well, darn! He'd like to meet the mare who has done everything in life. Seemed like a pretty big list to carry around. But he knew how to respond to her second statement. Being a father, it hurt when his children ran off and never returned. That's why he was so glad for 'Nilla, and her girls. They were the only ones who stayed.

"You have to go home. Have to. Your parents would miss you so much, and what would you have failed? I don't see a failed mare in front of me, I see one with a lot to offer, she just needs to find what she offers."

He grinned, proud of what he had to give her to say. Would she take it to heart? Hopefully, but in reality? Probably not, nobody ever took his advice. "Yeah, I've been lonely too. My daughter is company, yes, but I needed a new face. We'll be wonderful traveling friends."

"A true gentleman? Really? Well that's an awesome thing to say, thank you! I really don't know the definition of a true gentleman, but I try to be one. I like being nice, to everyone. Makes me feel good when I make them smile! I believe you're a true lady yourself, Lyssa."

Bliss took a few steps in every direction, his eyes darting back and forth and finally stopped on the mare before him. "So when shall we start our exploration, and where shall we go?"  

[Katjive]

"They...would miss me?" Lyssa looked puzzled. Would they? They had been so happy when Alyna came home, they had barely noticed Lyssa leaving. Lyssa had been the good child, never getting into trouble, never crossing paths with Kalona, or the other strange Soquili that Alyna had found during her explorations. Sure, she'd always been a little stallion-crazy, but she'd managed to not get herself knocked up, coming home with a foal in tow.

But yet...none of it seemed to matter to her mother. She was so preoccupied with keeping her firstborn out of harm's way that she missed out on several aspects of her youngest child's life. But Bliss said her mother would miss her. Her father was never around anymore, but...Bliss seemed fervent in his beliefs. Maybe her parent's would miss her. A little, at least.

So...she should go home, then. If only for a little while, to keep them from that pain.

The next part of his sentence washed over her like warm sunlight. "You think I have a lot to offer? Really?" Her eyes brightened and a big smile flashed on her face. She had known him for only a few hours, but he already affirmed her and praised her in ways she had never really known before. If only her parents could see what he saw...

"Me? A true lady?" Lyssa blushed crimson. "I've never thought of myself as a lady before. Maybe an unruly girl, but...lady makes me sound so much more dignified than I am. I'm not sure I deserve the title, although...I do like it. Very much."

She paused, then frowned slightly. "I'm not sure. I think the goal of exploring is to just go anywhere and see what's there. I'm not very good at this, and there's no manual anywhere! It's a crying shame, if you ask me."