[PRP] A Secret in the Morning Glow (Hisoka and Parnasabari)

[Nisshou H]

This is a private rp between my Hisoka and Revolutionary Roniel's Parnasabari. As usual please do not post.




And bare Hisoka because it's sorta needed:
 

[Nisshou H]

As the sun crept over the Eastern horizon a large figure clothed in a white and red animal pelt emerged from the forest. Silently and swiftly it moved towards the stream barely 50 yards away casting long shadows out behind it's form. It selected a calm pool near the bank, dropped a thick cord with four lanterns secured on it and stepped slowly into the water making as little noise as possible not wanting to draw attention. The moment the water washed around the figure it was dyed a crimson color that washed downstream.

The figure watched the evidence wash away and relaxed a little into the water. Hisoka relaxed a little knowing that the blood from the previous night had not had time to stain his pelt. The black stallion he had targeted had not gone down easily. Even after the fox had snapped his wings he still beat them frantically. The stallion's life had gotten everywhere. It stained the ground, the plants and completely coated Hisoka.

A frown pulled at his lips as he surveyed the mess the fool of an angel had left. His work had never been clean no matter how one looked at it but he despised the feel of blood on his coat. He hated the stink of it and the sweat that accompanied a busy night and he disliked the thought of his secret being discovered and stopped. For all these reasons he submerged himself in the chilly water every morning whether he had worked during the night or not. It had become a ritual for him ever since he had started this game.

Taking in a breath he dipped his bloodied face into the water to wash the evidence from his coat and mane. Over and over again he dunked his head until the water dripping from his mane and hair was clear. After that he bent his knees until his entire back was completely under the waters surface. Holding himself in such a way was difficult but it was all part of the ceremony, perhaps it had at one point been a way to punish himself when the shock of killing had been great. Now it was just a slight bother.

He watched as the crimson flow slowly dissipated until only thin tendrils snaked away from his body in the water. It was at this moment that he wondered how one would react if they saw him like this?  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Bari wasn't usually one to be awake this early. She didn't usually stir until the sun was shining warm on her back. It was a lovely way to wake up, really. There was something just disheartening about waking up in the darkness.

For some reason, though... on that particular morning, she woke in the pre-dawn gloom. The gray of the sky spoke to morning's approach but the birds hadn't begun to sing yet and Bari found herself momentarily disoriented. Why was she awake? Normally she awoke so consistently, too. She tried shutting her eyes and getting back to sleep but something nagged at the back of her mind, something too faint to be really called a worry. Still, it nagged and nagged until she was finally forced to put words to that unspoken thought.

Where is Hisoka?

She frowned a little in confusion and got to her feet. Where was he? One hoof stamped down in confused indecision as Bari scanned the area in the pale gray glow of pre-dawn. Restlessly, she paced about the area twice before deciding to set out officially. If she couldn't sleep anymore she might at least try to find her companion.

She walked down the familiar trails quietly but with no hint as to where Hisoka might be. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when she reached the bank of the stream, bending over it to take a drink from the cool waters.

The moment before her lips touched the surface, Bari jerked back with a frightened whinny. Blood! There was blood in the water! A momentary panic overcame her and while jerkily backing away from the offending sight she jerked her head up in a high head toss. She quickly realized her mistake as the red glare from the sun pierced into her eyes.

Red glare. Even though her breath was still puffing out of widened nostrils, Bari took another look at the water. Red glare. Instantly the tension fell from her body into grateful relief. It wasn't blood. The sun had just been reflecting off the water. Nothing to worry about. Emboldened by her discovery, she dipped a hoof into the water and kicked outwards into a splash. No blood.

She was about to lower her head in attempt at drinking again when she heard a sound from somewhere upstream. Was there someone else there? "Hello?" she called out, trotting curiously towards the source of the sound.  

[Nisshou H]

Once the water around him appeared to be clear Hisoka stood and shook himself lightly sending tiny water droplets flying in every which way. His ritual was not yet done but he stepped from the water anyway. Bowing his head he tugged at the loop of cord to pull it over the large red pompom. The two came apart easily and the large stallion felt the pelt loosen. He took the edge of it between his teeth and pulled it off his back and dropped it onto the grass with a dull thud.

He only had a brief moment to survey the fur to be sure it was clean before a voice reached his ears. He froze for a moment. Up until a moment ago he had been certain that he had been alone. He considered collecting his possessions for a moment and leaving but something stopped him. There had been something familiar about that voice and there was only one voice that he had become familiar with in the kawani lands.

"Bari?" He asked with a slight crinkle of his brow. Her name still came out sounding like 'Bali' every time he said it but it was something he couldn't help. This was unusual. When he had left her side she had shown no sign of waking and on a normal day she never woke until late. He frowned and moved his pelt to one side before taking a few steps toward her voice. He wasn't certain if all the blood was gone from his back but he was pretty sure that most of it, at least, had been washed away.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

A relieved smile lit up Bari's face and she trotted towards the sound of Hisoka's voice. "Oh, there you are. I didn't know where you had gone so got worried and went out to look for you. But it isn't like you had gone very far or anything and-"

Her voice trailed off uncertainly as she emerged into sight of Hisoka. He was dripping with water, obviously just having come from the river's waters. It immediately struck her as a little strange. He was completely dripping, not just damp from the legs and belly down like she got when she waded into the river.

"You were swimming?" she asked uncertainly. "I never go swimming in the morning. Well... maybe I would if I woke up earlier. But maybe it makes sense to go swimming if you're up early and before breakfast." As it often did, her speaking had taken on a rambling quality and absent-minded tone. She smiled at Hisoka... and then blinked at the sun glinting red on his wet back.

.. That was the sun, wasn't it? Bari blinked away the vision and smiled again, waiting for Hisoka's answer. She was certain it'd make sense in a minute.  

[Nisshou H]

Hisoka didn't move as he felt the mare's clear blue eyes wandering over him. For a brief moment his breath caught in his throat. Had she noticed something? A bit a blood that he had forgotten or some other remnant of his bloody night perhaps. His brows lowered a fraction as the corners of his mouth turned down pulling a stern expression.

As she spoke again he relaxed and even smiled slightly. "Bathing." He clarified moving his pelt once more. At this moment he was double checking for the presence of blood. It was clean and he moved back to the river not missing her staring. He wasn't sure what she had noticed but he wasn't about to risk his secret being revealed more than he already had.

"As every morning...you join?" Not awaiting her response he submerged himself beneath the cool surface of the water again. It was just as he had feared. Streaks of red came off of his back ever so slowly. They dissapeared quickly as all the blood finally washed away but had he been to late? Had she noticed it after all? Was she that sharp?  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Bari was used to the way that Hisoka spoke so she was able to decipher his words as an invitation. Bathing would be nice, wouldn't it? "Lots of other soquili probably take baths at sunrise," she said as she followed after Hisoka. Her tone still maintained a cheery edge, but was also still just a little bit confused. Something about this didn't quite make sense but she wasn't about to think poorly of her dear companion.

She noticed the sun's red glint on the water again as she began to lower herself into it. "Wow... I didn't know that the sun made the water look so pretty at this hour." She smiled upwards... and noticed that the sun was partially blocked by a cloud.

"Isn't that strange." She giggled, half in humor and the other half in confusion. The sun could still lit things up red even if it was behind a cloud... couldn't it? She looked around her in the water but didn't see any more red glints on the surface. That was odd.. maybe the sun's last rays before it retreated were what she had seen.  

[Nisshou H]

He gave her a curious look as he deciphered her words. There was no reason for him to correct her about it but in all his time in this world he knew of very few that chose to bath as he did. The water was generally a bit cold in the mornings even during the middle of summer and he was the only one he knew of that took them every morning. Instead of voicing any of this he opted to halfheartedly nod his head before freezing as she spoke again.

Tense he followed her gaze skyward to see what she was calling odd. It turned out to be the sun. She had seen the blood, he was sure of it. Immediately his gaze dropped to the surface of the water scouring it for more traces of the red she must have seen while she looked at the heavens. It was gone. "Don't see it..." He muttered sounding almost as though he just wanted to see the pretty water, at least to an outsiders ears.

Lifting his head he turned back to mare at his side with a smile so small it was almost unnoticeable. "Is nothing...not worry." Thinking that it would be best to distract the flowery mare he began his cleansing 'ritual' once more. He moved slower than before taking care to keep the water from splashing. He would finish in only a few more minutes at which point he could lead her away from the water and away from many traces left behind from the night.

Pausing for a moment he tilted his head in her direction so that his forelocks managed to drift over to one side of his face better revealing the fox-like markings on his face. "Feel nice?" He inquired trying to keep her from thinking about anything she had seen. Thinking made people suspicious and he didn't need that.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Bari wasn't a suspicious sort by nature so the true meaning of the red glints in the water were far from her mind. They were strange, yes... but it was probably nothing, like he had said. She watched Hisoka as he continued in his bath. He was so pretty standing there in the water. What was that in the water with him? Something red and swirling that looked almost like...

No, those were just the markings on his pelt.

She relaxed again. "Oh, I feel good," she answered in response. "I keep hearing about how a lot of couples in my herd are having foals or already had foals." She was calm enough now that she was starting to gossip, or spreading news as she preferred to call it. "I don't know why they're all suddenly having foals at once. Glissando and his mate have three fillies and I heard that my brother has a mare somewhere that is expecting too. Maybe they planned to have foals at the same time, though that'd be a bit silly."  

[Nisshou H]

He was glad, she seemed to be sufficiently distracted. Hisoka smiled a little at her initial response. Then as that response grew longer and longer his face began to fall. 'I feel good' that he had understood perfectly. It was simple. She had a nice feeling and that was wonderful. That meant she'd either lost her curiosity or concern over the red water. It also meant she was fairly happy.

However, the more words came spilling out of her mouth the less he found he understood. She spoke quickly and about nothing particular really. The word 'foals' came up a few times. He recognized that along with 'couples' and 'brother'. He understood those words but that only left him with a very vague idea of what she was talking about.

People were having children. People that she knew. How that connected to anything he had absolutely no idea, but he was completely certain that she was beyond sufficiently distracted at this point.

He stared at her with a look a kin to a young pup being scolded for the first time. Then slowly he nodded his head like he had understood. If this was what would keep her mind off the blood then this is what it took. "Yes...babies...nice?" He tried to smile at her but it was a lopsided one and completely uncertain. Right now, he actually just wanted to get out of the water and maybe hide from the conversation. Or find a translator.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Bari paused. She often forgot how poor Hisoka's grasp on the language really was. He had such an intelligent face, after all! One expected soquili with intelligent faces to understand what one was saying... not that him not knowing the language made him any less intelligent, she reflected.

It was clear that she had spoken too much too quickly. At least he seemed to understand the gist of what she had said... probably.

Even with the confusion and lack of communication, her smile stayed on her face. "Yes. They're nice. I think that one day I might want to have foals of my own. Some people have three but I'd be happy with two, or maybe just one." She looked out across the water instead of looking at him. Would he even understand what she was trying to imply? "Of course... it'd be nice if their father helped with them too."  

[Nisshou H]

That he understood. He understood it perfectly. Whatever smile that he'd been holding on to before was going now. Again he stared at her blankly. This time, it was more out of shock than confusion, or perhaps it was both.

"Eto..." The native words weren't coming to him. Perhaps that was because the words of his home language weren't even coming to him. She wanted him to do that? It seemed like a rather sudden idea to him. Perhaps that was because he'd only ever been intimate with one other before Bari. Even then they hadn't done anything of the sort, but that was more do to unusual circumstances than anything.

He pushed the thought from his mind. Now was not the time to be reflecting on the past. Now was the time to be dealing with the...rather unusual present he was sitting in. "Offspring...are desired...?" This was dangerous. This was really dangerous. He shifted slightly.

It was dangerous, but... "Be...good..." A small, awkward smile tugged at the corners of his lips. This would definitely keep the secret safe.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Bari's head and ears both shot up with the shock of Hisoka's directness. She had been dodging around saying what he had declared directly. The tip of her nose was the only skin where her blush was visible but Bari felt the heat over her entire face.

"So... You'd... You'd..." She stammered in embarrassed hopefulness. The oddness in the water was completely gone from her mind now.

"You'd be my mate?" she squeaked out the words and almost looked away, catching herself in the last minute to look Hisoka in the face. He was so beautiful... his golden yellow eyes, his striking red markings...  

[Nisshou H]

It was clear to Hisoka that he had caught the mare completely off guard with his response. Somehow it felt a little bit like the shock she had received was deserved for surprising him earlier. Though this knowledge really brought him no pleasure in the slightest. There were far more important things than feelings from retribution. Looking the white mare straight in the eye he nodded slowly to make sure she caught the movement.

"Yes." It was a simple answer. Short. Perhaps a little too short but it got the message across right? There was no need for eloquence with her. She was nice enough but she was still just a random mare. What did it matter that she was currently his companion? Companionship was nothing special. Partnership was nothing special.

He finally took his gaze away from her to focus on the white pelt that lay drying on the ground. It was thankfully clean baring no signs of the past nights activities. Partnership meant nothing at all. He bent to pick the half soaked pelt off the ground and flung it over his back before turning back to the mare. "Clean. Let's go...somewhere else." Somewhere away from that place just in case. Just in case some sign had been made that he could do nothing about.  

[Revolutionary Roniel]

Bari's heart leaped and she was practically prancing now with joy. Her mate! Her very own mate! A smile spread across her face and she watched Hisoka with adoring devotion. Her mate to stay with her forever... protect her and love her forever...

"Yes, yes. Let's go somewhere else." She said in quick breathlessness.

"You know, I'm going to tell all my siblings and friends in the herd. They're going to be so happy for me, well, some of them. Some of them don't even have mates and they're twice as old as me. I always thought that was a bit odd but when I didn't have a mate I guess it made more sense. Now I have a mate and they don't, which makes them... I think they call it old maids? Yeah. That's what they call them."

She followed Hisoka while she babbled, not even paying attention to where they were going.