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 Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 5:13 pm
 Trip is not the kind of kimeti to be easily sidetracked from whatever mission he is currently undertaking. However, one spring afternoon finds him taking a detour from his regular route due to an unexpected encounter with a very angry lynx. As far as he knows, the last time he'd traveled that path, there had been no lynx making a home in a hollowed out log, but it was there when he passed, and made itself known with a bitter hiss and an even more bitter fight. In the end, a large scratch across one flank leaves him limping a little with the pain, and when the night finally begins to settle around him, with the moonlight glittering between the leaves, he spots the first glimpse of the sac.  It's nestled securely inside a somewhat small den, held up by the roots of tree that have burrowed through the roof. Curiously, cautiously, Trip takes a step forward, sniffing, and then another. His nose brushes the slick surface of the sac and he snorts, surprised at the warmth and the feeling of life in it. It is, perhaps, the first time he has ever encountered a sac in his lifetime, other than when he was just a young foal himself. He wonders, as he stares at the mottle of white and brown and purple-gray, what this young creature's name is. He wonders who it will grow up to be-- if it is a doe or a buck. His leg pains him, and there is a strong stirring in his chest that feels like indecision-- the one of very few times he has ever felt it so keenly. To leave, or to stay? But the responsible, reasonable side of him knows that the babe inside, when it hatches, will have a slim chance of survival, like any young, blind kimeti, without a guardian. He thinks of the angry lynx which ran off before he could land a killing blow.. ... and he lies down under the sac, inside the cave, and looks up at it once before closing his eyes to sleep. He will stay.
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 2:19 pm
A week passes, and it seems to Trip that the little sac seems more full, somehow, than it had previously. He studies it closely for hours each day, and his thoughts take curious turns.
He's always fancied himself to be something of a gruff, loner sort.. and for the most part that's true.
Yet here he is watching over a sac that's not even his own. But then, what kind of kin would he be to simply leave it there?
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Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:02 pm
The sac has no answer for him, of course. It sits there quiet and immovable, still too new even to show the hints of life that it contains other than a few smears of color. The type of Kimeti it contains is entirely a mystery.
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Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:12 pm
Time passes, and the buck hollows out more of the cave while he is there. It's roomier, now, and feels like more of a home. He has dragged branches and brambles to hide the entrance of the place for when he must, inevitably, go out to find food.
He never strays far, though.
And as the bundle of life inside the sac grows larger, so too does it begin to occupy more and more of Trip's thoughts.
Then, one morning, as Trip sits, eating the last of that morning's breakfast-- sweet grass, berries, and a fish he caught in the nearby stream-- he looks over at the sac and stands. Like countless times before, he peers down at it curiously and brushes his nose against it's surface, and it moves.
He is so startled that he jerks back and nearly stumbles, his eyes wide and his ears laid back, before approaching again. When he touches it a second time, there is no movement from the sac-- but Trip's heart gives itself a squeeze.
My child, he thinks, suddenly-- and knows that it's true. Family was more than blood, after all.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:10 pm
It's late. The moon has already gone to bed, but the sun has not yet risen. Trip's soft snores add to the rest of the quiet, night-time chorus.
Then, some new sound joins it. A faint rustling fills the cave. It's not loud at all, but it's enough to wake the sleeping buck, all the same. Bleary-eyed with sleep, he looks around the dark cave to see what on earth could be making the noise. Had a foxbun found it's way inside?
He stands, moving to check on the sac and-- at the last moment-- realizes the noise isn't a foxbun at all, but the sac itself. It's moving, and rather rigorously, too.
Awed, Distant Venture moves back a bit, and stands there, watching. His heart is beating faster than usual.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:21 pm
The sac is alive as never before. In the darkness it wriggles and twitches until, finally, a tiny hoof breaks free. It doesn't take long after that. A few more shakes and kicks, and the newborn foal tumbles out to land on the soft, earthy ground. For a moment, it doesn't move, and the buck standing nearby feels his heart leap into his throat. But then, suddenly, it coughs, clearing it's lungs, and lets out a bleating cry. A few moments later and he seems to realize there is someone else in the room. Instinctively, he sniffs, and recognizes the scent of another kimeti before relaxing. 
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:24 pm
Everything feels so surreal. He has never before witnessed the birth of another creature, let alone one of his own kind. And the foal, he realizes, is a boy. A son.
A well of pride fills him, and he steps forward, leaning down to gently nudge the newborn, and licks his face clean. He smells fresh and alive.
"...Hello, little one. I've been waiting for this day. My name is Distant Venture, and I'm your father."
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