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Life was changing at a rather rapid pace, but Tybalt felt ready for it. He didn't often do things that he wasn't prepared for, at least not if he could help it, and starting a family was definitely something that required some forethought. He couldn't do it exactly the way most did, given his own predilections, but that didn't mean he absolutely couldn't have a family. Sure, he'd like to find a partner someday, but he was a stable, strong, young individual, so there was nothing wrong with him getting together with a friend and bringing some new lives into the world. He'd protect his children, and he and Charm would be good friends regardless -- she certainly wasn't looking for anything from him that he couldn't give her.

He supposed Valentine's day had, had a little something to do with it. Given that he wasn't interested in ladies in the romantic sense, he found himself lonely and a bit envious of all the couples about who were starting their own families and being close. Still, he didn't regret his decision, and he'd love his children with everything he had; he was really, really looking forward to being a father.

He just had to let his new friends know. If he'd ever found a reason to settle in a place, boy, this was it. There was no way he was going to relocate his children when they were little, or take them away from their mother. Besides, even though it was cold now, the land was bound to be beautiful when it thawed... and he'd met some pretty interesting Soquili. It wasn't like he was alone, or his kids would be.

One of them in particular he was looking for, though. Tossing his head to get his bangs out of his eyes, he scanned the area for his friend, tail sweeping back and forth across the snow as he walked. In retrospect, searching for a pure white stallion during the winter was probably never going to be the easiest task her ever undertook, but he'd found him before, so he'd find him again. Right?

Right!

Birds took flight above his head, a wild frenzy of wings and annoyed squawks as they were startled, and it was enough to make him look up, too. Shaking his bangs out of his eyes, he scanned the sky until he saw it -- a figure, wings spread impressively against a baby blue backdrop -- and he watched in curiosity as the Soquili beat powerful wings to stay in flight. After a moment, he simply began to glide, hair rushing and tangling around his face, and Tybalt found himself smiling a little.

He'd never envied others to ability to fly, or at least not for long; sometimes he wondered what it would be like, but mostly, he was very content to have his hooves on the ground. Still, there had to be a sort of rush and excitement that went with it, a kind of liberation that those like him only got from running as fast as they could. Sometimes, if he ran fast enough, he felt like his hooves just might lift him off the ground, but of course that wasn't true. It was still fun to think about, though.

After a few moments of amused observation he realized that he recognized the stallion, or at least, thought he did. From below, it was a little difficult to tell, but how many snow-white stallions hung around here? Chances were good that it was his friend, and if not, well. Maybe he'd make a new one?

The prospect of sharing his good news with Pavitra was enough to have him rearing on his hind legs, pawing the air in an effort to make himself stand out. "Hey! Down here!"

So it was Pavitra! Pleased beyond measure, he dropped all four hooves to the ground and simply waited for Pavitra to approach. If both of them were running at one another, anyway, it would surely lead to disaster, the likes of which he didn't want to have to explain to anyone. Tybalt was a big boy, especially for a unicorn, and Pavitra had both unicorn and wind genes playing against him; he was not only small, but he had delicate bones on top of that. Not exactly the sort of guy you could roughhouse with.

Still, when his friend reached him, Tybalt leaned over and bussed his cheek affectionately with the tip of his nose. It had been a few weeks since he'd last seen Pavitra, and he was glad to have the opportunity to talk to him again. A lot had changed, and the fact of the matter was, Tybalt didn't know many in these parts; he couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather share his news with.

So, grinning brightly, he said, "I've got some news! But first of all, how've you been?"

Instead of feeling awkward or raising a brow at the other stallion, Tybalt simply laughed. It wasn't cruel or mocking, either; he thought it was endearing how Pavitra stumbled around his words at times, and it made him feel appreciated and, well, liked. That was always a good thing when it came to your friends, wasn't it? Well, at least in his book.

"I know what you mean." He swished his tail behind him, lips tipped up in a smile. "I've been spending some time with a friend of mine, Charm. Which is why I haven't been around quite as often."

Which brought him to his news. The two little babies that Charm was watching over even then... sure, they weren't even born yet, but she was taking very good care of them already. And he was so, so excited about that.

Thrusting his chest out a bit, he said excitedly, "I'm going to be a father."

No better way that straight-up just saying it, right? Any fool could tell that Tybalt was over the moon about the very idea.

It was nice to have someone share his enthusiasm so wholly. Never one to curb the happier feelings, Tybalt moseyed right into the snuggle, beaming happiness and pride as Pavitra chattered joyfully beside him. It felt really right, really nice; having someone around to share the good parts of life really was the best part of life. He was really thankful for his friends, and though it probably should have surprised him to have found such a fast friend in Pavitra so quickly, Tybalt wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Life dealt you an interesting hand all the time. You could either butt your head against it or you could go with the flow, and he'd always really been the type to go with the flow.

At Pavitra's last question, however, he blinked and tossed his head. Oh, right. Pavi didn't know about his -- hm.

"Oh, Charm's not my mate." He debated a second, then added, casually, "She's just a good friend. It's a bit harder for me to find a relationship than most, so... we decided that since we were both single, we'd start a family. Couldn't see any other way to get to it and hey, why not?"

"I don't think so," Tybalt said, his smile still in place, though it was a little nervous for just a moment. He didn't usually confide in others, especially not the very personal details of his life, unless he knew for certain that they were going to stick around and be someone he could trust. Saffy, of course, knew just about all there was to know about him, but she was his best friend and he loved her almost as well as he did his own family. Pavitra was a friend of his, too, one that he hoped would be part of his life for a long time, so he deserved some honesty... right?

Besides, Pavi was a friendly, warm sort. He probably wasn't going to judge him or freak out, or at least, he didn't think he would. And, well, if Pavi was going to be part of his and his childrens' lives, it was kind of an important thing to know...

He took a deep breath, then tilted his head back a bit so that he could peer at Pavi from under his bangs. Well, the best way to do it was to just... do it, right?

"I'm not interested in Charm. Not like that." After a beat, he added, "Or, you know, any mare. Like that."

After a brief pause, he dragged his hoof through the snow, lower lip sticking out a bit. "I'm gay."

Well, that took care of that. Now to see how Pavitra took it. Strangely, he was a lot more nervous than he'd expected to be.

Well, that... that had gone better than he expected. Or, actually, just about how he had expected; Tybalt found himself a little nervous, for a moment, when it took Pavitra a fair bit of time to respond. Not everyone was as comfortable with the idea of homosexuality as Tybalt was, and that was part of the reason why he kept his sexual orientation to himself. Another big part of that was simply that it wasn't anyone's business but his own or someone he was interested in.

Not that he often found people he was interested in, or that he often expressed his feelings to them. Firstly, he could never tell just by looking at someone whether they preferred mares, stallions, both or neither, and secondly, for all he was friendly and amiable in general, he was a bit shy when it came to his heart. Better to just not risk it unless he was certain, after all, right?

"I'm surprised," he said finally, grinning and relaxed his shoulders a bit. Behind him, his tail swooped easily through the snow. "Most aren't so enthusiastic. I guess I'm glad, though."

In a friendly way, he leaned over and butted his nose against Pavi's cheek. "Means we're good friends, right? I could use some more of those. Anyway, yeah."

He felt a little better, being completely honest with Pavitra. That was how friends were, after all.