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Brackenhide could barely believe how time had passed. He. He. Had fathered foals. It was nigh unbelievable to the casanova. Had he really allowed it to happen? Well he couldn't talk himself out of it now. Glancing over at his Recovery there was no denying that this young stallion was his flesh and blood. From the messy mop to the decorated cuffs to the saddle brown coat it was truly unmistakable. Even if he were to try to say otherwise, no one would believe him, not with how similar they looked.

Not only had he helped sire this stallion as a foal, but now he walked alongside him as a stallion, as an adult (if still a young one). It just blew the kirin's mind to think about.
What was it that he was talking about?

Recovery walked as proper as one could manage as a quadruped. Head held high, well-groomed mane & tail, and polished scales all wove together the stunning image of this young knight. He was a master of his words, knowing just how to say what he wanted to say and when he wanted to say it. He had been raised by a protective warrior and the casanova whom he walked with now. Growing up, he had idolized his father, and to this day still did, but in all truth and honesty he had surpassed his father in chivalry. He would never admit this aloud, especially not around or to him, but Recovery had become better than his father. But it was just a matter of how one wanted to live one's life. Recovery knew his father liked the flirting lifestyle of any pretty mare that would give him the light of day, but that was not what he wanted. Recovery wanted to find his soulmate, his perfect match, the one.

"You've taught me well, Papa. You were always right when you told me that every mare has beauty, no matter what she looks like. It just takes a special type of being to see what makes each one shine." Nodding, he continued to speak on the subject that dominated either of their minds: mares. Yes, they talked about other things, but there was no doubt this was their favorite and most debated subject. Brackenhide loved any and every mare equally, but never got too attached to any one. Recovery on the other hoof, believed that if he looked hard enough he could find the perfect mare for him. Of course he would have to be patient and willing to look, but that would not be a problem for him. He would find her. Someday, he would find his lifemate.

Ahhhh, yes. The beloved topic with flowing manes and swaying rumps. He would never get bored of watching a mare's eyes glimmer in the moonlight, or doting upon them with flowers and compliments aplenty, as he would tell his son as he grew up. One must respect and shower the fillies and foals of the world, as they deserve it and more.

Deep in conversation, the pair walked along side-by-side and paid little attention to their surroundings. Trees, open fields, teepees and lakes were all commonplace in the area, so passing from one type to the next was no surprise and stirred no notice from either stallion.

With her parents somewhat distracted by her two very rambunctious brothers Aquitaine was able to slip away for some peace and quiet. Of course she loved her family very much, but sometimes two brothers was just a bit much for her. They always seemed to be rough housing. Aquitaine enjoyed a good play fight here and there but there was more to life than just that. Hopefully it was something her brothers would learn soon. Ah boys. Certainly she wouldn't want to be gone long, her parents would worry if they found her to be missing, but for the moment she was able to get away, see a bit more of the land further away from where her family called home and enjoy some time away from boys.

Long tail flicked behind her as she pranced around. She stopped to smell the sweet scent of some flowers scattered about. Perhaps on her way home she could pick some to bring back to her mother, certainly she would love some flowers. After all her mother did have a few flowers tucked into her long mane. Ah the way it swayed about like thick ribbons as she danced, it was beautiful. One day Aquitaine would be a dancer like her mother, but also a knight like her father. Two dreams, somehow she would see them both to an end. Humming a tune Aquitaine leapt and bound about, practicing a few moves her mother had taught her the other day. Her movements were still not as graceful as she had hoped they would be, but like mother said practice made perfect.

Voices began to trickle in, breaking her concentration. The thought of dangers crossed her mind for a moment. She could run back to her parents, surely she could make it there before whoever was out there found her. But no, if she were to be a knight she would need to overcome fears. Taking a few steps towards the source of the voices Aquitaine let out a sudden sigh. Great. The strangers were male. Hadn't she come out here to escape her brothers? Seemed unfair that she would run into more males out here. Standing quiet Aquitaine waited to see just who the voices belonged to.

What is it? The voice whispered, making his feelings known that they should turn away.

Raphael shook his head. There was no harm staying for a bit longer to see. He sniffed the air gently, smelling the blood of two full grown of his kind near by. He sniffed again, trying to do as his father had taught him. They didn't seem to eat flesh, that was good at least.

Wouldn't stop them from killing you, his friend chided.

That was a good point actually. If Rini knew she'd be beside herself, and angry at him. So he mustn't tell her. But must he also head away?

Taking a deep sigh, he decided to head home and not meet with adventure--a small act to save his sister, whom he loved dearly, some pain. But as he walked, his head shot up and he sniffed the air.

Someone else's blood was running near, not far at all--and it smelled sweet like flowers. He backed away into some undergrowth and considered what to do. His friend and he argued for a few moments within Raphael, until Raphael finally decided that he felt they were not a threat.

Often before his friend had questioned this. But Raphael had a certain...forte for intuition.

The two began with the shouldering, proceeded with tail-flicking and eventually truly allowed themselves to forget that they were adults entirely. At first oblivious to the approaching sounds of the filly, the two were so encompassed by their play-fight that just as she spoke up, the stallions' shoving match had progressed far enough that they finally took a tumble. With a heavy shoulder, Brackenhide sent his son tumbling side-over-side in a roll, but did not escape the tumble himself. His own momentum and a quickly placed yank of his tail by Recovery had father following son down to the ground, sending up dust around them in a big cloud.

But just as they hit the ground, the filly's innocent question was heard, and Brackenhide quickly stiffened his limbs to stop his roll and pushed himself up into an upright laying position, ears perked and listening. On full alert now, father flicked his tail over Recovery, telling him to smarten up, if he hadn't already. It was hard to see past this dust cloud, so he stayed stock-still and waited for it to clear to see just who had spoken to them before wanting to reply.

The younger stallion had ducked and weaved, but he, unlike his father, had heard the young one's question just as he got tackled, it was in fact what made him vulnerable enough for the shoulder to land impact. He had faltered for a moment and tried to turn and see who had spoken but instead got pushed over and rolled once, twice, before ending up on his back. He chuckled, and almost forgot about the young feminine voice that had called out to them until he got a swift smack of rigid tail across his flank.

Righting himself quickly, Recovery did indeed smarten up, but unlike his father, he only faltered for a moment before deeming himself in no direct danger. After all, he was here with his father, if anything bad should happen, but he had caught the little one's scent just before tumbling, so he knew that it was a filly standing behind the dust cloud that was beginning to settle. Raising up his rump, but leaving his knees on the ground in a bow, Recovery bent his head and humbly announced in his most polite voice, "We are Recovery and Brackenhide at your humble service, milady. And we were merely testing each other's wits. My dear father obviously bested me just as you arrived." He spoke bravely and as-a-matter-of-fact-ly, even though there was a trace of jesting towards the end. The dust was slowly settling, clearing out enough to make out the shape of one bowing stallion and the other laying next to him, on full-alert. A few more moments and surely colors would be visible once more, if not the full detail of reality as if they had never disturbed the ground with their falling bodies.

What had started as a friendly shoulder bumping had now turned into an all out tussle between the two large stallions. Aquitaine nearly giggled. They looked like her brothers when they were playing about, yet these were adults! She had seen her father play in a similar fashion with one or bother of her brothers but never with another full grown stallion. What a silly pair. The dust cloud that quickly enveloped the tussling pair caused her to take a few steps back and let out a small cough. Boy they really went all out when they played didn't they? She remained still as the cloud began to settle. She wasn't exactly sure where within the dust the two stallions had disappeared to, so stepping in there to see could prove dangerous. Slowly however the two began to come into view again. They were both mostly on the ground though the one appeared to be in a sort of bow. She could only assume that he was the one who had spoken.

Recovery and Brackenhide. Such interesting names. And they were related to each other. There had definitely been some family resemblance when she had first laid eyes upon them. But which was father and which was son? That would be revealed late once the dust had completely settled and they could more clearly see each other and do proper introductions. "I'm Aquitaine." She stated, and she would have said more save for another Soquili making their presence known. Aquitaine turned her gaze to look at the new arrival, a colt, probably about the same age that she was. Was he somehow related to the older pair? He did have similar coloring to one of the adults. "I think they were playing." Aquitaine explained to the colt and turned her gaze back to the pair.