[PRP] No Matter What (Pachelbel,Tinuviel,and Family Members)

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Pach stood anxiously in the clearing he and Tin called their own. Today was finally the day. After casually introducing the topic about a week ago and many assurances on his part that everything would be fine, he was finally taking her to meet his parents. He hadn't told them he was bringing her, he wanted it to be a surprise, but he was sure that after they got over their initial shock of her sudden appearance they'd welcome her like one of their own and grow to love her.

He had no doubts about this. He knew his family, and the thought that they wouldn't accept Tin was beyond him. He smiled a bit to himself at the thought of the mare he loved, her warm smile, her beautiful voice, and the way she moved when she danced. His heart was set aflutter and he glanced upward again seeing where the sun was. Wouldn't be long now, she'd just be a bit longer. He looked back to the spot he knew she'd appear from, barely managing to contain his excitement. She wouldn't be to much longer.  

[xo maho]

([Calixte] will appear later.)

Tinuviel fidgeted uncomfortably as she slept, eyelids fluttering. She was in the midst of her worst nightmare yet, and all she wanted to do was wake up, but she couldn't.

Watching helplessly from somewhere in the night sky, Tin saw Pachelbel, her best friend and only love. But even as she watched, she saw a blue glow flash somewhere in the shadows around him - he looked as if he'd heard something and was scared for his life. Tin was terrified: she knew that pelt well, knew what it meant. Suddenly, the blue pelt shifted, into something quite smaller... Before she could warn him, a wildcat pounced on him from behind, silhouetted in the pale moonlight, and that bright blue coyote opened a gash on his chest. She wanted to cry, wanted to scream -- but no sound came out. Having no choice but to watch as the scene played out, she heard Pach's cry for help -

And woke up gasping, her throat sore and irritated. She honestly hoped she hadn't been screaming in her sleep; that would definitely draw some unwanted attention, especially as she was only halfway through her panic attack. Even though Tin hadn't seen the purewalkers since they'd attacked her brother and her when she was just a filly, she still smelled them in the wood sometimes, more and more lately... Heard the sound of claws on bark, felt their eyes on her vulnerable back, waiting for an opportunity to strike... It was one reason she always rushed to meet Pach, instead of ambling contentedly down the path. She didn't want to give them the chance to meet him.

Pach. Pach was amazing - he was her confidant, her best friend, and he was really the only partner with whom she'd enjoyed dancing. Rolling over and sighing, she looked in the general direction of the sun to make sure she didn't hurt her eyes. It was then that she realized the time, and bolted to her feet.

She was supposed to meet Pach's family today! But even though she knew that they had to be wonderful people, doubts were beginning to plague her; if she could smell the purewalkers in the woods, was it possible that she might lead them to Pach's family? She didn't want to cause anyone that kind of pain, especially if their family wasn't as well protected as hers - she had a huge herd that would stand by her in the face of danger, but Pach's family lived independently. What if the walkers followed her and hurt them? What would she do then?

Anxious, Tin sat back down in her nest of soft grass, trying to think. Would it be better to just keep Pach's family at bay until she was sure she wouldn't put them in danger? Or should she just go and hope nothing happened? Undecided and debating, the sun rose higher as she weighed her options.  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Pach looked up again at the sky, out on the plains he knew it would be sinking towards the far off mountains but still a few hours of light left, but here under the trees it was already getting dim. He stamped a hoof and swallowed hard and had to admit she wasn't coming. It wasn't her fault, he knew that. He never blamed her when she skipped on their meetings knowing that her family watched her movements like hawks and sometimes she just couldn't get away without drawing attention.

It didn't stop him from being disappointed though, and sometimes he wished he knew where her herd lived so he could barge in and claim his fair maiden. A fantasy and an idle one at that, he knew why Tin kept him a secret, and while it bothered him that her family had such distaste for round hooves, he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize Tin until she felt ready to actually present him to her mother.

He sighed heavily and looked up one last time. Yes, it was getting far to late in the day for her to meet with him now, and even if she did appear, it would take too long to walk to the grove. A few hours was one things, overnight was quite another. Besides it wasn't as if his parents were expecting her so they wouldn't know they'd missed anything today. He nodded to himself, today may be gone, but there would be other opportunities and that would just have to do. With that firmly in his mind, he turned and left the clearing following the path that would eventually lead him back home.  

[xo maho]

Tin looked at the sky and sighed. She knew it was too late to find Pach now; the sun was dropping further in the sky every minute. She knew she had disappointed him, and it was one more strike against her herd, because she was sure that he thought they were the ones keeping her away. But this time, she wouldn't be able to give him an explanation. She wasn't going back.

Sometime between waking up and feeling guilty, Tinuviel had decided that the safest thing for Pach would be to leave him - if the skinwalkers did reappear, she knew that the females hated her. She had deprived them of their ability to make a meal out of her little brother, and from what her parents said, walkers (especially the pure ones) kept grudges, and would go after the ones she loved first if they came back. As such, Tin had made her decision; she wouldn't go back to the grove, and if he found her, she'd try to tell him it was for his own good. As Tin sulked in her nest, her long ears failed to pick up the soft sound of approaching hoof beats.

Calixte walked back to her family's nest in the sleeping grounds, bent on seeing her daughter. From what she'd heard, Tinuviel had been pacing circles around her nest all day and sitting down despondently from time to time. Such a mood was out of the ordinary for her usually cheerful daughter, who had been sneaking off for quite some time. Though Cali was sure that Tin had hoped no one would notice, the entire herd had been keeping an eye on her - she and Kenton had asked the herd to disregard their daughter's suspicious actions until they knew more. As the months went by and Tin's disappearances became more frequent, Cali's curiosity grew. Whether she was seeing a boy or simply communing with nature, nothing seemed to have gone wrong. At least, that was how it had been until today.

As Cali walked toward the nest, she saw her daughter's dark coat; as she had been informed, Tin was sitting sullenly in the nest. Directly behind her now, Calixte spoke. "Tinuviel? Are you alright?"

Tin jumped at the sound of her mother's soft voice, and turned her head to look up at Calixte's looming figure. Though her mother was petite, Tinuviel had never really outgrown her. "Mom," she said, taking a deep breath and trying to compose herself. "I'm fine," she said, but her voice broke at the last second. Looking away from her mother, Tin could feel herself begin to break down. Though not much had happened, Tin felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders: today, she'd abandoned the only guy she thought she'd ever belong with, and she hated herself for it. If there was any time to break down, it would be now, but she hated to do it in front of her mother. Even so, a tear slipped down her cheek.

Lady Argentum Draconis

 

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Pach quietly trotted into the fruit grove his family lived in. The sun was low in the sky and the clouds had taken on an orange glow. He sighed a bit and breathed in the familiar scents of home. The apple tree and berry bushes giving off the scent of their fruit. The thought of an apple made Pach's mouth water, but they were still a little green yet and dried out his mouth with just one bite. The berries were more likely and his mother, Rondel had managed to work out an agreement with the family of birds in the apple tree to pick them for her as long as they got their share.

He moved towards the center of the grove hearing the voices of his family.



Rondel, like all mothers, knew when her out of sight children returned home. She turned as she sensed more than heard Pachelbel approach the central area where she, Cres, and Beat were nibbling at some oats and berries. She smiled at him then frowned slightly. "What's wrong, Little Bell?"

She moved over to him and nuzzled her gifted son. Although she hated to compare the two, she had to admit that while Beat definitely had the energy for dance, Pach had the talent. His dancing had changed recently too, a new element she couldn't quite put her hoof on. Whatever it was though, it had added something beautiful and almost other worldly to his routines. She knew it had to do with his disappearances in the afternoons, and while she was dying to know who had snared her son's heart, for he was obviously in love, she was willing to wait. She also knew when he quietly came home like this he hadn't seen his mystery love.

"I'm fine, Mother." he said returning the affectionate nuzzle. "Just a little tired and hungry." he said managing a smile, then nodding to his father and brother before moving to his spot in their family circle to nibble at the oats and berries.  

[Mameha Otome]

Crescendo raised his head as his other son approached and quietly noted the feeling he was giving off. He continued to eat in silence, listening to him talk with Rondel before speaking up.

"You look more than tired, Pach." He stated, looking him over. "When you're tired you drag yourself more...well at least from what I've seen of you two growing up. Did something happen?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

Beat looked up as he brother approached the food, as if just noticing his arrival in the grove and still munching away at a large mouthful of food. "Mbbfy--" A quick look from their parents got him to swallow and focus on his brother again. "Hey, wasn't there something happening today or something?" He asked, lowering his head to get another mouthful.

Crescendo blinked and looked between Beat and Pach, then back to Rondel. Something was supposed to happen? Were they expecting his mother, or siblings, and he wasn't informed about it? He wouldn't put it past them to forget details about visitors coming. He did often wonder how the rest of his family seemed to know when he didn't, however.  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

"Uh, no no, nothing happened." he said quickly then shot his brother a look. "And nothing unexpected was supposed to happen." he said meaningfully. He hoped Beat would leave it at that for now. He'd explain later, but just not in front of their parents. He leaned down and took a mouthful to avoid further questions and looked around resisting the urge to sigh wistfully.

Rondel watched her son give his brother a look and then looked to her mate. She shook her head and shrugged. Whatever it was that was supposed to happen, wasn't anything she was aware of. She moved back to her spot next to Cres and leaned just slightly against him watching their boys.

Pach was more than aware he was being watched through the rest of the meal. He then made his excuses and wandered off towards the stream that ran to the back of the grove to drink and graze a bit before bed.

He looked up at the sky watching the sun sink behind the far off mountains and took a deep breath. Tomorrow, everything would be fine tomorrow. Tin would be there and then everything would be perfect.

Mahogany Sunset

 

[xo maho]

Calixte looked at her daughter with concern flashing in her eyes. Tinuviel was not one to cry. She had hardly ever complained, even after all the difficult training and lessons she'd been through. Even after her clash with the purewalkers, Tin hadn't cried; she'd just asked if Enaran was all right. Hoping that she could do something to ease whatever pain Tin was having, Cali walked around her daughter, taking a seat next to her. "What's the matter, Tin-TIn?" she asked softly, using the childhood nickname that had seen little use since Tinuviel was a filly. Even though Cali knew that she had always shared a tenuous-at-best bond with her daughter, she could only hope that Tin would open up this time. "Does it have something to do with where you've been disappearing to everyday?" she added at the last second, hoping not to cross a line.

Tinuviel looked sharply at her mother, a few more tears rolling down her cheeks. She had thought for sure that no one had noticed - no one had said anything. But really, she was too tired and feeling too broken to bother with that topic of conversation. "Maybe it has something to do with that," Tin said evasively. "But I don't think you'd get it, Mom." And truly, she didn't think that Calixte would understand - as far as Tin knew, her mother had never had boy problems. Well, their might have been a little hiccup with Faye or something, but Tin felt that her boy problems blew whatever ones her mother had had right out of the water. Honestly, who on the face of the Spirit's green earth could say that they were afraid to love someone because their love might get that person hurt?

Cali smiled sadly at her daughter. Oh, if only Tin knew what her mother had been through. She could stay up all night telling the stories of her romances prior to Kenton - there was Areion, the jealous one who had shipwrecked off the coast; Celegras, with whom she had been infatuated; Fayearan, Tinuviel's father... Sighing, Cali tried to meet her daughter's eyes. "Try me," she said, eyeing the tears that continued the roll slowly down Tin's cheeks. "I think you'd be surprised by how much I might get it."  

[Mameha Otome]

Beat wandered off through the grove after stuffing his face with more than enough for the night. He moaned to himself about eating too much, figuring maybe some water and then sleep would help. Coming to a stop at the river bank, he lowered his head to drink only to catch sight of his brother nearby.

"Oh, so you came over here? I figured you went to curl up somewhere." He said before getting a drink and thinking things over. Their parents still didn't know about Pach's flings with that pretty mare, and he nearly botched it for all of them tonight. "So....you said she was coming back...did she ditch you?" He asked eventually, crossing the river to join his brother's side. In his mind, it was the only reason Tin wasn't there. She ditched him and won't be back as far as his imagination was concerned.

It wasn't that he had anything against the pretty mare, but how else could one explain her absence?  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Pach looked up as Beat waded over to him. He snorted at him and gave him a look. "No, she didn't ditch me. I'm sure she just got tied down at home and couldn't get away. It happens sometimes. She'll be there tomorrow I'm sure, and then I'll bring her here to meet Mom and Dad."

He nodded firmly. "She's important you know, and she just can't sneak off whenever she feels like." he looked at the water and sighed. "Everything will be okay." he looked over at his brother and nudged him. "You'll see."

He yawned and stretched. "I'm going to bed now. Don't stay up to late." he said before wading into the water back towards the grove.  

[xo maho]

Tin gave her mother a strange look - it seemed, after all, that there was probably more to her mother than she knew. She was probably just blissfully unaware of Calixte's past... Wondering if the herd might be keeping that from her too, Tin decided she had nothing to lose. She didn't want to be just a carefully protected daughter anymore. She wanted her own life. "There's this boy, Mom..." she began, and after that, it all came pouring out of her like it was fighting to escape. Keeping the secret for so long seemed to really have taken a toll on her pausing skills. By the end of her story, she felt like she was dizzy from forgetting to breathe between words. "And this morning, I had a nightmare about those purewalkers... They murdered him, and I mean... I don't want that to happen in real life," she said. "So I didn't go to see him like I was supposed to, and I don't think I'll be going back. I just want to keep him safe." Sighing, she looked at her hooves, which were beginning to turn a weird color in the sunset. "Is that horrible of me?" she asked, wondering if she actually wanted an honest answer.

As Calixte listened to her daughter's story, she'd felt her eyebrows rise higher and higher under her mane of leaves. She hadn't had any idea that Tinuviel's vanishings had such a complicated story behind them, but nonetheless, her curiosity was momentarily satisfied. Her brows furrowing, Cali thought quickly before answering her daughter's question. "It's only natural that you want to keep him safe, sweetheart," she said, "but don't you think he should be the one to decide if he can handle the risks of being involved with our family? If he loves you like you say he does, he should stand beside you, not cower and run away because of your past. And as for your fears of us accepting him," Calixte continued, giving her daughter a meaningful look. "Bring him around, and then let us look at him. Don't do all the judging for us. We're nicer than you think." Giving her daughter a small wink, Cali smiled. They'd both made their speeches, and she had the feeling that her daughter was about to do something rash.

Staring at her mother, Tinuviel's thinking processes slowed to a crawl for several seconds before speeding up again. Getting to her feet, Tin looked down at her mother. "I have to be somewhere," she said, and with that, bolted toward the forest.

Lady Argentum Draconis

 

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Pach dozed fitfully in his spot under one of the trees in the grove. He jerked awake and looked around then shook his head. He'd thought he'd heard something but the night was quiet. He had been having a weird dream but couldn't remember the details. He thought Tin was in it and she was here, but that didn't seem likely. It wasn't impossible that she could find the grove alone just unlikely.

He frowned and looked around, the rest of his family was asleep as far as he could hear and he quietly crept out to the forest side of the grove and started to pace. Another image from the dream floated up and he remembered Tin had been hurt. He didn't like that at all, but he shook his head. It was just a dream, she was probably safe with her herd asleep. He was worrying for nothing, but it didn't stop him from wandering between the forest line and home.

Mahogany Sunset

 

[xo maho]

Sprinting down the path toward their meadow, Tin began to stumble in the dark. The night was steadily growing deeper. It had only just occurred to her that the skinwalkers were nocturnal, and fear was striking at her heart. Every once in a while, she thought she smelled a phantom wafting of their evil scent, but she knew it was only her mind playing tricks on her... At least, that was what she told herself. Maybe they were only marking their territory periodically. Whatever it was, Tin shook her head, trying to keep her mind off it. She tripped once again, but this time when she looked up again, she was in the meadow. Her fall must have sent her tumbling over the hedge and into the clearing.

Nervous as she was, Tin had to call for him. All she knew was that Pach lived nearby - not where his family's grove was, not where he himself was... Closing her eyes against her fear of monsters prowling in the dark, she started her call: "Pachelbel! Can you hear me? Pach!" Not knowing if she was close enough for him to hear her, Tinuviel made her way into the woods in the direction that she always saw him come from, still calling his name.

Lady Argentum Draconis

 

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Pachelbel continued to walk up and down the forest line for no reason he could discern. He should go home, get back to sleep for what remained of the night, and worry about things in the morning. But something kept him going, pacing up and down, ears straining for any sound out of the ordinary. He stopped at opening to the path that led towards the clearing and part of the way to his grandmother's domain, closed his eyes and listened. His eyes snapped open, he almost thought he was going crazy, but he could have sworn he heard someone calling his name.

He stepped into the forest then he heard it more clearly and more importantly he knew that voice. "Tinuviel!" He called out, bursting into a run hoping he knew the path as well as he thought he did. "Tin! I'm here!" he wasn't exactly sure where she was, but eventually they had to run into each other, and if nothing else his bells would make it easy for her to find him.

Mahogany Sunset

 

[xo maho]

Somewhere in the dark, Tin heard it - the sound of Pach's bells, his voice. Clutching at the courage and hope that bubbled up in her chest, she paused in the dark. "Just stay there," she called. "I think I can find you if you hold still! Just make some noise or something." Breathless, she began to pick her way more carefully through the brush, ears swiveling in all directions to find his location. There was so much she had to tell him... So much she'd left out, and she knew it was time to tell him. The skinwalkers were, after all, Tin's reason for abandoning him that day. Thinking that she saw the glint of his bells in the moonlight, she began to make her way toward him.

Lady Argentum Draconis