Meets-the-Sea knew before Little Island did, the poor thing. When Flint had brought his children to the borderlands to meet the mare who had blessed their father, Meets had accepted them into their cave and their family willingly. Soon, however, it became clear that Flint's twins, Red Viper and Sand Snake, were not going to get along well with her own, Terrible Purpose and Fallen Moon. The two sets of twins fought almost constantly, the tension growing daily. Little Island, the sheltered innocent thing, was uncomfortable around all the fighting and took to wandering the borderlands, sometimes in the company of one or other of the Borderwalkers and sometimes alone. Meets hadn't known that the little doe was making her way back to the swamp occasionally -- nor that she had apparently met up with a buck there.Her swamp-given senses did let her know, however, when the sweet young doe came back to the cave bearing new life within her. Little Island seemed...lost, confused by the changes in her body but completely unaware of what it was that was actually happening. Thank goodness Meets was the only one at home when the doe arrived, her stomach just beginning to bulge with the telltale sign of her pregnancy. Motherfather only knows what her siblings would have done.
Meets, on the other hand, smiles knowingly at the doe and beckons her over with her tail. "Island, sweetheart," she murmurs, her tone softer even than the one she uses with her own children. "I haven't seen you in a moon, child. Where have you been?"
Island smiles up at the mare, trots over to her side, nuzzles her forelock against Meets' neck. She has always been affectionate, and Meets-the-Sea is something safe, pleasant, known -- far more than her own mother, Acorn Crop, ever was. "I've been to the swamp," she replies, her voice light and playful. "I met a buck named Poisoned Gift...he had cloven hooves! And these fangs...oh, but he was nice really, not at all as scary as he sounds."
Meets raises a brow and tilts her head, her dark eyes flashing with concern. "I figured as much. I am glad you encountered me first upon your return, instead of your brother and sister." The mare sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, wondering how to explain this to the simple-minded doe. "Island, my dear, you're pregnant."
Little Island's eyes widen and flick up to the mare's. "I am? You can tell?" her tone sounds more excited than anything, although she has no real idea what this means, or even how it happened, really. "That's wonderful! Meets, I'm going to have babies!"
Meets' brow furrows. "Snake and Viper may not be so excited. You know how they like to keep a close watch on you." Her finned tail flicks out around the doe, as if to encircle her in its protection. "Promise me you will stay close, Island, and let me speak to them."
Island looks blankly up at Meets in confusion, mingled with a slight trace of fear. "Of course I will, if you say so..."
"I do." The mare's tone is firm as she continues, her eyes glowing a little brighter. "You will be safe here for as long as you like, as will your children." The fin on the tip of Meets' tail fans out and presses softly against Island's flank, which tingles slightly at her touch. It seems only fitting that Meets-the-Sea bless this clutch, just as she blessed Little Island's own. "You shall always have a home here in the borderlands, if you wish it."
