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 Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 7:12 pm
 Taking a deep breath and steeling herself to continue the journey on her own, without the safety and protection of the stallion who had rescued her from hell. Her savior. But she was strong. She could travel the last hour or so on her own to the glen where her father and his new family were. She could make it... home... without help. Tossing her mane, she walked with an outward air of confidence, though inside she was terrified, and it took everything she had not to call out and ask Tempest to stay until she reached the safety of the glen.
The forest around her was familiar, comforting, and very slowly she started to relax. The feigned confidence becoming real, though she still kept her ears pricked and alert, listening for any sound out of the ordinary that might indicate trouble. She was not about to let anything like that happen to her, ever again.
Not too long into the trek after she left Tempest, her intuition panned out. It seemed that her father had gotten tired of waiting for her to return and had started ranging out somewhat looking for her. And while normally this would cause her no end of exasperation, she couldn't help but feeling a flicker of affection. Especially after the stress and trauma she had been through recently.
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Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 1:24 pm
 Linaiha was late. This was not a common act for the young mare that was his daughter Laures had found in the rather short time she had been in his life. And if she was going to be late, she would find some way to get a message to him, so he was more than a little anxious. Enough so that he started to leave the glen so his worry would not upset his beloved mate. Ranging out trying to see her or find any evidence that she was near.
While deep in his heart he feared that perhaps she had just decided that he was a failure of a father and she wanted nothing more to do with him and was not going to return, or that she was badly wounded or possibly dead, he buried these dark thoughts deep in his mind, refusing to believe them, as if by not believing them they could not be true. Not that this belief had helped in in previous situations, but he refused to give it up.
She was now almost a week late without word, and the signs were not good. A day or two, while troubling, could easily be explained away, but a week? He was getting to be more than a little frantic. Hence the fact he was farther from the glen than he'd been in a long while. And it was a good thing he did.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:30 pm
'Daddy,'Linaiha knew she sounded like a very young filly, but just then it didn't matter. Though she would feel properly embarassed about her outburst later, she had gone through enough recently that she simply wanted the comfort of her father.
She bumbled through the thick bushes and undergrowth, eager to reach her father, and the sense of comfort home, and safety he represented as quickly as possible. Ignoring the half-healed cuts and tears on her wings in her haste. Wincing in pain as the wounds opened, but it was a small matter. She was almost home, and her father was there. He would make everything all better.
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:37 pm
Lina had promised to meet him here. But the day had come and gone. And as time passed he grew concerned. Though he had not known his serious daughter that well or that long, he knew that she would keep her word. She was sincere and would walk through fire to make sure she didn't break her promises... a side-effect of her being abandoned however unknowingly, when she was a basket. Or so he believed. And he blamed himself for it.
'Daddy'
When he heard the call, it felt like a fist clenched around his heart. He had been waiting so long for his baby girl to return to him, his ears were playing tricks. Or so he thought. Lina was too old and strong to call out like a young foal. She would never allow herself sound so small and weak, and he would never have the chance to comfort and reassure her.
She was an adult, and they had missed so much time...
'Daddy'
She called again, and he realised he wasn't simply hearing things. Linaiha had returned, she was nearby, and she was calling for him.
'Lina,' he looked around. Then he heard a crashing through the undergrowth and was nearly sent toppling over as he was assaulted by the petite form of his little girl.
He nuzzled her, breathing in deeply. She was home. She was safe... then he caught a whiff of dried blood and pulled back to get a good look at her.
Normally pristine mane was disheveled, beautiful wings ( much like his own ) pulled in tight against her sides edges looking tattered and worn, and her chest and sides bore scabs and a few silvery lines of scars she hadn't had when she had left the glen...
what had happened, for her to bear these marks? This hurt? And what would it take for him to help chase away the darkness that seemed to lurk in the corners of her lovely eyes.
'Tell me all about it, Lina.'
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:00 pm
'Daddy, they're real. Shapeshifting demons. Skinwalkers. They can change size, but not like us. They even take on the attributes of other animals.... Like cats. Their claws that rend... and the teeth. They are so quick. And evil. And they don't care about life. Did you know this?' This wasn't exactly how she wanted to tell her story... Hell, she hadn't intended to tell it in the first place. She would have rather forgotten the whole thing had ever happened....
Well, not meeting Tempest. He was such an intriguing stallion, one she would like to get to know better. Though she probably wouldn't ever see him again. Even if she wanted... he would probably rather forget her. Forget the flighty female who had been a nuisance and distraction....
She shuddered briefly, then leaned into her father, soaking up all the affection and care he was willing to give. Even though in normal circumstances she would not permit this display of weakness. But damn it all, she had just been through hell, and if she wanted a little affection, it was her right.
'I don't remember how it began... I was walking through a forest. You know, the one you always told me was home to monsters and such? Well, I didn't really believe that there were such things as monsters, and I had been running late... I would have been here when I had said, but, there was this incident, and I was delayed, so I decided to cut through the forest.
So there I was, walking through the forest, minding my own business, when all of a sudden and out of nowhere, something came flying out of the bushes, and I guess I was knocked unconscious, because everything went black. And when I came to, it was with sharp bursts of pain along my chest and my wings... Something distracted the monster than, and it left me be, so I shrank and flew up a tree, not able to do much else if I were to get away and survive...'
On it's own, the whole situation was bad enough, alarming even. It almost dealt with her death, which would be more than upsetting to her father. She didn't want to mention Tempest, who would be distressing in another way... and frankly, she wanted to keep him to herself. It wasn't really any of her father's business, after all.
'So I was rescued, the monster run off. I assisted by healing my rescuer's wounds, then made my way here. To you. Home. I'm sorry I'm late. That I didn't listen to you That I made you worry. I'm sorry, daddy.'
Then for some reason, one of the remarks Tempest had made off hand, seemed kind of amusing and might lighten the mood a bit. If nothing else, she would get a giggle out of his facial expressions when he realised what she said.
'Did you know that some skinwalkers dislike onions?'
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 6:43 pm
At the word 'skinwalker' a shudder wracked his body, and his blood turned to ice in his veins. His little girl, his baby, had contact with one of those demons. He could have lost her, and would never have known how or why, or what happened...
He stepped closer and draped his neck over her, pulling her close, as if it could erase what had happened and to assure himself that she was still there. That she was still alive. That he hadn't failed her yet again.
He almost didn't hear the story, caught up in his mind with the different 'what -if ' scenarios, things that could have been, but thankfully weren't. And while she would allow the physical closeness, he would take advantage of it. Holding her to him and breathing her in.
There was something niggling at his mind... the story seemed incomplete. How did she really escape, where was the mysterious rescuer... but the thought faded to the back of his mind as he focused n the fact she was there and alive, and he wouldn't have to grieve her loss a second time. Had he lost her again... it would have broken him, and even with the love of his princess he wasn't sure if he would be able to survive it.
'It's ok baby. You're safe. And that's all that matters.'
At her last words, his brow wrinkled as he pulled away to look at her incredulously. 'Skinwalkers don't like onions? Where on earth would you get such an absurd idea...'
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 6:52 pm
Linaiha giggled. While his face wasn't as ridiculous and exaggerated as she had hoped, Laures' expressive face showed his disbelief quite clearly, and it was enough to lighten the mood and start to bring them back into the fragile equilibrium they had established before she had left. They were able to be close but not too close, once comfort was given, they could step back and act adult, putting the vulnerabilities back behind the masks where they belonged.
This was familiar. It was safe.
This was home.
( fin.... at least for now)
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