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 Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:07 am
Today was a training day. Rouge had dragged her entire pack out away from the Royal Rainbow Troupe's latest encampment, far away from the distractions of Watch Me cooing over her performers, Tender dropping by with little doggie snacks, any number of what-have-yous, that had delayed the learning of the newest formation she had devised for their show. Sometimes, Rouge suspected her little pack was getting soft (and that so was she, but, oh, the horror in that). And so it was she had spent the entire morning in sand dog form, eyes blazing merrily as she yipped quick instructions left and right as her puppies tried their steps - save So Soft, of course, who was above such parlour tricks.
And it was So Soft that first alerted her to the fact that they were not alone, amber eyes widening, ears lifting to fine points. Abruptly silencing the dogs, she padded forth to see what the wolf had spotted.
A Kiokote. And a pretty one she is, too, Rouge noted, oh, but she's with child. There might be a story to be had, there! Wagging her fluffy tail, she yipped forth into the Kiokote's path.
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:31 pm
 The kio doe moved through the Swamp with a cheetah at her side in spite of a slower pace. Cadence had been through pregnancy twice before now, but this time seemed to be weighing more heavily on her. It wasn't the physical weight of carrying her children, it was a sense of responsibility for those lives that had been lacking with her previous clutches. Not that she'd abandoned the others, not fully anyway; they had mostly raised themselves. She had watched over them and they knew she existed and would help should they need her. It certainly wasn't that her time with Frame was all that different from what she'd had with Thrum and Kindle. Of course Frame was a unique piece of work and she smiled to herself wondering just how their children would blend their traits. She was just about to turn to Blossom her cheetah to express some of her thoughts when the cheetah growled a warning. Suddenly there was a pink sanddog in their path tail wagging and eyes.... glowing? After the initial warning Blossom settled and chirped a curious greeting. "Hello... " Cadence finally said. "I hope we're not intruding?" She really wasn't sure what to make of the bright sand dog. There was something different going on here and she couldn't quite put her hoof on what...
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:45 pm
"Arf arf arf yip," the little pink dog barked as it skipped around the Kiokote and her cheetah, "arf yip yip arf - oh Swamp have it!"
The little pink dog erupted into a little pink Acha, "Sorry, sometimes when I go dog for too long, I forget."
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:59 pm
Cadence stumbled back a couple steps at the sudden change. "Oh.. I.. can see how that be a problem," she managed to reply. Of course she couldn't really because the dog suddenly was an acha and how did that even happen? The kio suddenly remembered some of the stories she'd heard at various gatherings about certain kin being chosen by the Swamp herself. Many of the stories revolved around.... her eyes widened as she recalled.... parents seeking out the chosen one's for blessings for their children. Cadence hadn't been seeking but perhaps it wasn't chance that brought this acha/sanddog to her. "Are you one of the Chosen One's?" Cadence asked. "I've heard some stories but... I've never really thought to ask or learn more. I am currently carrying foals, is that why you're here?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 8:15 am
She had originally come for gossip, but the Kiokote's question appealed to her vanity. Puffing in pride, she nodded beatifically, "Yes, dear child. The great Swamp has bestowed upon me this precious gift, and I could sense your need."
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:10 am
"Thank you," the kio replied reassured, because with her rising feelings of responsibility she did need some help, or at least someone to talk to. "I've had foals before but this time feels different somehow..." she paused and her cheetah chirped encouragingly at her. She smiled at the cheetah and was reminded of its sibling Cherry who was bound to her brother. She let out a giggled, "It's probably all my brother's fault really. He's been really pushing me about my lifestyle and the fact that I know little more about my children than their names." She'd been most angry at Deception for saying he was surprised she knew their fathers' names let alone their foals, but she wasn't going to mention that. "It didn't bother me all that much at the time, but now that I'm carrying again it's more than the physical that is weighing upon me." Having gotten the basics into the open with someone other than her familiar, Cadence took a breath, then grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry to babble on like that. I really want the best for all my children, but I'll try to actually be a mother to these. But even if I fail at that, I hope they'll be caring and respectful with each other and that they'll have each other like I know I have my own brother." Jun D somehow they all end up being nervous babblers like me... at least in certain circumstances
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:03 pm
The doe's sincerity moved her - her story touched her, stirring maternal emotions rarely invoked, and what had begun in vanity suddenly turned quite earnest, "Oh, my child - my poor child! In one way, your brother is right: what joy it is to partake in the lives of our little ones - to steady their steps and watch them grow! I, too, am a mother," she nodded empathically, "and I have raised my daughters into fine young does - even grown, they are with me often, and I would not trade their company for the world!"
(This was not exactly true, being that they remained as part of a tribe; that she'd raised them in a manner, yes, but more as playmates and proteges than from any especial motherly instinct, and, again, would she have done so if they were not all part of a tribe...; that there were probably things she could think to trade their company for - after all, she did see them so very often, what was the harm of a break from time to time? But at the moment, these feelings were very real to her.)
"But at the same time, your brother is so very wrong: your life is yours to live as you choose, dear child, not his to shame - and who is to say our children may not turn out the better without us to stifle their steps and mould them into shapes they might not have chosen? The Swamp provides, and there is a plan for all...and, here, let me ease your worries, I will beseech the Motherfather hear your beautiful prayer."
"Oh, great and glorious Swamp," she abruptly burst into full-voiced chant, prancing around the doe with meaningful step, "grant this dear child's wish: with or without her guiding hoof, let her children flourish, and never cease to mind their brothers and their sisters, that they may know her joy, and have joy of their own. There!" she bounded to a stop and beamed proudly at the Kiokote.Tygress Dream Aww, it's super sweet! <3
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 12:49 pm
As the acha spoke Cadence began to feel the weight lift from her, even before she began her chanting. Just having someone understand helped greatly. Her cheetah snuggled close to her as the acha began to circle and chant. The kio felt even more uplifted, what a wonderous thing to have this touch of ceremony. She couldn't help but smile joyously back at the acha, "Oh thank you so much. It feels so wonderful to be understood and the weight feels lifted. Is there anything I can do for you? You've done so much in this brief meeting." She paused giving it some thought, "I know the color probably is all wrong but I have this flower in my mane. It comes from the meadow where my brother and I meet..." she bowed her head to show off the flower. "We attach them to each other as a reminder when we have to part." Jun D This should be able to wrap up in a post or two depending on Rouge's response. <3 thank you!
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 8:42 am
There might be some Legendaries who would refuse all hint of reward for blessing, feeling themselves merely a vessel, as it were, for the Motherfather's grace. Rouge was not one of them. While she never thought to ask recompense (she quite liked flinging blessings left and right, actually), the mention of the flower perked her right up. After all, her name was Red-stained Blossom.
"Oooh!" she said, pleased that it looked not a little like the desert bloom in the dream from whence she was named, "ooooh, that's a pretty flower, it is! Why, much obliged, I'd say!"Tygress Dream AAAAHHHHH SORRY I TOOK FOREVER!!!
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