[PRP] Family Life on the Lake [Mar/Celeste/Marion/Mariam]

[Gl!tch~]

Clouds were slowly rolling in from the west on this early summer's day. So far they seemed unthreatening, just a break from the sun's hot rays. Pretty white and puffy. A cool breeze even wafted through for a couple of minutes. All in all, it was a rather tranquil day at the lake.

Staring at the incoming weather with a stoic expression, Mar was listening for any thunder. He was ever-vigilant for anything that could scare his kids. That, and if it rained, Celeste would likely be soaked. There weren't many places around the lakebed where one could hide from rain or lightning alike. Like the fish of the depths, Mar was used to just diving to avoid the noise until it passed.
The foals, however, might not take it as well, for all he knew. Meanwhile, his mate would have no choice but wait it out in the middle of it.

Hopefully it was just going to be an overcast day, and they would have another day before the inevitable summer storms rolled around.
The otherwise dry day was evaporating the water out of him; soon Mar would have to return to the lake no matter what. He wanted to keep Celeste company in the meantime before dragging her out with him again.

Out into the shallow end of the water where Rion was merrily splashing around, scaring off fish and summer bugs alike.

"You know if you stood still you might be able to catch something-" Mar's sentence was cut short as he was sprayed with water, courtesy of Rion smacking the lake's surface with his tail. "Or not."



Marion just gave his dad a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Dad. It's just so cool to see how water flies and stuff!" he enthused before splashing water straight up with a scoop of his tailfin. He watched droplets and sheets of it alike fly before falling back on him or missing entirely and plopping back into the lake itself. Raising one foreleg as if in contemplation, he then started stomping about, sending water spraying from where he stood knee-and-hock-deep.

Maybe Mom or Riam might see what he meant, or even better, splash fight!
Dad wasn't boring or anything, or at least Rion couldn't quite CALL it that, but he seemed a bit stuffy about some stuff. Riam and Celeste were so much fun in comparison most of the time. Mom was fun and teasing, and overall Rion's sisters were the best.

That wasn't to say that Mar never splashed around with his son. Sometimes Rion could get his dad to smile and even laugh, but it could be pretty hard. He'd call it a confusing adult thing, but Mom wasn't like that. But then Mom was nowhere near as big or...awkward. Rion sometimes wondered if his father was afraid of stepping on the foals. It didn't help that Rion himself was shorter than his siblings.
But his height would definitely even out someday. He could feel it in his bones.

"Hey, Mom, check this out!" Splash, splash.  

[Celestial Requiem]

"Ha! You call that splashing?" Mariam was hardly impressed with her brother's delicate little waves. They were nothing compared to what she had in mind. The filly planted her hooves firmly on the dry, grassy ground--she hadn't joined Marion in the lake just yet--and positioned her wings just right. Everything had to be perfect if she was going to make this work, "Watch this!"

Mariam took off at a full gallop from where she stood, heading straight for the lake. And once she reached the water's edge, she leapt as high and as far as her still developing legs could manage.

She looked quite graceful for a fraction of a second, hovering a couple feet over the surface of the lake. Then she started flapping her wings in a chaotic attempt to fly and the illusion was quickly lost. She dropped into the water like a boulder. Admittedly, the splashing was more impressive than Riam's. Wings can create quite a spray when they're trying frantically to right the body they're attached to.


For a moment, Celeste's heartrate doubled as she watched her daughter flailing all six limbs recklessly in the lake. Looking back on it later, she would realize how ridiculous that split second of panic was. Mariam had been in that lake every day since emerging from her basket. The foal knew how to swim. Almost as well as the rest of the family who actually had body parts specifically for the act. But if there was one thing that becoming a mother had taught her, it was that you will panic about anything and everything.

Having a family of her own wasn't something she had ever expected to happen. She just wasn't the motherly type. Or, at least she hadn't been. Somewhere between finding a mate she cared for deeply and having those three little mongrels that must have changed, "Mariam, what did I tell you about flying?"

"That even though you're a scaredy-foal about it, I should try to learn anyways?" The look Mariam received from her mother made the filly sink her face into the water until only her eyes and ears were visible. She then proceeded to blow bubbles of retaliation.  

[Gl!tch~]

"Riam, have I ever told you you look like an awkward duck half the time?" Rion asked with a laugh, splashing water her way with his tail. He didn't like it when there was friction. Like really, REALLY didn't like it. And, being just a child and not knowing what else to do, he tried to distract his sister from their hare-brained mother instead. "And you SOUND like one too. I didn't hear a WORD you said to me. I mean, if you even thought you were saying stuff. All I got was quack quack quack quack QUACK." He smiled smugly at her in her lazy crocodile pose.

While their son was chattering away at their daughter, Mar looked at his mate with some concern. It bothered him that Celeste wouldn't allow Mariam to try flying. Yes, it could be dangerous, but wasn't everything, in the end? Was it worth it to fight over something most winged Soq were naturally attuned to?
He'd never say it out loud, but he wasn't sure he saw the point in having something if you weren't willing to use it. Of course, there were his mate's feelings to think about when it came to that. He had nothing against her for not wanting to fly. It just was, and that was that. But if their child wanted to soar...and could...was it really their business to stomp it out of her?

That said, Mar wasn't one for fighting. Especially in front of the kids. Celeste was stubborn as all get out, too, so he wasn't sure that saying anything would even help. For all he knew it might just make her even MORE upset about the matter.
Family fights were hard and he had no idea how to handle them.

Despite his meanwhile misgivings, he approached the gray-maned mare. "Maybe while the kids are messing around we could sneak away for a swim or something? Or...sneak up on them, I guess? If you wanted?" he mumbled to her, obviously desperate to avoid conflict. If he had thumbs, he sure would be twiddling them at the moment.

Celestial Requiem

*Hand farts*

 

[Celestial Requiem]

Mariam stared daggers at her brother, rising from the waters, "A duck?! I'll show you a duck! Quack quack quack!!" She spread her wings to their full span, which wasn't very large at this stage in her life, and flapped them as aggressively as she could manage with each quack. She moved closer to Marion, slowly and still quacking and flapping like a maniac. Had she not literally just bellyflopped into the lake and then proceeded struggle to right herself like a cat dropped into a bath, this display might have been intimidating, if a bit (or a lot) ridiculous. As it stood, it was just ridiculous. But that wasn't going to stop her, "I'm gonna get you, QUACK!"

Meanwhile, Celeste watched on with a sour expression. She knew her fear of flying was absurd. She was a soquili with wings. It was in her genes to use them, to soar above the trees and be free of the constraints those bound to the earth had to bear. But just thinking about being so far from the ground made her chest tighten and her breath quicken. Just being a few yards off the ground was absolutely terrifying to her. And she let that fear get in the way of her daughter's wishes. And their relationship. The countless ways one could die horribly while flying were even more frightening when she realized that they could all happen to her daughter if she ever knew how to fly. Celeste was willing to be the bad guy if it meant she didn't have to worry about that.

With a deep sigh, she looked to her mate and gave an awkward smile. He was always so patient. He had to be if he had managed to stick around her for this long. Honestly, it was a miracle he hadn't given up and left yet. Celeste certainly wouldn't have put up with her own crap for a single day, let alone- ah, she couldn't even remember how long it had been now. In the beginning she really did expect him to get fed up and leave one day. Now she only entertained the idea when she knew she was being especially difficult. But he was as loyal as the came, and ultimately the only thing that would ever separate them would be death. And even then, only for a short while,

"A swim would be nice." At least to get her mind off the present issue. She loved her children, but since they were born her paranoia had at least doubled and her stress levels had increased somewhere around ten-fold. She expected motherhood to be a trying experience, she just hadn't been aware of exactly how trying until she was finally a mother.