Another winter spent alone. Why was he not surprised? He was a wanderer at heart. He’d set off from home at a young age. He’d made friends, but those friends had passed, time drawing them apart. He just wasn’t good at the whole friendship thing; maybe he wasn’t the kind of guy to keep longterm buddies. Come to think of it, besides his grandsons, he’d never really been around to do “dude” things. Maybe that was his problem; maybe he needed a wingman.
Not this winter, though. This winter he’d committed to staying close to home. He knew Lani worried about him; he wasn’t an old man by any means, but he wasn’t a sprite yearling anymore. He knew this when Rixton had come into the world, bright and daring, and he’d had to huff and puff to keep up. Maybe he just needed some good old fashioned exercise. Except winter always made him cranky. Sigh.
He meandered through the fields, thinking back to the time he’d spent in the desert; he’d met a mare--a kalona with a temper on her that flashed like wildfire--and…well… They spent a couple of nights together. It had been for the sake of fun--a thrill that Tav hadn’t felt in a long while--and then they went their separate ways. He wasn’t sure what drew him to the edge of the territory, where the field met a dense forest, but he kept walking until he felt the urge to stop. When he did stop, it was because a wave of shock had just flooded through him.
No…
Three baskets lay at the base of a rock painted with a smear of blood; three baskets that were colored an awful lot like him. Tavarii stood there for a long moment, fear and hope twisting themselves in knots in his stomach, then bent his neck to smell them. They smelled of Judah… His heart began to thunder. Was it possible? One basket was the deep dark of his pelt, overlaid with streaks. Another was like a sunset with a small violet gemstone.
They were his. He was going to be a father again, after all this time…
A smile touched his face, small at first but then it grew. They were his. Ready or not…
Xxx
Serren was a bit of a worrier, deep down. He never let it show, seemingly unflappable, outwardly calm and in control, but in his heart? He worried about his grandfather, a stallion he’d been close with all his life. He wanted more than anything to make Tavarii happy, but it wasn’t his place; he had his own life, his own path, try as he might to make others’ lives a little bit brighter. Maybe happiness wasn’t in the cards for Tav. Maybe he had to actually…seek it out himself instead of doing what he was doing. He traveled far and wide--there was no reason he couldn’t find love. Hell, Serren had gone out seeking a little flirting and maybe and fling and found himself saddled with the real deal: A lifemate, and one he dearly loved. Now he couldn’t see himself with another mare; if she ever left…it would leave a wound in his heart too big to ever fill again. Vitania was his heart. She was his other half.
Maybe Tav’s heart had been broken too many times; he didn’t speak much of the past, of his former loves. Maybe he was irrevocably broken, but that made Serren sad. When he saw his grandfather take off, he decided that maybe he needed a peptalk--something, anything to brighten his day; so he followed along at a slow pace, not wanting to intrude on personal space.
That thought was soon forgotten as he saw Tavarii hauling a couple of baskets behind him. Wait--what? “Grandpa?” he asked, shaken out of his own mind. The baskets…they were fiery and dark, a sunset of colors. And Tav, he wore a grin two times its normal size. Serren laughed and ran to help him. “Have a little more fun than you’d expected on your trip to the desert?” he joked good naturedly.
Xxx
Tavarii was so lost in thought and wonder that he didn’t hear Serren approaching until the younger stallion was right there. He blinked at Serren’s words and his grin cracked wider. “I…apparently? I mean, they smell like…her.” He was sure Judah had left them there for him to find. She hadn’t really been the motherly sort, but he knew that these foals would have kalona blood running through their veins. And while his family wasn’t biased…the idea of raising a couple of meat eaters was more than a little daunting. So he decided to say nothing--when the babies came from their baskets, their traits would be apparent. He’d handle that day when it got here.
“You wanna give me a hand, Serr?” he asked. One basket was balanced at the swell of his back, another dragged along by a vine he’d wrapped around. The third basket, silvery gray and marked rather strangely, sat alone. He glanced to his grandson, who nodded and quickly gathered the last basket. “Your mom is going to freak…” he murmured as they walked, a slow and steady pace; Lani freaking was an understatement. She’d be so hopeful that Tav had found a love of his own…when in reality… He wouldn’t fall in love with Judah. They were too different. They weren’t meant to be.
Xxx
Serren laughed, hoisting the last basket to his back, steadying it with his wings, wrapping around the small wicker thing. He eased alongside Tav to help balance that basket as well, falling into step beside him. True, his mom would probably spazz out, but in a good way. She wanted him to be happy too, but Serren knew she’d never expect Tavarii to be the one coming home with baskets. Dante? Sure, he was the sort to tangle with the female species more often than not. Rixton? Definitely, she was a flirt who might never settle down. But his own grandfather?
He bumped his shoulder gently against Tav’s. “Are you excited, at least? I mean…the birth of my little ones was something I cherished and prayed for and when Vitania finally got pregnant, I was over the moon. It’s natural to be a little afraid--I had no idea what I was doing with kids--but you’ve already been around the block. This should be easy for you, yeah?” He tried for light, buoyant, and Tavarii’s smile never wavered. “You know we’re here for you, right? I mean…if the mother doesn’t come back and you take care of them, Mom and I will help. We’re family for a reason. We’ve got your back.”
Reply
