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 Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:08 pm
 With Agave busy taking their children out on gathering run, Aquitaine decided to go and spend some time with her parents. Having them close to where she lived was a major asset in her life, in fact that was one of the main reasons that she had chosen her home where she had, because being close to her family was the most important thing to her. After all, her family was more important to her than anything else. They had seen her through the tough times of growing up as a mutant foal in a regular Soquili's world and had been extremely accepting when she chose to take on Agave as a mate, even with his questionable past. But Aquitaine had turned Agave away from that previous life and now he was an honorable stallion who promoted peace and learning. And now Aquitaine and Agave's children also lived on the beach, continuing the family tradition. It was her hope that they would continue to stay here after they found mates and started families of their own, but if one or all of them chose to leave at some point, she would let them go - but expect them to visit whenever they could.
The ocean moved in gentle motions today as Aquitaine walked along the beach, the water lapping easily back and forth up to her knees as she went. Ever since she was a foal she had enjoyed walking along the area where the water come upon shore and then drifted back into the ocean once more. She remembered with a smile how there had been a few occasions when she was younger that she wished more than anything to be part Kelpi, so that she could dive well below the surface and experience an even bigger part of the ocean. While that wish had never been granted Aquitaine never lost her love of the ocean or the beach. Even so, it would be very interesting to be able to see what lay well below the waters surface. Perhaps she would ask a Kelpi in the future just what it was like to dive down and swim below the waves.
Aquitaine shook her head as the dunes that made up part of her parents home came into view. While she made regular trips here, she couldn't help but feel a wealth of happiness flow through her each time she came to visit. "Mother! Daddy!" She called out as she broke into a trot, wanting to get there as soon as possible. It's funny how after all this time she still used the term daddy instead of father. But then again, she was her daddy's little princess, so calling him father was just...strange.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:35 am
The blue stallion felt his stomach churn.
Unfortunately, of all his children to inform of the day's news, it was Aquitaine whom he feared the most. The young mare had always been a homebody, had always been one who seemed most traditional in the ways of family. Strange though she looked, she had settled close to Zara and Hadrian, and while she did sometimes go out and help other mutants, he worried about how she'd take the news of her parents separation. He knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant talk, but they couldn't keep pretending any longer.
Zara had deserved more than Hadrian could give, and Hadrian was slowly coming to accept that . . . he . . wasn't as traditional a prince as his own parents might have hoped. Spirits help him, he wasn't sure if being truthful to himself was going to be better for anybody in the long run. . . He had been content to keep his life as it had been, but Zara had never been one to settle.
They had taken comfort in each others companionship while young and brash, and while their love had been true, it was not passion or allure. Love, but not romance; friends, but only friends.
So it was, the stallion turned to greet his daughter. If his mane had more silver in it than it had years prior, it could not be helped. "Ah, I see the princess has returned. Good day, my dear. . . I hope you and your family have been well?" He trotted forward to greet her with an affectionate nuzzle, his jeweled tail giving a wag. He tried his best to look as happy as she might expect, for he did not wish to alarm her, but he knew that there was a new weight upon his shoulders, a new chain of guilt and grief he was attempting to keep hidden. He was going to hurt his children. . . . He had failed his mate, even if the separation had been her idea, and now he would soon let his daughter and sons down.
This had never been how he'd expected things to go.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:50 am
Seeing her father brought a huge smile to Aquitaine's lips. She loved both of her parents equally, and yet there was no denying that she was indeed daddy's little princess. It was something her brothers had teased her about in their younger days, of course that was done in a loving manner, but she had wondered at times if her brothers were jealous of the obvious deep bond between her and their father. If they did have any jealousy issues with it, they had never shown or voiced them as far as she knew.
Returning her fathers nuzzle with one of her own Aquitaine looked at her father. "We are all doing well. Eadric has us busy with a few projects he has on the go. He has such a creative mind, and it truly surprises me the things that he comes up with using nothing but items he finds on the beach and surrounding area." It made her wonder what his current project was. He had not given her much information before he had left with Ipswich and Agave to go gather the materials he needed. "He's actually got Ipswich and Agave out with him right now as he needed some help to gather up some necessary items for his next creation." Only time would tell what exactly that was. "Ipswich is such a great help with Eadric. I still don't know what she will do with her life, but right now she is happy to help with anything." It was possible her daughter was simply experiencing various options as a way to decide what her eventual path would be.
"Casimir is still keeping to himself." There was a hint of sadness to her tone when talking about her second son. "I want to help him, but I know that if I push him too much to open up I may do more damage than good. I wish he would talk to me, or Agave, to let us know what he is going through." She knew that Casimir felt like an outsider in the family, but he had no reason to. Aquitaine loved all her children and wanted the best life for them. She wasn't sure that Casimir would get that if he kept to himself all of them time.
As she spoke Aquitaine took a good look at her father. She wasn't oblivious to the signs that he was trying to hide something. From her deep bond with him, and her experience with helping those individuals out across the land, Aquitaine could tell something wasn't quite right. What exactly was bothering him though, she could not guess. "Have you heard from Arcadius or Aurelian lately?" Perhaps he was worried about them. They had not been around for some time, having gone off on their own. She did miss her brothers and wished that they would visit more often, but also understood they needed to live their own lives.
"Daddy." The question hovered on the tip of her tongue. She didn't want to pry but at the same time she wanted to know what was weighing her father down. "Is everything alright?" There, she asked it. Perhaps he was simply not getting enough sleep. It could be something minor like that. She hoped, needed, it to be something minor.
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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:32 pm
Hadrian listened as his daughter spoke of her family. The love and pride which echoed in every word was clear, and Hadrian was glad that she had such a strong bond with her children and mate. Family had always been important to Hadrian, but it seemed doubly so in his daughter, and he was glad that he had helped instill such desires. Rather, he hoped he had helped foster such a love for family -- his daughter had always been a thoughtful and sweet filly, perhaps, even without him in her life, she might have grown up similarly. It pained him to know his own parents were long gone -- they had left the beaches to his care, and had taken off on some great adventure. Sadly, he knew not when they might return, if ever the would. . . and as the seasons passed, he began to believe them all gone for good.
A sad thing, really, and a reason why he tried to keep such close ties with his own family. He wasn't always the best at it and feared what the future might bring; with Arcadius and Aurelian instilled with roving hearts, and his own relationship with Zara now at a an end, he couldn't help but wonder whether or not his beloved family would fall to pieces.
"It does my heart good to hear that my grandfoals are keeping busy. Curiosity is a great thing, and I have no doubt Ipswich will find her place. They're all young yet, there's no rush to grow." Oh, his own heart ached to know that his own little family had all grown up and left. The beaches were too quiet but there was no way to easily remedy that. "As for Casimir, I'm sure he'll come aorund with time. Perhaps I'll pay him a call, see if some time with his old grandfather might not draw him out. I'm long overdue to pay visits to all of you, really," he added, giving a small, apologetic duck of his head. Things had simply been . . .difficult, and he too, had kept some to himself, dreading the inevitable.
There would be no more time to hide now.
"Unfortunately, I have heard no news on Arcadius, and Aurelian sent word by raven a few weeks prior. He is still seeking his place, but seems to be happy helping wherever he might be needed; his fate resides in the hands of the spirits, but he did hope to return home sometime this year." Ah, his boys, wandering hearts just as he had once been. Though he did not begrudge them their calling, the blue eyed unicorn did wish that they could all be together more easily. A visit here or there, a message by bird every now and then just wasn't enough.
Though his smile was warm, when Aquitaine asked whether or not something was wrong, Hadrian felt his resolve waffle. He didn't want to break his daughter's heart. . . but. . . The truth was bound to come out. If anyone were to let her know, it had to be him. "Actually, Aquitaine, my girl, there. . . there is. I'm not sure how to preface this, and there's no easy way to say it, so I might as well come out and say it." He hesitated a moment, his leonine tail giving a nervous wag behind him. "Your mother and I are . . . separating. Permanently." He didn't want his daughter to have hope that they might rekindle some romance. He loved Zara, and had no doubt she loved him, but they were friends, not lovers.
Not like lifemates should be.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 7:03 am
Aquitaine nodded. It was true. Her children, while adults, were still young in their lives and had plenty of time to find their own paths to follow. "I know. I was older than they are not before I found my calling, but even before that I had many ideas of what my life would be like. I know she will find her place some day, I guess I am simply curious to see where her hooves will lead her." Hopefully not away from the beach, she wanted her children to stay close, but if that was what Ipswich decided to do, then she would not stop her. Her children were old enough to make decisions on their own, and whatever they chose, Aquitaine would be encouraging in that.
"I think having you visit would do Casimir some good." She said with a smile. "He may wish to spend his time alone, but I know he will be happy to see you." Her father hadn't visited as much lately as he had in the past, but they had times when they were busier than normal and that made visiting a bit more difficult. Perhaps they were simply busy getting some things done here and hadn't been able to spare time for a good long visit.
Hearing about her brothers Aquitaine nodded. She missed them, she really did, but she was also glad that they were doing what they wanted to. They were out there looking for their own place to call home, their own path to follow. "I am sure they will both come home at some point, even if it is only to visit." She now spent a lot of her time wandering the lands, in order to find those who needed help. Having seen the lands beyond the beach, Aquitaine could understand, to a certain extent, her brothers appeal to wandering.
Any other thoughts she might have had on that instantly stopped at her fathers next words. She had sensed that something wasn't quite right and it seemed her father did indeed have something to tell her, and by the tone of his voice is wasn't anything good.
"Your mother and I are . . . separating. Permanently."
Aquitaine had thought she could handle whatever bad news her father was about to tell her, but in those few simple words her world fell apart. She stared at her father, trying to process what was happening. This had to be some cruel joke! But her father would never do such a thing to her. Her heart pounded away in her chest, it felt hard to breath. Tears began to run down her cheeks. How could this be happening? Their home and family had always been such a loving environment. She had seen the way her father and mother looked at each other, there was love in those gazes.
Had it been the stress of raising mutated children that had torn them apart? It was almost too much to think about. Aquitaine opened her mouth but no words came out. The shock was still too great. Closing her eyes Aquitaine too a few deep breaths. Her family was so important to her, and now a major part of that was being ripped apart.
"How..." She managed to squeeze out before opening her eyes. "Why..." She gave her head a shake. "You can't...do this. You love each other!" She all but cried out. Swallowing she asked the question she didn't want to, but she had to know, why exactly they were breaking up. "Was it...because of us? Because we were different?" If that was the reason behind them separating, that herself and her bothers were mutated...well, then Aquitaine wasn't sure if she could go on, especially with her life's work of helping other mutants.
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 2:51 pm
Hadrian watched as his daughter took in the news. Oh, oh spirits help him, he was a terrible, terrible stallion! His stomach knotted, and his ears lowered in shame as he saw her eyes begin to water; she couldn't seem to speak, couldn't seem to process the shock to her system, and shock he very well knew it to be. He took half a step closer to her, wanting to offer her comfort and assurance, but unsure if she wished him near. He didn't want her to reject him, to push him away, and he also didn't want to crowd her. Oh, this had never been something he'd ever dreamed of having to do, and here he was . . . . he truly was a monster, wasn't he?
"Aquitaine," he began, finding his own throat beginning to choke. Part of him wanted to find Zara and beg her to change her mind; their children deserved better than this, didn't they? But, on the other hoof, he knew that their love had been young, had been more out of mutual want for companionship than true passion. He had loved Zara, she had given him a family, but . . . as he years progressed he . . . he realized he'd only been going through the motions. They had fit into the romantic stereotypes of prince and princess, and they had looked ever the happy and in-love family. But it . . . it wasn't true. It was nothing but a facade. They were nothing but friends.
"Aquitaine, sweetie, no . . . No, no it absolutely had nothing to do with you children. Please, don't ever think such a thing!" Hadrian was horrified that she might believe it. This time he did step forward, hoping he might wrap his neck around hers, hoping he might offer her some comfort. "This didn't happen because of you, or your brothers, or how you were born; this doesn't even have to do with your mother and I not caring for one another, for we do. We're not parting out of animosity. . . we're parting because we. . . we're different soquili than we were when we were younger. We don't want the same things, and staying together wouldn't be right." Hadrian didn't want to explain what only he himself was beginning to understand, to come to terms with. . . . .
No, that could come out later. Maybe. That kernal of truth was something he feared admitting to his children, much less to himself. It had been something he'd known when younger, but due to his own parents strict upbringing, he'd pretended it hadn't been so. He'd tried so hard to be what had been expected of him, and at the end of the day, it was ruining everything. His relationship with his mate, his children, his home . . nothing would be the same because of it.
Oh, oh why couldn't he have been different?
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