[SRP] Making Alliances (Zahavah, Nova & Midagi)

[divena]

This is a self rp between Zahavah, Nova Sangfroid, and Midagi Royale

 

[divena]

Nova bounded along ahead of her mother, pausing every few paces to glance back and make sure Zahavah was still following her. The foal had calmed down a great deal after the scare a few days ago, but she still hadn't quite gotten her previous confidence back. This was the first time she had left the small clearing where her family called home. Even now, she wouldn't have been making this trek if her mother hadn't been following behind her. Pavlov and Wolf seemed to be worried about Zahavah, but little Nova wasn't fully certain why. Her mama was walking without any hints of pain, though she kept her chest bandaged still. Nova wasn't used to seeing her fearless mother injured or even slightly smaller than life. She still had trouble thinking that anything could slow the orange mare down even a bit. Still, she didn't like the idea of being out of sight of anyone in her family.

"It's not far now, Mama," she told her mother, wondering if she should offer to stop. That's what Wolf would do, wasn't it? He was always so considerate toward others. Nova tried, but she seemed to go overboard too often.  

[divena]

Zahavah followed her youngest daughter and smiled fondly at the reassurance. She made a point to keep her pace easy. The cut left behind by the skinwalker was still a bit tender, though it had stopped bleeding not long after she had gotten it. She had been injured before, and she knew that the cut would heal in time. All she really had to do was keep it clean and bandaged. Really, she was certain that her children and mate were more upset by the slash than she was. Of course, now that she was thinking about it, she couldn't remember the last really bad brawl she had gotten into.Certainly, it had been before her eldest daughters had been born. Maybe even before she had met Pavlov....

She shook away those thoughts. These days she didn't pick as many fights. Chasing after her mate's phantoms and looking after her children burned up the restless energy of her youth just fine. She was also painfully aware, now, that she wasn't as formidable as she had always believe. Oh, she could take anyone or anything on, of that she was still certain... But she knew she couldn't protect her growing family all by herself.

And that, more than anything else she had been through, inspired fear. This new sensation had imbued her with a new level of respect for her mate. It also made her realize that she needed help. She could rely on Pavlov to be there for her and their children, if he needed to be, but he didn't have the same fighter's instincts that she had... Ah but this was a problem to be tackled after she met and inspected Nova's new friend.  

[divena]

Just outside the trees where Zahavah and Nova were making their way, Midagi was hard at work. Since the last time little Nova had stumbled upon him, he had made a great deal of progress on his stone fortress. It had been tricky at first, trying to figure out how to get the stones to stay how he had put him. Eventually, he figured out how to mix a sort of mortar that held the rocks together. He even tested it to make sure it wouldn't melt in the first rain. He had a respectable wall erected, now. Inside that wall, he would build the actual home. He made sure to leave plenty of space so he could move around within the safety of the wall. Eventually, he decided, he would have to dig into the stone of the cliffs, where it was safe to do so. Either that, or he'd have to figure out how to add on more levels while going up. That seemed decidedly unsafe, however... Hmm... Something to think about. Once he had the basics down, at least.

For now, he continued to inspect the wall for any flaws.  

[divena]

With one last glance back at her mother, Nova broke free of the forest obstructing their view. She stumbled to a halt when she saw the massive wall that hadn't been there the last time. "Woooow," she murmured, awed.  

[divena]

Zahavah slowed to a halt behind her daughter and took in the wall. "Well... that's unexpected." She hadn't been to this part of the territory since Pavlov and she had settled in this area. Perhaps even before that. The wall was actually right on the edge of what the small orange mare considered her territory. For a moment, she felt a surge of annoyance that someone would dare to make such a change to her home without permission. Her instinct was to charge forward and challenge the interloper responsible.

She quickly pushed the irritation back down and forced herself to study the wall objectively. Getting into a fight right now would only reopen her wound and, ultimately, worry her mate and children. Besides, the whole point of this trek was to meet Nova's new friend, and as far as Zahavah knew, he was responsible for the monstrosity before them.

Just to be sure, she asked her daughter, "Is this your friend's work?"  

[divena]

"Um... maybe?" Nova hedged, her gaze locked on the wall. Curiously, she ventured forward, pausing halfway between the wall and her mother to glance back at Zahavah, for permission and to make sure the orange mare was still there. "When I met him before, he was just digging and there were lots of rocks all around. I... think some of these were those rocks? Maybe?"

At Zahavah's slight nod, she bounded forward to sniff at the wall. She sneezed when the strange smell filled her nostrils.  

[divena]

Zahavah kept her daughter in sight as she moved forward to conduct her own inspection of the wall. It was really rather well made, if a bit crudely. Before she had left the valley her mini brethren had lived in, she had seen many unusual things, including walls made of wood and stones. This wasn't quite as nicely done as some of the mini craftssoqs could manage, but it still looked sturdy. At least, it did to Zahavah's unprofessional eye, anyway.

The orange mini could think of several uses for such a wall. It would do wonders to protect the rear of their territory from any invaders, like the skinwalker that had marked her the other day. At least, if it was properly maintained and guarded, anyway. Depending on what was on the other side, it might even present a safe place to hide the children in a case of an emergency.

That was what Zahavah would have used it for... but it wasn't her wall, so she had to wonder... "What it for, do you think?" she murmured, trying to figure out why someone would have gone to so much trouble to build such a monument out in the relative middle of nowhere. Little Nova hadn't mentioned any others... was this all really just for one soq?  

[divena]

Midagi rounded the corner of his wall just in time to hear Zahavah's question. At first, he didn't notice the little foal sniffing his wall. All he saw was a tiny orange mare, eyeing his creation with skepticism. Had she been a fellow stallion, he would have snorted at her ignorance and stupidity. However, one couldn't expect much in the way of tactical thinking from the fairer gender. Mares were, after all, not meant to understand the reasoning behind higher logic. That didn't mean that they couldn't be educated, of course.

"It's a wall," he explained, ambling forward. He offered the small mare a pleasant smile. "For protection. There are four sides, you see. And inside, I'll build my home..." It was then that he noticed the tiny filly he had met not too long ago. He paused, looking between Nova and the orange mare. The peaces clicked together and he asked, curiously, "You are Nova's mother?"  

[divena]

"Midagi!" Nova squealed, bounding back over to the adults. She stopped just before she rammed into him. Instead, she bounced in place, practically vibrating with excitement. "This is my mommy! Mama, this is Midagi, the one I told you about. Did you really make that alllll by yourself?" The mini foal gazed up at Midagi with open admiration. "It's so biiiiig! How'd you make it all alone?"  

[divena]

Midagi chuckled at the foal's enthusiasm. "Yes, I did," he confirmed. "And I did it with a great deal of hard work. I'm not done yet. Over time, I hope to smooth out the edges a bit..." He intended to do it to make the wall harder for anything with paws or claws to scale, but he doubted the females would understand the reasoning behind that, so he let that thought trail off. No sense in confusing the lovely little things. Instead, he asked, "What brings you ladies to my part of the woods?"  

[divena]

Zahavah bared her teeth in a fierce grin. Something about Midagi's attitude was putting her on edge, though she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. It wasn't the same hair raising instinct that had washed over her when the skinwalker had been present, so she didn't think he was a threat. Besides, he seemed to be fairly good with little Nova, and her daughter certainly liked him. For a second, she considered the possibility that he was some kind of predator, looking to prey on the innocent little Nova. Zahavah started to dismiss that possibility... then put it aside, just in case. She couldn't afford to be complacent in any way.

And then, as if she had been whacked in the head by a hammer, it hit her. She wasn't irritated by his attitude. It was his TONE. There was a note of condescending arrogance in his voice, if not on his face. for some reason, he thought he was superior to them. She didn't like that idea one bit. But, she forced herself to acknowledge, it was distinctly possible that it was just the way his voice was. She could have been imagining it. No sense in alienating him without proper proof.

"We're here to meet you, actually," she told him, trying to keep her voice as pleasant as possible, even though she felt like charging him and proving, through force, just who was the strongest one present. "Nova told us about you, and I wanted to meet her new friend."  

[divena]

That... made sense, Midagi acknowledged. Though, he would have expected the father to come meet a stranger while the mother stayed at home with the children. Ah, but then again, Nova had mentioned that her mother was the more protective one while her father was a bit of a coward. Not that the foal had used those exact words. He smiled at the orange mare.

"Well, then, allow me to properly introduce myself," he bowed, gracefully, distantly wishing he'd had warning that the mare would be coming so that he could have cleaned up and made himself more presentable. "I am Midagi Royale. I've been in this valley for a couple months now, though little Nova only found me a few weeks ago. This seemed the ideal place for me to settle down. I didn't find any families in the area, so I'm afraid I didn't think it was occupied. I apologize if my presence inconveniences you or your mate."

He made a point of being as charming as possible. He had no intention of leaving the valley, especially not after all the work he had put into the wall that surrounded his home-in-progress. However, that only had to be an issue if the small mare asked him to leave. If she didn't mention it at all, he could maintain his gallant and charming persona. The key was to be so charismatic that she wouldn't dream of telling him to leave.  

[divena]

Zahavah nodded a greeting in return for Midagi's rather flowery introduction. "Zahavah," she returned. "And I'm not surprised you didn't come across us. My mate doesn't do well in crowds, so we keep mostly to ourselves. At least... we used to. We made our home a good distance that way," she nodded toward the direction they had come from. "I'm actually surprised Nova made it this far without us realizing she was gone." That was an oversight she would be remedying. No way was she letting her children out of her sight for that long. Not again, at least. Not after what had happened. Which reminded her...

"Have you had any problems with skinwalkers while you've been here?" she asked, rather abruptly. The transition made sense in her head, though it didn't occur to her that anyone else would be jarred by it.  

[divena]

Midagi blinked, through by the sudden turn in conversation. He took a moment to regain his balance, pretending to think about the question, before he shook his head. "No, I can't say that I have. Why do you ask?" As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he felt like hitting his head against the stone walls he had so painstakingly built. "Is there one in the valley?"