Welcome to Gaia! ::

Opening: November 7th, 3pm MST
Closing: November 14th, 3pm MST
(this contest will close even if I am not here)

The Story

Some years have passed since Nevena and Hollie found and adopted Edelweiss, Brinley, and Brandnetel. Their children, now grown, are settling into their adult lives - forming new relationships and making new decisions for their future. One autumn evening, Nevena and Hollie happened upon three foals in the forest - looking eerily like themselves, but with a darker twist.

The Family



Name Meaning: Marigold flower
Personality: Nevena is a guarded soquili who tries to keep her emotions under control in order to appear strong. It is important for her to keep everyone and everything she loves safe, even at risk to her own well-being. Due to her upbringing, she has a close connection to nature (particularly the plants) and will raise her children to respect, love, and care about the lands they inhabit. She enjoys learning about new areas and plant species - even going so far as to travel to these places when she is able to. Despite being shy about showing affection towards others, Nevena is starting to initiate contact more than she previously did.

History: Nevena was born in a herd that was focused on protecting and nurturing nature - particularly within forests. She was an only child but was surrounded by friends and family and so, was never truly alone. After becoming an adult, Nevena left to travel and came to the Kawani Lands in search of a forest that she could call home - a forest that she and others could learn about, protect, and care for together. The forest she found is the one she still lives in today, surrounded by family, friends, and other animals During one of her travels to study some meadow plants, she met Hollie. They became close friends and overtime this friendship blossomed into love.



Name Meaning: Inspired by the oak tree
Personality and History: Oak is Nevena's familiar. He is sometimes found helping Nevena. Most of the time though, Oak can be found taking naps, sunbathing, teasing Hollie's familiar Merle, and generally goofing off. Oak is good at reading others' expressions and body language and using it to his advantage (mostly for teasing purposes). He can sometimes be found wearing a sweater. Nevena named him. He met a female goat awhile back and had children with her; one of his children (Aspen) came with him to live in the forest.



Name Meaning: Plant with red berries, the name was chosen because Hollie`s mother was fond of flowery and plant-like names.
Personality: Hollie is very nurturing. She cares deeply about others and will often put them first before herself. Growing up, she was fond of acting as another mother towards her younger brother, Laurel, as well as nearby foals and small animals. She is soft-spoken and rarely loses her temper. Despite her tenderness, Hollie can be firm and strict if needed. From her relationship with Nevena, Hollie has become more knowledgeable about plants and the land; however, she does not feel as connected to nature as Nevena does. Rather, Hollie enjoys learning about others`stories - their backgrounds, lives, and what led them to their home.

History: Hollie and her brother, Laurel, were raised by a single mother near the mountains. Their father was absent from their lives and this upset their mother greatly. She loved their father so much that when he abandoned his family to be with another mare, she became very sad. Due to her immense sadness, she became neglectful. Being the oldest, Hollie looked after her younger brother and eventually her mother as well. Although it bothered Hollie to see her mother struggling so much, she struggled with helping her. After Hollie and Laurel became adults, Laurel left to have new adventures whereas Hollie continued to care for their mother until her death. When her mother passed away, Hollie decided it was time to start fresh in a new place. She wanted to make friends, find love, and have foals of her own. In time, her travels led her to Nevena.



Name Meaning: Blackbird
Personality and History: Merle is Hollie's familiar. She loves Hollie very much and is very helpful - in Merle's opinion she is a lot more helpful than Oak is. She keeps a close eye on the forest inhabitants - particularly Oak - and is known to make reports to Hollie or Nevena on how things are going. She is feisty and when angered will buzz around before flying off.

Uncle



Name Meaning: Inspired by the laurel, chosen in the same way Hollie's name was.
Personality: Laurel is impulsive and reckless, which always makes Hollie worry about him. He easily makes friends and enjoys having fun. Laurel likes the way he lives - moving from place to place and seeing as much as can. Life is short and Laurel wants to live it as spontaneously as possible. His hasty nature carries over into his love life - he loves to flirt and can`t imagine settling down for a mare. He spoils his nieces and nephews often and enjoys telling them about his adventures.

History: Although Laurel noticed that his mother was struggling, he was content to let Hollie take control. He enjoyed spending time away from his home - playing with his friends and having many adventures. After becoming old enough, he was quick to leave home with his friends in order to have more adventures and create new memories. Laurel moves from place to place as he enjoys living an unattached life. He visits his sister from time to time, but, his desires to have another adventure always lead him away until his next visit. Currently, he is traveling with a stallion named Weaver.

Siblings



The foals' older sister and first born child from Nevena and Hollie's first breeding.
Name Meaning: Her name means a famous alpine perennial that produces a cream colored, star-shaped flowers. It's extremely hardy, surviving the coldest winter and the driest of summers.
Personality: (from old contest thread)
You might say she's naive, or even silly, but Edelweiss is a bundle of joy. Almost to the point of being annoying, everything she sees is lovely in her eyes. Even on the rainiest, wettest, coldest of days! Edelweiss likes to help her mothers as much as she can, and enjoys playing with her siblings. She has a love of all things living: birds, plants, animals and even rocks. Hating to see anyone sad or upset, she will try and chase away their pain with St. Johns Wort or flood them with silly sayings like "You're as beautiful as apples taste".



The foals' older sister and second born child from Nevena and Hollie's first breeding.
Name Meaning: Burnt Meadow
Personality: Brinley is gentle and sensitive. She is known to cry easily, particularly when she hears a sad or happy story. She is very trusting of others, which can sometimes get her into trouble. Brinley has always been nervous about straying too far from home (makes her feel anxious), though she is trying to push her limits with this by accompanying family and friends on short ventures away from home. She has a fondness for herbs and has started to gather items in order to start a garden next spring.



The foals' older brother and third born child from Nevena and Hollie's first breeding.
Name Meaning: His name means Stinging Nettle; life and death, protection.
Personality: (from old contest thread)
Brandnetel, overall, is a protective brother. He greatly takes after his mommy, meaning his handling of his emotions is relatively guarded. He wants to be the strong one that others rely on, making it difficult for him to share his own feelings with others when he sees how much more vulnerable they are; Brand doesn't want to burden others with his problems. He's especially fond of Brinley, going out of his way to protect her and essentially be her knight in shining armor whenever someone tries to hurt her. He dislikes those who have corrupted intentions or those that seem to hide their true character. His more aggressive nature can be seen when he's around such types, and if he were to ever be around Judah or others of similar quality, Brandnetel would act out and make his distrust known to the offending party. Brand has a prideful personality and once he assess someone, it can take a very long time for him to reassess and reevaluate somebody, especially after they've offended him or his family. Being proven wrong can be... difficult for him to accept.

Brandnetel can come off rather distant and even sometimes aggressive when approached by strangers and he can have a hard time getting to know new people and making friends as a result. This trend even applies to his own family, and there can be days where Brand will keep to himself and hardly utter more than a few words if he's not feeling up to it. Some days he just likes to be on his own in a secluded part of his mothers' woods, just letting the forest's peaceful nature soothe him. He's taken both of his mother's teachings to heart when it comes to nature and life. While he doesn't necessarily feel the same deep connection to nature as Nevena, or care as deeply about the stories of creature's lives like Hollie, Brandnetel has found that he enjoys protecting life and caring for the inhabitants of the forest he grew up in to the best of his ability. He hates to see defenseless creatures caught in brutal traps, but he also understands that life has a give and take to it as well, so he saves that which has not yet had it's chance to truly live. Brand likes to consider himself a protector of the balance of life and death. If Brandnetel were to find a baby bird or some baby creature alone and unprotected, he would stay by it and keep it safe till it was strong enough to continue on its own or until its mother returned for it. If Brand came across a predator in the midst of a hunt, however, he wouldn't go out of his way to stop it from successfully getting its prey. He doesn't kill, but he doesn't try to save that which he cannot. There are times when life must take its own course without the help from outside influences. Brandnetel is currently traveling with Ullúme.



The third foal from Nevena and Hollie's second breeding. He is the younger of the twin brothers. He will be called Vale which loosely means valley (lives in the valley or valley by a stream, etc). I am still working out a personality for him.

Other Soquili Under the spoiler cut.

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Snubbull lives nearby in a meadow with her family. She is passionate about flowers and loves to talk about them. Hollie is one of her friends.



A shady stallion Nevena met in the past. Although knowledgeable about poisonous plants, Nevena doesn't fully trust him. She only tends to seek information from him if she has no other choice. Judah was a former member of the Dark Brotherhood, specializing in poisons. Although he still has a secret stash of poisons, he has started to conduct research on possible plants he could use for antidotes to his poisons.



Myu recently came to live in the forest. She is very shy, keeping mostly to herself right now though it is rumoured that she has a fondness for fruit and small animals.



Weaver is currently Laurel's travel buddy. Not much is known about him as he has yet to spend time in the forest (he travels somewhere else when Laurel visits family).



Prentiss is a dashing stallion, alluring and fond of the ladies (though admittedly he is not as suave as he thinks he is with them). He is good at sweet-talking himself out of trouble and picking the best flowers for placing all over his body. He currently lives in the forest, though may one day leave. He would love to find an animal friend (familiar) that could weave flowers together - he has asked for help with this.

Entry List

Preferences: 2nd born, 1st born
Name: Hedera
Name Meaning: A climbing or ground creeping evergreen plant commonly called Ivy.
Temper: Unique
Personality: Enthusiastic and even a little outlandish. Hedera is known for being rather whimsical and head strong though there’s a softer side few get to see. To say Hedera is egotistical would be a bit of a shame. Although it some times seems that way, Hedera is fond of trying their hardest to get where they want in life. To be the best and unique. Family is a prized thing though. Without familial support Hedera’s dreams are sure to fall sour and the more vulnerable and raw uncertain part of themselves is sure to shine through more.
Do you own a Soquili coloured by Yuki? No

Preferences: male, female
Name: Silvestri
Name Meaning: From Latin 'silva' meaning "wood, forest." Can refer to the silvestris or Scots pine (Pinus silvestris), which is what I take it to mean.
Temper: Materterine (female), Avuncular (male)
Personality:
Notes on Temper:
- Materterine: "like an aunt," assume favorite; warm and loving as part of the meaning. I think of my favorite aunt as being a "crazy aunt."
- Avuncular: "like an uncle," assume favorite; friendly and loving as parts of the meaning. My favorite uncle was also chivalrous, protective.

This foal regardless of gender will feel responsible for their younger sibling(s). They will try to dissuade anyone from misbehavior because they hate to see authority's disappointment or sadness at their hand (or hoof, rather). They fear this more than any punishment for wrongdoing. However, they also have a "live and let live" philosophy, so if it isn't harming anyone, go ahead and break that rule, they won't physically try to stop you.

They will feel like a champion of their home and respect authority. They will be a bit of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to mischief-making unless they can be persuaded that their deviant behavior is really for a greater good. Or better yet, fascinate them with some new way of thinking, or a new plant/animal they do not know. If they can be persuaded to join in, expect a twinge of the diabolical to the plan and execution.

They will be fascinated by the world around them. When a plant dies in their care, this foal will be devastated. See at this time a tender and gentle side. Their pain and endless interest will lead them to seek ways to strengthen the forest through care and different breeding techniques, a mad scientist at one extreme and a doting caretaker on the other. There will be splicing of plants and various stages of health or decay as a matter of course. They will try to develop mechanical ways to support the forest too, building crude aqueducts, for example. However they will also seek ways to build without disrupting nature, and so more mad science may ensue.
Do you own a Soquili coloured by Yuki? Yes

Preferences: 1st born, 2nd born
Name: Laelia (for the girl), Adonis (for the boy)
Name Meaning: Laelia means “Lunar flower”; Adonis is the generic name for a type of plant which refers to mythic character by the same name, lover of Aphrodite
Temper: Driven
Personality: Laelia is a go-getter in all that she does. She doesn't let paltry things get in the way of her goals. She strives for greatness and perfection in all things, be it good, bad or in-between. This little foal doesn’t know the meaning of the word “defeat.” And she'll be darned if you try to teach it to her. At first glance, others might think Laelia childish and arrogant. But, truly, she is just driven to reach for the skies. She'll go for her dreams with everything she's got. She refuses to let the views of others weigh her down or convince her that dreams are worthless. Become everything that she is meant to be- that is the principle by which Laelia lives and breathes.
Do you own a Soquili coloured by Yuki? No

Preferences: female, male
Name: Succulent
Name Meaning: abundant in juices; juicy. (of plants) having thick fleshy leaves or stems. informal stimulating interest, desire, etc.
Temper: ---
Personality: Succulent is very cheerful, and curious. As a foal, not much care was needed. S/he was able to thrive in their environment while doing the minimum in regards to health. With this, Succulent would prefer their siblings to get foods and water before tehy get their own share.
Do you own a Soquili coloured by Yuki? Yes -- just got my first! c:

Preferences:Female, Male
Name: Coinín for female, Cagair for male
Name Meaning: Females name means Bunny in Irish, and Males means Whisper
Temper: Female: Excitable, Male: Reserved
Personality:
Female: Coinin is high spirited, she enjoys exploring and often times end's up in trouble because of her overly curious nature. She questions everything and loves to find adventure in the simplest aspects of life.

Cagair: is a quite soul, often times found enjoying nature around him, so still and peaceful that woodland creatures have no problem going near him, for he is a bringer of peace.


Do you own a Soquili coloured by Yuki? No I most certainly don't.