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 Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 5:56 pm
It had seemed like forever ago that Russet Fawn had found herself in the barrens. The last time was when she had dropped a large stone of information about her past on Miros and the apparent fated finding of Juniper. Today they were back at the Barrens, Fawn was saddled up with a couple of bags that held water and food. It seemed that the trio were out for a long trip. Fawn herself was a little used to the heat of the Barrens, Juniper had been there a while, but her darker coat did make it a little harder for her. Talltale was in his usual perch on Fawn's back.
"Do you really think that that buck lives in these barrens?" Talltale asked as he shifted slightly.
"Of all the times we have seen Miros it has been somewhere here in the Barrens. Doesn't seem to matter where, he is just always there." Fawn said as she glanced back at the Jack Hop.
"You like him, don't you." Talltale said that made Fawn's face turn a brighter red then her already red coat.
"He's a friend, That is all." She stammered slightly as she knew that it was more then that at this point.
"Ah-huh." Was all that he had said before Juniper pipped in.
"Mama likes someone?" Her voice sweet and innocently curious.
"He's just a friend I am always bumping into out here. I am sure you will like him too. We've talked about him before, don't you remember?" she looked down at Juniper as the fawn walked beside her with large eyes.
"Oh, Uncle Miros! Will we see him today?" A bounce was added to the foal's step as it seemed she was excited to see the buck Fawn had always spoke about.
"Possibly, if he is out here roaming." There was a hopeful tone to her voice. she did want to see him again. To show him that she had achieved the next rank in her magics.
WC: 332
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 5:10 pm
Miros was getting better at this. He shut his eyes and let his magic flow through him, ruffling the dark strands of his mane in simulation of a breeze. He slowed his breath to shallow inhalations, listening to his heart beat pound, proud and steady, deep in his chest. His vision changed from the darkness behind his eyelids to a world spattered with flecks of bright red. Mostly minuscule vermilion spots as insects crept over the sand or took wing in search for shelter. He turned his head, eyes closed, searching. The things he'd brought back to mother pleased her - bones, dead grass, small carcasses swollen with sun bloat from species barely holding on to existence. In turn, she'd given his finds to the council to determine whether anything was worth resurrecting. She was pleased with him, and Miros' heart burst in the glory of it. A large flash of red burst across Miros' vision. That wasn't a bug. He snapped his eyes open to see a familiar sight striding across the barrens. Even from this distance, Miros could make out Fawn's distinctive strawberry spotted coat, with Talltale perched on her back. There was something - some one - prancing at Fawn's feet, though. Miros squinted through the sunshine. A... foal? How long had it been since he'd last seen her? She'd never mentioned having a mate or expecting children. Something tight twisted in Miros' gut at the thought, but he squashed it away. Maybe she was sitting. He'd never asked her what she did in Homewood, but he didn't take her for a nanny. Only one way to find out! Miros kicked off and headed toward her at a brisk trot. As he neared, he noticed something else different about Fawn. Sparkling green twisted around one of her legs, gleaming in the sunshine. She was adept. "Fawn!" he called as he neared, a bright grin coloring his face. "You're new marking is lovely."
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 7:00 pm
Fawn's ears flicked slightly as she heard the sound of someone approaching, it was only confirmed to be Miros without looking when he called out to them. With a 'told you so' look on her face she grinned at Talltale, whom rolled his eyes as he glanced towards the dark body that bound towards them. So she had been right that the blowhard would be out here, didn't that buck have other things to do? Juniper on the other hand ducked behind Fawn, as if she were going to be hidden. She peered out from under Fawn's belly, her eyes wide. "Hello there Miros, funny seeing you here. Don't you ever go anywhere else?" Fawn asked tilting her head to one side a bit. "Or have you made your home here in the barrens?"Juniper had crept out from under Fawn and was looking up at the buck with large brown eyes. She hadn't really met too many, ran and hid, or busied herself with her own little garden. Now she was standing close to one of her Mother's friends, someone that she liked very much. Well according to Talltale's tone a moment ago. "You Mama;s boyfriend?" Juniper asked out of the blue as she stared up at Miros. Fawn just looked down at Juniper as her face and whatever light colored coat she had turned a bright red. Her own eyes wide as she glanced back at Miros, her tongue tied as she was more shocked and embarrassed. Turning her head she glanced back at Talltale whom only grinned shrugging his shoulders. She knew he had something to do with this question, he had been poking at her about it all morning. Looking back to Juniper she lowered her head slightly. "Juniper, sweetie, this is your Uncle Miros. My dear friend." Fawn said, the last bit in a growl as she looked back to Talltale whom was trying to hide his grin and stifle laughter. "I don't have a boyfriend... Yet.""But Talltale said...." "Talltale can say a lot of things, it is his name sake. To tell TALL tales." Shaking her head she looked back to Miros trying to collect herself, she had forgotten that he had mentioned her marking. The green swirl of vine like markings of her Adept ranking. For the moment, the only thing on her mind was trying to turn this small mess around and divert the young mind away from Miros being her boyfriend... Oh boy.. WC: 414
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:04 am
Miros laughed at Fawn's gruff greeting. "We do always meet here, don't we? I go wherever my mother sends me, and it seems like she has awfully good timing at getting us in the same place at the same time." His good cheer vanished into a look of shock at the fawn's question. His mouth gaped and he flicked his gaze, wide-eyed, from her to Fawn and back again. Uncle Miros send a icy chill of fear running down his spine. Miros spent very little time around children. Mother kept him busy and he he had work to do. He was meant to be a traveler, not a nanny, and traveler's didn't make good nanny's. Mother would want him to have his own foals eventually, a new generation for her to train up as fastidious warriors for Vykeli's health. But he wouldn't ever be a father, not in the real sense of the word. Even his own father was a paltry figure in his life, coming and going with warm smiles and kind words, but little else. Miros loved his father, but he wouldn't call them close. And here he was, staring at a young fawn's wide brown eyes, while she called him uncle. Mother would definitely protest if Miros tried to become anyone's boyfriend. She'd be fury incarnate. At least by that admission he knew Fawn didn't have a mate, despite the unexpected foal. Miros needed to recover himself. He slipped a smile back in place and laughed politely, dipping his head in friendly greeting to the fawn. "Hello, Juniper," he said, voice soft and kind. He looked beseechingly up at Fawn. How did someone interact with children? He didn't have a clue. He drew on his own childhood for inspiration. "Did your mother bring you out here for training?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 4:27 pm
"Oh no, mama's going to bring green to this place. She's good at making things green." her voice was one of excitement as she bounded a little on her hooves. "Can you make things green too, Uncle Miros?" She watched him intently. Fawn gave an inward groan as she flicked her tail to swat Talltale off her back as she was displeased with him. He was going to be on his own four paws for a time yet in this outing as he had caused this trouble. His punishments was hopping on the hot ground, though he was sure to complain about it. "More like we're on an outing. Thought of staying out here a couple nights and see what we can find. Juniper is looking to expend her little garden and thought we could find more seeds." Fawn said as she glanced back at Miros. She had a feeling that he was wondering where Juniper had come from. While the foal was not from her own womb, some days Juniper acted more like her then ever. Then again, Mahogany wasn't too far a stretch from her own color, if not way darker but still on the same red spectrum. Fawn was just going to wait until Miros asked before saying anything. He had the right to know that she had found Juniper on their last meeting... WC: 227
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 5:39 pm
"Oh... ah... no, I can't grow things." Not the way Fawn could, anyway. He knew how to garden, like most nouls, and he'd helped that little seed they'd planted so long ago at the edge of the barrens. "I can heal people and animals. I was gifted with vivify, just like my mother." At the word mother he glanced at Fawn, confusion marring his face. He wanted to ask, of course he did, but it seemed like at terribly rude question, especially in front of Juniper herself. So he bit his tongue for now. Maybe a better opportunity would come along. He hoped it would come quickly. "That sounds amazing!" Miros brightened immediately. "I've spent a few nights in the barrens, before. I know some good placing to shelter at night. I'd love to accompany you, if you'd have me. I think... we make a good team, hunting for seeds, don't we?" His grin burned his face. He certainly wasn't helping the 'is this mummy's boyfriend' issue at all! Unfortunate that he'd already used his gift before he'd spotted them, but 'detect life' wasn't the most useful in hunting down plants.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:51 pm
Juniper gave an 'oh' sound before something caught her attention off to one side and she bound over towards it. It wasn't that far from the adults, but far enough to warrant Talltale to follow her so that she didn't get lost or in trouble. When the two were out of ear shot, well, without really shouting to them, Fawn let out a sigh as she looked back at Miros. There was a wary look on her face as if she had been keeping up the energetic face to let them all think she wasn't exhausted. While it didn't seem like she had been doing too much since their last meeting. She had been working hard at clearing her home site and setting it up to be a huge nursery for plants. Then there was the added care of the foal. "Sorry about that Miros, she has been hyped up all day. I had only mentioned a trip to the barrens and Talltale mentioned you. Oh boy. I don't know about that Jack Hop sometimes, he like spreading tales as much as hearing them." She glanced over as it seemed that Juniper was having Talltale dig something out of the sand. "It would be nice to have your company along. You know this place better then I, and your mother seems to be that reason why." Fawn only shook her head a little, she had never met the doe, but from the sounds... She was one to tread lightly around. "We might have to get going quickly, or Juniper might get Talltale to dig to the center of Vykeli." She looked back towards the two and Talltale was kinda deep in the hole he was digging that only his tail was visible. WC: 292
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2020 1:41 pm
"His name was well chosen." Miros chuckled under his breath, following Fawn's line of sight to Juniper and the jack hop. Now that they were alone, Miros chewed his curiosity like cud, let it worry between his teeth. Finally, he exhaled long and slow and turned back to Fawn. "This might be rude, but... where did Juniper come from? I didn't think it had been that long since I'd last seen you..." Fawn didn't look like she'd been with foal during their last conversation. Definitely not enough to have a young on Juniper's age, already talking and prancing about. Miros really didn't know how to age foals, but she certainly seemed to old to be Fawn's biological child. He knew a lot of noulicorns mated for the sake of having children, regardless of romantic feelings to one another, and Fawn's inclination to be on her own made her seem like a candidate for that. But, still... Miros couldn't wrap his mind around it. He knew, sometimes, that parents had their children raised by others. Mother did that, sometimes, training up the next generation for the betterment of Vykeli. Then there were nannies that took in foals whose parents couldn't care for them. Was Fawn a nanny? He scrutinized her, frowning. That didn't seem right, either. He started toward Juniper and Tall Tale, keeping his pace slow. Fawn seemed so tired, no need to go hurrying about.
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2020 2:38 pm
Fawn glanced at Miros with a look that she wanted to harm the Jack Hop sometimes, but she just shook her head slightly. Her pace was slow, as she didn't want to really move all that quickly. Perhaps Talltale would figure out what Juniper was doing and play something else. But the mention of how she had come to be in the care of foal.. Well... "Funny thing about that. The last time we chatted. YOu had just left to talk to your mother about the Heytheria plant. Juniper stumbled out of the bushes. She was all alone, thin and needing help." She paused a moment as she looked toward Miros as it seemed that he was looking at her strangely. "I couldn't leave her on the edge of the barrens. It looked like she had traveled through them as it was."Fawn looked forward again as Talltale was no filling in the hole as chattering something to the foal. Juniper was rolling on her back as she laughed as if she had played a big joke on the Jack Hop. Her laughter was like soft bells as the two drew closer to Juniper and Talltale. "I am sure when she is older she will go and try to find her own parents, but as of right now, from the condition I found her in. She doesn't have any and I am all she has now. The Barrens can be an unforgiving place to the young and the old." Her tone was soft, seems that many places in this world weren't safe, besides Homewood itself. She could only hope that with everyone's help, they could restore the world to balance. WC: 280
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2020 11:53 pm
Fawn's explanation dug deep at Miros' core, drilling him with sharp shards of surprise. Juniper had been right next to them and he hadn't noticed? He couldn't tell mother that. She'd be furious. If Miros had found her, she'd have been brought to mother immediately for training. Miros gazed across the sand at her, rolling on her back and kicking up her legs with bright laughter. Miros couln't remember ever being so outwardly joyful when he was a foal. A thought wormed it's unwelcome way into his mind. Maybe she was better off. Miros killed it before it could hook its claws into him. His smile brightened, tight around his eyes. "She's lucky she found you. Maybe her parents are travelers or nomads... or exiles, even. And they brought her close to Homewood so she'd have a better life?" He didn't know if Juniper had any memories of her life before Fawn. Still, anything was better than trying to scratch a living in the unforgiving wasteland of the barrens. Mother sent Miros on expeditions through the barrens when he was young and wobbly legged, it was how he learned to navigate the empty, cracked ground. How to find water where water was impossible to find. Mother taught him well. Maybe Juniper came from a similar family, and it was by mistake that Fawn met her. They clearly cared for one another, though, and Miros didn't want to say or do anything to tarnish that. "I hope Juniper is ready for a long walk. I heard some rumors of a failed garden out here, to the west. There should be some old seeds there, but they might need a botanic's touch to be worthy of planting again."
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2020 4:46 pm
Russet Fawn watched as Miros seemed to have an inside conflict with himself as she mentioned Juniper's appearance. Seems he was upset of not finding her first, or something. She wasn't going to ask as they drew closer to the pair. Talltale was still shaking a paw at the foal as she still laughed. Soon the Jack Hop bound over to Fawn and back onto his perch. "Foals, Telling me she can smell water just beneath the sand."Fawn laughed at the Jack Hop, "Seems your antics are rubbing off on her." she said as he huffed and turned his back to the lot of them the best he could. "I am not sure where she came from. She was lost and asking if those she met were her mother. Seems she didn't know who her family was." Fawn tilted her head slightly as Juniper bound over towards them. "Can we go Mama? It's getting warmer out here and we're still close to home." She looked back the way they had come seeing the green in the distance. "Uncle Miros said something about a garden. You can make it green again, Mama." Fawn hadn't realized she had come that close to hear about the garden. Her excitement was a large bubble that was fit to burst and infect them all. While Talltale was still in a huff Fawn only laughed at the foal. Seems she had more energy for them all. Glancing at Miros she only smiled, "I think she will out last the both of us with that amount of energy. So we might as well head out, I think I have enough supplies for this trip. Mostly for Juniper anyways." She leaned around to fuss at one of the pouches that had packets of food in it. The other had water containers. WC: 304
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 9:57 pm
Miros's heart broke for Juniper. His mother encompassed his life, surrounded it, made him whole. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to exist without her. Who would he be without her? She'd guided every step of his life, molded him into a buck useful to Vykeli. But those thoughts brought him to memories of his sister, exiled to the barrens where she'd never see her family again. Never see Miros again. He shoved the thoughts down. He wasn't supposed to think about Arosi, mother would be so angry if she found out. "She's smart, too," Miros chuckled. "It's better to get going while it's still cooler out. We won't find much shade in the barrens." He paused, considering. "You and I won't, but Juniper and Talltale could keep to our shadows to stay out of the sun." Something else his mother had taught him when he'd been all legs and barely a season old. Heeding Fawn's advice, Miros circled around the little family and started west, with the rising sun gleaming at his back. "I can't promise exactly how far it is, but hopefully not more than a few days journey." Excitement thrummed under his skin. He'd rarely had company when he traveled the barrens. This would be a new experience and he was eager for it, even if he felt a twinge of awkwardness around Fawn's new foal.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2020 6:46 pm
"They seem to grow up so fast." Fawn mused a little as she looked down at Juniper whom was watching the both of them. "But yes, lets keep moving. The last time we were here, you left me in the dust on the return to Homewood. You going to be that fleet footed this time?" She teased Miros as she turned to follow the buck. Juniper and Talltale fallowed behind the two adults, she wasn't too sure what was going on between her mom and uncle Miros. Looking towards the Jack Hop whom bound beside her, paws trying not to touch the ground too much as he knew how hot the sands were going to get before long. "Mama sure is acting weird, she never acted this way with anyone else she met." Juniper said, none too softly as she looked back at the others. "They are friends young Noul. But I bet there is something blooming there that might be more. That would be up to them to figure out." Talltale said as he tried to keep up before Vaulting himself up onto Miros' flank. "Don't mind me, I have no ambition to hop all the way across the Barrens." He said a little tartly, glancing at Fawn whom gave a bit of a glare then shrugged. Juniper remained silent as she thought there was something more happening between the two adults, she couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but there was certainly something. Shaking her small head, she picked up her pace a little to keep herself between her mother and Miros. She didn't want to fall behind. "You always out here uncle Miros?" She asked looking up at him as she walked. "You always hunting for something?"WC: 291
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2020 12:22 am
"I did get a little overzealous, didn't I?" Miros offered her a sheepish grin and ducked his head. He felt his face warm with embarrassment. It was difficult to restrain his energy when he was surrounded by good company Mother would have chastised him if she'd witnessed him gallivanting through the barrens as if they were a meadow. He couldn't do that when he set out for a proper mission. Once he was truly a traveler, he couldn't give in to the temptation to frolic in the desert, no matter the circumstance. Miros managed not to start as a weight gripped his flank and clambered onto him. He turned his head to see Talltale making himself comfortable on his back and shot the jackhop a grin. "You're welcome to the ride! Save your feet from blisters." Miros glanced down at Juniper and his smile softened, rueful. His ears flicked back as he chewed the question. "Not always," he said, finally. "But I spend a lot of time away from Homewood. My Mother is training me to be a proper traveler and I need to know my way around the barrens. I think our gifts are most useful outside of Homewood too, and as much as I love my family, I know it's my purpose to heal Vykeli. So... I suppose I am always hunting for something. Something to bring home or something to heal." He glanced back at Fawn and something squeezed strangely in his chest. He shoved the feeling down. "I like it a lot better when I have company, though."
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2020 4:42 pm
"Your Mama sounds way different then my mama. She does a lot of her growing in a garden inside Homewood. Growing herbs and things for others to use. Is that also helping vy.. Vy... What was that name again?" Juniper asked looking back up at Miros. Fawn wasn't much paying attention to the conversation, though she did hear some things. She heard the mention of her herbs and the garden, yep. She didn't travel too far from her ancestral home. It was her comfort zone and a place where she knew would let things grow without harm. Shaking her head she glanced towards Miros when he mentioned being in good company. "It didn't start that way. That is for sure." She half muttered as she looked forwards again. She was looking to get to this place and have a good look around. Perhaps she could use her magic to revive the place, perhaps little by little. Or perhaps a good bit of it... "Also don't sound like your mother would approve too much of my living. But someone has to grow herbs for adventurers like yourself whom can't heal themselves by magical means." She grinned slightly, knowing that she did have a purpose besides healing the lands around them. "Yea, Mama always has someone coming looking for some herb or another." Juniper pipped up as she bounced with foalish excitement between the adults. "I do more the digging then both you. Then again, hooves can only make so many holes. And only so deep too." Talltale put his two cents in from Miros' back. Fawn once more just looked at Talltale before looking away. She did have a lot of help from him. More then she would agree with. Always a helping paw. To this she was grateful, for all three of them.. In their own ways. "I take it that your mother has you out here more often then not. Hunting for things to bring back to her, find any more strange seeds in your travels?"WC: 337
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