As the world begins to wake from the winter thaw, more and more Soquili find themselves out and about. Perhaps the winter weather had kept them at bay, but now they are here in full force, crowding the Kawani with their presence. While the competition for resources may be made all the more fierce with these strangers in the mix, some Soquili may not find their company so very loathsome after all. Then again, the rites of spring are never without some degree of drama.
How does your Soquili or familiar respond to the burgeoning Spring? Are they ready to get out there and spread their figurative (or sometimes literal) wings now that the weather is warmer? Are they out seeking new friends, new locations, or a mate? Or perhaps they are put off by all the incessant birdsong, chatty new neighbors, and twitter pated fools? Is love in the perfumed air? Or is your soq just trying to make it through the day unbothered and on a hunt for peace and quiet? The world is teaming with new life -- is your Soquili or familiar ready?
Spring. The most joyous and wonderous time of the year! A time of year where colors began to come back to the lands, and creatures of all sorts danced their worries away. Pax had always preferred the bustling, busy atmosphere that the season had brought because it meant she could meet new friends & learn and explore new things. Even as a foal she had hated how winter forced the hand of many to hibernate or travel to greener pastures, as it meant there was less to do. Less fun. Less...of everything. Just cold, pale, emptiness surrounding the lands. No one wanted to run around and play in the snow, or if they did they didn't do it for long, should they start to freeze! Even her parents had warned her to stay safe and warm in the blistering cold, and they were the very definition of togetherness! No - Spring was the season of romance, the season of life - the season of new beginnings!Growing up, Pax had always had a playmate, whether it was a sibling, a friend, or an imaginary creature - and things had always been the most exciting when the weather had started to get warmer. The thick snowpiles that were once made of ice were now melted enough to the point they were slush, and the colors - oh the colors! Playing I-Spy once the seasons started to change was always the most entertaining way to learn about all the things the world had to offer. I-Spy something green and sticky, she'd say, giggling and she and her friends ran through the forest. A leaf? They'd reply, and nope! It was a stickbug or a new type of frog they hadn't seen before! Or heck! Even a Soquili or two had been the object of their game. A new friend who has purple hair and long stripes purple stripes down their back - all of these wonderous, whimsical things that had come to life as the winter had come to an end.
And each year the pattern continued.
Very much a mare stuck in her ways, and content with herself, Pax grew playing the same games every single year. As her siblings and peers grew in both size and maturity, Pax simply grew in size. They would tell her, we can't play, we have things we must do - responsibilities we must meet - and she'd grow more and more frustrated with her former playmates. Where was the spirit? Where was the quest and thirst for knowledge and adventure? Winter could be the time for taking care of responsibilities, heck, there was nothing else to do! But many of her former playmates were now prominent members of herds in the area, and she reluctantly understood that although she was raised to enjoy the simple things in life - that wasn't the path that everyone took. Frankly, it took some hard explaining and a deep look into her own self to truly understand that her family's way of life wasn't the norm. Mahiri, Hania, Epesi - so many of her family members had found such joy and laughter in life and didn't care what anyone else had thought, and those were Pax's role models. So after a while she had let go of those silly notions of Spring-time meant fun with friends, and instead found the joys in exploring with her own creativity. Her own mind.
Imaginary friends were far more reliable than real ones, after all.
Today, Pax stood at the end of the forest, looking out into the clearing. The grass had started to regain it's color, and flowers had begun to blossom, bringing with it all sorts of new life. Bees buzzed as they started to pollinate the area, and birds sang higher and louder than ever before, signaling to the rest of the lands that it was time to begin anew. The two-leggers had started to regrow their crops, and the hustle and bustle of life overtook the atmosphere. She breathed. It was time again, and like every year since her foalhood, she looked forward to this.
Right now she had fixated on a young couple standing in the middle of the clearing nearby, seemingly lost in both adoration for one another - and adoration for their children. Three little foals danced happily in circles around their parents, and from the looks of it - they couldn't have been born more than a month or so ago, so they were right there on the cusp of being born in winter's spirit, but raised in the warmth of Spring's glory. Pax smiled. They were ready to explore all of what mother earth had provided for them, and they didn't even know it! A twinge of jealousy hit her heart despite the happy moment, as she thought back to her own experiences (she herself having been born in Spring, she knew all of the wonders they were about to see, and she wished she too could experience it for the first time). But nevertheless, these foals were about to venture on life's greatest gifts, and it brought her joy to see it unfold. The parents, she had been watching, didn't seem distressed or overwhelmed by the playful nature of their foals, and on occasion would join in on the merriment, basking in the sun's warmth after a long, harsh winter. The father had seemed particularly adapt at running after his children in a game of tag, only to slow down when it was their turn so they could catch him - and it all just seemed so, magical. This was what Spring brought. This was the beauty of nature and of life, and she was all the more better to have witnessed it.
Year after year she'd watch as families grew, emerging from deep within the forest where they had most likely taken solace in a cave, only to come out in the open to enjoy the season. Year after year the Soquili's themselves never stayed the same, but the patterns did. Couples would emerge, families would emerge - grandparents and aunts and uncles and all sorts of amazing life stories were about to begin. And again she'd watch. Sometimes she'd communicate, as an opportunity to make new friends, and sometimes she'd keep to herself - but no matter what, the sight before her than unfolded was a sight to see, indeed. It wasn't like she was lonely and looking on to these families with bitter jealousy of a life she didn't have - she was happy with her life - but she loved seeing how the world unfolded around her. She loved just....being.
Many years ago she had met a stallion by the name of Loleki. A studious, knightly type, their differences enraptured Pax almost immediately. He wasn't the kind of stallion to scream obnoxiously at the top of his lungs (and yes, she was), and yet he did not judge her for wanting to do so. He didn't judge her for coming home caked from head to hoof in several layers of thick, dried mud, and he didn't judge her for just living. He loved her for all of the things that made her unique, and she loved him for all of the ways in which he was her tether back down to earth. She lifted him high into the sky, and he kept her grounded. They were a pair molded perfectly for one another - and that was that. No need to change that.
Which is why they had never had kids. It wasn't like either of them were adamant about having kids one way or the other, they just simply enjoyed their life as it was playing out. They didn't need anything else.
Her siblings, or most of them at least, had all had children and grandchildren of their own, and Pax knew deep down that she wasn't really the mothering type. She didn't want the responsibilities, but hey - if it happened, it happened. She'd raise them like her parent's raised her - to enjoy all of the simple pleasures and not let anyone tell you that you couldn't.
But on this particular day, as she watched this new family run around with laughter and love in their hearts, something clicked in Pax's soul. She wasn't getting any younger, so why not? Why not become one of these families that emerged once the weather turned warm, to play and run and enjoy life? She looked down at a loan flower at the base of her hoof, and bent down to touch it with her nose. It's own journey through life - however long that may be - had just begun, and she knew that it would experience some amazing things, and it was only just a flower! Imagine a little foal! Maybe she was ready to teach her own children about the different creatures, colors and objects that this world had to offer.
With a laugh, she turned her body to face the stallion that stood a few paces back from where she stood, his own face deep in a pile of apples they had been munching on, and spoke words she wasn't sure she knew how to say,
"Loleki, let's start a family."