Keantha (FWC: 1,415)
Andranis (FWC:1,283)
The sun hadn't even risen in the sky yet when Az nosed first Hector then Andre awake with a soft rumble. "Wake my loves, we have a long way to go if we are to arrive at the coast today." Just as they had promised, the unruly young colt, as the snow had melted away, the odd little family was about to make their way from inland to the coast where Hector had been born.
Andre grumbled as he was stirred, nuzzling more into Hector's side. His wings came up, hiding his face from the light filtering into their sheltered little den. Hector chuckled above him, yawned a moment, then started nibbling at the colt's hair. "Come on, sleepyhead, it's time to get up. You wanted to see the coast, and the snow is about melted enough..."
The colt let out a little whine, peeking out. "But it's so cold... And early..."
"Well yes, but this way we maximize how far we can go before the sun sets again and we have to find a place to sleep." Still, he lifted amused eyes up to Az, smile on his muzzle. Ah, he remembered such days as a colt, not wanting to get up...
Chuckling more, Az leaned his head down to nuzzle his muzzle against Hector's before lipping teasingly at Andre. "I suppose I will just have to eat all these berries I found myself, then. It's a shame, really, as they are so sweet and crisp, but if you'd rather sleep, I am sure your father and I will be able to eat them all ourselves."
Where the big stallion had found berries so early in the season was unclear, but sure enough, when Andre looked over, there was a pile of brightly colored berries waiting for him. It wouldn't be enough to completely fill the growing colt's belly, but it would be enough to give him a good start, and they would eat along the way as they traveled.
Little head lifting up, Andre squinted at Az, then noticed the pile. He was quiet for a moment, before the lure of food got him up and going over to eat the berries. Behind him, Hector laughed and rose to his hooves. "Ah so the secret was food!" He stretched his limbs, then turned and nuzzled Az. "So, what path will we take to get there? Just head south as the birds fly, or do we follow the river?"
"Food is always the answer with a growing youngster," Az teased, smiling at his family. He flicked an ear at Hector's question, thinking for a long moment before huffing a bit, "We head south, but we do so by riverside. Though we must be careful, as the riverways are swollen from the melt and the banks might be dangerous." He knew that both Hector and he were strong swimmers, having both grown up swimming in the sea, but Andre was a young colt and had never been in anything but placid lakes.
Waiting for Andre to finish eating, Az whuffed to get his attention, "you must stay close as we travel, for some of the routes we will take are dangerous. You know how to swim, yes, but these rivers will be swift and dangerous even for myself or Hector. Promise me you will stay by either your papi's or I's side."
Hector nodded, moving to poke his head out to look around the area. Trees were growing fresh new leaves, flowers were blooming everywhere... There were little pockets of snow that hadn't quite melted yet, but from the feel of the air they'd be gone within the week. He inhaled deeply, smiling at the sweet scents that had begun to fill the air and watched a merry little bumble bee trundle her way through the air to the new flowers.
Chewing on the last of the berries, Andre looked up at Az, wings wiggling just a bit. "Can't I just fly out of the water?" To emphasize his question, he spread his wings out some, giving a light flap.
Turning back into their den, Hector gave Andre a sympathetic look. "It's not that simple, mijo. When you fall in the river and it's rushing, panic sets in while the water is working hard to keep you down, so it's harder to think to fly out. You're too busy trying to keep your head above. If you do fall in, angle toward shore and swim that way. Don't try to swim against it. But as Az said, stay close to us so you don't fall in."
Ears moving back some, Andre slowly nodded, eyes wide. "O-okay..."
Sighing softly, Az went to Andre's side to nuzzle the colt, tucking him close for a moment as he spoke, "I don't want you to be afraid mijo, but I do want you to be careful. We will try to make this journey fun, but the reality is that traveling this early in the spring is dangerous. It would kill something in your papi and me to lose you, so please listen to what we say."
Not wanting to scare him too much, the big stallion then grinned and nibbled playfully at the boy's wings. "Also, there will be plenty of chances for you to stretch your wings! I personally know of several wide open meadows that would be perfect for not only a lunch break but for a certain bebe to romp and play with his papi and me. I don't suppose you might know such a Niño?"
Slowly, Andre relaxed against Az. He looked up at the stallion, then nuzzled into his side. His ears shifted as he listened, before they flicked forward and he looked back up, eyes widening with new wonder. "Lots of meadows?!"
"Yes, lots of meadows! But we won't see them if we don't get going." Stepping outside, Hector properly breathed in the spring air. He smiled, looking around as birds both conversational and not flew around. There were no butterflies yet, the little critters still in their larval caterpillar stages, but he knew they'd be fattening up to become butterflies soon enough. It didn't take much to get the stallion to go over to a tree, rearing up enough to grab a low branch and pull the fresh new leaves off to eat. Truly, this was a good time of year after the cold and lean times of winter.
Giving Andre's rump a playful n** to goad the youngster out of the shelter they had spent the winter in, Az followed his mate out into the sunshine with a happy rumble. After spending so long inside, it felt glorious to be out in the open again. Giving a little half buck, Az tossed his head, his long mane flying before he nudged Andre with a grin, "Can't catch me!" With that, the big draft stallion set off on the path he and Hector had already discussed at a slow canter. Time to get a bit of the colt's excitement out so he would settle once they really got traveling, and well, if Az also needed to get some energy out, that was just a bonus!
Not wanting to wear Andre out too soon, their little run didn't last too long before the little family dropped back into a steady walk. As they traveled, Az took care to point out signs of the world coming back to life after the long winter. He showed Andre tracks of emerging animals, pointed out plant life that was safe to eat that the colt wouldn't have seen before, and even once they got to see a vixen emerging from her den with a litter of fuzzy, wobbly-legged kits following her.
Mane fluffing up just a bit, Andre let out a surprised sound, then reared and pawed the air. Wings flared and flapping a bit to add speed to his run, he took off after Az. "I'm gonna getcha, papi!" Their den was quickly forgotten, the slight chill that clung to the air ignored - He had a papi to catch!
Hector simply chuckled and started trotting after them. His ears remained forward, a smile on his maw as he took the time to look around while keeping his mate and their son in sight. He took the time, too, to watch as Az showed Andre things, the warmth of love filling his every inch. Just as much as Az showed Andre, Hector, too, showed him things - The best new plans to nibble, the sweetest blossoms, but also which blossoms and leaves to avoid.
After a time, Andre suddenly stopped, looking at the river. "There's somebody in the water!" Indeed, when Hector looked up, there was a little soquili-shaped head poking out of the water and looking around - But he didn't feel panic at the sight the way Andre sounded like he was, the head wasn't moving from where it was, which told the stallion that this was a water denizen.
"It looks like one of those little water ponies."
The colt's words got a sharp chuckle from the small figure that had been peeping out of the water before the rest of his head appeared. "Sharp eyes, kiddo." Sharp aqua eyes looked the group over before settling on Andre as if trying to figure out why the kalona colt was with two earth-bound. "Well now, been a hot minute since I've seen one of your kind. You're a cute little devil for sure. What brings an odd lot like you this way?"
Az bristled at the seathi's tone stepping up beside his son, "Our son" he stressed warningly, "wanted to see the ocean so we are heading to the shore. We plan on following the river back to it's source."
Mano nodded making the little shark tooth hanging from his ear sway, "Good plan! yeah this will lead ya right to the river mouth. I've been traveling this river back and forth for over a year now! Honestly it's good you've come to the river at this point. Much further up and you hit my lover's swamp. His gators get a might bit snappy at strangers."
"My kind...?" Andre turned and looked at his wings and tail, spreading the wings out and curling his tail. Then he looked up at Az and Hector, blinking, before he looked back at the pony in the water. "The spirits gave me to my papis as a basket, and spirits work in mysterious ways." It didn't seem odd to him that he'd be a different type from his parents. After all, the spirits did what was necessary, right? Then he let out a curious sound. "What's a gator?"
Hector hummed, watching the little creature, then nuzzled Andre. "A gator is a very big reptile that eats the things they can catch in the water, sometimes the things on land. They're very dangerous, so always show them respect when you meet them. But don't always react with fear, remember that they can potentially be friends just as much as they can potentially be foes, just as anything can."
Mano chuckled, nodding along to Hector's words, "Your daddy is half right, as there are plenty of critters that don't want to, nor ever would be willing to be friends. Gators are very dangerous; they tend to attack rather than talk. Even I don't mess with 'em if I can help it. Truth be told, it's Mo and his sister that keep 'em in line. I'd rather be dealing with sharks! Least with sharks, their bittin' usually ain't personal. Some of them gators hold grudges." As if to prove his point, the little seathi stallion shook his head again to bring attention to the sharp tooth hanging from his ear.
Az wasn't totally sure he like this little fish but he could see that Andre was fascinated and well, there wasn't a lot he wouldn't do or put up with for his beloved son. Flicking his ear, he hesitated a moment before interrupting, "Sorry to be rude, but how far would you say the mouth is from here? We'd like to reach it before sundown if possible."
"Oh yeah, for sure!" Mano grinned up at the big gray stallion, "If you travel steadily for the rest of the day down the river, you should be there before sunset or right at it. Luckily for you lot, the river ain't swelled even with this thaw, so the banks aren't too weak from what I have seen. There are a couple odd-looking horned bear shifters bout midway down, near the bend that were fishing when I came through, but they didn't seem to be aggressive, course with me being out here and them up there ain't a lot they could do!" Mano laughed at the idea of the big bears trying to chase him out into the water.
Nodding, Az exchanged looks with Hector already planning on trying to avoid that area thanks to the seathi's warning. If it had just been the two of them they might have risked it but nothing would be worth risking Andre. "Thanks, we'll keep that in mind."
"Horned bear shifters..." Hector mumbled to himself, then shook his head. What a strange concept! Next they might see a... A fox with wings! "We appreciate the directions and the warning, thank you." He gave a nod to the little pony, then nudged Andre along. "Come on, beloved little man, sunlight won't last forever."
Waving a wing, Andre called, "Bye!" Then he looked up at his parents, curious, "What's a shifter? And what's a bear?"
Hector hummed, "A shifter is a pony who can turn into another animal, but only one. So sometimes when you see a fox, it's not actually a fox, same with a wolf, or an owl, or... In this case... Bears." Bears that had horns... He'd have to see that to believe it one day.
Az's ears pinned back at Hector's simple explanation, "Shifters are very dangerous mijo. You must avoid them at all costs." It was true some were charmed or not cruel by nature, but getting close enough to try and see said jewel was the folly of a fool. "Promise me you will do your best to stay away."
One day, the little kalona colt might be a match for a shifter, but for now, he was their precious foal. Nuzzling him gentle, Az set off again following the river back to the sea. He made sure they slipped around the bend, his attention sharp as he was on the alert for any signs of the rumored horned bears, but luckily they didn't run into any.
It was just as the sun had started to set in the sky that the forest opened up into grassland that blended into a sandy beach and beyond that the wide blue expanse of the ocean.
"Okay, Papi..." Settling his wings, Andre started following again. He found himself soon distracted by the things the lands had to offer along the way, the sweet flowers, the tender buds, even sweet grasses. Near a pond off from the river, probably created by the river long ago than any of them had lived, he found some frogs to pounce on and, to Hector's mild alarm, even eat. But that was to be expected from something with sharp teeth, to eat something fleshy once in a while.
Hector smelled the sea before they ever saw the great expanse. When the trees began to thin out, he smiled at the sight of the sunset glittering on the waves. The crash reached his ears, getting louder as they reached the forest edge. Once they stepped out, he closed his eyes and lifted his head to feel the breeze in his mane. It was still chilly, yes, but it was beautiful. When he looked down at Andre, he saw awe on the colt's face. "This, mijo, is the sea."
