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 Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:04 pm
Telyn had never been overly self-conscious about her appearance. Sure, she was proud of her unusual pelt and enjoyed flaunting it, but this was different. She worriedly peered at her reflection then at her sides, unable to deny the definite roundness that was developing. When had she gotten so fat?! It wasn’t as if she had been lazing around that much… maybe she had been doing that more often of late, but that was simply because she got so exhausted so easily these days.
Stupid Anlach! It was all its fault… giving her the urge to lie around and do nothing all day except talk to Brychan about adventures! She pawed the ground irritably with one hoof, bringing up bits of dirt and mud. It just wasn’t fair! Rhomae lazed around far more than Telyn did, but she wasn’t getting fat! And Loreena… actually, she had been putting on a fair bit of weight too, Telyn thought to herself smugly, a bit of her depression lifted by this thought.
On the bright side, her moods shifted rapidly these days. That meant that if she was depressed, it wouldn’t last long. Then again, none of her moods lasted long. She paused for a moment, actually thinking about what this meant: feeling tired all the time, getting fatter, and having rapid moodswings…
Her mind didn’t come up with anything, except to blame Anlach. Again.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:22 pm
Anlach has pretty much ended... and Brychan had grown restless. Not in the same sense as he had been during Anlach... but rather that he was eager to get back to his Outrider duties. However, he was lingering about a bit longer. His harem seemed to be spreading out a bit as well, and the stag was taking time to say his farewells to each of them.
It was at this moment that Brychan sought out Telyn, and found her soon enough. Seemingly fretting over something. He had grown rather fond of the grey hind during the time they had spent together. He had thought that fate might have played a hand in his coming to meet Loreena.. perhaps it had done the same with Telyn and Rhomae.
Interestingly enough... he felt closer to the grey hind than the others currently. She openly supported and encouraged him, something that he truely appreciated. She was also affectionate in her own ways, although not as much as Loreena. Plus.. she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, which he admired in a hind.
"Is something the matter?" he voiced, for he had noticed she'd been acting strange laterly. Also, it was meant to alert her to his presence.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:43 pm
“Brychan?” Instantly, Telyn felt a little happier with the stag’s presence. At least, until she remembered that she was fat. No! He couldn’t see her like this! This was horrible! She wanted to cry, but, again, she couldn’t because he was nearby. She could not let him see her cry. It would completely ruin her reputation! Oh, and she actually cared about what he thought of her. Sure, she pretended that his opinion was no more important than anyone else’s, but it really was.
“I thought you had returned to your duties by now…” she said slowly, wishing that he had, or sort of wishing. While she enjoyed his company, there was still no escaping the whole… well… Telyn is now fat thing. He wouldn’t like her any more! With this in mind, she hurriedly lay down, hoping that some of the low grass could help disguise her growing bulk. “Nothing’s wrong, Brychan. Nothing at all.”
Her answer was very quick, obviously hoping to bypass this question quickly without looking at it too closely.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:52 pm
"Oh... well I will be soon, but I wanted to see you once more before I did." A light smile gracing the stag's face as he approached. However, as she laid herself down suddenly and rapidly told him nothing was wrong... he paused, a bit of suspicion in his eyes. Did she really think she could fool him? A seasoned Outrider?
Brychan walked up to stand besides Telyn, craning his neck down so that he could gently n** at her ear in a lightly playful manner. "Come come... you can tell me" he gently urged, certainly not wanting her to feel she needed to keep things from him. He hadn't seemed to notice her... rotundness, or if he did... didn't let on.
Folding his legs beneath him, the stag lowered himself into the grass as well. Blue eyes looking to her intently, patiently waiting for her to spill the beans.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:04 pm
Telyn’s ears went back and she shrank slightly, trying to make herself as small as possible to hide her growing belly. But Brychan was such a sweetheart! Surely, he wouldn’t care if she had gained a little weight? Loreena had gotten a little chubby too! Although, not as much as the gray hind had. She couldn’t hold back it for long, seeing as this was Brychan.
“I’m faaaaaaaat!” she wailed, in a most un-Telyn-like fashion. “I-I duh-don’t know huh-how it happened!” more wails ensued, most of them rather unintelligible, which didn’t really help at all. A few moments later, she recovered a bit, or at least enough to stop all that racket. Instead, she stuck to softer sniffles. Still very much unlike Telyn, who normally didn’t care enough about any particular issue to actually cry about it.
She leaned against Brychan, now in more control of herself.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:10 pm
Brychan... was.. surprised to say the least at her outburst. His eyes widening sightly and his ears going back as he was momentarily dumbfounded at the very 'un-Telyn-like' behavior. He looked down at her middle, then back to her, blinking a bit. "You're not fat" he said, trying very hard not to make it sound like he thought she was being rediculous for saying so.
When she leaned against him, he nuzzled her affectionately... while a thought occured to him. The ever reasonable stag eventually voicing, "Are you pregnant?" Well he wasn't hormone induced... so the fact that he came up with this possible conclusion was a lot easier for him. Because.. after all... hinds usually got pregnant after Anlach. It was... kind of the point.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:19 pm
Thank Herne for logical stags when pregnant hinds were getting hormonal… Telyn blinked at the question a few times, wondering why she didn’t think of something so obvious. It made sense now. Anlach had just passed and she and Brychan had spent some quality time together. It added up to a big sign that said ‘pregnant’, now didn’t it?
“Umm… I could be…” she said slowly, trying to get used to the idea. Alright. On the bright side, she wasn’t going to be fat forever. On the other side of the forest, she was apparently pregnant. With Brychan’s babies. Hormones took over once more and she grinned happily before nuzzling the stag. Babies! Eee! They were so cute! And theirs would be the cutest and…
Waitaminute… “I won’t be able to explore…” hormones shifted her mood yet again as she considered this newest development. Logically, she knew that her pregnancy wouldn’t last forever and that she would be able to go out once the baby was old enough. Still, the idea of not being able to go out immediately filled her with despair.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:31 pm
Brychan for one.. was enthralled. He would finally have offspring, and well.. that was exciting! Passing on their genes is pretty much the high point for any animal's life.. meaning that they were a success in the natural world. Her brief happiness caused him to grin, and he nuzzled her back enthusiasticly.
However, that moment was cut short as she brought up the fact that she wouldn't be able to explore. Brychan's ears folded backwards once more. "A minor setback" he said softly, giving a slight tilt of his head. Although really.. he was somewhat glad that her pregnancy ensured that she would be sticking around for awhile. Her inevitable ventured outside the herd, truely did worry him. "Don't let it despair you... this is meant to be a joyous time." The stag trying to lift her spirits and be positive. He for one, was certainly happy.. and he wanted to share that happiness with her.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:39 pm
Telyn was torn between her sorrow over her current inability to wander far and her joy at the idea of having a baby. Not just any baby, but Brychan’s baby. Not many other hinds could claim that! Well… actually, Loreena could. She was getting tubby too, as the gray hind had recalled earlier. Still, they were only two hinds out of an entire herd! That was really… well, something with all things considered.
She chose not to consider that every other hind out there had the same odds. That would have ruined her own specialness. Hormonal or not, Telyn was well aware of Brychan’s dislike of her venturing out. Combined with her current condition, her mind effortlessly leapt to a conclusion, one that didn’t paint Brychan in a favorable light.
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” she snapped in an accusatory tone, glaring at him. Her hooves scrabbled under her as she tried to get up. Getting up was… awkward for the pregnant hind, even this early in her pregnancy. She was small and, unknown to her and Brychan, there were two babies developing in her womb.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:46 pm
Blink. Brychan again looked dumbfounded at her accusation. He wasn't exactly sure what to say as her words could be taken in different lights.. although he was fairly sure which she was intending. "Well... Anlach is meant for such things, dear Telyn. But if you mean to keep you from leaving...no, of course not." He said so with absolute calm, although his eyes did betray the slight hurt he felt at her pointed accusation.
For in accusing him... she was essentially calling him a liar when he had said that what she did was her business outside Anlach. Did she really think that he was that sort? Poor Brychan had never had to deal with hormonal females before, really.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:59 pm
Brychan’s first words bothered Telyn even more. ‘Meant’?! Anlach was MEANT for this?! Well… alright, so it was, but he didn’t have to say it so plainly! It simply made her feel as if he was trying to be condescending towards her. But, she knew---absolutely knew, and not even her hormones could lie to her about this---that he wouldn’t be that way. He was Brychan. The starry-pelted stag didn’t have it in him to be condescending.
She pawed the ground with one hoof again, bringing up a few more clods of earth. Really, it was just a way to get out a bit of her frustration. Obviously, she couldn’t try and attack Brychan! She didn’t want to, for one thing, and it couldn’t possibly be healthy for their baby. Her anger couldn’t last long in the face of Brychan’s open honesty and confusion. No, he couldn’t have planned this. This wasn’t really the sort of thing that could be planned, for one thing.
Feeling tired once more, she lay down next to him once more, relaxing her head on his back. “Is Loreena pregnant too?” she asked finally. No, she wasn’t jealous of the red hind being the favorite! Well… maybe a little…
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:09 pm
No... he hadn't at all meant to be condescending, and it bothered him a little as she looked rather frustrated. Had she voiced her thoughts, he would have apologized, for in her hormonal state... it would be easy to take his words personally. He remained on the ground, watching her with increasing concern until she lowered herself once more and placed her head on his back.
Quite the emotional roller coaster Telyn was on.. and she was dragging him along with her. He could already feel the mental exhaustion creeping up on him and it had only just started too. Her question brought another round of surprise from him.
"I hadn't noticed.. but its certainly possible." He had mated with Loreena too, after all... so he wouldn't doubt it.
He was quiet for a few moments, before he finally asked his own question. "You're not unhappy... are you? About this pregnancy and having young ones?" He would feel incredibly guilty if he had played a part in her discontent, for that was the last thing he wanted.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:17 pm
Stupid Anlach… it was all its fault. It was much easier for Telyn to blame her problems----one moment, her pregnancy was a problem and the next it was a blessing, which was an issue in itself----on a non-sentient thing like Anlach than Brychan. For one thing, blaming it on Anlach didn’t make her feel guilty. Blaming it on her stag did.
“Hm.” That was her only answer to the starry stag’s affirmative that Loreena was probably pregnant. What did she care about Loreena’s state of pregnancy anyway? It really wasn’t any of her business. Rationally, she knew this. But, hormones, as she was learning, were rarely rational and she couldn’t help but care about things that really weren’t any of her business.
“Yes. No. I don’t even know any more. It keeps changing. Little things make me get mad at everything else. Still…” when she had first learned of her pregnancy---all of five minutes ago, so the memory was still very fresh in her mind---she had been delighted. So, that was the one she would go with. “I’m very happy with the actual idea of having babies, especially yours. I just… don’t like the first parts. You know, the pregnancy part where I’m fat and weepy and want to sleep and sleep all the time.”
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:35 pm
Hm, indeed... He wasn't really sure what to think. He was starting to see the reasoning for the stags being apart from the hinds after Anlach was over. It was... making a lot of sense now... for all these mood swings weren't nessecarily pleasent for Brychan, anymore than Telyn.
He did muster a small smile at her confession that she was happy to be having his babies. That made him glad, and put his mind at ease a bit. "I can't really say I understand... or know what you're going through." He wouldn't ever get pregnant after all, nor go through these hormonal swings as she did. It was the duty of the stags to fight for the hinds, build harems, and mate with them... then protect the herd as well. It was the duty of the hinds to carry the young, give birth, and raise them. That was the natural order and nothing could change it.
"But I do know that this too shall pass. Soon enough that youngling will come into the world. You are a strong hind, Telyn.. there is no doubt in my mind that you can get through it, and be a fine mother."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:50 pm
Brychan was probably regretting his decision to come back from Outrider duties just long enough to say good-bye to each of his hinds. Or at least, one particular hind. One particular gray hind who was currently very hormonal and likely to act up on the slightest thing. On the bright side, she couldn’t move around much. That meant that, when she did act up, she would be less likely to hurt herself or the growing baby inside of her.
She sighed, thinking about his words carefully. A mother! Honestly, she was still young herself! What sort of mother would she be? Would Brychan… well, of course he wouldn’t. Not really. It wasn’t the natural order of things, now was it? The hinds were supposed to raise the babies all by themselves. Sure, the father could come back and visit, but they didn’t. Not usually. Telyn couldn’t remember her father at all, which was common enough for hinds. Then again, Telyn wasn’t exactly the natural sort of hind, now was she? Instead of being content with her place in the herd, she yearned to explore. And maybe… maybe Brychan wouldn’t be the normal type of stag either and would give his babies more attention than usual?
“If I have a fawn, please just… just give her some attention.” She asked eventually, a small tone of pleading in her voice.
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